by Debbie Mason
She walked to the refrigerator and took out the cream.
He looked down at her feet. She had on high heels and her toenails were painted fire-engine red. He cleared his throat. “You look nice.”
She glanced at him, her dark hair falling over her face. “Thanks.”
He grabbed the pot of coffee, gesturing for the thermos. She handed it to him. She smelled good, too. “So you never said what case you have to appear in court for.”
“Assault and battery. The wife’s finally agreed to testify against her husband.”
“Hope he gets what he deserves,” Sawyer said, handing her back the thermos.
“Yeah, me too. Thanks. I’ll be a few hours. There’s a schedule and a list of dos and don’ts for little Jack on the fridge. Grace pretty much covered everything, but if you need me, call. My phone will be off when I’m in court though.”
“We’ll be fine. I’ve got it covered, Jill. Don’t worry.”
“You’re sure? Because I can see if the sitter can take him.”
“No, I’m good until you get back. I’ve got a couple guys handling hockey camp, and I don’t have to go into work until eight tonight.”
“Okay, see you later,” she said and turned to walk away. He couldn’t help but notice she had no panty lines. “Oh, there’s a box of…Are you staring at my butt?”
* * *
“Hey, Brandi, sorry I didn’t return your call sooner. Little Jack got hold of my phone. Hang on a minute,” Sawyer said. “Buddy, don’t dig up those flowers, Mom… Auntie Jill won’t be happy if you do.”
“Why?” he asked.
“Ah, because she loves roses. And you won’t find any dinosaur bones there. Go back to where you were digging near the tree. That’s a perfect spot.” Sawyer knew this because he’d buried some plastic bones there.
Little Jack got in his John Deere and motored over to the tree, turning his head when the back gate opened. “Annie,” he yelled, jumping out of his truck to run to the dark-haired teenager.
“Cool truck,” she said, picking up little Jack. She waved at Sawyer.
He cocked his head. “So let me guess. Your mom doesn’t think I can handle little Jack on my own for the day?”
“No, she…” She shrugged and grinned. “Kinda. She thought you might need a break.”
Did he. The kid hadn’t stopped since he got up three hours ago. “Appreciate it, Annie. Thanks.” He put the phone back to his ear. “Sorry about that. What’s up? Everything okay?”
“All right, I guess. Trent’s just a little bummed that you won’t be at the arena today.”
“He won’t even notice I’m not there once Tony and Adam start putting them through the drills.”
“That’s not true. You know how much he loves spending time with you.”
The muscles in Sawyer’s neck tensed. He knew Trent enjoyed spending time with him, but he was beginning to think Brandi was using her son as an excuse to get closer to him. He glanced to where Annie and little Jack were digging under the tree and walked to the picnic table at the far corner of the yard. “Look, Brandi, I enjoy spending time with him, but—”
He heard a door shut, then she lowered her voice and said, “Steve called this morning. He wants to see Trent.”
“What does Trent want?”
“I didn’t tell him. I don’t want to upset him. But I don’t want him to see Steve. I don’t trust him, Sawyer. I don’t trust that he’s changed.”
“I get it, but if Trent wants to see him, you can demand that the visits are supervised. Did you let Ethan know that he called?”
“I wanted to talk to you first. I’ll call him as soon as I get off the phone with you. You’ll be at the bar tonight, won’t you?”
“As far as I know, unless Jill has something she needs to do.”
There was a long pause before she said, “It’s none of my business, but do you really think it’s a good idea that you’re staying with Jill? It must be uncomfortable for you knowing how she feels.”
After this morning he was pretty sure Jill was the one feeling uncomfortable. “Don’t worry about Jill. She’s a big girl.” He rubbed his jaw when an image of her in nothing but her thong flashed before his eyes. “She’d been having a bad day and had too much to drink that night at my apartment. She didn’t mean anything by it.”
“That’s not how it looked to me. But like I said, it’s none of my business. I just hope—”
At the beep of an incoming call, he checked the screen and cut Brandi off. “I’ve gotta go. There’s a call coming in from Mountainview. I’ll see you tonight.” He disconnected and answered. “Sandy, everything okay?”
