they could never, ever, be anything more than neighbors.
She turned on her heel and faced the officer. “Of course. Anything you need.” The stagnant air, mixed with the smell of diesel and tar from construction, threatened the start of a headache. Her stomach gurgled with hunger pangs, as if jealous for attention.
After a series of endless questions, the beeps from a tow truck backing up halted her train of thought. They were taking her car. The muscles in her back tensed. Transportation meant freedom and control. How long would it take for them to fix the air bag and the transmission she felt certain she’d dropped?
The officer pressed his lips in a firm line, as if impatient. She nodded for him to continue, but she half heard his next question. Her gaze, fueled by a desperate need for proof the kidnapper was gone, swept past the blue uniform. She studied the hedges, flowering bushes and trees surrounding her. She couldn’t get past one question the officer hadn’t yet asked: Why would the kidnapper return to the scene and spy on them?
* * *
James studied the boys in his rearview mirror on the drive back home. Physically they were unharmed and seemed like themselves, but they remained silent, their gazes locked on the blur outside their respective windows. A clear sign that his normally talkative twins weren’t fine.
Their mom would’ve known how to help them cope after the attempted kidnapping. His throat tightened. Nikki had been gone two years. The boys probably didn’t even remember the sound of her voice.
He squeezed the steering wheel. Ever since the hit-and-run had taken Nikki away from him, he drove only when absolutely necessary. So much so, his younger brothers had accused him of becoming a hermit, and his mother worried aloud he’d developed agoraphobia. Only his father seemed to understand. Or maybe he didn’t. James couldn’t tell because he hardly said a word.
The manic chase to the subdivision exit marked the first time he’d driven aggressively since the accident. Thankfully, his neighbor didn’t seem to have such squeamishness. He would never forget the way she’d tried to block the van, and then, despite being hit, gone after them like a raging bull.
What was the proper thank-you gift for such an act of selflessness? His throat swelled at the possibility of what could have happened had she not intervened. He gritted his teeth and forced the emotions to take a backseat.
Rachel sat in the passenger seat in silence, her hands squeezed together. He’d insisted on giving her a ride home after her car was towed. It stood to reason she’d be distraught over her banged-up vehicle. Even so, she was uncharacteristically quiet and still. She hadn’t let a second go by with silence on all the other rides they’d shared to church and back.
He forced a small smile. “Hey. Are you okay?”
She blinked and jerked in her seat. Her wide eyes roved past James and the boys, as if she’d been awakened from a dream and surprised she wasn’t alone. “I don’t know.” She shrugged. “I mean, I’m sure I will be.” Her voice took on a chipper tone. “I suppose it takes a while to process things when something like that happens.”
The sudden positive take didn’t ring true. “If you hadn’t slowed them down...”
She flashed him a dark look and darted a glance behind him. Ah, message received. She didn’t think he should discuss it any more in front of the boys.
But James felt the need to talk about it. The squeal of her tires had made him look through the living room window to discover the boys had slipped outside without him. They had asked if they could ride their bikes outside, and he had said they could after his phone call. They were supposed to have waited. He never let them go outside alone.
He shouldn’t care what Rachel thought of him, but still wanted to explain so she wouldn’t think he was an irresponsible dad.
James groaned inwardly. Discussing their disobedience now would only make the boys think the kidnapping attempt was their fault. How would the experience affect them in the long run?
His pulse ran hot and fast again. Relief turned to anger at the situation. He’d calmed down after the paramedics had checked the twins. His initial reactions began to seem like paranoia. Now he wasn’t sure. Could the kidnapping attempt be connected to the anomaly he’d discovered at work or the phone call he’d made two days ago?
“We’re going home, right?” Caleb asked.
“Yeah, buddy.” That was the third time in two minutes one of the boys had asked. They should’ve recognized their surroundings since they were gazing out the windows.
“And the bad guys are in jail?”
James’s throat tightened. They still hadn’t caught the escaped kidnapper, but the officers assured him they would. Patrol cars circled through the area, neighbors were on alert and the cop seemed positive the man wouldn’t be foolish enough to try to get at his kids again.
Rachel twisted in her seat. The green tints in her blue eyes sparkled off the rays from the setting sun. Her grin held a hint of mischief. “Do you boys have a favorite food?”
Ethan shouted pizza at the same time Caleb yelled ice cream. Rachel nodded. “Mine, too.” She stiffened and faced forward. “I’m not trying to imply we eat together. I just thought a treat might help them get their minds off things.”
James shook his head. “I didn’t think of that.” But the image of her at his dinner table made his lips twitch, almost into a smile. “So you boys want pizza?”
“Yeah,” the twins echoed in unison.
She tilted her head back and released a lyrical laugh. She turned to him as her chestnut hair spilled over her right shoulder. “Do you ever get used to them speaking in stereo? I don’t think I’d ever be able to get over it. It’s amazing.”
Warmth filled his chest. “They’re something special.” Now that his children were out of immediate danger, he registered the soft-shell navy jacket, the white-and-navy blouse, navy pants and navy flats Rachel was wearing. She looked amazing in his favorite color. James jerked his head back at the unbidden thought.
He pulled into his driveway and hit the garage opener out of habit. He frowned at his mistake and shifted into Park. “Sorry. I forgot to stop in front of your house.”
She raised an eyebrow. “So I could walk three feet instead of six? No worries.” She hopped out of the car before he could reply and waved at the boys. “You have a good night, okay?”
“Bye.” They yelled in unison and squirmed forward against their seat belts.
James stilled for a moment, searching for the right words to say as she walked away. Should he invite her to eat with them? Was it too forward? Would she be okay? Having a man point a gun at your face, even through a window, had to be a lot to process. He opened his mouth as he lowered the passenger window, but she’d already disappeared into her house.
He pulled the car inside the garage and allowed the door to drop before releasing the boys. They ran up the steps and through the connecting door into the kitchen as they chatted about pizza and ice cream. For a split second, everything seemed normal again. His neighbor was right. They’d needed a distraction to help them get their mind off the kidnapping attempt.
For him, it was the opposite. Now that he didn’t need to put on a brave
