Page 62 of Vanishing Legacy

His head snapped to full attention.

“We both like Cash and Penny, and we’d like to see them in our lives. But how ’bout we keep that between you and me for now, and I promise when he doesn’t need the Elite Guardians anymore, we will talk about it.”

Rocco’s grin stretched ear to ear. “Yeah, okay, Mom. It’s a deal.”

Alana stood and kissed the top of his head. “All right, eat so we can go. We don’t want to keep them waiting.”

She finished packing Rocco’s bag and slung it over her shoulder. Out of the corner of her eye, she noticed the shed in her backyard. Who knew finding Penny that day would’ve turned their entire world upside down?

Alana parked in the circle drive of Cash’s house. Its pristine white exterior contrasted with the dark, ominous clouds looming overhead. They stepped out of her Jeep and approached the front door, her senses on high alert. She’d taken counterintelligence measures to ensure she wasn’t followed on the drive over, but her skin still crawled with the inexplicable sensation of being watched.

Noelle opened the door and greeted Alana with a smile. She was dressed in dark jeans, a slim-fitting long sleeve button-up, and black flats. Her purse was already on her shoulder. “Morning. Sorry I can’t stay. I told Jonah we’d pick him up by eight thirty.” Noelle glanced at her watch, then to Rocco. “All set to go?”

Rocco still held Penny’s hand after greeting her with a hug. “I’m super ready! I’m just sad Penny can’t go with us.”

“I know, but it’s not safe for her to go in a big crowd until we catch the bad guys,” Alana said. “But don’t worry, Penny and I will have our own little adventure while you guys are gone.”

Noelle fished her keys from her purse and checked her watch again. “We better get going or we’ll be late.”

Alana waved goodbye and closed the door. Penny began to fidget and whine. Tears welled in her eyes. “No, Rocco! No go!”

“It’s okay to be sad.” She knelt beside Penny. “Rocco will come back, and you’ll have so much fun with him. Is there a game we can play while he’s gone? Or we could read together.”

Penny shook her head and continued to cry. Her reaction didn’t look pretty, but she was doing an amazing job containing herself. Some days when Rocco left, she did nothing but scream. At least now she only sobbed.

Watching Penny cry made Alana itch to console the child. “Is it okay if I give you a hug?”

Penny held her arms out, and Alana held her tight, rocking and whispering comforting words and prayers.

Penny’s breathing slowed, and she looked up at Alana with a tear-streaked face. “Alana brush hair?” She grabbed the ends of her long strands and folded them in half.

“Oh, you’d like me to braid your hair again?”

Penny’s face lit up and she nodded. She sniffled and ran her arm under her nose.

“I’d love to do that.” Alana stood. “Can I carry you upstairs to find your hairbrush?”

Penny held her arms out, eager to be lifted up. Alana hoisted her onto her hip, and Penny wrapped her arms around Alana’s neck. For a moment, Alana stood there with Penny’s head against her shoulder. She’d always dreamed of having more children but had never thought it would be in her future.

Cash jogged down the stairs in his scrubs. “Morning, girls.” He crossed the room to the kitchen and grabbed his keys off the counter.

Ten different questions flew through her head, but she said, “Morning. What’s going on?”

“I just got paged. They need me at the hospital for an MCI, and ER is short-staffed. I’m going in.”

“MCI?”

“Mass casualty incident. Multiple officer-involved shootings. The hospital is already overwhelmed, and there’s another dozen patients on the way.”

Alana could hear the stress in his voice, but there was something else there too. A distance between them. Did he regret what had happened last night? Realize he’d made a mistake after Rocco mentioned the M-word?

No, she was jumping to conclusions. There was a medical emergency, and he was in doctor mode. She adjusted Penny on her hip. “I’ll call Juliette and ask her to meet you at the hospital.”

He waved a hand. “No, don’t bother. I’m going right into surgery. It’s a secure area. I’ll be fine.”

“Okay…” She dragged out the word. “But you do realize you shouldn’t go alone, right?” She darted her eyes between Cash and Penny, hoping she didn’t have to spell it out for him.

His gaze drifted to Penny. He put his phone on the counter, whipped a penlight out of his breast pocket, and clicked it on. “Penny, wouldn’t you like to play with Daddy’s shiny flashlight?”

---