I already knew what she was going to ask. “If that’s what you want.”
Her eyes narrowed in confusion. “You don’t even know what I’m going to say.”
“Baby, I always know what you’re going to say. You’re the one who’s growing my son inside this little belly.” My hands cupped both sides of her stomach. “So you have a lot of say in the matter. If you want to name him that, we can. I know it’s important to you.”
Her hands moved over mine. “What do you think I want to name him?”
It was obvious, written in her eyes full of love. “Crow.”
Her eyes immediately softened when I got it right. “You did know…”
I knew everything about my woman, from her thoughts to her moods. She and I shared our bodies as well as our souls. We existed as almost a single person.
“You would really be okay with that?” she whispered.
I’d come to respect her father. I didn’t like him initially, but he wore me down. Now I saw him as a father figure, as someone that I even admired. “Yes.” I would do anything to make her happy.
Her eyes watered. “That’s so sweet…” She gripped my hands and moved into me. “Thank you.”
I pressed a kiss to her forehead.
“When we have our next son, I want to name him Griffin.” She looked up into my gaze. “Because you’re the other man I admire more than anyone else in the world. There’s nothing better than that.”
I wasn’t expecting that. “Really?”
“Yes. I want him to carry your name when we’re gone, to know there’s a piece of you still out there. It’s an admirable name. I love it.”
The thought hadn’t crossed my mind to name my son after me. I knew she was named after her aunt, so naming children after our relatives was common for them. “We can talk about it when the time comes.”
“Alright.”
I kissed her on the forehead again before I turned away and walked out. I ignored the rain and got into the truck before I drove a few blocks away to the flower shop. The second I pulled up to the building, I knew something was wrong. All the lights were off, and the place looked closed. There wasn’t a note on the door with an explanation.
I drove away and headed to her apartment next, checking to see if she was home. Maybe she didn’t open the shop because of the weather. Or maybe she walked to work but never made it.
I went to the second floor and arrived at her door. I knocked loudly, so loud there was no chance she didn’t hear it.
No answer.
I knocked again then pressed my ear to the door, listening for the sound of the shower. But there was no water on.
That was when I started to panic. I pulled out my phone and called her.
No answer.
My old ways came back to me, and I picked her lock before I stepped inside. All the lights were off, and it seemed like there’d been no one there for a long time. The flowers on the table had died a long time ago, and the stench was potent in the air. I opened the fridge next and saw nothing but expired and moldy food.
She hadn’t been there in a long time.
I explored the rest of the apartment and discovered the same thing.
I locked her apartment before I left and tried to call her again. I’d just seen her at the wedding, and everything had appeared to be fine. It didn’t seem like she was in any trouble, but she obviously hadn’t been staying at her apartment in that time frame.
I made it to the lobby and picked her mailbox lock while I listened to the phone ring as I called again.
She answered this time. “Hey, Griffin. How are you?”
When I opened her mailbox, it was so stuffed with mail that I couldn’t even get anything out. She obviously hadn’t checked it in weeks. I didn’t bother looking through it before I shut it and locked it again. “I dropped off Vanessa at the shop then stopped by your flower shop to see how you were doing. But it’s closed.” I didn’t accuse her of anything, choosing to read her tone of voice and all the other signs I could gather from her demeanor.
“Oh, yeah.” Her voice turned a little higher, indicating that she was lying. “I was getting no customers because of the rain, so I stopped bothering. When the weather clears up, I’ll open again. Besides, I don’t want to go out in the rain anyway.”
That sounded plausible, but she seemed slightly flustered over the line, making me assume there was something I was missing. “Then where are you now?” She obviously hadn’t been home in a while.
“Oh, I’m at home,” she said. “Just sitting in my pajamas.”