Page 51 of Missing

“Then you say you have to ask your teacher,” Beth answered.

“Okay.” He nodded.

“So, what do we do if someone we’ve never met before asks us if we want an ice cream?” It was a test; one I’d intentionally made difficult by including ice cream.

Chase looked from me to his mom and back to me. “I say I have to ask my mommy.”

“That’s right.” I held out my fist and waited for him to bump it. “Or your teacher, if you’re at school.”

Beth got on her knees and hugged Chase, she mouthed ‘thank you’ over Chase’s head as she held him tight. She didn’t let go until he started to squirm.

Chase sounded like himself again. “Can we go see the rest of the turtles now?”

“Only if you promise to hold my hand.” She smiled down at him.

The rest of the afternoon was less exciting. Chase wore himself out dragging us around trying to see everything and fell asleep five minutes into the drive home.

Once I was sure he was asleep, I turned to Beth.

“I’m sorry if I overstepped earlier today.”

“No, thank you for handling it the way you did. I was too scared to be calm. Or rational.”

“I get it.”Time to fess up. “Beth, I’m sorry. I took my eyes off him for five seconds and almost had a heart attack when I realized he’d walked away.”

Her jaw clenched and her death grip on the steering wheel turned her knuckles white.

“You lost him.” It wasn’t a question.

Shit, I’m in trouble. “Only for a second. I swear.”

“I told you he wanders off.”

“You did. And I’m sorry. If I’m ever given the opportunity to try again, I’ll hold his hand the entire time.”

She nodded before glancing in the mirror to look at Chase. Her eyes shimmering with unshed tears.

“Beth, I’m sorry.”

“I know, and I forgive you. And since your apology included a plan to prevent it from happening again, I’m willing to give you a second chance.”

“Thank you.” My shoulders relaxed as the tension drained from them. I’d almost blown my first chance to show Beth I could be a good parent by fucking up and losing Chase.

She told me about a couple of times she’d lost Chase in a crowd as she drove me home. It was scary how easy it was to lose him, despite all my training.I’m just happy I found him so quickly. Acold chill swept over my body as I thought of all the things that could have gone wrong.

We spent the rest of the ride talking about more pleasant things.

When she turned onto my street, I told Beth she could drop me off at my front door rather than park, since she needed to get Chase home.

“Thank you for a fun, and eye-opening, afternoon.” I swore to myself I’d never make that mistake again. I wouldn’t be able to live with myself if anything happened to Chase on my watch.

“You’re welcome.” She glanced back at Chase at the same time I did.

He was still sound asleep, so I leaned over and gave her a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’ll call you later, okay?”

“Okay.” She reached for my hand as I turned to open my door. “Despite the scare, I had a nice time too. Thanks for coming with us.”

Chapter 26

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