The text message dinged – We found him. Deanna Sparkman excused herself from the Medical Wives Fund Raising event that she was attending at the Marriott Hotel in downtown Chicago.

Where is he?

In some small town that is a blip on the map.

Where?

Ellijay, GA.

Deanna's hand began to shake nervously. She'd never expected him to return, but especially to Ellijay.

Thank you, Robert.

Mrs. Sparkman there is one more thing. The reason it was so difficult to find him is that he changed his name. He doesn't go by his adopted name Sparkman. He goes by Aiden Ross.

All right. I am indebted to you for this. Don't let him out of your sight.

We will keep him in view.

Deanna began wiping tears from her brown eyes. Every nerve in her body began firing from emotional overload. She was shaking profusely and trudged over to the nearest chair in the lobby, sinking into it. Maybe now her life and marriage could return to some form of normal.

It had been an ordinary day, the last time she'd seen her son. "Seven years," she whispered.

Her best friend, Kathy Osborn, that had been sitting at the table with Deanna got concerned when she didn't return. She walked out into the lobby startled to see Deanna's face in her hands.

"What's the matter Deanna? Is everything ok?"

She glanced up, mascara was dripping down her face. Her brown eyes were clouded with tears.

"You're shaking." Kathy bolted to her side and placed a comforting arm around her shoulder. "What on earth is going on?"

"They found him, Kathy."

Her eyes widened. "Aiden?" Shock registered on her face. Kathy had been there the day that the police came to start the investigation. She was there when the news alerts went out and had been a part of the search and rescue teams as they scoured Chicago looking for him.

"I never thought I would see him again." Over the last 7 years Deanna was careful how she phrased Aiden's disappearance. She never said, "He must be dead." She clung to hope like a respirator.

Thoughts strung themselves together in Deanna's mind, like a spider spinning its web. One long strand after another, connecting into something complex. She stared blankly out the window. She'd lived a luxurious life as the wife of a neurosurgeon. Dr. Troy Sparkman was the toast of the medical society. Their home life was one to be envied. Deanna and Troy raised their two sons with the best of everything. They never would have expected that her other son, the one that she'd buried in her past life, would derail everything.

Kathy sat shaking her head. "He's materialized just as quickly as he vanished."

"I asked him where he was going that day and he never said a word. He just walked out and we never saw him again."

"I remember."

"He changed his name, Kathy. After everything Troy did for him, he changed his name." Tears plopped down her face like thick raindrops, and settled on her expensive black skirt. "How could he do this to me? It didn't take long for Deanna's own mind to answer that question. He wanted me to feel what it felt like to be abandoned. Will my punishment ever end?

Kathy squeezed Deanna tightly and pressed her head to her shoulder. "Don't focus on the past. He's alive. God has given you another opportunity to make things right with your son."

"Isn't that what I was doing before, Kathy? What more could I have given him?"

"Perhaps you and Troy gave him everything that wasn't important to him. Maybe what he needed then and what he needs now is something that money can't buy."

Deanna flinched as those words stung her heart. Kathy always had a way of putting things that kept her life in balance. "What now?"

"I don't know. You're going to have to take this one day at a time. At some point, you're going to have to tell Troy and your sons."

Deanna sighed woefully, "I know."

Kathy's eyes were filled with compassion. She knew how much of a strain that Aiden's disappearance had placed on her marriage.

"Jason and Taylor resented him terribly."

"That's because a part of them lost a piece of you when Aiden arrived. They've literally lost all of you when he left. They are going to be ok, Deanna. Somehow all of this is going to work out. Now let's get you cleaned up."

Both women stood, nearly equaling each other in height. Deanna was 5'9 and Kathy was only an inch or two shorter. Kathy's bright blue eyes sparkled as she extended her arms, giving Deanna a strong embrace for a brief moment. She reached in her pocket and pulled out a tissue and wiped away the streaked mascara. Then she stepped back and began smoothing Deanna's long black hair into place.

"There, that's better. You look like a Cherokee again."

She watched as Deanna smiled, knowing that statement would get to her. Deanna Sparkman was proud of her Native American heritage.

