Then she called John.
When they finally arrived at the Inn and went inside, she found Francine sitting on one of the big sofas in the great room. Jonas was next to her, his arm around her, her head on his shoulder. Annie marveled at the good news all around her.
“Mama!” Bella cried, and Annie set her down, folded her arms, and tried to watch the reunion without shedding more tears. Her attempts at staying dry-eyed did not work.
Annie had no idea if Francine and Jonas had reunited before or after she had called with the good news. But knowing the answer to that didn’t matter; Annie was far too happy that they were back together.
“Blue! Blue! Blue!” Bella happily exclaimed as she opened and closed her tiny hands, mimicking the cruiser’s flashing lights.
Annie laughed. “We had a police escort all the way from Aquinnah,” she explained. “I didn’t have a vehicle—well, that’s a long story, but it’s connected to the bandage on my forehead, and everything’s fine now, thank God. Anyway, they wouldn’t let Abigail drive her Beetle on the slippery roads.”
“Abigail?” Francine asked.
“That’s a long story, too. I’ll tell you later. In the meantime, I’ll call Earl and Claire and Kevin and Taylor. And give Taylor the bad news that her truck met with a stone wall.”
“I already told them,” Francine said. “Except about Taylor’s truck.”
“Then I guess it’s time for that little girl of yours to have a cookie.”
“Peanut butter cookie, pwease,” Bella said.
“Lucy’s been baking enough to feed all of Chappaquiddick,” Jonas said as he took Bella from Francine. “And we’ve just been sitting around, missing our Bella.” He held her close, tears brimming.
“You my daddy,” Bella said in a small voice. She put her arms around his neck and nuzzled her face on his collarbone.
“I knew all along that Jonas didn’t mean to leave her,” Francine said to Annie. “I couldn’t stand knowing how much he must be hurting. And I missed him. So much . . .”
Annie felt a swell of emotion that was so palpable, she knew it was time to turn the reunion over to them. “I’m glad for you, honey. I really am.” She kissed her cheek. “But if you’ll excuse me, I’m going to grab one of Lucy’s cookies for Bella and one for me. And then I’m going to go home to put my feet up and call Taylor and tell her I owe her a new truck. I need to get that over with, because I’ve had enough excitement today to last a lifetime.”
“You’ll have more when John comes home tomorrow,” Francine said. “And you can get back to finishing your plans for the wedding.”
Annie really wished that people would stop reminding her of that.
Chapter 42
On Thursday, John was on his way back to the Vineyard on the six-fifteen, which every islander knew would arrive in Vineyard Haven at seven o’clock. Annie was determined to pick him up—along with Francine’s aunt and uncle, who had decided to come, even though they now knew Bella was safe. Annie had no idea how long they planned to stay, but she was able to book a room for them at the Kelley House, within walking distance of the Chappy Ferry. Francine said that she, Jonas, and Bella would be in their room at the Inn: she wanted them to be together, not in separate rooms at Earl and Claire’s.
As Annie sat in the parking lot at the Steamship Authority, waiting for the boat to arrive, she knew she was still numb from the past days. She wondered how long it would take for things to go back to the way they’d been, or if that might never happen. Bella’s abduction had very much been a wake-up call that an idyllic life rarely existed or, at least, was not guaranteed. Not even on Martha’s Vineyard.
She was happy that neither Rose nor Rex had been involved; she was glad for Francine that it hadn’t been Marty and Bill. As for herself, she was relieved that Trish hadn’t been behind it, that her editor and friend hadn’t hired someone to do the deed in an effort to entice Annie to become a superstar. After having worked together for years, Annie knew Trish better than that. But when Bella disappeared, her brain was so muddled, she might even have thought John had been behind it . . . which would have been as preposterous as when he’d suggested Francine was.
Still, Annie wondered if she’d ever be able to tell him that she’d walked away from a small fortune. And if she did, how he’d react.
Then the big white boat suddenly appeared, as if it had sneaked in and docked while she’d been musing.
The next thing she knew, John’s arms were around her. If Francine’s aunt and uncle hadn’t been right behind him, Annie would have collapsed against him.
Marty and Bill were nice; Annie was ashamed that they’d ever thought they might have tried to take Bella from Francine. She decided right then that she would never remind John of his suspicions about Francine. He’d been being thorough. And doing his job.
The officer who had accompanied John said he’d walk over to the Vineyard Haven station; John loaded Marty and Bill’s suitcases into the back of the Jeep. Once again, Annie was thankful that she no longer had to be in charge.
Give me a break, Murphy suddenly whined in Annie’s brain. Which, of course, made Annie laugh. Then she apologized to the present company by saying she often laughed out loud when she was happy. She had no idea if they believed her.
Still, it wasn’t until she was back on Chappy, tucked into her cottage with John, with a warm fire glowing in the woodstove, that Annie felt safe enough to inhale and exhale without feeling as if her lungs were constricted. She didn’t mind when he told her that the report on the fingerprints inside the cottage had come back: there were numerous ones, but they belonged to Annie, John, Earl, Kevin, Lucy, even Taylor. None that could not be identified as belonging to one of the troops. She didn’t mind when he started to explain that, in addition to his arrest for Bella’s abduction, Caleb would also be responsible to pay the expenses of processing the fingerprints and the extra-duty police needed in the search. Or when he said that Caleb’s punishment might not be as lengthy as they might have thought—or hoped—because he was Bella’s biological father. He added that the young man was lucky there had been so many volunteers searching for Bella so that Edgartown hadn’t incurred more costs by having to call in law enforcement from the Cape.
Annie didn’t even mind that John fell sound asleep on the love seat or that she had to coax him into the bedroom and onto the bed, where he slept not only through dinner but also through the night.
* * *
