Total pages in book: 143
Estimated words: 132834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 664(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 132834 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 664(@200wpm)___ 531(@250wpm)___ 443(@300wpm)
West hung up. I dropped my phone into my lap, looked at Finn, and burst into tears. “They found him,” he said, and I nodded into his neck, my shoulders heaving with sobs.
“He’s okay,” Finn said, and I heard the relief, understanding how tightly he’d locked his own emotions down. We sat there, arms wound around each other. Hanging on. Letting everything we’d held back wash through us.
Nicky was okay.
The phone rang as we were getting in the car. I answered and put it on speakerphone. “Nicky?” I asked, my heart yearning for the sound of his voice.
“Mom? Mom?”
“It’s me. Finn is here too. Are you okay?”
“I’m okay. The lady said she was my grandma, and she showed me a picture of me with you and her when I was a baby, and she said she was supposed to pick me up because there was a problem at the Manor.”
His voice got quiet as he said, “I know I’m not supposed to go with strangers, but she had the picture, and she said she was my dad’s mom, so I thought it was okay.”
My heart squeezed. My poor little boy. He was only six. “I know, honey. I should have told you to watch out for her, but I never thought she’d come to school. She didn’t hurt you?”
“She was just weird. Talking too fast, and then she wasn’t taking me home and said she was taking me to surprise my grandfather. I asked her to take me home, but she wouldn’t, so I told her I was going to pee in my pants and made her take me to the gas station. The policeman said we’d be home soon.” A yawn sounded through the phone. All the excitement and sugar were hitting my little guy. The hint of normalcy relaxed me as nothing else could.
Before I could say anything else, a man’s voice spoke up. “Ms. Miles? Officer Jim Tucker here. It’s good luck West had me watching the roads this far east. Didn’t take me too long to get to your boy. I think Nicky here is going to take a nap, and we’ll be in Sawyers Bend in about two hours. Chief Garfield asked me to bring him straight to the Manor.”
“Thank you so much,” I said, sheer relief making my head swim.
“Mr. Finn?” Nicky’s voice piped up.
“Yeah, Nicky?” Finn said, his voice rough with emotion.
“Can you make me some cocoa when we get back?”
“Sure thing, Nicky. I’ll have it waiting for you.”
“K. The policeman had his lights on before. It was cool. But he won’t put them back on.”
Nicky’s voice faded.
“We’ll see you soon,” Officer Tucker said. “Call this number if you need me in the meantime.”
“Thank you,” Finn said. “Drive safe.”
“Always do,” he said, a smile in his voice.
The phone clicked off, and I collapsed back into my seat. Nicky was coming home, and he wanted cocoa.
“I’m not sure he needs more sugar after everything he had at the gas station,” Finn said, relief lightening his words, “But I’m making him cocoa anyway.”
I reached out for his hand. “We could all use some cocoa,” I agreed.
I thought about that on the ride back to the Manor. Finn, in the kitchen at the cottage, making us cocoa before we went to bed. My ring caught the faint light from the dashboard, and I smiled. Some things weren’t that complicated after all. We were going home, and Nicky would join us soon, safe and sound.
Earlier in the day, I’d been going in circles, too afraid to grab for what I wanted. And now . . . I looked at Finn’s profile as he drove, his eyes on the road, his fingers still curled around mine.
I wasn’t afraid of loving Finn. Not anymore.
Chapter Forty-Six
SAVANNAH
Nicky’s eyes were drooping, his cocoa only half drunk.
“About time for bed, little man?” I asked, rubbing his back.
He nodded. “I didn’t finish my cocoa,” he said mournfully, looking into his mug.
“We can have cocoa again tomorrow,” Finn said. “Your mom’s right. It’s been a long day.”
Nicky nodded in resignation. “Will you put me to bed too, Mr. Finn?”
“Sure,” Finn said, his voice thick with what I guessed was an overload of emotion. He glanced at me as if making sure it was okay. All I could do was smile.
Of course, it was okay. Finn helping me put Nicky to sleep was about the best end to this hellish day that I could imagine. It was early compared to my usual bedtime, but I was exhausted. Despite his nap in the police car, I could tell Nicky was too. We all were.
West had called while Finn was whisking a melting chocolate bar into hot milk. They’d caught Lydia speeding down a country road that paralleled the highway back to Richmond. She was now in custody, facing charges of kidnapping.