Chapter 62
Chapter
Sixty-Two
Wren checked behind the barn first.
She didn’t know why.
Maybe because Christian used to hide there when they were kids, usually after he’d broken something and Nora had threatened to tell Mom.
She paused at the door. “Christian?”
Nothing.
Nora circled the other side of the barn while Marlowe had gone to tell Nash what was going on. Their mom was searching the house just in case they’d missed him in their first search.
Wren’s heart hammered harder. “Christian!”
A movement near the back caught her eye. She sprinted that way.
As she went around the corner, she spotted Christian sitting on the ground with his back against the barn. His knees were pulled up and his hands locked behind his neck.
Wren paused, her pulse slowing. “Christian . . .”
He looked up before his gaze dropped. “I wasn’t running away.”
“You scared us.” Wren stopped a few feet from him.
“I just couldn’t listen to those people with the cameras anymore.” He rubbed a hand over his face. “They kept yelling my name.”
Nash came around the corner behind her and stopped when he saw them.
“Can you let my sisters know?” Wren asked him.
He nodded and stepped away.
Christian looked up at Wren. “How did they find out about me?”
“I don’t know yet.”
“I didn’t tell anybody,” Christian said.
“I know. Neither did we.”
Christian stared into the woods. “They want me to talk, don’t they?”
Nash appeared again and nodded at Wren to confirm he’d told her sisters.
Wren turned back to Christian, remembering his question. “Probably. But you don’t owe them anything.”
“You don’t have to answer any of their questions,” Nash continued. “You don’t have to stand in front of a camera. Not today. Not ever if you don’t want to.”
Some of the tension visibly eased from Christian’s shoulders. “Thanks.”
Wren crouched in front of him. “Can I ask you a question, Christian?”
He looked at her and shrugged. “I guess.”
“Did you ever remember why you were outside digging for that treaty box?”
His face looked paler. “I . . . I don’t know. Nothing makes sense, does it? How I got here. Where I’ve been. Why I’m doing weird things at night. Maybe my brain is messed up.”
She squeezed his arm. “No one said that. But we don’t know what you’ve been through either. The subconscious has a way of showing us what our conscious won’t.”
“Are you scared of me, Wren?” He stared at her.
Wren sucked in a breath. How did she answer that? She wanted to be honest, but . . . honesty right now might hurt him. Because the truth was that sometimes he did scare her.
“The unknown has a way of scaring all of us, right?” she finally said.
He thought about it a moment and then nodded.
She blew out a breath of relief. “Are you ready to come inside?”
“Not yet. Can I stay here longer?”
She hesitated to let him stay. Was that safe? Would he try to run?
Finally, she said, “Of course. Come inside when you’re ready.”
She hoped she didn’t regret that.
He nodded, and she squeezed his arm.
Then she stood.
Behind them, another voice carried from the front yard.
Someone called Christian’s name again.
Wren closed her eyes.
When was this going to get easier?
By the time Wren got back inside, Nora had drawn all the curtains.
Despite that, Marlowe stood near the front window and peeked through the smallest gap.
“Still there?” Wren stepped up beside her, her hip still aching from her fall. But it was the least of her worries.
“Three vans now. And another car just stopped.”
Wren stared out the window until the images on the other side blurred.
Outside, someone shouted another question toward the house.
Christian Loveless.
Where have you been?
Are you really Christian?
“How did word get out?” Nora turned to look at everyone.
They all shook their heads, denying they’d told anyone.
Wren’s thoughts went back to Cody. Would he have done this? Was this a ploy of his so he could get custody of Mason?
She had no idea. The only other people who knew were Jacob, Nash, and the people who’d seen them at the hospital. The staff there wouldn’t be allowed to share any information—but that didn’t mean someone didn’t break the rules.
Wren straightened, unable to take this anymore. She had to find Mason, not deal with all of this. “I’m going to the sheriff’s office.”
Nora turned from the kitchen. “Wren—”
“I can’t stay here.” She grabbed her coat from the back of a chair. “If something comes in about Mason, I want to be where it happens.”
“You can’t make them find him faster,” Nora said.
“I know.” Wren shoved one arm into her coat. “But I can’t sit here while everybody else knows more than I do.”
“You have to be careful, Wren,” Mom said. “Please. I just got one child back. I can’t lose another one.”
It was the most motherly thing her mom had said in years.
She gave her mom a hug. “I will be. I promise.”
“I’ll take you to the station.” Nash reached for his keys. “I wanted to stop by anyway.”
Wren looked at him, gratitude warming her heart. “Thank you.”
Nash might not know it, but he was a true answer to prayer.