Page 81 of To Belong Together
In return for John’s sharp comment, Gannon gave the same sympathetic smile he’d offered when they’d picked him up a mile from the wedding. He didn’t mind Gannon coming for him. Under other circumstances, John would’ve gone and fished Gannon from whatever dark corner he’d found himself in too.
What John could’ve done without was the audience in the backseat—as much as he liked Addie. She was the one who’d pushed for the whole story.
John would’ve offered Gannon one sentence: Kate told Erin he had a girlfriend.
Gannon would’ve replied with a line or two and nothing more, and that would have been the end of it.
With Addie there, he’d had to endure a pep talk the likes of which he hadn’t encountered since he’d left home. Erin would believe him over Kate, Addie assured him. Erin knew how he felt. This would all work out. Kate was being emotional, taking things out on him because she couldn’t take out her frustrations on Tanner.
All the encouragement added up to…?
A dark house. A dark phone. A dark feeling.
John rubbed his forehead. “Let’s call it.”
Gannon assessed him and shifted into drive. “Why don’t you crash at my place?”
He’d much rather be at his own home, where he could retreat to his room, close the door, and not face scrutiny. “Tim’s at my house.”
“He’ll be all right. You were going to be gone tonight anyway, and he was sober when we went for the dogs.”
“That was hours ago.”
Gannon sighed, apparently accepting the excuse, and the vehicle fell into silence.
The road out of Hartley took them by Hirsh Auto. Erin’s car waited in its normal spot by the rotting billboard. Whatever had happened, she hadn’t swapped his car for her own.
God, please don’t let her be in a ditch somewhere.
He lit up his phone again and typed a text.Are you safe?
If she’d wanted to talk to him, she would’ve returned his call by now, so he sent the short message. Hopefully it would be unobtrusive enough that she’d answer, or he’d never sleep tonight.
Halfway to his house, his screen did light up.
Erin had sent one word:Yes.
Gannon looked over, eyebrows lifted.
“She’s safe.” John turned the phone face down on his leg.
Should he call again and try to repair things?
Probably not, if she was upset enough to let his call go to voice mail. Had she listened to the message? If so, it must not have helped, or she would’ve replied with more than one word. He’d better give her a few hours to process.
“Did she say anything else?” Addie edged forward again. “Why she ran off like that? Apologize, maybe?”
Kate needed to step up in that department, not Erin.
Addie rubbed his shoulder. “If she’s okay somewhere, you can talk tomorrow. You’ll work it out.”
John wasn’t so sure. The Erin he knew would never be so brief if she were open to working things out.
At nine a.m. on Sunday,Erin parked John’s sports car at the back of the Hirsh Auto parking lot, where it was least likely to draw attention. She should’ve driven her own vehicle for the search, but she hadn’t even thought of it. Hadn’t thought of changing out of the dress she’d bought for the reception either, and now cold air sank its teeth into her exposed legs.
Her one consuming thought had been for her dad.
The police claimed dementia patients usually didn’t wander more than a mile or two. While other searchers walked that radius, Erin had driven every single road, looked in every driveway, cruised every parking lot in an ever-broadening circle, forever convinced she’d find him around the next turn.
