Page 86 of Winter Vows

“Maybe she and Paul worked it out between them. After all, they were both intelligent people. Maybe they just decided to keep the lawyers out of it and keep the hard feelings to a minimum. Then all the court had to do was sign off on their agreement, right?”

He nodded. “I suppose,” he conceded as halfheartedly as she had a moment earlier. “It just doesn’t feel right to me, though.”

“Face it, Dylan. It would never feel right to you if the mother got sole custody. That’s like waving a red flag in front of a bull. It’ll get you going every time. Even though in the end it was your decision to give up custody of Shane, not Kit’s, you blame her for it.”

“Okay, okay, I’m biased on the subject. I admit it.”

She regarded him curiously. “Have you told Kelsey about this particular bias?”

He shrugged off a nagging sense of guilt. “It hasn’t come up.”

“Dylan, you’re my brother and I love you. I think you’re an incredible, skilled, caring investigator, but don’t you think she has a right to know? She might conclude you don’t have the objectivity to handle this case.”

“She probably would,” he agreed. “Which is why I’m not telling her. I’m all she’s got right now. She needs to believe I’m doing my best for her. She’s shaky enough without adding a whole lot of doubts about me into the mix.”

Before his sister could respond to that, his beeper went off. He checked it, saw Kelsey’s number and used his cell phone to call her back. Lizzy answered on the first ring.

“It’s Dylan. What’s up?”

“Paul called again.”

“Is Kelsey okay?”

“She’s hanging in there.”

“I’ll be right there.” He gave Laura another peck on the cheek, then added one for his sister. “I’ll check in when I can.”

“’Bye. Love you.”

“I love you, too.”

Checking his rearview mirror, he saw that Trish stood watching him until his car curved into the pine forest that separated the house from the highway.

Maybe Trish was right. Maybe he should be telling Kelsey the whole story about Shane, letting her decide if she wanted him to stay on the job.

Not just yet, though. There was time enough for that after he found out what had happened when her ex-husband called. Maybe luck was finally on their side.

Kelsey was still shaking. She couldn’t seem to stop. The trembling started inside, in the pit of her stomach. She had to get a grip. Falling apart wouldn’t help anyone, least of all Bobby.

He was still okay. Paul had given her a whole thirty seconds to make sure of that. Bobby had barely said, “Hi, Mommy,” when the phone was snatched away.

“Paul, please. I want to talk to him,” she had begged.

“Another time.”

Every one of the questions she had prepared so diligently at Dylan’s direction flew right out of her head. She asked the first thing that popped into her mind. “Is he eating properly?”

“We’re on vacation, Kelsey. He’s getting all the junk food he wants.” His tone was a mix of amused tolerance and familiar sarcasm.

Kelsey was about to protest, when she saw the absurdity of worrying about whether Bobby was getting enough carrots and broccoli.

“No argument? I’m amazed,” Paul said. “You were always such a stickler for the four basic food groups.”

She let that pass. “What about clothes? Are you sure he’s warm enough?”

“Kelsey, it’s summer in Texas. He’s plenty warm. If he needs clothes, I can afford to buy him some things.”

“Of course you can. That’s not the point.” Tears welled up and she batted at them impatiently. “Paul, this is not a vacation and you know it. You’ve kidnapped him.”

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