Page 6 of Elsie's Strong Shelter

Elsie lifted her hands then let them fall on her lap. “I have no clue. We could call the agency she works for, but chances are low anyone is in the main office to take our call. I know she travels a lot. Helps folks in Pine Valley, Water’s Edge, and places in between. She could be anywhere.” Sobs shook her shoulders, and she covered her face with her hands. “Oh God. Shecouldbeanywhere.”

Unable to stay away a second longer, he hurried to the couch and sat beside her. He folded her hands in his and lowered them, pinning her with his gaze. “Listen. Wewillfind her. I promise you. Do you know the name of the company she works for?”

“Hometown Healers. Her boss’s name is Tamara, but I don’t know her last name.”

“Perfect. I’ll put in a call to the company and see if I can get anyone on the phone. If no one answers, I can at least leave a message and give them a heads up. Why don’t you make a pot of coffee? We can brainstorm a little. Keep calling Mila and even speak with Sadie again. How does that sound?”

Elsie blew out a long breath and stood. “Okay. I feel better having you here. Thank you again for coming.”

He smiled up at her. “There’s nowhere else I’d rather be right now.”

Watching her walk into the kitchen, he winced at how true his words were.

3

The alarm on Elsie’s phone cut through the tension in the kitchen, setting her on edge. As she rubbed the fatigue from her eyes, it was like grains of sand scratched against her eyeballs. “I have to wake Jimmy for school. What am I supposed to tell him?”

Dean sat across from her at the table, a fresh cup of coffee in his mug. He frowned as wisps of steam curled into the air. “Tell him his mom got caught up at work and will be home later. Hopefully, that’s the truth.”

“Okay.” She stood and her chest tightened. She held on to Dean’s words. She wasn’t lying to Jimmy. With any luck once they touched base with Mila’s boss, they’d discover that’s exactly what had happened. Maybe her phone had died, and she couldn’t call. Or one of her clients had an emergency and she was helping them. “I want to make this morning as normal for Jimmy as possible. He doesn’t need to worry about his mom all day.”

“Agreed. Is there anything I can do to help?”

His offer warmed the icy fear encasing her heart. She’d grown up with two loving parents who’d always done what theycould to help one another. Who both pulled their weight and didn’t conform to typical gender roles. Some mornings her mom made breakfast for her and her siblings, some mornings it was her dad.

Jimmy had his mom and his adopted aunt to shower him with love and guidance daily, but he’d never had a strong male role model. Didn’t have a father figure to show him how a man should behave.

“Mila usually makes him something light to eat for breakfast. If you wouldn’t mind getting that started, I can wrangle him out of bed. Little man’s a pretty sound sleeper so it’s not always easy to wake him.”

Dean took a sip of coffee then rubbed his palms together. “I’m on it.”

She couldn’t dwell on her appreciation as she padded down the hall. The pitter patter of rain from Jimmy’s sound machine filled the room, and streams of muted sun filtered through the thin curtain. Dread anchored her feet to the plush carpet in the doorway. Jimmy wasn’t the type of kid to accept something at face value. If his routine was disrupted, he’d want to know why.

Especially if that meant his mom wasn’t home to get him ready for school.

Okay. She could do this. Paste on a smile. Get Jimmy on the bus and off to school so she and Dean could figure out their next steps.

Moving into the room, she switched off the sound machine and sat on the edge of the twin bed.

Jimmy laid on his stomach, his head facing the wall and legs extended. He’d gotten so big, his features maturing so fast, but the fitted pajamas with video game controllers confirmed his little boy status.

“Good morning, buddy,” she whispered and skimmed her fingertips against the soft skin of his neck.

Stretching his arms above his head, he groaned and twisted onto his back. “Mama?”

She smiled at his groggy confusion. He hadn’t opened his eyes, but no doubt he could tell her voice was different than Mila’s deeper tone. “It’s Elsie, honey. Time to wake up and get ready for school.”

He blinked open his eyes and wrinkled his nose. “Where’s Mama?”

The question landed like a missile square in the chest. “Your mom got stuck at work. She’ll be home later. For now, let’s get you up and around. The bus will be here soon.”

He rolled back over and burrowed under the blanket. “I don’t want to go to school. I want to sleep.”

The pitiful whine tugged at her heartstrings. A part of her wished she could let him stay home, but that wasn’t a good idea. Not today. “I’ll give you another five minutes while I get your clothes out. How does that sound?”

“Fine,” he said around a yawn. “Don’t pick out baby clothes though.”

She held back a chuckle and walked to the long white dresser with dinosaur heads as knobs. “It’s supposed to be pretty chilly today. Windy and overcast. How about a hoodie and joggers?”

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