Last First Kiss Read online

  “I’m confused. I mean we used protection,” said Wade, the words barely coming out.

  “Nothing’s 100 percent safe.”

  Wade ran his hands through his hair. “I’m sure you already know I won’t marry you, but I will do the right thing and financially support the baby.”

  Cathy nodded. “I’d also like you to be there at the birth because I had a tough time with delivering Max.”

  The room was turning around and around. He could hardly breathe. How was Soph going to react to this? Now of all times for this had to happen.

  “Sure, you just tell me when and if you need any money for medical bills. You feeling okay?”

  “Lots of morning sickness, but besides that I’m fine.”

  Wade stood. “I need to get home, but I’ll see you tomorrow. Call me anytime you need anything.”

  Wade put his hat back on and left Cathy’s house. He hung his head low as he made his way back to the SUV. He got in and pounded the steering wheel with his fists, sensing if he didn’t stop he’d break every bone in his hands.

  Fuck, if he’d known Sophie was coming back into his life he would never have slept with Cathy. Now he’d gotten her pregnant. He took a deep breath. He was going to be a father. Something he’d always wanted to be but not like this. Sophie was the only mother for his offspring.

  Soph, poor Soph, how was he going to tell her about this latest turn of events?

  ****

  After hearing her grandmother’s comment after she’d returned from the beauty salon, Sophie guessed something was wrong with Wade the moment he’d stepped through the door at Mountainview. Despite the great news that he’d found that Ambrose was blackmailing a couple of people, and therefore a target for a murderer, he’d seemed miles away.

  Sophie even had to twist Wade’s arm to get him to take her to his place.

  She tugged his shirt out of his jeans.

  “Soph, not tonight, okay. I’m really tired after traveling to Denver and back in one day.”

  “You want me to go home?”

  “No, of course not.”

  “Something’s wrong isn’t it?”

  “Oh Soph, is it ever going to work out for you and me?”

  “What are you talking about? Of course it is.”

  “I’ve got something to tell you, and I’m really sorry.”

  “It’s what Grans was talking about, isn’t it?”

  “Emily knows?”

  Wade blushed. She’d only seen him do that a couple of times in his life.

  He sat Sophie on the bed, knelt down, and got hold of both her hands.

  “I went to see Cathy before I drove to Mountainview.”

  He was hesitating. She could see that by his head turning to look at everything but her. He finally turned back and looked her straight in the eye.

  “She’s….

  “She’s what?”

  “She’s pregnant.”

  Sophie sat frozen, stunned, and scared. Maybe it wasn’t Wade’s baby, but she had to know.

  “You’re the father?” She asked hoping she’d hear no, silly, of course not.

  “Yes. Honestly, Soph, I used condoms every single time I slept with her.”

  Soph didn’t know what to say, what to do. If she should flee and hide, throw up, or what.

  “Are you going to marry her?”

  “Oh Soph, that’s the last thing I want to do. I’m going to marry you. I’ll just support the baby, and he or she will need to be part of our lives.”

  “Wade, I don’t think I can do deal with this right now.”

  “Oh honey, I’m so sorry that this had to happen.”

  “I think it’s an omen that we were never meant to be together. First me and Travis and now you and Cathy, an unwanted pregnancy always gets in our way.”

  Sophie couldn’t sit there a moment longer. The room closed in on her, and she could hardly breathe.

  She stood. “Wade, I think I’d like to get some fresh air to clear my head.”

  “You want me to come with you?”

  Sophie shook her head. “Nope, just need some time by myself, and then I’ll be right back.”

  He kissed her lips before she turned toward the door. When she got outside she took a deep breath. It was already dark, so she’d just go to the end of the road and back. She hoped by that time this would have all sunk in and she could go back to Wade, offer him some support, and they could deal with this new development as a couple. But right now she just needed five or ten minutes to process it.

  ****

  Wade paced up and down in his living room. Had Sophie changed her mind about coming back to his house? She didn’t have a car to go any place because he’d driven her here. She’d told him she was only going out for a short walk, but that was over thirty minutes ago. Maybe she’d used that as an excuse to simply walk out of him. Perhaps she’d gone all the way back to her grandmother’s house.

  Wade pulled his cell phone down from one of the shelves on the bookcase and dialed Emily’s number.

  “Hello, Emily Richardson.”

  “Emily, it’s Wade. Is Sophie there?”

  “No, she’s with you isn’t she?”

  “I had some bad news to tell her, and she went out for a walk and hasn’t come back.”

  “Do you think I should come over or go look for her?”

  “No, no, I’m sure there’s a simple explanation for why she’s been gone so long. I’ll just get in my car and drive around a bit and leave a note on the door for her.”

  “Wade, you’ll let me know either way.”

  “Of course.”

  He pressed the end call button and nibbled on his bottom lip.

  Fuck, if anything had happened to her, he’d kill himself.

  He dug into the back pocket of his jeans and pulled out the keys to his SUV. He wrote a quick note telling Sophie that he was out looking for her and should she return to the house, to stay put and wait for him.

