Page 84 of Crossing Paths
She reached for her pocket, but her fingers slid over silky, pocket-less material.
Right, she remembered.Pajamas.
Turning off the closet light, she waited a few seconds for her vision to adjust and then stuck her head out the door. Bennett’s eyes were still open, so she whispered, “Flathead screwdriver?”
Carefully moving his arm off Felicity, he reached for the bedside table and pulled a multi-tool from the top drawer. In the same motion, he tossed it to Charlie and then immediately resumed cuddling his wife.
She grinned as she caught it. After spending time with Bennett chasing Jane, Charlie knew he was never far from hismulti-tool—or an impressively wide array of weapons. Not only did he worship her sister, but he was also a very handy guy to chase skips with. “Thank you,” she mouthed before retreating back into the closet.
After turning the light back on, she made quick work of unscrewing the brackets holding the clothes rod in place. It fell toward the floor, but Charlie caught it before it could land with a Felicity-waking clatter. Her heart thumping with excitement, she checked one end—solid—before flipping it around to look at the other side. At first, it looked just like the first end, and her breath left in a huff of disappointment. Upon closer inspection, however, the wood grain didn’t quite line up about an inch from the end.
Her triumphant grin returned as she pulled off the cap over the end, revealing a hole drilled into the rod. The opening was a good inch and a half in diameter and two inches deep, the hiding spot just deep enough for the key placed inside.
Feeling like the winner of a treasure hunt, Charlie fished out the key and held it up. It didn’t have any identifying marks on it, meaning it could fit in any lock in any building in any town in the country, but she was still optimistic. Their mom had risked coming back to the house, even though she knew her daughters were searching for her. That meant this key was important.
“I’m sick of chasing you, Mom,” Charlie whispered, closing her fingers over the very ordinary yet extremely precious key. “Your turn to come to us.”
Anticipation bubbled inside her, and she knew she couldn’t keep it to herself. Holding back an excited giggle, she slippedout of the closet. Bennett’s eyes narrowed immediately, and he gave her a warning glare promising death if she woke up Felicity.
Giving him her most innocent look, she moved toward the door, reversing at the last second and sprinting toward the bed.
“Charlotte Calamity Pax!” he whisper-yelled, but she just grinned as she pounced, landing on the bed next to her sister.
“Wha?” Felicity’s eyes flew open, and she tried to sit up, but Bennett’s hold kept her in place long enough for her to realize Charlie had woken her. Relaxing back against him, Felicity gave her sister a glare that matched the one Bennett was giving her. “Charlie, what are you doing? It’s the middle of the night! This better be good, or you’re going to be doing twice as many burpees as everyone else.”
“It’s good,” Charlie promised, holding up the key.
Felicity tried sitting up again. This time, she managed as Bennett reluctantly released her. “A key? What’s it for?”
“That what you were looking for in the closet?” Bennett rumbled, still looking peeved at Charlie for waking his wife.
“I wasn’t surewhatI was looking for, but this was hidden in the clothes rod, so I’m thinking it was whatMomwas searching for.” She dropped the key into Felicity’s outstretched hand. “Think she wants it bad enough to come get it?”
Felicity looked up from the key and met Charlie’s gaze. “Bait the trap?” she asked, starting to smile.
“Yep.” Charlie grinned back at her, feeling a bone-deep satisfaction at the idea of finally,finallybringing in their mom. “Let’s catch our skip.”
