Baby, Come Home

by Stephanie Bond

  “I said I don’t want to!” He turned to Emily and gave her a brief hug. “Goodbye, Grandma.” Then he took off running down the road toward where their SUV was parked.

  Amy looked at Emily and lifted her hands.

  “We could hear you arguing,” Emily said.

  Amy closed her eyes. “Oh. Okay, will you tell Kendall that we’re leaving in the morning at seven. If he’s in front of the boardinghouse, I’ll make sure he gets to say goodbye to Tony.”

  “I will,” Emily said. “Goodbye, Amy. And good luck.”

  Amy accepted her warm hug. “When are you going back to Calhoun?”

  “Tonight. Marcus is coming by in a few minutes to pick me up.”

  “I’ll make sure Tony calls you often, Emily.”

  “Thank you, dear.”

  Amy hurried to the SUV where Tony was waiting, his face sullen. When she climbed in, she said, “Are you sure you don’t want to say goodbye to your father?”

  “I’m sure.”

  “Okay. Maybe you’ll feel differently in the morning.”

  33

  Between thinking about Kendall and worrying about the trip home, Amy didn’t sleep a wink. When daylight began to bleed through the window, she gave up all pretense of trying and got up to take a cold shower to get her awake enough to drive.

  Her stomach muscles and her chest ached from crying. All night she’d replayed everything that Kendall had ever said to her…I need you…I want you…I admire you…we have Tony.

  Not once had he ever told her that he loved her, or made her feel as if she had input into their future plans. Or heaven forbid, suggest that they mold their life around her career or her needs. She realized Kendall’s seeming fixation on Sweetness was a big reason she had developed such an aversion to the place. It wasn’t so much the town as much as what it represented.

  Dominance. Power. Control.

  She’d fought hard to be independent, to show her son that with hard work, anything was possible. She wasn’t going to be absorbed into Kendall’s life, not now. It was his strength that had drawn her to Kendall, but now his strength was driving her away.

  She toweled off and dressed in comfortable driving clothes, then packed her toiletries and tucked her robe and gown into her suitcase. She glanced at her watch. They still had a few minutes. She glanced around the room thinking she would miss some aspects of being here.

  Kendall.

  From the dresser her cell phone rang. She glanced at the caller ID, surprised to see Michael Thoms calling so early on a weekend. She connected the call. “This is Amy.”

  “Amy, hi, it’s Michael Thoms. Sorry to call so early, I thought I’d get your voice mail. I’m going to be out most of this week, so I just wanted to leave a couple of admin items for you to take care of when you get in the office.”

  She wrote down the names of the people in Human Resources she needed to report to, and where to call to get the copies of the files she needed to bring her up to speed on the project.

  “That’s it,” he said. “I’m looking forward to working with you.”

  “Same here. I really appreciate the opportunity to show you what I can do.”

  “Hey, with the glowing report your last employer gave you I was almost afraid not to hire you. The guy told me I’d be an idiot if I didn’t snap you up.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Really?”

  “Yeah. I normally don’t tell applicants about their reference comments, but this guy was adamant that I hire you. Armstrong, I think was his name, Kendall Armstrong.”

  Kendall? “Oh…okay, good to know.”

  “I’ll see you later in the week.”

  Amy disconnected the call, and sat holding the phone, not sure what to make of Kendall’s aggressive recommendation. Maybe it was his way of saving face. He’d asked her to stay in Sweetness but was he secretly hoping she’d leave? Because he realized he didn’t want to have a life with her, or because being a father to a belligerent boy was too daunting?

  Or both?

  Amy puffed out her cheeks. At least she could feel good about her decision to go. When tears threatened, she sniffed them back. There would be plenty of time for crying later. She’d been through this before.

  She walked to the window and looked down to find Kendall’s black extended-cab pickup sitting there, waiting. Emily had given him the message. Now Amy wished she hadn’t offered because no matter what, it meant she had to talk to him again.

  She wheeled her suitcases to the door, hoping she’d catch Nikki downstairs to say goodbye. She left her room and quietly made her way down the hall to Tony’s. She hoped he’d gotten more sleep than she had, or he’d be cranky all the way home.

  She knocked on his door lightly, waited a few seconds and knocked again. When he didn’t answer, she made a rueful noise. He’d probably overslept. She tamped down irritation. If they got started a little late, it wasn’t the end of the world. It was just that right now, she felt like she couldn’t get out of Sweetness fast enough.

  She tried the knob and realized it wasn’t locked. Chiding his carelessness, she opened the door, knocking again.

  “Tony?” she whispered. His room was dark. “Time to get up.”