“No. Where have you been? I’ve been trying to reach you for the last hour. Bill had a bad fall. He’s at the hospital. They think he may have had another stroke.”
Panic tightened his throat. “I’m on my way,” he managed to say before disconnecting. He jumped off the picnic table and realized where he was. He had no choice. He had to take little Jack with him. Maybe Annie’d come, too. “Hey buddy, we have to go to the hospital.”
“No. I no like hospitals.”
He hadn’t considered that possibility. It’d been two years since the accident, but the kid was smart. He probably remembered the time he’d spent there.
“Is something wrong?” Annie asked.
“You know Bill?” She nodded. “He had a fall, and they think he might have had another stroke. I have to go see him.” Not only did he want to be there for Bill, he had to be. Sawyer had power of attorney, including the authority to make health care decisions for Bill.
“I can look after little Jack.”
“I don’t know, Annie. He’s a handful.”
“I’m almost sixteen. I babysit Connor and Lily all the time.”
It took Sawyer a good fifteen minutes to go over Grace’s lists with Annie. He left her some money to order a pizza so she wouldn’t be preoccupied making little Jack lunch.
“Call me if you need anything, anything at all. I’ll try to be back within the hour.” He’d go back to the hospital as soon as Jill came home. He crouched in front of little Jack. “You be a good boy for Annie, okay?”
“Yeah, me a good boy.”
“I know you are, buddy. You’re just a little busy. Kinda like the Energizer bunny.”
Annie laughed when little Jack started hopping around the kitchen. He followed Sawyer to the door. “There’s a dead bolt,” he said, pointing it out. “Use it. Thanks, Annie.”
It took Sawyer another fifteen minutes to get to the hospital and find a parking spot. He called Jill on his way to the emergency room. His call went straight to voice mail. He left her a message, telling her what happened to Bill and that he’d left Annie with little Jack. He asked her to call him as soon as she could. Times like this, he’d call Jack, but he wasn’t about to bother him while he was away. Sawyer felt antsy, tension stringing his muscles tight. He wished Jill wasn’t in court and that she’d call him back. He needed someone to tell him Bill would be all right.
As soon as Sawyer walked through the emergency room doors, he spotted Matt Trainer at the nurses’ station. The doc looked up as Sawyer approached and met him halfway. He put a hand on Sawyer’s shoulder. “Relax, he had a fall, but as far as I can tell, he didn’t have a stroke. He’s having a CT scan now, and I’ll run some more tests on him just to be sure.”
Sawyer took a deep breath and blew it out his mouth. “Okay. Thanks. That’s good news at least.”
“You can fill out the paperwork while you wait. I’m going to keep him overnight as a precaution.”
Sawyer nodded, starting to feel more like himself as the tension inside him released. “I’ll give his kids a call. Any other injuries I should know about? Bill tell you how it happened?”
Matt’s eyes narrowed, and he crossed his arms. “Are you asking because of our conversation at the bar?”
“No, I’m asking because Bill fell. He’s in Mountainview to make sure accidents li
ke this don’t happen.”
“Look, I know you’re upset. But no matter the facility or the level of care provided, falls do occur, Sawyer. It’s not a reflection on Mountainview. They got to him seconds after he fell. If he’d had a stroke, that would have meant the difference between minimal and extensive damage. As to your question how he fell, that’s something we have to look into. He said he got dizzy, disoriented. It could be as simple as an infection or dehydration, but don’t worry, we’ll get to the bottom of it.”
“Sorry if I’m coming across as an ass. I trust you, doc, and this hospital. I know he’s in good hands.”
“You’re worried about Bill, I get it. He’s lucky he has you.” Matt’s brow furrowed as he studied Sawyer more closely. “Uh, is everything okay with you?”
“Other than Bill ending up in hospital, yeah, I’m good. Why?”
“For one, you forgot your shoes. For another, you have paint all over your T-shirt, and…” he pointed to Sawyer’s head. “What is that?”
