Page 57 of Like Home
“Yeah, yeah, right-hook Ryan and his fantastic adventures saving damsels or whatever?—”
I can’t help but snort at “right-hook Ryan.”
Jared rolls his eyes at me and continues, “Anyway, just because I don’t think he had kidnapping in mind yesterday doesn’t mean I’m ready to be a big happy family. I need more time, okay?” Hegoes from sarcastic to vulnerable in a blink and I work to school my expression and give him a nod in affirmation. I want to keep this version of Jared around. It’s better for all of us. Now that I know he’s working on it, I’m going to do what I can to help.
“Okay, back to the topic at hand. If it wasn’t a way to hurt Emma, then what could it be?” I muse.
“I mean, it freaked me the fuck out. Maybe it was a way to scare me?”
“But who would want to do that? It would have to be someone who has some knowledge about our schedules, where Emma does gymnastics, and that you would be late. Who’s that mad at you? Or maybe it’s me.” I think for a second and then say, “Do you think it could be Duncan?”
His expression shutters and he says flatly, “No, I don’t. He wouldn’t do that to me.”
I see that I’m on thin ice, so I change the subject. “Okay, if you’re sure. Do you think it’s someone at work?”
He scratches along his stubbly chin with the palm of his hand. “I mean, most of the guys I work with know at least that much, especially the guys who were on shift yesterday. They knew I was running behind because I talked about how I needed to hurry so I could go get her from her class.”
“Well, does anyone there not like you?” I ask.
“Not that I know of. I’ve been working with most of them for at least a few years and have never had anything like that come up.” He purses his lips and stares out the windshield as if he’ll find the answers painted on the hood of the car.
I check the time on my phone. “Shoot, I have to go, my lunch ended like, five minutes ago. Let's keep thinking about it and talk again later. Maybe ask around at work, see if there’s something you don’t know there.”
He nods and seems lost in thought, “Okay. And you think, too. It could be someone with something against Ryan. I could have caused a way bigger scene at the ice cream shop and called thecops on him. He could have potentially gotten in a lot of trouble. Especially because he would have had no way to prove that his story was true.” My stomach sinks at that, and I nod in return. I hadn’t thought that it could be Ryan they were after. I get out, wave to Jared, and close his truck door.
CHAPTER 37
Summer
Aweek goes by fretfully but uneventfully. Jared can’t find anyone at work with a big enough grudge to mess with his kid and risk losing their job. Ryan has been combing through six months’ worth of clients and has found nothing of interest. It feels like whoever did this vanished in the wind.
The waiting is killing me. I’m on edge any time Emma is out of my sight or if I see someone unfamiliar around town or at work. So basically, I’m on edge all the time.
Today is Sunday, and while I’m exhausted from the lack of sleep, I keep finding small tasks around the house to keep busy, because if I stop and let myself think, I’ll spiral. Emma is playing in the backyard and I keep staring out the window at her while I fold Mt. Laundry on the couch.
The sound of the doorbell makes me jump out of my skin. I toss the shorts I was folding on top of the pile and go to the door. I put my eye to the peephole and breathe a sigh of relief when I see Jared standing there, leaning against the pillar.
I unlock the door and pull it open for him. I got back into the habit of locking my door all the time after the weird phone calls. “Hey,” I say as I lead him into the living room, “I think Emma’s bag is mostly packed, but let me just double-check real quick. She’s in the backyard if you want to go say hi.” I hear him slide the back door open and step out, calling a greeting to her as I round the corner into Emma’s room.
I check through her bag making sure all of the essentials are there. We’ve done our best to make sure she has a base at both houses with all of her necessities, but she still likes to bring certain things back and forth like her stuffed unicorn that she’s had since her first birthday, some favored clothes, and whatever toy she’s currently obsessed with. I also make sure to tuck in a little note to her from me. Even though we talk every day she’s not here, I like leaving her something to find when she misses me.
I zip up her bag and heft it over my shoulder, turning off the light on the way out of her room. Emma and Jared are standing in the kitchen chatting while I set her bag by the front door. She’s chugging a glass of water, her cheeks rosy from the August heat. “Hey, Em, why don’t you go to the bathroom before we leave? We have to run a few errands before we get home,” Jared says to her, plucking the glass out of her hand.
She shrugs and says, “Okay!” She skips out of the room and down the hall towards the bathroom.
The door clicks shut and Jared turns to me while I enter the kitchen. “What’s up?” I ask, knowing this was just a tactic to get me alone for a second.
“I was thinking, what if you, me, and Ryan have dinner or something this week?” he asks in a rush. He's clearly nervous about this, but I admire the effort.
I narrow my eyes into slits, “Why would you want to do that?”
“Well, I’d say that at this point Ryan isn’t going anywhere.” He looks at me, “Right?”
“No, he’s not. I’m pretty stuck on him.”
He nods and says, “That’s what I thought. Anyway, it’s safe to say he and I got off on the wrong foot,”
“Or fist,” I interrupt with a snicker.
