“I’m guessing something the Sheriff said upset her. Can you call and ask him what he told her?”
“Yes,” I said and pointed at Claire. “Yes, I can.”
Before calling the Sheriff, I called Spazz and asked him to try and locate Avery’s phone. Then, I called Phoenix to get the Sheriff’s number.
“I’ll give you his number if you want to talk to him yourself, but I can save you a phone call because I know what he told her.”
“I don’t care who tells me; I just need to know so I can try to find her.”
“He told her what they found when they searched Mark’s house, which was basically what Spazz found plus more photos and detailed accounts of her activity. They also found the truck that hit you in a garage on the property.” Phoenix paused and cleared his throat. “And he found a handwritten letter Ian wrote to Avery. Chuck said he only looked at the names on the letter and the date before he closed it up, but he was planning on giving it to her.”
“What was the date?” I asked even though I already knew.
“The day he died,” Phoenix said carefully.
“Fuck,” I breathed. “I’m heading that way now.”
“There’s only one place in Croftridge she’d go,” Phoenix said. “I’ll send Ranger out to check the cemetery. No sense in driving all the way to Croftridge if she’s not here.”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
The moment we ended the call, my phone vibrated in my hand with a number that made my heart stop every time it flashed on the screen.
“Hello?” I answered hesitantly and silently prayed it wasn’t bad news.
“Kellan, this is Karen from the NICU. Sienna is just fine, but, um, Avery’s here and she’s visibly upset. She also has some significant bruising on her face. She assured me she was fine, but she’s not. Obviously, we have upset parents in here from time to time, but something about this is different,” she said, her voice full of genuine concern.
“Thank you for calling. I’ll be right there,” I said and exhaled in relief.
“She’s with Sienna!” I called over my shoulder. “I’m going to get her.”
“Oh, thank goodness,” Claire exclaimed.
When I arrived at the hospital, I all but sprinted up to the NICU. I had no idea what I was walking into, but it didn’t matter. I couldn’t let Avery deal with whatever it was by herself.
I pressed the button and waited for someone to allow me to enter. Karen was waiting by the sink where I started thoroughly washing my hands and arms. “She’s been crying since she got here. She wouldn’t say anything other than, ‘I just need to hold my little girl.’ I helped her and Sienna get situated. Thinking she would calm down after a few minutes, I placed a box of tissues and a bottle of water beside her. When she didn’t, I decided to call you.”
“Thank you, Karen. I’m glad you did,” I said sincerely and made my way over to my girls.
Avery and Sienna were tucked away in the far corner of the NICU next to Sienna’s designated spot. With our daughter cradled in her arms, Avery gazed down at her while she slowly rocked the chair and tears streamed down her face.
With quiet steps, I slowly approached them. When I was a few feet away, I heard Avery’s soft voice. “I love you so much and I love your daddy, too. I swear I do,” she whispered.
“Avery,” I rasped as I closed the distance between us.
Her face crumpled and she squeezed her eyes closed forcing more tears to spill down her cheeks. I knew she needed to talk about whatever was in that letter, but she didn’t need to do it in the NICU with our baby in her arms.
“How’s our girl today?” I asked, hoping to distract her with a subject change.
She inhaled deeply through her nose. “Karen said she’s been doing good. She had her eyes open for a little bit when I first got here.”
I cleared the emotion from my throat. “She does now,” I whispered, afraid she would close them if my voice was too loud.
Avery smiled slightly. “She knows her daddy is here.”
“Hi, peanut,” I said softly and carefully ran my hand over the top of her tiny head. Her little fists opened and closed, and she made the cutest smacking sound with her mouth. Then, her eyes closed and she let out a loud fart.
Avery’s eyes sprung open in surprise. “That was her,” she insisted.
