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A pause. “Did you tell him?”
“Yes.”
“How did he take it?”
“Um…better than I expected, I think. Actually, I’m not really sure yet. Can I get back to you on that one?”
A sigh filtered through the line. “Of course.” Lacey thought she heard her mother stifle a sob, then she cleared her throat and reported, “Your boss called. He wants to know exactly how long you plan to be gone.”
Anger at the man rose up inside her and she turned to see Mason and Catelyn deep in discussion. Louder than she wanted, she blurted, “I’m not sure, Mom. As long as it takes, all right?” Mason’s head lifted at her tone and he lifted a brow at her.
She closed her eyes and dropped her head. She’d just started a new job as a graphic artist. A big project sat on her desk and she knew her boss was concerned about getting it done by the deadline.
In a quieter voice, she said, “If he calls back, tell him I’ll try to get to it as soon as I know I can’t do anything else for Bethany here—or we have her back. I need to go. I’ll call you if I find anything out.”
“Will you be here for supper?”
Lacey met Mason’s gaze and her heart thudded. “I don’t know. I’ll let you know a little later this afternoon, all right?”
“Fine. Keep me posted, darling.”
“I will.”
Lacey hung up and leaned against the open door of the vehicle. Mason and Catelyn walked over. Catelyn held out a hand. “If you’ll give me the flyers, I’ll ask some of Bethany’s classmates if they’ll hang them up around the school and town.”
“Sure.” Bethany peeled off half the papers and gave them to Catelyn. “Thank you so much.”
The detective smiled. “No problem.” Then she looked at Mason. “I’ll be in touch.”
Mason nodded then leaned over and placed a hand on the roof next to Lacey’s head. “Who was on the phone?”
“My mother. She’s worried, but I can tell she’s not quite sure Bethany didn’t just take off. I know she didn’t but Mom’s not convinced.”
“Why’s that?”
Lacey blew out a sigh and shook her head, wincing at the sting incited by her hair moving across the scraped area on her cheek. Gentle fingers reached out and removed the strands. The breath left her lungs and she just stared at the man before her.
He blinked and curled his fingers into a fist at his side. Sorrow for what might have been pained her. “Bethany’s threatened it more than once. Said she was tired of waiting around on me to—” she sucked in a deep breath and let it out slow “—to get up the guts to tell you about her and she wasn’t sticking around if I wasn’t going to come through.”
Mason turned his back on her and placed his hands on his hips. She’d seen the flash of fury before he’d hidden his eyes. The fact that she probably deserved it didn’t lessen the hurt. “I’m sorry,” she whispered. “I know now I was wrong.”
“Why were you so hesitant to tell her about me? What did you think I would do?”
“I didn’t know what you would or wouldn’t do! When you believed the lies Daniel told you, all of a sudden you weren’t who I thought you were. How did I know you wouldn’t accuse Bethany of lying to you? How did I know you wouldn’t break her heart and send her home permanently damaged because of your rejection?”
He whirled back to her, the agonizing hurt in his eyes nearly undoing her. But she held her ground. He’d wanted the truth. Now he had it.
His lips moved but nothing came out. The tense set of his jaw said he was biting his tongue. Then he simply whispered, “How could you think that of me?”
She sighed. “After what you put me through, how could I think anything else?” When he closed his eyes, she decided to change the subject. “All that aside, Mason, she wouldn’t willingly leave home. Bethany would never do that.”
“How do you know, Lacey?” He opened his eyes, but narrowed them at her. His soft tone couldn’t hide the steel undercurrent in his words.
“Because I know Bethany. She was full of empty threats, but she would never go off on her own.” Biting her lower lip, she wondered if she should tell him exactly why. Bethany would be mortified if she ever found out Lacey shared one of her deepest, darkest secrets with him.
But she would if it meant convincing him. Even her parents didn’t know Bethany’s secret.
Without another word, he simply motioned for her to get in the car.