then the next one after that.
That same sense of emptiness she had felt at Mrs. Leeton’s echoed inside her.
“No one’s here, Laura.”
She struggled against the fresh onslaught of tears, then turned on Nick. “He has to be here,” she snapped. Her heart couldn’t bear the possibility that her child was in the hands of strangers who might want to harm him. Or that something bad had happened to Doc. “Don’t you understand? Without him…” Anguish constricted her throat, she couldn’t say the rest out loud.
Nick lifted one brow and glared at her unsympathetically. “We’re leaving now. No more chasing our tails.” He snagged her right arm before she could retreat. “Don’t make this any more difficult than it already is,” he warned.
Difficult? Laura could only stare at him, vaguely aware that he was now leading her back to the car. Did he truly think her situation was merely difficult? Could he not see that someone had cut her heart right out of her chest? Her child was missing! And she had to find him. Somehow…no matter what it cost her.
Another thought suddenly occurred to Laura—Doc’s fishing cabin. Maybe he had gone to the cabin to hide Robby. Hope bloomed in Laura’s chest. It wasn’t totally outside the realm of possibility, she assured herself. She paused before getting into the car and closed her eyes for a moment to allow that hope to warm her. Please, God, she prayed once more, let me find my baby.
Now, all she had to do was convince Nick to take her there. She opened her eyes and her gaze immediately collided with his intense green one. Despite everything, desire sparked inside her. How she wanted to tell Nick the truth—to make him believe in her again. But she couldn’t. And when they arrived at the cabin, if her son was not there, Laura would do whatever she had to in order to escape. She would go to James Ed all right. But she would go alone and on her own terms. Somehow Laura would devise a fail-safe plan to get her son back.
Whatever it took, she would do it.
NICK KEPT a firm hold on Laura as they emerged from the car outside Dr. Holland’s rustic fishing cabin. The place was in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by woods on three sides and the unpredictable Mississippi River on the fourth. The cabin sat so close to the water’s edge, Nick felt sure it flooded regularly. But from the looks of things, there appeared to be no amenities like electricity. It served only as modest shelter for the hard-core fisherman or hunter. So what did a little water hurt now and then? he mused. Most likely nothing.
Now that he had gotten a good look at the place, Nick was surprised there had been a road accessible by car at all. Once again, quiet surrounded them. Only the occasional lapping of the water against a primitive old dock broke the utter silence. The sun had peaked and was now making its trek westward. Nick would give Laura five minutes to look around and then they were heading to Jackson. They had already wasted entirely too much time.
She hadn’t spoken other than to give him directions since they left the clinic. Nick glanced at her solemn face now and wondered what was going on in that head of hers. His gut told him he didn’t want to know. And his gut was seldom wrong.
At the steps to the dilapidated porch, Laura pulled free of his loosening grip and raced to the door. Nick followed more slowly, allowing her some space to discover what he already knew: there was no one here. Considering nothing about the cabin’s environment appeared disturbed in any way, and the lack of tracks, human or otherwise, there hadn’t been anyone here in quite a while. Nick swore softly at the pain that knifed through his knee when he took the final step up onto the porch.
Damn his knee injury, and damn this place. He plowed his fingers through his hair and shifted his weight to his left side.
The wind rustled through the treetops, momentarily interrupting the rhythmic sound of the lapping water. Nick scanned the dense woods and then the murky river, a definite sense of unease pricked at him. Maybe it was because the remote location reminded him of the place he and Laura had shared two years ago, or maybe it was just restlessness—the need to get on with this. Whatever the case, Nick’s tension escalated to a higher state of alert. If he still smoked, he’d sure as hell light up now. But he’d quit long ago. He had even stopped carrying matches.
“Doc’s not here. No one’s here.”
Nick met Laura’s fearful gaze. Drawing in a halting breath, she rubbed at the renewed tears with the back of her hand. She looked so vulnerable, so fragile. He wanted to hold her and assure her that everything would be all right as soon as she was back home. But what if he was wrong? What if someone still intended to harm her?
And what if he were the biggest fool that ever put one foot in front of the other? Don’t swallow the bait, Foster. You’ve seen this song and dance before. “Let’s get on the road then,” he suggested, self-disgust making his tone more curt than he had intended.
She blinked those long, thick lashes and backed away a step. “I can’t go with you, Nick.” Laura shook her head slowly from side to side. “I have to find Robby. I…I can’t leave without him. If you won’t help me, I’ll just have to do it alone.”
Keeping his gaze leveled on hers, Nick cautiously closed the distance between them. “Don’t do anything stupid, Laura,” he warned. “If you say you have a kid, I’m sure it’s true. And if you do, I can’t imagine why anyone would want to take him, can you? What about the boy’s father?”
The cornered-animal look that stole across her face gave her away about two seconds before she darted back inside the cabin. She had almost made it across the solitary room and to the back door when Nick caught, then trapped her between his body and a makeshift kitchen cabinet. Anger and pain battled for immediate attention, but at the moment jealousy of a man he had never even met had him by the throat. He leaned in close, pressing her against the rough wood counter, forcing her to acknowledge his superior physical strength.
“Does Rafe know about his son? Or is there some other unlucky fellow still wondering whatever happened to his sweet little Laura?” Nick snarled like the wounded animal he was.
In a self-protective gesture, Laura braced her hands against his chest, unknowingly wreaking havoc with his senses. How could she still affect him this way? Her scent tantalized him, made him want to touch her, taste her, in all the ways he had that one night. Every muscle in his body hardened at the imagined sensation of touching Laura again. When she turned that sweet face up to his, her eyes wide with worry and pleading for his understanding, his resolve cracked….
“He doesn’t know about Robby.” She licked those full pink lips and a single tear slid slowly down one porcelain cheek. “I’m afraid I won’t find him, Nick. Please help me.”
…his resolve crumbled. Nick allowed himself to touch her. His fingertips glided over smooth, perfect skin, tracing the path of that lone tear. The sensation of touching Laura like he had dreamed of doing for so very long short-circuited all rational thought.
Slowly, regret nipping at his heels already, Nick lowered his head. He saw her lips tremble just before he took them with his own. Her soft, yielding sigh sent a ripple of sensual pleasure through him. She tasted just like he remembered, sweet and innocent and so very delicate. Like a cherished rose trustingly opening to the sun’s warmth, Laura opened for him. And when he thrust his tongue inside her sweet, inviting mouth the past slipped away. Only the moment remained…touching Laura, tasting her and holding her close, then closer still.
Nick threaded his fingers into her long blond hair, reveling in the silky texture as he cradled the back of her head. “Laura,” he murmured
