Dennis stopped pacing long enough to finally look at Audrey. Her face was ashy white and streaked with tears. He wanted to reach out and wipe her tears away. But he couldn’t. He was too terrified of her reaction.
“I can’t lose Cole,” he said. “He’s my son. That’s the only important relationship I have left.”
Audrey slipped her arms around his waist and tucked her head against his chest. “No, it’s not the only one,” she said. “You have me, too. We’ll fix this. We’ll find Cole and we’ll fix this.”
He couldn’t believe that she’d forgive him, that she could comfort him after so much bad behavior. Harsh, she’d called him, and she was right. And yet, here she was, her arms gentle around his waist, her face nuzzled against his t-shirt. If only his son was safe, he could rate himself the luckiest man in Chicago.
“How can you forgive me?” He locked his arms around her.
“Oh, Dennis.” Her words were muffled against his chest. “I’m the one that owes you an apology. I’ve been so quick to judge you, but every time I think I understand you, I’m wrong. I should be asking you for forgiveness. I just wish I’d known this sooner.”
“It seems we’ve both been keeping secrets.”
“Yes.” She pulled her face away from his chest and tilted her head back to look at him. “But no more secrets.”
“No more secrets,” he agreed. Her upturned face was placid, though traces of worry showed in the tight corners of her eyes. “Audrey, I don’t know what I would be doing right now if you weren’t here. I don’t think I could handle it if Cole....”
The words caught in his throat. He stared into her beautiful face to let some of her calm control reach him.
“You said it yourself,” she said. “Where there’s love, nothing can stand in our way. We’ll find him. We’ll find him because we love him. And because we love each other, and we all belong together.”
“Did you just say you love me?” This was the light in his darkness.
“Yes. I love you. I only wish that I’d told you before this trouble started. It’s something we should be celebrating, but this is certainly no time for that.”
“Later,” he promised her. “After we find him.” After. Not if, but after.
The door attendant buzzed them. Dennis held Audrey close until a knock sounded at the door. Only then did he reluctantly release her. His body felt warm where she’d huddled and he knew in that instant that he was truly not alone. She knew everything about him now, and she was still by his side. Now all he had to do was deserve her. Find his son, and deserve her.
Dennis opened the door. A pair of uniformed police officers entered, looking around as if his home was a crime scene. Their presence, the blue uniforms and holsters and mysterious jangling noises, made the situation seem scary and real again. Dennis felt his insides harden as if he’d been filled with cold, wet cement.
Dennis ushered the officers into the living room. The one with a tablet started asking questions and making notes. Name, age, physical description. Dennis forced himself to answer without falling apart. He gripped Audrey’s hand, then realized he was probably crushing her fingers. “Sorry,” he whispered as he kissed her little hand.
“Ma’am, what is your role here?” the officer asked Audrey.
“I’ve been taking care of Cole during the day.”
“She’s my girlfriend,” Dennis added. It calmed him to be able to say that. He wasn’t alone.
“And I was Cole’s preschool teacher.”
“Have either of you noticed any unusual behavior from Cole lately?”
Dennis fought hard to keep the grimace off his face. He didn’t want them to see his guilty feelings. He didn’t want anyone to think of his home as a troubled home.
While he struggled for control, the officer’s shoulder radio beeped. He stood up and walked into the hallway, leaving a trail of crackle and static behind him.
“Cole’s a very well-behaved little boy,” Audrey said. “Highly precocious. You know, smart for his age.”
“Are you saying you haven’t noticed anything unusual?” The officer’s pen wavered above the clipboard. His smooth face was impassive, but Dennis sensed that he thought Audrey was being evasive.
“We think Cole may be trying to find his way to my parents’ house,” Dennis supplied. The diversion worked.
“Have you spoken to your parents?”
Dennis nodded, silently debating how much to reveal to the police. No more secrets, he and Audrey promised. But that promise had been to each other. Dennis still felt a need, a duty even, to protect his little family from outsiders.
The other officer came back into the living room.
“We got him.” He smiled and shook his head. “Mr. Delaney, you must have the luck of the Irish. That cabbie brought your son to the station. He’s fine. Safe and well.”
“Cole’s at the police station?” Dennis felt as if he could float now that the weight of his worry lifted from him. He suddenly became aware that his shoulders ached, his back hurt, every muscle in his body seemed to be throbbing from released tension.
“Yes, sir. You want to follow us down there? Or you want to ride with us?”
“We’ll take a ride, please. I don’t think I could stand to get in a cab right now.”
Audrey giggled, and the sound was like wind chimes tickled by an unexpected breeze. Everything was going to be all right. Dennis reached for her and pulled her little body tight against his own.
“Ah, Audrey, they found him.” Dennis buried his fingers in her hair. “They found him.”
The officer with the clipboard cleared his throat. He nodded at Dennis’s bare feet, then almost did a double take at Audrey’s pumps. “You, uh, might want to get some other shoes–some shoes on.”
“Right.” Dennis leaped from the couch, reveling in his new weightless state. “We’ll hurry.”
“Take as much time as you need. The boy is safe.”
Safe. Dennis felt a grin spread all the way down to his bare toes. With a victorious hoot, he pulled Audrey by the hand to the bedroom.