Page 29 of The Secrets We Treasure

Tears filled her eyes as she nodded, went into the house, and deposited the heavy bag and her purse at the bottom of the staircase in the foyer. She found Helen and Kevin in the kitchen.

“What’s wrong?” Helen asked when she saw Treasure’s face.

That’s all it took for the dam to break. “My—my mom has had a mini stroke.” A sob choked off her words. She sucked in a ragged breath before continuing, “She’s in the hospital. I need to get to Honeysuckle Island ASAP.”

Helen placed her arms around Treasure’s shoulders and led her over to the kitchen table. She pulled out a chair and helped Treasure sit down. Hot tears spilled down Treasure’s face as she looked up at Helen and Kevin. “Would y’all mind taking Tray to Disneyland by yourselves?” She gulped, her voice cracking. “He’ll be disappointed that I can’t go.”

“It’ll be okay,” Helen allayed. “Tray will be just fine. You need to go and look after your mother.”

“We’ll take good care of Tray while you’re gone,” Kevin piped in.

“Thank you,” Treasure uttered, swiping at her tears with the palms of her hands. She took in a breath. “I’m sorry,” she sniffed.

“No apology necessary,” Kevin interjected. “You have every right to be upset.”

“I need to call the hospital to see if I can talk to her. I left my phone in my purse.” She scooted her chair back with a loud scrape as she hurried into the foyer to retrieve it.

After calling and speaking to her mom, Treasure felt better about the situation. Her mom’s speech sounded normal, but her voice was weak. When Treasure told her mom that she was coming to visit, true to Madeline’s prediction, Barbara insisted that she was fine and there was no need to worry. “I’m glad you’re doing well, but I’m coming anyway,” Treasure asserted.

A little while later, after she’d calmed down, Kevin delivered some good news. He’d followed up with the detective and had new information. “Howard questioned Leo Clark’s ex-girlfriend. According to her, Leo has a habit of disappearing and then resurfacing when he runs out of money. The last time it happened, he took off to Ft. Walton Beach, Florida. Evidently, Leo has family somewhere in the Southeast. Howard is going to Ft. Walton Beach to follow the lead.”

It was starting to look as though Leo Clark’s disappearance had nothing to do with Treasure. She could go to Honeysuckle Island with the assurance that Tray, Helen, and Kevin would be safe.

Now, she just had to break the news to Tray that she wasn’t going to Disneyland.

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