Love Inspired Suspense April 2021--Box Set 2 of 2 Laura Scott (speed reading book .txt) 📖

Harmless fun. Nothing more.

He continued with his note taking, including the locker room chatter, the good-natured ribbing between the boys about who would score the most points on the field, the game itself, the after-game blow-by-blow account.

And then the ride home.

The excitement of winning the final game of the season. More high fives of buddies congratulating each other and themselves. The excited hum of the cheerleaders, just as thrilled over the score as the players. The promise of a celebratory dinner for just Marie and him.

Everything had been so normal.

Until the bus ran off the bridge and his world had changed forever.

“What am I missing?” The question, directed to the empty room, remained without an answer.

Paige was due to arrive in a few minutes. He’d invite her in, show her the boards, get her take on them. She had a good eye. Maybe she would see what he was missing.

The thought of Paige had his lips curving in a smile. Brett’s little sister had grown up into a beautiful woman.

Liam pushed back the thought. He needed to get his head in the game and off Paige Walker. His life and those of others depended on him doing just that.

FIVE

Paige arrived and was let in by a distracted Liam.

“Come on back.”

A family room, kitchen and dining area combined to make a great room that had Paige envious of the space and the air of casual comfort it promised. Put-your-feet-up furniture and practical hardwood floors said the home was designed for living, not just for show.

Family pictures and what must be the art projects of a five-year-old covered every surface and most of the walls. She wanted to linger over the pictures to absorb the obvious love that existed between Liam and his son, who was blond-haired and looked seriously adorable with an off-center dimple in his chin.

A brightly colored poster caught her attention. A mother bird watched over her babies with the caption What if I fall? Oh, but, my darling, what if you fly? The gentle encouragement in the words caused a pang to settle in her chest as she thought of her relationship with her own parents. They hadn’t so much discouraged her as they had forgotten her. That was somehow worse.

The hurt no longer crippled her as it once had. Now it was only a sore place in her heart, one that had healed but remained tender in the harsh light of examination. She doubted Liam’s son ever felt discouraged or forgotten.

The sense of home here, the comfort and coziness of it, wrapped her in a warm blanket—one she longed to snuggle up in and close out the cares of the day.

Her two-bedroom apartment, littered with moving boxes yet to be unpacked and nothing personal but for a single African violet on a windowsill, looked cold and sterile by comparison. She’d lived there for over a year and had made only half-hearted inroads into settling in.

She had reasons—legitimate reasons, she told herself—why she hadn’t done more than the minimal amount of unpacking. She’d dug through a few boxes as she’d needed items, but aside from a few feeble attempts, she’d done little to turn the apartment into anything but a place to sleep and change clothes.

Work came first. And when she returned home from work, she was exhausted, far too tired to tackle the chore of opening boxes and deciding where to put things.

Also, she wasn’t sure she was going to keep the apartment for very long. Why bother unpacking only to go through the whole process again? she asked herself, conveniently ignoring the fact that she’d been there well over a year now. She recognized the reasons for the excuses they were. In truth, she hadn’t done more because the apartment wasn’t home and never would be.

She’d worked hard to make a home in her condo in Virginia, where she’d been based with the ATF, as she and Ethan had planned to live there after they were married. After he’d died, she knew she couldn’t stay. She’d sold the condo, resigned from her job, and moved to Atlanta for a new job and a new life. She had the job, but her life was in a holding pattern she felt powerless to break.

Liam looked at her strangely. “You okay?”

Startled, she realized she’d lost herself in the past. “What? Oh yeah. Fine. I was just admiring your home. It’s beautiful.”

He glanced around as though seeing the room for the first time. “Hardly beautiful. But it suits Jonah and me.” He gestured to the sofa, where dents in the cushions bore evidence of it being well used. “I’m not much of a decorator. My ex-wife wanted everything perfect, but I’m more of the lived-in style.”

“Me, too.” She took a final look around. “Beautiful,” she repeated, more to herself than to him, and then gave a slight shake of her head, clearing it. She’d spent enough time mooning over what she didn’t have. It was time to get to work.

“This is how I’ve been spending my time,” Liam said and gestured to two huge whiteboards set up by a bank of windows.

Pictures of the bus accident victims and survivors, along with family members, covered one board.

“What do you see?” he asked, then quickly covered his mouth as a yawn escaped.

She glanced at him and frowned.

Dark crescents underscored the bleakness of his eyes, and the skin stretched tighter across his cheekbones. He looked totally drained.

“How much sleep have you gotten in the last few days?” she asked.

“I don’t know. A few hours here and there.”

“You won’t be any good to yourself or to the investigation if you don’t get some shut-eye.”

Anger flashed in his eyes before he gave a jerky nod. “I hear you. Humor me for now and tell me what you see. Then I’ll get some sleep. I promise.”

“I’m holding you to it.” She studied the board again. “Connections. You and Marie. Marie and Reva. Brett and Rosemary. Sam off by