Christmas Tempest (Holiday Heartwarmers #12)

Chapter Fourteen

Jasmin drove as fast as she could while still maintaining control of the car on such slippery surfaces. No doubt Dex would have done better but sensing that fighting the conditions was hard for her, he spoke only words of encouragement.

“You’re doing a wonderful job, honey. Couldn’t do better myself.”

Hearing the endearment her dad always used made a softness pool in her heart. All her life, her parents had used that word filled with such warmth and love, it made her feel important to them. Now… Dex had snuck onto her small sacred list of special people.

“We’re almost in the city. You made good time.”

“Where do you want to go first?”

“Well, I called Margot while you were getting takeout, and she said Dillon hadn’t returned there. She still has no idea where he could be. Next I called the police, and they have an amber alert out for the boy, checked every place they could think of, but hadn’t heard anything. Guess your dad got onto them about Dillon’s story so they were going above and beyond, searching the neighborhood, checking door to door. They did pick up the image of him running from Margot’s house on a neighbor’s street cam, but other than seeing him run to the bushes, they have nothing else.”

“That’s scary, Dex.” Jasmin reached out to clutch his hand as a way to soothe the worry so noticeable in his voice. “I really hoped something might have turned up by now. Do you have any other ideas?”

“Only thing I could think of was to call Sara I upset the poor woman. She was heartbroken to think her beloved ward might be alone and scared. But she had an idea and was going to check it out. I said we’d meet her there.”

“Where’s there?”

“At the house where Max and Doreen used to live. It’s a few miles away from Margot’s place but just maybe he found his way home. Sara seemed to think he could do it. Says the kid’s highly intelligent, and they often used to ride the bus to all kinds of places for fun.”

“Wouldn’t it be perfect if she finds him?” Jasmin’s heart started beating faster. Smiles lit up her insides to push away the horrible worry that had begun to root there.

“I hope she’s right because I have no idea where else to look next.” Dex squeezed her hand tighter than he probably knew. “I’m so scared of what can happen to an eight-year-old in this city. If he does go back to Margots, I warned her to back off. Between you and me, I’m furious at the stupidity of the woman who was supposed to be taking care of him. I told her we’d be late. But not to scare him. That we’d get there as fast as we could.”

Jasmin gently pulled her hand away to pat his before holding the steering wheel again. Soft words and tender smiles seemed to help calm his outrage. “Just so you know, I can’t wait to meet this harridan. I’d love to give her a piece of my mind… as my mom used to say.”

“Go for it. In seconds, she’ll have the tables turned on you, and you’ll be the one walking away with your tail between your legs. She’s got a way of making everything bad about someone or something else. Never about her or her actions. Nothing is ever her fault.”

“I’ve met people like that before. They have a talent for twisting everything to make it about themselves. Ever wonder how often “I, me, my” appears in their dialogue? Think about it. My old boss, Meredith, made everything about her. If someone else started another subject, she had the knack of bringing it back to her own experience. Drove the rest of us crazy.”

“Now that you mention it, that’s a perfect description for Margot. Pure selfishness with meanness filtering throughout.”

“Then think about it. You adopting Dillon is the best thing that can happen to him. I bet your brother’s smiling down on you right now for stepping up in his place.”

Dex’s sudden, harsh sigh made her worry surface again.

“That… I’m not so sure of. I’ve no doubt it’s his voice ringing in my ear, urging me to find his son before it’s too late.”