“But I don’t want to go,” Shawn repeated.
“I don’t, either,” Kylee said, blinking back the tears that stung her eyes. “I don’t, either.” She sniffed, pressing a kiss to her brother’s forehead and wishing with all her heart she could erase every wonderful second with Fisher from her mind.
* * *
“WHAT’S UP?” FISHER took the phone Hunter offered him.
“Hey, Fisher, have you talked to Kylee recently?” Josie asked.
“Not since this morning,” he answered, wiping the sweat from his brow.
“She and Shawn just left. Shawn took a few of Eli’s games without Eli knowing it, and Kylee was making him return them.”
Fisher sighed. “I’m sure they were both pretty embarrassed.”
“They were. I told them it wasn’t a big deal but I could tell it was eating Shawn up. It kills me what they’ve been through.” She paused. “It’s just, she said they were leaving town and—”
“What?”
“She said something had come up and they had to go. I thought I should tell you since I know, we all know, you care about her,” she said.
“Thanks.” He thrust the phone at Hunter, his heart pounding a mile a minute. “I need your keys.”
Hunter handed them over without question. He could feel the weight of his family’s eyes on him but couldn’t stop to explain. He had to get to her before she left. Because if she left he knew she’d make it impossible for him to find her.
“We’re almost done,” Archer called out.
“You’ll have to finish without me,” he called out, then climbed into Hunter’s truck and flew down the road.
What had happened? On the drive from the ranch to town, he sifted through their conversation. She’d said they were on their own—they had no place to go. So why were they leaving now? Was Kylee ashamed because of what Shawn had done? It wasn’t right, but it was Shawn’s normal. It would probably take some time for Shawn to forget something he’d been trained to do. It was something they’d have to work on.
They. As a team. A family. Because that’s what you did when you loved someone. And, dammit, he knew she loved him. Like he loved her. He parked in front of Shots, pushed through the doors, and headed down the hall to the small apartment.
He knocked.
“Hey, Fisher.” Shawn opened the door, wearing a hangdog expression.
“Hey, Shawn.” Fisher stepped inside, being as calm as possible. The sight of the place, stripped down and cold, turned his stomach to lead. Two large backpacks and one beaten-up suitcase sat packed and on the counter. It was hard to breathe. “Where’s Kylee?” He needed to see her, needed to understand what was happening. He’d fix it so they’d never have to leave.
“She’s talking to Cutter,” he answered.
“You going somewhere?” he asked, panic thickening his tongue.
Shawn nodded.
“Where?” he asked.
The boy shrugged.
“What’s going on, Shawn? Things okay?” he didn’t mean to interrogate Shawn, but he needed answers—now.
“I messed up,” he admitted.
Fisher looked down at Shawn, the hurt and anger in the boy’s words begging for Fisher’s undivided attention. He drew in a deep breath and laid a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “What happened, Shawn? Whatever it is, we can figure this out.”
Shawn slowly nodded. “I took some things. Jesse told me the best way to make easy money was to find things and sell them to pawnshops. But no one will buy the stuff. I’m too young to sell anything so I’ve been hiding it all.”
Fisher listened carefully, watching the boy’s frustration as he spoke.