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“That’s yourbest-case scenario?” I didn’t mean to be rude, but it sounded pretty awful to me.
“It means they’ll be cared for… and easier to find,” Dennis explained. “I’ll let you know the second my guys turn anything up.” He turned to Xander. “Which just leaves the matter of my payment.”
Xander nodded and pulled out his checkbook.
For a hefty down payment and contract in which we agreed to cover all Dennis’s expenses, plus a bonus when the boys were found, we had ourselves a bounty hunter. I might have said that Dennis struck a hard bargain, but Xander hadn’t even bothered to haggle. Whatever Dennis asked for, Xander agreed to.
No price was too high when it came to finding our sons.
“Thank you, Mr. Kerry,” I said, shaking his hand after Xander when the business was done.
“Call me Denny,” he said. “Now, is the Farmer’s Wife still open?”
“Of course,” Xander said. “Best restaurant in town.”
“Ed and Lola still running it?”
“They are.” Xander arched a brow. “You know them?”
“Only in passing. Used to love that place. This whole town, actually. Strange, being back here now. It’s been a long time.” A wistful look danced in his eyes for just a second. It disappeared so fast I wondered if I’d just imagined it.
It was interesting to me that Denny had been in Evergreen before. Or, rather, it was interesting that he loved this town, yet found it strange to be back. It seemed to me a guy like him could set up shop pretty much anywhere. Holding down a title like bounty hunter didn’t really force you to live in a single zip code.
I wondered what had kept him away.
Denny rose and rolled his shoulders, then cracked his neck. “Anyway, I’ll keep you updated.” He grabbed the last two Caramel deLites from the platter and gave me a nod in parting. “Thanks for these.”
Xander and I stood side by side and watched him go.
“You think he can do it?” I asked, breaking the heavy silence.
Xander heaved out a long breath. “I hope so, Cheeks. I think he’s the best chance we’ve got right now.”
Chapter9
Xander
After Denny’s departure, we fell back into a waiting pattern. I took my shifts on the blockade. Felicity baked more cookies with a wild, frenetic intensity, pacing the front porch while she waited for the oven timer to ding.
Luckily, Denny didn’t make us wait long.
“How’s the blockade?” Felicity asked as I jogged up the drive when I got back from Carter’s Creek. The sun was setting on Denny’s first day of employment with us, and already we had a lead.
“We’re lifting it. Denny ran some checks on the address Doris gave us. It exists. Property taxes are registered to a trust, with Melony’s mother listed as the sole beneficiary. So, we’ve finally got a solid lead.” I let out a breath. My chest felt strangely light. “His guys are heading there now. No promises that they’ll find anything, but—”
Felicity leapt down the porch steps so quickly, I had to rush forward even faster, terrified she might fall. She launched herself into my arms, winding her hands around my neck and hugging me so tightly, I could barely breathe.
Fuck breathing, though. I didn’t need to breathe when her body was flush with mine.
We’d been starving, I realized. All the baking in the world couldn’t have fixed that—though not for Felicity’s lack of trying. But this? This was what we’d been waiting for. A direction.
A break.
“It might be nothing, Cheeks.” I kept my voice soft in her ear. I hardly wanted to acknowledge it myself, but we had to be careful about how high we set our hopes. “Remember that.”
“Or it might be something,” she whispered back. “It might be everything.”
* * *
