Page 78 of Winter Vows

“Don’t be ridiculous. You didn’t do anything wrong.”

“I should have watched him more closely. He shouldn’t have been outside alone.”

“He’s a little boy, not a prisoner. He was in your own backyard. Maybe he wandered out front,” Lizzy consoled her. “It only takes a second and if someone is watching, waiting for that to happen, there’s not a thing you could do to prevent it.”

“I should have—”

“Should-haves will make you crazy,” Lizzy advised. “You’re a wonderful mother. I won’t listen to anyone—including you—who says otherwise.”

Kelsey mustered a faint smile at Lizzy’s fiercely protective tone.

“Why aren’t theydoingsomething?” she asked plaintively. “They’re just standing around talking.”

“Planning, coordinating,” Lizzy corrected. “In the long run, it will save time.”

Kelsey sighed, her gaze once again settling on the private investigator. “I don’t think Dylan liked me much. He was so, I don’t know, cold, I guess. At first I thought he was being professional, just trying to calm me down by seeming competent and practical, but now I’m not sure.”

“Dylan liked you just fine,” Lizzy reassured her. “I was there. He was just trying to get a fix on things.”

Before Kelsey could debate her assessment, the phone rang, startling them both. Kelsey all but dived for it. “Hello,” she shouted, then forced herself to quiet down. “Who is this?”

“Mommy?” a tentative little voice whispered. Oh, sweet heaven, it was Bobby. She clutched the phone so tightly her knuckles turned white. “Sweetie, is that you?”

“Hi, Mommy.”

“Oh, baby,” she whispered. Her knees went weak and she sank into a chair. She was dimly aware of Lizzy racing to the front door and shouting for Justin and Dylan. “Where are you, Bobby?”

“He’s with me, of course,” Paul said, interrupting.

Hearing his voice confirmed every one of her fears. He sounded as if he were on the edge. Too many pills? she wondered. Or not enough?

“Paul, please, bring him home. We’ll forget this happened.”

“Not just yet.”

“Tell me what you want. I’ll do anything. Just bring Bobby back. I know you didn’t do this just because you missed him and wanted to spend time with him. If that had been the case, you’d have called.”

“And begged? Is that what you want, Kelsey?”

“No,” she said honestly. She wanted him to stay away, but he was back in her life for the moment, for better or for worse. “Paul, what is this about? What do you want?”

The only response was the quiet click of a receiver being put back into place. Kelsey stared at the silent phone in shock. He had hung up on her. She didn’t know any more than she had before.

No, she told herself staunchly, that wasn’t true. She knew for sure now that Paul had their son. She knew that Bobby was okay, at least for the moment.For the moment.The phrase twisted and turned in her thoughts, terrifying her. What about a moment from now? Or an hour? Then, to her chagrin, she burst into tears, gulping sobs erupting from deep inside. All the pent-up emotion of the past couple of hours came pouring out.

As if from a great distance, she could hear Lizzy murmuring to her. She was dimly aware of Justin barking orders into the phone. And then of a dip in the sofa as someone’s weight settled next to her. For the second time that day, her hand was enveloped in Dylan Delacourt’s. She recognized his touch, clung to him, because he was solid and reassuring and he was here.

“Talk to me,” he commanded.

He tipped her chin up until she was forced to face him, forced to choke back another sob that threatened. He dug a clean handkerchief out of his pocket and silently handed it to her, then waited a minute until she was calmer.

“That was your ex?” he asked then.

She managed to nod. “Bobby first, then Paul.”

“Good. Then we know what we’re dealing with, who we’re looking for. We know it wasn’t a random act by a dangerous stranger, just a dad wanting to see his child.”

She blinked back a fresh batch of tears. “That is good, isn’t it?” she echoed, desperate for hope. Then she considered the rest of what he’d said, the faint note of sympathy in his voice. She didn’t dare tell him he was wrong, that this wasn’t about Paul’s love for Bobby at all.

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