pray you’re right.”
“Yeah. Me, too.”
Joshua pulled away and she clasped her hands together in her lap, missing his gentle hold. “Thank you,” she whispered.
“Anytime.”
The hour-long drive passed mostly in silence, but Kaylee didn’t find it uncomfortable or awkward. The truth was, she was glad he was with her while she processed the terrifying experience. She found herself praying as he drove. She prayed even while she wondered if God was listening. She was leaning toward yes. He’d made sure she’d had help and that Duncan had arrived safely. The bullets at the hospital had only damaged the building. No one had gotten shot or hurt. Yes, bad stuff was happening, but maybe God was still in the midst of it.
When Joshua pulled into the drive of her father’s home, the home she’d grown up in, Kaylee tried to see it through his eyes. Traditional in style, with clean lines and a stately bearing, the house really was beautiful. A banner hung between the two white columns that gave it the Southern charm most people swooned over: Welcome Home Kaylee and Duncan!
“Nice,” he said.
“Yes. It is. Solid, too. It’s been here since the mid-eighteen hundreds. Fortunately, Dad had it restored with all of the modern conveniences of today.”
“I was talking about the banner.”
“I know.” There was no way her father was responsible for that, but she had a feeling she knew who was.
Kaylee opened the door and climbed out. Joshua had put the baby seat behind the driver’s side, so he beat her to it.
“I’ll carry it,” he said when she held out her hand. “From now on, you don’t need to be lifting anything very heavy for the next couple of weeks.”
“He’s only eight pounds,” she said.
“Plus the carrier. Lead the way.”
The set of his jaw said not to argue. And she didn’t have the energy to fight about it. She needed to be wise in the battles she picked. “Okay. Thank you.” With a glance over her shoulder, she moved up the steps to the front door. Before she could reach for the handle, the door swung open.
And she came face-to-face with Joshua’s mother. “Welcome home!”
Kaylee stiffened but put a smile on her face. The woman looked so pleased and had been nothing but kind to her. Until she proved herself a gold digger, Kaylee would be polite and respectful. Even if it killed her. “Hi.” She cleared her throat. “Ah, thank you for the banner. That was very thoughtful.”
“You’re so welcome. Your father and I were talking about how we needed to do something to celebrate.”
Her father? Most likely Olivia had told her father what they were going to do. But he hadn’t said no. Interesting.
Joshua simply looked bemused.
Olivia clasped her hands to her chest. “And that awful shooting at the hospital! Coverage is still playing on the television. I tried to call and you didn’t answer, Joshua.”
“I’m sorry, Mom. I was a little distracted.”
“What do you mean? Please tell me you weren’t there when it happened.”
Kaylee let her gaze meet Joshua’s.
“We were there. That’s why we’re so late getting here. We had to give a statement and answer questions.”
His mother’s face paled. “How terrible. I’m so glad you’re okay.”
“We’re fine.”
They walked into the house and Kaylee once again felt a pang at the loss of her mother. Not only was the woman gone, but everything in the house that had been hers had been put away. Resentment flowed and she drew in a deep breath. “I think I’ll lie down for a little while,” she said.
“Of course, honey,” Olivia said. “Would you like for me to watch the baby while you rest?”
“No.” Kaylee’s swift answer brought forth a flinch from the other woman. Guilt hit her. “Thank you, though,” she said, softening her tone. “I need to feed him.”
“Oh, yes, you do that.” She smiled but the hurt in her eyes lingered and Kaylee mentally kicked herself. She would not be rude to this woman, no matter her own thoughts on Olivia’s reasons for marrying her father.
“It’s kind of you to offer. I’m sure I’ll take you up on that in the near future. Especially when he’s keeping me awake at night.”
The hurt faded and Olivia’s lips curved into a genuine smile. “Wonderful.”
“Where’s my father?” she asked.
“He went into the office, but asked me to be here so you didn’t come home to an empty house.”
“I see.” Had he really? Was it possible for him to be that thoughtful? Or had Olivia Crawford just given him the credit to elevate him in Kaylee’s eyes? She thought about asking, but couldn’t figure out how to do so without it sounding rude.
The doorbell rang and Kaylee jumped. Heart thudding, she swallowed and told herself there was no reason to be so twitchy inside her father’s home. She and Duncan were safe here.
Joshua set the baby carrier on the floor as Olivia strode to the door and flung it open.
“Clay?”
“Yes, ma’am. Hi, Aunt Liv.”
“Hi, honey. Come on in.”
Clay stepped inside and swept his hat from his head.
Kaylee frowned when his eyes locked on hers. The scowl on his face didn’t bode well. “What is it?” she asked.
Clay’s eyes locked on Joshua’s. “You haven’t told her?”
Joshua grimaced and shook his head.
Kaylee frowned. “What haven’t you told me?”
“I didn’t want to spoil your homecoming,” Joshua said. “I figured it could wait a few hours.”
She was going to strangle him. “What news?”
“Patrick Talbot was released from custody.”
A gasp slipped from her lips. “And you didn’t think I needed to know that?”
He rubbed a hand across his eyes in a weary gesture. “Of course you needed to know. You just didn’t need to know it in the last couple of hours. An officer tailed us here, and I’ve been on guard, watching. I’ve seen no sign of him.”
Shoving aside her irritation with his silence on her would-be kidnapper’s escape, she looked at Clay. “How? When?”
“He was released a week ago. Something to do with a technicality in his arrest and processing.”
“But...just...how?” She’d asked that already, hadn’t she? And he’d answered her, but her mind refused to fully process the news. Weakness invaded her and she stumbled to the living room sofa. The cushions pulled her in and she wanted to keep sinking until she simply disappeared. But no, she couldn’t do that. Duncan needed her.
“Wait a minute. He confessed. And they can just let him go?”
“He recanted his confession, said it was all just a misunderstanding and that he wasn’t trying to force Kaylee to go with him. He said she agreed, then at the last minute started going crazy and screaming. He claimed he was about to leave when the cops showed up.”
“He was not,” Kaylee muttered.
“His lawyer—once he arrived—advised him to just keep his mouth shut. Talbot did. Over the last three weeks, the man’s been looking for anything to get his client off. And he found it,”