CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Gage steered the SUV back the way they’d come, Pancake sprawled across the backseat like she’d just finished a marathon. Beside him, Melanie sat quietly, gaze fixed on the road ahead. Pensive. He was beginning to recognize that was how she processed.
The day had warmed enough for them to shed their jackets, and he cracked the window to let in the scent of pine.
He liked seeing her with the people who felt like family to him.
She belonged. She had a history with them and was reconnecting.
Which only made her feel more right for him.
She and Addy would fit perfectly into his world.
The truth was settling in: he didn’t just want her in his life—he wanted a life with her.
The thought scared the hell out of him, but losing her because he couldn’t get his shit together was not an option.
Desire wasn’t the problem. He wanted her in his bed, in his arms. Bad. And yeah, he figured she knew it. But he’d let her set the pace. That part he could wait for. But not for much longer.
What haunted him was everything that came after.
What if they were together, what if they got married, and something happened to her?
They’d have Addy, maybe more kids. What if something happened to them?
Kids were tiny disasters. Terrible things could happen to them.
What if they built a life together and then lost it?
His dad, his sister, his partner, they’d all died. Each ripping a gaping hole in his heart. He couldn’t imagine surviving another blow like that. Not again.
But lately, another voice had started to make itself known. The quieter one. The one that asked What if nothing bad happens?
What if Melanie was the real thing? What if he got to raise Addy, not from the outside looking in, but as her dad? What if he and Melanie could grew old together, side by side?
That voice was getting harder to ignore, and it was beginning to sound a lot like hope.
Gage was about to suggest they grab lunch before Melanie’s appointment when her phone rang.
“It’s the school,” she murmured, swiping to answer.
She pressed the phone to her ear. He went on high alert when her voice sharpened. “How can you not know where she is?”
Alarm shot through him. Without a word, he cut across a lane and took the turn toward Mill Creek Elementary.
She listened for a beat, then turned to him, her face pale. “Gage, the principal says Addy’s disappeared.”
Just like that, the air went thin. His worst fear—not again, please not again—roared to life in his chest.
“Put your phone on speaker,” he said, hands tightening around the steering wheel.
Melanie tapped the screen. “You’re on speaker so my friend can hear.”
“Hello, this is Susanna Majors, principal of—”
“Have you contacted the sheriff’s office?” Gage cut in, his voice clipped.
“No, we wanted to inform her mother first. We don’t have any reason to believe Adelyn left campus. We’re currently searching the school.”
Gage gripped the wheel tighter, his mind already racing through protocols. But the only thing he could hear was that whisper from earlier: What if you lose her too?
“Were there any reports of unfamiliar adults on or near campus?” Gage asked.
There was a pause. “I’m sorry, who am I speaking with?”
“Gage Landry. I’m with Melanie. Former FBI agent. We’re on our way to the school now.”
“I see.” The principal’s voice lost a bit of its edge. “No, there have been no reports of unidentified adults, and no visitors signed in within the past hour.”
“How long has Addy been missing?”
“She didn’t come in from recess so about twenty minutes.”
“Call 9-1-1,” Gage ordered. “Melanie will give you a clothing description for dispatch.”
Melanie sat straighter, her voice steadier. “Addy’s wearing black leggings and a purple sweatshirt with a unicorn on the front. She has on shearling boots and a puffy pink coat. Please check if her backpack is still in her classroom. It’s pink and green.”
“I need to inform you, Miss Brennan, there was an incident on the playground involving Adelyn and another student,” the principal said, clearly flustered.
“I know we’re scheduled to meet this afternoon about the same student.
I’m putting you on hold to check if her backpack is still in the classroom. ”
The cheerful hold music was jarring.
Melanie’s hands fisted. “Liam is still bullying her.”
“Yeah, that’s going to stop.”
“What if she’s been kidnapped?” Her voice wavered. “What if whoever made the child neglect complaint grabbed her during recess?”
“Mel, listen to me,” he told her firmly. She looked pale, but her jaw was set. “The school is fenced, and visitors have to check in at the front office. There’s supervision on the playground. This sounds more like Addy got fed up with the little fucker hassling her.”
The principal came back on the line. “Her backpack’s gone. It’s not in the classroom.”
“Call the sheriff’s office now,” Gage said, “and we’ll be there in a minute.”
Melanie ended the call, her lips tight. “She could’ve grabbed her backpack and taken off.”
