Page 39 of Honey Bee Library
“Get some sleep and don’t wake up your mom,” I said as I tapped my finger to my lips before I pointed to Willow. I was trying not to stare at her—she looked like an angel while she slept. Her eyes were closed and her dark lashes spilled across her cheekbones. Her lips were full, and I ached to discover just how soft they actually were.
I ripped my gaze from her and glanced back at Jasper. He looked a little less worried as he snuggled deeper into the blankets. I tousled his hair once more, said goodnight, and then left the room, pulling the door shut behind me.
With Jasper settled in for the night, I headed to my room to throw some things together. I didn’t need much, just my essentials. Things that I’d packed to take with me here and that I didn’t have a second supply of at my house. With my overnight bag clutched in my hand, I headed to the kitchen for a glass of water. While I was standing there, I realized that I couldn’t just leave without letting Willow know where I was going.
I found a piece of junk mail and turned the envelope over to jot a quick note down. When I was finished, I debated whether I should affix it to the fridge or just leave it on the counter. I decided on the counter, under the mug cabinet, was best. That way I was certain that she would at least see it when she went to make herself a cup of coffee in the morning.
With that settled, I went to the trinket dish I always put my keys and wallet in only to find that my keys weren’t there. Confused, I looked around. Had I set them down somewhere? I rubbed the back of my neck as I scoured the kitchen counters and drawers.
When I came up empty-handed, I made my way to my room to see if I’d brought them in there.
Nothing.
The only other place to look was my car, which was strange, I always kept my keys on me and never took them out of my pocket. But my keys weren’t in the house, so that’s where they had to be.
With my duffle bag in hand, I headed out to the garage. The doors were unlocked, so my keys had to be in there somewhere. I climbed into the driver’s seat and started the engine. I’d work on finding my keys once I was back in Miami, after I made sure Gran was okay.
I waited for the garage door to open before I pulled out. It was a ten-hour drive from Harmony Island to Miami. I was in for a long night.
I’d just stopped for gas and to use the bathroom. I’d been on the road five hours, and I was in desperate need of an energy drink. I was standing in front of the coolers at the gas station when my phone rang. I pulled my phone from my back pocket to see that it was Willow. My heart instantly jumped and started galloping around in my chest.
I was exhausted, but my heart hadn’t gotten the memo.
I closed my eyes for a moment while I took in a deep breath, preparing myself to hear her voice. “Willow?” I asked once I finally swiped the phone on.
“Where’s my son?”
I blinked once. Twice. Three times. “Jasper?” I asked, still confused as to why she was calling me.
“Of course, Jasper. What other son do I have?” Her voice was curt, and I could tell that she was panicking.
The urge to help her rushed through me so I reached into the cooler and grabbed out the first energy drink I could see before I let the door swing shut behind me. I headed to the counter, where a man in a stained white tank top with his long, greying hair pulled back into a low ponytail was watching me.
I set the can down before I switched my phone to my other hand so I could pull out my wallet.
“Listen, I tucked him into bed next to you before I left. That was the last time I saw him.” After tapping my card, I stuck it back into my wallet, shook my head no when the attendant asked if I wanted a receipt, and then grabbed the drink and headed out of the gas station.
Willow sounded like she was moving things around, so I waited for her to respond. “He’s not here. I’ve checked everywhere.” The panic in her voice was rising, and it was taking everything inside of me not to jump into my car and hightail it back to Harmony.
“Did you check the room with the toys?” I asked as I grabbed the driver’s door handle.
“Yes, I did.”
I dropped onto the driver’s seat before shutting the door. I set the drink down in the cup holder and then settled back against the seat. “Did you check my room?”
Pause.
“Um, no.”
“You should check there.” I tried to picture how I’d left my room. From what I could remember, it was decently clean, and even if it wasn’t, I doubted she would notice or care.
I heard Willow open a door that I could only assume was mine. Just as I moved to crack the tab on my energy drink, I heard a rustling noise coming from my back seat. Confused, I glanced back, and my soul almost left my body when I saw a little foot sticking out from underneath a blanket.
“Willow?” I asked as I held onto my phone and shifted in my seat to free my arm.
I didn’t wait for her to answer as I slowly reached back and grabbed ahold of the blanket. I slowly pulled it away to reveal Jasper curled up on the seat. He whimpered and felt around for his blanket. When he found it, he pulled it to him before he flipped to his other side so his back was now to me.
I collapsed back against my seat. This did not look good. Willow was going to think that I kidnapped her son. Suddenly, the fiasco with my keys now made sense. Jasper must have taken them when I was in my bedroom getting ready. That’s why they were missing from the trinket dish but I could still open and start my car.
