Page 26 of Make Me Whole

“It’s Miss Holmes.” My tone was firm, polite, and unfriendly. “What can I do for you, Officer?”

“I’m here on behalf of your husband, the mayor.” I wanted to correct him that Eli was, at best, my estranged husband, but remained quiet as he continued.

“He went to your father’s home but couldn’t find you or his child, which worried him. He requested the help of the force to locate you and require your current address so he can visit with his daughter. He really doesn’t want to press kidnapping charges, but unless he can contact you, he’ll have no other choice.”

I balled my hands to keep them from shaking and straightened my back, hoping to look a little less pathetic than I felt. “Our separation agreement hasmydaughter’s sole custody undermycare until we reach a divorce settlement, and since he refuses to divorce me, he has no visitation rights. Please remind him of that and leave me alone.”

With nothing else to say, I walked around the man and jogged to my car. I opened the doors, got inside, and locked the doors again. I searched for my phone, but it wasn’t in the car either. Outside, the man continued to watch us for a second before returning to his own vehicle.

“Is everything okay, Mom?”Ella asked, her voice a little shaken when I exited the parking lot and turned on o Main Street.

I smiled at her from the rearview mirror. “Sure is, peanut. Don’t you worry.”

But she did, and so did I when we turned the first corner and the police car followed us.

11

MAX

It was just after nine when Aiden and I arrived at Skylar’s with breakfast. We had done that for the past two weeks since they moved into the puke house, but unlike past Saturdays, no one answered when I knocked on the front door. I checked the garage, and it was empty. I called Sky’s new cell phone, but she didn’t pick up.

From Eli doing something to them to Sky being so hurt by my cowardly behavior regarding our kiss that she ran away, my mind conjured all kinds of scenarios responsible for their absence. Each new scenario worried me to the point where my chest physically hurt.

Using my key, I barged into the house and told Aiden to set up breakfast at the dining table while I went in search of her. She wasn’t in the back yard nor the laundry room. I went upstairs to check their bedrooms, but they were also empty with both beds unmade.

My head pounded with tension and worry. I sat on Skylar’s bed and pulled my phone out of my back pocket to call her. The moment I pressed the green button, her pink phone started buzzing from the nightstand. I ended the call and collected her phone.

Breathing heavily, I made my way downstairs. I considered calling Al but decided to wait until ten before alerting her father and went downstairs to join my son.

I forced a smile as I entered the mustard yellow dining room. Aiden sat at the table and was nibbling one edge of a croissant. “They’re really gone.”

His brows tugged together. “For good?”

Despite my worry, I chuckled at his panic. If my actions had caused their disappearance, I had to patch things up with Skylar fast. This kid had gottenreallyclose and dependent on Ella, and I couldn’t take more from him than what he had already lost.

“I don’t think so.” With a shake of my head, I pulled both phones from my pockets and set them down. I tilted my head toward the pink one. “Sky left her phone. She wouldn’t leave for good and forget it.”

“She'd better not. I love Aunther Sky, but if she leaves without letting me at least say goodbye to Ella, I’ll be very—very—mad at her.”

Jeez . . .Aiden had it worse than me. That was for sure.

Wanting to distract him, and myself, I asked if he had any more food jokes to share, but he just shook his head. He looked forlorn as he painfully unraveled his croissant and ate it just as slowly.

While we ate, I filled the silence by telling him how he could help me with the reno. I even put in the effort to make it sound fun so he’d get excited, but nothing worked. He kept unraveling pastries and sipping milk as if it were bitter water while he stared at the front door like a lost puppy. I couldn’t help but wonder if the reason for such gloominess really was just Ella or if he was sad and worried that another mother—so to speak—had abandoned him.

My worry turned to anger at the thought. How could Sky do this to him, to us? I had told her what mothers meant to Aiden, and though I was aware that she wasn’t and would never be his mom, she was a female who had become part of his life. And she liked that he called her Aunther, which was fuel to the boy’s fantasies.

Maybe they were fuel for mine as well.

Damn her!I thought just as the front door rattled.

“They’re here.” Face as excited as his voice, Aiden jumped off the chair and set off running toward the front of the house.

Much less excited—pretty pissed, to be honest—I got up and followed him. When I arrived at the door, I couldn’t even bring my eyes to Skylar’s face. That was how angry I was.

My son, however, was delighted. He hugged both mother and daughter as if he hadn’t seen them in a year rather than a day, then asked for Skylar’s permission to play outside. Admittedly, I got a little vexed that Aiden didn’t feel the need to ask for my permission but overlooked it as the kids ran outside. I really didn’t want them around to hear what I had to say to Skylar.

“Hi, Max.”

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