“There’s fresh coffee in the pot, Miss Walker,” Mrs. Gibbs said as she hovered near. As far as Cole could tell, she’d been cooking most of the night, although no one had been able to eat a thing.
“Call me Jessie. Everyone does.”
“I have food warming in the oven if you’re hungry.”
“Maybe later. Thank you, Mrs. Gibbs.”
Sheriff McCoy came in from the other room. “I need to get back to the office for a while. Cole, do you need anything from me before I go?”
Ever since Cole had gone up to the Tilley place, the sheriff had been by his side. In a way, it would be a relief to have him go, but in another way, it made Cole feel like the man was abandoning a sinking ship. “You’ll call me immediately if you hear something?”
“Right. And you’ve got my cell phone number, so you do the same,” McCoy said. “I’ll check in with you in about an hour. Jessie, I’m pleased to see you again and relieved that you’re here.” The sheriff extended a hand.
Cole wondered how McCoy kept from wincing when Jessie shook it. “You couldn’t keep me away,” she said.
Mrs. Gibbs left to show the sheriff out, leaving Cole alone in the kitchen with his sister.
“You’ve talked to Mom and Dad?” Jessie asked.
“Dad. He’s out with the volunteers.”
“Does Sheriff McCoy think the kidnapper might call here?”
“If someone was going to call for a ransom, don’t you think they would have done it by now?” His eyes stung, and he blinked hard.
“I don’t know. I think that could come at any time. If that’s what we’re dealing with.”
Cole didn’t want to imagine what else they could be dealing with. “I can’t stay and do nothing. I’m going to take Bruno out to search. Could you man the phone here at the house?”
“Okay. Where’s Angela?”
“In her room. She blames me for not being here when Sophie got home from school.” Cole shook his head and looked at the floor. “Which I wasn’t.”
“Geez, Cole. You’re not Superman. You can’t always be everywhere.”
Mrs. Gibbs reentered the room. “That’s the God’s honest truth.”
Jessie turned to Mrs. Gibbs. “Did Angela have any dinner?”
“Not unless she ate from the tray I took up to her.”
“I’ll go see.” Jessie left the room and headed upstairs.
Cole hoped Angela’s aunt could bring comfort to her, because he sure couldn’t.
In the den, the dogs kicked up a fuss and rushed the entryway as the front door slammed shut. Having not heard a knock, Cole hurried to where Bruno and Belle stood, barking.
The doorbell rang.
Someone tried to enter, but the dogs stopped him. An intruder, his parents, Sophie’s kidnapper? None seemed likely. He peered through the door’s peephole.
Olivia?
“Bruno, Belle, quiet. Sit. Stay.” Both dogs settled, obedient but watchful, and he opened the door.
Olivia stood on the step wrapped in a navy woolen pea coat, a chill breeze lifting her shoulder-length blond hair. Her blue eyes—which Cole had always thought matched the color of Colorado columbine—were reddened and showed her fatigue. Seeing the mother of his children standing on his porch as if she didn’t belong almost shattered what little reserves he had left.
“Olivia,” he breathed.
“What on earth are those dogs doing in the house?” she demanded.
Cole had always catered to her aversion to having pets in the house, even though some of his fondest memories growing up as a kid included his dogs.
“The kids have pets now, Liv.” He opened the door wide. “Come in.”
Olivia stepped across the threshold, eyeing the two large dogs, who in turn eyed her back. “Are they mean?”
“Just protective.” No need to divulge the part about Bruno’s attack training. “You surprised them.”
“Where were these protective dogs when Sophie disappeared? And while we’re on it, where were you, Cole?”
He had nothing he could say.
The anger in Olivia’s eyes pierced him. “How could you lose my baby? Can’t I trust you to take care of our kids?”
“Don’t blame him.” Angie’s voice rang out from behind him. “It’s not his fault.”
Cole found it hard to believe his ears, but nevertheless, it came as a small bit of relief to hear Angie defend him.
Olivia’s anger melted as she extended her hand toward their daughter. “Angela . . .”
Jessie came into the room from behind Angie. “Olivia,” she said, surprise on her face. “We didn’t know you were coming. Come in. Can I take your coat?”
As if unable to look away, Olivia stared at her daughter. Angie stood rooted in the archway between kitchen and den, and her mother gradually withdrew her outstretched hand. “How are you, sweetheart?” she said in a hushed voice.
Angie’s face hardened. “What do you care?”
Cole felt trapped between mother and daughter. Considering Angie’s current level of distress, this was a poor time for a reunion. But still, this was his child’s mother, and she deserved her daughter’s respect. He lifted his hand in restraint. “Angie, please.”
Olivia sent him a hateful glance. “You’ve turned her against me.”
“You’re the one that did that! Dad does nothing but defend you. What are you doing here?”
Although he could have guessed at the answer himself—no mother who loved her children could stay away when one of them went missing—he thought it a fair question and decided to let Olivia field it.
“Your dad called to see if I had Sophie. I was so worried, I had to come.”
“You never worried about Sophie before. You didn’t care that she’s just a little kid and she wants you and she cries herself to sleep and—”
“Angela, that’s enough,” Cole said, cutting off her tirade and going to her with his arms outstretched. “This isn’t the time for this discussion.”
Angie met his gaze and her eyes filled. “But Dad, she can’t just walk in here and expect . . .”
“Shh.” Cole drew her into a hug, and her last words were muffled against his chest. Her shoulders heaved as she began to sob. Fighting his own tears, he sensed that Olivia remained frozen by the front door.
He’d made such a mess of things. He tilted his head back as he held his child.
Where are you, Sophie? Where are you, baby girl?
Angie pushed away from his chest. Still sobbing, she ran up the stairway to her room, slamming the door behind her. Jessie gave him a fortifying look before turning to follow. “I’ll go to her. You two need time to talk.”
Talking was the right thing to do, and he didn’t need his sister to say it, but what he wanted most right now was to go out and search for Sophie. He turned to his ex-wife, who looked wilted and broken as she leaned against the front door.
It surprised him to realize how much his feelings had changed. A year ago, he’d begged this woman to stay with him and ached to hold her in his arms. Back then, he would have done anything to soothe her, but tonight, he felt nothing—just a tired recognition that she was as stressed and worried as he was. If he felt anything at all, it was sympathy.
“She hates me,” Olivia said, hugging her coat tightly closed.
“She doesn’t hate you. She’s mad because you’ve shut her out these past months.”
Tears rolled down her cheeks, and she dashed them away. “Is it all right if I come in?”
“Of course.” Feeling awkward, Cole gestured toward the den. “Come in and sit.”
Together they walked into the den, and they stood beside the overstuffed leather sofa and armchairs, but neither of them sat.