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“Back to the loons. Why did you want to go so badly? Do you remember? We’d seen them just before dusk. It’s not like loons are rare around here.”
Sarah closed her eyes, then popped them wide when a memory came to her. “Someone told me about the chicks. He said they carried them on their backs, but we’d never seen that.”
“No, we didn’t. Do you remember who told you?”
“It was an older kid at the marina playground the morning we left.” Sarah scrunched her face up as she thought. “Annie, I think it was Sean. His dad was working on the pavilion.”
The huge revelation made her want to vomit. Had Sean helped orchestrate her abduction?
***
The storm had held off, and a picnic after the traumatic day was what they both needed. Jon was surprised they’d pulled it together as quickly as they had. He removed fish from the grill as Annie set the corn-and-tomato salad she’d prepared on the table. The spread included sweet potato fries she’d whipped up in the air fryer too.
If only he had that ring ready. He suspected he was going to see missed opportunities to propose over the next few days while he waited.
He hadn’t fully made up his mind whether to wait or to propose without a ring. How did a guy even do that though? The ring was the chocolate on the strawberry. It wouldn’t be the same without it.
He served her the nicest piece of fish with perfectly crisped edges. “What’s next in your investigation?”
She ladled salad onto her plate and his. “I’m going to take a hard look at Sean and his associates, going back as far as I can. Mason hasn’t discovered anything, but he focused on the last couple of years. I think we need to go back further than that.”
“What did you make of Sarah’s memories of Sean telling her about the baby loons? Could his dad have been involved in the abduction?”
Her blue eyes held sorrow. “It could have been a coincidence that Sean told Sarah about the baby loons, but itfeelsdeliberate. Coupled with Becky being ready to snatch one of us, I can’t rule it out. And if he would do something like that at ten, what would he have been capable of as he got older?”
He salted the fries and dipped one in ketchup. “Speakingof investigations, I spoke with the Minnesota detective this morning.” He told her about the menacing text from Olivia and his call to Ken Perry. “Once he heard my girlfriend was a LEO, his attitude changed. He talked to the coroner about another autopsy and was told it wouldn’t show. So I won’t ever know if Olivia killed one of my patients.”
“I’m sorry, Jon. That has to be hard.”
“Have you heard from Bree and Kylie?”
“Bree called after Naomi told her about your dad and Martha’s upcoming wedding. She was ecstatic. I think she was almost ready to jump in the van and head back north to participate in the plans. She was almost giddy. Kylie promised to FaceTime me tonight on her iPad.”
“Do you think they’re rushing into this?” He dropped the casual question to gauge her reaction to a quick wedding.
“Why wait? They’ve known each other a long time. I hope you don’t mind the mention of Nate, but his death taught me how precious time can be. When you know, you know.” She reached across the table and took Jon’s hand. “Nothing could convince me we shouldn’t be together. We’ve come through so much in this past month. A lifetime, really. But it’s only made us stronger together.”
His fingers tightened on hers. “I hoped you’d feel that way.” Now was the time.
But as he constructed his first sentence to launch into a proposal, her gaze went above his head. “It’s Deja.”
The deputy came toward the house in a brisk walk. She reached the steps and held out a paper. “I’m so sorry to have to disturb you with this, but it’s part of the job. You’re being served, Annie. The Pedersons are suing for custody of Kylie.”
Annie sprang to her feet and snatched the paper from Deja’s hand. “You can’t be serious!” She tore into the envelope and read the first page before showing it to Jon. “I can’t believe this. They barely pay any attention to her. It seems insane.”
“They were angry when they left here,” Jon said. “Maybe they’ll reconsider when they’ve had time to cool off.”
She skimmed the first page again. “This is dated yesterday, so they put it in motion right away. You might be right. They may regret it even now. I should probably call them. I told them they could see Kylie any time they wanted. Our relationship won’t change their access to her.”
Deja retreated. “Well, I’ll let you hash it all out. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news.”
Jon called out a thanks as the deputy went to her car. He and Nate’s parents had been friends a long time. Their reaction two nights ago had stunned him, but maybe losing Nate had scarred them in a lot of ways.
He steered her back to their dinner. “I could try talking to them.”
“Maybe.” She sank onto her chair. “I can’t believe we have to deal with this on top of everything else.”
He’d lost his moment. Asking her to marry him now would be stupid when her thoughts were consumed with what to do about this new wrinkle. But maybe it was for the best. If he held his tongue for a few days, he’d have the ring in hand.
