“Didn’t Mom say you were supposed to lay off those things because of your—”
“Ah, ah,” he waved a dismissive hand which held a napkin, his mouth half full of sirloin, tomato, and onions. “What your mother doesn’t know…”
Trish just shook her head. She knew first-hand what a problem secrets could be in a relationship. But, far be it for her to criticize how her parents operated. They’d been together for thirty-five years.
She cleared her throat as she felt a lump of sadness swell up. Would she ever get married? Her parents had gotten married when they were seventeen. She’d never have as long a marriage as them. But, at this rate? With her track record? She choked down a couple fries in an attempt to force the lump away.
Her father took a gulp of his iced tea to wash down his burger. “I hope this whole situation doesn’t sour you forever on the idea of opening another shop, especially now that you’ll have Jo as a partner.”
“I don’t know, Dad,” she grumbled, shifting around the fries on her plate. She’d made these lunch plans to placate his worries because she knew he wouldn’t stop insisting until she did. Unlike the last time, though, the last thing she wanted to do was talk about it.
“Well,” he said, taking another drink, “you said you have the means to do it. I’d still like to see you try for it. I think it could be good for you. Get your mind busy on expanding your business.”
Trish perked up a bit. That wasn’t a bad idea. It could be precisely the move she was looking for. After being so close to making a giant change in her life, coming back to the same-old-same-old had left her feeling lacking.
“Thanks, Dad. You always seem to know what to say.”
He raised his half-eaten burger towards her as a form of cheers. “That’s what I’m here for.” Then, he took a massive bite.
“You know, you’re lucky I’m such a willing accomplice for you. If Mom not only knew what you were eating but that you had order the half-pound burger, she’d flip!” Trish chuckled as her father merely shrugged and took another bite.
Her laughter subsided when she realized her phone was ringing. She hurriedly snatched her purse and began searching for it, heat flushing her cheeks. Yes, other café patrons, it’s my phone, she growled in her head when she got a few choice glares cast her way.
“God,” she mumbled so only her father could hear, “aren’t people used to the fact that everyone has a cell phone, nowadays, and sometimes people get phone calls—”
Trish stopped short. “What the?”
“Who is it?” her father asked, stretching his neck to try to peer over to her side of the table.
“Uh, it’s some unknown number, but it’s local.”
“You should pick it up. Could be a customer.”
She was about to retort that all customers would just call the shop when she remembered the business cards on the counter which had her cell phone number, in case of emergencies. Part of the appeal of buying local, she’d always say, was the stellar customer service you get compared to the big box stores.
Trish nodded and picked up the call. “Hello?”
“Hello, is this Trish Greene?” the voice on the other end asked.
“Yes,” she replied, a bit trepidatious.
“This is Officer Wick with the Newsham Police Department. I’m going to need you to come down to our offices right away. There’s a matter here we need to discuss with you. It’s urgent.” He was all business, no nonsense.
“Yes, officer. I’ll be right there,” she replied, her voice quavering.
“Officer? What’s going on, sweetie?” her father was immediately alarmed.
Trish hung up her phone and stared aghast at her father. “That was the police. They want me to come down to the station. They said it’s urgent.”
“Oh, dear,” her father muttered.
“Shit!” Her mind began buzzing through a million different scary scenarios, all involving different ways her floral business could be destroyed before the end of the day. She got up quickly from her chair and her father followed suit.
He dropped a couple big bills onto the table to cover the check for their unfinished meal. “I’ll drive you.”
“Dad, you don’t have to. I have my car here.”
“I can see you shaking right now. I’m driving. Let’s go.”
29
Trish’s father drove his car as fast as he dared to the police station and pulled into a parking space. Trish flew out of the passenger side but then hesitated.
“It’ll be alright,” her father assured her and put a comforting hand on her shoulder. They walked together hurriedly into the police station.
Phones were ringing and there were people moving swiftly left and right, officers in uniform and some in dress clothes. Several walked right past her without even looking at her. Her fear spiked. For several painful moments, Trish was lost in the hustle of the station, the buzzing of voices and phones, and the confusion of why she was there.
Her father came to his senses first and found a desk where people were meant to check in. He motioned her over after he realized she’d failed to notice he’d moved.
“I’ll get the detective,” the middle-aged woman behind the counter was saying and then stood up and walked away.
“What detective? What’s going on, Dad?” Trish asked.
“Just calm down, honey. Whatever worst-case scenarios are running through your mind, I’m sure whatever reason they called you here is not nearly as bad as you think.” He spoke the words but the smile he gave her failed to reach his eyes.
