Georgia let out a humorless laugh. “How could they?” Oh, Georgia. She still saw herself as that damaged, unwanted girl. An ugly reject. An unlovable castoff. He had seen himself in a similar light for a very long time. It had been an awakening, a long-awaited miracle to find out he wasn’t the loathsome mistake he’d been taught to believe he was. To discover that a person like Scarlett Lattimore could find him worthy. But it was his decision to choose her word over the lies of all those who had manipulated him so terribly. And he hoped to God someday Georgia and Mason would be able to do the same.
“Easily,” he said softly but with great surety. He looked at Mason, who watched them from where he stood. “I think it was a mistake to think that by recreating our situation on our terms, it would give us power, help us move on.” He bit at his lip for a moment. “I think instead it would’ve just left us stuck in the past. Forever those three invisible children. You deserve more, Georgia. We all do.”
Georgia let out a slow breath, giving him the ghost of a smile.
Mason came to sit down on the other side of her, wrapping his arms around her shoulders. He nodded to Camden who did the same.
After a moment, Georgia let out a sniffy laugh. “You’re crushing me.”
Camden sat up on a smile, his phone dinging from his pocket. He stood as Mason grabbed a tissue and started blotting at Georgia’s eyes as she let out a teary laugh.
Camden looked down at his text, everything inside him stopping cold.
CHAPTER THIRTY-NINE
Camden raised his fist, banging on the door. He heard footsteps rushing toward it and a moment later Scarlett flung the door open, her expression frantic.
“How long has she been gone?”
“Hours.” She wrung her hands together. “I told her she could go out and play in the yard.” She shook her head. “This is my fault. I got distracted with the damn wallpaper and then some designs I was working on and by the time I looked up, it was getting dark. I went out to call her in and it was like she’d just . . . disappeared.” Oh Jesus, Scarlett. Her face crumpled and Camden stepped forward, taking her in his arms, but just as quickly letting go. Time was of the essence.
“We’re going to find her.” The alternative was too unthinkable.
She bobbed her head, swallowing, her face awash in misery. Fuck fuck fuck! He felt sick with worry, desperate to find that little girl. “I went out to the woods. She’s always been so cautious. I couldn’t imagine that she went farther than the tree line. I called and called . . .” A small sob came up her throat but she quickly gained control of herself. “I didn’t dare go any deeper into the woods and get lost myself.”
“Okay. Listen, we’re going to have to form a search party.”
“My God, Cam, this is exactly what happened to Kandace. She walked out into those woods and was never seen again.”
“That’s not going to happen.” And yet even as he said it, a ball of lead formed in his gut. Don’t go there. Chances are she just wandered away and lost her bearings. She’s out there right now, curled up under a tree, waiting to be rescued.
Cam brought his phone from his pocket, but Scarlett grabbed his forearm, halting him. “Can we trust them, Cam? They might be behind Kandace’s disappearance. What if—”
He ground his jaw. “We have no choice. We need lights, equipment. We need as many hands on deck as possible if we have any chance of finding her.”
She bobbed her head again, her eyes filled with terror. He wanted to yell, to claw at something, to run out into the woods right this second and start screaming bloody murder for Haddie to please, please come home. And he knew what he was feeling was nothing compared to what Scarlett was experiencing.
He’d only dialed three digits when the door swung open. They both whipped around to see Haddie, disheveled and covered in dirt, the hem of her dress mostly detached and hanging down around her dusty calves, standing in the doorway.
Scarlett let out a strangled yelp, flying to where Haddie stood and going down on her knees in front of her. For a moment, Camden watched as Scarlett ran her hands over Haddie’s face, over her head, down her shoulders