She ran for him, sweeping him up before he could say a word. Just the other day she’d been thinking how big he was getting, but now he felt like the slightest of weights, so glad was she to have him back in her arms.
“He knew the way, Mom! I didn’t even show him, but he followed the exact way I came.”
It took her a moment to realize he meant the dog. And a moment more to realize they weren’t alone. Two adults had come along the same path through the trees. A man and a woman, the man carrying what looked like Luke’s little backpack, the one Drew had bought him for their hikes and fishing trips. They must be the dog’s people, she thought in the moment she spared them before turning back to her son.
“You were at the park?”
He nodded. She felt a twinge of relief; that would have been her next stop, so she would have found him. Somehow that made her feel better. But it wasn’t enough to quell the overwhelming relief and the flood of wobbliness after being so frightened.
She wanted to be angry at Luke, to scare him into never, ever doing anything like this again, but she was too glad he was back and safe. She compromised, hugging him fiercely while saying, “Don’t you ever do that again. I almost called the police I was so worried.”
“Hard, isn’t it?”
Alyssa looked up as the woman spoke. The newcomer was a little taller than she was, maybe about five-five, her hair was a rich shade of auburn touched with gold, a shade that Alyssa guessed had to be natural, it had so many layers. Her eyes were lovely, a green that matched the surroundings and reminded her of Drew’s. And right now they were warm with empathy.
“They scare you to death so you’re angry, but you want to smother them with love at the same time because you’re so glad they’re all right.”
Alyssa smiled at the apt description. “You have kids?”
“Not yet,” she said, and flicked a glance at the man beside her. “But I remember my mother wearing the same expression.”
Alyssa stole a look at the man herself; he’d be enough to have any woman thinking about forever. She’d noticed the engagement ring on the woman’s left hand, and suppressed a little sigh. It must be wonderful to have done it the normal way, fallen in love, planning a life from the beginning. She looked upon her own plain, gold wedding band as a symbol of everything she’d done wrong as a stupid, naive girl.
“I’m Hayley Cole,” the woman said. “This is my fiancé, Quinn Foxworth.”
“I’m Alyssa Kiley,” she said, not willing to release Luke enough to shake hands. Neither one of the people before her seemed to take offense. “Thank you for bringing him home.”
“And this,” Hayley added with a gesture toward the dog, “is Cutter. It’s him you really have to thank, he found Luke and brought us here.”
Alyssa was loath to let go of Luke, but the boy was starting to squirm, his gaze fastened on the dog. Reluctantly she let him wiggle down. To her surprise when the dog moved, instead of going straight to Luke he came to her, and sat at her feet. She looked down at him, a little startled by the intense, steady gaze. She felt drawn, and leaned over to put a hand on the dog’s silky head.
“Well, thank you, Cutter,” she said, not sure what else to do.
The dog lowered his head in what for all the world looked like a nod of acknowledgment. As she stroked his fur, she felt oddly soothed, calmed, as if she’d finally accepted that Luke was truly all right.
“What an...interesting dog,” she murmured.
“You don’t know the half of it,” Quinn Foxworth said, his tone wry. Alyssa looked up at him, and saw nothing but bemusement and appreciation there. Except when he looked at Hayley, and she saw a loving warmth she’d never seen in a man’s eyes before.
Certainly never in her husband’s. At least, not directed at her.
As if her thought had conjured him, a vehicle turned the corner, fast enough to make the tires squeal a little in protest. Hayley and Quinn looked, but Alyssa didn’t, she knew who it was. And his mood probably wouldn’t be any better now than it had been this morning. Worse, in fact, now that she’d called him home from work for what turned out to be nothing.
She glanced at Luke, who was on his knees beside the dog, hugging him fiercely. She thought about sending him inside, but before she could decide, the dark blue pickup stopped in the driveway with a final bark from the tires and it was too late.
“I’m thinking you should handle this one,” Hayley said quietly to Quinn. “He doesn’t look happy.”
“Drew never looks happy,” Alyssa said. Only when she heard the words spoken did she realize how sad they really were.
She tried to imagine how the man who erupted from the vehicle must look to them. Certainly a million times more intimidating than her annoyingly fragile looks. Drew was tall, lean, and after years of hard work looked as powerful as he was. There wasn’t a touch of softness about him, except perhaps in the unexpectedly vivid green eyes. Where Doug had had a refined face, a soft, sweet smile and a ready, carefree laugh, his brother’s jaw was strong, his face uncompromisingly masculine, his smile rare and his laugh almost nonexistent. She thought she remembered, years ago, that he had smiled, even laughed, as readily as anyone. But it had been so long she wasn’t sure anymore.
He quickly gave the newcomers—including Cutter—a suspicious once-over. But the moment his gaze came to rest on Luke, some of the tension visibly drained out of him. He truly did love her son, Alyssa thought. She couldn’t deny that. She’d always known it. It was, after all, why she was here.
Drew crouched beside the boy. “You’re all right?” he said. Luke looked up at him, his mouth tight as he nodded.
Drew let out a breath as if he’d been holding it. They were a contrast, Drew’s dark hair glistened with rain, while Luke’s even damper hair was a darker shade of his father’s dirty blonde.
Luke looked up then. “Am I in trouble? For running away?”
Something pained flashed in Drew’s eyes. “If you’re in trouble for anything, it’s for how you scared your mother. And me.”
Luke’s eyes widened. “You? You’re never scared.”
“I love you, buddy. That gives you the power to scare me.”
“Oh.”
Drew straightened up, gave Luke a moment to think about that before he went on. “Something you want to say to your mother?”
It was more suggestion than question, and Luke didn’t miss it. With a heavy sigh the child released his hold on Cutter’s fur and straightened. He turned and looked up at her. “I’m sorry, Mom.”
She didn’t know whether to hug him again or order him to his room and lock him up until he was twenty-one. Or thirty.
“How did you sneak out so quietly?” she asked instead. Luke usually made enough noise to cover for a battle invasion.
“I waited until you were in the bathroom. You had
