Chapter 36
Thirty-Six
“ M ommy, can we surfs?”
Margot looked up from the clinic build notes she was pouring over. It was so close to completion, but there were a million small details left. If all went to plan in the next few weeks or so, they’d open in early February.
Emily stood in front of her, dressed in her swimsuit. The top was on backward, but she didn’t seem to care.
“Please, Mommy?”
Sighing, Margot set the papers down on the coffee table. “Em…” She wanted to say yes. It had been three days since they’d holed up at Max’s. The first day hadn’t been terribly difficult to keep the kids occupied. There was enough newness to it and enough people around to distract them. But yesterday, Em, especially, had wanted to leave the estate and go to the beach. Dean had created a monster.
“Please?” She put her little hands together and gave Margot puppy-dog eyes. “I need to pwactice.”
A smile toyed with Margot’s lips. She arched an eyebrow at her precocious daughter. “You do?”
Solemnly, she nodded. “So I can be a world champon.”
“Oh, I see.” She took Em’s hands. “Remember how we talked about all the other people who are hanging around right now? How they’re here to keep us safe?”
She nodded.
“I need to check with them and with Max to see if that’s something we can do right now, all right?”
Expression falling, Em looked at the floor. “I wanna surfs,” she muttered.
“And we will. It just might not be today.” Or tomorrow , she silently added.
With a huff, Emily pulled away and stomped off. Margot picked up her phone to text Max.
She typed out a quick missive.
Where are you?
He and several of the others were keeping an eye on the grounds. Marchand, one of his colleagues, Sam, and Audra, had taken Tad into town—like the last couple of days—and were following him around inconspicuously while Tad pretended to keep an eye on Max’s estate. They’d put out the word to Tad’s contacts that he was looking for Berry and wanted to settle things, but so far, Berry hadn’t shown his face. The hope was now that Berry would see Tad and make contact with him.
Dots appeared on her phone screen, then, Walking the perimeter with Ford. What’s up?
Em wants to surf , she wrote back. I’m not sure how long we can hold her off.
He sent her an eye roll emoji, making her laugh. Dots appeared again.
Tell her we’ll do an all-day trip, complete with a speedboat ride, once it’s safe. And that she should put a boogie board on her Christmas list.
Margot’s heart swelled. Her kids were so lucky to have him in their lives.
I’m sure she already has, but I will , she responded. Be prepared to be pestered mercilessly.
He sent a grinning emoji, then, Eh, we’ll play in the pool. I’ll wear her out, and she’ll forget all about it… until tomorrow.
Smiling, Margot put her phone away and went in search of the girl.
When she walked into the back living room, Brooke looked up from her spot on the tile floor, where she played dolls with Lily.
“Hey.” Brooke smiled. “Did Em find you? She said she had a question.”
“She did. She wants to go surfing. I told her not today, but I messaged Max to tell him the natives were restless. He said to tell her he’d take her out for an all-day thing and a ride in the boat once it was safe.” She frowned and glanced around. “Did she not come back here?”
“No.”
Margot frowned, then remembered what Em had on when she appeared outside. “What was she wearing when she left you?”
It was Brooke’s turn to frown. “The shorts and t-shirt you put her in this morning. Why?”
“Because she had her swimsuit on when she found me.” Margot sighed. “Maybe she went back to her room to change. I’ll go check. If she comes back in here or you spot her, text me?”
Brooke nodded. “Yep.”
“Thanks.” Spinning around, Margot started to head back the way she came, but decided to check the pool first. The girl had been wearing a swimsuit, after all. She doubted Em was there, it was fenced in, but Emily was as resourceful as they came. Margot wouldn’t put it past her to find a way in.
Reaching the back of the house, she exited through the sliding doors and walked to the pool, peering in. It was empty.
Feeling more confident Em had gone to her room to change, Margot returned to the house and headed upstairs to the bedroom wing.
“Emily?” she called as she reached the landing.
Frustration built in Margot’s gut when the girl didn’t respond. She should have paid more attention to where she went. Em could hide in a corner and pout when she didn’t get her way. At home, it wasn’t too big of a deal. The house was small. But here, there were a lot of corners to hide in.
“Emily, honey, you need to tell me where you are. We don’t play hide-and-seek in Max’s house without rules on where you can hide, you know this.” She pushed the girls’ bedroom door open. The frilly pink and purple bedspreads were still in a heap, their pajamas laid on the end of the beds. Emily’s outfit from earlier was on the floor by the dresser.
Sighing, Margot checked under the beds and in the closet. Em wasn’t hiding in here.
Back in the hallway, she went into the next room, which was the one she’d been using. Even though the girls knew she and Max were in a relationship, Margot didn’t want to move into his room until they were living in the house permanently. So, they’d stolen a few moments—or more—after the girls went to bed each night. There was enough upheaval in the kids’ lives right now. They didn’t need to worry about trekking further down the hall to find her if they awakened in the middle of the night. She’d like to move them down several rooms when they did eventually move in. Just so they were a little closer.
“Emily?” She knelt on the ground and peeked under the bed.
Nothing but dust bunnies.
With a huff, she sat up, frowning. Standing, she went to the closet.
It, too, was empty of a blonde-haired firecracker.
Spinning around, she marched into the hallway. “Emily! You need to come out now. I know you want to surf, but we can’t today.”
Margot continued into the next room, then the next, until she’d searched every bedroom on the floor. Getting more worried with each empty room, she hurried back downstairs to Brooke.
The woman looked up when Margot entered, her expression descending into a deep frown. “You didn’t find her?”
“No.”
Brooke stood, scooping Lily off the floor and onto her hip. “Come on, Lil. Let’s help your mom look for Em.”
They spread out. Margot went outside again, checking the pool once more. It was still empty.
And so was the bathhouse at the edge of the pool deck.
Hurrying back inside, Margot went into the kitchen. It was the ultimate hiding place for small children. She flung open cabinet after cabinet, looking inside, but there was no sign of her.
The frustration that had filled her until now descended into a touch of panic. Where was she?
Ten minutes later, with the entire house searched, Margot felt sick. She didn’t know where she could have gone.
“Let’s go check the cameras. Maybe they picked her up.” Brooke tipped her head toward the panel on the wall.
“Do you have the access code to get to the stored footage?”
“No. Call Max.”
Margot took out her phone and dialed.
He answered with a chuckle. “Is she still bugging you about it?”
“No. I can’t find her. Brooke and I have checked the entire house and the pool. What’s the code for the surveillance storage?”
He gave it to her without hesitation. “I’ll be back in a few minutes to help you look.”
When he hung up, Margot put her phone away and typed the code into the alarm system to access the stored footage. She backed it up to about the time Emily found her in the living room, then watched the doors.
About a minute later, Emily emerged from doors out of Max’s office on the first floor. She still wore her swimsuit and no shoes. Moments later, she ran out of camera view toward the thick jungle. Margot’s mouth flattened into a thin line. She hadn’t missed Em by much when she stepped outside to check the pool.
“Where is she going?” Brooke muttered.
It hit Margot like a slap. She groaned, closing her eyes momentarily. “The beach.” She looked at Brooke. “To surf.”