Just as I turned the corner, footsteps padded softly in my direction.
I straightened up quickly and stepped forward as if I’d just been coming from the guest room down the hall. The kitchen door swung open and there she was.
Lee.
The instant that our eyes met, her whole face lit up.
"Mommy!" she screemed, innocence and pure unadulterated joy riding the tone in her voice as she rushed into my arms.
I knelt just in time to sweep her up into my arms. The familiar feel of her tiny frame filled the hollow panic I’d been nursing all morning, calming the wild thrum in my chest.
"Where have you been?" I gasped, holding her tight. "I've been looking everywhere for you. You scared me, Lee."
"I was with Mr. Adam," she whispered against my skin.
I moment I heard his name, I looked up. Adam had
