“Good to know.”
“Do you have any questions for me, Devon? I know you and Chloe discussed what happened with her brother, but you and I haven’t exactly had a personal conversation.” She glanced over at him, and he shifted his feet in discomfort.
“I don’t want to dredge up terrible memories for you.”
“No, I know. It’s not that. I guess what I’m trying to say is, I hope to be your mother-in-law eventually, and I want to be honest with you as much as I can.”
“Wow, Rebecca. In the spirit of that honesty, I hope for the same; you know it’ll happen sooner or later, but this isn’t necessary.”
“What isn’t necessary?” David asked as he came into the room.
“I thought we should talk about Leo,” Rebecca replied.
Devon winced. “You don’t have to do that on my account.”
“Oh, Devon. It’s not only about you. It's about Hailey and your relationship with Chloe.”
“Rebecca and I agreed on this, Devon.” David sat on one of the counter stools. “We know there were years where we basically failed Chloe, and we’ve tried to make that right for a while now.”
“I don’t know how successful we’ve been,” Rebecca murmured, blinking rapidly before turning back to the stove.
“What happened with Steve was an eye-opener. I realized I let her down. I wasn’t there for her as I should have been.”
Devon held David’s gaze. “I agree with you.”
David rubbed his hand over his mouth. “Ouch. Look, losing Leo killed something inside us both. It was too hard to recover from that, love each other through the guilt and blame and doubt, and still be the perfect parents for Chloe.”
Rebecca nodded. “We should have attended counseling.”
“Even though Chloe begged us to, we weren’t ready to reopen those wounds. We were wrong to shut her out, but there were so many harsh feelings over it all that we were drowning in them.” David spread his hands. “You can’t know what it’s like, thank God. You found your daughter alive, but we weren’t that lucky.”
“What happened to him?” Devon whispered.
Rebecca sighed and swiped her fingers over her eyes. “He was taken by a man that lived in the woods, and he killed him.”
They were silent for a few moments. David rose from the stool to wrap his arms around Rebecca, and Devon knew he would never forget the anguish on the chief’s face.
“I’m so sorry.”
“He was apprehended the following day, but it was too late for Leo. It wasn’t the only time he’d done such a thing, either. He was wanted in several states for kidnapping young boys.”
Fuck. “Chloe explained this was part of the reason she volunteered to help in the search for Hailey.”
“It opened something inside of me,” Rebecca said. “A floodgate, of sorts. I’d shut down all my emotions for so many years, but I could no longer come home at night and stare at these four walls.”
“We’d spent too many years working opposite shifts and basically ignoring each other and Chloe.” David reached for a paper towel and dabbed at his face. “Rebecca broke down when she told me about your daughter, and how you didn’t have a spouse to turn to for comfort.”
Rebecca nodded. “We’d had each other to lean on for years, and we took it for granted, instead. We had the chance to try harder, to make the effort. We’d treated our marriage far too casually for more than a decade.”
“It’s odd how Hailey’s disappearance brought us all together.”
Rebecca stepped away from David to pat Devon’s cheek. “It was a blessing in disguise.”
“I have to admit, I never saw it that way.” No, Devon wouldn’t call it a blessing, despite what it had brought to him.
“At any rate, Devon, we love your daughter. She’s an amazing little girl, and we hope you’ll continue to allow us to be in her life.”
He nodded. “Kathy’s parents don’t like me. They barely acknowledge Hailey exists, and she isn’t immune to their treatment. I had to be sure ahead of time that would never be the case here, and it looks like Chloe was right when she said you would welcome both of us into your lives.”
