Page 101 of Hand Picked
“Luke needs you,” Em had said when she’d called, worry and anger bleeding into her voice. “Principal Oliver sent him to the splash booth, and now he can’t find Aiden. Amanda might have been involved. Luke looks ready to rip someone’s head off, starting with Principal Oliver. And Webb? He said to tell you he’s sorry.”
Sorry? Fuck that.
I’d started running across the town common before I’d hung up the phone.
I knew the moment Luke saw me coming, because he visibly braced, like he was ready for me to scream at him—or maybe to go back to disliking him and cut him out of my life again.
And fuck that, too.
Gage watched me warily as I stalked closer. “Webb,” he said cautiously, holding out a restraining hand like he might try to hold me back. “Dude, maybe chill —”
But I couldn’t chill. I didn’t pause or hesitate, because this whole fucking situation was unacceptable, and I wouldn’t tolerate it for another second.
I grabbed Luke around the back of the neck, and he let out a little grunt of surprise.
Then I pulled him in for a single hard kiss that left him gasping.
“We’re going to find him,” I said decisively. “It’s going to be okay.”
Luke’s stiff posture melted like candle wax, and he shuddered against me, burying his face against my sweatshirt. “But you don’t understand—”
I cut him off. “I do. I get it. I— First things first. Baby, you’ve gotta be freezing.” His shirt was so sodden, water was seeping into my sweatshirt as I held him. “Here, come on.” I pulled him out of the crowded walkway and into the Pick-a-Book tent, shooting Principal Oliver the most scathing look I could fathom. And without preamble, I stripped off Luke’s T-shirt, tossed it to the ground with aplop, and removed my sweatshirt so I could pull it over his head.
My shirt was still warm from my body, and Luke shivered as he burrowed into it.
“I lost him,” he said bleakly. “You left him with me and I got distracted and Ilosthim. God.”
“It’s not your fault.”
I wasn’t sure whether he even heard me.
“You knew,” he said softly, pulling away from me. “You knew something like this would happen, didn’t you? That’s why you didn’t trust Amanda. And you were right—”
“No, Luke. Listen to me. Ididn’ttrust Amanda. But you were right to call me on it.Youwere right. I didn’t get a chance to tell you this yesterday, but I talked to my attorney. Amanda’s been holding down a job. She’s been showing up, despite her bad luck. Which is why I’m not freaking out. Believe me, if she took Aiden away from the fair without telling anyone, I’m going to bepissed. But I’m going to be pissed mostly because she worried us all and made you fucking cry. She won’t let any harm come to him. I know that now.”
He took a deep, quavering breath. “How are you so calm? I thought—”
“That I’d be losing my mind? I’ll save that for when he’s back safe and sound.” I wrapped my hand around the back of his neck again. Touching him grounded me and kept me focused. “We’re going to find him. Right now.”
Luke nodded, like he’d only needed that reassurance in order to regain his natural optimism. He amazed me. “Okay. What do we do?”
“I’m going to call Amanda, first off.” I pulled out my phone to do just that. “And you’re gonna figure out a way to get everyone’s attention.” I waved my hand in a circle to indicate the booths and all the areas beyond. “The whole crowd.”
“But what if he’s with Amanda and they already left? What if they’re halfway to the highway? Should we call the police?”
“We’ll let Sheriff Carver know, but they can’t have left. The parking lot’s been shut for over an hour because someone left the door to the pig enclosure open, and two of the pigs escaped.” I rolled my eyes. “One of them was Donna McKeown’s sow Peppa, and she started farrowing.”
“Farrowing?”
“Giving birth,” I explained. “Right there in the parking lot.”
Luke sucked in a breath. “Donna did?”
“No, honey. The pig.”
“Oh.” His jaw dropped, and he gaped at me for a long moment before he recovered. “I have so many questions.”
“Later. Right now, we have a mission. Amanda’s not answering, but that doesn’t mean anything. They’re either still here, or someone’s seen them walk off. We need to get everyone’s attention and find out.”
