Page 92 of Winter Vows

“Oh, God, Dylan, what if I never see him again?” she whispered, her voice muffled against his chest.

“You will,” he vowed.

She blinked back tears and drew back to gaze at him. “You sound so sure. Has something happened?”

“We found out Paul’s car isn’t at his house or his office. Justin and I agree it could mean he drove here. We also found out he’s only taken a two-week vacation at work. He hasn’t quit.”

Kelsey stared at him mutely, trying to grasp the implications.

“Kelsey, did you hear what I said?”

She nodded. “I just don’t know what it means.”

“It means we not only have Bobby and Paul to look for, but a specific car. We have police all over the state checking hotel and motel parking lots and registration books. We also think it could mean that Paul doesn’t intend to go on the run with Bobby, maybe not even to keep him.”

She felt the tight knot in her stomach ease ever so slightly. “He’ll bring him back, then,” she said, half to herself. Hadn’t she believed from the beginning that Paul had only done this to frighten her, to back her into a corner so she would help him get more pills? It all fit. She just had to wait him out, wait for his demand.

And then what? Would she give him a supply of narcotics? How could she do that in good conscience? And if she did it this time, would he simply come back again and again, using Bobby for leverage each time? No, she had to put a stop to it now, but how?

She looked at Dylan, noted how intently he was watching her, and realized just how certain he already was that there was more to this than she had told him. Could she tell him the rest? Did she dare? Would he help her keep the secret or feel compelled to turn Paul in to the authorities?

She was struck by a sudden thought. Paul was already in trouble with the police. He’d violated a court order when he took Bobby. That alone should be enough to put him in jail and keep him from coming after her for more pills. All they had to do was catch him and her problems would be over, for however long such a sentence lasted. Maybe jail would be the best for him. He’d have to get over his addiction in there. Still, the thought of Paul in jail sent a chill down her spine.

“Kelsey?”

She glanced at Dylan. “What?”

“What is going on in that head of yours? I can practically see the wheels turning.”

“I was just thinking about the future,” she said, which was honest as far as it went.

“Oh?”

“Will Paul go to jail?”

“Most likely.”

“For how long?”

Dylan shook his head. “I’m not certain. If he brings Bobby back on his own, it would probably help.”

“What if I didn’t press charges?”

Dylan stared at her, clearly shocked. “Why the hell would you not press charges?”

“Because...” She searched for an explanation that made sense. She wasn’t sure there was one. Paul had to pay. She knew that, but the thought of Bobby’s dad being in jail made her physically ill. What would Bobby think when he grew up and realized his mother was responsible for putting his father in prison? “I guess I’m just thinking of how Bobby would feel.”

“When he’s older, he’ll understand,” Dylan said. “Besides, there’s no choice. He violated a court order. You won’t really have a say in whether he’s prosecuted.”

“Not even if I say he had my permission?” she asked, grasping at straws. She knew she was being irrational, that she ought to want him punished, but she just wanted Bobby back. She wanted things to be normal again. It was what she had desperately wanted when she’d moved to Texas, a normal life with her son. She had known then she was taking a risk by making her deal with a man hooked on pills, but it had seemed worth it. Getting out with Bobby had been all that mattered.

Dylan’s unflinching gaze remained on her face. “What’s really going on, Kelsey? What are you afraid of?”

“I told you, I’m afraid for Bobby, how he’ll react to all of this.”

Dylan shifted away from her then, his expression blank. Kelsey realized that once more he didn’t believe her. She also thought she detected something else in his reaction: hurt. He was hurt, probably disappointed, too, that she didn’t trust him with the whole truth.

She hadn’t thought she could be any more miserable than she had been ever since Bobby had disappeared, but she was. She felt as if she had let down yet another person in her life. Dylan had been a stranger just a few short days ago, but she already knew that under different circumstances he was someone she would like, someone who deserved better than what she was giving him.

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