Page 98 of The Kidnapped

“I hope so,” Hollis replied, kissing her temple. “God, I hope so.”

“I don’t know how I can just sit and wait.”

“You can because you know this is the best chance of getting Eden home. We’ll wait because Dylan told us not to scare this woman into moving Eden somewhere else. We’ll wait, Raleigh, because we want her back.”

Raleigh looked up at her and asked, “We?”

“We, babe,” Hollis said, kissing her on the forehead.

CHAPTER 31

Hollis had practically insisted Raleigh sleep over, which was fine with her because she was getting used to falling asleep next to Hollis, but she knew she wouldn’t be sleeping tonight.

She stared up at the ceiling, with its streaks of light coming in through the slits in the blinds, and she turned her head to see that the streetlight was the cause. She counted the lines of light on the ceiling, revealing nine, and then counted again in case she’d miscounted the first time. Satisfied that there were only nine lines of light after all – as if that information even mattered to anyone in the world, including her – she rolled onto her side away from Hollis, who was sound asleep, thankfully.

Even though Olivia had the nurses now, Raleigh knew that Hollis still felt a responsibility to be awake twenty-four hours a day for her mother. She smiled because Hollis was just that good of a person. She always put others ahead of herself, often to her own detriment, but Raleigh had been trying to put Hollis first to balance things out a bit.

As she lay there, facing the window now, with new things to stare at and count, Raleigh thought about Eden again and how, earlier, Hollis had said that she wanted her back, too. Raleigh hadn’t doubted that, but it was the way Hollis had said it when, prior to that, neither of them had brought up what might happen if Raleigh actually got her daughter back. It had seemed like such a remote possibility that it hadn’t been something that required addressing so early on in their relationship. On top of that, Raleigh had been to so many group meetings now, where all of these family members spoke about their still-missing children, sisters, parents, and friends, that she assumed she’d remain among them forever.

Now, though, if Dylan and the FBI actually found her little girl, Hollis, Eden, and Raleigh would all have to adjust. And Eden might not even remember her. That part really terrified Raleigh. It also made her incredibly sad, but she pushed back the tears, knowing that if she cried now, Hollis would hear her, and it would wake her up. She’d gotten so good at recognizing Raleigh’s moods in their short time together. Raleigh loved that.

In fact, she’d always wanted someone who understood her without her having to constantly explain things. Millie had done her best, and, in the beginning of their relationship, she’d been good at picking up on whether or not Raleigh was happy, sad, or angry, but that had been her limit. Once the fighting had started, though, Millie had pretty much given up, and Raleigh had given up on getting that part of their relationship back because other things had seemed so much more important at the time.

Still, at the back of her mind, Raleigh couldn’t help but worry about how Hollis would handle having a four-year-old in their lives. Maybe she should just keep Eden away from people for a while and focus on the two of them rebuilding what was lost for over a year? Would Hollis understand if Raleigh asked for some time to be with her daughter and not in a relationship?

“Can’t sleep?”

She heard Hollis’s soft, soothing voice and smiled, turning to face her.

“How did you know?”

“Your foot is tapping. Shook the bed a little,” Hollis said with a smile back at Raleigh.

“I’m sorry. I’ll stop. You can go back to sleep,” Raleigh replied, cupping her cheek. “Maybe I should just go home so that you can get real sleep tonight.”

“No way,” Hollis said before she reached for her and pulled Raleigh close. “I’m okay. I’m just worried about you.”

Raleigh knew then, as she breathed Hollis in, that she wouldn’t be able to let her go. She wanted Eden to know her. She hoped Eden would get to see how Hollis took care of her mom and wished for Eden to one day find someone like Hollis, who would hold her like this when she couldn’t sleep or when something bad happened.

“I’m going to run to the bathroom, okay?” she said. “I’ll be right back.” She pressed her lips to Hollis’s. “Go back to sleep.”

“Okay,” Hollis replied.

As much as Raleigh didn’t want to leave this embrace, she knew she’d keep Hollis awake all night, so she slipped out of bed and walked down the hall to the bathroom, where she splashed cold water on her face and stared at herself in the mirror. She looked like she’d been crying for hours, which, technically, she had been. Knowing that they might have found Eden was the best news in the world, but the waiting-and-not-knowing part was the hardest part, and it had taken a toll on her. Hollis had held her and soothed her, as always, but Raleigh’s eyes had bags under them the size of the reusable grocery ones, and the eyes themselves were a shade of pink she’d gotten used to seeing.

Done in the bathroom, she intended on going back to Hollis’s room but saw the night nurse in the hallway, coming out of Olivia’s room.

“How is she?” she asked of Olivia, thinking she’d relay the update to Hollis, if she was still awake, and it might help her sleep.

“She’s up, if you want to check. She’s having a good night,” the nurse replied. “Seems she slept most of the day away, so she’s a little restless right now.”

“Can I talk to her, or should she get more sleep?”

“She’ll fall asleep soon, but her next round of meds isn’t for a while, so now is probably a good time to chat with her while she’s up and lucid.”

“Thanks,” Raleigh replied and walked past the nurse and into Hollis’s room to find her asleep. Then, she went into Olivia’s room. “Hi there, night owl,” she greeted with a smile.

“Well, what on earth are you doing up? I know why I’m up: I pee every thirty minutes when they pump me with those fluids.”

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