Chapter 7 The Unraveling #2
The silence in the room stretched to the awkward point, and Aaron mumbled something about needing to make a pit stop. He stood and pushed back his chair.
After he left the room, she dismally turned to A.J. “He’s still clinging to the hope that our parents will be found alive.” Way down deep she didn’t believe it, but her brother did.
The shadow that crossed his features told her he didn’t believe it either.
“He’s so obsessed with finding them,” she continued softly, “that he hasn’t gotten the closure he needs, hasn’t grieved, and hasn’t moved on.” It was heartbreaking to watch him remain stuck in emotional limbo, but it wasn’t something she had any control over.
“Grief is a strange beast that everyone grapples with in their own way.” A.J. toyed with her fingers. “I wish I had more wisdom to offer on the topic, but I don’t.”
She knew he was speaking from experience.
“Please know this,” he continued. “I’m sorry for the tragedy you and your brother are dealing with. I’m here for you if you need anything. I’m here for him, too.”
“Thank you.” She squeezed his hand. “I’m sorry for your loss as well.” She wasn’t sure if she’d ever told him that.
He bowed his head over their joined hands. “As a man of faith, I trust that my late wife was here for the time she was meant to be here. As we all are. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away. Blessed be the name of the Lord.” He quoted the age-old passage from the Book of Job with reverence.
The profound wisdom contained in the verses resonated deeply with her.
“I really like what you said about being here for the time we’re meant to be.
It helps.” It was far more comforting to think of her parents as having finished the race they were meant to run instead of their race being cut short.
Aaron returned, putting an end to their sidebar conversation.
“What if,” he moved to the sink to stare out the window over it, “we’ve stumbled across the same secret that took our parents out of the game? What if it’s the reason I was shot at? And poisoned? And nearly asphyxiated?”
Aurora gently pulled her hand away from A.J. “But why target you instead of me? I’m the one tightening up security to deter break-ins at jewelry stores.”
He pressed his palms against the cabinet and leaned forward on them. “The gas leak was more of a two-for-one deal. Maybe it was intended to take us both out at the same time.”
“Or,” A.J. countered, “Aaron is being targeted to disrupt the line of succession at Diamondback. At one point, didn’t you say he was slotted to become the next CEO?”
“Was and still is,” she confirmed. “Uncle Cary is only serving as a placeholder until Aaron is ready to step in and take over. He never wanted the job to begin with.”
“Yeah, he’s been doing a lot of griping lately,” Aaron sighed, “about how he’s already been there longer than he intended to be.”
A.J. grew thoughtful as he listened and absorbed what her brother was saying. “I’ve got an idea. You won’t like it, Aaron. You will, Aurora.”
“Bring it on!” She rubbed her hands together in anticipation.
“I propose that you and I pay a visit to Diamondback this weekend, assuming I can find someone to cover for my shift at the auto body shop. Surely, you can come up with an excuse to pay your uncle a visit?”
Excitement fluttered through her at the thought of having him all to herself for a few days. “Actually, I received an invitation to a friend’s wedding a while back.”
“Perfect!” His voice grew more animated. “While we’re there, we’ll search for any evidence of data leaks at Diamondback, plus hidden cameras and recording devices. Anything that would indicate that they’ve been compromised.”
“It’s a date.” She’d start packing right away. “Speaking of proposals, we have something kind of huge to share with my brother, don’t we?”
Aaron pivoted away from the sink. “Do you mean what I think you mean?”
“No idea. I can’t read your mind,” she teased, fluttering her left hand at him.
He looked puzzled. “What’s that?”
“It’s a promise ring.”
“If you say so.” He shot an inscrutable look at A.J. “It’s not like any promise ring I’ve ever seen.”
She burst out laughing. “That’s because it’s made from a grenade clip.” She quickly explained its significance.
His expression cleared. “Congratulations!” He moved across the room to envelop her in a bear hug. To A.J., he said gruffly, “You know what this means?”
A.J. sent him a thumbs-up.
“Just so there’s no confusion,” Aaron clarified in a firm voice, “it means you get to help me look after her from now on.”
“My pleasure,” A.J. assured smoothly.
She gave them an incredulous look. “Quit talking about me like I’m not right here!” She was secretly grateful to have two such incredible men in her life who cared about her safety.