  She felt for the light switch and turned it on. He was buried under the covers. “Hey, get up sleepy-head,” she said, giving him a poke.

  But she didn’t hit flesh—only fluff. She flung back the covers to discover his bed had been stuffed with pillows. “Tony?”

  She ran for the bathroom. It was empty. She yanked open the closet door to look for his backpack, but his closet was empty, and his backpack was gone.

  Tony was gone.

  Frantic, she ran back to the door, then saw the note taped to it.

  Mom, don’t worry about me. I know you don’t want to be around Dad and if I’m not around, you won’t have to. I’ll be okay. Love, Tony

  Amy closed her eyes. Dear God, where had he gone this time? And how much of a head start had he gotten? Her mind spun and her stomach rolled. She ran back to her room and grabbed up her cell phone, then dialed his number. He didn’t answer.

  “This is Tony. At the beep, well, you know what to do.”

  “Tony,” she said, not bothering to keep the panic out of her voice, “wherever you are, stop, get to a safe place and call me.” She disconnected the call and sent him a text, which he didn’t answer.

  She needed help. She needed Kendall. Amy tore out of the room and down the stairs, heedless of the noise she made. She ran down the hallway, through the great room and burst out the front door.

  Kendall spotted her and got out, then ran to her, cupping her face. “What’s wrong?”

  She was crying. “Tony’s gone! He ran away again.”

  He looked anguished. “Do you know when?”

  “No. I just found this,” she said, extending the note.

  Kendall scanned the note, then he crushed it into a ball. “Get in. Did you try calling him?”

  “And texting him,” she said, climbing in, then closing the door. “It rolled to voice mail and he didn’t respond.”

  “Can you think of where he’d go?”

  “Back to Broadway, maybe. What if he made it out to the highway and he’s hitchhiking again?”

  “Do you think he would’ve stolen a car?”

  “No, he doesn’t know how to drive yet. But what if he took off on a four-wheeler?”

  Kendall put the truck back in Park, then jumped out and sprinted down the side path where the ATVs were usually parked.

  He came running back. “One’s missing—he could’ve taken it… I didn’t see anyone else take it out while I was sitting outside. If he’s heading for the interstate, maybe he was planning to ditch it there and hitchhike.”

  “Hitchhike where?” she shrieked. “From the note, it sounds like he’s not going home.”

  Then they looked at each other.

  “Mom’s,” he said.

  “Your mother’s,” she said at the sam
e time.

  Kendall pulled out his phone. “I’ll call Mom to alert her. You call 911 and let the state police know to be looking for a hitchhiker on Interstate 75 Southbound between the exit for Route 7 and Calhoun, Georgia.”

  While she recited details about Tony’s age and description over the phone to the 911 operator, Kendall snapped his phone closed.

  “He’s not there,” he said quietly, “but Mom is calling the local police and they’ll be on the lookout.”

  As he steered the pickup out of town and toward the interstate, Amy kept her eyes peeled for any sight of Tony on a four-wheeler. Her heart was pounding. She couldn’t keep the tears at bay.

  Kendall reached over to squeeze her knee. “We’ll find him. This is all my fault. He did this to protect you from me.”

  “He’s confused,” she said.

  “If I hadn’t been such an ass about everything, he wouldn’t feel like he needed to do this. I’ve been angry and bitter, and it stops now. I’m so sorry. I love you, Amy, but if you or Tony don’t want anything to do with me, then I’ll just back away and leave you alone.”

  Amy blinked. “What did you say?”

  “I said I’ll just back away if that’s what you want.”

  “Before that.”

  He frowned. “I love you?”

  Her eyebrows when up. “Is that a question?”

  “No…I love you.”

  Amy lifted her hands. “When did you decide that you loved me?’

  He frowned. “Is this a joke? I’ve always loved you.”

  She was incredulous. “You’ve never said those words.”

  “But…you knew. Didn’t you?”

  “How would I know, Kendall, if you didn’t tell me?”

  “By the way I kissed you? Held you? Made love to you?”

  “No, I never knew, not for sure. You said everything but I love you, so I just thought that meant you didn’t. And when you didn’t come after me—”

  “You told me not to. I found out what city you lived in, but that’s as far as I dug.”

  “You knew where I lived, but you didn’t try to contact me?”

  “Not directly, but why do you think I posted that ad in your paper?”

  She frowned. “You posted it? I thought Marcus did.”

  “No. He told me to handle the ad. I put it in the Broadway newspaper because…I was hoping to lure you back home.”

  “You did?” Amy could scarcely believe her ears.

