Kyleigh Flanagan slammed the envelope and document onto the coffee table. “Why, Dad?” She stormed into the kitchen and poured herself a fresh cup of black decaf from the pot she’d brewed before she opened the letter from her father.

​

She took a sip, lifted the single sheet of paper, and stared at it. “This is not like you at all. You never go off-grid.” Something isn’t right.

 

The cup and saucer made a distinct clunk when she placed them on the table. Her chair screeched as she pulled it out and then plopped into it. Her fingers flattened out the brief typed note on the table. She read it again.

 

Honey, I don’t want you to worry, but you won’t hear from me for a little while. There’s something I’ve got to do, and I won’t be able to contact you until I’m finished. But I’ll contact you again as soon as I can. Dad

 

Kyleigh sipped her coffee. No way would her father just disappear without telling her where he went or what he was doing. She rose, drained her cup, and set it in the sink. He knew how she worried. Why would he do this? What had he gotten into?

 

After running water over the dishes, she grabbed her purse and dashed out the front door of her second-floor apartment. She rushed down the stairs, through the entrance, across the landscaped walkway, and into the parking lot.

 

Aunt Maye might know what was going on. Dad told her more details on several occasions. He must have called her. Maybe some military thing he wasn’t allowed to talk about. But then he wouldn’t tell Aunt Maye either.

 

Kyleigh jumped into her light blue Mazda and sped out of the parking lot, en route to her aunt’s house in Jersey Village.

 

The last time Dad had been deployed, he was gone for a year, but he’d told them when he left and why. Besides, that was years ago. He planned to retire in a few months.