Holden is sitting quietly next to Tennessee, his attention solely focused out the window of the plane as he watches the clouds and the land beneath us. Reaching out across the extremely narrow aisle, I take Tennessee’s hand in mine and give her a squeeze.
“Hansen didn’t tell you something that you’re keeping from me, did he?” she asks, again.
I shake my head, my eyes finding hers, and I hold her gaze with my own. “He didn’t. He’s been working with the local law enforcement, I know that much, but that’s all.”
“I’m really scared,” she breathes.
Using my thumb, I run the pad along the length of her engagement ring, then move it from side to side on her finger feeling the cool diamond as I think about her fears, because I share them with her, but I don’t want to say that aloud.
“Everything will be okay,” I lie.
She doesn’t say anything and luckily, it’s almost time to land, so even if we were to talk, it’s too loud to hear one another without yelling. Closing my eyes for a moment, I lean my head back against the headrest of my seat.
Keeping hold of Tennessee’s hand, I take a moment to just breathe. Pretty soon we’ll be on the ground in Oklahoma, and then we’re going to find out the truth of what is going on with Helen. At least I hope that we do, because honestly, this seems truly bizarre.
It’s one thing after another and all those things have been tied to Susan and our now final divorce. I don’t want to believe that Susan would hurt Helen, but that’s the only thing going through my mind right now.
When the plane lands, I stand and help Holden and Tennessee off of the plane. Hansen is waiting for us on the tarmac, a rented black SUV behind him. Lifting my hand, I give him a small wave as I gather the bags.
Tennessee doesn’t give me a second glance as she runs toward him. It should bother me that she’s literally running toward another man, but in this instance, it doesn’t, not at all.
Once I have everything gathered, I thank the pilot and let him know that I’ll call him when we’re ready to go home. He dips his chin, then turns from me as I make my way toward Tennessee and Hansen.
“Tell me everything,” I hear Tennessee urge as I approach.
Hansen’s gaze flicks up to meet mine, then he shifts it back to hers. “Let’s get you settled in the hotel, then we’ll go over everything over lunch?” he suggests.
Tennessee looks back over her shoulder at me, her eyes are watery and I can tell it’s taking everything inside of her to hold back her tears. She shifts back to look at Hansen and nods her head at his suggestion.
Once we’re loaded in the SUV, I’m impressed to see that Hansen even has a car seat for Holden. I climb in the front seat and Hansen drives us to the hotel. I can’t help but wonder what exactly he’s discovered on this trip. It has to be something, otherwise he wouldn’t have been so secretive.
He knows something.
Once we’re in the hotel, the bags have been dropped off in our room and I grab a water from the fridge. I decide to order room service for lunch. There’s a six-person dining room table in here, so we’re going to go over all of this in private.
“Holden passed out,” Tennessee says as she closes one of the bedroom doors behind her.
I open my arms, setting the phone on the hook after talking to the front desk. Hansen is going through his briefcase at the table and gathering whatever he’s going to talk to us about, but I only have eyes for Tennessee.
“You okay, honey?” I ask.
She wraps her arms around my shoulders and touches her lips to my neck. “No, I’m not,” she whispers.
Sliding my hand up the center of her back, I twist my fingers in her hair at the nape of her neck and gently tug her head backward. “You will be,” I rasp.
“Will I?”
I don’t smile. There is nothing happy about this moment, about living in this unknown. There won’t be any smiles until we know the truth. Until we know where Helen is. Until we find her. Until we know exactly what the fuck is going on.
“Yeah, honey. We’ll both be okay. Give me a kiss?”
Her lips twitch into a small smile and press together.