She swallowed, eyes widening. “I better go,” she said, and walked around the table toward Maria.
Hunt slowly let out a breath. Not once in his life had he been so furious with a woman. Not even with Lisa. Abby was passing judgment against him before he’d done anything wrong, trying to prevent him from being close to Noah, and that just didn’t sit right.
Distancing himself from Noah and Abby… He didn’t like it. Not at all.
In his attempt to make every woman happy, he’d succeeded in frightening away the one woman he wanted to get closer to.
Chapter 11
“Where is he?” Abby searched the house, calling out her son’s name, looking under tables and beds in a desperate attempt to find Noah.
The confused babysitter looked around. “I fell asleep,” she said, needlessly.
Abby had returned from the Fireside Lounge and found the sitter asleep on the couch. The girl was a sound sleeper and hadn’t woken when Abby arrived. It was after eleven, and she didn’t blame the girl for dozing. But when she went to check on Noah, he wasn’t in his bed. And that had freaked her the hell out.
Abby’s heart raced, panic constricting her chest. “Where’s my son?”
The young girl’s eyes were so wide that they looked ready to pop out of her head. “I put him to bed hours ago. He was fine, I swear it.”
Abby sank onto the couch, clutching the sides of her head, rocking back and forth. “Oh my God, oh my God.” She needed to call the police. She needed to search the neighborhood. Needed to keep searching the house.
She stood and spun abruptly in a circle. She’d already checked the house. Outside… She’d search outside and call the police.
Abby grabbed a flashlight from the junk drawer and raced for the front door. There were bears in Tahoe, and other mountain creatures. She had to find Noah.Now, now, now…
“Your phone is ringing,” the sitter said, and Abby ignored her.
She pressed her fingers to her temples. “Just grab a flashlight and help me search.”
The girl pulled a flashlight from the drawer where Abby had grabbed hers. She stopped and picked up Abby’s phone. “It’s still ringing. Maybe it’s Noah.”
“Noah doesn’t have a phone.”
“But…”
Abby finally looked at the caller ID. It was Vivian.
If she didn’t answer, Vivian would ask questions about Abby’s whereabouts and assume the worst, all because she’d missed a call. She pressed to accept and flung open the front door, running down the steps. “I can’t talk right now, Vivian.”
“Are you missing something?”
Abby froze. “What?”
“I came by this evening to check on Noah, and that sitter you hired was so passed out on drugs that she didn’t even wake. I took my grandchild to safety.”
“Youwhat?” Abby spun around, grabbing her head. What was wrong with this woman?
“You had no right!” Abby said. “Have you any idea how terrified I was when I got home and Noah wasn’t here?”
Vivian ignored the question. “You can barely hold down a job, and now you’re hiring druggies to watch my dear grandchild. I can’t let this go on any longer.” Vivian hung up.
Abby stared at the phone. What was that supposed to mean?
She turned to the sitter. “Why didn’t you wake when I came home?”
The girl looked horrified. “My mom always says I’m a sound sleeper. I didn’t hear you. I’m so sorry. Is Noah okay?”
“His grandmother walked in under your nose and took him while you slept. What if it had been a stranger?”
