Page 57 of Falling Stars (Wild at Heart #2)

Nicole rolls her eyes. “Daddy, we’re late for brunch.” Then she turns to Mav and bats her ridiculously long fake eyelashes at him. “Hey, there, Mav. You’re more than welcome to join us if you’d like.”

Focusing his attention on the sheriff, Mav pulls me closer and ignores her. My eyes narrow on Maverick’s ex.

What if Nicole’s the one who stole Kira’s coat? They have similar blonde hair. She easily could’ve passed for Kira, though Kira’s a little taller. Nicole would’ve known Mav dated Kira because of his Instagram posts. And it’s obvious Nicole hates me.

Judd shakes the keys in his hand. “What’s going on?”

The sheriff leans over and peeks into the back seat. “I’m not sure if you heard, but little Leo Reyes went missing, and I have reason to believe that’s his rattle on the floor of your car.”

“Impossible. That belongs to my nephew Aaron.”

Reynolds nods agreeably, but then taps the glass. “Then would you mind opening the door?”

Ashbury takes his time unlocking it.

As he does that, I ask, “Do you have any children in your family named Leo? ”

When he doesn’t answer, the sheriff presses him, and he relents. “No. We typically use family names.”

“Good to know, because my son’s rattle has his name on it. It’s a one-of-a-kind rattle because I crocheted it. It’s a brown and light tan rattle with his name on the handle. One eye is bigger than the other because, well, I’m not great at crocheting.”

When the door opens, the sheriff pushes Judd aside and leans in. He pulls out my son’s rattle.

“That’s it.” I cover my mouth. “That’s Leo’s.”

“I don’t know how that got in my back seat,” Ashbury huffs. “I’ve never seen that before in my life.”

“I thought it belonged to your nephew,” Reynolds says.

“This is ridiculous,” Nicole barks as she pulls out her phone. “I’m calling the Attorney General. He’s a family friend. This is harassment, Sheriff.”

Reynolds chuckles. “Give him my regards.”

I seethe. “Where were you last night, Nicole?”

“I was at a cheer dinner. You can check with my students,” she sneers.

Disappointment crashes over me when I remember that one of the police officers vouched for her whereabouts.

Reynolds taps on the trunk. “Can you open this for me, Judd?”

“I don’t have to do shit.”

The sheriff nods slowly. “Then I’ll arrest you and open the trunk without your help.”

Ashbury curses and complies.

Oh my God. I close my eyes and pray that my son isn’t in there. My heart roars in my ears, and I struggle to not throw up.

When the trunk opens, Rhett mutters, “Son of a bitch.”

I open my eyes to find Reynolds holding Kira’s baby blue coat. He turns to Nicole’s father. “Want to explain why you have Kira Stafford’s raincoat in your trunk? She reported it stolen last weekend.”

“That’s probably my wife’s.” Ashbury crosses his arms.

Reynolds tucks his hand into the pocket and pulls out a wallet. Flips it open. “That’s interesting. Because this here says it belongs to Kira.” He glances around. “Where is Lorraine anyway?”

“She went out of town this week,” Judd mumbles. “To Austin.”

“I thought she went to the cabin,” Nicole says slowly. “She said she had a surprise for me.” As I hear those words, all of the hair on my arms stands up.

Judd looks genuinely shocked as he turns to the sheriff. “I swear, she told me she was going to her sister’s in Austin.”

Reynolds taps on the car. “Mind if we stop by your cabin? That’s at Firefly Lake, correct?” When no one responds, Reynolds sighs. “Listen, Judd, if Lorraine took Leo, don’t you want to help us find him?”

Judd bows his head and after a beat of silence, he sighs. “Yeah. I do.”

The sheriff motions to his cruiser as another cop arrives. “I’m gonna need to escort you and your daughter to your cabin, Judd. My deputy here will keep an eye on your vehicle.”

Nicole bitches about it, but she eventually slides into the back seat of the patrol car with her father. Then the sheriff turns to us. “Y’all can follow me, but I’m gonna need you to stay in your trucks when we get there.” He gives me a look.

“I won’t shank anyone while you’re conducting your investigation.”

He nods. “That would be wise. Let’s see if we can track down our boy Leo.”

My heart is in my throat as we follow behind his cruiser. Mav has my hand in a firm grip on his thigh as he drives .

I wave my other hand in front of my face. “I’m going to be sick.”

“See if you can hold off. Maybe you can puke on the Ashburys.”

I crack a smile for the first time since I lost Leo. “Good idea.” I lower my window for some fresh air.

When we pull up next to the Ashburys’ luxury two-story brick “cabin,” I can hear the crying from the driveway. My head whips to Maverick. “That’s a baby.”

We both bolt out of the truck and race up to the house, where another deputy holds us back. Maverick pulls me into a hug as we wait.

I make all the bargains with God. I’ll be a better person. I’ll curse less. I’ll volunteer more.

Finally, the front door opens, and a bedraggled Lorraine Ashbury walks out in cuffs. Behind her is the sheriff.

And he’s holding my son.

“Lorraine said this was her grandson, but I’m guessing he’s not.”

Reynolds places Leo into my open arms, and he immediately starts to settle. “Leo, I missed you. I’m here now. Everything is okay.” I kiss his precious face.

Over my shoulder, Mav smiles at Leo. “Hey, man. Long time no see.” He takes my son’s little hand in his. “Missed you, buddy.”

Lorraine tries to shrug out of the sheriff’s hold. With her blonde hair tangled in her face, she sneers at me. “You can’t take care of Maverick’s son properly. He needs a real mother. You’re too distracted. Too selfish.”

What the hell is she talking about? “I beg your pardon?”

“He needs a woman like my sweet Nicole. She’ll be a great mother to Leo. Maverick’s son deserves the best. ”

“Are you for real right now?” I’ve never made a secret of Sean being Leo’s father or pretended that Leo was Maverick’s.

Lorraine starts to cry. “Let me sing him one more lullaby. Leo, your grandma loves you.” Glaring at me, she shakes her head. “We would’ve given him a real family.”

Jesus, this woman is cracked.

Alarmed, Maverick wraps me and Leo in his arms. “Lorraine, Baylee is a fantastic mother, and I love her and Leo.” He frowns at her.

“Have you gone off your meds or something? Because this is fucking crazy. I haven’t gone out with your daughter in years, and I have no interest in dating her.

Baylee is my heart and soul, and while Leo might not be my son by blood, he’s certainly my son in spirit. ”

In this moment, I fall a little harder for my best friend.