Stacy gave her friend a questioning look. “Are we talking about someone specific?”
Charlotte chuckled. “The father of one of my students. Nice guy. His wife apparently never grew up, though. She had a bad habit of having three-martini lunches and driving buzzed with her kid in the car.”
Stacy winced. “What happened?”
“Killed herself and a family of three in an accident about three years ago. Only her daughter survived the crash, and she was left with a brain injury that required years of therapy. I had her in my kindergarten class last year-she was a lot better by then, but she still has some issues. She’s in first grade now, doing a lot better.”
“Poor baby.”
“Her dad was left to deal with her therapy and the lawsuit filed by the survivors of the other family that was killed in the crash. It was terrible for him.”
“Hey, you’re talking about Jeff Appleton, aren’t you?” Stacy realized. The deputy had done some moonlighting work for the governor’s security detail from time to time. She’d heard stories about his legal problems and the fact that he had a six-year-old daughter with special needs. The governor had suggested she should let Zachary meet Jeff’s daughter, but Stacy didn’t think her son was really ready for playdates yet.
“Yes. Nice guy. He’s under a lot of stress. Maybe you should get to know him. You have a lot in common.”
Stacy looked at her friend through narrowed eyes. The suggestion had seemed almost rote, as if Charlotte felt it was the polite thing to do, even though Stacy got the sense that Charlotte didn’t really want Stacy to see Jeff as a romantic possibility.
Did she have a crush on the deputy herself?
Before Stacy could pose that question, Charlotte’s eyes widened. She caught Stacy by the arm. “Stacy, where’s Zachary?”
Stacy looked down at her side, where she’d last seen her son. But he wasn’t there.
She looked around, certain she’d see him nearby, perhaps running laps around the day care’s front lawn. She’d drummed warnings about running off into his head since he was three, and he was usually very good about obeying that rule, since he had an older child’s understanding of the reasons behind it.
But Zachary was nowhere in sight. Nor had he gotten into the car without her realizing it.
He was just gone.
Fear gathered into a hard knot in the center of her chest. “Did you see him go anywhere?”
“No!” Charlotte’s look of rising terror amplified Stacy’s own level of anxiety. “I thought he was right there with you!”
A cold chill washed over her body, spreading gooseflesh along her arms and legs. The world around her seemed to have upended in the span of seconds, leaving her breathless and dizzy in an alien landscape where nothing seemed familiar.
Where was Zachary?
Chapter Eight
A thousand terrifying scenarios rampaged through Stacy’s mind as she tried to remember when she’d last seen her son. She’d gotten involved in the conversation with Charlotte almost immediately, but Zachary was always so good about sticking close to her, and she was generally attentive.
If he’d left her side without her noticing, he must have sneaked away. And Zachary didn’t normally sneak.
“Zachary?” Charlotte called out, looking more and more scared.
“He wouldn’t have left unless he saw something that interested him,” Stacy told Charlotte. “Maybe he saw someone on horseback?”
“Or one of his friends he obsesses over?”
“Let’s fan out.” Stacy tamped down her paralyzing panic so she could function again. “He didn’t have time to go far. We just have to find out where he went.”
As Charlotte hurried down the street toward the bank, calling Zachary’s name, Stacy went the opposite direction, her heart pounding like a timpani in her chest. A sense of disorientation lingered, but she forced aside the crimson veil of panic and reoriented herself as quickly as she could.
She checked at Talk of the Town first. Zachary liked the diner as well as he liked any place in town. Faith and the other workers there knew about his condition and treated him well even when he was being a complete pest. Plus, if she put out the alert there, news of her missing son would be around town in minutes-even better than an Amber alert.
She’d barely set foot in the place when she heard a man’s voice call her name. There was no missing the Georgia drawl or the deep timbre of his baritone voice. She looked up to find Harlan McClain sitting at a booth, waving her over. And across from him sat Zachary, reaching across the table to pluck a fry from Harlan’s lunch plate.
“Lose something?” Harlan asked.
Relief overwhelmed Stacy, making her legs tremble. “Zachary, you scared me to death! Why did you wander off like that? You know we’ve talked about that!”
Zachary looked up at her as if she’d lost her mind. “I saw Harlan and I
“You had to, huh?” Stacy tried to calm down, not sure what she wanted to do more-hug her son or shake him for scaring the life out of her. She saw Harlan watching her with interest, as if trying to read her thoughts. “Sorry he bothered you.”
“I’m sorry he scared you. But he’s no bother. It’s no fun eating alone.” He shoved the squeeze bottle of ketchup toward Zachary, who grabbed it and squirted a ribbon of the sauce onto his purloined French fry.
“You should have called me the moment he came in.” The scolding he deserved came out halfhearted, to her chagrin. They were just sort of heart-melting together, she thought, watching her son mimic Harlan’s movements. Zachary could barely remember Anthony. A boy needed a father, and Zachary seemed determined to find one, on his own if necessary.
If she didn’t know his heart would be broken when it ended, she might be inclined to encourage Zachary’s newfound fascination with Harlan. Harlan McClain seemed lonely-another point against his being married-and he also seemed to genuinely appreciate her son, with all his quirks. God knew, she’d given him more than enough reason to back away from her and Zachary last night, hadn’t she?
And yet, here he was, being kind to her son, letting him filch food right off his plate.
“I did try. You must have your phone off.”
She pulled her phone from her purse and found that she’d put it on vibrate that morning during their meeting and had never switched it back to ring. “Sorry. I guess I was so freaked out I didn’t feel it vibrating.”
“You hungry?” Harlan asked her. “My food just got here. Y’all could join me.”
“I’m hungry,” Zachary said in a plaintive tone.
“Double-teaming me, are you?”
“We can make it a working lunch if you like,” Harlan said. “I spent my morning going over that list of ranch staffers you compiled. Thought I’d pick your brain about a few of them.”
The adrenaline that had driven her into the diner was leaking away as if someone had unplugged a drain. Her wobbly knees made the decision for her. She slid into the booth next to Zachary. “Let me call someone first.” She made a quick call to Charlotte and told her she’d found Zachary safe and sound. Then she turned her attention back to Harlan. “Okay. Pick away.”
Harlan’s lips curved, eliciting another appearance of the dimples that she was beginning to find downright fascinating. “How about we get you two some lunch first?” He waved at Faith, the diner owner, who was wiping down the counter at the front. She smiled and waved back, tucking the rag under the counter and grabbing a menu from the holder on the counter.
“Your usual?” she asked Stacy, then bent to look Zachary in the eye. “And chicken fingers and apple slices for Zachary?”
