Page 98 of Chasing Dreams
The dark-haired woman used the opportunity to place him in Shaine’s arms. Oh, but he was big. His weight was a glorious barely-discernable burden. She wanted to crush him against her, but instead she drank in his scent and the feel of him in her arms.
He snatched the bear and held it tightly.
That heart-stopping gaze lifted shyly to Shaine’s, now mere inches away. “I’m going to take care of you, Jack,” she promised and kissed his round cheek. “I’ve missed you so much.”
She couldn’t resist hugging his little body closely. Oh, Maggie. Remembering the pandemonium at Samantha and Amy’s reunion, she used all her determination and restraint to keep from crying. The last thing she wanted to do was upset him.
With a lump the size of Denver in his throat, Austin watched Shaine hug the child. He glanced over at Ken, relieved to note he wasn’t the only one trying to keep his cool.
Shaine kissed Jack’s cheek and he clung to the bear. He did look like the photographs she’d shown him. His mouth, with the pronounced dip in his upper lip, looked just like Shaine’s. A cute kid.
Shaine had her nephew. Her family.
She would be eager to take him home and rebuild their life.
Austin watched the reunion with a bittersweet satisfaction. He’d helped her. Together they’d assisted Ken in finding half a dozen children so far. And another dozen would follow.
And after that, he’d return to his mountain, not at all the same man he’d been a few weeks ago.
* *
Jack seemed comfortable in the small room he’d shared with Maggie for a few months before the supposed accident. After he’d been missing for about six months, Shaine had taken the crib down, realizing he would be too big for it by then. Maggie’s narrow bed was still there and, sleeping on it, he looked tiny and helpless.
“I can’t believe you really found him after all this time,” Maya said. She tiptoed away from the doorway and sat beside her sleeping infant on the sofa.
“Neither can I. This ordeal since Maggie’s death has taken so long. Sometimes I didn’t think I’d get through it.”
Maya gave her a strained smile. “But you did.”
“I’m going to have to buy him clothes,” Shaine said, thinking aloud. “And when Austin and I unpacked the toys, I realized they’re all baby toys. Well, he liked the cars, but he’ll need things to play with.”
“Shaine?”
Maya’s serious tone interrupted her ruminations.
“I want to apologize for doubting you.”
“You don’t need to apologize.”
“Yes, I do. I wasn’t as supportive as I could have been, I know that now. I was just so worried about you.”
“It’s okay, really. Any sane person would have had their doubts about my obsession with finding Jack.”
“What are you going to do now?”
Shaine flattened her palms on her jean-clad knees. “Ken—that’s Austin’s FBI friend—wants us available until the rest of the kids are found. He thinks that will only take a couple more weeks. But it might take longer, depending on how long it takes to gather evidence, track down children. I assured him I wasn’t going anywhere. I won’t take Jack traipsing across the country and I won’t leave him.”
“What did he say?”
“He said he’d use express mail or send someone to me.”
Beside her, the baby squirmed, and Maya patted his back. “What about Austin? What’s happening there?”
“On the flight home he mentioned he’d be leaving. Maybe tomorrow. Maybe tonight, I don’t know.”
Maya gave her an uncertain look. “Are you okay with that?”
“What do you mean?”