  He pinned it on the door and then got into his SUV. He turned the ignition, silenced the radio and backed out of his driveway. As he headed down the road he turned up his headlights to full beam and scanned every nook and cranny hoping to see her someplace. He drove by the park, checked all the benches to see if maybe she’d gone there to think. Nope, as he expected this time of the night, not one single soul out and about.

  By the time he’d made two full trips around Greenville, he got the awful feeling something wasn’t right. Something had happened to Sophie. Even when they were kids he knew when she wasn’t feeling good or had fallen and skinned her knees. Wade shivered. He’d never felt quite like this before.

  He sat in the SUV and pulled out his cell phone again. He didn’t want to call Emily again because she had enough to worry about. Finding Sophie was his and only his concern now. He’d call the hospital, and heaven forbid, Sophie might have been in some accident and taken there.

  “Hello, Greenville Community Hospital.”

  “Hi, I’m wondering if I could check if anyone’s been brought into the ER in the last couple of hours. A woman, with blond hair maybe.”

  “I’ll just go and inquire for you sir.”

  “That would be great.”

  Wade leaned his head back and looked up at the ceiling. Damn, why did Cathy have to get pregnant? Everything was going along so perfectly for him and Soph.

  “Hello, sir?”

  “Yes, yes, I’m still here,” said Wade jumping up. He wouldn’t mind hearing she was there. Not that he wanted her to be hurt or anything, but at least he’d know where she was.

  “The only person who’s come through the ER since noon was a man in his eighties.”

  “Okay, well, thank you for your time.”

  “You’re welcome.”

  Wade pressed the end call button again and put his head down on the steering wheel.

  He couldn’t deal with all this by himself because he was on the brink of tears. If he ever lost Sophie his heart would break into a
million pieces.

  His hand shook as he called his dad’s number.

  “Bob Linley speaking.”

  “Pops, you doing anything right now?”

  “Nothing besides watching another rerun of my favorite cop show.”

  “You want to meet me over at Emily Richardson’s place?”

  “Sure, is this a social get together celebrating you and Sophie’s engagement? If so, I’ve been keeping a bottle of champagne hidden just for the very occasion.”

  Wade, despite feeling shitty right now, had to smile. Pops had never given up on the idea of Sophie being his daughter-in-law.

  “No, we have to figure out how to find Sophie.”

  His bottom lip quivered now. Damn, he was going to cry.

  “Son, you okay? And what about Sophie?”

  “She’s gone missing.

  “Gone missing, what the hell…”

  “Cathy Moran is pregnant, pregnant with my baby, and I had to break the news to Soph.”

  “Shit, Wade, that’s the worst timing for something like this to happen.”

  “Don’t I know it.”

  Wade’s nose was running, and he wiped it and a tear away.

  “If anything’s happened to her.”

  He broke down completely.

  “Hey, you are not driving anywhere in this state of mind. You stay put. I’ll come and get you, and I’ll drive you to Emily’s okay?”

  “Sure. Thanks, Pop.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  Although she was a country girl at heart, Sophie had also become a city girl while spending the last eight years in Seattle. Part of which meant she was alert at all times to any danger or anything that didn’t seem right around her. However, tonight through her tears and blurry mind she hadn’t been paying attention. She hadn’t realized that a van had been following her for two blocks. She’d hidden in an alleyway for a while and only come back out when she thought the danger, real or imagined, had past.

  She knew all the streets of Greenville like the back of her hand and had doubled back five blocks from Wade’s house hoping she’d lose whoever was trying to scare her by stalking her in the van. Why they were doing it was beyond her. Greenville was one of the last places on earth where someone could walk around safely. A few folks probably still left their front doors unlocked, too. And sure some kids often pulled pranks, but if this was one of them, it wasn’t funny and yes, they’d scared her so it was time to move on. She turned the corner confident that she’d finally lost the van. She went cold from head to toe when she saw it again, and this time it was heading straight for her. There was just enough light for her to see it had Colorado plates.

  It wasn’t stopping, and she guessed they were going to run her down. Sophie turned to run. Even though she wasn’t a kid any more she was still pretty quick of her feet. She couldn’t hear its engine rumbling behind her any more.

  Yeah, maybe it had been kids, kids from out of town who just wanted to scare people. Nothing better to do. She’d better get a move on and run back to Wade’s house before he started panicking wondering where she was. She got a couple of feet down the street when she felt someone grab her from behind and then a hand covering her mouth before she could scream. She kicked backwards with her heel, but unfortunately she was wearing running shoes and not pumps. She struggled some more, tried her best to scream even though a large palm covered most of her mouth. She guessed it was a man by the size of the hand and the grip he had on her.

  She was out of ideas about what to do. The next thing she knew a wad of cotton that had a similar smell to a hospital was placed over her nose and mouth. She tried not to breathe in its odor, but it was either that or become oxygen deprived. Taking one deep breath was the last thing Sophie remembered.

  ****

  Wade and his dad had first driven off to Emily’s to check if Sophie had returned. She hadn’t, and now Wade, although an ex-lawman and usually calm, had all sorts of terrible thoughts running through his mind. They’d promised Sophie’s grandmother they’d keep her up to date on anything they found out. The poor woman was sick with worry herself. They’d driven back to Wade’s dad place where he’d suggested he call the police to see if they could help.

