Page 20 of Elsie's Strong Shelter

Each question she couldn’t answer tore her heart in two. By the time she’d stepped out of his room, confident he’d finally cried himself to sleep, her insides were nothing but shredded mush. Pain throbbed against her forehead and the tears streaming down her face threatened to fall forever.

A knock on her door turned her onto her back. As much as she wished she could tell whoever it was to go away and give her a few moments alone, that wasn’t an option. “Come in.”

Dean poked his head through the doorway. He had a glass of wine in one hand and a bottle of beer in the other. “Thought you might need something to take off the edge. Pick your poison.”

She scooted up to sit against the headboard and tucked her feet beneath her. “Wine, please. You’re a lifesaver.”

He stepped into the room and handed over the stemless glass. “I can take mine out to the living room if you want more alone time.”

“Besides Mila coming home, I’m not sure what I want.”

He leaned against the doorframe and the dim light from the hall highlighted the scruff on his face. “I get that. Jimmy finally fall asleep?”

She nodded. “Took a while. He had a few more questions once you stepped out of the room. He’s confused and scared. Having Boo sleep in his bed helped a little.”

“Poor kid. I’ve been through a lot of shit in my life but watching that little boy’s world fall apart is one of the toughest things I’ve witnessed.” He took a long pull of his beer. “I don’t think I’ll ever forget the tortured look on his face.”

The memory of Jimmy’s red, swollen eyes and tear-soaked cheeks slammed against her. “We have to figure out how to make things right. We have to bring his mom home.”

“Agreed. That’s why I’ve been doing some digging.”

Hoping for good news, she patted the bed beside her. “Take a seat. I don’t think I have the energy to make it to the living room.”

He hesitated for a beat then settled on the bed, stretching his legs long.

A sudden flash of heat ignited inside her. She’d imagined Dean in her bed a time or two but never like this. Two broken souls commiserating over a drink while discussing a missing persons case. Clearing her throat, she tried to forget any romantic fantasies and focus on the matter at hand. “Did you find anything useful?”

“I found Jimmy’s father.”

Excitement over a new lead clashed with rage at the mention of Jimmy’s dad. She took a sip of wine and struggled with how to respond. “A part of me has always wondered what that asshole’sbeen up to all these years. Hell, I’ve thought it might be better for Jimmy if his father wasn’t even alive anymore. Then we could explain it wasn’t a choice for him to not show up. Maybe that’d be easier for Jimmy.”

Dean shrugged. “Who knows what makes having an absentee father more understandable for a child or even an adult, but Keith is very much alive. He lives in the next county over, only about an hour from here. He’s a truck driver who happens to have a couple weeks off.”

The news dropped like a boulder in her gut. “How do you know that?”

“I talked to his boss. Explained the situation and why it was important I speak to him. I got his number, which the jackass won’t answer, his work schedule, and his home address. The boss was pretty chatty when I explained a woman’s life was in danger and he may have official law enforcement knocking on his door soon if he didn’t cough up what I needed. I think we should pay Keith a visit.”

“If he has time off work, he might not be home. Maybe he took a vacation or something. You know, since he has all that disposable income not paying for his child.” She couldn’t help the sharp bite of her words. The idea of Keith spending his money as he pleased, living life without a single thought to the woman he’d claimed to love and the child they’d created, boiled Elsie’s blood.

Setting down his bottle, Dean’s cold hand wrapped around hers and squeezed. “I know you’re angry with him—hell I am too, and I don’t even know the guy. But if he chose not to be a father, Jimmy’s better off without him. Trust me, a man who walks away from his responsibilities isn’t a real man at all.”

“You’re right. I know that with my whole heart, but it still saddens me for Jimmy. I don’t want him to ever feel less than. To ever think it’s his fault his dad isn’t around.”

“He has great people who love him who will never let him believe those things.”

She rested her head on Dean’s shoulder. The last couple of days had been a rollercoaster and tomorrow would prove even more stressful. “My mom wants to take Jimmy for a couple of days. He shouldn’t be in school, sitting and worrying about Mila while trying to learn. She and my dad want to keep him busy. I suspect that’s to keep their minds as occupied as Jimmy’s.”

“That’ll be good for them all,” Dean said. “Then you and I can focus on whatever we find out tomorrow. Hopefully we track down Keith and get some answers from him, then try and follow up more on Mrs. Pauly’s son. I touched base with Sadie, and Justin’s like a ghost in the wind at this point. If no one has found him, we should speak with Mrs. Pauly again. She may have more information than she realizes.”

“I like having a plan,” she said, struggling to keep her eyes open. The sips of wine and emotional turmoil combined creating a hazy cocoon around her brain.

“Let’s put that glass down.” Dean released their joined hands, took her wine, and set it on the nightstand beside his half-finished beer.

The absence of his palm against hers cast a chill down her arm. She wanted the heat of him back on her skin, the comfort of his long, lean body against hers. The haziness intensified, coaxing her toward sleep. She looped her arm with his and snuggled close, finally letting her eyes drift shut.

And for a brief moment, she forgot about everything outside of her bedroom. Forgot her fear and sadness and anger and simply slept.

The next daythe rain stopped, but the sun couldn’t reach through the cover of clouds to warm the air. Gloom shadowed the mountains during the drive, but as anxious as Dean was to find Keith, it couldn’t dim the excitement growing in the pit of his stomach.

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