Page 2 of Just Like That

“Did you get that? Yeah. Bow tie should be easy to spot. We’ll start looking downtown and I’ll alert the Bluebirds. You got it. Thanks.” Sylvie hung up the phone and placed her hands on the outside of my arms. “It’s okay. We’re going to find him. I called the police and they’re on it. He’s not the first little guy to wander off in Outtatowner.”

From behind us, a huge man with an apron covered in flour walked out of the bakery and looked right at the woman next to me. “Lost kid,” she said to him and relayed my description.

“On it,” he called out as he put a phone to his ear.

“That’s the bakery owner, Huck. Looks like the phone tree’s been activated.” She smiled at another storefront owner, who gave her a knowing nod.

Beside me, Sylvie called out to someone walking past. “Excuse me. Hi. We’re looking for a seven-year-old boy named Teddy. Plaid shirt and a bow tie. Please look out for him.” She walked down the sidewalk, then stopped to look at me and gestured for me to follow as she loudly announced to anyone nearby that Teddy was missing. “We’re looking for a seven-year-old boy named Teddy. Plaid shirt and a bow tie.”

We hurried down the sidewalk, and I watched in awe as more and more people exited their storefronts, temporarily closing their shops and joining us on the sidewalk, walking in all directions and searching for Teddy. Murmurs of the lost boy rippled through the town as we made our way down the sidewalk and toward the lakeshore in the distance.

Sylvie patted my arm as if she understood the intrusive thoughts streaming through my head. “Don’t worry. One of the first things we do is call the lifeguards on the beach. They’ll be on high alert looking for him too.”

I swallowed hard. My throat tightened as I squeaked out an emotion clogged “Thank you.”

With confident strides, the pretty blonde beside me walked down the sidewalk, calling out to anyone who would listen and help. When her phone rang, my heart jumped. “Hey, Whip, what’s up?” Her face brightened and she looked at me. “They got him.”

My lungs collapsed and I bent over, bracing my hands on my knees and trying to catch my breath.

“Oh, that’s great news,” Sylvie continued. “I can bring her by. See you soon.” The woman looped her arm in mine and helped me up. “Okay, Mama. Looks like Teddy is at the fire station. Let’s go get him.”

My heart lurched at her calling me Mama. I swallowed hard. “I’m actually his aunt.”

“Okay.” She simply shrugged and smiled as we continued walking.

“Is he all right?” My lower lip trembled, and I nearly lost it again before swallowing back the emotions.

Sylvie smiled. “Sounds like he’s got the fire department wrapped around his little finger already.”

We turned a corner, and in the distance an adorable small-town fire station came into view. Bright-red trucks were lined up outside, and one of the large bay doors was open. Mature trees lined the sidewalks, and a slight breeze kicked up from the lake. I sucked in a lungful of coastal air and tried to rein in my frantic emotions.

“He’s a slippery little sucker, huh?” Sylvie asked. There was no judgment in her voice, only kindness and a motherly knowing.

I smirked and a wry laugh pushed through my nose. “You have no idea.”

I had always been a wanderer. I guess Teddy and I were kindred spirits in that regard. In fact, it had only been since my sister died that I had really gotten to know my nephew. My entire life I had yearned to travel—odd jobs, a new city. When I outstayed my welcome in one place, I packed up and picked another dot on the map without a single regret.

Well ... maybe asingleregret.

I had missed my sister. My thoughts flicked to the pretty urn that was shoved in the back of a cabinet of the skoolie where I lived. Olive always knew what to do in every situation, and I didn’t even know what to do with her ashes.

When Teddy was born, I made a trip back to Chicago to visit her, but then I was gone again. We chatted over video, but life as a single mom was hectic for her. I visited only a handful of times in the seven years since his birth. I was finding my own adventures while Teddy had become Olive’s whole world.

My chest pinched.How was I ever going to be good enough for him?

“Do you have other kids?” Sylvie asked as we walked.

I laughed at the idea. I liked kids, I just always assumed I’dbeone. “Just him—but he’s actually my nephew. His mom, my sister, died a few months back.”

“Oh.” She placed a hand over her heart. “I am so sorry to hear that.”

I kicked a stone as we marched toward the fire station.

The woman beside me was a stranger, but I found myself opening up to her. She had a calm and welcoming nature that reminded me a bit of my sister.

Strong and resilient.

“We were both kind of free spirits. Olive was always scheming, always one step ahead of everyone. Once she entered our town’s baking competition with a store-bought pie because the prize was two thousand dollars. When she won, they put her name and picture on a plaque, and she laughed every time we walked past it.”

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