  “But now I know that home is wherever you and Tony are. I told Marcus and Porter last night that I’m pulling out of the Sweetness partnership. I’ll move anywhere to be close to you.”

  Amy’s mind reeled. It was too much to process. She couldn’t think straight until they found Tony.

  “There’s the four-wheeler,” Kendall said, pointing to the right and slowing down.

  Her heart skipped a beat. “He’s not on it?”

  “Probably ran out of gas. He’s on foot.” He looked over to her. “Let’s hope no one’s picked him up yet.”

  She scanned both sides of the road, terrified now that she knew he intended to hitchhike again. She looked over at Kendall, so grateful he was with her.

  “Look, over there. There’s something,” he said, pointing and leaning forward. “Yes, that’s him. That’s Tony.”

  34

  At the sight of his son on the side of the road, Kendall was almost weak with relief.

  Amy started crying in earnest.

  He reached over to squeeze her again. “Told you we’d find him.”

  She covered his hand with hers. “Thank you.”

  Kendall swallowed hard. Why was she thanking him when it was his fault in the first place that Tony had run? But for the moment, he just wanted to let her enjoy the fact that her son was okay.

  And let his own heart rate get back to normal. Even though he’d been in some jams, various overseas skirmishes that he’d had to shoot himself out of, this was the most terrified he’d ever been. The fact that Amy dealt with this kind of parental stress day in and day out proved how amazing she was.

  And he was ready to help shoulder that burden if she would let him. The talk with his brothers hadn’t been nearly as hard as he thought it would be. They were disappointed that he was pulling out of the Sweetness project, but they understood the fact that he had higher priorities now.

  As they drove closer, Tony turned toward them and stuck out his thumb. Kendall put on his signal and slowed. At first Tony smiled, but when he realized who was driving, his smile faded.

  Kendall pulled the truck alongside him. Amy zoomed down the window, then jerked her thumb toward the extended-cab seat. “Get in.”

  “Mom, I—”

  “Get in the vehicle…now.”

  He frowned, his mouth jutting. “How long am I grounded for this time?”

  “Your children are now grounded,” she said.

  Kendall had to turn his head to smother a smile.

  Tony climbed in and settled in the seat behind them, still not making eye contact with Kendall. “I was trying to do you a favor,” he said to his mother, then cut his gaze to Kendall.

  “Don’t you do me any favors,” she said. “I raised you, remember? I can take care of myself.”

  “But he makes you cry!” Tony said, lurching forward in his seat.

  “Your father can make me cry because…” Amy said, looking at Kendall. “Because I love him.”

  Kendall’s heart swelled with hope that maybe he hadn’t burned every bridge with Amy.

  “But I heard you tell him you were going back to Broadway and you wanted to forget about him.”

  “I tried that once before,” Amy said. “It didn’t work.”

  Tony grunted. “I don’t know what that means.”

  “It means,” Amy said, “that I’ve changed my mind. How would you feel about you and I staying in Sweetness with your dad and being a family?”

  Kendall was so happy, he had to slow down to take it all in. But he was holding his breath for Tony’s answer.

  “What about your big job?” Tony asked Amy.

  “I have a job in Sweetness—sidewalks. And whatever else needs to be done.”

  Tony frowned, finally looking at Kendall. “Are you going to marry her?”

  “I don’t know,” Kendall said, then he looked at Amy. “Will you marry me?”

  “Yes.”

  Kendall grinned, then looked back to Tony. “Yes, I’m going to marry her.”

  “When?”

  “As soon as your uncle Porter gets a church built.”

  Tony stuck his head between their seats. “Does this mean you’re going to start having sex again?”

  Kendall glanced at Amy, then back to Tony. “It looks that way.”

  “Can I have two brothers? No sisters, just brothers.”

  “We’ll take that under advisement,” Amy said.

  Tony looked back and forth between them. “And does this mean we can all be Armstrongs now?”

  Kendall decided to let Amy take that one.

  “Yes,” Amy said. “After we’re married, I think we should all be Armstrongs.”

  “Tony Armstrong,” Tony said, testing the sound of it. He nodded. “I like it.”

  They were on the long approach back into town, when they came up on a sign that read, Welcome to Sweetness, Georgia.

  Kendall reached over to squeeze her hand. “Welcome home, baby.”

  She leaned over and kissed him. Kendall didn’t think it was possible to be so happy. He made a vow at that moment that he would do his best to make her that happy, too.

  ISBN: 978-1-4592-0763-9

  BABY, COME HOME

  Copyright © 2011 by Stephanie Bond, Inc.

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