enjoyed it.
But now she didn’t look like a slim, fit, attractive middle-aged woman. She looked like what she was, a worried mother. Still, she didn’t seem distraught. Not yet anyway.
And, he quickly realized as she ushered them inside the small but immaculately maintained house, she’d made an assumption about him. Them, rather.
“Well, so you’ve finally brought us a young man to meet? About time, young lady.” Laney tried to speak but the woman seemed on a roll, and turned her attention on him. “Aren’t you the handsome one?”
“No, no,” Laney finally managed to get in. “It’s not...he’s not—”
“I may be getting old, girl, but my eyesight’s fine. He most certainly is.” She smiled widely at Teague, who suddenly couldn’t resist keeping his mouth shut, just to see where this would go. “You’ve quite the treasure here, you know. You take good care of her, or you’ll have us to answer to first, since we’re closer than her folks now.”
“I mean we’re not together,” Laney said. “Not like that.”
Did she sound regretful? Or was it his imagination? And if so, why the hell was he imagining that?
“Too bad,” Mrs. Logan said with an appreciative once-over that make Teague smile, just barely. “You might want to rethink that.”
“I might,” he said, even though the comment had clearly been meant for Laney. He wasn’t sure what had gotten into him. Something about the assumption they were together seemed to have set him off. “Teague Johnson, Mrs. Logan,” he said, holding out a hand. Saying it was a pleasure to meet her seemed wrong under the circumstances so he left it at that.
The woman shook his hand rather delicately, but she smiled, and in that smile he again saw the younger woman from one of the photos Laney had shown them. A bright, beautiful smile. Somehow it made things more ominous instead of better.
“Sorry,” Laney said, apparently in apology for her lack of manners in not introducing him. Had Mrs. Logan’s assumption flustered her that much? The inward satisfaction he felt at that thought was unsettling.
“That’s all right, dear, I embarrassed you. I didn’t mean to.”
“Mrs. L.,” Laney said, changing the subject by pointing out the obvious, “there’s a police car in your driveway.”
“Yes.” The troubled expression again furrowed her brow. “Lisa’s a neighbor. She stopped by to give us some advice about Amber.”
Teague could almost feel Laney’s pulse leap. “Have you spoken to her?”
“No.” The furrow deepened. “You haven’t yet, either?”
“No.”
Teague could tell Amber’s parents hadn’t progressed to where Laney was. She seemed concerned but not panicked, and hadn’t yet connected her daughter’s lack of contact to Laney’s appearance on her doorstep.
“That’s why we’re here,” Laney said. “Teague, I mean the people he works for, are helping me try to find her. Make sure she’s all right.”
That did it, Teague thought. Ratcheted up the worry several notches. “You think there’s something really wrong?”
“I’m just worried,” Laney said. “You know it isn’t like her to not talk to either of us for so long. I just want to be sure she’s okay, that she’s really off on some romantic getaway.”
“Romantic getaway?”
Laney sighed as the woman’s puzzled expression made it clear she had no idea what she was talking about.
“You’d better come into the den with Lisa and Jim,” the woman said.
It was a small room, with a couch, a couple of recliners that served as comfortable seating in front of the flat-screen on one wall. Not huge, but new-looking. Teague watched as Laney greeted the silver-haired man who rose quickly when he saw her, and decided Amber had had the luck of the draw on both sides. Jim Logan was a handsome man, in a distinguished sort of way.
The uniformed officer that went with the unit outside was young, blonde and lively-looking. She gave him a once-over much
But now she didn’t look like a slim, fit, attractive middle-aged woman. She looked like what she was, a worried mother. Still, she didn’t seem distraught. Not yet anyway.
And, he quickly realized as she ushered them inside the small but immaculately maintained house, she’d made an assumption about him. Them, rather.
“Well, so you’ve finally brought us a young man to meet? About time, young lady.” Laney tried to speak but the woman seemed on a roll, and turned her attention on him. “Aren’t you the handsome one?”
“No, no,” Laney finally managed to get in. “It’s not...he’s not—”
“I may be getting old, girl, but my eyesight’s fine. He most certainly is.” She smiled widely at Teague, who suddenly couldn’t resist keeping his mouth shut, just to see where this would go. “You’ve quite the treasure here, you know. You take good care of her, or you’ll have us to answer to first, since we’re closer than her folks now.”
“I mean we’re not together,” Laney said. “Not like that.”
Did she sound regretful? Or was it his imagination? And if so, why the hell was he imagining that?
“Too bad,” Mrs. Logan said with an appreciative once-over that make Teague smile, just barely. “You might want to rethink that.”
“I might,” he said, even though the comment had clearly been meant for Laney. He wasn’t sure what had gotten into him. Something about the assumption they were together seemed to have set him off. “Teague Johnson, Mrs. Logan,” he said, holding out a hand. Saying it was a pleasure to meet her seemed wrong under the circumstances so he left it at that.
The woman shook his hand rather delicately, but she smiled, and in that smile he again saw the younger woman from one of the photos Laney had shown them. A bright, beautiful smile. Somehow it made things more ominous instead of better.
“Sorry,” Laney said, apparently in apology for her lack of manners in not introducing him. Had Mrs. Logan’s assumption flustered her that much? The inward satisfaction he felt at that thought was unsettling.
“That’s all right, dear, I embarrassed you. I didn’t mean to.”
“Mrs. L.,” Laney said, changing the subject by pointing out the obvious, “there’s a police car in your driveway.”
“Yes.” The troubled expression again furrowed her brow. “Lisa’s a neighbor. She stopped by to give us some advice about Amber.”
Teague could almost feel Laney’s pulse leap. “Have you spoken to her?”
“No.” The furrow deepened. “You haven’t yet, either?”
“No.”
Teague could tell Amber’s parents hadn’t progressed to where Laney was. She seemed concerned but not panicked, and hadn’t yet connected her daughter’s lack of contact to Laney’s appearance on her doorstep.
“That’s why we’re here,” Laney said. “Teague, I mean the people he works for, are helping me try to find her. Make sure she’s all right.”
That did it, Teague thought. Ratcheted up the worry several notches. “You think there’s something really wrong?”
“I’m just worried,” Laney said. “You know it isn’t like her to not talk to either of us for so long. I just want to be sure she’s okay, that she’s really off on some romantic getaway.”
“Romantic getaway?”
Laney sighed as the woman’s puzzled expression made it clear she had no idea what she was talking about.
“You’d better come into the den with Lisa and Jim,” the woman said.
It was a small room, with a couch, a couple of recliners that served as comfortable seating in front of the flat-screen on one wall. Not huge, but new-looking. Teague watched as Laney greeted the silver-haired man who rose quickly when he saw her, and decided Amber had had the luck of the draw on both sides. Jim Logan was a handsome man, in a distinguished sort of way.
The uniformed officer that went with the unit outside was young, blonde and lively-looking. She gave him a once-over much
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