“We don’t know when life will do a one-eighty on us,” she said.“I just wish my father saw it the same way.I hate watching him deteriorate.Though he’s been better lately.Still, there’s always this dark cloud hanging over our heads with me wondering if something will happen to send him spiraling again.”
“Our parents have a lot in common.”He’d walked on eggshells for most of his life when it had come to his dealings with his mother.“Still, I can’t imagine her not being around.The thought of losing the only family I have left does a number on me.It’s probably a selfish way of looking at the situation.”
“I don’t think so.”
“You don’t?”
“Not really.I mean, we get to be a little selfish, right?It has taken me a long time to realize that my needs matter, too.I learned to shove mine aside when my brother was born with Down syndrome.”She compressed her lips into a frown.“I beat myself up for a long time for wishing he’d been born perfect.Don’t get me wrong, I believe heisperfect just like he is…was…but having a special needs child did a number on my mother.My father didn’t handle it any better.So, the family just fell apart.I blamed Eric for a little while, but I also saw how amazing he was, too.No matter how awful a day I was having, he always smiled when he saw me.He didn’t know what his limits were, and I started thinking that maybe he was the one who’d gotten it right.Does that sound weird?”
“Not at all,” Beau said.He might not have had a special-needs sibling, but he’d worked for a couple who’d had an autistic daughter in their restaurant.She hadn’t had the same stresses as everyone else.All she cared about was eating Ramen noodles for lunch every day in front of the TV at 12:15.She was unburdened by everything going on in the world, always smiling.Some of the staff shied away from her.Not Beau.There was something simple about her world that he admired.When he said as much to Ivy, she smiled.
“You do understand,” she said.“I thought I was the only one who saw through the diagnosis to how wonderful a human Eric was.”
“Afraid not,” he said.“I can even admit to being jealous that she had two parents who loved her.They stressed about her, too.Looking back, I get it.At fourteen, when they gave me a job in the donut shop under the table, I didn’t realize how scary it must have been that she would someday outlive them.”
“That was my mother’s biggest fear,” she said.Her gaze dropped, and her smile faded.“Ever notice how it’s never the thing we’re truly worried about that ends up happening?We waste a bunch of time being fearful of something that might never come about.”
“Yeah,” he agreed.“I guess I have noticed.”
Was that part of the pull toward Ivy?They were kindred spirits?Two broken souls who, by some miracle, understood each other?
Or was he reaching for common ground because he wanted to find it?
Ivy wouldn’t wantto deny her attraction to Beau even if she could.She hadn’t felt this alive, this seen in more years than she cared to count.However, leaning into it would be the wrong choice.Beau had been clear about where he stood anyway, and that was at a distance.There was nothing between them beyond finding their parents.That was the goal, and he didn’t seem to have room in his life for anything else, not even once their parents were found.
Besides, Ivy needed to get back to her practice in Austin.Her father might be a complete mess once this ordeal was over.She wouldn’t allow herself to consider a resolution that didn’t have him coming home alive.
“I should take a deeper look at the picture before I get my hopes up about my mother.”Beau’s voice broke through the moment of quiet.“Have Travis point out what he sees.”
“Sounds like a good idea.”There were still no answers about where their parents had been moved to.The abandoned strip mall was a no-go.Perhaps she could check the Maps app on the laptop and see if there were any alternative sites nearby.Intuition backed by zero experience with these things, said Clay wouldn’t want to keep transporting them from place to place.Doing so meant possibly being seen and getting caught—both were things he would want to avoid at all costs.
Ivy stood up and offered a hand.
“I got it,” Beau said as she watched him struggle.Was it pride or something else that caused him to pull away?
He managed to stand up with some effort.She turned and walked into the kitchen before him, letting him catch the door.If he didn’t want a hand-up, she wouldn’t offer another one.Being frozen out might sting, but at least it was happening now and not after she let her heart take the wheel.
She could control her attraction.Falling for Beau was another story.There was a reason they called it “falling” because you literally dove off a cliff and let go of control.
The laptop was still open.Her curiosity about the image on the phone would have to wait.She could see for herself once Beau talked to Travis.
“What did you see?”Beau asked, taking a seat beside the sheriff, his face pinched with pain.The man was bullheaded and determined.She’d give him that.
Travis repositioned the phone so both of them could view the screen.“See here.If you look closely, you can tell that the lighting is off.And look at her right hand.I’m guessing your mother doesn’t have an extra finger tucked in between her ring and middle fingers.”
“No, she doesn’t,” Beau confirmed.“I knew something was off in the picture, but I didn’t notice the hand or the lighting.”Was he beating himself up again?
“You have to blow the image up and zero in to be able to see it.”Travis tapped his index finger on the table.“My guess is that your mother is still alive, and this image is meant to rile you up.Maybe to get you so fired up that you go after the folks responsible.”
“They weren’t wrong.”Beau’s hands fisted.“That was precisely what I’d intended to do.”He glanced over at Ivy.“Not like a bull in a china shop.I never would’ve been willing to risk anyone else’s life.”
“Of course, I’m just spitballing here,” Travis said, “but they probably weren’t banking on you being level-headed.”
“Does this mean they want me out in the open?”Beau asked.
“It would appear so.”Travis’s gaze was unfocused, as if he was looking inside himself to find the right words.“I’d hate to get your hopes up either way, Beau.Just because this photo is AI doesn’t mean this group hasn’t or won’t harm your mother.”
“Got it.”Beau stared at his hands and then unclenched his fists.
