LITMIR.BIZ

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petrified stare of someone who had no options.

      “Alicia?” He opened the car door, reached across and turned the engine off then leaned on the roof. “Hey, you okay?”

      “No.”

      A whisper of desperation. Tears trickling from swollen eyes. She barely resembled the confident woman who’d met him in the driveway.

      “They can’t find her and...”

      “I want to help, but I’m not certain what I can do.”

      He could see her trying to keep control by blowing air through her puffed cheeks. It wasn’t working. Again, out of his element. Should he get her out of the car and take her inside or bring Mabel out here?

      “They— I thought— I have to sell the car, but he just called....” She shook her head. Tears streamed from her red-rimmed eyes. “They’ve arrested him.”

      “Who? Did they find your daughter?”

      “No. It was— Brian just called.”

      “Is Brian buying the car? He’s not here.” He should get Mabel. Maybe she could understand and tell him what this was all about.

      Alicia turned to him, took a deep breath before she made eye contact. “They arrested Brian for Lauren’s kidnapping.”

      * * *

      ALICIA LOOKED AROUND the faded yellow kitchen in the Sloane house. She’d spent lots of summer days with the twins’ mother here. Waiting on fresh lemonade or homemade peanut-butter cookies. More recently, she’d spent time cooking simple meals for J.W. and Lauren while Brian handled ranch stuff.

      Or at least she’d thought he’d been handling ranch stuff.

      Of course he was. Don’t start doubting him. He’s not the kidnapper or a drug dealer like half the town thinks. Shauna’s behind the kidnapping. You just have to prove she’s guilty.

      “Here you go, dear. I have dinner for you both whenever you’re ready.”

      “Thanks, Mabel. I’m not really hungry.” Alicia took a cool wet cloth and placed it over her eyes. She was so tired of thinking. So tired of trying to decide how or where to start.

      “Did you find out anything?” John asked.

      “Well, that silly receptionist or whoever they have answering the phones said they won’t let anyone talk to Brian until after he’s been formally charged.” Mabel continued to move around the kitchen as she spoke. “I wanted to send Dave Krueger over for representation, but they told her Brian didn’t want a lawyer and then mentioned your brother was being cheap and stubborn.”

      “I can’t believe Brian refused a lawyer or that the situation has spun out of control so rapidly.” Cheap and stubborn. She totally understood those two words. She heard Johnny grunt from the doorway. “Did they arrest him based on an anonymous tip?”

      “That’s why they initially pulled him over. Then they found Lauren’s toys behind the seat,” Mabel said, patting her shoulder once and moving away.

      Alicia used her palms to keep the cloth in place. Her eyes were swollen and burning from the constant crying. “We told her not to play in the truck. This is all my fault he’s in jail.”

      “No, dear, it’s not,” Mabel said. “And tomorrow morning he’ll be charged or free. I’ll make certain he has a good lawyer whether he wants one or not.”

      “I’m so glad you’re here for J.W.,” she told Mabel, removing the cool cloth and feeling calmer just sitting at the old dining table. Her insides still shook, but she could talk rationally again. The anxiety wouldn’t leave until Lauren was back safe and sound.

      “I am, too.” John’s deep voice rumbled softly through the room. “Thanks for calling the police station. I moved Dad back to bed. I’d like to see Brian ASAP. Can you stay? I hate to ask, but I’ll probably need to be gone tomorrow as well if he’s not released.”

      “Not a problem.” Mabel folded the kitchen towel and laid it on the dish drain. “Let me run home and feed the dog. I believe the jail opens at eight in the morning. I’m an early riser but I don’t think you’d want me at five, so I’ll come at seven-thirty. Be right back.”

      Alicia replaced the washcloth against her face while Mabel gently shut the door and left. Hot air from outside drifted across the room. She didn’t know how to look at this man. Or how to talk to him. Or how to apologize or explain her behavior. So much had happened since he’d left home, and he seemed to be clueless.

      Where did she begin?

      By looking at him.

      She wiped her face one last time and set the cloth aside. He’d put a shirt on. His hair was still wet, but she’d heard the shower while Mabel had washed dishes.

      “You doing okay?” John asked.

      She watched by peeking through her fingers as he turned one of the old metal dining chairs away from the table, sat and leaned across the back.

      “Brian sits exactly like that. But I’d never think you were him.”

      John’s bland expression subtly switched to annoyance as he tapped the table. Easily spotted on a man who didn’t really show much emotion.

      “You and Brian a thing now?”

      “No. It’s not anything like that.”

      “Why don’t you explain just how it is? If you’re up to it.” John didn’t move. He was tall enough that when he sat in a chair he still seemed to tower over her. “You should probably start with why the police booked him for your daughter’s kidnapping and why the first person he told was you.”

      “Shauna’s responsible for the anonymous tip. I’m certain she’s trying to frame Brian and me. Sheriff Coleman thinks so, too, even though he can’t say that to anyone else.”

      “Did he say it to you?” John remained steady, his arms crossed over the top of the chair. His eyes constantly moved between her and his dad.

      “No. But he didn’t disagree when I said it. You need to take care of Brian. I just came to see if you wanted to buy the car.”

      “Shauna who? And why do you need money?”

      “Shauna Weber was Dwayne’s stepmother and the reason my accounts are frozen.”

      “Why would his stepmother freeze your assets?”

      “Because she’s a money-hungry bi— Sorry, I can’t talk rationally about her. Look, Johnny, can you buy the car? I need money for a private investigator. It’s the only way I’ll ever find Lauren before Shauna pretends to find her and takes her away from me.”

      “That’s quite an assumption, Alicia.”

      “I’m not assuming anything.” Shoving the chair backward, it hit the kitchen wall. She was losing it. She forced herself to sit and take cleansing breaths before she babbled again. She couldn’t look at him to see what he thought of her outburst and couldn’t imagine why he wasn’t lecturing her, like anyone else she’d tried to confide in. “It’s the only explanation. Shauna has frozen Dwayne’s assets, including Lauren’s trust fund, and I...I just need the cash for the car. If you still want it, that is. Then I can get out of your hair.”

      “You mean the court froze everything,” he corrected.

      “Shauna took me to court. As if she has a right to any of that money. It belongs to my daughter. I hate having to use it, but it was our only support while the will was being contested. Now there’s nothing except a few home-care clients who stuck with me.”

      Would he remember the same friendship they’d had as kids? Be sympathetic enough to give her more than the car’s estimated value? She gathered her courage to make eye contact with him. But his gaze was toward the living

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