softness in his expression. “Cousins?” Before coming to Haven, she’d investigated only her biological father, not anyone else who might be kin to her in this area. Now she wished she had dug a little deeper. She was curious about these other relatives. “Why do they need help?”
“Ned Phillips, Fletcher’s cousin, has no business being a father, especially to a young boy.”
Her curiosity grew. “Why?” Maybe she should leave now. No, she hadn’t come all this way to leave because of Nick’s opinion of Fletcher. There were always two sides to a situation. But she made a note to be more cautious about approaching Fletcher.
“Ned has a son, who he neglects—even leaves him alone, usually to go out to drink. Corey is only ten and shouldn’t have to take care of himself. I’ve tried to get Fletcher to at least help the boy.”
“And this Fletcher won’t?” Obviously it had been a good choice to come to town and scout the situation out first before she said anything to Fletcher Phillips—if she ever did. She wanted information, not a father. She already had a wonderful dad who loved her.
“It’s not his problem, according to Fletcher.”
So Fletcher doesn’t care about family? Darcy’s stomach tightened into a knot. She’d known from an early age that she was adopted but always felt as if she were Mom and Dad’s real daughter. They had never treated her any other way. So why set herself up for another disappointment by her birth parents?
“But Corey is your problem?” A lump lodged in her throat as she said the boy’s name. She’d dealt with enough legal cases that involved children, and she always fought for what was right for them. One day she hoped to have her own kids, and she wouldn’t abandon them the way her biological parents had. Although she had had a wonderful childhood with a loving, caring mom and dad, it looked like it could have been just as easily the opposite if she hadn’t been put up for adoption.
For a long moment silence reigned in the truck. Then the blare of a country and western song resounded through the cab.
Nick glanced down to see who was calling, and then he pulled over to the side of the road and answered it. “Mrs. Scott, is something wrong?”
The worry in his voice drew Darcy’s full attention. As he listened to the person who had called him, his features slashed into a frown. Something bad had happened. Who was Mrs. Scott?
“I’ll be right there. I’m glad the police are at Ned’s.”
When he disconnected, Darcy asked, “What’s wrong?”
“Corey is missing. I need to go and help look for him.”
Her cousin was missing! She couldn’t walk away from an opportunity to meet and help a relative, especially a ten-year-old boy. And it didn’t hurt that she would be with Nick McGarrett, an attractive—and caring—cowboy. “Let’s go. I’ll help.”
“Why do you want to help?” This was the last thing he thought Darcy Hill would offer. “I’m only ten minutes away from the Blue Bonnet Inn. You said you were tired and hungry.” Nick gripped the steering wheel and stared at Darcy in the dim light from his dashboard. He couldn’t believe he’d told her so much about Corey’s situation, but after his meeting with Fletcher today, frustration churned his gut.
“Because a child is missing on a cold winter’s night. You’ll need everyone you can get to search for him. I couldn’t go to the inn without trying to help.”
The worry in her expression lured Nick. She showed more feelings toward an unknown kid than Ned did toward his son. Her caring nature appealed to him and made it easy to talk to her. “Corey lives in Dry Gulch. It might take a long time if we can’t find him right away.”
“I don’t care. A child is in trouble.”
Her words touched a cold place in Nick’s heart, forged from years living with an alcoholic father like Corey’s, and calmed his earlier anger at Fletcher. “You can’t go looking for him in what you’re wearing.” He couldn’t believe he was arguing with her about helping Corey. She was right. In the dark, it would be doubly hard to find the child. Did he have a coat on? Did he run away or had something else happened?
“I have some boots in one of my bags. It won’t take me long to change into them.” She gave him a smile. “I should have when I stopped in Houston and heard the weather report about the cold front moving through this part of Texas.”
“Fine. I can’t guarantee how long this will take.” Nick made another U-turn and headed out of town. He handed her his cell phone. “Slim’s number is in my contact list. You can call him and have him tow your car to his garage, and then you can check with him tomorrow morning about what’s wrong with it.” He shot her another look before pressing on the accelerator. “That way your car will be moved off the shoulder of the highway.”
“Thanks. Do you have the number for the Blue Bonnet Inn? I’d like to tell the owner I’ll be late.”
“Under Carol Thornton. I’ve got to warn you, she’ll ask a ton of questions about why you’ll be late.”
“I guess she’ll think it’s strange I’m helping out.”
“No. She’s one who will jump in when someone is in trouble, whether she knows the person or not. If I had the time, I would recruit her and a few others. Most townspeople are like family.” He increased his speed outside of Haven, pushing the limit.
“Except for Fletcher Phillips?”
“You pick up fast. I won’t bother calling him to let him know Corey is missing.” Nick tossed a glance at Darcy as a car came toward his truck. Her blond hair hung in thick waves about her shoulders while her blue eyes held a frown. “I hope you have a hat to wear.”
“A cowboy one like yours?”
“Nope. A warm one like a beanie.”
“Yes, I do, and gloves.” She studied the list of contacts on his phone and then connected with one of them.
While she called Slim and Carol, Nick focused on the last twelve miles to Corey’s house. The unknown ate at Nick the whole way to Dry Gulch. Nick kept replaying his promise to Doug to keep his little brother safe. When he made a promise, he kept it. What if he couldn’t now?
When Darcy finished talking to Carol, she gave him his phone back. “You’re right. She drilled me with questions, most of which I couldn’t answer. I have a feeling when I finally show up at the inn, I’ll have to tell her everything we did.”
“I guarantee you will. Carol is like a mother hen.”
“Does she have children of her own?”
“No, but not from want of trying. It’s a shame. She would have been a great mother.”
“I’m assuming Corey doesn’t have a mother around since you’ve only mentioned his dad. Do you know what happened to her?”
“She died years ago.”
“That’s
