She frowned and looked up at him. “Yeah? Doesn't everybody?”
“No. I just found out today.” He shrugged and let out a long-suffering sigh. “My whole childhood was a lie.”
She chuckled at his melodrama, and he smiled at her. He was obviously trying to cheer her up and get her mind off her brother. She was grateful.
“Thank you,” she said, tucking her chin into her coat to hide her smile.
“For what?” he asked. “Crushing your hopes and dreams about Pluto, too?”
She smiled again.
Together, they circled the house one more time. They checked the doors just to make sure, but nothing changed. They were no closer to finding her brother. The snow continued to come down, hiding the world in white. It was so quiet now that it felt like they were the only two people left in the world.
“Let's go check over there,” Ethan suggested, pointing to a supply shed. It seemed like a good place to look. Two kids could easily hide inside of it, especially if they wanted to get out of the storm. She nodded and together they leaned into the wind and walked over.
Ethan pulled the shed door open. Laura looked anxiously inside to see just a wheelbarrow, a couple of shovels, and some bags of dirt for the summer. There were no boys and no dog. She blinked hard as she stepped inside to look again, just in case.
The shed was sheltered from the wind, so it was warmer inside. It smelled of sawdust and dirt, which made Laura's nose i
tch slightly. She stood in the center of the small storage shed and tried to pull herself together. Darkness pulled at her core, telling her that this was the end of things. Her brother was gone. She'd lost him and it was all her fault.
And then Ethan squeezed her arm, bringing her back to the present. His touch centered her. It comforted her. When he touched her, it didn't feel quite as terrible. There was hope when he held her. She let out a shaky breath.
“We'll find them,” he promised her again, as if reading her mind. She nodded, more because it felt like what she was supposed to do rather than she believed it.
“We found them!” the radio at Ethan's hip squawked. Laura's entire brain laser focused to the voice at Ethan's hip. He grabbed the walkie-talkie and held it up between the two of them. “This is Ella and Jace! We found the boys! We found them!”
Laura's heart started and stopped about three times. She forgot how to breathe. She forgot how to stand. The dark despair inside of her vanished so quickly it left her dizzy.
“They were out in the back field,” Ella explained over the walkie talkie, her voice bubbling with excitement. “Jupiter hurt his paw and they didn't know how to get him back home. We've got them and we're coming in! Over.”
Ella reached for the radio. She didn't even take it from Ethan, she just hit the talk button. “Dallas is with you, right? He's okay?”
“He's just a little cold,” Ella told her. “We'll be back at the main house in just a few minutes. Over and out.”
Laura stared at the walkie-talkie. Ethan was still holding it, but her hand was wrapped his. She felt giddy and light. She wasn't sure if she was about to start laughing, or crying, but either way she was on top of the world.
“He's okay,” she whispered. She felt like singing and dancing. Her little brother was okay. She wasn't going to have to go home to another empty room. She wasn't going to have to donate someone else's things again. There wasn't going to be a funeral.
“See? I told you we'd find them,” Ethan said, his smile big. He looked genuinely happy for her.
It might have been the smile. It was probably just excitement and nerves. Laura wasn't sure what made her do it, but she didn't stop to think. She just leaned forward, put her hands on either side of his face, and kissed him.
Chapter 9
Laura
The kiss blew all thoughts out of her mind. The way his lips pressed against hers, the way his hands instinctively cupped her body, and the heat of his touch all had her thinking of only one thing. Ethan.
It threw her off, completely. Despite the snow falling all around her, despite the fact that she had to get back to scold her brother, her thoughts flooded back to that night at the party.
One year ago...
She pulled him out of the Rocks, Crystals, and Gem exhibit and toward the back of the museum. She'd looked at the maps of the museum when she arrived, and she had a pretty good idea of where she was headed. It was supposed to be up the stairs and by the “Creatures of the Pacific Northwest“ exhibit.
“Where are you taking me?” Ethan asked, his voice amused as they went further into the museum. Most of the guests were either dancing or drinking, so the exhibits were empty and quiet. “I don't know if we should try another exhibit. That security guard is probably watching us to make sure we don't go at it again.”
“I have a better idea,” she said, pulling him down a hallway.