Page 122 of Already Callin’ You Mine

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JACE

Fuuuuuuuuck…

Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.

I did not just lose my kid. Especially not immediately after I just made a whole big scene about how he has a family and is loved and cared for and there are all these people watching out for him.

I am apparently just not one of those people right this moment.

Pure terror rises in my chest, creeping through my body like a vine ready to strangle the life out of me. He was right here. Right next to me. Or so I thought. I should have known better. He’s a runner—we know this. That’s how he and I met.

“It’s okay…” I tell Presley. It’s a lie, one that neither of us believe for a single second, but I’m trying.

I should have held on to him. I shouldn’t have lost my cool to begin with. There was just no stopping it. That asshat needed to be shown the door. He’s lucky that I held back as much as I did. That we’re in public. Because if we hadn’t been, I would have clocked him. Let him know exactly what I think of him and the way he’s treated my family.

“Jace…we…shit…” Presley pants.

“We’ll find him. He can’t have gone far.”

I hope.

Okay, I need to think. What’s caught his attention the other times he’s done this?

At the farmers’ market it was the ducks in the kiddie pool in The Grain Store’s booth. We don’t have any ducks here today. It’s too cold. Brian also doesn’t traditionally sponsor this event. So, that’s out.

Popcorn. The Touch-a-Truck run was because he saw Milo with a popcorn machine and he wanted some. Could he have been hungry? He shouldn’t be, since we had breakfast at home. Then again, Dolly’s got her cinnamon rolls out and we’ve—okay, I’ve—created a bit of a monster when it comes to Otis and those pastries.

Maybe that’s it; he wanted a snack. Wanted to go hang out with Aunt Dolly and see what he could con her into feeding him. Which I’m sure is a lot.

My brain is moving as fast as it ever has, trying not to waste a single second. Then Presley’s voice cuts through.

“We need to split up to look for him. I’ll text my parents, see if they’re here yet and can help. Would it be too much to ask your brothers?”

“Absolutely not.”

I pull out my phone and send the only thing I can think of to my sibling group chat. The one single word that I know without a doubt will have everyone’s attention in a flash and put us on high alert.

ARMADILLO.

“Armadillo?” Presley asks, watching my thumbs fly over the screen.

“Family distress signal.” I continue to type, ignoring the responses from my siblings that they are present and ready, tapping out a BOLO for Otis.

“Wha—"

“Longtime running family joke,” I cut her off. “Anton is afraid of them.”

“Because, of course…” Presley lets out a ragged sigh, spinning in place as she scans the crowd. “Jace, what if⁠—”

“We’re not going there, Mama,” I answer, knowing exactly where she’s going with this.

“That’s exactly where my head is at. Cody wanted nothing to do with Otis until just now. What’s going to stop him from just taking him?”

Nothing. That’s what.

Her fear is legit, even if I don’t want to go there. We have to. We have to consider all options.