Page 7 of Dr. Sexypants

I did as she asked, and she called out, “Yes, it’s me, Rob!”

“I’m really sorry. I didn’t mean to upset you. It’s just my nature to go to the worst-case scenario, so I can start crisis planning. But you’re right—of course they’re going to find her. Please accept my apology.”

She was gracious and replied, “I know we’re all on edge right now, and everyone handles a crisis differently. Apology accepted. I’m sorry I swore at you.”

“Don’t worry about it. Let me know if we can do anything.”

“Will do.”

I chimed in. “We’re strategizing right now. I’ll keep you posted. Talk to you soon.”

And with that, I disconnected the call.

Thirty seconds later, my phone dinged with a text.

Rob: Hey, asshole. How about warning a brother that he’s on speaker when someone else is in the room?

Me: You weren’t on speaker at the time.

Rob: I wasn’t talking that loud! How close was she?

Not close enough.

Me: It’s just quiet here. The noise carried.

Rob: Well, please tell her again I’m sorry, and I didn’t mean to offend her.

Me: I’ll tell her you come by your doom and gloom naturally.

Rob: Thanks… I guess?

But seriously, if we can do anything—let us know.

Me: I will.

I set my phone back on the counter and told her, “Rob asked me to apologize again.”

Tears filled her eyes, and she whispered, “I didn’t like him saying that shit out loud. You don’t put that out into the Universe.”

I reached out to hug her, but she took a step back with her fists clenched at her sides and closed her eyes, then took a deep breath as a look of determination fell over her features.

The tears were gone when she opened her eyes and declared, “They’re going to find her, and she’s going to be okay.”

If someone could will something into existence—I’d just witnessed it.

“You’re right.” I didn’t know what else to say.

She clapped her hands once then rubbed them together. “Okay, you get started on the Facebook page while I find a recent picture of her for the flier.”

~~~~

Creating the Facebook page was easy, but we were light on some of the details. We didn’t know what Lainey was wearing, or who she was last with. We only knew she’d disappeared from the bakery before four-fifteen when Kristy got there, and asked anyone who’d seen her today to get in touch with the Haven Springs Police Department. Chief O’Shaughnessy might be pissed that they were probably going to be inundated with unsolicited calls, but Kristy said she didn’t care.

“If it brings her home, Angus can throw me in jail,” she retorted. “Maybe it’ll prompt them to set up a hotline or something.”

“Hopefully, they find her right away and won’t even need to.”

I think she appreciated my optimism, because she gave me a soft smile that made my brain short-circuit. We held each other’s gazes, and it felt like electricity crackled in the air around us. Under any other circumstances, I’d have been willing to bet it was from mutual attraction, but the way she’d been pacing around my house, I knew that wasn’t the case.