She put her hand to her mouth. “Oh, my.”
They walked on, the soft pad of their shoes on the pavement and an occasional dog bark or car cruising by the only sounds.
“By the way, I really liked your article on that artist from this week’s paper, the one who does the landscapes? I went to school with him.”
“You did?” Her cheeks flushed, and she felt unreasonably happy at the compliment. The story had fallen into her pile and she’d almost given it to Tiff, but the girl was overloaded and Rebecca felt like a creative break after the weight of Tamika’s story and theendless cycle of meeting coverage, which at best was tedious and at worst was nitpicky politicking. The artist, a funny but quiet man named Ralph, had one arm and was missing two fingers on his right hand, but it didn’t seem to slow him down one bit. He had perfected a special painting technique, and watching him felt like she was witnessing a beautiful ballet, the colors and swirls landing on the canvas in an artful combination of realism and fantasy.
Josh smiled over at her. “You have this …” He waved a hand, laughed. “I don’t even know how to say it, and I’m probably going to sound like a wacko, but this … way of catching someone’s attention and making them hold onto the words, fall in love with the subject, like it’s the most fascinating thing you’ve ever heard about, ever.”
“Wow, Josh.” She risked a glance, hoped her pink cheeks weren’t too obvious. “I think that’s the best compliment I’ve had in, well, I don’t know how long!”
He chuckled. “Well, I mean it sincerely.”
The ring of a bike bell from a side street caught her ear as they walked and she turned suddenly, hoping she’d see Devon. But it was another kid on a bike, an older kid, not Devon at all. Her heart sank, though her head knew it wasn’t at all logical she’d see him out, riding around at this hour.
She looked at Josh. “JJ hasn’t mentioned Devon this week, has he?”
“Not since the weekend. Why—everything okay?”
Rebecca shrugged. “It’s silly, but I’ve been worried about him. I saw him yesterday, burgers at the diner, and I asked him about a nasty bruise on his wrist. He got kinda quiet about it, made up some story, and now he’s MIA.”
“Could be sick.”
“That’s what Marla said, that he probably had that nasty virus going around. But …”
“But you don’t think so?”
Rebecca shook her head, not sure how to say it. “Granny said he had some issues at home.”
Josh cocked his head. “You think Devon’s being … abused?”
Hearing him say the word aloud made it somehow sound less hysterical than it did floating around in her head. She chewed her lip, nodded.
“Maybe.”
Josh frowned. “Does Marla think so?”
“We haven’t talked about it. It’s just been this …” She waved her hand like she was shooing stray thoughts. “This strange theory. Call it an instinct.”
He stopped walking. “God gives us instincts for a reason, Becks.”
“Except when you’re confusing instinct with imagination. And that could get people in serious trouble if it’s unfounded.” She let out a breath. “I don’t know, Josh. I mean, I’ve been having weekly meetings with this kid for more than a month now. We talk—about real stuff, mind you. We laugh. But I don’t really know him. I’ve never even been to his house. If he was in trouble, don’t you think Marla or Rev would have clued in to it?”
He screwed up his face like he was thinking. “Maybe not. Maybe they’re too close to see it.” He looked at her. “Sometimes we miss the things that are right in front of our face.”
He had a point.
They started walking again.
“I suppose I can call Marla tomorrow, see if she has any suspicions.”
“That’s a good idea. And hey, if you’re worried, it can’t hurt to take a drive out to his house. She might want to tag along.”
“Granny and I are planning to bring him some chicken soup in the morning. Maybe Marla will want to come, too.”
They reached the gazebo and stopped, and Rebecca surprisedherself by leaping up the steps and onto one of the two oversized glider bench swings. The back of the swing was cool, and the metal felt good on her skin, which was slightly warm from the walk.
Josh joined her, and the swing swayed heavily as he sat, her feet lifting off the ground. She found herself smiling, closing her eyes as she leaned back and let herself enjoy the rhythm.
