Chapter 4
Chapter
Four
W ren Woodland knocked on the glass panel of the door marked James Redding, Esq., and waited for a verbal answer.
"Yes? Come in!"
She opened the door and stepped inside, smiling at the shock on the fox shifter's face as he stood up behind his desk. "I'm glad you're here, James."
Leveling his keen, discerning gaze at her over the upper rims of his glasses, James' voice dropped in tone. "What's wrong?"
Wren fluttered her hand in a habitual gesture. "You know me too well."
James stepped around his desk and moved to stand before her. "As much as I love to see you cross my doorstep, I know that you wouldn't come to my offices unless there was something that needed my immediate attention."
She lowered her head in a graceful nod that moved her curly hair around her shoulders. "I know you sent a letter to Betty's Great Niece."
Wren saw the momentary flash of shock across James' features before he shook his head. "Nothing gets past you."
"I see more than I want to, but in this case, I believe that it's a good thing. Our girl didn't get back on the bus at a rest stop."
She saw the dark shadow that crossed James' features.
"What?"
"She's on her way, but the bus made a rest stop and she didn't get back on."
James' gaze flicked over the room, sweeping as his tail might during times of worry. "I need to get to her." He turned to reach for his keys and stopped.
His keen gaze was a thing of the past when night fell, and he could clearly see the clock on the wall. It would soon be twilight, and he'd have to drive most of the way in the dark.
He opened his mouth to speak, but Wren was ready with a solution.
"I saw Arron Winter and his mate come into town for a visit. They will still be here in the time it takes you to gather your coat and come with me."
James didn't dillydally for an instant.
He walked past Wren to the door, tugging his coat from the coat and hat stand by the door. "Let's find them, shall we?"
Wren took his offered arm, not that she needed it, but James had long passed the age where there was an inherent spring in his foxlike step. She didn't have to point it out, he knew it on his own, but she could help him in the subtle ways that kept his pride from being singed.
A soft knock at the door lifted Suzannah's head from the wooden surface. Her heart began to pound again.
"Hello?"
The voice was female and familiar.
"Hello? Alice?"
"Open the door, sweetheart."
Suzannah had to gather her wits as well as her limbs as she got up onto her knees and using the handle of the door to help her get up to her feet.
She cast a quick look at her hand and saw that it wasn't shaking all that much. With an indrawn fortifying breath, she twisted open the lock and gave the door a little nudge.
The door opened out and Suzannah saw Alice's eyes wide with shock and concern. "I wondered what had happened to you?"
Suzannah's chin dropped toward her chest. "I had to hide."
"Hide?" Alice held out her hand and Suzannah took it. "Come here, dear. Come and have a seat."
As soon as she stepped into the hallway just outside the bathroom doors, Suzannah gave a start.
"The bus!" Her heart shot into her throat, and she moved into the main room of the Diner.
There was an 18-wheeler standing in the place where the bus had been.
Alice was there, rubbing her back. "Hey, it's okay. Things like this happen."
Suzannah turned her head to look at Alice. "But my bags. All of my things." Panic was stirring up to a fever pitch. "I'm going to lose everything!"
Alice moved Suzannah back to her seat at the counter. Her glass of water was still there, but the ice cubes had melted. And there was a brown paper bag sitting on the counter in front of her seat. She sat down heavily and stared at the brown paper bag. "You must have thought I left without paying you."
"Actually," Alice gently rubbed her back, "I was worried that something happened to you. We had a handful of rigs come through. A bunch of guys so I never knew that the women's bathroom door was locked. By the time we finished getting those men fed and on their way, I noticed that... that horrible man had left and when I didn't see you-"
Suzannah swallowed hard, knowing exactly what she was saying. "I... I locked myself in because he... he tried to push me into the bathroom, he was-"
Her voice went silent as her throat squeezed tight.
"You did the right thing. I'm... I'm sorry I didn't see him follow you."
Suzannah turned on the stool and struggled to speak. "You couldn't know."
Alice crouched down to look her straight in the eye. "I'm sorry you were afraid. That's horrible."
A man cleared his throat and Suzannah looked up to see the chef standing in the doorway to the kitchen. "I'm never letting him in here ever again." He looked over at Alice. "I'm not going to let him anywhere near you, honey."
Alice's cheeks blushed with a rosy pink.
Suzannah saw Don turn to look at her again. "Can we call someone for you?"
Suzannah started to shake her head before she remembered that "I have a letter in my purse." Opening the front of her loose button-down blouse she'd layered over her red and white dress, she twisted the messenger bag she was wearing and unzippered the top. Reaching in, she pulled out the letter from the attorney. Even though she knew she was safe, her hands were shaking.
"Here," Don stepped up and gingerly took the envelope from her hands, "I'll make a call for you."
He moved to the wall and picked up the handset and dialed the number off of the letterhead. Suzannah sat there waiting as Alice moved around the diner. By the time the call was finished, she had a new glass of ice-cold water and a bowl of chili with crackers beside it.
Don gave her a smile. "They have someone coming to get you. They should be here in an hour or so."
