Chapter 32
ALWAYS BELONGED THERE
“Did you have fun today?” Blaze asked Gracie when they were close to home.
“That was the best. And Clay said I can pick apples in a few weeks. I like apples. Can I get more donuts when I go back, Mom?”
Arden turned to look at him in the SUV. “I think that’s what she’s more excited about. But we’ve got a lot of fruit to eat and use so it doesn’t go bad.”
“My mother told you how to freeze some of it, right?”
“She did. I’ll be doing that with the blueberries so we can make muffins in a few weeks. We’ll eat the peaches and pears we picked. We didn’t get a lot, but I think I can cut some up and put them on pancakes or French toast. You’d like that, right, Gracie?”
“Yes,” Gracie said in the back seat, her hand covering her yawn.
He was thrilled the visit went so well.
His father came out when they were in the garden and showed Gracie all the vegetables, then told her how great they taste fresh picked.
Letting Gracie pick the green beans that his mother cooked for dinner got the little girl to gobble them right up, along with the lettuce and cucumbers that went into the salad.
Clay coming out when they were at the fruit trees and explaining them relaxed Gracie some so that she wasn’t tucked behind his leg like she’d been the first day he’d met her months ago.
Ford had met them in the chicken coop and showed Gracie how he got the eggs in the mornings as a kid. Let her reach in for a few that he’d left there knowing of their visit.
Gale came last with Rory, and he never worried about a problem there. Gale could talk to anyone and she loved kids, so she told stories of how she worked in the gardens and the cafe as a child also.
The fact Gracie was asking to go back couldn’t have worked out any better in his mind.
They were fitting into his life as if they’d always belonged there.
He’d have it no other way.
“Someone looks tired,” he said.
It was only six thirty. Too early for Gracie to go to bed, as much as he would like some time alone with Arden.
But they’d had yesterday and he couldn’t ask for more than that.
Well, he could. He could ask for a lot more days like that but wouldn’t. Even if Gracie were around, he’d like them to be in his life more. Where he didn’t feel as if they were sneaking every little moment.
For a man who rushed little in his life, he felt as if he wanted to put a jetpack on and slam his hand on the power button.
“Can I ride my bike?” Gracie asked. “It’s still early, right?”
“You can,” Arden said. “Just for a little bit.” She turned to look at him. “Mind walking around with us?”
“I’d like that.”
They pulled into her driveway, and he shut off his SUV so he could get the car seat out for her. Maybe he should just get one to keep in his car. It wasn’t as if it was a big deal. He didn’t think Arden would think he was rushing if he did.
“Gracie, let me put this back in the car. I need to run to the bathroom quick, so come in the house with me and then we’ll go out the front door.”
“I’m going to bring my car home,” Blaze said. “I’ll be back.”
Now was the time he wanted to lean in for that kiss. Even though he wasn’t going that far.
When he walked back down, Arden was opening the front door and frowning.
“Where’s my bike?” Gracie asked.
“I don’t know. It was here on the porch.”
“What’s going on?” he asked.
“My bike is gone,” Gracie said, her eyes welling with tears. “Where is my bike?”
“Relax,” he said. “Did you put it in the garage?”
“No,” Arden said, shaking her head. “It’s been hidden here on the porch in the corner the whole time. I should have put it in the garage. I guess I just thought nothing would happen to it here.”
He’d never heard of anyone having something stolen since he’d lived here.
“Why don’t we just take a walk and look around?” he said. He wasn’t sure why, but maybe they’d catch sight of it or could ask anyone they saw. “Do you remember the last time you saw it?”
“I honestly don’t know. I can’t say for certain since I leave through the garage. I just know that she rode it three days ago. So Thursday. We’ve been coming and going through the garage now in my car. Or you through the backdoor.”
“Moooommmmm,” Gracie wailed. “I don’t have a bike now.”
“Hey,” Blaze said, picking her up. It’s the first he’d attempted it and he wasn’t sure she’d go to him, but she did. She curled into his neck and cried and it broke his heart. “We’ll find it.” Or he’d go buy her another one tonight if they didn’t. He wouldn’t add that though.
“Let’s just walk and look around,” Arden said. “Maybe someone is playing a joke.”
