She looked at their stricken faces, not liking how fear aged them. “No,” she said firmly. “This isn’t your fault. Danny was watching a video when I went in the library to finish my on-line registration. I should have checked on him. I didn’t know he was still mad about Rafael. If anyone is to blame, it’s me.”
“You are not to blame.”
The statement came from behind her. She turned and saw Rafael standing in the doorway.
“I am the one who encouraged him to do as he pleased,” Rafael continued. “He ran off because he is the heir, and the blame is mine.”
Without thinking, Mia rushed toward him. He caught her against his body and held her tight.
“I am sorry,” he whispered in her ear. “So sorry.”
His arms were strong and supported her. He was Prince Rafael of Calandria, she thought. He would insist on finding his son. He would move heaven and earth to make that happen. For once, Rafael’s imperious determination was a good thing.
“It’s not your fault either,” she said. “He got mad. He acted up. Now we have to find him.”
“We will,” he promised, and she believed him.
Just then, the back door burst open and Brenna came in with an armful of maps. As Rafael and Mia stepped apart, she put them on the kitchen table and unrolled them.
“Once Joe gets the coordinates, I’ll tell you what vineyard that is.” She traced the road that led to the hotel. “This is where he wanted to go, but hey, the kid is four. Who knows where he actually went.”
Rafael bent over the maps. “There are dozens of acres.”
“Hundreds,” Brenna said unhappily. “Especially if you consider the Wild Sea vineyards butt right up to ours. If Danny headed that way, he would never find his way out on his own.”
She squeezed Mia’s arm. “But he’s got the tracking thingy on, right? So it’s okay.”
Mia glanced outside and wished it were a little less hot. The weather might be perfect for grapes, but it would be hell on a little boy trapped in the sun.
Rafael traced possible paths. When Mia’s cell phone rang, she grabbed it.
“You have him?” she demanded.
“Yes. Put Brenna on. I’ll give her the coordinates, then meet you.”
Mia handed over the cell phone. Brenna listened, then looked at the map.
“Okay, yeah. I’ve got it. Uh-huh.” She glanced at Rafael. “Are the moron twins joining us?”
He grimaced. “Yes, Oliver and Umberto are waiting by the car.”
“We have a team,” Brenna said into the phone. “Uh-huh. Sure.”
She hung up and handed Mia the phone. “Joe has the location. He’s going to stay where he is and monitor the GPS. He’ll call every ten minutes with updates. We’ll take carts as close as we can, then walk in.” Brenna smiled. “We found him, Mia. He’ll be fine.”
“I’ll believe that when I’m holding him.”
Five minutes later they were in three golf carts and heading out into the heart of the Marcelli vineyards. The sun beat down mercilessly. Mia drove, closely following Brenna’s cart, while Oliver and Umberto maneuvered the last one. Rafael sorted through the contents of the backpack.
“Your grandmothers have thought of everything,” he said.
“They feel horrible about what happened. I hate them blaming themselves.”
“As do I.”
She glanced at him. “I meant what I said. I don’t blame you.”
“You do not have to. I still blame myself. If he is hurt…”
His voice trailed off. Mia didn’t want to think about that either. She wanted to find Danny perfectly healthy and safe, and very sorry for what he’d done.
“Thank God for the tracking system,” she said. “If he didn’t have on that bracelet, I have no idea how we’d find him.”
“So my deception has one bright spot,” Rafael said grimly.
“Not just that one,” she told him. “I can see you’re trying to change and I appreciate it.”
“But you still do not trust me.”
“At least I didn’t assume you’d kidnapped him. That’s something.”
She slammed on the brakes after Brenna did the same. Even as everyone scrambled out of the carts, Mia pulled out the cell phone and tossed it to Rafael.
She had to. She couldn’t talk, couldn’t breathe, could only panic when she saw the pony standing alone in the center of the path.
“Are you sure about the location?” Rafael asked into the phone. “We have found the pony and Danny is not here.”
He listened, then looked at Mia. “Joe still shows Danny about a half mile from here.” His face paled.
“What?” Mia demanded. “What?”
“Danny’s not moving. He hasn’t moved since Joe first found him.”
“Oh, God,” Mia said, pressing a hand to her stomach. “Oh, God.”
Rafael hung up and handed her the phone. “We must hurry,” he yelled to the others. “Umberto, the pony.”
The bodyguard raced to Gaspare and led him out of the way. Rafael guided Mia into the passenger seat, then pushed the backpack into her arms and got behind the wheel. Brenna took off at full speed and he did the same. Oliver came up behind.
“He’s fine,” Rafael said, as much to convince himself as Mia. “It is very hot. He stopped to rest and Gaspare ran off. That is all.”
Mia rocked in the seat. “Please, God, let him be all right. Please.”
He heard the pain in her voice and felt it himself. At that moment, he would have given anything to have Danny in his arms. All his money, all his privilege was useless in finding one small, lost boy.
A few minutes later, Brenna came to a stop. She jumped out of the cart and pointed to a vineyard.
“In there,” she yelled. “Joe has the coordinates, but we don’t exactly have street signs, so we’re going to have to walk through. It’s this vineyard, though. It has to be.”
Rafael took the backpack and stepped out. Mia hurried to his side.
“We’ll split up,” she said. “Brenna, go with Oliver. You have a cell phone, right?”
Both held one out.
Rafael reached for Mia’s hand. “We will go this way,” he said, pointing to the right section of the vineyard.
Mia squeezed his fingers. “What if he fell off? What if he’s hurt?”
“Then we will take him to the hospital.”
He spoke with a calmness he didn’t feel, but there was no point in upsetting her more.
“Danny,” she yelled as they stepped between the rows of vines heavy with ripe grapes. “Danny, where are you?”
“Danny,” he called, hearing Brenna and Umberto in the distance. “Danny.”
He paused to listen. There were only the sounds of insects and the rapid beating of his heart. If something had happened to his son…
He pushed the thought away. He would not consider it. Danny was fine. He had to be fine. Rafael could not imagine any other possibility.
They walked deeper into the vines. Both called. Brenna’s and Oliver’s voices came from farther and farther away. Beside him, Mia stumbled, then began to cry.
“Why isn’t he answering? What if he has sunstroke? It’s hot and he’s so small.”
“We will find him,” he promised, then yelled, “Danny? Can you hear me?”
For a moment, he thought he’d heard something. Mia stared at him.
“Was that a cry?”
They listened again. Sure enough, in the distance came a small sound.
“Danny?” Mia screamed. “Danny, is that you?”
Rafael began to run. He pulled her along with him. “Danny,” he called. “Danny, answer us. Answer us so we can find you.”
“Over here. I’m over here. Mommy? D-Daddy?”
Rafael heard the voice more clearly now and he knew his son was crying.
“He’ll be fine,” he promised Mia and himself. “He’s just scared.”
He saw a flash of color and broke through one of the neat rows. Danny sat in a small patch of shade. His T-shirt was torn, his face dusty and red, and his eyes filled with tears.
“Danny!” Mia dropped to the ground and hugged the boy. Rafael sank next to her and put his arms around both of them.