That was better.
She rounded the counter and took her mother’s hands between hers. “Mom. I never ask you for much. But I’m askingyou this. Please wait. You’re right, he might be innocent. And once we have that confirmation, you can get back to being happily married, but for now, I want you to give it some time. I won’t be able to sleep if I don’t know you’re safe.”
Her mother frowned. “It’s really that important to you?”
“Yes.”
There was a moment of silence before her mother nodded. “Okay.”
Thank God. She pulled her mother into a hug. “I love you, Mom.”
“Oh, Polly, I love you so much, darling.”
When they separated, her mother took a seat at a table while Polly made her a coffee.
She’d just delivered it to her table and returned to the counter when an older couple appeared on the other side. “Hi. What can I get for you?”
They were both very well-dressed. The woman had perfectly trimmed short blond hair and expensive-looking slacks with a matching shirt. The man had silver hair and wore a suit. A very well-tailored suit.
“Are you Polly Mack?” the woman asked.
“I am. Do I know you?” There was something familiar about the woman’s eyes. And the man…he was tall and broad, kind of reminding her of?—
“My name is Martha Dawson, and this is my husband, Grant. We’re Joel’s parents.”
Shit.
“Hi.” That was all she said. Because she had no idea what elsetosay.
“Joel doesn’t know we’re here,” the man said. “We want to speak to you first.”
“About what?” But she knew what.
“Do you have a moment?” Martha asked.
“I’m actually really busy.”
The woman glanced around the café, a brow lifting like she was calling Polly’s bluff.
Okay. She wasn’t run-off-her-feet busy at this very moment. But the idea of talking to Joel’s parents without him felt all kinds of wrong.
Grant cleared his throat. “We’re staying at the Blue Swan Inn for two nights. We have something we’d like to discuss with you. Trust me when I say, you’ll benefit from this meeting.”
“We all will,” Martha added.
That icky feeling in her belly blossomed.
“Room twenty-eight,” Martha added, giving a tight smile before stepping back. “We’ll see you tonight.”
Then they just walked out, assuming that she would go simply because they told her to.
Would she? She had no idea.
24
Joel pulled up in front of his house. He was tired. Not the physical kind; the mentally drained, angry-at-the-fucking-world kind of tired.
They’d spent all day looking for Teagan. No breaks. No stops. He’d run out of water and snacks, yet they hadn’t found her.