The woman came back within a minute but no one else was with her. Trish did her best not to stamp her foot impatiently as they waited for someone to tell them what the hell was going on. It was an interminable five minutes before a tall, lanky detective in a pale yellow dress shirt strode up to them.
“Trish Greene?” he inquired.
“Yes,” she replied and reached out to shake his proffered hand. Her father did the same. “Can you tell me why I was called down here, officer…”
“Smith. Just follow me, please, Miss Greene.”
He turned on his heels and was off. Trish glanced warily to her father but he was just as lost as she was. He gave her a shrug but helped push her along with a hand on her back.
They walked down a long, carpeted hall with offices on either side and then turned a corner. Trish’s eyes went wide as they passed by two separate interrogation rooms with the large, glass walls and huge mirrors against the back walls. Her body trembled as the anticipation of what awaited her intensified with each step.
She finally couldn’t take the silence from the detective anymore and opened her mouth to ask him to please tell her what was going on when they turned one last corner and the detective opened the door into a small, crammed office.
There, on a fold-up metal chair sitting opposite the desk and dangling his short legs was Jace.
“Jace! Oh my god!” Trish ran to him and threw her arms around the boy before she realized what she was doing. Despite having never actually met her, Jace didn’t seem to mind the woman hugging him but gripped tight to her and didn’t want to let go when she turned at the detective’s voice.
“Ah, so his name is Jace. Well, that’s more than we got out of him,” Detective Smith said, dropping the clipboard he’d been holding onto the desk and taking a seat behind it. He motioned for Trish’s father to take one of the other metal chairs from against the wall.
“Yes, his name is Jace,” Trish repeated. “But, why do you have him here?”
The detective shrugged. “He said he came to find you.”
“Me?” Trish was flabbergasted and turned back to the boy. She stopped squatting and knelt on her knee in front of him. “Jace, how do you know who I am?”
“My daddy’s showed me lots of pictures of you. He talks about you all the time.” The ten-year-old’s voice was squeaky and quiet.
“Does your daddy know you’re here?” she asked bac
k in a voice just as soft.
He shook his head.
“Okay, how about your mom?”
Again, the boy shook his head.
She nodded. Heaven only knew what hell Garrett and Josie would be going through with their son missing. She looked over at the detective. “I know his parents.”
“Good,” Detective Smith sighed and leaned back in his chair, crossing his arms over his chest. “This little boy’s been quite the anomaly since he showed up here an hour ago. Wouldn’t tell us his name or who his parents were. Just kept saying he needed to find Trish Greene. He came to find Trish Greene.”
“How did he get here?” she asked.
The detective shrugged. “Well, you can ask him that yourself, if you like. For right now, if you could help me get in touch with his parents, I’d like to give them a call. I’m sure they’re wondering where their little boy is.”
“Of course,” Trish replied. She fished through her purse with shaking hands to find her cell phone. She scrolled until she landed on Garrett’s number and showed the detective who wrote it down on a little notepad.
“This is the father? Alright, I’m going to give him a call. Can I leave you to watch this little guy while I do so? Going to have to write up some reports and have them ready for when his parents get here.”
Trish nodded. Her father stood when the detective got up and shook his hand again before they were left alone in the office with Jace.
Trish shared a look with her father. Of all the scenarios which had played out in her head since she’d gotten the call, this was the last one she’d ever thought she’d be walking into.
“Jace,” she turned back to the boy and gave him a big, friendly smile, “are you alright? You’re not hurt at all, are you?”
He shook his head again. Trish worried he’d stop giving her answers, too.
However, as she kept slowly and gently prodding into his actions over the past few hours, Jace continued to open up to her more and more. Soon, he was sitting on her lap in the chair as he recounted all the interesting people he’d seen on the bus on his journey to find her.
Trish repeatedly looked up at her father and shook her head, amazed this innocent boy had found the means and courage to board a bus from his town to hers in order to get to her and had come out of it unscathed and safe.
She knew there was a lesson to be imparted about the dangers of traveling alone amongst strangers and to leave without permission from his parents, but she didn’t feel it was her place to say it to the boy. Her job in that moment, she knew, was to simply keep him happily unaware of how much danger he’d just put himself into and how much fear he’d likely wrecked upon his parents.
They’d been sitting in Detective Smith’s office for close to an hour when the door burst open.
“Jace!” Garrett cried out. There was a mixture of fright and relief on his face as he spotted the boy. Jace instantly shot up and ran to him.
Trish watched them embrace. She could see the tell-tale redness around Garrett’s eyes which meant he’d been crying. Her eyes began to mist at the sight of it. She couldn’t begin to understand the level of grief which must accompany realizing your child is missing. But, her own heart had been stricken sharply when she’d first seen Jace in that office.
