A Hopeful Kind of Love (Kinds of Love 1.5)

“It's no problem,” Laura assured her. She paused, looking at the sleeping baby. He looked so peaceful and safe in his mother's arms that she envied him a little. “How old is he?”

“Almost three months,” Emma said with a smile. She carefully moved the blanket out of his face, doting on him as a new mother should.

“He's beautiful,” Laura told her. She tried not to think about her own mother.

“Thank you. He's got his dad's smile,” Emma replied. “I'm glad, because it's a good one.”

“He has your eyes,” Laura said. “The shape is the same.”

Emma smiled up at her. “You're Laura, right?” she asked, shifting the baby's weight slightly. He didn't stir. “You run the ranch for Mia?”

“I run the horses side of the ranch,” Laura replied. “Kenna will be running the kid side.”

“Gotcha,” Emma said with a nod. She looked around the barn. “I'm so impressed with what Mia is doing here. She's going to help a lot of kids.”

“I think so too. I'm really excited to see what else she comes up with for this place.”Laura nodded in agreement. “Don't you run a charity as well? One for animals?”

Emma nodded and smiled. “It's a wildlife restoration and rehabilitation program. It's actually been a lot of fun getting to help Mia get her charity started. It reminds me of when I first started out.”

Laura was about to comment when the wind rattled the door hard enough to make them both look. With both of them quiet, the whine of the wind through the trees was louder than Laura expected.

“There must be a storm moving in,” Laura said after a moment. She shivered.

“Do you think it will snow?” Emma asked, tucking the blanket a little tighter around her baby. “It was so nice out this morning.”

“It probably will. We get snow up here all the way through the end of May,” Laura replied. “But don't worry. We made sure the rooms you are staying in are nice and warm. Mia wanted the best.”

The door rattled again, but this time it opened. Instead of the wind, it was a person.

“Is Elliot in here?” Jace asked, looking around the barn. His cheeks were red from the wind and his hair in disarray.

“Elliot? The little boy you were working with?” Laura asked, trying to remember who she saw Jace with earlier. To be honest, she'd been more focused on Ethan and couldn't remember anyone else he was with.

Jace nodded. His eyes darted around the barn again. “We can't find him.”

“I saw him a little while ago,” Emma said from her bench. “He was playing with another little boy. They were throwing sticks for Ella's dog outside the garage.”

Laura paused. She remembered her brother telling her about a dog he met and another kid who liked space a lot. “What did the other little boy look like?”

“Um, he was around five years old. Short brown hair, and he had a blue collared shirt on,” Emma replied, her face scrunched up as she tried to remember. “Why?”

“That's my little brother, Dallas.” Laura looked over to Jace. “You said you can't find Elliot?”

Jace shook his head. “He's not with the other kids. They're probably just out playing hide and seek or something, but...”

“But?” Laura felt the pressure in the room change. It was the same feeling she got before a big thunderstorm. It was the feeling she got right before she got the call about her parents.

Jace looked uncomfortable. “But, I can't find Jupiter either.”

The bottom slowly dropped out of Laura's stomach. It felt like she was leaking all her substance and would crumple to the floor like a used balloon, yet somehow her legs stayed beneath her and she didn't collapse.

She took a shaky breath in, telling herself that it was probably nothing. The two boys were probably just out behind the trees or hiding somewhere in the house. Dallas was fine. He was fine.

“Would you excuse me? I'm going to go look for my brother.” Laura set the box she was carrying down against the wall. It wasn't anywhere near where it was supposed to be, but she didn't care. She needed to know Dallas was okay.

“Are you okay?” Emma asked, her face worried. “You look like you're about to pass out.”

“I'm fine,” Laura murmured, heading to the barn door. She did her best to smile at Emma, but she knew it looked fake. She was too worried to care, though.