Page 101 of Chasing Dreams
If she lived to be a hundred she’d want him.
An hour later, she lay down beside Jack on the narrow bed, touched his baby-soft face and breathed in his childlike scent.
She would not cry. She would not subject Jack to her internal trauma. He’d been through too much. He needed a secure home and a stable caregiver. He needed her.
And she intended to be strong. For him.
Chapter 21
“Mama?” Jack repeated, pointing to the photograph of Maggie that Shaine held.
“That’s right, sweetie. Do you remember her?”
He nodded his head, but she’d discovered Jack nodded yes to everything, whether he understood what she meant or not. She smiled and kissed his forehead.
“I play trucks,” he said, turning back to his favorite toys, a set of die-cast monster trucks that Austin had sent him.
“Okay, you play trucks. I’ll play with you as soon as I put the macaroni and cheese in the oven.” She had a bowl of strawberries and grapes she’d sliced and chilled.
She’d also discovered his favorites foods were hot dogs and macaroni and cheese, and after a month of boxed dinners, she’d been experimenting with casserole dishes he would like.
The phone rang, and her heart skipped a beat the way it always did. She’d spoken with Austin several times as each of the kidnapping cases were concluded. He’d given her guidance just as he always had, coaxing her to see more on her own than she would have been able to without him.
The man who’d pushed Maggie and her car into the river had been found and charged. Of course, Shaine had no part in the upcoming trial, but the evidence all pointed in his direction. He already had so many counts of kidnapping against him, the murder conviction would be the icing on the cake.
Though emotion was evident in the long pauses, she and Austin never spoke of their feelings for one another, or their separation, and that exclusion left her aching.
She grabbed it on the third ring. “Hello?”
“Shaine, this is Sam.”
Instantly she recognized Samantha Cutter’s voice. “Hey, how are you? I haven’t talked to you for at least, gee, two days.”
The girl giggled. “I had to tell you my good news. I got accepted at the university.”
“Seriously? Congratulations.”
“Thanks. My mom is going to help me with Amy.”
“I knew she’d come around.”
“Shaine, he paid for an entire year’s tuition, can you believe it?”
“He who?”
“Mr. Allen. I got a call from the credit office. I had a million apps in for student loans, and anyway, they said I got a grant. When I pushed, the guy confessed it was an anonymous gift in my name. I know it was Austin.”
Shaine knew it, too.
“He’s already done so much. Every week something is delivered for Amy. She has the biggest rocking horse you’ve ever seen, a collection of Disney videos and more dolls and ponies than a little girl could play with in a lifetime.”
“He’s never had anyone to shower with gifts, Sam. He’s enjoying doing it as much as Amy is enjoying getting them. And I know what you mean. I can’t walk in this apartment without tripping over cars and trucks.” She glanced around the crowded space, seeing Austin’s gifts everywhere.
Just then the doorbell rang.
“I’ll have to let you go, Sam. I’ll talk to you soon. Congratulations on your acceptance. I know you can do this. Bye.”
A familiar brown-uniformed deliveryman stood outside her door, an enormous box on the ground beside him, and a clipboard in his hand. “Hey, Miss Richards. Another delivery for Jack.”
