Page 72 of Far from Destined
Macon
I sat there holdingthe woman as she wept in my arms, her whole body shaking.
“I’m so sorry, Mrs. Roth.”
“I’m sorry, too, but he has to be okay.”
I nodded, knowing that Coco still had more time. But this wasn’t easy. Coco was the sweetest and most precious pug I had ever met. With wide eyes and a sunny disposition. And at even seven years old, it seemed far too young. But he had determination and resilience, and we were going to do everything we could.
The problem was, Mrs. Roth had cancer herself, and the two of them would be fighting their illnesses side by side. We would do everything we could to keep everybody safe and comfortable and here with us, but I knew it wouldn’t be easy. This was the hardest part of my job, and I hated that sometimes I didn’t feel strong enough. I just hoped that today we were.
“Excuse me,” Jeremy said, clearing his throat.
Jeremy never interrupted during these meetings, nor did I. So I knew whatever he had to say must be an emergency.
“I’m so sorry,” Jeremy repeated. “There’s a phone call for you, Macon, and you need to take it.”
Chills swept over me, and I swallowed hard. “Who is it?”
“It’s the bakery. You need to answer the phone. Mrs. Roth? Come on, let me get you some coffee.”
“Oh, I hope everything’s okay,” the older woman said, wiping her tears. “It’s Dakota’s shop, right? She has the best bakery.”
The big small town that is Boulder… Everybody knows everybody else’s business, I thought. I made my way to the phone after giving Miss Roth another hug and a tissue and frowned when I heard Pop’s voice on the other line.
“What is it?” I asked, my heart racing. Flashbacks hit me, and I pushed them out. This was not about me or my insecurities and memories.
“It’s Dakota. You need to get here.”
“What’s wrong?” I growled.
“She’s on the phone with the police right now. The school called. It’s Joshua. Someone took him.”
My mind went fuzzy, and I tried to catch up. “What?”
“I don’t have any answers. I’m just listening to this secondhand. She doesn’t even know I’m calling you. I figured she’d call you next, but you just need to be here, okay?”
I was already slipping into my jacket and grabbing my things before she finished speaking. “I’m on my way. Tell her I’m on my way.”
“Okay. Just get here. She’s so scared.”
I didn’t tell her that I was scared, too. Though that had to be obvious in my voice. I couldn’t process any of it. Because that little boy had to be okay. And if he wasn’t? I was going to kill Adam with my bare hands.
I gritted my teeth and looked at Jeremy, who stood in the doorway. “Someone’s taken Joshua. Or he left school without telling anyone. We don’t know. I need to get to Dakota.”
Jeremy’s face lost its color. “Go. I’ve got this. Tell us if you need anything. Do you need me to call your brothers? Hell. Do you need me to drive?”
My hands shook, and I took a deep breath, counted to ten, then remembered what I needed to do to calm myself. “No, I’ve got this. I’ll call in the cavalry on the way. Just take care of Mama Cat and her babies for me, and our patients.”
At that, my heart broke again. The kitties needed Joshua, just like I did. Just like Dakota did.
We needed to find him.
“You’ve got it. Call me if you have an update. Or…fuck, I’ll call Cross. Don’t even worry about this place. We’ve got it handled.”
I nodded, knowing the practice was in safe hands…and I ran.
My heart racedas I did my best not to drive off the road on my way to the Boulder Bean. I used my Bluetooth to call my family, my hands shaking as I made my way to Dakota.