Page 138 of The Bitterroot Inn (Jamison Valley 5)
He nodded once, then left us alone, returning to the bull pen to talk with his deputies.
“We’ll get him back,” I whispered into Maisy’s hair. Not even her sweet lilac smell was a comfort, but I kept on whispering. “I promise. We’ll get him back.”
My phone dinged on the conference-room table at the same time Maisy’s did in her purse. It was a loud, shrill alarm, not my normal ringtone. I picked it up even though I knew what the screen would say.
AMBER Alert: Jamison County.
My heart plummeted. No parent should ever see their child’s name in an AMBER Alert. No parent should ever have to feel this kind of crippling powerlessness.
“We’ll get him back,” I repeated it again. Over and over, because it was the only power I had. I made a vow because I couldn’t do anything else.
No matter how long it took, I would get Coby back. I’d look forever to find my son.
He was my son.
Everett might have donated the sperm, but Coby Holt was mine, just as much as he was Maisy’s.
“We’ll get him back.”
Time passed too slowly as we sat and waited. And waited. And waited.
What felt like days were only minutes as the clock on the wall ticked with a deafening noise. The entire time, Maisy sat shaking in my lap. Her crying had stopped, only to make the shaking worse.
“Gigi’s here,” I said when I spotted her friend rushing through the bull pen.
Maisy didn’t move. She just kept shaking. The shock had settled into her bones and she was shutting down. The fear of losing Coby had rendered her paralyzed.
“Hi.” Gigi crossed through the door. She didn’t say anything else, just came to the chair that had been Maisy’s and scooted it close. Then she took Maisy’s hands in hers and bowed her head to pray.
Felicity and Emmeline came in next, standing at our backs while their husbands joined the crowd in the bull pen. When Beau and Michael came in, they nodded at me and merged with Jess’s remaining deputies to make phone calls. Maisy’s parents came in last with Sabrina, the three of them taking the chairs across from us at the table. They looked distraught when they walked into the conference room, but at the sight of their daughter, distraught turned to petrified.
They looked as bad as I felt.
An hour went by. Then another. The thoughts I’d tried to banish—the ones where Coby’s tiny body was lying lifeless along a gravel road—wouldn’t stop plaguing my mind.
Please. Please, bring him back alive.
I hated being stuck here—helpless—when all I wanted was to be out searching for my child. But I didn’t dare move. Maisy’s shaking had stopped and now she was practically lifeless. A couple of times during the last two hours, I’d held my hand to her chest just to make sure she was still breathing. So as much as I wanted to help the search, I couldn’t leave her alone.
More time passed until Jess appeared in the doorframe of the conference room and caught my attention. He jerked his chin and I sat straight. All eyes were on Jess but he didn’t say a word. I looked across the table to Brock, then down to Maisy. Her dad immediately stood and rounded the table, taking the seat at my side. With as much care as I could, I handed Maisy over to her dad, watching as she curled into his lap like she’d done it a thousand times.
“Be back.” I bent to kiss her hair, then rushed out of the room.
“Did you find him?” I asked Jess the second we were out of earshot.
Jess nodded. “Yeah, we found him.”
I let out a breath but didn’t feel that flush of relief. “Is he okay?” My voice cracked. “Tell me he’s okay.”
“He’s a little banged up, but he’s okay.”
“Banged up? What’s that mean?”
He shook his head. “I don’t know the details but was told nothing serious. Bottom line, Faraday, he’s okay.”
I steadied myself on Jess’s arm as the relief nearly took me to my knees. He’s okay. My son was okay.
“We need to go get him and get him checked out,” Jess said. “Are you coming or should I call Dr. Peterson?”