In poor taste in his eyes. He also didn’t like the fact that, though things had been quiet with Arden lately, and isolated to work, now it could have bled over to her home.
Yeah, he didn’t like that at all.
He continued to carry Gracie while they walked around the development, the little girl’s tears not really stopping. “Did you see a pink bike around here?” he asked someone who was outside a few buildings over.
The woman looked at Gracie crying in his arms. “Sorry. I didn’t. I’ll keep an eye out for it though.”
“Thanks,” Arden said.
He looked over Gracie’s head to see Arden’s concerned eyes. He wanted to say something but knew it wasn’t the time.
They circled back around, and Arden asked another person closer to their unit, who said they thought they saw one in the trash bins when they went there earlier. “At least the handlebars were hanging out.”
Blaze nodded. “Let’s check it out.”
“Why don’t I take Gracie home while you do it? Just in case.”
It was the unspoken words that maybe she was feeling the dread creep into her bones as much as he was.
“Good idea.”
“Come to me, Gracie,” Arden said, reaching for her daughter.
“No. I want Dr. Blaze to carry me.” Back to Dr. again. It just recently slipped that she’d dropped it.
“I’ll bring her home for you,” he said, walking back, then bringing Gracie in the house, leaving and half jogging to the dumpsters.
The closer he got, the more the skin prickled on his arms.
He could see the pink handlebar sticking out and hoped it was just someone who had thrown it out as a joke. Or better yet, that it wasn’t Gracie’s at all.
He knew better though. It was going to be.
He stared into the dumpster, his pulse already pounding before he even leaned in. Gracie’s bike.
The Barbie stickers were a dead giveaway. And both tires were slashed, clean punctures that made his stomach twist. Exactly like Arden’s car.
A note was taped to the seat rather than under a windshield wiper.
“Motherfucker,” he muttered under his breath. Every muscle in his body went rigid. He wanted to rip the damn thing off and read it, but he forced his hands to stay still. Don’t contaminate the evidence.
He snapped a quick photo and sent it to Arden. Stay inside, he texted. I’m calling Ford.
Ford answered on the second ring. “Hey, what’s going on?”
“I’ve got a problem. Clay filled you in about Arden and the notes?” Not something his brother was happy about when he learned the details earlier this week at the same time he found out about his girlfriend.
“Yeah. Something else happen?”
“Sending you a picture now. This one’s outside the city.”
There was a moment of silence. Then Ford’s voice sharpened. “I’m on my way. Don’t touch a thing.”
“That’s the plan.”
He turned just as Arden appeared in the distance, her stride quick and uneven. The fear in her eyes hit him square in the chest. He started toward her before she could get closer to the dumpster. She didn’t need to see this up close.
“This can’t be happening,” she whispered.
“I’m sorry,” he said, meaning it in ways that went far beyond the ruined bike.
“What does the note say?”
“I didn’t touch it. Ford’s handling it. He’ll loop Tate in so expect Glens Falls PD here also if Tate is on duty.”
“They came here,” she said, her voice breaking. “They touched something of my daughter’s. This isn’t good. This is—this is terrifying.”
He didn’t hesitate. He wrapped an arm around her and pulled her against him. “I’ve got you,” he said low against her hair. And he wasn’t letting go. “Where’s Gracie?”
“Inside. Watching a cartoon. I can see her from here if she opens the door, but she knows she’s not allowed to.
” She looked back toward the house, tears glinting in her eyes.
“I don’t want her to see what they did. She’s already upset that someone stole it, but I said that maybe there was another child out there who needed it more than her and I’d get her another. ”
“I can do it tonight.”
“No,” she said, shaking her head. “There is too much going on. She’ll be fine.”
“She will be,” he said firmly. “Because we can’t let this touch her. Let Ford handle it.”
“I saw the picture. Is it bad?”
“Bad enough. Whoever did this wanted you to get the message. Wanted you to know that everything around you isn’t untouchable.”
She pressed a shaking hand to her forehead. “Message heard loud and clear. But why the dumpster? What if I’d never looked there? Maybe they wanted me to think it was stolen.”
“That’s possible,” he said. “Which means they’re not done yet. This is too close now, Arden. I can’t risk you or Gracie being alone tonight. Or at all right now.”