Bandit leaped into the fray, climbing into her lap to press his head against her neck. He didn’t know what was going on, but he didn’t want to be left out of whatever it was.
She kissed the top of his head.
A.J. cleared his throat to regain their attention. “You ready to hear the part you’re not gonna like, bro?” He directed the question to her brother.
“Nope.” Aaron returned to his seat at the table. “But something tells me you’re going to lay it on me, anyway.”
“That I am,” A.J. agreed. “Here’s the deal. Aurora and I need you to make Elise feel so needed in Heart Lake that she decides to extend her visit for a day or two.”
“We do?” Aurora’s eyes widened with mirth, knowing the request wouldn’t sit well with Aaron.
She watched his face redden in protest. Before he could say anything, A.J. gestured at her. “It’s the only way your sister and I will have the time we need to turn your home office upside down.”
Aaron slumped down in his chair. “You guys are killing me. Truly killing me.”
She sent him an impish look. “Is that a yes?”
He pretended to throw something, and she pretended to duck. “What’s the point? It’s two votes against one.”
“I know,” she chuckled. “That’s how most of our Uno games felt this evening.
“You’re still gonna owe me,” he warned darkly. “What you’re asking is far worse than an Uno game.”
The next day
After driving Aurora and A.J. to the airport, Aaron headed to a popular local diner to drown his sorrows in an extra-large cup of coffee. He selected a booth in the corner of the room and pulled out his cell phone to check his calendar.
He had another meeting scheduled at the sheriff’s office later in the day, which gave him a few hours to hold up his end of the bargain with A.J.
and Aurora. It wasn’t much of a bargain since his sister was benefiting the most. Not only was she attending a friend’s wedding, she was getting to spend an entire weekend with her boyfriend.
While I pretend to entertain my conniving ex.
He hated his life right now. If he’d been looking for romance, Elise Hathaway was the last woman he would be inviting to join him for breakfast. The cheerful nurse he’d met at the Heart Lake Medical Center was more his style, not that he had anything to offer her or anyone else at the moment.
He opened his text messages next and scanned the new ones waiting in his inbox. Then he started the laborious process of typing an invitation to Elise. He erased it and rewrote it several times, even taking the time to correct the spelling of a word.
I’m stalling. There was no point in denying it. He tried reminding himself that the text he was about to send was simply part of his job, but it still caused him physical pain to mash the SEND button. Then the waiting began.
He sipped his coffee, half hoping Elise wouldn’t notice his message until it was long past the breakfast hour. However, he wasn’t that lucky. His phone pinged with an answering message a few seconds later. He hastily scanned it.
I’m on my way.
His appetite dimmed. Yeah, he definitely hated his life right now.
“Oh, my goodness,” a woman squealed, interrupting his moping by sliding onto the bench across from him. “It’s you!”
His heart thumped a little harder to discover Maggie Meyer smiling at him like she’d just won the lottery.
Instead of a white smock, she was wearing a pale pink one today with a matching turtleneck beneath it.
Her dark hair was pulled back in a sassy ponytail, and the dusting of freckles on her nose made him think of cinnamon and spice—good things, happy things.
“Hey, Maggie!” It was impossible not to smile back at her. “How’s your grandfather? And the bee farm?”
Her smile slipped a little. “Thanks for asking. My grandfather is still resting and recovering. To cheer him up, I invested in a cruise for him and my grandmother. It was one of those last-minute bargains. Otherwise, it would’ve never fit in my budget. They depart next week.”
“Wow!” He was impressed. “That’s one way of telling someone you love them.”
“I do,” she sighed. “I’ll admit to having an ulterior motive, though. It hasn’t been easy cleaning up the store with them underfoot—fussing, fuming, and wringing their hands. Once they’re out of town, I’ll get a lot more done.” Her smile returned, curving her rosy lips upward.
Her words brought on a stab of guilt. He’d been so busy dealing with the case that he hadn’t gotten back to her yet about recruiting a cleaning crew.
“I still want to help.” She and her grandparents were good people.
They hadn’t deserved to get caught in the crossfire of the trouble plaguing his family.
“I still want you to.” Her eyes sparkled at him. “Assuming you feel up to it. You’ve been through a lot yourself lately, Deputy Cannon.”
“I’m fine.”
She smiled. “Something tells me you’d say that even if you were dragging a leg behind you.”