Ian could speak.
Ian had cleared his throat and said, “I’ll do my best.”
Brendan had blushed crimson, no doubt having realized he’d overstepped. In spite of his faux pas, Ian admired his passion. And even though passion wasn’t a prerequisite for being a lawyer, in Ian’s experience, most truly good lawyers had it in spades.
They spent the next hour listing the pros and cons of private adoptions, adoptions of older babies—even toddlers—and the costs.
“It’s so fu—I mean messed up,” Brendan had said to him after they’d left. “There are so many crappy parents around, who didn’t even want kids, and these two….” Brendan sighed.
“I know.” Ian thought of his own parents. Not that they’d been terrible. They’d given him everything tangible he’d needed, even if he’d never had the kind of warm relationship with them he’d wished for.
“We have to help them, Ian. We have to!”
Ian had smiled and squeezed Brendan’s shoulder. “We’ll do everything we can for them. I promise.”
Ian dialed Maddie’s number. “Maddie,” he said, “sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if you’ve seen Brendan.”
“Brendan?”
“He’s been missing since lunchtime,” Ian explained, “and I wondered—”
“He was here earlier.”
“He was? When?”
“Before lunch. He came to see me. He is such a sweetie, Ian. He knew how aggravated I’ve been and came to reassure me. He didn’t stay too long, said he needed to head home, but I appreciated his visit more than I can say.”
Ian’s stomach twisted. He glanced at the car’s clock, calculating it all, figuring out how much time was actually missing since he’d left Maddie’s house.
“Is everything all right?” Maddie asked.
“I think so. I’ll have to get back to you on that. It’s probably all a big miscommunication.”
“Well, please do. I’m worried for him now.”
Cole, impatiently tapping his foot, his knee riding up and down, stared at Ian.
“Okay. … Yes, thanks. … Sure, I will. … I’ll let you know.”
Cole stopped tapping his foot and froze. “Well? It’s not good, is it?” It was odd the way Cole could see the shift in Ian’s mood without words.
“He did go see them. Maddie said Brendan came by before lunch. And….”
“And?”
Ian quickly filled Cole in on what Maddie had said.
“So what do you think we should do?” Cole asked. His face looked pale, and he was tapping his foot again.
Ian flexed his hands on the steering wheel and fought the sinking sensation in his gut. “We’ll head to the Grove and circle the area. There has to be a reasonable explanation. I bet Brendan’s phone is just out of juice and he’s running late.” He turned the car north and hoped he’d sounded more optimistic than he felt.
C HAPTER S EVEN
C OLE AND Ian learned that Brendan had biked into the gated community, talked to Maddie and Steve, and left, but nobody had actually seen him leave. Since the community backed up to a nature preserve, one with walking trails and bike paths, Cole agreed with Ian that they should look there. It made sense that Brendan might have biked through the preserve as it still led to the highway on the other side and then back to Ocean Vista’s downtown.
There were many small nature preserves in the area as if to make up for creating strip plazas and shopping malls. The county preserved these tiny pieces of land, ones that still had a few birds and the occasional alligator, to prove that Florida hadn’t changed all that much. Bullshit, right? Cole disliked having his “nature” squared off and measured. At times he longed for his boyhood home in Massachusetts, where the hills were green, the neighborhoods never gated, and he’d roamed freely through his town’s thick woods—except he’d also wanted to get as far away from his family as possible. Six years later, when he remembered why he left Massachusetts in the first place, Cole had accepted Florida as his
Ian had cleared his throat and said, “I’ll do my best.”
Brendan had blushed crimson, no doubt having realized he’d overstepped. In spite of his faux pas, Ian admired his passion. And even though passion wasn’t a prerequisite for being a lawyer, in Ian’s experience, most truly good lawyers had it in spades.
They spent the next hour listing the pros and cons of private adoptions, adoptions of older babies—even toddlers—and the costs.
“It’s so fu—I mean messed up,” Brendan had said to him after they’d left. “There are so many crappy parents around, who didn’t even want kids, and these two….” Brendan sighed.
“I know.” Ian thought of his own parents. Not that they’d been terrible. They’d given him everything tangible he’d needed, even if he’d never had the kind of warm relationship with them he’d wished for.
“We have to help them, Ian. We have to!”
Ian had smiled and squeezed Brendan’s shoulder. “We’ll do everything we can for them. I promise.”
Ian dialed Maddie’s number. “Maddie,” he said, “sorry to bother you, but I was wondering if you’ve seen Brendan.”
“Brendan?”
“He’s been missing since lunchtime,” Ian explained, “and I wondered—”
“He was here earlier.”
“He was? When?”
“Before lunch. He came to see me. He is such a sweetie, Ian. He knew how aggravated I’ve been and came to reassure me. He didn’t stay too long, said he needed to head home, but I appreciated his visit more than I can say.”
Ian’s stomach twisted. He glanced at the car’s clock, calculating it all, figuring out how much time was actually missing since he’d left Maddie’s house.
“Is everything all right?” Maddie asked.
“I think so. I’ll have to get back to you on that. It’s probably all a big miscommunication.”
“Well, please do. I’m worried for him now.”
Cole, impatiently tapping his foot, his knee riding up and down, stared at Ian.
“Okay. … Yes, thanks. … Sure, I will. … I’ll let you know.”
Cole stopped tapping his foot and froze. “Well? It’s not good, is it?” It was odd the way Cole could see the shift in Ian’s mood without words.
“He did go see them. Maddie said Brendan came by before lunch. And….”
“And?”
Ian quickly filled Cole in on what Maddie had said.
“So what do you think we should do?” Cole asked. His face looked pale, and he was tapping his foot again.
Ian flexed his hands on the steering wheel and fought the sinking sensation in his gut. “We’ll head to the Grove and circle the area. There has to be a reasonable explanation. I bet Brendan’s phone is just out of juice and he’s running late.” He turned the car north and hoped he’d sounded more optimistic than he felt.
C HAPTER S EVEN
C OLE AND Ian learned that Brendan had biked into the gated community, talked to Maddie and Steve, and left, but nobody had actually seen him leave. Since the community backed up to a nature preserve, one with walking trails and bike paths, Cole agreed with Ian that they should look there. It made sense that Brendan might have biked through the preserve as it still led to the highway on the other side and then back to Ocean Vista’s downtown.
There were many small nature preserves in the area as if to make up for creating strip plazas and shopping malls. The county preserved these tiny pieces of land, ones that still had a few birds and the occasional alligator, to prove that Florida hadn’t changed all that much. Bullshit, right? Cole disliked having his “nature” squared off and measured. At times he longed for his boyhood home in Massachusetts, where the hills were green, the neighborhoods never gated, and he’d roamed freely through his town’s thick woods—except he’d also wanted to get as far away from his family as possible. Six years later, when he remembered why he left Massachusetts in the first place, Cole had accepted Florida as his
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