Page 6 of Long Road Home

“Someone’s child came home tonight. That’s a good thing. Like I said, I can see why you do it.”

“I’m not going to retire and write ridiculous novels, so you don’t have to worry about the competition.”

Forrest laughed again. “We can dissect one of your father’s bestsellers if Charlayne and Betty ever invite us back to book club after what we did. But that’s for later.”

A dark-haired man in a lined denim jacket, jeans, and tan boots strode across the waiting area. “You’re the ones?”

Forrest got to her feet slowly.

Kenna stood. “I’m Private Investigator Kenna Banbury.”

His craggy features hardened. “Why did it take you so long to find her?”

Kenna hadn’t interviewed him or his wife. She’d had copies of the case file notes with the interviews done years ago, when everything had been fresh in his mind. Hours after his daughter went missing. Two years later, it would only have dredged up his grief.

“How is she?” Kenna wasn’t going to answer the question he asked. This man just needed someone to blame.

“She’s alive. No thanks to you.” He practically spat the words.

A nurse on the other side of the waiting area looked over from her computer.

Kenna felt Forrest’s shoulder touch hers so that they stood side by side.

“That’s wonderful news,” Kenna said. Truthfully, she’d considered the child to be dead. Whatever led her to check for a pulse had meant they could save the girl before she let go for good and took her last breath.

Forrest said, “We will be praying she fully recovers.”

“So she can be in therapy for the rest of her life, traumatized by every second she was captive.” He scoffed. “Who knows what happened to her.”

“But she survived,” Kenna pointed out. Unlike so manyothers. “She has time to heal and live her life.” Like she did every day.

Like Forrest was working on doing.

And the same thing she prayed every day for Maizie to realize, and take hold of.

Kenna wanted to tell him that if it wasn’t for her trying to find answers for Ramon Santiago as to what happened to his sister, no one would ever have found his daughter. But she wasn’t sure what a Christian who wasn’t tainted by pride in what she had accomplished would say right now.

Forrest filled the silence. “Your daughter will probably want to see you. As soon as she wakes up, she’ll want to know her dad is there with her. You don’t want to miss being the one to tell her she’s safe now.” It was an effective dismissal.

He whirled around and stomped out, as though late for an appointment.

“We know she’s alive,” Kenna said.

Forrest nodded. “Let’s go.” They’d finished their coffee, and it was nearly eleven.

Kenna had parked all the way across the lot in the only empty space. They walked through the parking lot only scattered with cars, and mounds of plowed snow now covered in soot and dirt from cars. Nothing fresh had fallen in a while. Dark shadows left by the streetlights created far too many places someone could hide.

Forrest said, “I always think it could be a trap. Which is why I’m still alive.”

Kenna chuckled. “I regret watching that ridiculous movie with you.” Even though she didn’t. Not really.

She hadn’t had a real friend in a long time, and any time Forrest spent not up in her own head was good—unless she needed to be there to work on her book. Kenna had been inhigh school when her father started writing books. Now she could barely picture the old man hunched over a laptop. Did Forrest share his process? The two of them had met here in Appleton at a big conference for authors of their genre. Her father had been teaching about private investigation.

After Kenna found Forrest’s unique short-term rental ad offering storage for anyone’s RV or trailer, she’d had Maizie run a full background check. When they’d discovered a connection between Forrest and Kenna’s father—where he’d supported the beginning of her author career—that had given her a connection to talk about Kenna staying in the RV during the storage.

They’d made a deal, and wound up becoming friends. At least, as much as each of them was capable of in a few weeks of knowing each other.

Kenna parked on the drive-in front of the RV bay garage door. Forrest dug out her keys, and they jangled in her hand as she walked. She stopped six feet or so away, and Kenna spotted what had stalled her.

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