Hayes smiles. “Always happy when a plan comes together.”
Begonia digs into her purse and hands him a thick hardcover book with an affectionate smile.
He takes a scone and settles in with his book, pausing only to glance twice at the scone after his first bite like it’s way more than he expected it to be.
Understandable.
Sabrina uses her grandmother’s recipe, and it’s legendary.
“I heard you have chickens,” Begonia says to me. “Chickensfascinateme. How’d you get into it?”
While I hand Bash bits of bacon, scone, and muffin as he pets the dog, I answer her questions about raising chickens, about what I do with the eggs, about the biggest hurdles to being a chicken lady, and about Yolko Ono and her unique personality. And once again, I realize just how easy it is to feel safe around Begonia.
Despite having his nose in a book while the rest of us chat, I get the impression Hayes isn’t missing a single word of our conversation.
“I hope we’re invited the next time you have a family cookout,” Begonia whispers to me as we’re finishing all of the afternoon snacks. “I’ll bring my famous egg souffle.”
Hayes chokes on his tea and slides her a look.
She grins and pats his hand. “Just testing if you were listening.”
“You andfamousalways gets my attention.” He’s not grumpy.
Just reserved.
And he clearly adores his wife.
Good thing. I’d think far less of him if I had any doubts about that.
She shifts and looks down.
I look down too.
Bash is gone.
Marshmallow is gone.
And it takes a second longer than it should for their absence to register.
“Uh-oh,” Zen says while Sabrina shoots to her feet and Laney catches on later than usual to a problem.
Kidnappers.
It’s the first thought in my head, and it’s repeating louder and louder and louder.
Not kidnappers, I tell myself while I order my misbehaving legs tomove.It can’t be kidnappers. He’s just—missing.
My heart goes hollow and dips into my stomach.
He’s missing.
Bash is missing.
In front of Jonas’s family.
“I tied him up,” Begonia says. “I swear I tied Marshmallow to the chair. With thegoodknot. The one he hasn’t figured out how to undo. Yet. I thought.”
“Bash,” Laney and Sabrina say together.
