"I'm glad you're okay. I've been texting you since Friday night. You had me worried, Trev."
"I know. I'm sorry, Jake. I was detoxing, and it was all I could do to breathe my way through it. But I made it. It's been almost forty-eight hours since I took a drink."
He hoped this was the new start Trevor needed. "That's good. But you don't have to do this alone. I told you I'd help you pay for rehab."
"I appreciate that, but I have to do this my way. I have to be able to manage my addictions in the real world. I went to rehab once before, and it didn't stick. As soon as I got out, I went right back to it. I don't know if this will work, either, but I had to try something different. I'm a mess, Jake."
"Actually, for the first time in a while, I feel like you're on the right path. And when you're ready to come back to work, you have a job. That job lasts as long as your sobriety does."
"I get it. I know I screwed up a few times the past couple of weeks."
"You did. Now you have to do better." He paused. "How did you get here? I didn't see your car in the lot. I'm hoping you didn't drive."
"I got a ride from a woman who was staying at one of the cabins near mine. She came by to ask if she could borrow my car. I told her I had to leave, so if she wanted to drive me, she could take the car after that."
He was surprised by Trevor's words. "A stranger asked to borrow your car and you said yes?"
"Well, I wasn't exactly sober at the time," Trevor admitted. "I needed to get out of the cabin, and I knew I couldn't drive."
"At least you knew that much. Where was her car?"
Trevor gave him a blank look. "Uh, I don't know. She said her car broke down. Her kid needed something for Christmas. I told her if she dropped me off here, she could take the car and then bring it back when she got her vehicle fixed."
"But she hasn't brought it back yet. And it's Sunday afternoon. Do you seriously think she will?"
"Maybe not. Why are you asking me so many questions?" Trevor asked, running a hand through his hair.
"Because the woman who gave you a ride disappeared and left her kid behind."
"What? No." Trevor shook his head in confusion. "She said she left her kid with her sister. He would be fine until she got back. She kept saying that, over and over."
"What else did she say?"
"I don't remember. It's all a blur."
"Try. It's important."
Trevor stared at him for a long minute. "She said she was a good person. People might not believe that, but she was. She seemed agitated and stressed out."
"Was she hurt? Did she have any physical injuries? Bruises, broken bones?"
"I don't think so, but she was pregnant." A light came on in his eyes. "I just remembered that. She kept touching her belly. She was mostly talking to herself, or maybe to the baby. She said it was going to be all right. She would keep her safe. She would do what she had to do to keep her kids safe."
"Did she say where she was going?"
"I don't think so."
It wasn't much, but it was something. At least they now knew what car Kelly was driving. "I don't suppose you know your license plate number?"
"Dude, I can barely remember my name right now."
"Okay. It's fine. I'm sure the police can figure it out. Why don't you come to my place for the night? I've got a couch and food in the refrigerator."
"No. I have to stay here another night."
"What about food? You don't have a car."
"There's a pizza place across the road. They deliver."
"You can't survive on just pizza. I'll go to the store and get you some groceries."
"Why do you care so much?" Trevor asked, a questioning note in his voice.
"You're one of my employees, and we're friends."
"You should have fired me weeks ago, and I don't think I'm much of a friend."
"You're going through a hard time. You just need to turn your life around."
"What if I can't?"
"You're already doing it," he said, meeting Trevor's uncertain gaze. "You've made mistakes. You just need to recover and do better."
"I'm going to try, but—"
"No buts. By getting sober, you're giving yourself a second chance, and I'm giving you one, too. Don't let me down."
Trevor nodded. "Okay."
He got to his feet. "I'll be back in thirty minutes."
"Thanks."
He headed out the door and jogged to his car. On the way to the store, he punched in Adam's number. If Adam could track Trevor's car, maybe they could find Kelly. It was the best lead they'd gotten so far, and it felt good to be doing something proactive. Hopefully, the information would pan out and Hannah would get some good news.
They'd just started pulling ingredients together for the cookies when Hannah heard the pitter-patter of little feet coming down the stairs. Apparently, Brett's nap today was not going to be a long one. She moved toward the kitchen door as Brett came running down the hall. He launched himself into her arms, and she gave him a hug.
"Did you have a good sleep?" she asked him.
He nodded, his gaze moving toward her mother, who was standing frozen in the middle of the kitchen, a look of shock on her face.
"Who's that?" he asked.
"That's my mom. And she's also your mom's mom, which makes her your grandmother."
"Hi," he said, with his usual friendly smile. "I'm Brett."
Surprise flashed across her mother's face at his warm greeting. "Uh, hello." She paused,