She looked up at him, startled. “Gracie won’t understand—”
“I’ll stay at your place,” he said. “The couch is fine. I’m not leaving you.”
“I couldn’t ask you to—”
“You’re not asking. I’m telling you.” His voice softened, but the steel in it stayed. “And you’re calling Billy. If you don’t, Ford will. Everyone close to you has to be checked. He knows where you live. So does Tina.”
Her eyes darkened. “I know. And that’s the worst part. This is going to blow everything up.”
“Do you think it’s him?”
“No.” She shook her head hard. “Billy wouldn’t touch Gracie’s things. Whatever this is, it’s about me. It has to be. I just don’t know why or who. But this time they crossed a line. He wouldn’t. No way. He’s doing what he can to make sure she’s not afraid of him anymore.”
“Are you sure? He just found out yesterday that you are dating me. Could he do this to cause more issues and say he has a right to Gracie? That there is more danger in your life right now?”
“I... I didn’t think of that. I just don’t know if he’s that devious.”
“Tina, then?”
“I don’t know. It doesn’t fit. She gave Gracie a gift once, remember? Why destroy something so cruelly now? Until we see that note, we can’t know.”
He cupped the back of her head, keeping her close. “Go back to your daughter. Let me and Ford deal with this. Then we’ll talk next steps.”
“This is my battle,” she said, shaking her head and stepping out of his arms.
“No,” he said, his voice rough. “It’s ours. They touch you... they touch me. Don’t argue that and don’t piss me off by pretending you’re on your own. I know you’re strong. I get it. But this isn’t something to shove your independence down my throat about.”
Her breath hitched. Her eyes shimmered, emotions tearing through the composure she was fighting to hold.
He dipped down and brushed a kiss to her forehead.
“I’m sorry,” she murmured. “What a shitty way to end a good day.”
He couldn’t agree more when she was walking back to her place and Ford came pulling into the development. His brother must have been driving faster than normal, but the lights weren’t on now. No sirens either.
The sheriff's SUV came to a stop.
“How is Arden holding up?”
“Not wonderful.”
“You know now I’m even more pissed off you kept this all from me.”
“What were you going to do? It’s out of your jurisdiction. PD doesn’t always cooperate with the Sheriff’s Department.”
“It’s not that way anymore,” Ford said. “I’ve bridged that gap. I called Tate on the way. He’s coming over when he can. I’m going to start the process now.” Ford took several pictures, put gloves on, then pulled the bike out and set it against the dumpster, took a few more.
“Looks like all they wanted to do was to prove a point with the tires again. As if saying they can get her anywhere. It’s obviously the same MO.”
“Not having seen the other evidence, I don’t know,” Ford said, his voice clipped.
Blaze pulled his phone out, grabbed the picture of Arden’s tire and sent it to his brother.
Ford zoomed in on it, then put it next to the bike’s puncture marks. “Looks close to me. Could be a pocketknife. It’s not big. Hard to say. Ready for the note?”
“As ready as I’m going to be,” he said. Though he wasn’t looking forward to it.
I DIDN’T WANT IT TO COME TO THIS. YOU LEFT ME NO CHOICE BY NOT WALKING AWAY. IT’S ON YOUR SHOULDERS. END IT BEFORE IT’S TOO LATE... FOR BOTH OF US.
“What the fuck is that supposed to mean?” he asked.
“Almost sounds as if they regret doing it,” Ford said. “Definitely conflicting.”
He took a picture of the note. Arden wanted to see it, but he didn’t want her to know just yet. Not until Gracie was in bed. Which would happen soon with the day the little girl had.
Ford put the bike in the back of the SUV for evidence. “Are you going to try to get prints?”
“I will. Maybe we’ll get lucky. Let’s go back to your place.” Ford pulled his phone out. “Tate just went on a call. I’ll catch up with him tomorrow.”
“That’s fine. It’s better that way.” He turned his head when Clay came down the road. “You called him?”
“Yep. You brought him into it to start. The last thing I need is him being pissed at me as much as I am at you. This is serious, Blaze.”
“Jesus Christ. You think I don’t know this now?” He ran his hands through his hair. “I had no idea it was going to turn into this. I took the steps I thought would help and it was all dead ends.”
“It won’t be this time,” Ford said.