Suzannah couldn't figure out the math on that. "An hour? On the bus it would have been the better part of four!"
Don shrugged. "They said they had a feeling something was wrong, so they sent you a ride before I even called." He looked at Alice. "I guess that makes sense for a place called Mystic Mountain, right?"
Alice's smile at her husband warmed Suzannah's heart. "I would have driven her there if they weren't already sending a ride."
Don nodded and Suzannah knew that this wasn't a shock to the man.
"I would have gone with you, honey. If only to hear you sing the radio."
Alice laughed. "You know I can't carry a tune!"
"Yeah." Don laughed along with her. "But you smile so brightly when you sing. It makes me smile."
Alice turned back to Suzannah. "Go ahead," she encouraged her, "eat up. Don will make you another sandwich to take with you."
Suzannah reached for her purse and her money. "I'm so sorry-"
Alice stilled her hands with a touch. "Don't worry. You don't need to pay us. On the house. It'll be good just to make sure you get where you need to go."
Suzannah bit into her lip feeling embarrassed. "I didn't mean to be a problem."
"Problem?" Alice shook her head. "That man tried to hurt you. I'm just so thankful-"
"We." Don interjected from the doorway leading to the kitchen.
Alice's cheeks flushed with warmth again. "Yes, we're so thankful that you weren't hurt. You're not the first woman to come in here needing some help."
Suzannah heard the subtext in her words. "What... what happened?"
Alice's shoulders sagged a little and a shadow crossed her features.
Suzannah reached out her hands and gripped Alice's hand gently. "I don't want to bring up bad memories."
"I came in here once, trying to hide my bruises." Alice looked at Suzannah with a smile she mustered up. "Sal. He was my husband. He used to smack me around. Drunk or not, it didn't matter."
Suzannah leaned closer to her. "That's horrible."
"It was . I'm glad I put him behind me." She looked back at the kitchen.
Suzannah could see Don moving around in the kitchen.
Alice continued her story. "We were here on a road trip the night that Sal hit me the last time." Alice sounded almost sentimental at the thought. "Don was working both the kitchen and the counter back then. There's not a lot of business at certain times here. We drove in around ten at night and we were the only two in the diner. I said something to Sal. I don't even remember what it was, but Sal got mad, and he slapped me, knocked me off of my chair and onto the floor.
"Don came across the counter like a mountain lion jumping on his prey. Before I could catch my breath, Sal was bloody and crying like a son-of-a-gun and Don was threatening to make him the next day's special."
Suzannah grimaced at the idea. "That sounds... gross."
Alice nodded. "But it was an effective threat. Sal stumbled out of here, jumped in the car and I never saw him again."
There was something in her voice that struck a chord in her heart and Suzannah rubbed her hand on Alice's arm. "I'm glad. Really glad. You found a great place to land."
"Sometimes," Alice murmured, "it's not about the place, Suzannah, but the people who are there."
Heavy footfalls crossed the floor before the door opened and Suzannah heard the jingle of the bells.
"Alice?" Don's voice wasn't nearly as deep as it had sounded before. In fact, it sounded almost... tender. "I think her ride is here."
Surprised, Suzannah turned her head. And with Alice's encouragement, she stood.
Alice walked beside her to the door and that's when Suzannah saw an old-fashioned truck in the parking lot. "That... that was quick."
The driver's side of the car was already empty, and she watched as a man walked around to the passenger door and opened it.
He wasn't the tallest man she'd ever seen, or the biggest, but the look on the woman's face when the passenger door opened said that she was head over heels and crazy in love with the man.
Suzannah's heart filled up in her chest and she heard Alice beside her sigh.
The man with his salt and pepper hair took her hand and helped the woman down to the ground, gently tucking her against him and pressing a gentle kiss on her forehead before closing the front passenger door.
"Wow." Alice sighed again. "That's sweet."
Don grumbled behind them. "You want that?"
Alice turned around to face him and Suzannah kept her attention on the window before her, but she could see a little bit in the reflection where Don gathered Alice up in his arms and pressed a kiss on her cheek. And she chided him with a warm sigh in her tone.
For that, Suzannah was happy.
And a little jealous.
When the couple reached the front door, Don opened it up and held it for them. "Come on in so you don't catch a chill outside."
The man ushered in the woman he was with, introducing themselves as they walked and Suzannah saw the gentle touch he kept on her lower back.
She didn't miss the look that passed between them.
It was odd for her. To be in a room with two loving and sweet couples when she spent most of her time alone. She watched as Don and Alice explained that she'd missed the bus, but she appreciated that they didn't mention what had happened that kept her from getting on the bus for the most part. Explaining that their bathroom door had gotten stuck with her inside.
Smiling, she looked at the couple that had driven to the diner to pick her up. "I'm sorry for taking your time like this."
"Not at all." Celeste Winter waved off her concern as she touched her hand on her husband's shoulder. "It was a nice drive together. The wind in my hair as we drove along the road. It made me feel young again."
Suzannah blinked at her, stunned. Celeste didn't look like she needed to feel young, she looked amazing.
