The blur of voices droned together in the background as I got on my hands and knees to crawl under my desk. Sammy’s gaze weighed heavy on my back, expectant, hopeful. My stomach twisted when I found nothing but dust bunnies.
“It’s not here,” I said, backing out of the narrow space.
Sammy’s face fell. “It has to be.”
“It’s not. Why were you playing in here anyway? You know my office is off-limits.”
He gnawed at his lower lip. Every time he did that, he reminded me of his mother, and a momentary pang of grief would pass through me. That had been Ellie’s guilty habit of choice, too.
“You don’t have carpet under your desk.”
“I don’t have your car, either. Where else—” Something on the line caught my attention, and I turned my head away to better listen. Holding my hand up to gesture at S
