“Kathy is the only person in our life who the girls would get into a car with who also wouldn’t want me to know she picked them up.”
“Try to get a hold of her,” Sam requests. Gia immediately dials from the phone she still has in her hand. “We’ve sent an officer to Gina Halbrand’s residence to see if we can get some information from her.”
“Good. I want her charged for whatever you can charge her with. Allowing my girls to go with someone without following the proper channels is child endangerment.”
“Holt!” Gia yells, pressing the speaker button on my phone. “Lauren? Baby, it’s Gia. Where are you?”
“With Gramma. She’s acting really strange.”
“Where did Gramma take you, Lauren?” It’s hard to keep the steel out of my voice. I don’t want her to be afraid, but I need her to be serious right now.
“We’re at the cabin. She told us we were having a surprisecamping weekend, but she wouldn’t let me call you. I took her phone while she was in the bathroom.”
“Good girl. That was exactly what you should have done. We’re coming to get you, okay? Don’t tell Gramma though. It’s going to be a surprise.”
“Okay, Daddy. Love you.”
A deep breath falls from my chest as tears clog my throat. “I love you too, monkey.”
Lauren hangs up, and I whisper a curse. Gia presses her forehead to mine. “They’re safe. We know Kathy wouldn’t hurt them.”
“Why would she take them? What is she thinking?”
“I don’t know, honey. We’ll find out, though, okay? Let’s go get our girls.”
The police follow behind us as I drive out to the cabin Kathy and Leonard bought right after Leah was born. My anger has started to boil through my chest. All that worry about who could have the girls, and all this time they were with my mother-in-law. What the fuck was she thinking? Why didn’t she tell me she wanted to spend the weekend with them? I told her I didn’t want to cut her off, yet she still pulls this crap?
It takes us almost an hour to get out there. The small place is set up in the mountains. It was one of our favorite places to escape when we wanted to get out of town for a couple of days. Hannah loved how cozy it was. I haven’t been able to stomach coming out here since she died.
The long driveway looms ahead. I’m slowly getting more worked up the closer I get to the cabin. How dare she pull something like this? Does Leonard know? Was he part of the whole plan?
I never imagined Kathy would stoop to this level, so I can’t say for certain Leonard wouldn’t either.
I park in front of the cabin and burst out of my truck. Ahand grips my arm. “Holt. I know you’re angry. You have every right to be, but don’t let the girls see you this way. They won’t understand what’s going on.”
Gia’s words help clear some of the red haze. She’s right. They won’t have any idea why I’m so upset, and it will only scare them unnecessarily.
I close my eyes and take a deep breath. Then I start back toward the front door. I don’t bother knocking, walking right inside the open concept cabin.
“Holt.” Kathy gasps in surprise. She whips her head toward the girls, anger spitting from her eyes. “You ungrateful brats. Did you call him?”
I clench my fists and swallow back a response that would only cause more harm than good. “Lauren, Leah, will you go to the truck with Gia, please?”
They scurry off the kitchen chairs and race into Gia’s arms. I have no doubt they knew something was wrong, but they just didn’t understand what. Gia holds them close to her for a long moment, her face scrunched hard enough to hold back her emotions.
When she looks back up at me, tears are pooling in her eyes. It moves me more than anything else could have. She loves my girls as much as I do. This shook her, and yet she stood like a rock by my side. I couldn’t be more grateful to have her in my life than I am right now.
I ask her to send the officers in once she gets outside, and she nods, leading the girls to the truck.
Kathy looks like she stepped in dog shit. “I cannot believe you would ruin what was supposed to be a great weekend.”
Her statement shocks me. “Kathy, you took the girls without permission. That’s kidnapping. You kidnapped my children.”
She scoffs. “That’s overly dramatic. They’reperfectly safe with me. You can’t say the same thing about that little tart you have hanging around them.”
Sam and his partner walk into the cabin. Sam raises his eyebrows at me. “Are you pressing charges?”
“Yes.” The word feels like a razor blade coming out of my mouth. I have no idea if this is the right thing to do, but I can’t just let this go. She took my girls, drove an hour away with them, and never told me she had them. What will she do the next time she wants to see them?
