Page 37 of Desperate Creed

“Thank you, Sweet Pea. These are your brother’s favorites, too.”

“Have you heard from him?”

“Not since earlier. But they’ve been showing pictures on the news of the damage. Lord, have mercy! It’s a miracle there weren’t more deaths.”

“Ryder and Grace, they’re like heroes, aren’t they?”

“Grace is, indeed, a special little dog. And your brother...well, he certainly has a gift with dogs. He knows dogs better than he knows people. And he’s definitely more comfortable with them than he is with people.”

“Jason says you can trust dogs more than you can trust people.”

Hannah looked at her as if giving it some consideration then said, “Yes, I imagine that’s true.”

“Did Jason and Scout leave, too?”

“Yes, Sweet Pea. It’s just you, me and the boys.” Hannah paused before she added, “Until your mom gets here tomorrow.”

She could feel Hannah’s eyes stay on her, but Brodie’s strayed out the window. She didn’t want to think about her mother. The thought made her sick to her stomach. It reminded her of all the lies Iris Malone had told her. For years, Brodie had no idea they were lies. Even now, for some reason she couldn’t stop her body from reacting.

Outside, dark clouds were ruining the sunset. She noticed they were gathering in the same spot as this morning. The same spot where Creed and Jason had gone.

“Will they be safe?”

She expected Hannah to reassure her, but the woman was already tense, worrying about her friend, so Brodie shouldn’t have been surprised when Hannah said, “I pray to God they are.”

Something in Hannah’s tone made Brodie feel a sense of urgency. Her pulse started racing. Her eyes darted around the kitchen. She realized she didn’t know where Kitten had gone. How could she have lost track?

“She’s right here,” Hannah told Brodie, knowing exactly what Brodie was looking for without a single word exchanged.

Hannah scooped up the kitten from under the table and deposited the ball of fur on Brodie’s lap.

“Have you thought any more about names?”

“Names?” Brodie’s fingers stroked the cat’s soft fur, willing her mind to reset to calm.

In the beginning when she first found the kitten, Brodie would panic any time it was out of her sight. She’d never had someone she loved so much that it hurt like a kick to the stomach just to imagine losing her.

“Seems like she deserves a better name than Kitten,” Hannah said.

Brodie tried to release the tension buckled between her shoulders. Kitten was fine. She was fine. She was in a warm, safe house eating cookies with a woman she could trust not to hurt her.

“How did you come up with the name Grace?” Brodie asked.

“That was easy,” Hannah waved a hand at her like she was swatting a fly. “When Ryder found her, she was all skin and bones. Poor thing looked beat down. First time I saw her I told him it was by amazing grace that dog was alive. Almost immediately, we began calling her Grace. What was the first thing that came to mind when you saw Kitten?”

“I was glad she wasn’t a rat.”

Hannah stared at her for a second then she burst out laughing. Brodie caught herself smiling. She loved the sound of Hannah’s laughter. It was like listening to music.

27

Southern Alabama

Creed was relieved when he saw Jason’s SUV making its way through the barricades.

Two volunteers and another state trooper had taken Baby Garner. Michael and Elizabeth Garner were the names on the car seat with an address in Richmond, Virginia. Trooper Sykes confirmed that the driver’s license they’d found on the passenger was that of Michael Garner. At this point, they could only presume that Elizabeth had been driving.

Grace had put the volunteers through a thorough inspection before she was satisfied enough to release the baby to the pair. Since then, Creed and Grace had walked a grid in the field, spanning out from the crumpled vehicle and tackling about a hundred-foot radius. This was after they’d walked the entire line of fallen pine trees twice.