***

Aiden couldn't believe how long he'd slept. It was 1:00 in the afternoon before he was out of bed and dressed. The blackout drapes in the lodge rooms did an amazing job keeping one in sleep mode. He stood on the upper landing watching Jas as she booked a few more guests into the inn.

His eyes travelled across her beautiful form, stopping at her waist. He'd held that tiny waist in his hands so often and wished his hands were there now. She was wearing a two-piece red swim suit. Not bundled up in the black wool sweater and black jeans. She instead was lifted in the air, about to be dunked in the swimming hole. Laughter rang out in his mind as she sank beneath the water and then he plunged in after.

He walked down the stairs, making his way towards the receptionist desk. He stopped to pet Flannery who had appeared out of nowhere, wrapping herself around his legs. Her gentle purr made him feel so welcome, unlike Jas who had been distant. Flannery's green eyes gazed lovingly upon him. "You think you can teach her something?" he whispered. The cat meowed, then slinked towards the pet door. The Bengal cat could barely heft her full body through the opening.

The new guests passed him on their way up to their room. Aiden nodded and smiled at them, happy to see more customers. Jas seemed very irritated towards him and didn't speak when he stood in front of her. They stood in each other's presence for what appeared to stretch eternally. He cleared his throat forcing her to look up. He stared into those dark brown eyes of hers. What have I done now?

"Are you going to ignore me the whole time that I am here?"

"If that's what it takes to get you to leave."

"I intend to be here for a while."

"Why? You're not here to save the inn. I know you're not here to see your father. There is no way you could possibly imagine that you and I could..."

Aiden knew exactly why he was there and in about 6 months she'd be glad that he came. Oh, I could imagine it. He quickly changed the subject and reached in his pants pocket taking out a bottle, holding it towards her. "What is Ativan?"

"Where did you get that? Give it to me."

"The bottle must have fallen off the table last night when you broke the glass. I saw it on the floor before I went to bed last night and picked it up."

"Give it to me."

His ears were attentive, giving her a few moments to talk, but when she didn't he pulled his hand back and was about to put the bottle back in his pocket.

"It's for anxiety. It helps to keep me calm and focused."

I can do that for you. He slid the bottle into her hand. Aiden's heart broke thinking about how carefree she'd once been and was now having to take pills. "How long have you been taking the pills."

"Why do you even care?"

I've always cared. "Is that what you think?"

He extended his hands and held both of hers. The mere contact sent his heart beat from 0 to 60. Fire began to spark within him. His eyes locked with hers, they had darkened. She's feeling it too. He felt her trying to slip her hands away but he firmly held them, circling his thumbs on the tops of her hand.

"It's not always what you think, Jas."

She was about to say something when Flannery interrupted them. They watched as the oversized cat sauntered their way. Something was dangling from her mouth. With a gleam of pride in her green eyes, she dropped a tiny dead field mouse at Aiden's feet, and then proceeded to snuggle against his legs. The broom that Nanna had used the night before was sitting against the wall. He swept the mouse into the dustpan and discarded it. He and Jas burst out laughing at the cat's sign of affection.

"I love you too, Flannery." He knelt down and stroked the cat. She purred under his touch.

Jas stepped from behind the desk, knelt down and patted Flannery, too. "I must admit, I'm a little jealous, Aiden."

"Really?" His brow arched. The nearness between them caused the sparks within him, to flame. She was way too close for his comfort.

Jas rustled Flannery's fur. "Hey girl, don't I deserve a little affection too?"

Before he knew it, he had turned his head and softly kissed her. He heard her gasp as his lips sank over hers, slowly. A heady feeling swept over him as he lingered there. Jas placed a hand on his chest to push him away, but he took that hand and slid it over his heart. Aiden wished he could control how wildly it beat, but he couldn't. Her eyes snapped open, as Aiden's heart pounded against her hand.

"Was that enough affection, babe?" He stroked the side of her face. I can't help my heart, Jas," he whispered, "you still get to me."

She scrambled to her feet and bolted from the room.