Her husband Aaron looked at his wife like she was an angel on earth. "We were happy to come and pick you up. James was worried that you'd be stranded somewhere overnight. And we know our way around Mystic. We can drop you off at your Great Aunt's house when we get there."
Suzannah felt like she was reading a book and missing a few important pages. "She has... I mean, had a house?"
Celeste brightened at the question. "Yes. It's a cute little gingerbread house behind the bakery. So does Hetty, her partner. It's a matched set of homes that remind me of those Christmas house sets that people collect. Perfectly adorable."
"So, the house..." Suzannah drifted off as her thoughts spun in her head.
Aaron nodded. "You have a house and half of the Bakery."
Suzannah felt a little... faint. "I can't believe it."
Celeste moved closer and gently placed a hand on her back. "It's a lot."
Suzannah looked into her kind eyes and nodded. "I didn't know I had family. I thought... I thought I was alone."
"Oh, sweetie." Alice took her hand and gave it a friendly squeeze. "Not anymore."
Don stepped up and held out a bag to Suzannah. "I packed up the chili and crackers. A breakfast sandwich because you really shouldn't go without trying that bit of deliciousness... if I do say so myself."
Alice laughed at his words. "Can we get something for the two of you?"
Celeste and Aaron both demurred. Aaron spoke for them. "We just ate before we left and by the time we get home, I'm going to be ready to climb into bed."
Celeste blushed and her eyes lowered to the floor. "Yes, we're fine. Thanks."
Suzannah took the bag and stepped forward to give Don a hug. The big man looked as surprised as she felt to find strangers so willing to be kind to her. Then she wrapped her arm around Alice in a tight hug. "Are you sure I can't pay-"
"It's a gift from us. We want to make sure you're well fed and happy. We can only help with the first part with the food. But," she leaned in closer, her voice dropping in volume, "you're welcome to come back here anytime. For any reason."
When Suzannah stepped back, her eyes were filled with tears. "Thank you."
Alice grabbed up the silver metal napkin holder and dashed off a few napkins to dry the tears on her cheeks. "You're going to make me cry and I'll look like a raccoon."
Celeste and Aaron were trying to hide their smiles, but while Suzannah didn't understand the humor she knew they weren't being mean. She could feel how warm they were as people, happy and genuine.
She didn't know how she knew, but she did.
It was the same reason that when she'd met her former boss, she knew he was a horrible man.
And how that man in the diner had been...
"Suzannah?"
She dragged herself free from the memory. "Sorry."
She knew her overly bright smile might get her a pass but based on the looks of concern from the people surrounding her, she was wrong.
"Are you ready to go?"
Her smile relaxed and a new kind of peace came over her.
The thought of starting a new chapter in her life was a genuinely happy one.
And knowing that she might wake up in her new life, spurred her on. "Yes. I can't wait."
A sh rolled over in his bed, hearing the mattress beneath him groan and settle.
He opened his eyes and looked out the window at the dark night sky overhead.
For a long time, since he'd lost his parents, first his mother and then his father, he'd felt alone up there on the mountain side.
Excuse you.
His bear's grumpy words didn't sting as they might have at another time.
Maybe it was how tired they both were.
Or maybe it was the aching hole in his chest, but he laid there thinking of his parents and for the first time in years, he felt as if they were there with him.
As if they were right outside the window looking in on him.
He was tempted to lift his hand up and touch his palm to the window.
Fanciful?
Are you asking me? Or is this just something rhetorical?
Ash didn't move or talk back.
He felt something turning as if he was buried in the ground and the whole world was spinning around him.
Deep inside his soul, he felt his bear turn and look out at him through their connection, that thin film of energy that kept them separate at times but left open every other kind of communication. Ash closed his eyes and saw right through the veil at his bear. The dark, endless gaze of his bear peered back at him.
Something's changed.
His bear nodded. It was just a hint of movement and Ash felt it more than he saw it, but it was there.
So it's not just me? Ash wondered. You feel it, too.
I feel... something.
Something outside of our lives. A quiet exhale of breath teased the edges of his hearing. Something coming closer.
Ash narrowed his gaze within, focusing on the depth of emotion in his bear's eyes. This lonely feeling, Ash felt the gnawing emotion deep inside of him, it feels like the ground.
He knew he wasn't making sense, but his bear listened to him, looking deep, patiently waiting.
Like when my mother planted her garden every year. His mind was full of images, his hands feeling the grit of soil against his skin. We'd have to dig into the soil and make holes before we could plant the seeds.
Maybe , he wondered, this hole inside of me-
Inside of us, his bear added, and Ash felt his face ease from its customary hard stare.
Inside of us, Ash corrected, is just making space for something.
For what's coming.
His bear's brow raised, and his midnight eyes stared right into Ash's eyes.
When it comes, human.
Ash listened intently.
Don't make a mess of it.
Ash wanted to cuff his bear on the shoulder, but he knew that wasn't going to work in so many ways.
If we were somehow in the same place at the same time...
That's right , his bear grumbled deep in his chest, it would be the last thing you do.
Did you forget that we... are one and the same?
His bear turned onto his other side, looking into the darkness beyond the space of their consciousness. I never forget a thing.