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Faith hopped out of the truck and unstrapped the baby. She winced. “Blowout.”
Chase gasped as she lifted Anna. Goop covered the baby’s clothes, extending from the middle of her back all the way down her legs. “How can so much stuff come out of someone so little?”
“Grab the diaper bag. We’re going to have to do damage control inside.”
He did as she requested, snagging the carrier as well since it was also soiled. Faith hurried across the parking lot several strides ahead of him. She spoke in a soothing voice to the baby, the sound carrying on the wind although the actual words were indistinct. Anna fussed, legs wriggling, as she protested her dirty diaper. Chase caught up to them as they entered the grocery store.
It smelled of floor cleaner and freshly baked cookies inside. Beeps from the registers mingled with the soft voices of customers and the squeaks of shopping cart wheels. The restrooms were tucked next to a small pharmacy. Faith paused outside the door. “I’ll get Anna cleaned up first and then we can deal with the car seat.”
“Sounds like a plan.” Chase hooked the diaper bag over her shoulder. Anna blew a raspberry as they disappeared into the restroom and he couldn’t help but laugh. Even covered in such a mess, she was adorable. It tugged on his heartstrings unexpectedly.
He’d never considered marriage or a family seriously. At least…not until recently. It was sitting in the church, watching Faith swear to honor and cherish another man that’d forced Chase to face a reality he’d been running from for a long time.
He loved Faith. He’d loved her beyond what he thought was possible.
Chase spent the next two years dating, hoping his feelings for Faith were simply a misdirected desire to settle down with his own life partner. But no one he ever went out with interested him. No one could because none of those women were Faith.
And now…now she was a widow, but her heart still belonged to Mitch.
He leaned against the wall beside the bathroom door, keeping watch on the customers moving throughout the store. The evening rush had begun. Every passing minute brought more people in, and the lines at the register grew longer. It made Chase uncomfortable. Keeping Anna and Faith safe was harder in a crowd.
He glanced at his watch. They’d been in the bathroom for over ten minutes. Chase knocked on the door before pushing it open slightly. “Faith, everything okay?”
Silence. His heart skipped a beat as he raised his voice. “Faith, I’m coming in.”
He shoved open the door. The diaper-changing station was lowered, Anna’s soiled clothes resting in a pile nearby. Water ran from a faucet into the sink, as if someone had been interrupted while washing their hands, and the only stall was empty. Anna’s diaper bag was a bright blot of color against the silver paper towel dispenser. Horror ripped through Chase.
The bathroom was empty. Faith and the baby were gone.
