Love and Sorrow (Small Town Secrets Book 5), стр. 72
When I sat down, I shoved them away and took a sip of coffee, appreciating the warmth as it glided over my throat. Justin sat down and handed me a couple of white tablets again. “For your fever.” As I took them in my hand, he asked, “Not smoking?”
“No way, I can’t. I can barely breathe as it is.”
“No shit. When’s the last time you had one?”
“Yesterday morning maybe? I can’t remember for sure.”
Raising his eyebrows, he gave me half a smile. “Do you want anything to eat? Toast? Eggs?”
“Hell, no. Nothing sounds good.”
“Want something to drink besides coffee?”
“No. It actually feels good.”
After I finished the cup, I walked to the bedroom—a monumental task at this point—and then pulled on a sweater and jeans. Once I had my sneakers on, I went to the bathroom to wash my face, brush my teeth, and pull my hair back into a ponytail, about the only thing I had any energy for. Several times, I had to stop for another coughing jag.
Following all that, I was actually looking forward to going to the clinic.
After being poked and prodded and getting a chest x-ray, they determined I had pneumonia and the cure was an antibiotic. And sleep. Which was mostly what I did until Wednesday afternoon when I got a call from Amy with Child Protection.
“You’re not going to like this, but I promised to be upfront with you.”
“I appreciate that.”
“The police said Bernard Buckley has apparently skipped town. He resigned from his job at the end of the school year last spring. He’d been living with his mother, and she said he moved in June. She swore she doesn’t know his whereabouts.”
Bullshit. “So what now?”
“Well, there is a warrant out for his arrest. The police have his picture, information on his vehicle, all that stuff. So now it’s just a matter of time.”
My heart sank, though. If he knew the authorities were looking for him—and he had to know by this point—would he ever be found? Not wanting to take my frustration out on the woman trying to help, I closed my eyes, pinching the top of my nose between my thumb and index finger. “So what do I…we…my family do in the meantime?”
“Keep Sarah in counseling. Be supportive. Keep up with the healing process. Even if they find him, even if he’s arrested and goes to trial, you’ll need to be doing all those things.”
While that was true, I wondered just how much healing could happen when there was no justice in sight. Unfortunately, I had no energy to press the issue at the moment. “Well, thanks.”
I refrained from adding I guess.
“I wish I could do more. We have parent, children, and family support groups, so let me know if you want to take advantage of them.”
Although I thanked her again, I found I couldn’t hang up quickly enough, because once again I was at a dead end. How the fuck could I help my daughter when her predator was on the loose?
And what the fuck should I do right now? What could I do?
Chapter Twenty-six
Later that afternoon, after I’d picked up the kids from school, Devon let Justin in the house.
“I think I need a key.”
Sarah jumped up and smiled, grabbing her backpack from the floor by a chair. Reaching into a pocket on the front, she grabbed a key ring with one gold key on it and handed it to Justin. “Here. Take mine.”
He tousled her hair. “I’ll make a copy and get it back to you, Princess.” After shoving the key in his pocket, he walked over to the couch where I lay, feeling loads better but still drained. “You gonna be stubborn and go into work tonight?”
“Yes. It’s my job. And I’m feeling better.”
“Bullshit.”
“I am. Feel my head.”
The fever was gone, so he couldn’t argue with that. After he touched my forehead, he said, “I’m still not convinced you should go into work, though.”
“Justin, I have to. They can’t cover all my shifts just because I’m a little sick.”
“You’re not a little sick, Randi. Pneumonia’s not just a little bug. It’s serious.”
“I feel better.” Justin clenched his jaw but didn’t say anything else. Then I said, “Kids, gather up your homework. Time to head to Noreen’s.”
“Wait,” Justin said. “If I’m here tonight, they can stay here, too.” He paused for just a second, a shadow crossing his eyes. “Unless you’ve changed your mind.”
Why the hell would I have changed my mind? Was he that oblivious to how I felt about him? “No, it’s not that. I just don’t want to cramp your style. I know you’re not used to having kids around all the time.”
“Randi, if we’re gonna live together, it’s all of us. Together. Whaddya say, kids?”
Both Devon and Sarah shouted their assent. “Fine.” I wouldn’t be upset if they spent less time with Noreen—but I didn’t expect Justin to become a father figure overnight. To the kids, I said, “Just make sure you do your homework, okay?”
“And we’ll order pizza. How’s that sound?”
“Don’t overeat, guys.” Pizza was better than the greasy food Mike liked to feed Devon, but I didn’t want it to become a habit.
“We won’t,” Devon said, grinning from ear to ear.
Sitting next to me on the couch, Justin lowered his head to look me squarely in the eyes. “Be careful, okay? I don’t want to get a call from you later that you can’t come home because you collapsed at work.”
“I promise. I’ll sit down as much as I can.”
“And if it’s not too much trouble, why don’t you call every hour or so, just so we know you’re okay?”
Even though work was exhausting, probably more than I should have done, I found myself feeling buoyed by the notion that Justin and my kids genuinely liked each other. I got home later than usual, simply because it took me longer than usual to get my closing duties done.
When I came