“I just want them to listen to me!” Nina cried. “They never listen! I thought if I wasn’t here, maybe they’d…”
“Realize that they weren’t listening to what you want?”
“Yeah,” she sniffed, as fresh tears began to flow. “I wanted them to miss me.”
“Oh, they did,” I said shaking my head. “They were worried sick about you.”
“Don’t lie to me,” Nina muttered. “My dad probably got really pissed, and my mom probably blamed him for everything.”
I had to bite my tongue to keep from telling her how right she was about at least half of the scenario. I didn’t want to tell her that her mother didn’t know she’d been missing.
“So, where were you?” I probed. I wanted to know where she’d been, but I knew if I pushed too hard, she’d retreat into silence.
“With friends,” she replied, without elaborating.
“You were safe?” I asked, remembering what the girls at school had said about Nina and a college boy.
“I was fine,” she said cutting off further questions with her terse reply.
“Are you hungry?” I asked, steering the conversation clear of anything having to do with her disappearance. “I made spaghetti for dinner, and there’s plenty of leftovers.”
“I’m starving,” she said quietly. I nodded and went to the kitchen to make her a plate. When I brought it back, she ate it so quickly I wondered if she’d eaten while she was missing. I brought her a second plate, and this time she ate a little slower.
“Nina, you know I need to call your dad and let him know you’re safe, don’t you?” I said gently.
“Do you have to?” she asked.
“Yeah, I really do,” I nodded.
“Couldn’t you wait a little longer?” she pleaded. I wavered as I thought about my struggles with my own parents and how I’d wished someone would have cut me a little slack when things had been rough. I wrestled with the fact that Blake was worried sick, but I also felt sympathy for Nina and her desire to have a few more hours of imagined freedom from her parents. In my heart, I knew I was wrong, but my anger at Remy’s veiled insults outweighed my rational thought.
“Fine, I’ll wait until morning, but you’ve got to spend the night here,” I said, as I took her plate to the kitchen and then went to set up the spare bedroom. I called from the other room, “But first thing in the morning you have got to call your dad and tell him that you’re safe.”
“I will, I promise,” Nina replied.
I got Nina settled in my bedroom and went to lock up the house for the night. Howard sat in the doorway of the kitchen staring up at me with wide eyes.
“What?” I said, as I flipped the switch and cut off the kitchen lights. “Don’t you dare judge me, Howard.”
He stared at me for a moment, then stood up and moved stealthily toward the room where Nina was bedded down, swishing his tail with every step. For a moment, I wondered if it was an ominous sign of things to come, but decided that it was simply my fickle cat’s way of comforting our guest.
I sighed as I turned off the living room lights and checked the front door before heading to KO’s room. In the morning, we’d call Blake and let him know Nina was home.
I crossed my fingers and hoped that he’d understand my decision.
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Blake
After the first call, we’d run four more calls and put out three fires. Having spent the previous night searching for Nina, I was exhausted. So, I was sound asleep in the bunkroom when Tony shook me awake. It was early morning and still dark out, so I assumed we had a call and quickly jumped out of bed and followed him toward the garage. Halfway there, it struck me that the station was quiet and no alarms were going off.
“Tony, what the hell—” I said, as I rounded the corner and saw Remy standing in the kitchen crying as two of the guys tried to console her. When she looked up and saw me, her whole demeanor changed.
“Blake Gaston, where in the HELL IS MY DAUGHTER!” she screamed, as she rushed toward me, swinging her fists. Two of the guys caught her before she could connect with my body. They held her back as I moved out of range. Remy continued screaming, “Let go of me, you idiots! I’m going to kill him!”
“Remy, calm down,” I said, knowing that never in the history of calming anyone down had that phrase worked. “Listen to me.”
“I swear to God, I’m going to petition the court and get sole custody of Nina, you son of a bitch,” she growled, as she dropped her fists and stood clenching them at her sides.