Page 87 of Stone Vows

“Yes. I’m looking forward to it,” I say, looking at Kyle.

“Mrs. Peabody, how much does Elizabeth owe you for the rest of her lease?” Caden asks.

“Oh, I couldn’t ask her to pay six month’s rent. No, no. She is such a good girl. Always keeping to herself, but bringing me pies or cookies every Sunday.”

“How much is your rent, Elizabeth?” Kyle asks.

“Four hundred,” I say.

Caden gets out his wallet and pulls out a bunch of hundreds. He leans over to Kyle. “I’m a little shy, can you spot me?”

They pool their money and hand Mrs. Peabody a wad of bills that makes her eyes bug out.

“Like Elizabeth, we keep to ourselves,” Kyle says. “We like our privacy and we hope you’ll respect that if anyone ever comes around asking questions.”

“Of course,” Mrs. Peabody says, practically drooling over the stack of hundreds in her hand.

“It won’t take long to get our stuff,” I tell her. “I’ll leave the key on the counter when we’re done.”

Mrs. Peabody leans down to kiss Ellie and then she pulls me in for a hug. “You are the best tenant I’ve ever had. I will miss you.”

“We’ll miss you, too, Mrs. Peabody. Thank you.”

She walks back to her house, shaking her head at the wad of money in her hand. I imagine her walking to her kitchen and putting it in a coffee tin in her cupboard.

“I don’t have much,” I tell them. “The house came furnished. It’s just our clothes and Ellie’s crib and a few other things.”

Caden pulls the boxes he brought out of the bed of his truck and we walk up the porch steps.

“I’ll pay you back, Kyle. How much did you give her?”

“You don’t have to do that, Elizabeth.” He curses under his breath. “Lexi.”

“I do. I still have some money left from selling the ring.”

“You do?” he asks, looking surprised.

“It was a nice ring,” I say.

He studies me. “Where did you sell it?”

“At a place down the street from the hospital.”

He nods. “That must be why Grant came looking for you there. After he found out where you sold the ring, he probably cased the entire neighborhood surrounding the pawn shop. Maybe he’d been circulating pictures of you or your ring to pawn shops since you went missing, hoping to track you down.”

“I knew he probably would. It’s why I left the city after I sold it. I knew he never believed I was abducted. He knew I ran away from him. But he couldn’t tell anyone that. They’d ask too many questions.”

Ellie starts to fuss. “Milk?” I sign.

That makes her happy, so I tell the guys what they can box up before I excuse myself to my bedroom to feed her.

I look around the room that has been my home for the past six months. It was quiet here. It was safe. But it was lonely.

I look down at Ellie. Everything I’ve done is to protect her. Am I risking too much going back?Heknows I’m there now. He’s probably watching Caden. Maybe he even followed us and knows we’re here.

What kind of mother puts her own child at risk for love?

I stare at the door and think of who is on the other side.

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