Even Now by Karen Kingsbury Page B

small case of the sniffles, probably something all little babies dealt with in the first few months of life. And if she came down with a real full-blown cold, they could stop at any supermarket along the way to California and find something to help her.
    The next morning Lauren’s father left early, without saying good-bye. Her mother checked in and reported that she was spending the day with the interior decorator.
    “We’re accessorizing today. Looking at a few of the local boutiques.” Her mother gave her a tentative smile. “You’re not still upset about your father’s situation at the bank, are you?” She paused, the corners of her lips locked in an upward lift. “You and Shane will connect one of these days real soon. We’ll help you.”
    “How, Mom?” She had Emily cradled in her arms. Her suitcases were packed and in the closet. “I don’t have his phone number, and he doesn’t have mine.” She narrowed her eyes. “Where exactly does he live? Do you know that?”
    Her mother’s shoulders lowered a little. “Los Angeles. That’s all they told me.”
    “Okay, what about his dad’s business? He had investments in LA, so what are they? Where are they?”
    “Gas stations, I think. And a small airport, maybe.” She bit her lip. “At least I think so.”
    “You see?” She made a sound that was part laugh, part moan. “Why say we’ll connect soon? Shane found Daddy’s bank, which is pretty good with nothing to go on, don’t you think?”
    Her eyes fell to the floor, but she nodded. “Yes. Yes, it was.”
    “So he found it, and then someone tells him it’s not the right bank. No one there by the name of Bill Anderson.” She kept her voice calm so it wouldn’t wake Emily. “What makes you think I’ll be able to find Shane now?”
    A pair of robins sang from a tree outside her window. Her mother looked up and gave the slightest shrug. “I’ve been asking myself the same thing all night.” She hugged her arms tight around her waist. “Honestly, Lauren, I don’t know. I have to believe he’ll find you, but I don’t know how.”
    “Maybe if our phone number was listed.” She hated the sarcasm in her voice. It made her feel ugly and jaded, like a world of distance lay between her and her mom.
    “Lauren — ” her mother sighed — “you know we can’t list our number, not with your dad’s involvement at the bank. We’ve never been listed, and neither have the Galanters.”
    It was all she needed to hear. She had to go to Shane. Whether he was in California or on the moon, she had to find him. She held Emily closer. “I love you, Mother, and I always will.” Her voice cracked. “But I can’t believe what you and Daddy have done to me.”
    Her mom came to her then and placed her arms around Lauren and Emily, holding them tight. When she drew back, she looked deep into her eyes, “I love you too, honey. I’m sorry. Really.”
    She turned and walked away. When Lauren heard the front door close behind her, she stood and set Emily down in her crib. With her heart in her throat, she added a few more items to each suitcase. All of Emily’s clothes, and more than enough for herself.
    As she left the room, a suitcase in each hand, she stopped and looked back. She scanned the room, taking in her box of short stories and photo albums, her yearbooks and souvenirs from a childhood that ended far too quickly. She could always come back for those things once she found Shane.
    The only memento she packed was a framed photograph of her and Shane, something she would set next to her bed so that wherever the next place was she called home, she would be driven every day to find him.
    Only then would she send for the rest of her things.
    She packed the car with the suitcases, then came back for Emily. She left a note in Emily’s crib that said simply, “Gone to meet Shane. I’ll call when I find him. Love, Lauren.”
    By four that afternoon they were three hundred miles out of Wheaton.