Page 132 of The Coppersmith Farmhouse (Jamison Valley 1)
And they all ran ba
ck to the farmhouse.
An hour later, I was no closer to finding Georgia than I had been when I’d gotten home. And I hadn’t heard back from Beau, Nick or Silas.
I desperately wanted to be out there looking for her. Pacing through the house was killing me. But the second I’d walked through the door from the backyard search, Rowen had latched onto my side and hadn’t let go.
And I didn’t want to leave her. I couldn’t leave her, not alone in this house without me or her mother.
I hated to think of what was happening to Georgia. While I was pacing, was she being beaten? Or worse? Was she alive?
I let those thoughts cross my mind for a second until I pushed them out. I wouldn’t let myself think the worst. I needed to focus on finding her and taking care of Rowen. Georgia would want that. For me to take care of Roe first, before anything else. So that’s what I did.
I held her tight as I paced, checking in with deputies and making phone calls. Not once did I put her down and not once did she let go of the firm grip she had on my neck.
“Jess?” Rowen whispered.
“Yeah?”
“If Mommy doesn’t come home, can I still live with you?” she asked.
“Mommy’s coming home Roe. Okay? I promise. We’ll get her back.”
“What if she doesn’t?” Tears were rolling over her cheeks, landing on my shirt.
“You’ll always be with me. No matter what. You’re my girl,” I said.
“Then you’ll be my daddy?” she asked.
“I already am, little bit.”
She buried her face in my neck and I kissed the top of her hair.
Talking about the possibility of not finding Georgia was making me sick. I had to sit down. The panic was crippling.
Was this how Georgia had felt when she saw me in the emergency room? Because if it was, I had been too hard on her. I had dismissed her fears and told her it was going to be fine.
I’d had no fucking idea.
This couldn’t be it. I needed her back. I needed my light.
I swallowed the lump in my throat.
If I lost it, Rowen would too. And by some miracle she was holding it together. The strength of this girl never ceased to amaze me.
Jostling Rowen, I pulled out my phone as it rang.
“Silas.”
“Pierce’s parents were home. The kid OD’d today. Dad found him passed out this afternoon and rushed him to the hospital. It looks like he’s been snorting pain pills. Gigi was his nurse in the ER today. Carlson was his doctor. The kid’s still there, been at the hospital all night per Carlson’s orders.”
“What? How did we not hear any of this?” I asked.
“I don’t know,” Silas muttered.
“Carlson should have called it over. Physicians are required to notify the local authorities when minors are admitted for drug abuse,” I said.
Think, Jess. Think.
