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Chapter 13
Kristin sat on the porch swing, a blanket tucked around her and Luke’s arm holding her close.
They’d been sitting there for over an hour. She was freezing. Part of her wanted to call the police and report Becky missing, and part of her wanted to just wait and see if she came back.
“Maybe we should wait until daylight. If she’s not back by then, we need to call the cops.” Luke’s voice cut into her thoughts.
“I was just thinking the same thing. If we call the police, we’re going to open up a huge can of worms that we might not be able to get the lid back on.”
“I was thinking the same thing. We might lose the girls.”
“I mean, the adoption is final and everything, but...it scares me.”
“Me too. Plus, I’ve always heard that you can’t file a missing person report for twenty-four hours. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but I think there’s some wisdom in just waiting and seeing.”
“Me too. It’s just... I feel like we need to do something.” They fell silent again, although Kristin was tempted to ask him what time it was.
The last time she’d asked, it had been three fifty.
Snow fell around them, and normally she would enjoy the soft fall of the snowflakes, the hush of falling snow and a town that slept under a winter blanket of white stuff.
She loved the snow. Although she was always ready for spring and summer, snow was just as much a part of her life as summer waves and reading by the beach.
More time ticked by, and Kristin found herself nodding off until a sound by the gate made her pick her head up.
Luke’s arm tightened around her in warning, and she didn’t say anything. Straining to see through the darkness and the falling snow, she finally saw a small figure hurrying up the sidewalk.
Becky was on the porch before Luke spoke, causing her to startle and jerk toward them.
“Becky. I thought you weren’t doing this anymore.”
“Really? This is the first time that I’ve been out since you caught me. I can’t believe you’re sitting here waiting on me. Did you hear me leave?”
“Where did you go?” Luke asked, ignoring her questions.
Kristin wanted to rush to her, wrap her arms around her, and hold her with relief that she was safe.
Luke didn’t tell her she couldn’t, and she couldn’t see any reason why it would be a bad thing to let Becky know that she was loved and missed.
Getting up, Kristin hurried over. “I was so worried. I couldn’t sleep. I am the reason we got up. I just felt like there was something wrong, and when we checked your room, you weren’t there. Why didn’t you tell us?”
“Were you going to let me go?”
“Where did you go?” Kristin said, holding her close, squeezing extra tight in relief and gratitude that she was safe and okay.
“I can’t tell you.”
“Then no. We couldn’t let you go. You know that.”
“We want to be able to go to bed and not have to worry about whether our kids are going to be there in the morning or not. I don’t know where you were, but it’s snowing. You could’ve gotten lost. You could’ve died in the cold weather.”
“He walked me home.”
“Who did?”
Becky bit her lip.
