was in the process of undressing for bed. She’d voiced the question he’d tried not to think about, yet it had hovered at the back of his mind like a poisonous snake waiting to strike. “They’ll find her.”
“But Gregg,” Sabrina insisted, her green eyes clouded with worry, “what if they don’t?” She lowered her voice, although no one could possibly hear her. Samantha, their one-year-old, and Michael had been asleep for hours, and Glynnis was at her own home with Kat. “It would destroy Glynnis. I’m not sure she could survive.” She shook her head. “God. Hasn’t she been through enough? I know other people think she’s really strong, and she is, but everyone has a breaking point.” She unfastened her bra and tossed it on the bed.
“Let’s not talk about this, okay?”
“I think we have to talk about it, because if the unthinkable happens and they don’t find Livvy…or they find her—” Sabrina swallowed “—they…find her body…we have to be prepared. Glynnis will need us more than ever before.” She reached for her nightgown.
Gregg knew Sabrina was right, but he didn’t want to say the words out loud. To do so would give them a reality he couldn’t acknowledge. “I’m sorry, I can’t talk about this.” He put the shoes he had just removed back on. “I know I won’t sleep. I’m going for a walk. I need fresh air.”
“Gregg, it’s midnight.”
“I won’t be gone long.”
“Gregg…”
“What?” He didn’t look at her, although under normal circumstances he would rather look at Sabrina than anyone else in the world.
“Running away won’t solve anything,” she said gently.
“I’m not running away.”
She didn’t answer for a long moment. When she did, her voice was resigned. “All right, I’m sorry I pushed you. If you don’t want to talk about it, I won’t make you.” She climbed into bed and reached for her reading glasses.
“Don’t wait up,” he said and then went out to the entryway closet, where he donned his heavy jacket and gloves. After letting himself quietly out the back door, he headed down the driveway, all the while reassuring himself that he was right not to consider the worst.
The police would find Olivia. Dan O’Neill was a good cop. He was doing all the right things.
They had to find her. Nothing less was acceptable.
Sabrina was right about one thing, though. His sister had suffered enough. For a long time, Gregg had been furious with Ben March. If the older man hadn’t already been dead, Gregg would have cheerfully strangled him with his bare hands for what he’d done to Glynnis.
But in the past year—mainly since Samantha was born—he’d gotten past his anger and started moving toward some semblance of understanding.
Gregg knew it couldn’t have been easy for Ben to live with Sabrina’s mother all those years. Even now, when she was supposedly happily married to her longtime love, she was a hard woman to be around.
It always amazed Gregg that Sabrina—who was one of the warmest women he’d ever known—could have been born to Isabel March, who, on her warmest day, was closer to the Arctic Circle than to the equator.
For Sabrina’s sake, he was friendly to Isabel, but he’d never love her, although he was glad she and Sabrina had a decent relationship again.
But even though he understood Ben better now, he still couldn’t completely forgive him for what he’d put Glynnis through. Those days after he’d died, when Glynnis had found out she was not legally married to him and that he had another wife and an adult daughter, had been tough. But the worst days had come later, when all the well-wishers were gone and Glynnis had to face everyday life with two small children on her own. At least Ben had left the children well provided for.
As Sabrina had said, Glynnis was a strong woman. She’d proven that by everything she’d overcome: their parents’ death, a disastrous relationship when she’d been in college, having to give up the baby that resulted from it, and then Ben’s death and the truth about their marriage. A weaker woman might have broken. Glynnis hadn’t. Throughout, no matter how much she was hurting, she’d gone on and made the best life she could.
This, though, could destroy her.
Gregg was so lost in his thoughts he didn’t realize a car had pulled alongside him until he heard his name called. Turning, he recognized his cousin Steve’s dark blue Ford Explorer.
“What’re you doing out walking this late?” Steve said when Gregg came around to the driver’s side to talk to him.
“I needed some air. You just coming home from the restaurant?” Steve had been Gregg’s assistant for the past two and a half years and Gregg now wondered how he had ever managed without him.
“Yeah.”
“We have a good night?”
“Real good. From seven-thirty on, all the tables stayed filled.”
Gregg nodded. The first few years he’d owned Antonelli’s, it had been touch and go as to whether he’d make it. The odds were against him; he’d always known that. Start-up restaurants didn’t have a good track record. But with a combination of hard work and luck, he’d made Antonelli’s into one of the most successful restaurants in the area.
“I take it there’s no news,” Steve said.
“No.”
“Geez, Gregg, I’m sorry. Is there anything Maggie and I can do?” Maggie also worked for Gregg as first assistant to the chef. She and Steve had met at the restaurant, fallen in love and married a little over a year ago. Now she was pregnant with their first child.
Gregg didn’t answer for a moment. He couldn’t. He was all too aware of just how bad the situation was and how much worse it might get. “Pray,” he finally said. “Pray hard.”
“Yeah,” Steve said softly. Then, “You want a ride back to the house?”
“Thanks, but I’m not ready to go back yet.”
“Okay. You sure you’re all right?”
“Yeah, I’m fine. You go on. Maggie’ll be waiting.”
Steve smiled. “All right. You comin’ in tomorrow?”
“I don’t know. We’ll see.”
“Well, don’t worry about us. We can manage if you want to stay with Glynnis. Everybody’s torn up about this, you know.”
“Yeah, I know.” Glynnis had spent a lot of time at the restaurant since Ben had died, and the employees had pretty much adopted the kids. He smiled thinking how Jeff, their pastry chef, always let the kids roll out leftover dough and Trish, who was training to take Maggie’s place as their sous-chef, taught Michaael to chop carrots.
Gregg watched as Steve drove off, then he headed toward the park. Since he didn’t normally go to the restaurant before ten, in nice weather he always took Samantha
