Page 10 of Missing

My phone rang promptly at eight. I shouldn’t have expected anything less from someone who served in the military and worked for John Sheppard. John ran a tight ship; tardiness was not acceptable without a good excuse, like death or dismemberment. I was sure there were a few other excuses he’d deem acceptable, but I didn’t think anyone had ever tested the theory.

Answer your phone.

“Hello.”Did my voice just squeak?

“Hi Beth, it’s Doug. Is it a bad time?”

“No, Chase is asleep, so I’m free.”

“Good. Did he have fun with John?”

It was sweet of him to ask. “He did. He was a bundle of raw energy afterwards, but John must’ve worn him out because he fell asleep two pages into his favorite bedtime story.” I laughed and so did Doug, causing my heart to do a little leap in my chest.

We talked for a few minutes, sharing pleasantries, before setting our date for Saturday. I had to work the morning shift, so I’d already arranged for Chase to be at daycare and would call tomorrow to ask them if he could stay for a few extra hours. They were usually flexible, if they didn’t have plans.

“I should probably warn you; Mary overheard you ask me out.”

“So, John will know by the end of the night.” He finished for me. He didn’t sound upset, but then I’d never heard him sound upset so I didn’t have a point of reference.

“Yeah, they don’t keep secrets from each other. But it’s not a bad thing. Mary approves.” I didn’t see a reason to tell him she was giddy we were finally going on a date. Mary was the only person who knew about my crush on Doug. Though Meg and Emily suspected.Which means Jack and Jamie do too.

“Should I expect the dad-talk from John?” I could hear the humor in his voice. Thank God he wasn’t worried. John could be intimidating when he wanted to be, and I didn’t want Doug worrying about his job.

“You might get a variation of it, but don’t worry, it’s not like he’ll be waiting on the porch with a shotgun if you bring me home late.”

“Well, I wasn’t worried before you said that. Now I’m wondering if I should wear my vest.”

His deep laugh did weird things to my body, stirring up a physical reaction I hadn’t had in years.Since Phil. I felt a brief flash of guilt before reminding myself itwas okay.Phil would want me to find someone who made me happy.

We talked for a few more minutes before he asked, “Do you have a favorite lunch place? Or do you want me to pick?” Usually I’d want the man to take the lead on a first date, but this was lunch and finding a good lunch place was harder than finding a quality restaurant for dinner.

“I don’t have a favorite place, but I know of a great little cafe that serves breakfast all day. If you don’t mind breakfast for lunch.” It might sound weird, but the restaurant only opened for the breakfast and lunch crowd, and their menu was mostly breakfast items. “The weekly specials are different dishes from around the world.” They offered a limited selection of delisandwiches for the lunch crowd, but most people went for their breakfasts.

“Breakfast is good any time of day. What’s the name?”

“The Breakfast Joint.” I deadpanned. Doug laughed. I couldn’t blame him, the name was simple and on point, but didn’t do it justice.

“If I pick you up at one, does that give you enough time to get ready?”

“It does.” It gave me more than enough time, since I got off work at twelve. I didn’t usually work Saturdays but had offered to fill in for our part-time shift leader who needed the morning off.

“Great. I’ll pick you up at one. Good night, Beth.”

“Good night, Doug.” I hesitated before hanging up, then giggled like a schoolgirl because what forty-one-year-old woman does that?

One who has been lonely for far too long.

Chapter 8

Doug

Sure enough, John called me into his office the next morning. I closed my laptop, topped off my coffee in the lobby while saying hello to Meg, and then knocked on John’s door. Taking a deep breath, I reminded myself I hadn’t done anything wrong, and anything John said to me would be out of love for Beth and Chase.

“Come in.”

“Morning John.” I raised my mug in a salute. “You wanted to see me?”

“I do, close the door.” He leaned back and pointed at the chairs in front of his desk. “Have a seat.”

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