Laura almost had to laugh at that last one. “No, Dean. Thank you. You’ve done good. I’ll take it from here.”
“All right.” Dean paused slightly. “Don’t get yourself into trouble again, will you? I would miss having these little calls to brighten my day if you got yourself fired or jailed.”
“Just for your sake, then,” Laura joked. “I’ll bring you that pizza on Friday. You want pepperoni?”
“You know I do,” Dean said. “All right, then. See you, Laura.”
“See you,” she said, hanging up.
It was progress. It wasn’t quite the same elation she’d felt when she learned she was going to get to be with Lacey, but it was a good start. She could use this information, make sure that Amy was safe and sound. Get to know what kind of man Christopher Fallow was from afar, maybe. Look for the signs. She was confident that she was going to be able to handle it.
Amy was going to be safe, one way or another.
Which left her with only one thing more to deal with. One task she’d set herself.
And with everything going so well today, she felt like it was probably the best time to try it. If it all went wrong, maybe it would only bring her back down to the ground, given how high above it she was flying. It wouldn’t be so devastating.
Maybe.
Either way, she had very little choice now. It had to be this. Laura could see that now.
She knew where Nate lived. It wasn’t a long drive. There wasn’t any other excuse. If she didn’t do this, she was going to lose him anyway. And getting Lacey back, being able to hug her daughter again, reminded Laura of one very important thing.
The people you cared about the most were the most important people in the world. And letting them slip out of your life for any reason—and especially just because you were afraid—would only leave you deeper in despair than you would have been if you’d taken the chance.
She had to take the chance, no matter how many times she’d talked herself out of it before.
She needed him. His support. His trust. His reassurance. It was everything to her.
Laura grabbed her car keys and headed for the door, stopping for a moment to look out at the sunshine again before she headed to where she’d parked. It was a good day—maybe the best day—for what she had to do.
She had to come clean. Tell him everything.
And hope that he would understand.