Sawyer followed Matt’s finger and pulled a hunk of goop from his hair. “Pancake batter. Little Jack wanted to help. And we were finger painting.” He looked at the handprints on his T-shirt and shrugged. “What can I say? He’s a creative kid. ’Fraid I don’t have an explanation for the lack of footwear, other than I might have been a bit panicked. You have any of those bootie things I can borrow?”
Matt grinned. “Sure thing. So you’re looking after little Jack while his mom and dad are away?”
“Yeah.” He eyed the man. Even though he was a guy, Sawyer could see why the ladies thought Matt was hot. As he’d just proven, he was also a good doctor and a good guy. Something a woman like Jill would appreciate. And after seeing a mostly naked Jill, he didn’t want to think of her playing doctor with Matt. Which may be the reason why he added, “Jill and I are staying with him at the house.”
“Is that so?” Matt’s lips twitched.
Sawyer sighed. “Just get me the booties, will ya? People are starting to look at me funny.”
“That could be for any number of reasons, my friend.” Matt nodded to the nurses’ station. “Come on, I’ll get you suited up.”
An hour later Sawyer had yet to see Bill and his frustration was starting to grow. Though it was possible that had more to do with talking to Bill’s kids. They’d had a hundred and one excuses why they couldn’t come see their father. Sawyer wondered if it was because they knew he was there to take care of Bill. Even though that was true, it didn’t cut it for him. If his mother was in the hospital, he’d drop everything to be by her side. He was about to give her a call when his cell rang.
“I can’t find him, Sawyer! I can’t find little Jack!” a hysterical Annie yelled over the line.
Chapter Fifteen
Hey, are you okay? How’s Bill? I was going to—” Jill began before Sawyer cut her off.
“Where are you?”
Her hands tightened on the wheel at the rough rasp of his voice, praying he wasn’t going to tell her that Bill died. “Couple minutes from the station. I have to—”
“No, don’t. Just come home, okay?”
“Sure, of course,” she said, almost certain now that Bill had died. But she couldn’t bring herself to ask. Sawyer sounded like he was barely holding it together. “Is there anything you need? Can I—”
“Jill, I need you…” He trailed off, and she heard him speaking to someone. The words were muffled as though he’d covered the phone. But it sounded as if someone was crying in the background. He came back on the line. “Just hurry up and get here.” He swore under his breath. “Just get here as fast as you can.”
“Less than ten minutes away now. Hang in.” She disconnected, wondering if she should call her brother or Sawyer’s mother. Bill’s death would affect him deeply. Whether Sawyer would admit it or not, the older man was like a father to him. She decided to hold off to see how he was doing first. Knowing her brother and Sawyer’s mother, they’d jump on the next flight out if they thought he needed them.
She wished she would have been there for him when he got the news. Or at the very least called as soon as she got his message. But she hadn’t had a chance to respond when court recessed for lunch because the prosecution wanted to review her testimony.
As Jill turned onto Sugar Plum Lane, she saw Gage’s white Suburban parked in front of the house along with another patrol car. Several people were running into the backyards of the houses on either side, including Skye. Gage came out of the house followed by a pale and obviously distraught Sawyer, who was raking his hand through his hair. Annie was there, too, her arms wrapped around her waist, shaking her head when Gage spoke to her. Jill’s heart started to race, as though her body already knew what her mind refused to believe.
As she pulled behind the Suburban, Gage and Sawyer turned. She saw the look on Sawyer’s face and her body went hot, then cold, then weak with fear.
He was missing. Little Jack was missing.
A wave of nausea rolled over her. She pressed her lips together, breathing slowly through her nose, ordering the confusion from her brain. Get out of the damn car. Move. The door opened. She looked at her hand, surprised to find it had obeyed her command.
“It’s going to be okay, Jill. We’ll find him.”
She lifted her eyes to Sawyer, her heart twisting at the grim expression on his face, the fear in his eyes. “How…” Her throat was too tight and too dry to say more. She swallowed. “How long has he been gone?” She finally managed.
Sawyer reached in and helped her from the Jeep. “At least an hour. Annie searched the house and yard before calling me,” he said, closing the door.
