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“Night.” He walked up the stairs.
It happened every time I drove home from leaving Hunter. I felt like I had somehow let him down. It was stupid guilt again. I wanted to do more for him, I just didn’t know how.
I was going to spend the rest of the night looking for part-time jobs. I’d be a dog-walker. A plant-sitter. A night-time driver if I had to. I had to keep trying. I hadn’t made the right decision before, but I was going to this time.
I stopped at a red light and the thought almost slapped me in the face. It was as blaring as the red light.
How was I any different from Kane Hawkins? A man who made bad decisions openly. Me, a woman who swore she lived on the right side of morality, but slipped any chance there was temptation. Why was I so tough on the man all the time?
I knew part of it was to hide the side he had seen. I didn’t want him to think of me that way. Or did I?
Everything was muddled and confused.
I pulled into the parking garage of my apartment complex when I looked down and saw the number for the children’s home flash on my screen. I scrambled to answer it.
“Hello?”
“Hey, it’s Jenni. Julie, are you still out with Hunter?”
It was stupid, but I looked at the empty backseat of my car. “No, I dropped him off twenty minutes ago. I watched him walk inside.”
I heard the alarm in Jenni’s voice. She was the night time coordinator. Over the past year I’d gotten to know her well enough that she trusted the arrangement I had with Hunter.
“He’s not here,” she stated
“What?” I gripped the steering wheel with my free hand. Had I seen him actually walk in the building? Did the door close behind him? It was such a part of our nightly routine one night ran into the other.
“Where did you look?” I asked Jenni.
“Everywhere. We’ve asked all the children. Checked the lounges, the dining hall, bathrooms. Nothing. We can’t find him. I’m going to have to call in an Amber Alert immediately.”
“Oh my God.” My stomach plunged to my feet. I thought I was going to be sick.
“Julie, what was he wearing today?”
“Oh-umm.” I stared at the steering wheel. “Jeans. I’m sure he had on jeans. And a T-shirt? I think it was red.”
“Ok. That’s helpful. I can let the police know. I have his height here. Do you have any suggestions of somewhere else we should look? Anything I could tell the police? Did he mention something today? Was anything off with him?”
I shook my head. “No. He had a great day at school and an even better day at clubs after school. He actually played with the other kids today. He’s making real progress with Kane Hawkins.”
And that’s when it hit me. I had an idea.
“Jenni, I’m going to make some calls. I’m going to start looking for him. Promise me you’ll call me when you find him. And I’ll do the same. I’m not going to sleep until I know he’s back in his bed. I swear to you.”
“I know you’re worried. I’ll let you know as soon as I have a lead. Thanks, Julie.”
My ignition was still running. I dug through my leather bag and held up the card I
had received a week ago. It had all of Hawk’s information on it.
My fingers hesitated for only a second. I had to do this for Hunter.
Thirteen
Kane
The owners’ meeting didn’t last long. We had a problem with injuries. The roster wasn’t ideal. For now, we were in a recovery mode while we waited to hear back from the team therapists. I was home earlier than I expected.
