Wanted: One Son. Laurie Paige
of her life. Clay had become her closest friend. Months later, accepting that it was over between her and Nick, she’d dated the handsome deputy. They’d married a year after that.
Her husband had been even-tempered, a man who liked working with his hands, either on the house or on the various vehicles they’d had. The marriage had had its off moments, but mostly it had been good.
She sighed shakily. Always, always, she would regret that stupid quarrel before he’d gone off to work. He’d stopped at the convenience store to pick up a pack of gum because he’d quit smoking and had run into a robbery in progress.
Sometimes she felt as if her life had ended that day, too. But she’d had a child to care for, and that alone was enough to make her go on.
The death had changed Doogie, though. He’d become quieter and harder to handle; difficult where once he’d been easygoing and good-humored; moody where once he’d been mischievous and given to joking.
If only she had a man who could talk to Doogie like a father. Doogie had adored Clay. The two males had been close.
She stewed over the situation the rest of the afternoon. When the store closed at five and Doogie hadn’t returned, she paced the tiny office, unsure what to do.
The mayor’s wife, who was also her partner in the store, breezed in. “Hi. How’s it going?”
“Hi, Amy. Fine. It was slow this afternoon.”
“Everyone’s waiting for the Summer Madness sales to start. Did all our merchandise come in?”
“Not yet, but I’m expecting it Monday.”
She and Amy had opened the store four years ago. And she and Clay had quarreled about it ever since. He had liked his wife at home, not in town until all hours, as he put it. Actually the store was open late only on Friday night.
“Good.” Amy picked up a package under the counter. “Pat said my new outfit was in. You should get yourself one of these silk gown and peignoir sets,” she advised. “You never know when you might want to seduce a man. That’s what I’m going to do to the mayor tonight” Laughing, she took her package and said good-night.
Stephanie’s smile dried up as soon as the door closed. She hadn’t thought of seducing a man in a long time. That was way down on her list of priorities. Right now, she was a parent with a missing child. After another half hour, she gave up her troubled vigil and picked up the phone. She called the dispatcher and asked for Deputy Dorelli.
Ten minutes later, Stephanie stood at the barred window and watched as Nick stepped down from the cruiser and crossed the parking lot. He walked with the easy assurance of a man who knew his world and was secure in it.
Gone was the young man she’d once known. He hadn’t been that person in years, but it wasn’t until last Christmas, under a sprig of mistletoe, that she’d fully realized it.
That kiss had shaken her. It had stirred passion and longing and memories of the past that she hadn’t allowed herself to consider in years. With it had come the startling realization that she was still a woman and she still had a heart full of dreams. She blinked as unexpected tears stung her eyes.
Nick entered without knocking and got right to the point. “What’s wrong?”
For the wildest second, she thought of being enfolded in his comforting embrace. She forced her mind back to the real world. “It’s Doogie. He and I…we quarreled …about the video.” She couldn’t bring herself to call the problem by its name. “He ran off—”
“What time was that?”
“Noon. I haven’t seen him since. I thought he would come back to the shop when he calmed down.” She pressed her lips together as worry ate at her.
Nick shrugged, his expression calm. “He’s probably too ashamed to face you.”
She blurted out the rest of it. “I slapped him. I never have before. I…it just happened. Oh, Nick, if you’d seen his face. He was so upset.”
“Easy, Steph,” he said in a quiet tone.
Once she’d loved his voice with its deep cadence that could be soothing or exciting, according to the circumstances. Once just the sound of it over the phone had made her heart pound.
His gaze caught and held hers. Instead of their opaque darkness, she sensed emotions in him that she hadn’t been aware of in a long time. She also saw the wariness.
“Did you call the ranch and see if he maybe hitched a ride home? That would be my bet on where he is,” he said with a businesslike brevity.
“I’ve called every half hour. This isn’t like him. He’s always been—” A sob caught in her throat.
“Easy,” he said again in his patient-cop mode. “Stay put. I’ll cruise around and see if I can find him.”
“I can help. I’ll look….” She tried to think where a twelve-year-old would go. “He wouldn’t go to Clyde’s, would he?” She looked at Nick for his opinion.
“He might. Have you tried there?”
She shook her head, already reaching for the phone. The call revealed that Clyde was spending the night with a friend and his mother hadn’t seen Doogie in a week.
“Not there,” she said in a croak, hanging up. The sky seemed darker when she gazed out the window, hoping to see the lanky figure of her son coming back. “The sun is setting.”
A hand closed on her shoulder. She resisted the urge to lay her cheek against it and soak up the warmth. He’d been like this after her father’s death—kind, considerate, concerned about her well-being.
“It won’t be dark for hours yet. Walk over to the school. He might be hanging around there. I’ll check with you in, say, half an hour?”
“All right.” After he left, she grabbed her purse and locked up. She walked as fast as she could to the school. There wasn’t a soul around. Even the janitor had gone for the day.
Tears balled in her throat. If he was hurt…if something happened…It would be her fault. She should have remained calm. That was a mother’s job, to be calm and guide her child on the right path.
She rushed along the nearly deserted Main Street, her thoughts going in every direction. One of them shocked her. If she and Nick had married, if Doogie was their son, she wondered how things might have been different.
Dear heavens…
Nick’s cruiser was in the parking lot when she arrived. She pressed a hand to her heart. Doogie was with him.
Too overcome to speak, she nodded, unlocked the office door and went inside. Doogie followed. He looked scared and defiant, but his eyes were worried and his mouth was pinched in at the corners.
Unexpected tears rolled down her face. She folded her arms on the cluttered desk surface and wept in silent misery.
After a minute, arms glided around her middle. She raised up and clasped Doogie to her breast. His tears fell with hers.
“I’m sorry, Mom. I’m sorry. Please, please don’t…”
She cupped his face in her hands. “You must promise me never, never to do anything like that again. Promise.”
“I won’t. Never. Honest.”
She hugged him to her, fear eating holes in her stomach. She must be raising him wrong for this to happen, but she didn’t know how she could do better. She needed advice, someone who understood boys and could talk to Doogie.
A picture of Nick, his keen gaze peering all the way to her soul,