Chapter 18 #2
Lanie darts a quick look at me and then says to Jane, “A few weeks ago, I snuck out to see him.”
“Lanie,” I say in a sharp voice. “We don’t need to discuss this now.”
“Why?” Her lips are tight, her eyes determined. I’m not winning this fight. When I don’t answer, she turns to Jane. “Da was furious. He grounded me from everything.”
It wasn’t her sneaking out that caused me to panic. It was not knowing where she was or if she was safe. I fold my arms and wait it out.
“Then, can you believe it? He told everyone what I’d done. Threw it back in my face any chance he got.”
What the hell? She watches me, but I’m so shocked that I can’t even speak. Jane looks between us, her head tilted.
“Isn’t that right, Da?”
“No. It isn’t,” I say through gritted teeth.
“No. It isn’t,” she agrees. “None of that happened.” She takes an orange from the bowl of fruit and rolls it in her hand.
“He told me he couldn’t trust me anymore and that I’d need to earn that trust back.
I was upset at the time. But Da never brought it up again.
If I wanted to do something, he’d remind me I was still grounded, and even after I wasn’t grounded, he told me he was still working on trusting me. ”
“You made a mistake, lass. I wasn’t going to keep punishing you—” And then I get it. “This isn’t the same thing, Lanie. Jane hurt a lot of people. You’re too young to understand.”
“Maybe.” She shrugs. “Maybe not.” Biting her lip and tucking a strand of hair behind her ear, she stares at the floor. “I’m worried about you, Da. You’ve been sad. And carrying around your wedding ring.” She looks at me. “And I’m worried about Uncle Garrett.”
“I’m sure he’s fine.” I don’t know that at all. I want to give him space, but I’m also itching to call him. To make sure he’s okay.
“He loves you.”
No point in denying it now. “He does.”
“And you love him.” She says it as if it’s a fact. As if she knows.
Panic roils in my stomach. I try to keep my voice steady. “He’s family.”
She rolls her eyes. “When he was upset at the diner the other day, you took care of him. Made sure he was okay.”
What’s she getting at? “He’s family,” I say again, and I’m not lying. But it feels like I am.
Lanie glances away, and a blush appears on her cheeks. “I was worried. So I followed you.”
I swallow my nerves. “I was just helping him calm down.”
“By kissing him?” She turns to Jane. “There was a lot of kissing.”
Jane snorts, and I glare at her.
“That wasn’t—” The hurt look in her eyes stops me. “Fine.” I swallow. “I love him.”
When I glance at Lanie, she’s smiling, and I feel like a decade’s worth of pressure is gone. “No shit.”
I can’t even yell at her for cussing. Jane grins, and I shake my head, the smile sneaking out before I can stop it.
“So let’s go get your man,” Lanie says, holding up the keys to the van. “I’ll drive.”
Chuckling, I grab the keys out of her hand. “That’s not happening, lass.” I brace myself as we walk into the living room. I don’t need to answer questions or—
“Christy, thank God.” Ramon rushes over to me.
I stare at my cook. “What are you doing here?”
“Sorry. Mamá was—” He cuts off and shakes his head. “It doesn’t matter. I had to leave.” He hesitates and glances at Isaac. “Is Mr. Bishop okay?”
“Really?” I grumble. “You called Ramon?”
“What? No,” Isaac says.
Ramon’s eyes crinkle. “No one called me. But the storm is picking up, and on my way here, I saw his Lexus in the ditch— Are you okay?”
I sway on my feet as blackness threatens to overwhelm me. “Garrett was in an accident?”
“No, no. Not an accident. It looks like his car slid off the road and got stuck in the snow. He should have taken his truck.” No one responds to this, and Ramon doesn’t press it.
“I saw his car between here and Bishop Fields. There was no one in it. Maybe he walked to Bishop Fields. It’s less than a mile away.
But the snow is blowing hard, and it’s really cold. I hope he’s okay.”
I pull my phone from my pocket. My messages to Garrett haven’t been read. I quickly call him. It goes to voicemail, and I hang up, trying not to panic. “His phone is dead.”
“I tried to call him too and Bishop Fields,” Isaac says. “But I just got the answering machine on both.” He nods to Miles. “We were going to go out and look for him—”
“I’ll do it.” I move to go around Isaac, but he puts his hand on my arm.
“Wait, Christy—”
He’s interrupted by Lanie flinging herself into my arms. “No, Da. It’s not safe.” The panic in her voice is mirrored in her eyes. I know this panic all too well.
“It’ll be fine, lass. I’ll take it slow.”
“There’s no need. I called Nat. She has a truck. But more importantly, she has keys to the building.”
I’m not happy that he called Nat, but I can’t say why. I’m not sure she likes me much. Not that it matters right now. “Doesn’t Jonah have keys?”
“Probably, but he and Vivian both took off not long after Garrett left.” Isaac smiles as if he understands. He can’t possibly. “Now all we can do is wait.”
“You want me to wait?” I gape at them. “What if Garrett didn’t make it to the event hall? He might be out there right now freezing to death, and you want me to wait?”
“Daddy?” Simon’s eyes are huge. “Is Uncle Garrett hurt?”
“No, bud. He’s fine.”
“You can’t know that!”
Jane steps in front of me, and I’m ready to fight. Sure, I’m being unreasonable, but this is an emergency. “Christy?” Her eyes catch mine. “Stop scaring the children.”
The words in my head are not fit for those same children, but I hold them in and instead smile at Simon. “He’s okay, lad.”
“If Nat doesn’t find him,” Miles says, “we’ll go with you to look for him.”
I nod and walk away, trying to hold in my tears. My panic isn’t reasonable. It’s not that bad out. Garrett knows what he’s doing. Although not taking the truck on the snow-covered roads doesn’t lend much credibility to that.
Deep breaths help, and I take in my surroundings. The red stain on the carpet is now a light pink.
“I’m almost sure I can get out the stain, Mr. Christy,” Reginald says. “But I need vinegar, and there was none here.”
I clear my throat. “Thank you.”
The tree is now upright again, but there are still ornaments on the tree skirt. And the tree looks less put-together. Join the club.
No squawking emus, so Justine must be back outside. My eyes are drawn to the television. Thankfully, it’s showing something other than our home movies. It’s a Wonderful Life. That’s only slightly better.
Garrett’s parents are talking quietly. Are they worried about their son? Or how this looks?
Am I any better than they are? This is all my fault. I drove Garrett out the door and possibly out of my life.
I wouldn’t blame Garrett for not ever wanting to talk to me again. But that’s a later problem. Right now, all I care about is finding Garrett and making sure he’s safe.