Page 86 of Cupcake of the Month
“I said no. I barely got custody of him the first time.” His hand curled into a fist and he pounded it against his knee. “I don’t need to give his caseworker a reason to take him away from me.”
“Josh—”
“Let’s look for him. If we don’t see him, we’ll go.”
The bleakness in his eyes overshadowed her resistance. They drove in silence, each intent on every pedestrian that they passed, scanning the tree-lined sidewalks for Zach. Her phone rang, a harsh trill in the thick silence of the car, but she ignoredit. She had left a message for Larry saying she wouldn’t be at court tomorrow due to an emergency. She didn’t want to talk to him with Josh there.
He took his eyes off his search long enough to glance at her, then focused on the window again.
When they were at the edge of how far Zach could have conceivably traveled on his own in twenty minutes, she pulled into a bowling alley. She searched for the nearest police station on her phone. It was only a couple of miles away. She drove there and pulled into the lot shaded by large elm trees. Josh didn’t move, only stared at the two-story building in front of them.
“Josh,” she prodded.
“I know.” He released a pent-up breath, then reached for the door handle.
Her phone trilled again. She turned off the sound and went to shove it into her purse.
Josh put his hand on her arm, stilling her movement. “Answer it. I don’t want things to get worse for you because of me.”
“I’m not leaving you. This can wait.”
He took the phone from her hand, pressed the green button, and handed it back. “You need to do this.” He placed a soft kiss on her forehead and unfolded his body out of the car.
She infused brightness into her voice. “Hi, Larry!”
“Don’t you ‘Hi Larry’ me,” he snapped back. “You don’t leave vague messages for your lawyer on the eve of your trial. Your message said you weren’t going to be in court tomorrow, Jordan. You’re going to lose your business if you don’t show up. You know, that inconsequential thing we’ve been fighting for all summer. What the hell is wrong with you?”
***
Josh left the police station, trying to ignore the ache that had settled in his stomach. The police officer taking Zach’sinformation had been helpful, notifying her counterparts around the state and in Florida about his possible destination and including a picture of Zach from Josh’s phone. She had called Beau and the bus station to confirm Josh’s story. There wasn’t much else she could do, since Zach wasn’t in any known danger of being harmed.
The sun had started its descent into afternoon. Trees in the lot provided shade as he and Jordan stood outside the building. The agony inside him ripped him apart and he sank onto a metal bench.
“I don’t know what to do now,” he said.
“We keep looking,” Jordan said.
His phone buzzed in his pocket, and he fished it out. Berry’s name flashed on the screen. “Not him.”
“I did what you asked,” the man said when Josh answered the phone. “Didn’t feel right snooping around your apartment, but I found a few letters stuffed way in the back of your container cabinet.”
When had Zach gotten so sneaky? “From his mom and dad.”
“Yep. No return address and postmarked from different locations, though it seems like they were heading south. Seems they told him he should get to the Jax airport.”
Unbridled anger swept through Josh’s blood and clouded his vision. Didn’t Marian and Clint realize they were destroying Zach’s steady family in their eagerness to reunite with their kid? Their kid that they had abandoned without a second thought. He gripped the seat of the bench as his face grew hot. “To where? What airline?”
“Doesn’t say. Maybe he took that letter with him. They do go on an awful lot about how much they miss him and blame you for keeping them separated.”
Of course. Because they were never at fault for anything, and Josh was a convenient scapegoat. “I appreciate it, Berry.”
“The police also came by and did a check of your apartment to confirm Zach wasn’t there. I gave them the letters,” Berry said. “You’ll get him, Josh. Keep your eyes open.”
“I will. Thanks.”
Jordan took his hand. He held it within both of his, letting her warmth sooth the anger that was as much a constant to him as the depth of his feelings for the woman by his side.
“I have to update the police.” Josh went back inside to update the officer that helped him.
