“We do.”
“Then follow it.”
TWENTY-FOUR
We veer past the place we gave Cypher for the night, in case we can talk to him now and save a step in the morning. But there are signs he’s not alone. I stick a note under the door warning we’ll return at six.
Back home, I update Anders while Dalton changes and feeds Abby. We set the alarm for five, which gives us four hours of sleep. Abby allows us almost that much, rising at four thirty, and I’ll forgive her for that.
After breakfast, I take Abby so I can talk to Cypher while Dalton takes Storm to the storerooms, where he’ll pack supplies for Maryanne.
When I rap on Cypher’s door, it takes a while for it to open, and then Jen’s there with her foot on the note.
“It’s five in the fucking morning,” she says.
“Five forty-five. And that note you’re standing on says we’ll be by at six, so I can come back in fifteen minutes if it makes a difference.”
She lets out a string of profanity. I wait it out.
She glances at the bedroom. “You taking him?”
“Undetermined. However, I do need to give you this little one.” I gesture at Abby, tucked under my jacket. “But, like I said, I can give you fifteen minutes.”
She eyes that direction again, and I hear Cypher rising with a bleary, “Jennifer?” Then a few profanities of his own, in obvious disappointment at finding himself alone.
“Make it twenty,” she says.
I leave just as Dalton passes with Storm. I tell him I’ll swing by my old house and wake Maryanne.
Once she’s up, I tell her there’s some concern over the council’s interest in her, and we’re not overly worried, but it seems wise to head out before dawn. She decides on another shower as I make breakfast, and I ask if there’s anything in particular she’d like us to pack, after I run through the list of what we have.
“I do have one request that you probably can’t fill,” she says. “I know you said there are books at the cave, and I see you’re grabbing some more for me but … I don’t suppose there are any reading glasses. I had laser surgery before I came to Rockton.”
That’s one of the prearrival suggestions, because we can’t supply contacts or easily replace glasses.
“However,” she says, “I’ve aged since then, and I’ve had trouble with my sewing lately. I tried a book last night, and I can manage it, but yes, evidently, I’m getting old.”
“Considering the median age here is late thirties, reading glasses are a must,” I say. “There’s a stash of them in the library. I’ll grab a few for you to try. Also, let me know if you want a specific type of fiction or nonfiction. If Eric grabs books, you’ll end up with everything from historical romance to archaeology to biographies of obscure ancient warlords.”
She smiles. “Not because he’ll randomly grab a handful, but because he’s read them all himself. I remember that. Especially the romance. One of the militia razzed him for reading one, and Eric said he was learning skills that guys obviously hadn’t, considering he was always complaining about his three ex-wives.” Her smile deepens. “Guess he did develop those relationship skills.”
I return the smile. “He did indeed.”
“Well, presuming you have historical romances and weren’t just teasing me, I’ll take some of those. Maybe fantasy, too. And mystery. Oh, and nonfiction, textbooks or whatever…” She waves a hand. “Honestly, you can do exactly what Eric would. Just get me a random selection of everything. I’ll be like a kid in a candy store.”
* * *
Despite his presumably good night, Cypher isn’t any easier to deal with than he was yesterday. He does not want to tell us where to find Abby’s mother, and Jen isn’t helping. She hovers with the baby until she overhears the situation, and then it’s “What kind of monster are you, Casey?” in far more profane language. And also “If you don’t want the baby yourself, at least give her to someone who does,” until I snap.
“Come on, kitten,” Cypher says when I tell them off. “We’re only trying to help.”
“By accusing me of wanting to turn this baby over to a family who’ll whore her out when she’s twelve?”
“Jen didn’t mean it like that.”
“Yeah, actually, she did. You might want to get to know someone before you sleep with her, Ty. We’re on a schedule here. I’ll take Abby with us, and we’ll see if we can track down Jacob and get his help finding this family. Because I will find them. I will evaluate the situation. If there is no way to resolve it, then I will keep this baby.”
Both of them look over my shoulder. I turn to see Dalton standing there.