Chapter 5 Rhett
five
Rhett
Four Weeks Later
“Look, buddy, I’m going to tell you the same thing I’ve been saying for the last four weeks. If she didn’t give you her last name or a way to contact her, she doesn’t want you to find her.” The smug grin on the sheriff’s face makes me want to risk getting thrown in jail just to punch it off.
It’s a good thing he walks away before I release my frustrations from the last four weeks and take it out on his ugly mug.
This can’t be happening. I’ve been searching this whole damn town for the past four weeks. Between my obligations at the ranch and driving back to Cherry Blossom Falls, I haven’t slept more than four hours a night since the night I spent with Charlotte.
I take off my cowboy hat and run my fingers through my hair in frustration. Why is it so hard to find the woman I’m looking for in such a small town?
Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the townspeople looking out for Charlotte by keeping her personal information private, but the longer it takes to find her feels like a nail in my coffin.
“You still sniffing around for my goddaughter?”
“Miss Delores.” I put my hat back on my head and take her hand in mine. “You have to tell me where she is. No one will tell me where she is — it’s almost like she disappeared.”
“Well, not exactly.” She studies my face before continuing.
"You seem like a nice guy—you deserve at least part of the story. Charlotte’s grandmother, who basically raised her, died a few months ago.
We were celebrating her life at the bar the night you hooked up with Charlotte.
She was sad, and I suggested she find herself something fun to do that night, which just happened to be you.
She was set to move to a new town for a fresh start in the morning.
She might have stayed if there was something or someone to stay for.
But it seems like her one-night stand left before she woke up without leaving his last name or phone number. ”
“Wait, she doesn’t live in Cherry Blossom Falls any longer?”
“Nope, she left that morning and never looked back. So evidently she was ready to move on.”
“No, that can’t be. We had a connection.”
“If you were so connected, then why did you leave her in that hotel room like a two-bit whore?” Her words are like a slap to the face.
Is that what Charlotte thinks? That I thought so little of her and our time together that I would just leave like that?
“That’s not it at all. I need to find Charlotte and explain. “Miss Delores, you have to tell me where she is?”
“And why should I? You broke her heart once by leaving her—what’s to stop you from doing it again? Besides, she’s moved on to a new town and a new job, and it wouldn’t be fair to drag her away from all that.”
A vision of my Charlotte, happy and enjoying her life in a new town, even if it’s not with me, is like a bucket of cold water being dumped on me.
“You’re right. I wouldn’t expect her to pull up her roots again to follow someone she barely knows and certainly doesn’t trust. But if I could just see her one last time to know she’s okay. I promise I won’t hurt her again.”
She drops my hand and takes a step back, her eyes scanning my face, “Alright, but if you do anything and I mean anything to hurt that girl, I’ll make sure you disappear and your body will never be found.” The steely glint in her eyes tells me she’s not joking.
“I would expect nothing less, Miss Delores.”
“Fine, she moved to a small town a couple of hours away called Temptation Ridge." You’ve got to be kidding me. I’ve been searching for her two hours away, and she’s been right under my nose this whole time in my hometown.
I don’t realize I’m smiling until Delores calls me out on it.
“What’s with that smile on your face? You look like you just won a million dollars. ”
“Even better. My ranch happens to be a fifteen-minute drive from Temptation Ridge.”
“Well, I’ll be damned. It seems like her grandma might have guided her all along.”
“Thanks, Miss Delores.” I lift her hand to my lips and give a quick kiss on the wrinkled skin before gently releasing it. “We’ll invite you to the wedding,” I shout as I race to my truck with a newfound urgency to get home and claim my woman.
“I should hope so!” She calls after me. “She works at the town bakery!”
Of course, she works at the bakery—the one place I used to love to buy sweets from, but I’ve been too heartbroken to buy any, and she's been hiding in plain sight.