Tears fully formed in her eyes as she realized how much Jace’s safety meant to her, even now.
“Well, I’m going to head out and let your mother know everything’s okay,” Trish’s father piped up from the other side of the office.
Garrett, noticing her father there for the first time, stood up with Jace in his arms and threw an arm around the other man. “Thank you for taking care of him.”
Her father returned the embrace and then gave him a nod. He smiled at Jace and gave him a little wave which the boy readily returned with a big grin. He left and closed the door behind him.
Alone with Jace and Garrett in the office, Trish was at a loss for words.
She didn’t try to hide her obvious emotion as Garrett took the few small steps over to where she’d stood up.
“Thank you so much,” he whispered.
“I found Trish!” Jace squeaked and clapped his hands together.
“Yes, you did, buddy!” Garrett replied. “But, why did you come to find her in the first place? You know, you had me worried sick.”
“I’m sorry, daddy. But, you were so sad. You kept saying you wanted her back.”
This tore at Trish more than she could believe. Jace had come to find her to bring her back to his father.
In that moment, all the anger she’d felt towards Garrett was instantly gone. He hadn’t been lying when he’d told her he loved her. He’d loved her enough to tell his son about her, to plan to introduce her to his son and explain why he’d kept Jace’s parentage a secret. He’d shown Jace pictures of her. And, he’d been so heartbroken, he’d told his son how badly he wanted her back.
Looking at the pair in front of her, Trish could see the likeness in their brown eyes, how Jace’s hair had the same unruly nature, how his face would grow to be the same shape as Garrett’s one day.
And, she realized, she wanted to be there when that day came.
“Trish,” Garrett started with watery eyes, “I—”
She stopped him by softly placing her fingertips to his lips. She shook her head. “You don’t need to apologize for having a child. And, you don’t need to apologize for not telling me about him sooner. Just tell me you love me.”
“Tell her, daddy!” Jace chimed in.
Trish and Garrett both broke out laughing at Jace’s efforts to play matchmaker.
Garrett leaned in slowly until their lips were a just a breath away. “I love you, Cara Mia.”
“Mon cher,” she whispered back. His lips covered hers with a passionate kiss. It spoke everything which didn’t need to be said for how desperately he’d wanted her back. She returned the kiss with the culmination of all the passion they’d built back up between them since their fateful reunion that day on the highway.
“I love you,” she whispered sweetly when they pulled away.
“I found Trish!” Jace cheered again.
“You did,” Garrett repeated. “One day when you’re older, I’m going to explain to you how much I owe you for this one, champ. But, for right now, I think we’d better call your mother and you can let her know that you’re okay. How about that?”
“Yeah!” Jace squealed.
“And,” Garrett continued, reaching his free arm out and encircling Trish’s waist to pull her in tight to his chest, “then I think we owe this lady right here for taking such good care of you. What do you think, Jace? What would be a good reward for doing something so sweet like that?”
Trish bit her lower lip as their eyes locked on each other. She saw in his the same fire which he’d always held for her. But, there was something more now.
She saw their future.
“How about a life together?” Garrett asked in a low, husky voice. “How does that sound?”
She kissed him again and smiled wide when Jace clapped for it. “I’d say that sounds like a pretty good start.”
Acknowledgements
I sincerely wish to thank every one of the many creative and inspiring indie authors I’ve followed in the past year in the wonderful writing community on Instagram. Truly, your works and your stories have motivated me to write this book. I’m newly encourage every single day by all you do.
From the bottom of my heart, thank you!
About the Author
For Alicia LaFontaine, writing and reading have always been her most passionate pursuits. She also enjoys knitting and crocheting and supports the hard work of others who express their creativity through hand crafts. To take a mess of materials and thoughts and turn it all into something new, something whole, something which didn’t exist before, she believes, is often the most satisfying work.
Alicia is currently working on several new books, including the next books in The B
rookstone Series. Her In The Elements series will continue the ever-unexpected adventures of Gabriella Meester and Danny Rodriguez with several more novels, all as yet untitled.
She lives in Wisconsin with her husband, Jordan, and their four cats, Buster, Patrick, Cookie, and Scotch.
Follow Alicia and stay up to date on new releases on Amazon here:
www.amazon.com/Alicia-LaFontaine/e/B010G3N3Z4
You can also follow her on Instagram for more insights into her writing career and passion projects as well as glamour shots of the kitties who’ve laid claim to her writing desk and her heart.
https://www.instagram.com/alicialafontaine/
@alicialafontaine
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