  “Wade’s worried sick about his fiancée,” said Bob. “How about sending a police car just to take a look around town?”

  He winked at Wade.

  “I know you can’t do any favors because it would look bad, but the boy’s going crazy here. She just heard some bad news, and we’re worried she’s not thinking straight.”

  Wade couldn’t hear the response.

  “Nope, we’re not saying we think she’s harmed herself.”

  Wade shook his head. “Sophie wouldn’t do that, but I’m thinking she might have slipped down someplace. A couple of ranchers have seen bears and cougars close to town, too.”

  His dad held up his hand as he listened to the police officer respond.

  “That would be great. I know my boy will appreciate you doing that. And we’ll be at my house should you find her or any information about her whereabouts.”

  Bob put the phone down.

  “He said he’ll drive around town, but if he doesn’t find anything we can’t do anything else until she’s been missing at least twenty-four hours.”

  Wade nodded. In twenty four hours if they hadn’t found Soph, he’d be tearing the town apart piece by piece himself.

  ****

  Sophie had a thumping head. She felt giddy, and she couldn’t breathe properly because a rag had been placed inside her mouth and her hands tied behind her back. Her shoulder muscles ached; and she felt sick, and she’d been put into the back of a van. She’d guessed the same one that had followed her.

  She’d been kidnapped, but why? Grans wasn’t well off, and neither was Wade, so money couldn’t be a motive.

  Unless of course, this had something to do with Michael Ambrose’s murder and maybe they were going to kill her, too. But wait a minute wouldn’t they have already done that?

  She heard something now. Voices, a man’s voice talking. She remained quiet and still, hoping to figure out if she recognized him or not. Wait, a woman’s voice was talking back to him.

  “Just what the hell have you done? He’s going to come looking for her. They all will.”

  “She’s our leverage.”

  “Well you better be sure she is because I’m not going to take the fall with you over this one. Kidnapping can bring in the FBI.”

  Sophie heard footsteps around the back of the van and then the catch on the back door being released. Dear god, he was going to kill her. Tears ran down her face as a man with a mask stood there with a knife in his hand.

  He jumped into the van and sat beside her. He fingered her hair, but she tried to pull away.

  “I can see why you’re so precious to him.”

  Sophie tried to say something but couldn’t because the cloth was making her retch. He put the knife toward her and cut her cheek. It stung and smarted, even more when one of her tears slid over it.

  “Please,” she tried to say. “Let me go, please.”

  “That all depends on your boyfriend, or is it fiancé now?”

  ****

  “She couldn’t have just disappeared into thin air.”

  Wade ran his hand through his hair and paced up and down in his father’s house after the police officer had called to say he hadn’t found her or seen any sign of her in Greenville.

  “We’ll find her. I bet by morning she’ll be home and have a simple explanation where she’s been all this time,” said Bob. “Maybe she ran into an old school buddy. You know women? They’re probably jabbering about this and that, and she’s forgotten the time.”

  Wade shook his head. “I know something’s wrong, and I’m not leaving Soph out there all night,” said Wade pointing out the window.

  He headed to the door ready to leave, but his dad got hold of his arm.

  “And what if anything happens to you?
Then Emily and I have lost two of our loved ones. Say she comes back and you’re gone. Then she’ll start worrying, and we’ll be back where we started.”

  His dad had a valid point.

  “Let’s both of us go back out one more time and look for her okay?”

  “Thanks, Dad.”

  He slapped Wade’s back. “She was probably in shock hearing about the baby.”

  “I was in shock.”

  “She’ll come around to accepting that these things happen.”

  Wade shook his head. “She thinks it’s an omen that we’re not supposed to be together. What with Travis getting her pregnant and…”

  Oops, that slipped out before I realized it.

  “Sophie and Travis had a baby?” asked Bob.

  “No, Sophie had a miscarriage. She was pregnant…that’s reason she married him, not because she was in love with him like she’d made out.”

  “Well I’ll be darned.”

  “Dad, we have to find her. I’ve spent eight long years without her, and I can’t do it for one single day more.”

  Bob put his arm around Wade’s shoulder. “We will, son, we will, and you two will live happily ever after.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Wade hadn’t slept all night. He and his dad had scoured every part of Greenville and the surrounding area, even close to the canyon, but there’d been no sign of Sophie. His cell phone rang as he was in grabbing some coffee at his dad’s house where he’d stayed overnight.

  He prayed it was Soph when he saw Emily’s number flashing on the screen. Maybe his girl was home safe and sound.

  “Oh Wade, someone sent us a box.”

  He could tell she was crying and had barely managed to get those words out.

  “What is it, Emily?”

  He went cold, the most morbid thoughts running through his head.

  “I think you should get over here because someone’s kidnapped Sophie.”

  Wade didn’t wait to hear the rest of Emily’s sentence because he ran out of the house as fast as he could.

  ****

  “You hold still while I blindfold you and you won’t get hurt.”