Page 76 of Lost and Found

The morning roughness of his voice, the strength in his hold, waking up in the same house as Wes, she was living a dream. Bailey gave him one more kiss, wriggled away in case Matt woke early, and poured herself a mug of coffee. “What’s the plan for today?”

“We pack suitcases and flag what you want boxed up and delivered to the safe house.”

They’d need clothes. Some toys. Books. “What about from my office?”

“Sure. Not a problem. What do you want to bring?”

That was a good question. She never knew what she needed when she mapped out her investigation. “I wish I could bring all of it.”

“Then that’s what we’ll do,” he said, face completely serious.

“Really?”

“Sure. They’ll grab the equipment. Everything on the walls. The whiteboards. The boxes. They’ll get it set up. Just tell me what you don’t want them to bring. That might be easier.”

She studied his face, waiting for him to break into a joke. Wes didn’t. He was being serious. “The recording equipment in the booth can stay. We’ll keep what we took to Jennifer Yang’s in case we have another interview. Hopefully I can start writing the episodes soon, even if we don’t have a suspect. But after we do, and when it’s time to record, we’ll drive up here to do it. Unless we figure out who killed Caitie, and he’s arrested.”

Which meant then their time playing house would be over.

“Hopefully we find a lead soon.” Wes sipped his coffee. “Speaking of which, have you thought any more about that key?”

She shook her head.

“I have. If he had it on the day he died, would he have had it with him?”

“Maybe. He had his keys on a ring, but I don’t remember where they are. Maybe the storage unit? I donated a lot of his belongings, gave Kimbra the things she’d asked for…but I feel confident none were keys. Yeah, so everything else is in a storage unit. It’s where I’ve kept what I don’t know what to do with.” Did it sound strange that she’d had that storage unit for so many years? “I mean, I have other things in it too. Matty’s baby clothes. Toys I didn’t want to get rid of. You know, just in case.”

“In case you had another baby?”

It felt so silly to admit that. She had given things to friends who had babies and donated many items, but part of her had been reluctant to let go of a few boxes of clothes and special toys. It wasn’t as if she couldn’t afford to purchase them again if the need arose, but they wouldn’t be the same toys and clothes that Matt had used. She nodded self-consciously. “I haven’t told anyone that.”

He glanced toward the hallway from the kitchen, then stood and wrapped Bailey in his arms. She wasn’t sad about not having another baby. She adored Matt. He was her world. But the possibility that she might have more had always hung, unspoken, at the back of her mind like a hope she couldn’t wish for. Until now. Her eyes welled, and her throat ached, and she felt ridiculous getting choked up.

Wes pressed a kiss to the top of her head, careful to avoid the side that hurt, and every hope she’d ignored jumped to life. More kids. A family. A husband. Were those actual possibilities?

Not really.

This was unhinged.

How could she possibly think of Wes like that when he had only kissed her a few days earlier? Though she had known him for years, and he’d made sure she knew where she stood with him. It was her who hadn’t offered parameters.

What happened if she did and it was taken away again? Wes had a dangerous job. He took risks most people wouldn’t consider. Could she handle that?

“Bailey.” His two fingers tipped her chin up. “I’m glad you told me.”

“Why? I sound like…” A hoarder. A dreamer. A woman who was scared to let go.

“There’s nothing wrong with wanting to grow your family one day.”

But it had been so out of reach for so long that she didn’t think it was possible. “What if that’s not what life has in store for me?”

He wiped a tear from her cheek. “What if it is, baby?”

The sound of little feet running down the upstairs hall jerked her back to the present. Bailey wiped her eyes. Wes didn’t move away, but he released his hold around her.

Matt ran downstairs with all the grace of a baby elephant. His glasses were slightly askew, and his sleep-ruffled hair stuck up. “Can I play Minecraft?”

“No,” she chuckled, now firmly planted back in real life. “You can have breakfast and get dressed.”