Page 83 of Lost and Found

Wes introduced Callum and Grace Hale and explained that he worked with Callum and that Grace was an artist.

“I’ve done a few book covers that you might like,” Grace added.

“Really?” Matt inched closer as she held up her phone.

“Have you ever seen this—”

“Yes.”

Grace laughed. “I drew the cover.”

His blue eyes rounded behind his red glasses. “Me and my mom’ve read them. They’re in our house.”

“Then it’s almost like we already know each other.”

“Do you have a picture of Pickles?” Wes asked.

Callum laughed. “Of course she does.”

Grace tapped a folder on her phone. “This is Pickles.”

“Who’s Pickles? Ohhhh, Pickles is a dog. Mom, look.”

“This is Pickles looking cute,” Grace said. “Pickles sleeping. Pickles leaping. Pickles being amazing.”

Callum pulled out his phone. “But I have a video of Pickles walking on two legs.”

Matt let go of Bailey’s hand and moved closer to Callum for a better angle. “Look! He’s standing up!”

Callum pressed play. “And walking.”

“Mom, he can stand up and walk.”

Matt needed a pet. The idea had never occurred to her before. He would love it. They could live somewhere like Granite Creek, where they could walk for ice cream, pick from several parks, and live a happy little life. She started imagining the future, and she knew Wes was waiting for her to figure it out.

But Wes wasn’t talking about marriage. He had just been talking about them. Not rushing. Not taking on too much too fast. To what end? Was that what he wanted to know? Impossible. Too soon. Too incredible to dream of.

“How long are you here for?” Grace asked.

Bailey pulled her head out of the clouds. She guessed Callum knew of her situation because he and Wes worked together. Perhaps Grace didn’t know. “Unsure at the moment. How long have you lived here?”

“About two years. My best friend just moved here too, so now I guess it’s perfect.”

Perfect. Everything felt kind of perfect at that moment. It should have been scary. She was staying at a safe house to keep herself and Matt safe. Yet it felt like she was doing nothing but falling harder for a small town and the man who’d brought her there.

“You should meet her,” Grace said as they walked out of the parlor. “She’s the new librarian and is there all the time. They have lots of great children’s programming.”

“Maybe we’ll pop in there tomorrow.”

“I’ll let her know to keep an eye out.”

They meandered down the block. Matt raced ahead, still stopping and starting at driveways.

“I met Alicia at the library, too.” Callum took his wife’s hand. “That’s a funny story I’ll tell you sometime.”

“Over burgers,” Grace added as they turned down Magnolia. “We grill out on Fridays. Wes should bring you.”

“Thanks, but we don’t want to crash your get-together.”