Read Online Family for Keeps & Sadie's Hero by Margaret Daley - Free Book Online Page A

weren’t too safe.”
    “Delise, I’m—” Tess pivoted to face her friend and halted in midsentence. Mac stood behind her roommate. “I’m a big girl. I can take care of myself.” Some of her words lost their punch as she stared at Mac.
    Delise glanced over her shoulder at him. “I’m glad you’re here. Talk some sense into her. She won’t listen to me. She shouldn’t go out by herself looking for Johnny.”
    “What happened to Johnny? Did he run away?”
    Tess nodded.
    “How long ago?”
    “Two days.” Seeing Mac made Tess’s heart lift. Somehow she knew things would be okay.
    “I’ll go with you. When are you off?”
    “In an hour. Why are you here?”
    “I brought Casey in for an interview about that unit secretary’s job. You should have called me and told me about Johnny disappearing two days ago.”
    “I—” Tess didn’t have anything to say to that gentle scolding. She’d dialed his number once and hung up. She’d known he would help and that he would want to know about the child’s disappearance, but she didn’t think she could handle being around Mac. He overwhelmed her, and this situation with Johnny made her emotionally vulnerable.
    “Tell you what. I’ll call Mrs. Hocks, talk to her and see what I can find out. Then I’ll be back to pick you up in an hour. We’ll go from there.”
    “I’ll be ready,” Tess murmured as she watched him stroll away.
    Delise whistled softly. “My, what a take-charge kind of guy. He’s a keeper.”
    And that was what Tess was afraid of. How do you resist an irresistible guy?

     
    “I’ll take some more of that coffee.” Tess held her empty mug out for Mac to refill. “I know it’s April, but it’s cold out there.” A shiver flashed up her spine as she cradled the warm cup between her hands and stared out the windshield. She savored the aroma of the hot brew and relished the steam wafting over her face in waves.
    Then she thought of Johnny, out in the cold by himself, and frowned. “Why did he do it? Leave a safe haven for this?” She gestured toward the vacant parking lot.
    “He thinks he’s alone. We’ll have to show him he’s not.”
    “They’re talking about a chance for snow tonight.” Another shiver assailed her.
    Wind blew the limbs of the trees, shaking the tender new leaves in its angry grasp. Pieces of trash swirled across the deserted parking lot, the glare of the street lamp nearby casting a harsh light about Mac’s car as though it were a spotlight.
    “Where else do you think we should look?” Tess took a tentative sip of the hot coffee.
    “I’m fresh out of ideas. We’ve been to every place Mrs. Hocks could think of. Of course, the police have already checked those places, too, but it didn’t hurt to look again.”
    “And again, if need be.”
    “Tess, you need to prepare yourself in case they don’t find Johnny.” Mac caught her gaze and looked long and hard into her eyes. “He’s street smart. There are a lot of places a kid can hide in this town.”
    “He’s sick and weak. We’ve got to find him.”
    Finishing his coffee, he started the engine. “Then we’d better get moving. We’ll drive around the area where the police found him the last time he ran away. Maybe we’ll get lucky, Lord willing.”
    Tess listened to the strong faith in Mac’s voice and wished she had it. But it hadn’t been the Lord who had rescued her in South America. It had been her hard determination to stay alive in the face of tough odds. That same determination came to the surface as Mac steered his car onto the streets.
    “Johnny’s lucky to have someone like you on his side,” Mac said, making a turn onto the road where the police had found Johnny a few weeks before.
    “I wish I could take him into my home, but as you know, the apartment I share with Delise is small. And besides, we both work quite a bit. Johnny needs someone there for him, especially at the beginning.”
    “Maybe Mrs. Hocks will find a