Page 100 of Townshipped
I know.
It’s them.
“So, we’re all aware anyone can claim to be anyone’s relative. And we see all sorts of funny business when we’re dealing with missing persons,” Jesse continues in a very official tone. “But in this case, since the couple is from Boston, and your plates said Massachusetts, we had our reasons to believe they may be on the up-and-up.”
Jesse reaches for his folder.
Aiden places his hand over mine on my knee. I had been absently rubbing my palms up and down my thighs, unaware of the movement until he touched me. Like always, his contact is like a strong sedative, calming every nervous inclination coursing through me.
I look over at Aiden. He gives me a look that’s clearly intended to shore me up, even though I’m pretty sure I can see behind his facade. He’s not liking this one bit. I’m not sure why he’s upset, but I can see he’s barely holding it together—for my sake. Maybe it’s the obvious alpha-to-alpha vibe that always seems to stir up between him and Jesse.
Jesse opens the folder.
“This woman here.” He slides a photo across the dining table, rotating it so it’s facing me right side up. “And this man here.” He sets another photo next to the first one. “Claim to be your parents.”
“They are,” I say without any hesitation.
Tears leak out unbidden. I’m aware of the trembling overtaking my body. Aiden wraps his arm around my shoulders and pulls me in toward himself.
“Well, then,” Jesse says without any obvious emotion. “That makes you Mallory O’Brien. Age twenty-eight. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, to one Priscilla O’Brien and Jack O’Brien. You grew up in Boston. You were engaged to a man named Buck Crowninshield. You left Massachusetts three weeks ago to take a trip alone after calling off your engagement. And you were traveling through Ohio as you traced the route of your intended honeymoon.”
I nod. All of those details come into crystal clear view as Jesse recounts them. Each stop on the trip flashes before my eyes. A waitress named Donna at the Cracker Barrel. Realizing I left my wallet there. Pulling off the main highway to get gas with a plan to turn around. Then my memory gets a little fuzzy until—Aiden.
He’s standing in a doorway, smiling that self-possessed smile at me, explaining I’m not a goat farmer, brushing a lock of hair away from his forehead and causing me to pray he’s not a relative because of the immediate attraction I had for him—this man whose steadying presence is the only force keeping me from crumbling right now.
“I left my wallet in a Cracker Barrel,” I say.
“Okay,” Aiden says to me, rubbing his hand up and down my arm. “We’ll check into that.
“What do we do now?” Aiden asks Jesse in his controlled, take-charge tone of voice.
The deep timbre resonates through my body, making me feel everything I shouldn’t in light of today’s revelation.
“Well, Mr. and Mrs. O’Brien want to come here. Said they have tickets ready to go for tomorrow to fly into Columbus and come to us. We didn’t reveal your exact whereabouts, but they narrowed things down to Bordeaux through our posting, so they’re planning to be here tomorrow.
“If you’ll just fill out this form with the pertinent information, I’ll get out of your hair. I need your phone number and such right here.”
Jesse points to a form he pulls out of the folder and hands me a pen from his shirt pocket.
While I fill out the form, Jesse continues to talk and Aiden’s hand remains still and heavy on my knee, reminding me I’m not alone.
“We told your parents to hold off until we confirmed they were who they say they are,” Jesse says. “And, since they are, I’ll be heading into the office to file my report and make a call as soon as I leave here. Based on what they told me, I’m assuming they’ll be arriving sometime around lunch tomorrow.”
“Tomorrow,” Aiden and I say simultaneously.
I feel the blood drain from my face.
I should be relieved and happy—overjoyed even. Instead I’m numb and exhausted.
They’re my parents.
Someone did look for me after all.
A friend—probably Gabriela—missed me.
That puts a smile on my face. She was the one who realized I was missing. She went looking for me.
But now what?