It was worse than she thought. He could be anywhere. The woods, someone’s backyard pool. She pressed her fingers to her temple, willing the worst-case scenarios away. She had to get it together. She was wasting precious time. Every minute, every second counted in a missing child case. She knew that, goddammit, so why wouldn’t her brain work?
Sawyer cupped her face with his hands and ducked his head to look her in the eyes. “We’re going to find him,” he repeated as he gently brushed his thumbs across her damp cheeks.
She was crying. She was standing on the street crying. She swore under her breath and pulled away from him, wiping angrily at her face. “The neighbors two doors down have a tree house—”
“I already checked,” he said, taking her hand as they walked toward the house. He told her everywhere they’d looked for little Jack so far. The exact same places she would have looked had she been here. But of course Sawyer would; he knew her nephew as well as she did.
Annie and Gage met them on the sidewalk. The young girl looked at her through tear-swollen eyes. “I only left him for a few minutes. H-he was coloring at the table when the pizza guy came, and then…” She glanced at her father and mumbled, “Trent stopped by to say hi. But I didn’t let him in, and we only talked at the door for a minute or two—” She broke off with a sob.
Jill lay a hand on the teenager’s shoulder, clenching her jaw as she fought back the ugly, unfair urge to shake the young girl. “It’s okay, Annie. No one’s blaming you.” She looked at Gage, seeing her own fears reflected back at her in his eyes, and it was all she could do to hold it together. “Did you talk to the pizza delivery guy?”
Gage nodded, and then he and Sawyer shared a silent exchange to which Sawyer gave an almost imperceptible shake of his head. “What…what aren’t you telling me?”
Gage rubbed the back of his neck. “Mr. Potter noticed a late-model white pickup parked down from the house. The guy sat there a good ten minutes and seemed to be watching Grace and Jack’s place. Potter was going to call it in, but by then the pickup had moved on.”
“Timeline?”
“Coincides with when little Jack went missing,” Gage admitted.
Jill swayed on her heels. Sawyer grabbed her. “Don’t go there. It’s probably just a coincidence. As far as Mr. Potter could tell, the guy never got out of his tru
ck. He didn’t see any sign of little Jack, either. Come on, you need to sit down.”
She pulled away from him. “No, I have to help. I have to look for little Jack.” She had to do something or she’d go crazy with worry. She felt desperate and out of control.
“Jill, look at me,” Gage said. “Let us handle it. I have everyone on it. We’re doing a house-by-house search in a two-mile radius. He can’t have gotten that far.”
“Little Jack’s truck. Did he—”
Sawyer briefly closed his eyes. “We found it in the lane at the end of the street.”
Her stomach heaved. She pictured her nephew driving down the street with a smile on his adorable face. Grace’s and Jack’s faces when she told them their precious son was missing. Pull it together, she inwardly snapped at herself. She had to start thinking like a cop and not an aunt. “What about the woods, the park? Maybe he’s going to the bakery looking for Grace, or…or the boardwalk. We were there yesterday.”
Gage and Sawyer turned as several cars and trucks pulled up. Jill blinked back tears, her throat tightening at the sight of Nell McBride, Ted and Fred, Ty, Easton, and Chance, Suze’s teenage sons, piling out of their vehicles.
“You stay here in case he comes home, in case someone calls,” Gage said, giving her shoulder a gentle squeeze.
When Gage moved away to organize the volunteers, Sawyer placed a hand at the small of her back and nudged her toward the house. Her legs felt heavy as she walked to the front porch. Unable to move another inch, she collapsed on the steps.
“Annie, do me a favor and stay in the house and take any calls that come in,” Sawyer said.
She nodded, stopping in front of Jill. “I’m really sorry. I didn’t—”
“I know you are. We call him Houdini for a reason. He—” Unable to continue, Jill closed her eyes. When she opened them, Sawyer was crouched in front of her.
He took her hand. “We will find him, Jill. I promise.”
“You can’t make that promise.”
“I just did.” He pressed his lips to her palm. “I’m going to look for him. You call everyone you know. Anyone you can think of. Get them out looking.”