“Yeah, no.” He roughly clears his throat.
She stops midstride across her room, bag in hand. “Are you okay? You sound a little strange.”
“Fine,” he says tightly. “What do you want?”
She’d left him a message last night detailing her suspicions about their dad, all while trying not to have an emotional breakdown. She doesn’t know what he wants with Lily, but suspects he found her. Dwight could be the shadow man in Josh’s drawings. He might have accidentally or intentionally pushed Josh and hit Lily. He might be the one who followed them out of town. He could be the reason Josh is here and Lily missing.
“Am I being crazy?” she asks.
“About Dad? No.”
Olivia drops her bag at her feet and jams her hand into her armpit. She bites her lower lip hard, holding back the scream building in her lungs. She isn’t crazy. Lucas sees it, too.
She sinks onto the tufted bench at the end of the bed. “Did you talk to Mom? What did she tell you?” Her questions are barely above a whisper.
“Not much more than what you’ve told me.” He pops his lips.
The skin on the back of her neck tightens. He’s lying. “Lucas . . .”
“Not now, Liv. If you don’t need anything, I’ve gotta go.”
“Wait! Text when Dad gets into town.” She doesn’t want Dwight surprising her with an unannounced visit.
“That all?”
“Keep me posted on his whereabouts.” She starts stuffing clothes in her bag, shirts, jeans, a dress. If she doesn’t find Lily in Oceanside and Josh comes back with her, they’ll stay with Blaze. She can’t hide Josh from Dwight forever, but she’d feel better if someone is looking over her shoulder while she’s looking out for her nephew.
“Will do.” Lucas ends the call.
Olivia quickly showers and packs and meets Josh in the kitchen. Already dressed in jeans and a tee, his hair every which way, he frantically searches his backpack, upending it on the table. He sorts through magazines, books, and sketch pads, holding them up, fanning the pages as if hoping something falls out. She knows exactly what he’s looking for.
“Are you looking for a white envelope?”
His head snaps up.
“I have it.”
“Mine.”
“But it was addressed to me.”
“Give back.”
If his eyes weren’t wild and frightened, she’d say no. Lily named her his guardian. She needs to hold on to the originals. “I’ll make a copy.” She retreats to the studio, copies the birth certificate and power of attorney, then gives him the originals.
“My mom—” He shuts his mouth and shoves the envelope in his backpack.
She takes a wild guess. “She doesn’t know you have it, does she?”
He shakes his head, which explains why he didn’t want to show her what was in his backpack.
“Josh?” He zips closed his pack. She waits for him to look at her. “Did your mom tell you about me?”
His mouth turns down. “Not much. Only your . . . frog . . . box. Ugh. Name.”
Just her name. Olivia tries not to feel hurt, but it’s impossible. Her chest aches. Lily probably hasn’t told him anything about her family. And why should she? They turned on her. But like any kid his age, raised by a single mom, he had to have been curious. He went looking for answers and came across Lily’s old files. Olivia’s pulling straws here, trying to find the missing pieces. But it makes sense to her.
“Is that how you found me?” She gestures at the envelope in his backpack. “Did you show that to the woman who brought you here when you couldn’t find your mom?”
His eyes shimmer. “Yes,” he whispers.
“Do you know how lucky you are that you did find me?” She cups her mouth. The odds alone make it a miracle. What if he hadn’t snagged his mom’s paperwork? He could be anywhere by now, lost to Lily forever. And Olivia would have never known.
Josh nods, his shoulders slumping. Olivia watches as the weight of the past few days bends him over. Tears flood his eyes. She doesn’t ask for permission or overthink what she’s doing. She pulls Josh into her arms and he falls apart.
His body shakes with deep guttural sobs. Her shoulder is drenched within seconds and tears bite her eyes. She doesn’t bother wiping them away, because even though Josh is miserable, her heart feels a bit fuller. She’s so glad he found her. Rubbing his back, Olivia whispers a prayer Lily won’t keep him out of Olivia’s life. Because she’s becoming attached to Josh.
An hour later, Olivia parks in front of her parents’ house. Josh fiddles with the phone Amber gave him. He lifts his head and looks outside the windows when he notices they’ve stopped. He sees the house and panic peeks around the corners of his eyes.
“He’s not here,” she reassures. Dwight never arrives home early when he’s coming from out of town, and Charlotte’s Mercedes is the only car in the driveway. “I’ll be quick. Just stay in the car this time.”
“Okay.”
Shouldering her purse with Dwight’s useless Rolodex, she exits the car and calls Amber.
“I need a huge favor. I’m returning the Rolodex. Call my mom and distract her.” She needs time to download her dad’s contact list. While she hopes Josh recognizes landmarks and can direct her to his house, Oceanside is a decent-size town. She’d rather have an address and not waste time driving around. Besides, she also needs to delete yesterday’s surveillance and copy his photos. If the trek to SoCal is a dead end she needs to pursue Lily through Josh’s father.
“What should I say?” Amber asks.
“Pretend you’re in the market for a new house?” That’ll keep Charlotte busy.
“I just bought one.”
“Investment property, then. Ask for a referral to an interior designer. You’ll think of something. Please? Just keep her on the line for ten minutes or so.”
Amber makes a noise in her throat. “Ten minutes max. I have a new client coming into the office.”
Olivia reaches the porch. “You’re a lifesaver. I owe you a lot for this week.”
“Yeah, you do, and you will pay up.”
Olivia can only imagine what scheme Amber will rope her into. A night out at a Western bar riding a mechanical bull was her last brilliant idea. She was sore for a week.
“Give me a minute or two. And heads-up. She was a hot mess yesterday.”
Olivia disconnects and presses the front door latch only to find it locked. No thanks to her unannounced arrival yesterday. She rings the doorbell, then rings again when she doesn’t hear Charlotte approach, and wonders if she should be worried. She’s about to call her mom when Charlotte finally answers the door.
“Olivia,” she says with genuine surprise. Dark circles from smeared mascara hold up her eyes. Her hair is unkempt. “What are you doing here?”
“I was in the area. Thought I’d check on you.” Her gaze sweeps up Charlotte’s wool pants and white tailored blouse. The buttons are out of alignment. The skin above the collar is flushed and damp. Olivia gestures at the buttons. Charlotte detests when she’s not put together.
“Oh.” Charlotte fixes her blouse.