Page 93 of Back To Our Beginning

Beau started to laugh. I liked that about him. He thought I was funny, and he didn’t tell me I sounded like a sack full of cats yowling, like my family did.

“Happy to get out of your house, huh?” he teased.

“So much happier than you can ever imagine. I’m freeee!”

He laughed some more.

“What are you going to do after you drop me off at Down Home Diner?” I asked.

“I’m going to go for a run with Kai. Then I’ve got a few calls to make to my team.”

I shifted in my seat so I could see him clearly. “Damn, Beau. I didn’t even think about it. You’re late going back to Camp Pendleton. Isn’t your boss, I mean your captain, mad?”

“Down girl, I’m not AWOL. I have his permission to be here. He gave me extra time after the whole ‘my girlfriend was kidnapped’ thing.”

I bit my lip and turned all my attention to him. “Yeah, but for how long?”

He let out a long breath. “Why don’t we save that conversation for when I get you home?”

“Beau, I don’t think I can wait that long. It’s kind of like I have the Sword of Damocles hanging over my head. I’d prefer to know when it’s going to drop.”

He reached over and grabbed my hand.

“It’s going to be okay, Maddie. We’ll figure something out. I promise.”

How could he sound so calm?

How could I be such an idiot? It was like I’d had my head in the sand since I’d woken up in the hospital.

“Maddie?” He squeezed my hand.

“Hmmm?”

“We’re going to work something out. I promise.”

“You can’t make that promise,” I whispered.

“Yes, I can. Now we have ten more minutes until we reach the diner. Why don’t you pick up my phone out of the console? I’ve got the Bluetooth set up with the SUV. Download “Freedom” from iTunes and you can sing along to it. Isn’t it good that they upgraded me to this Escalade after I bitched about the Camry? The sound system is fantastic.”

“Are you trying to placate me?”

“Absolutely.”

Soon George Michael’s voice filled the SUV. As I sang along with the chorus, I started to feel a little better.

* * *

As I was walking up to the diner, I got a text from Ruby telling me she was going to be half an hour late. The supplier for Java Jolt arrived late, and she needed to make sure they got their entire order.

It was one o’clock, and the diner closed at three. I hated that our time was going to be cut short. There was no one in line when I entered, which had been my plan. I had hoped to miss the lunch crowd.

“Maddie!” Little Grandma cried out. “Come give me some sugar.”

I grinned. Little Grandma slipped off her stool by the hostess stand and held out her arms for me. I bent down and gave her a big hug. I didn’t hold her too tight, because she was over a hundred years old. But she grabbed onto me pretty good.

“I prayed they’d find you, Maddie Girl.”

I frowned. “But how did you know I was taken?”