Page 97 of Chasing Dreams
The door opened and a man in a gray suit carrying a briefcase walked past. Two women with canvas bags followed. An older woman appeared and a man and woman greeted her.
Several more men filed past. A young girl was met by staff who helped her with her luggage.
Where were they?
The crowd around them had thinned. A few more passengers came through the doorway.
Austin’s hand touched her waist.
Shaine’s heart pounded. They had the right flight, didn’t they? She almost turned to ask Ken, when a dark-haired woman stepped through the doorway. In her arms she held a little boy with blond hair.
Eagerness surged in Shaine’s chest. Is it him? Is it him? Is it him?
The security guards flanked the woman as she approached. She looked toward where Shaine waited and Ken moved forward, flashing his badge. She met him, took papers from a slim case and handed them over.
The boy was looking over her shoulder and Shaine couldn’t see his face. He wore tiny jeans, a red flannel shirt and a miniature pair of suede boots.
Ken said something to the woman and she replied.
The child turned around, bringing a finger to his mouth, and wide blue eyes assessed Ken, then flickered to Austin and finally Shaine.
It was him.
Oh, dear God in heaven, it was Jack! Uncontainable joy bubbled up inside and Shaine covered her mouth with her fingertips to keep from blubbering. Jack! This was Jack.
Ken and the female agent had finished their confirmations, and Ken stood back expectantly.
Legs trembling, Shaine stepped forward, afraid to frighten her nephew any more than he’d already been frightened. She’d imagined this moment a hundred times since the day before, and still she didn’t know what to do or how to act.
“Jack?” she said softly.
His enormous eyes looked from her to the woman holding him and back. The finger remained securely between his bow-shaped lips.
“He doesn’t remember me,” she said, and glanced at the woman for the first time.
She wore a pitying look for both of them. “He’s a good boy,” she said, patting him on the arm. “He took a nap on the big airplane. Didn’t you?”
He nodded somberly.
“This is the lady I told you about. This is your Aunt Shaine.” She shifted and unhooked a bag from her shoulder. “His diapers are in here.”
Shaine reached for the bag, but Austin took it.
“Hi, Jack,” Shaine said tentatively. “Are you ready to come with me?”
Those enormous blue eyes blinked.
He didn’t know her.
Over the PA system, the echoing voice of a woman announced a departure, and he glanced around wonderingly.
Shaine opened the small bag she’d brought and pulled out the worn terry-cloth toy. “Look, Jack. Look what I brought. Do you remember this?”
His eyes locked on the bear. The finger popped out of his mouth. “Bear!”
Jubilant relief flooded Shaine. “That’s right. Bear. I’ve been keeping him for you until you got home.”
He reached out.
