“Oh, Edna Stevenson, this is Reid Lucas. A… friend,” Quinn said. “Reid, this is Edna Stevenson.”
“Pleased to meet you.” Reid extended his hand to Mrs. Stevenson.
“Likewise.” She shook his hand and then reached for JJ. “Come on. I’ve got some cookies to bake, and I sure could use some help.”
JJ wiggled in Quinn’s arms. “Can I?”
Quinn set JJ down. “Yes, but wash your hands with soap and water first.”
“Yippee!” He grabbed the older lady’s hand and walked toward her duplex.
“Why don’t we go sit on the back porch and try to figure some things out?” Reid motioned toward the porch. Quinn fell in step behind Mrs. Stevenson, and he followed.
Reid’s throat itched, and he coughed. He must have got more smoke than he thought. Quinn walked through the living room and into the kitchen, grabbed two bottles of water from the fridge, and turned to Reid. “Here. Let’s go outside and talk.”
Reid accepted the water and followed Quinn through the sliding glass doors, then closed them behind him. They had a lot to talk about, but he wasn’t sure how much time they had. Once the police finished what they needed next door, they would need to pack bags and get out of the area quickly.
He opened the bottle of water and gulped half of it. The cold water soothed his itchy throat. He’d been careful while running through the house, but he’d still managed to inhale quite a bit of smoke.
Reid’s plan had worked. Everyone was safe for the time being. He needed to figure out how to make it a permanent thing, though. And answers to his questions would start with the beautiful woman sitting before him.
“Before that thing came flying through the front window, you had said Joe Lockhart was responsible for two of the greatest things in your life. Is there another child somewhere? Should we be worried about his or her safety?”
Quinn drank from her own bottle but only a sip. She shook her head as she set her bottle down. “No. JJ’s my only child. The two greatest gifts I got from Joe was my son and my salvation.”
“How is that?” Reid wasn’t all that familiar with religion, but he was pretty certain a person couldn’t save another, at least not spiritually.
She fidgeted with the label on the bottle of water. “When I told him I was pregnant, he told me he was married. He didn’t want anything to do with me or the child I was carrying. Turns out, my mother didn’t, either. She’d been after me for years to join her at church. It wasn’t something I wanted, and her reaction to my pregnancy was exactly the reason.”
“And that led to you finding Jesus?” This was probably an intriguing story, but they didn’t have time to delve much deeper.
“Joe was a catalyst.” She finally succeeded in peeling the label free.
“And he hasn’t been in touch since you told him you were pregnant?” he asked.
“Not really. I mean, he’s never met JJ. He’s never called or anything. He’s been sending money since I told him, though. I guess he thought money would solve the issue.”
How noble of him.Joe had always seemed to be a straightforward kind of guy, but he hadn’t struck Reid as the type of man to abandon his child. Especially since he and his wife, Victoria, hadn’t been able to have children of their own.
“He’s never said anything to you about JJ?”
He looked at her delicate features. There was no hope or expectation written on her face. She was simply asking a question.
“No.” He had expected some sort of change in her demeanor. Sadness, maybe. But nothing changed. It was as if he had told her the sun was yellow. She already knew the answer.
“So, he asked you to meet him at my diner and then called to have you get us out but didn’t tell you anything else?”
“No.” He wished Joe had told him, had said something.
“Okay. I’ve not heard from him in any way other than the money he provides to help take care of JJ.”
“Did he send a note or anything with his last payment?” Joe hadn’t contacted him until this morning, so it was a long shot he’d been able to give Quinn a heads-up. But still, if he’d had even an inkling, maybe he’d said something.
She shook her head. “He never sends notes. The money is direct deposited into a bank account he had set up. I’ve had no contact with him since I told him about JJ. Sometimes, I think it’s hush money.”
“No emails or texts?” How could a man completely abandon his own flesh and blood?
“Nothing.” She slammed the bottle down on the small patio table.
