Somebody Like You: A Small Town Single Mom Romance (The Heartbreak Brothers Book 4) by Carrie Elks (best ebook reader for ubuntu .TXT) 📕

“He’s really okay?”

“He really is.” She gasped in some air. “He’s coming home.”

“Let’s go inside. You can tell me everything in there,” the officer suggested. “I’ve already let my partner know to call off the search.”

“We were about to leave to start another search,” Becca called out, running up the stairs, her eyes wide with hope. “Is it true what the police said? Is Josh okay?”

Mia nodded, her chest too full to say anything else. Becca threw her arms around her, pulling her close as Mia sobbed into her shoulder. “He’s okay. He was in Cam’s car that Brian was driving to Boston.”

“How the hell did Brian not notice?” Becca muttered. “No, nix that. Brian always plays music way too loud. He’s a damn metal fan. I’m surprised he isn’t completely deaf already.” She blew out a mouthful of air. “How far away are they?”

“Cam said a few hours.” She checked her watch. How had the time gone so quickly today, and now it was only a minute since Cam hung up? She wanted time to speed up, to hold her baby in her arms.

To see Cam again. Because right now she didn’t know what to do without either of them.

“Ma’am, shall we go inside?” the officer asked.

“That’s a good idea.” Sam nodded. “It’s cold and you two need to eat something.”

“I’m not hungry,” Michael said, his eyes rimmed red.

“I know, son, but you need to eat. For Josh’s sake. He needs you both to be strong for him.”

“Do you want me to come, too?” Becca asked Mia.

“It’s okay. You guys have done enough.” Mia hugged her again. “Thank you for everything. All of you. You’re an amazing family.”

“So are you guys,” Becca told her. “And you’re a part of our family, too. With or without Cam.”

Mia blinked back more tears. She needed to wash her face before Josh came home. She was a mess, and he didn’t need to see that.

“Call me if you need anything,” Becca said, walking down the steps. “Any time at all. And Logan’s heading to the airport to meet Cam. All your boys will be home before you know it.”

All her boys. She liked the sound of that. Liked the thought of being surrounded by the people she loved so much it hurt. And after today – or the past weeks if she was being honest – she was going to hold them all so tightly.

It was time to have her family back. That was all she wanted.

“Hello? Mia? Is there any news?”

She’d thought about not phoning Niall. Or at least delaying her call for a little while. But that wasn’t her style. Even if he was being an asshole, she didn’t need to stoop to his level.

“They’ve found Josh,” she said, keeping the emotion out of her voice. “He’s okay.”

There was silence for a moment. “Are you sure he’s okay? Where was he?”

“In a car. He’d climbed inside to try and get to Boston.” She rolled her bottom lip between her teeth. “It’s a long story.”

She expected him to ask for more information. Because she’d be demanding it. She’d be desperate to know exactly where and why Josh had tried to get to Boston.

“Well that’s good. I knew it would all be okay. I’ll give him a call over the weekend.”

The difference between his response and Cam’s spoke for itself. And it made her heart hurt. Not for herself, but for her boys. Niall wasn’t even a part time father. His role in his children’s lives was a little more than a cameo part.

“Maybe you shouldn’t call him.” The words escaped her lips before she could think them through.

“What do you mean?” There was a frown in his voice. She remembered too late that Niall hated being told what to do. Even when she was right.

Especially when she was right.

“What I mean is you can’t just flit in and out of their lives and not be there for them when they need you. Michael called you today, he was so upset. And you couldn’t even be bothered to make him feel better. He needed you, Niall, and you weren’t there. The same way you haven’t been there for him for years.”

“I only left a year ago.”

Physically, sure. But emotionally? She’d been a single parent for as long as she could remember.

Mia swallowed hard. “If you want to be part of the boys’ lives, then you’ll need to commit to regular contact. And maybe you need to do some therapy with them.”

“You can’t tell me what I need to do. I have rights…”

She wanted to laugh at his rights, but she was afraid it’d come out as a hysterical scream. Right now the emotions were getting the better of her. “You do,” she said, keeping her voice as even as possible. “But you also have two young men who are confused about your place in their lives, and you aren’t making it any better for them. If you want to be their father, then great, I’ll support you. Damn, I’ll make it easy for you. But if you hurt them then I’ll fight you with every breath that I have. Those boys deserve better than a father who can’t be bothered when the going gets tough.”

Silence blasted down the phone line. Mia inhaled a ragged breath, leaning on the kitchen counter. Michael was in the living room, thank goodness, not able to hear this call.

“I…” Niall sighed heavily. “I don’t know what to say.”

Say you’ll be their father. Say you love them. Say you’ll fight for them.

“Think about it,” she suggested. “Let me know what you want.”

Niall cleared his throat. “I’ve never been good enough, have I?”

Mia ran her fingers through her hair. “For me? No. You never were. But you’re the boys’ father. And you’re going to be a father again. It’s up to you to work out if you’re good enough. Nobody else.” She blew out a