Page 38 of Two Hearts' Accidental Heroes

“So, how should we handle this, Jake?” Rick asked.

“We get the exact location of the boy, and I loan you and Shanna my private plane so you can go and collect him,” he said.

“Just like that?” Shanna asked, her eyes going wide.

“Just like that, Shanna,” Jake said softly. “I’m so sorry for everything you’ve been through, but I’m going to have to ask you to remain missing for a while longer. The three of us have some work to do, as long as you’re willing.”

Shanna looked at Wes, who nodded encouragingly.

“Okay.” She looked at Rick. “Let’s go get Johnny.”

Rick stood, walking up to Wes. “Hang in there. Hopefully, we’ll be back in a day or two.”

“You two get going. Don’t worry. I won’t call it quits until after your boss and I hash out a deal and I get to see Johnny again.”

Chapter Twenty

While Jake made arrangements for Rick and Shanna to fly to Northern Michigan from Crystal Rock later that day, Rick took Shanna for a quick shopping trip at the local Walmart.

“I know it’s not the Dragonfly Pointe Inn Boutique, but I want you to get some clothes that make you feel pretty,” Rick said. “Okay?”

“You mean you don’t like my baggy jeans and t-shirts?” she asked, sounding surprisingly upbeat. “I guess I was trying to make myself as unattractive as possible to Wes, even though he hasn’t touched me in years.”

They flew through the store. Rick scooped up anything and everything that she seemed to stare at along with a few more feminine things that he knew she’d look good in.

“You need shoes and underwear, along with something to sleep in,” he muttered. “Just grab anything you’d like. Don’t worry about the money.”

When she laughed, he stilled, because it sounded like music to his ears. It was the first time he’d ever heard her do it, and it transformed her completely, even with that silly brown wig on her head.

“What?” she asked, sounding defensive.

“I just realized that I’ve never heard you laugh,” he admitted.

“I did laugh, didn’t I?” She looked bemused.

Another half hour later, they were on their way back to Crystal Rock, and Rick drove directly to the private airport where Jake’s plane would be landing within the next few minutes. His wife had apparently flown to New York that morning, where she still had business dealings. Rick and Shanna would be on their way north shortly after the plane arrived.

After they were in the air, Shanna took a new pair of jeans and a pretty blouse out of her luggage, heading to the bathroom to change clothes.

* * *

Shanna’s heart flipped over in her chest when Rick smiled after she walked out from the bathroom, not wearing her wig.

“Your hair’s so much longer than it used to be,” he said, glancing into her eyes intently.

“I don’t think I’ve ever had it cut,” she admitted. “I’m glad you reminded me to buy a hairbrush and a little bit of makeup. I feel so much better.”

She slipped on a pair of short suede boots that Rick had convinced her she needed. They were a caramel brown that matched the hooded parka that he’d insisted on buying for her too.

Admiring her new clothes was keeping her from thinking about how nervous she was about meeting her son.

“I barely even remember feeding or holding him,” she said softly, glancing through the window as they flew over a beautiful panorama of land and lakes. “I wonder what he’ll think of me?”

“I’m sure he’s going to love you, Shanna,” Rick said, realizing how enamored he’d always been by this woman. In fact, after he’d finally heard about her disappearance several months after it had happened, he’d had nightmares worrying about what could have happened to her.

Much to his surprise, he became slightly teary-eyed. “I wonder if I would have been able to stop Wes from taking you if I hadn’t had to leave Crystal Rock?”

Shanna looked stunned. “Is that what you’ve been thinking all this time—that you could have prevented it?”

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