Sydney woke in Sam’s arms. They hadn’t made love, just held each other, and it had been perfect.
Or it would have been, if not for everything else going on.
Her cell phone vibrated on the nightstand and she picked it up. Her neighbors from the adjacent ranch.
“Sydney,” Marcia Tucker said, “Jay went over early this morning. No one’s home. The foreman hasn’t heard from your parents. He hadn’t checked his cell yet, so that’s why he hasn’t called you back.”
“Thanks, Marsh. I’m sorry I bothered you.”
“Not a problem. Is everything okay?”
“I’m not sure yet. I’ll keep you posted.”
Sydney ended the call as Sam began to stir next to her.
“That was my neighbor,” she told him. “Mom and Dad aren’t home, and the foreman hasn’t seen them or heard from them.”
“I’m not surprised.” He held his arms open and she snuggled into them. “We’ll find them, sweetheart. I promise.”
“Where do we start? It’ll be like looking for a needle in a haystack.”
“I know. We need to look for clues. They must have left something behind.”
“The only clue we have is the bank account in the Caymans,” Sydney said.
“That’ll be our starting point. Of course they can have the money wired anywhere. We need a good hacker.”
“And a PI.”
“Chad knows a great one. I’ll give him a call and get his number. He knows his way around computers too. He got into Dusty’s medical records a while back.”
“What? That’s illegal.”
“That’s my point. The guy can do pretty much anything. He’s probably a good place to start. In the meantime”—he ogled her—“I need a shower. How about you?”
“I could use one,” she said, “but I’m not in the mood to…you know.”
“I understand. You want to go first?”
“You go ahead. I want to lie here for a few minutes.”
Sam gave her a quick kiss on the cheek and traipsed to the shower.
Sydney closed her eyes as the whoosh of the water met her ears. Sam in the shower. Naked. Warm water pulsating on his amazing body, soothing his fatigued muscles. He was so beautiful. So masculine.
So perfect in every way.
She so didn’t deserve him.
Her eyes misted. She was tired of crying. If only she had told Sam the truth when she was pregnant, none of this would have happened. Maybe he would have wanted her and the baby. Maybe they would have fallen in love then.
Maybe, maybe, maybe…
She needed him. Needed his body close to hers, needed the comfort of his loving touch.
She got up and went into the bathroom. “It’s me,” she said.
“You okay, baby?”