"Yes. I was ripped away from my family, made to stay with people I didn't know, separated from my brother, my friends, anyone who knew me. It was awful. And I was lucky; it only lasted two weeks. What if Brett's mother can't be found for months? He's such a little boy. And he's so sweet. How can I do that to him?"
"What's the alternative? Are you going to take care of him? Can you legally even do that?"
She frowned at his questions. "Probably not. I just wish I had more information. Maybe his mom will be back really soon."
"We can wait, give her some time to return."
"Or I could wait. You don't need to stay."
"You have no working vehicle, there's a storm coming in, and phone signal is spotty. I'm not leaving you here alone."
"I can take care of myself."
"Well, then I'm staying for Brett, not you."
"I can take care of Brett, too," she said stubbornly. "I don't need you, Jake."
"You've made that abundantly clear," he said, meeting her gaze. "But I'm still staying. You can be stubborn; so can I."
"You are so annoying."
"Right back at you. Now, what do you want to do?"
She thought about her options. There was really only one choice. "I'll call Adam." Adam Cole was a detective and the brother of her friends, Lizzie and Chelsea. She had his personal number and could talk to him in a non-official capacity first. She punched in his number.
"Hello?" Adam said.
She could barely hear him with all the noise in the background.
"It's Hannah. Where are you?"
"Station Christmas party," he said. "Hold on a sec. I need to find a quieter place."
"Okay."
As Adam put her on hold, her gaze moved once more to the note, which she'd left on top of the packed clothes. As she picked it up again, she caught a glimpse of gold that she hadn't seen before. Moving aside a fuzzy sweater, she picked up the chain that had slid down between some clothes, her heart stopping at the sight of the small gold unicorn.
"Oh, my God," she murmured.
"Hannah? I'm back," Adam said. "What's up?"
She could hear Adam, but she couldn't find the words. That necklace was taking her back in time.
"Hannah?" Adam said again. "Are you there?"
"Sorry, Adam," she said quickly. "It's nothing. Never mind. I'll call you back."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes. Have fun at your party." She ended the call, her heart beating out of her chest.
"What's going on?" Jake asked in confusion, his sharp, questioning gaze seeking hers. "Why did you hang up on Adam?"
"Because I can't involve the police." She held up the unicorn. "I know who Brett's mother is, Jake. I know why she brought him here, why she left him for me."
"For you? I thought she texted the property manager."
"Actually, she texted my mother, whose phone number must have been on the agreement. But she must have figured I'd be the one to come."
"Who are you talking about, Hannah?"
She stared at him, a feeling of impossibility constricting her throat. It couldn't be, but it was. Now she knew why Brett reminded her of Tyler. "I'm talking about my sister."
"Kelly?" he asked in astonishment. "Have you been in touch with her?"
"Not in fifteen years, but this necklace belonged to her. In fact, I gave it to her on her fourteenth birthday, and she was kind enough not to tell me that it was way too young for her." It all suddenly made sense. "Brett is Kelly's son. That means I'm his aunt." She looked into Jake's confused eyes. "Where the hell is my sister?"
Chapter Three
It wasn't a question Jake could answer. In fact, he was still trying to follow the story Hannah had just pieced together. "Are you sure the necklace could only belong to your sister? It looks like something that could have been mass-produced."
"Even if there are thousands of these necklaces in existence, this one was in this suitcase, with this child, under these circumstances. There's no way it's a coincidence. Kelly brought Brett here. She sent the text claiming the hot water heater was broken, because she remembered how often we had to relight it. It was something she knew I could fix. She wanted me to find Brett."
"Why didn't she just say so in the note? Why didn't she address it to you?" he challenged. "Why leave a necklace and make you guess?"
Hannah didn't care for his questions, but he was used to that look of irritation in her eyes, so it didn't bother him.
"I don't know why she didn't do any of those things. But Kelly's actions haven't made sense to me in a long time. She left when I was fourteen and she was nineteen. I've never heard one word from her since then. I have no idea where she's been living, who she's been living with…" Her voice trailed away, then came back even stronger. "But I know she has a son. There must be a father somewhere. However, when I asked Brett about a dad, he didn't say anything and changed the subject."
Hannah sat down on the bed, her gaze thoughtful and worried as she stared at the necklace swinging between her fingers. She was determined to work the problem. She'd always been that way. When someone said she couldn't have something or do something, she became determined to prove them wrong.
He'd always liked that about her. She'd inspired him with her never-say-quit attitude more than she would know. But he also knew that she could get incredibly frustrated when she couldn't control the outcome of a situation, and this one was definitely not under her control.
As he watched her stare at the necklace, he thought it was probably the first time in twelve years that he'd had a chance to really look at her. Usually, when he showed up, she ran in the other direction. But not tonight. Tonight, a flat tire had thrown them together, had forced her to rely on
