Page 69 of Everything We Give

“And you thought by mentioning this to me I’d accuse you of bringing up James again.”

I nod.

She sighs, dismayed. “What happened?”

“He came to our house and he gave me Lacy Saunders’s card. Remember her? She’d given it to him with the request to pass it along to me. That’s why he wanted to see me. I called Lacy and—”

“Her number’s disconnected. I know. But I got her new one and I talked to her.”

“So did I. Aimee, her number wasn’t disconnected when I called.”

CHAPTER 20

IAN

“What did she tell you?”

“How did you find her number?” I ask at the same time.

Seven years ago, Aimee had tried locating her number with no success. She even hired a private investigator. Lacy never kept her numbers for long and seemed to constantly be on the move. She disconnected the number on her card immediately after we finished our call. So how did Aimee find it this time?

Aimee’s gaze slides to the door. She stands, rinses out the cloth, and folds it over the lip of the basin. I push off the floor, feeling slightly woozy, but better than a few moments ago. I don’t think I have food poisoning, though my stomach reacted to something. I grab my toothbrush and squirt on a strip of paste.

Aimee moves aside so I can use the sink. “Lacy mentioned that she spoke with you. She wants us to meet her at your dad’s house on Tuesday.”

I tilt my head back so I don’t drool foam when I say, “That’swhy I left early. I wanted to get the assignment done before meeting Lacy. It wasn’t because of Reese.”

I spit out the paste, rinse my mouth, and tell her what happened.

After her text about Kristen being in labor, I drove home from the gym to shower before heading to the hospital. And there was Lacy’s card, right beside my keys where I’d dropped them on the table by the door. I figured, what did I have to lose from punching a set of numbers into my phone?

The phone rang and I moved into the kitchen for a Red Bull. Long night ahead, what with Kristen being in labor and all. I expected to get the “This number has been disconnected and is no longer in service” recording and be on my way. But Lacy answered the phone.

“Hello, Ian,” she’d said.

The back of my neck prickled. My pulse took a shot of adrenaline like a junkie. At the sound of her voice, I had an all-around bad-vibe feeling. “Why did you want me to call?”

“You’ve been looking for me.”

“That was five years ago.” Personal data is more accessible on the Internet than it was five years ago. I also had the funds now to hire a private investigator, assuming that’s what I wanted to do. “I don’t need you like I once thought I did.”

“Maybe not, but you do need to listen to what your father has to say.”

My father? The prickles on the back of my neck scampered like cockroaches across my shoulders. What did my dad have to do with Lacy? She was as much a mystery to him as she’s been with me. “I haven’t spoken with him in years. I doubt he has anything to say to me.”

“He will.”

I glanced at the kitchen clock. It was getting late. Aimee was waiting for me at the hospital. “Unless you have something to say, I’m hanging up.” What a waste of time.

“I’m not wasting your time, Ian, so don’t waste mine. Tuesday is a good day. It’s my favorite day of the week. Mondays are the worst. Everyone’s cranky and wants it to be Friday. But Tuesdays? People are more generous on Tuesdays. They give more to charity and they spend more money at stores. The stock market does very well on Tuesdays, too. We vote on Tuesdays. Change happens on Tuesdays. It also has cheaper airfares. I’ll be at your dad’s house on Tuesday. You should come, too.”

“I can’t. I’ll be on assignment.” The most important assignment of my life. Idaho is the last place I want to go.

“That’s too bad. I have news of your mother.” She hung up.

I blinked, pulled the phone away from my ear to confirm she’d ended the call. She had. I immediately redialed. It rang continually. I tried again after I showered. The phone rang; then it answered. “This number has been—” I disconnected.

“I called the airline to see if I could get a flight that night and then called Al. He signed off on me moving up the trip, so I decided I’d go to Spain and get the assignment done before meeting up with Lacy,” I say to Aimee. “It hit me then why I’d been so irritable with you these past months.”

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