CHAPTER 48

Elijah’s POV

I froze. Now I’m going to find out if Reese’s mother is Sophia…

My heart raced as I turned slowly, scanning the area, half-expecting to see Sophia's familiar face rushing toward us. Instead, I saw the woman from the restaurant, the same one who had been with the little girl.

My face fell. I was greatly disappointed.

I don't know why, but I always thought it would be Sophia. Maybe it’s because Reese looked so much like her, but it was probably just a coincidence.

The woman hurried over, her eyes filled with concern. Reese's little arms wrapped around my neck in a tight hug. “Take care of the little one,” I told the mom. “I think she was lost earlier, so I stayed with her.”

“Thank you,” she said, almost breathlessly. She hoisted Reese onto her hip and began to walk away, clearly in a hurry.

As they moved further away, I overheard her soft voice ask Reese, “Where's Dan?”

The question stopped me in my tracks. Dan? Who was Dan?

“I talked to your Uncle Dan,” I heard the woma