Page 60 of No More Words

Color flushes his neck. “When?”

“The other night. You were sleeping. Your hat fell off.”

His free hand flies to his hat.

“Is that from when you were pushed?”

He nods and she swallows the bile that rose faster than the bestseller clutched in his hands rose on the charts. Her dad might have done that to him. He could have damaged Josh for life.

“Do you have headaches? Feel dizzy at all?” She asks the questions Mike suggested.

He shakes his head.

“That’s good,” she murmurs, relieved. “Will you tell me if you do get any?”

He nods. “My mom ... she ... mom ... flew.” He grunts and stops talking, looking at her like he does when he wants her to understand what he’s trying to say without having to say it. He’d rather not talk than sound stupid.

“Sorry,” she whispers regretfully. This time, she doesn’t understand what he’s attempting to explain.

Josh grimaces and again she wants to hug him. She doesn’t, afraid she’ll get attached, only to have Lily keep him from her once they find her. The POA and Lily’s annual photos in the mail aren’t enough to satisfy Olivia she won’t only lose Lily again. She’ll lose Josh, too. No point letting him in if he’s only going to leave.

“So, um.” She clears her throat and drops the pen on her desk. “Sit here.” She pulls out the chair in front of the drafting table.

Josh stuffs the graphic novels into his backpack and drops the pack at his feet. He sits and her phone vibrates with an incoming call. She peeks at the screen and her limbs go cold. It’s Dwight.

“Um ... okay,” she mutters, distracted. “Pencils there. Paper here. Draw whatever comes to mind. I’ll be right back.” She leaves Josh and goes to the kitchen, her phone vibrating like a kid with a temper tantrum. She sets the phone on the kitchen island, appalled she won’t pick up the phone because she can’t. Not now. She’d left her dad a message this morning, but that was before Josh’s reaction to his picture. Dwight will know something isn’t right just from the tone of her voice, and she’s never been able to lie to him.

His face lights the screen, a photo she took when they walked across the Golden Gate Bridge several years back before she moved out of the city. The phone dances on the quartz countertop until the call drops into voice mail. As much as she wants his side of the story, Josh’s safety and Charlotte’s warning keep her from reaching out. She needs to protect her nephew. That’s her priority.

The new voice mail icon appears and Olivia plays the recording.

“Livy, Princess. Daddy here. I’m still in San Diego at the wine symposium. Gorgeous here. Weather is perfect. I was just talking to your mother and you came up in conversation. But you always do.” He chuckles and she tries not to feel alarmed.Don’t overreact.She gives herself a pep talk. Charlotte won’t tell him about Josh. He still doesn’t know. “I got to thinking we haven’t done lunch in a while, you and me, like we used to. I’ll be home in two days. Call and let me know when’s a good time. I’ll make reservations. You pick the place. Got to run. Love you, Princess.”

The recording ends and Olivia immediately calls Charlotte. Questions race through her mind as the phone rings. What did they talk about? Did she tell him about Josh?

The doorbell rings. “Now what?” she wonders out loud, peeking out the front window. Ethan waits on the porch with a smile and groceries. She opens the door and stares at him like he’s a ghost.

“Hello? Olivia, are you there?” Charlotte’s voice spills from the phone.

“I’ll call you back, Mom.” She ends the call and Ethan’s smile fades.

“Forget about dinner?”

She peeks at her phone screen and balks at the time. “Lost track of time. Sorry.”

“I can come back later.” He starts backing up.

“No, no. Come in.” She hasn’t thought about dinner. Josh must be starving, and she’s eager to learn anything about the days and months leading up to when Lily left. She takes a bag from him. “It’s been a long day, that’s all.” She leads him into the kitchen.

“I brought steaks,” he says when she starts unloading his bags. At least she doesn’t have to think about what to cook. “I saw the grill out back last night. Hope you don’t mind.”

She hesitates before dropping a bag of potatoes on the counter. “Of course not.” Blaze might. He treated the grill as his own.

“Where’s Josh?” He looks around the room.

Her gaze follows his, eager to see what Josh will show her. “He’s in my studio drawing. Remember Amber?”

“Yeah, I do. How is she?”

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