Page 74 of Chasing Dreams
“Kidnapping.”
“Thomas County is in the upper left corner of the state, a hop, skip and a jump out of the way from Silver City to Omaha. A well-laid plan.”
“Incredible,” Austin said, lying back and rubbing his eyes.
“And I have a good hunch that if we can track down Amy Cutter, we’ll find Jack Richards.”
“It’s that place in Arizona, Ken. That’s where they fence the kids. Did you check it out?”
“I have two men there right now.”
“Good. Let me know. I’ll be back in Omaha today.”
“I’ll call you there.”
Austin hung up and noted the sun streaming through the crack in the drapes. Shaine still slept soundly. He’d get up, grab a run and a shower before she woke.
Watching her sleep, he considered his options. How long could they go on like this? The closer they grew to one another, the harder it would be to part when the time came. And that time sped imminently closer.
The wisest thing he could do would be to back off now. Chalk up this insane need for her to a fleeting loss of good sense and move on.
Was he wise enough? Was he strong enough?
He had to be. She had established a great life for herself. She’d worked hard to get the inn operating, and she loved it. The Pruitts were wonderful friends.
This last week only reinforced how impossible it was for him to live anywhere but in the mountains. He’d been a solitary man for as long as he could remember. Up on his mountain, away from the people who made up this society was the only way he could survive. He’d been inside too many sickos’ heads, seen too much through their eyes and their senses to want any part of living among them.
Though his intuition occurred in a part of his brain that had no language, and he couldn’t explain it, he’d learned to trust it. He knew he wouldn’t be able to live the way she did.
His adoring gaze took in the sweep of her long lashes against her creamy-skinned cheek, and he thought of the color of her eyes when they were lit from within with excitement or humor. He studied the perfect symmetry of her bow-shaped lips, knowing how soft and utterly kissable they were. The scent of her hair stabbed him memories he’d have to live with.
He reached as though to touch her face, stroke her hair, but drew his hand back.
There was no way he could expect such a vibrant young woman to cut herself off from humanity. Besides, he hadn’t been fooling about believing they would find Jack. When she had her nephew with her, Austin’s importance would fade. Even if it didn’t, the boy would need to go to school, and the Colorado mountain roads were treacherous in winter.
One or both of them would soon regret letting things go this far. He was to blame. He’d known the impossibility of it all, but after meeting her, loving her, he’d lost his grip on reality.
Maybe it wasn’t too late. Maybe she was still operating out of gratitude and physical attraction; those were both normal motivations. Maybe it wasn’t too late to prevent her from being hurt when their liaison ended. It was entirely possible that he was the only one who’d leapt off the deep end and fallen in love.
Perhaps Shaine Richards’s feelings could still be spared.
He could only hope.
* *
Austin explained Ken’s findings on the way to the airport.
“So they’re actually looking for this Cutter child?” she asked as they checked their bags and waited for their flight.
“Yes. She was reported missing the day before Maggie’s death. Jack was assumed dead, and there was no evidence of foul play. But this kid disappeared out of her crib.”
“How fortunate for her.”
She knew her sarcasm was ugly, but the whole thing was so unfair. No one had ever even looked for Jack.
They boarded and found their seats. The flight attendant brought them drinks and flirted with Austin.
“Amy’s going to lead us to Jack,” he said sometime later.
