It had been so long since she had someone to lean on.
Avery glanced in the backseat and reached around to tap Hailey's knee. “Hey, sweetie. We're here.”
Like a switch, her daughter's dark eyelashes flickered to reveal blue eyes the same color as her dad's. All her other traits had come from Avery. Thick, brown hair and a curvy, lithe frame. Even at seven years old, Hailey was the spitting image of her.
Hailey took in her surroundings in the seemingly distracted manner Avery had grown used to since her daughter's Autism diagnosis. Her gaze darted everywhere at once, never landing on one spot for more than a millisecond. After a moment, she squealed and flapped her hands.
Well done, Mother, Avery imagined her saying.
Since Hailey was a nonverbal Autistic, at least so far, Avery often choreographed her own dialogue in her head. It had helped her cope.
She smiled, pleased Hailey liked what she saw. “Grandma's inside waiting for us. Would you like to check out our new home?” At least it would be home until Avery could find them an apartment or small house to rent. Perhaps not next to Camp Crystal Lake.
Hailey squealed again and fumbled with the seatbelt, clumsily getting it undone. Avery quickly climbed out of the car and met her daughter by the rear passenger door before she could take off. Deciding to wait until after they saw the place, she left their bags in the car and directed Hailey up the porch steps, careful not to touch her more than necessary.
The door swung inward before they could knock, and the sight of her mother standing there had tears clogging Avery's throat. Justine Berry might be capricious and unpredictable, but she'd always been there. After everything her and her daughter had been through, Avery just needed…her mom.
“I'm so excited you're here!” She bent down at eye level with Hailey, bursting at the seams to hug her granddaughter.
It went against her mother's instincts not to smother, but Avery knew Hailey's limitations. She had warned her a million times before the drive, just in case she forgot. Her mother and memory lapses were BFFs.
Hailey nudged her grandmother aside and rushed into the cabin. Outta the way, G-ma. Better things to do.
Avery shrugged. “She's excited. That's a good thing.”
In the next instant, she was wrapped in her mom's arms and squeezed until breathing became impossible. The familiar scent of patchouli filled her nose. She bit back the tears threatening to fall and smiled. “Hi, Mom.”
“At least I can still hug you.” Mom stepped back and patted her wild, shoulder-length brown hair. She preferred the natural approach to everything, so it probably hadn't seen conditioner or product. In decades. The fine lines around her mouth and eyes had grown deeper in the year since she'd last visited Avery in San Fran, which only added to her mother's charm. She was a woman who laughed often and loved hard. Four ex-husbands were proof. “How were the roads?”
Avery closed the door behind her. “A little slick, but not too bad. Wow, Mom. This place is great.”
Not B horror movie at all.
The whole cabin was natural wood and stone and glass. Shiny, clean, and rustic. A floor to ceiling redbrick fireplace created warmth from a corner. Plaid print couches were nestled over the bare wood floor with scarred pine tables. The living room was spacious and separated from the kitchen by an island. Large picture windows encased the back of the open room, where moonlight caught the water trickling in a thin riverbed.
Hailey disappeared down a short hallway and squealed. Avery went to follow, but her mom stopped her with a hand on her arm.
“There's no exit back there and nothing to get into. These cabins are rentals, so they're pretty bare. I did stock the kitchen for you, though.” She smiled and hugged her again. “I'm so glad you're here. Ten years and you just now get to see my town.”
Avery pushed down the guilt and nodded. The past couldn't be helped. “You did a lot of work on the property, I remember you saying. This is lovely.”
Mom sighed. “Good contractors and money left in the will took care of it. We're pretty busy year round. I live above my shop in town, but I'll stay with you tonight, if that's all right?”
Her mother owned a secondhand clothing store she'd named “Thrifty” in addition to the rental cabins. As far as Avery was aware, she had someone else manage the businesses. Finance was not her mother's strong suit. She had idealistic dreams and ideas aplenty, but the numbers and details she wisely delegated to others.
“I'd love it if you stayed the night. It's getting late, anyway.”
And speaking of, Hailey had been pretty quiet the past few minutes. Worry and suspicion mounting, Avery made her way down the hall and found her daughter asleep in one of the twin beds, curled in a ball with her hat and coat still on.
Affection and love so deep it hurt punched her chest. Carefully, she unzipped Hailey's coat, leaving it on so she didn't wake her. Removing her hat, Avery ran her fingers through her daughter's dark hair. The only time she got to openly touch Hailey was when she was asleep, otherwise contact bothered Hailey to the point she screamed. But she had these few quiet moments of the early evening to watch her and stroke her perfect little pale cheeks.
Bone tired, Avery barely took stock of the bare wood furniture or bay window before finding her mom in the kitchen stirring a pot at the stove. Stunned still, she waited in the doorway.
Mom turned and grinned. “I made hot chocolate. Go have a seat in the living room. Take a load off. You look wiped out. I'll bring you a cup.”
“Is it…edible?”
Mom shook her head, then said, “I think so.”
“Remember that time—”
“One fire. That was one fire, Avery!”
Too exhausted to argue, she grinned, settled in a chair, and closed her eyes, amazed it was so comfortable. The crackling fire and scent of chocolate soothed her, allowing her to sink a bit deeper into her head. Darkness pulled heavy at her consciousness.
The next thing she knew she was shivering and a cooling cup of cocoa was next to her on the end table. There were mysterious chunks floating in it. Blinking, she straightened. Her mother was asleep in the chair beside her.
Wow. How long had they been out?
Taking a moment to stretch before checking on Hailey, she stood and glanced across the room to make sure her mother had turned off the stove. It wouldn't be the first time she'd gotten distracted and forgot. Assured it was off, Avery tried to find the source of the draft circling the room and froze when she spotted the open back door.
No. God, no.
“Mom!” Avery screamed, already halfway down the hall. Her heart hammered in sickening panic.
Hailey's bed was empty.
No, no, no, no, no…
Bolting back into the living room, she slammed into her mother and quickly moved around her.
“What is it?”
Avery shoved her feet into boots and grabbed her coat. “Hailey's gone. We fell asleep. I didn't secure the door.” A mistake she knew better than to make. Hailey took off way too often. Not to run away, but because she lived inside her head and had no concept of danger.
Oh, God. Her daughter was out there in the cold, in the middle of nowhere, at night. The region had mountain lions not to mention…
“Call the police.”
She ran for the back door and rounded the house, but Hailey wasn't in the car or on the porch. Avery circled back around, fear clawing her throat as she slammed into her mom again.
“There's