Chapter 5

I almost took off then and there to go find Annie. But by the time I found myself in my car, I remembered there were things I needed to do to prepare. I needed to get packed, I needed a plan, and I needed to talk things over with my sister. When I arrived home, I saw that there was a new car in the driveway. When I got in the house, I saw a very familiar brunette.

"Cindy? What brings you here?" I asked.

Cindy looked surprised, "I could ask you the same thing Leo. May tells me you aren't supposed to be back for another couple of hours."

"Something came up. Charles didn't need me today. And that's not what I asked. What brings you here?"

She rolled her eyes, "I'm moving back into town. And May said I could stay here for a few days until my husband arrives."

"Where is May and Lynn; I need to talk to them." I asked.

"They went out to get some grocery shopping done and to pick up a pizza. It's good to see you again cousin." Cindy then gave me a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

I went to my room and packed my things. Then I got onto the computer in the game room. I was checking out my route to California and doing research on the area when everyone walked in.

"Hey big brother. Cindy said you were back. Did Charles let you go," May asked.

"No he didn't. He told me to take some time off. I know I just got back. But I may have found a clue on where Annie is." I replied.

May's eyes went wide and she smiled, "Where is she? Where's Annie?"

"Wait, who's Annie? I'm lost here," asked Cindy.

"She's Daddy's girlfriend," supplied Lynn.

Cindy's eyes shot wide, "You told Lynn the truth? Why didn't you let me know?"

"What? Since when did you know? Am I the last one to have found out about this?" I demanded.

The two grown women looked at one another and May said, "Out of the people in this room, yes you are. Mom doesn't know. She still thinks my late husband was the father. And Cindy knew about you being the father since I was pregnant with Lynn's egg. Sorry." She picked up Lynn. "When are you going to leave?"

"I'm already packed and I'm waiting for some things to print then I'm going on my way to California." I answered.

"No! You can't go now. Not if you're going that far. It's late for that. Eat and sleep then you can leave in the morning when you're well rested." May ordered.

That night I had a dream of Annie. She was worried and in pain. She called out, "Leo I need you. Help me."

I awoke with Annie's name on my lips. I hurriedly got dressed and grabbed my things and started for the door. I was stopped by a hand on my shoulder.

"Are you leaving without saying goodbye to me, or our daughter?" May had a sad look on her face.

Without hesitation, I said, "No. You two are my family. I wouldn't dream of leaving without saying goodbye. I just wanted to put my things in my car before I left so I could have my hands free to do this." I wrapped my arms around my sister and kissed her cheek. It hurt to lie like that. I hadn't intended to see them before I left. I thought it would have hurt too much to see them before I left. I'll just leave the note I wrote in my pocket. To help with the guilt I told a truth. "I love you. You know that don't you?"

May walked behind me as I entered Lynn's room. I quietly opened the door. Lynn slowly sat up rubbing her tired eyes.

"Hey Lynn, I didn't mean to wake you." I apologized.

"Was already awake. Take me too. Please," Lynn asked.

"I can't take you. I wish I could. This is something I need to do by myself. But there is something I need for you to do for me. I need you to take care of Mommy." I told her. It took about 10 minutes to talk her into staying. By the time that was taken care of my heart ached.

Before I stepped out of the living room door I turned to my sister, "Why didn't you ever have more children after Lynn?"

She grimaced, "I'll tell you later. Now go and find Annie. Swear you will."

It seemed to take me forever to get to California. However, when I did I had this strange feeling inside. It was almost like what I was looking for was here. But it wasn't time to find it. I wanted to ignore that feeling and look for Annie, but something told me that would be a bad idea. So I took in the sites. I also had a bad feeling at some of the places I went to, but I blame that because I had recently seen the movie San Andreas. Weird I know. On the third day, I stopped off at a store to get some food to eat; the cashier was a pretty woman. I wasn't attracted to her or anything but there was something about her that anybody could tell was beautiful even a blind person could tell that. She looked only a few short years older than me. She also looked a little like the nurse from the hospital in Wyoming.