Liam was brushing his teeth and met my gaze in the mirror. He leaned down and rinsed his mouth out. “I’m not sure. I’m hoping he fled, but with David still hanging around, I’m not sure. Don’t worry, the guys will all be here, I promise you’re safe.”
Nodding, I turned and quickly got myself dressed, then headed downstairs. Krista was already in the kitchen. Bacon was cooking and she was putting biscuits into the oven.
“Good morning,” I said with a smile, or at least a half-hearted smile. Krista looked up and blushed.
“I hope you don’t mind me taking over your kitchen. I got up earlier, and with everyone still sleeping, I got bored.”
“Don’t mind one bit.” I glanced around. “What do you need me to do?”
“I was thinking scrambled eggs to make things easy.”
Heading to the refrigerator, I took out the eggs. “Where is Chad?”
“He got up earlier and headed home to grab us some things. I think he wants to stay here a few more days, or at least until they find Jonathon. He’s worried about me, I think.”
I got a bowl out and a fork. “You’re more than welcome to stay here as long as you want. I feel better with us all together.”
She chewed nervously on her lower lip. “He used to stay at the house sometimes, you know. When Chad was out of town, Jonathon would come over to check up on me. That could have been me…he could have taken me.”
I quickly made my way over to her and pulled her into my arms. “Shh, it wasn’t you, though. You’re safe and the baby is safe.”
She drew back and wiped furiously at her tears. “Look at me acting like this. You’re the one who was kidnapped and taken from your home.”
“You have every right to feel the way you’re feeling, Krista. Every right. I can’t imagine knowing how close he was to you both, and then learning what a monster he was. He had been in this house a few times and I never even knew it was him! I think he knew he couldn’t laugh, or I would know. He never laughed.”
The sound of a vehicle pulling up had me walking into the living room. Jimmy was sitting up on the sofa, stretching. “It’s Chad. He left about an hour or so ago to run home.”
“That’s what Krista said. She’s started breakfast and I smelled coffee.”
He stood and stretched more. “Thanks, I fell asleep around four this morning.”
I walked up and hugged him, catching him by surprise. “Thank you so much for being here. It means the world to me, Jimmy.”
When I stepped away, he was blushing. “Anything for Liam, and for you now. You’re all family to me.”
I felt my eyes fill with tears. Chad walked into the house with Bubba following him. They both looked concerned.
“What’s wrong?” I asked.
They both attempted to clear their face of any worry.
“Nothing, just talking is all,” Chad said with a forced smile. He looked through the house and smiled when he saw his wife.
“I was just about to call you,” Liam said as he walked up to his brother. “They found it. I’m heading there now.”
“What?” a chorus of voices said at the same time. Billy and MaryAnne were walking down the steps, with Howdy and Larson following. We really did have a full house.
“They found the barn?” Krista asked as she walked into the living room to join everyone else.
Liam nodded. “I’m heading that way, if you guys wouldn’t mind hanging here and making sure…um…just watching the place.”
“Of course,” Billy stated.
“I’m going with you,” Chad stated as he put down the bags he had carried in.
“What do you mean, you’re going?” Krista asked in a panicked voice. “Why?”
He walked over to her and placed his hands on her shoulders. “I need to be there for Liam, babe. With Mallory and Emily being involved, I need to be there because he’s my brother.”
