A Daddy for Jacoby(68)

“And that makes it okay?”

Justin sighed, crossed his arms over his chest. “I don’t know what’s okay anymore.”

“You’re not our father.” Racy’s voice was soft. “You would never raise a hand to your son.”

He turned to look at his sister. “I’ve been thinking about that, too—Dad, our childhood—over the last week. Deep inside, I know I’m not like him. Having Jacoby in my life has made it confusing and frustrating at times, but I’ve never felt anything close to anger toward him.”

“So why are you thinking about sending him away?” Maggie asked.

“Because I want to do what’s best for him. Richard and Elizabeth can provide him with a loving and stable home—”

“So can you! Jacoby has family here, too.” Racy stood. “Gage and I love him to pieces and he’s already calling Gage’s mom Nana Steele.”

That surprised him. “He is?”

“Justin, I hope I’m not overstepping my bounds, but I know how important grandparents, or great-grandparents, can be in a child’s life,” Maggie spoke up. “I’m thankful every day that Nana B. found me and is here for Anna. She’s a wonderful influence and has helped me tremendously in raising my daughter. Being a single parent is hard, but you aren’t alone. We are all here to help and the Ellsworths can, too, as his grandparents.”

“Do you love Jacoby?” Racy asked.

“More than my own life,” Justin replied without hesitation.

“Do you want him to stay?”

He placed his hands on his hips, pulled in a deep breath and went with what was in his heart. “Yes, but—”

The sound of Maggie’s daughter calling for her mom had him cutting off his words. The little girl raced up the stairs from the lower level, a frown on her face.

“What’s wrong, honey?” Maggie asked.

“Is Jacoby up here? We were playing hide-and-seek and he told me to count to two hundred because he had a really good hiding spot, but I’ve been looking and looking and I can’t find him.”

Alarm crawled into Justin’s throat, making it impossible to speak. Gut instinct told him this wasn’t good.

Stay calm. Just stay calm.

Maggie looked at her daughter. “When did you last see him?”

“A while ago,” Anna said. “When we came inside to go to the bathroom.”

“Isn’t Jack with him?” Racy asked.

“Nope. He kept giving away our hiding spots, so we put him inside. He’s lying under the pool table.”

Justin swung around to look out the windows. The sun was gone and it was growing darker by the minute. He looked at his watch. Had he really been talking for forty-five minutes?

Talking— Dammit, had Jacoby overheard their conversation?

“We’ll all look for him.” Racy stood. “Justin, check with Gage and Landon. Maybe Jacoby is with them looking at the motorcycle.”

A silent prayer winged its way heavenward as Justin headed for the stairs. He burst into the garage, his stomach dropping to his feet at finding only the two men there. He quickly relayed what had happened. Gage grabbed a couple of flashlights from a nearby workbench. The three men went outside to search the woods while the women searched the house.

Justin stomped through the woods calling out his son’s name, but all he heard was Gage and Landon doing the same. There was no sign of Jacoby. They met back at the stone patio outside the lower-level family room.

“Where the hell could he be?” Justin spat out the words, shoving the panic down hard into his gut. “Where could he have gone?”

“His pillowcase is missing,” Racy said, stepping outside to join them. “He left it near the front door when we came in.”

Locking his knees to keep himself standing, Justin pulled in a deep breath through his nose.

Jacoby had run away. But where? And why?

“Okay, this is what we’re going to do,” Gage spoke with quiet authority. “Maggie will stay here with Anna in case he comes back. Justin, go to the cabin. Maybe he went there. Racy, Landon and I will take separate vehicles and check in town, covering the diner, the library and the playgrounds.”

“Do you really think he’s made it to town?” Landon asked.

“It’s been roughly thirty minutes since Anna last saw him, closer to an hour since Justin watched the kids through the window,” Gage said. “We’ll meet at my office. If anyone finds him, call me, and I’ll call Justin.”