Page 53 of Night Moves
“Okay.” He turned his attention back to the plastic bricks. “I like to sort mine by color first. What about you?”
“Doesn’t matter.”
“What do you usually do?”
She turned a red brick over and over in her fingers. He noticed the pink nail polish, reminding him of the creepy conversation about Gentry polishing the child’s nails that Natalie shared. Was Willow’s nail color one of the ones used on one of the victims? Was the guy playing out some sick fantasy with his child? Or maybe it was a future color. Or maybe his actions were tied to his wife.
Anger burned in Drake’s gut. How could any adult hurt a child? Especially a child of their own. Drake could never do that. And finally he understood that fierce Mama Bear instinct his mother possessed in droves, and he appreciated her and his dad all the more.
Please. Please, Father, let these kids know the love I did. Do. Know Your love too.
Willow kept turning the Lego, her eyes fixed on her hands.
“What’s wrong, kiddo?” he asked softly.
She looked him in the eye and let go of her lip. “Is my dad dead?”
“Dead? No. Why do you think that?”
“He was in an accident, and nobody will tell me where he is.”
“Oh, right.” He’d gotten the child to open up, but he was stepping in treacherous waters now. Waters he had no experience swimming in, and he feared he would drown.
Willow dropped the brick. “If he’s alive, where is he, and why doesn’t he come get us?”
“We’re not sure where he is,” Drake answered truthfully.
She pushed all the bricks away from her and propped her elbows on the table. “Does he even know where we are?”
Drake searched for the right answer. “He knows you’re with Natalie, and that means you’re safe and taken care of. So he doesn’t have to worry about you and is free to do whatever it is he’s doing.”Like tracking Natalie down. Or even killing another woman.
“He’s never gone somewhere without telling me where he was going. Not since Mom left.”
“Who babysits you when he’s gone?”
“Our nanny. Ulani. She’s nice, but I like Natalie better. I wish she could be our nanny.”
“Sheispretty nice.” Drake looked at Natalie, who was leaning against the counter talking to his parents, about what, he had no idea. He hoped the tightness in her eyes and her slumped shoulders didn’t mean his mom was trying to matchmake.
“You like her,” Willow stated.
“I do,” he admitted, surprising himself.
Willow’s little red eyebrows arched. “Do youlike herlike her?”
When was the last time he heard anyone ask him that? He held back a laugh to keep from hurting Willow’s feelings. He was trying to gain her trust, so he went with the truth. “A lot, I think.”
Willow crossed her arms and slouched in her chair. “I don’t want her to get married.”
“Why not?”
“Because then she’ll have to quit working and become a mom.”
Interesting take on things.“Some moms work.”
“Yeah, but it’s wrong. Daddy told me that. Moms have to stay home and raise their kids. That’s why Mom had to quit her job before I was born. She didn’t want to. She liked working with clothes and makeup. She loves that stuff. Not me. Yuk.” She made a sour face, but then tears wet her eyes. “If she comes home, I’ll pretend to like that stuff this time.”
She picked up two red bricks and pushed them together. Then added a few more. Drake wanted to ask additional questions, but she seemed talked-out, so he started sorting the Legos into colors.
