As much as I wanted to keep kissing him, there was a frightened little girl who needed my attention more than him. Tucking her back into my side, I whispered, “Ready to go home?”
She nodded just as John walked over, stopping just inches from the woman’s dead body. Staring down at her, he sighed heavily before kneeling by her side. “I’m so sorry, Jim.”
Frowning, it was only then that I realized I had heard the name Grace before. No, not heard. Read it. It was in the information about the Callahan family. Jim’s wife was named Grace, but she was supposed to be dead.
John Callahan got to his feet, slowly turning to face us. Shame twisted his features as he dropped his rifle to the ground. He said nothing as he walked past us, heading straight for the door and into the night.
Parker knelt down and pulled the little girl into his arms, letting her cry on his shoulder. But I was already moving toward Wes. I didn’t think as I pulled him into my arms and held him tight.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
“For what?” he asked awkwardly, his arms at his sides as he stood there like a robot, not sure how to give or receive love.
“For being there for me.” Stepping back, I held him at arm’s length. “It’s what family does for one another.”
He swallowed hard, his brows twisted in confusion. He didn’t understand it yet, but he was part of my family, and there was no way I was letting him go.
“You came for me. You followed me in the truck, and you refused to let me go to the cabin alone. You protected me,” I emphasized.
“Yeah, well…” He cleared his throat, looking uncomfortable as hell. “I wasn’t sure you could make it that far without a sandwich.”
For the first time since I met the kid, a small smile touched his lips. Laughing, I tugged him into my arms and hugged him again.
“Then let this be your lesson.”
“To follow you around with food?”
“That, and to never yell at me when I’ve missed a meal. You saw what I did back there.”
“That was actually Parker.”
I shushed him. “Don’t tell him that. The heroism will go to his head, and his ego is already big enough.”
An arm wrapped around my neck as Parker tugged me into his side. “It’s not just my ego that’s big enough,” he whispered.
Wes shook his head. “Seriously, I’m standing right here.”
The little girl sniffled, holding Parker’s hand. “What’s an ego?”
33
MICHAEL
“After the fourth miscarriage,it seemed unlikely she would ever have a child,” John said, sitting across from us in the interrogation room. “Annabelle was her miracle baby.”
“She died when she was four,” I said, reading through the file. “Pneumonia.”
He nodded. “She was always a sick little girl. It was a miracle she even lived as long as she did.” He shook his head slowly. “Tore Grace’s heart out to bury her. I thought she’d die right alongside her.”
“And what happened after that?”
“Grace was never the same,” he said, seemingly lost in his own thoughts. “She went through depression, mood swings…some days she wouldn’t get out of bed, and others, she was baking cookies for everyone in town. And then one day…everything just changed. She started seeing Annabelle. She became obsessed with finding her.”
“That must have been hard.”
He nodded. “It was. Jim had to watch her closely, and it wasn’t long until he had to stay with her all the time. She became obsessed with the idea that her daughter hadn’t actually died. All it took was him falling asleep just one time.”
“Is that what happened?” I asked, wondering where he was going with this.
