‘Hey, no promises. Mrs. L knows me, so she knows what she got herself into when she asked me to tag along,’ he said, finally plopping down at the kitchen table so he could eat his ‘breakfast of champions,’ as he liked to call it.

His eyes swept over the table, landing on her case files, and if she hadn’t been looking directly at him, she would’ve missed the slight tightening at the corner of his mouth. When he caught her staring, he recovered quickly. ‘I’m okay, Mom. I’m just worried about Holly and Sophie, but if anyone can find Jersey and these other girls, you can.’

To hide the tears that had sprung to her eyes, Alyssa grabbed her dishes and carried them to the dishwasher. If only it was as easy as Isaac made it sound.

On her way to the refrigerator to put the milk away that Isaac had left on the counter, she couldn’t resist reaching out and rubbing her hand over his wavy brown hair, so much like his father’s. And despite the one-armed hug earlier, he behaved like any typical fourteen-year-old by ducking his head and shrugging her hand away, adding a scowl for good measure. With every bit of normalcy Isaac added back into his daily routine, her heart soared with hope and happiness. She checked the time on the microwave.

‘Trevor said he wanted you there by quarter to seven, right?’

Isaac glanced at his phone. ‘Yeah, but you can drop me earlier if you want. That way I can help load up the truck and camper.’

‘Which reminds me, Dad put your tent in the back of my car.’

‘Cool, thanks.’ He stood, scraping his chair back and dumping his crumbs in the sink before placing his plate in the dishwasher. Alyssa chuckled on the inside because that particular act wasn’t normal at all. Then, after he gulped down the remainder of his milk, rinsed the glass, and set that inside, too, he closed the door and bounced on the balls of his feet.

‘Whenever you’re ready.’

‘All right, then, grab your things, and let’s hit the road.’ At the garage door, she paused. ‘You did pack a toothbrush and toothpaste, right?’

He shook his head and rolled his eyes in a highly exaggerated manner. ‘No, Mom. And I didn’t bring clean underwear, either. In fact, I didn’t bring clothes at all. Or deodorant. I figure it’s better that way. Keeps the bears away.’

Alyssa swung her hand into his stomach as she laughed. ‘Well, at least you’re thinking ahead, I suppose.’

Whatever comeback he had was thwarted by a text message notification stealing his attention away. His fingers flew over his keyboard as he answered whoever it was. Then he tucked his phone into his pocket and said, ‘Grandma telling me to have a fun weekend.’

Regardless of their past history of contention and barely tolerating each other, the one thing Alyssa could never argue was that Mabel Wyatt adored the ground her grandchildren walked on.