“Abby, I’ve got your keys,” Lindsey said. “I’ll start loading up the van.”
“Thank you.” She called her goodbyes over Will’s continued cries and fell in step with Tinker as they walked across the wide paved area toward the building. She knew the moment Will fell asleep. His cries turned to deep snuffles and his breath puffed out against her arm.
“Wow. That was fast,” Tinker said as they walked through the open office area.
“Yeah. When he gets like this, the easiest thing to do is bear hug him until he passes out.” She looked down at his relaxed face—so angelic compared to the demon possession of a few minutes ago.
“I’m sorry if I kept you for too long,” Tinker said as he unlocked the outside doors and pushed through them.
“I wanted to stay. We were all having fun.” The side door of her minivan was opened on Will’s side, and she eased him into his booster seat and buckled him in. She turned to Tinker. “Thank you for inviting us. Everyone was wonderful and I had a really good time.”
He grinned and stepped closer. “I had a good time too.”
She could feel the blush rushing across her face. “Not just that,” she whispered.
“Abby, I can’t find Maw Maw,” Olivia said.
Abby started and looked over at Olivia and Sierra.
“Come to think of it, I haven’t seen her since we started playing hide-and-seek,” Lindsey said. “Did she go home?”
“I don’t think so. She told Olivia she was going to watch. I assumed from the tower,” Abby said.
“I saw her and Grandpa go into the building during one of the games,” Sierra said.
“She went in with Senior?” Tinker asked.
Sierra nodded. “Yeah.”
Tinker tilted his head back. “Ah. Yeah. Follow me.”
“Lindsey, will you stay with Olivia and Will?” Abby asked.
“Sure, we’ll be here.”
“Thanks.” Abby followed Tinker back into the building. Instead of turning to the right to where the offices were located, they went left to an elevator and pressed the button.
“What’s downstairs?” Abby asked as they entered the elevator.
“Garage, firing range, gym, supply room, and…”
“And what?”
“We call them crew rooms. It’s where we sleep if we stay overnight for some reason.” He looked down at her. “There’re beds in the rooms. For us to sleep in.”
“Oh.” She realized what he hinted at. “Ooohhhh.”
He led her down the industrial gray hallway and knocked on a door, waited, then pushed it open. Empty. He did the same for the next room with the same result. The third room was locked and he knocked louder. “Senior! Abby and the kids are leaving.”
The door opened and the older Graham filled the doorway. Abby peeked around him and caught her mom straightening her blouse.
Abby gasped, even knowing what she’d been likely to find. “Mother!”
“Oh, hi, honey. Aiden was giving me a tour of the building. It’s really quite impressive.” She pushed past Aiden. “Did you grab my purse? This way, right?” She pointed down the hall toward the elevators. “Are you coming?”
Abby shook her head and looked at Aiden, who folded his arms and grinned. Grinned! She and Tinker caught up with her mother as she entered the elevator. His shoulders were shaking, and his face was red from holding in his laughter. She looked away from him and pressed her lips together so she wouldn’t be tempted to join him.
Lindsey was leaning against the hood of the van when they got back to it. “Hey. You found her. Where was she?”
