“Human quicksand, eh?” Cait quirked an eyebrow as she unlocked her car. “Are you sure it isn’tlove?”
“It’s not love,” Linx hastened to clarify. “Love shouldn’t hurt likethis.”
“No, it shouldn’t, but it does when you’re not on the samepage.”
“We’re never on the same page.” Linx got into the passenger seat. “I’m sure he hates me right now. I really screwedup.”
Cait started her engine and backed out of the parking spot. “Since you won’t tell me what’s wrong, you don’t get to tease me with riddles. We’re friends, aren’twe?”
“Yes, we are.” Linx glanced at the generous woman who always stopped by with treats and good cheer. “I suppose you’ll get it out of Gradyanyway.”
“Darn tootin’ right,” Cait chirped. “You might as well spill. What did you do that was so bad to Grady other than keeping hisdog?”
Linx swiped her face with both hands and blinked, her heart racing and pulse speeding. “I kept his daughter fromhim.”
Errrrr! Cait slammed on the brakes and jerked to a stop. Linx braced herself for the rear-end slam, but fortunately there was no other car behindthem.
“I knew it. That picture was a dead giveaway.” Cait shrieked so high-pitched, it stung. “Why didn’t you tell us? My family would have adoptedher.”
Great. Now she’d not only hurt Grady, but also Cait and the entire Hart family. The first grandchild for their parents was given away without them having had a chance to claimher.
There was nothing she could do for them than to admit the whole truth. They’d hate her and she’d lose Cait’s friendship. But then, psychopaths like her didn’t deserve the kind of love and acceptance normal peopleenjoyed.
“I gave her away for adoption.” Linx’s voice was as flat as steamrolled roadkill. “She’s the pastor’s daughternow.”
“And you never told Grady?” Cait’s voice was accusing. She pulled off the road and glared ather.
“I tried to tell him, but my messages were intercepted. When he finally called me, it was already a done deal, so I told him I was never pregnant.” Linx stared out the side window. With a heaviness inside her chest, she relayed the entire story to Cait, about Salem, the missed messages, and all the years ofhiding.
By the time they arrived at Grady’s plot of land, everything was out in the open, and Cait now knew what an evil, black heart Linx had. It was exactly as her mother had predicted. No one who got close to her would survive unscathed. Even someone as big and bold and beautiful as Tami could one day fall victim to Linx and her horrible judgment. Maybe she should save everyone the trouble by running away and becoming ahermit.
“He’s not here,” Linx said, looking at the empty parking are. “His truck’s nothere.”
“Maybe he’s hiding in the trailer.” Cait parked next to the fifthwheel.
Linx didn’t think so, but fear prickled chilly icicles up her spine. He wouldn’t be hiding in the trailer, but could he have hurt himself? Orworse?
Both women rushed out of the car and pounded on the trailer door, calling forGrady.
“He’s not answering,” Cait said with a worried look on herface.
“I hope he hasn’t hurt himself.” Linx’s heart pounded like a bag of jagged rocks, and she jiggled the door handle.Please, please, please, don’t be too late.She jimmied a credit card into the slot, popping the trailer dooropen.
“I’ll reserve comment on where you acquired those skills,” Cait said as they both peered into the darkness of the trailer’sinterior.
The trailer was empty, thankfully, and there was no note on the table. The closet was empty and his toothbrush was missing from the smallbathroom.
“He’s gone AWOL,” Cait concluded. “He does that when he’s upset. Disappears for months at a time. No calls, no mail. Nothing. I’ll call my parents and let them know he’smissing.”
“I’m so sorry. It’s all my fault.” Linx hugged Cait. “I don’t know what I’ll do if anything bad happens tohim.”
She definitely couldn’t live withherself.
If it wasn’t for the fact that she needed to see Jessie grow up, she’d just as soon disappear,too.
“Maybe we’ll never see Grady again.” Cait burst into tears. “Imagine having a child and not being able to acknowledge her. The agony must beoverwhelming.”
While Cait carried on, Linx spotted Grady’s cell phone on a bench inside the trailer and she slipped it into herpocket.
Grady didn’t want to be contacted. Smartphones left a trail of clues—GPS locations, websites he’d visited, trips he took, even where he had parked his car. By dumping it, he was truly free from the electronictether.
Linx closed her eyes and whispered to herself, “I’m going to find you, Grady Hart, no matter where youare.”
