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“Okay…” I arched a brow. “You’re not into romantic thrillers or…”
When she didn’t say anything, I looked back at the image of the actor in the thumbnail—good-looking guy with dark blond hair and striking blue eyes.
Ahhh…“It’s him, isn’t it?”
She nodded.
Robert Valentino.
Now I had a face and a name for the “secret actor” I’d been detesting.
And I also had a name for the unwelcome feeling in my chest: jealousy.
CHAPTER 9
Devyn
“What’s this?” I asked.
Heath shrugged. “I don’t know. I just found it on the floor by the front door.”
I took the manila envelope with my name written across the front and tossed it on the kitchen counter. If someone didn’t want to hand it to me in person, it might not be good news. It could wait until the kids left for school. They didn’t need anything more to worry about. Heath had asked me a dozen times if I’d heard from Vera since CPS showed up, and Hannah had been quieter than usual. Clearly, they were both worried about what might happen when social services returned.
Once I was alone, I tore into the envelope. Inside, a thick packet of papers had been stapled together with a sticky note on top.
I’ll drive.
X
Owen
The first page was a map, with a highlighted yellow route and a ton of black Xs marked. Confused, I fingered through the rest of the pile. My heart squeezed when I realized it was a printout of all the truck-mechanic shops in the greater Boston area. At the bottom of one of the pages, I noticed a timestamp at the corner—2:12 AM. Owen must’ve stayed up all night putting this together. I wasn’t sure if it was his kindness or my frayed nerves, but I got a little choked up.
I swallowed and grabbed my phone, checking for the millionth time to see if Vera had called or texted. Of course, she hadn’t. My cell was still in my hand when it vibrated with an incoming message.
Owen: Morning, sunshine. I slipped something under your door before I left for the office.
I smiled and texted back.
Devyn: I just opened it. That was sweet of you to put together.
Owen: FYI, I looked at the websites of a few of the places. A lot of them aren’t open on Saturdays and Sundays. So we’d have to go tomorrow. I figure if we leave at four AM, we could beat traffic on our way up and be back by early evening so the kids aren’t alone too long after school. And I can ask Colby to stop at the apartment in the morning, to make sure they actuallygoand don’t play hooky.
The man had thought of everything. When he’d first suggested going to Boston to search for Vera, it had sounded outlandish. It was a damn big city. But with the clock ticking and seeing how nicely he’d organized a plan of attack, I was starting to feel like it wasn’t so crazy.
Devyn: Don’t you have to work tomorrow?
He typed back almost immediately.
Owen: Came in early this morning to get shit done, just in case.
I chewed on my fingernail. I’d always hated to take favors from others. I prided myself on my independence, but deep down I suspected that was less about needing to be self-sufficient and more my inability to trust others because my mother always let me down. Yet for some reason, I wasn’t nervous about Owen disappointing me, even though I didn’t know him that well. My heart told me he was reliable. That thought—that I wouldn’t mind relying on someone a little—scared me the most.
Devyn: Can I let you know later?
Owen: Of course. Have a good day.
After that, I forced the thoughts of Vera out of my mind because my schedule was jam-packed. I had three video calls with producers looking for fresh talent, and a script I needed to read in order to put together a pitch for roles. Before I knew it, it was almost time for the kids to come home, and I still needed to run down to the grocery store and grab a few things to make dinner. So I gathered up the papers strewn all over the kitchen table and shut down my laptop.
