I spent the rest of that week out looking for Lynn. I visited the hospital, because I knew if she showed up anywhere, it would be there. She didn’t have a degree in medicine like I did, but she did a lot of work for the hospital, both volunteer work and paid work. She was a fixture at my parents’ clinic, and the patients relied upon her. I had a feeling she wouldn’t stay away from them for long, but I was wrong. She hadn’t been to the clinic. She hadn’t been anywhere. It was almost like she’d vanished off the face of the earth.

“Mason,” Mom said, jerking me out of my musing.

“Yes?” I replied absently, getting up to stare out the window of her office, where I could see the hospital grounds.

“It might be time to call the police, Mason,” Mom said. “She’s never been gone this long. Not without sending her friends around to check on you. She’s gone silent, and that’s not like her.”

If I called the police, I’d have to explain everything. I’d have to go through all the red tape, and I’d have to answer a ton of questions about Lynn and my relationships with her friends. The police would dig up everything, and it would become a big deal. Lynn valued her privacy.

“I keep thinking that Ash will show up.” I stared down at the courtyard. A gentle rain had just begun to fall.

Mom snorted. “Ash is in love with you. Of course she’ll show up.”

I spun to face my mother. “You know?”

She made a very unladylike sound. “Of course I know, Mason.”

I swiped a hand down my face. “Does everyone know?”

“If by everyone you mean your father and me, then yes. Mrs. Anderson suspects, although she prefers to remain in the dark. The very idea of you sleeping with multiple women makes her get all red in the face.”

“Mom,” I groaned. It was one thing for her to know. It was another for her to discuss it so casually.

“Mason, I’ve always known.”

“Why didn’t you say anything?” I practically whined. I’d been carrying this burden on my own for so long.

“I warned you, Mason. When you first met Lynn, and you wanted to invite her out on a date, I warned you that she wasn’t like any woman you’d ever met. But then you broke up with Aubrey, and you fell in love with Lynn. And I’m not gonna lie… A small part of me hoped you could heal all the broken pieces inside her.”

She heaved out a breath. “I’m sorry this has been so hard for you. I blame myself.” She closed her desk drawer with a flourish and got to her feet. She put her hand on my arm. “I’m worried about you, but I’m also worried about Lynn. What if she went with Ash to a shady part of town? What if something has truly happened to her? Maybe it’s time to let someone know she’s missing.”

“I will. Tomorrow. If I don’t know something by tomorrow, I’ll call the police.” They’d give me shit because I didn’t call before now, but I could deal with that.

“Mason, can you think of anything that might have scared her? Anything at all?”

“No,” I said slowly, digging through the memories in my head of the past few months, the past few weeks, the past few days right before she left. Nothing stood out. I had done nothing that would have upset her. “Mom?” I said slowly.

“Yes, Mason?” She stared back at me.

“Do you think she hates me? Because of them?” I turned back to the window, because I didn’t want to see any sadness or shame on her face, not on my account.

“If she knows about them, she hasn’t said anything to me.”

My mother used to be Lynn’s therapist long ago, but when Lynn and I formed a relationship, Mom felt like it was better to send her to someone a little more impartial. The doctor was within the same practice, but was ethically bound to tell my mother nothing. It drove Mom crazy, but it was the right way to go.

“I didn’t mean to fall in love with all of them,” I blurted out. I lifted my hand and used a finger to draw a heart in the condensation on the inside of the window.

“Well, when they’re that lovable, Mason,” she said, and I could hear the smile in her voice, “how can you avoid it?”

“You love them all too, right?” I asked. I needed someone to validate my feelings.

“Well, obviously not the same way that you love all of them.” She laughed. I smiled as I stared out the window. “But yes, they’re all special in their own way. They all have needs, and they all have feelings of their own, and they’re all dealing with the effects of abuse in their own ways. I find it quite fascinating, the bond those girls have.”

“I’m afraid she’s finally found out and now she hates me. What if she never comes back?” I stared into the courtyard, my eyes catching on the top of a blond head. The woman was wearing a tan trench coat and a colorful scarf. “Mom,” I called. “Look at that.” I motioned her over, and I wiped the window clean at her level so she could see out it.

“Is that her?” Mom asked.

I leaned toward the window, staring down, ready to sprint out of the room. But the woman in the courtyard suddenly stopped, looked up at me, and waved her middle finger in the air.

Mom snorted. “Nope. That’s definitely not her.”

I let out a heavy breath. “At least now we don’t have to call the cops.” Because while the woman I loved was nowhere to be found, Shelly was here.

No one else in the world could flip me off and beckon me to her with the same finger.

I turned to rush toward the courtyard, but Mom grabbed my arm. “She’s gone, Mason. Save your breath.”

“I can still catch her.” I jerked my arm free.

“She’s gone.” She grabbed my shoulders and forced me to look into her eyes. “She’s gone. But at least you know she’s okay. If Shelly’s here taunting you, Lynn’s okay.”

I nodded. I knew that was true.

“Why don’t you call one of your friends? Go out for a beer? Maybe by the time you get home, something will have changed.” She nudged me. Then she opened her arms, indicating that she wanted a hug. I bent down and swooped her up, making her laugh. When I let her go, she stared up at me and shook her head. Very quietly, she said, “Mason, I know you love her, but if I had to do it all over again, I would have never let you meet her. It’s too hard for you.”

“I love her, Mom,” I reminded her.

“I know you do, Mason. And I love her too. But I love you more.”

I pretended to gasp. “More than work? Oh, my!”

She slapped my arm. “More than anything, Mason.”

I leaned down and kissed her cheek. “I’m going out for a beer.”

“Take a taxi home, okay?”

“I will.”

I went down to the courtyard, still hoping I might catch Shelly, but like my mom said, she was gone. I walked around in the rain until I had to wipe droplets of water from my nose. My phone rang.

I pulled it out and grinned when I saw my best friend’s name on the screen. “This is Dr. Peterson,” I barked, trying to sound so proper. Then I laughed when I heard a grunt.

“Rub it in, asshole,” my buddy said. His name was Malcolm and he was a teacher.

“Did my mommy call you?” I asked.

He chuckled. “Am I supposed to tell you the truth?”

“I thought I was too old for my mother to arrange play dates for me.”

“Apparently not. Meet me at the tavern in twenty minutes.”

He hung up on me. I should be used to that by now. It felt like people were always hanging up on me, even if they weren’t on the phone.