Gage eased off the gas as they entered the neighborhood around the school. “Keep a lookout. There’s a back exit to the school somewhere around here. It should be locked this time of day but if Addy jumped ship, she could have gone out that way.
Melanie rolled down her window, her head swiveling as she searched. “She could be anywhere, Gage.”
Pancake stuck her nose out the window as far as her seatbelt restraint would let her.
“I know, sweetheart. We’ll find her.”
Gage turned onto a street where houses shared a back fence with the playground. The next turn would take them to the front entrance of the school.
From the corner of his eye, he caught a flash of green and pink. “Jesus Christ.” He whipped the SUV to the side of the road, jamming the transmission into park. “I see her.”
He was out of the car and running up a gravel path. He could hear the slamming of the car door behind him and Pancake’s excited bark. Addy’d climbed over the gate and he’d seen her backpack as she’d dropped down.
“Gage,” Addy screamed his name, then she was racing to him, arms outstretched. He swung her up, and her arms and legs went around him, her backpack dropping to the ground. Her little body shook with tears he could feel soaking his shirt. He closed his eyes and breathed deep.
“I’m sorry. I’m sorry,” she hiccoughed.
“It’s okay, baby. You’re safe. It’s okay.” He rubbed her back while she sobbed.
Melanie reached them and he brought her into the hug. They stood like that, arms around each other. “She’s okay,” he murmured, voice hoarse.
Holding on to a little girl he’d come to love, and her mother, who he’d fallen for, hard, solidified what he’d been feeling: Addy and Melanie were his.
This little girl, this woman, they’d become the focus of his life.
He wanted them to be together as a family.
Addy? She seemed to be on board. It was her mother who might need some convincing.
He kissed them each on the forehead before transferring Addy to her mother’s arms.
He picked up the backpack. Melanie set Addy on her feet and tipped her head up with a finger under her chin. “We need to talk, Adelyn, but first I have to call Mrs. Majors and tell her we found you.”
Addy drew in a wobbly breath and wiped her eyes. “Was she looking for me?”
“Yeah. It’s a big deal when a kid goes missing.”
“Am I in trouble?”
Melanie sighed. “You might be. I need to know what happened first. But, Addy? What’s most important is that you’re safe. You scared me.”
Addy ducked her head. “I was trying to be safe.”
Melanie made the call and Pancake cried pitifully in the car.
“Pancake’s here? Can I go to her? Please?”
Gage thought time with Pancake would do them all good. “In a minute, sunshine.”
Melanie assured the principal they’d bring Addy to the school, then disconnected the call.
“Do we have to go back?” Addy asked.
“Yeah, we do.” Melanie rested a hand on her shoulder. “But first I want to know what happened. It’s not safe for you to run away from school, Adelyn.”
Addy sent pleading eyes in Gage’s direction. He crouched down. “What happened? Why’d you run away?”
“Liam tripped me at recess and I scraped my knee. See?” She pointed to a hole in her leggings and the torn skin beneath it. The sight of the bloody little scrape had Gage seething.
“Me and Olivia told the yard duty teacher, and she made Liam sit on the bench. But when the bell rang, he ran over and said he was going to beat me up after school.”
She looked at her mom. “I didn’t want to get beat up.”
Melanie kept her voice even though Gage could see she was as angry as he was.
“I don’t want you beat up either. But, Addy, grown-ups can help only if they know what’s going on. If you told Mrs. Delgado that Liam threatened you and you were scared of getting beat up, she would have helped you.”
Gage rose to his feet. “What was your plan after you got over the back gate?”
“To hide until the bus came and then sneak on without Liam seeing me.”
“Didn’t you remember that I was meeting you at school for our appointment with the principal?” Melanie asked.
“No.” She shook her head. “I forgot.”
Gage rubbed a hand over his face. This beautiful child shouldn’t have to devise plans to avoid getting beat up.
He caught Melanie’s gaze. “I’ll drive you around to the front of the school. If you give me your keys, I’ll go home and bring back your car with the car seat.”
“Me and Pancake want to come with you,” Addy pleaded. “Please.”
“You and Pancake, huh? Sorry, sunshine. The farthest I’m willing to go without you in a car seat is around the block.”
Melanie was giving him a measured look. He raised his brow in question. “Good with you?”
“If we’re holding you up,” Mel said, “Mom has a car seat and can come get us. She’s at the animal shelter for another couple hours but Addy and I can hang out here to wait for her.”
He shook his head. “It’s not a problem.”