Chapter 30 They Failed
THEY FAILED
“How are you feeling?” Gale asked when she showed up at the cabin on her parents’ property after work. She’d dropped her overnight bag on the bed and walked back out to sit next to him on the couch.
She hadn’t wanted to go back to the office earlier but needed to. Rory was in good hands on the farm.
All she needed to do was run home and get a change of clothes for work tomorrow.
“Better,” he said. “My head hurts but not as much as I thought it would. Most likely the adrenaline still from someone trying to kill me.”
She held the gag in place, barely.
What she couldn’t control were her fisted hands or the snarl that escaped through her clenched teeth.
“We are going to catch him,” she said. “This is way more personal now than it was.”
“Yeah,” he said. “For you. For me it’s always been personal even though we’ve been told enough it was random.”
“Do you believe that?”
“I never did. I believe Rene saw something she shouldn’t have. Or heard something. I don’t know. None of it ever made sense, but there was no other crime reported in the area either.”
“That we know of,” she said.
“I don’t know what to believe anymore.”
There was a knock at the door so she got up to get it.
Her mother was standing there with a box in her hand. She grabbed it and moved in.
“Dinner,” her mother said. “Pork loin, mashed potatoes, gravy, baby carrots soft enough to not be loud if you crunch them, and a bottle of wine for Gale. I’m positive she needs it.”
She leaned in and kissed her mother’s cheek. “You’re a lifesaver. I was going to raid the mill if I had to.”
“That smells great,” Rory said. “I really appreciate it. And what you sent over earlier.”
“Think nothing of it,” her mother said. “Around here, we take care of our own.”
“That’s right. We always do. Which is why it kills me to think this is a local.”
“Gale,” he said. “It has to be. I’m sorry you want to think that way, but what other choice is there?”
“You don’t know if the person who did that to your car is Rene’s murderer,” her mother said. “But in my mind, it doesn’t matter. Ford will figure it out. We have to now.”
“We all have to come together.” There was no other way. “And I think you should stay here now. No one will consider coming after you on this property. Clay will know. It will put a wrinkle in their plans at the very least.”
“Or make them more aggressive,” her mother said. “I’m not sure that is any better.”
“Let them be sloppy,” Gale said. “Come onto the property. We can handle it here. All of us can. Even you, Mom. You shoot a shotgun better than most.”
Her mother laughed and patted her on the cheek. “I haven’t shot one in a long time, but that doesn’t mean I can’t or won’t if I need to. Let me know if either of you needs anything else. I’m assuming you’re staying the night, Gale?”
“Tonight,” she said. “Rory can’t be alone.”
And it’s not like she had to be embarrassed that her family might think she was having sex. All she was doing was playing nurse tonight. No one else should do it other than her, but she knew damn well her family would.
Her mother left, she pulled the food out and set it on the table, then got a glass down for her wine. No wine glasses in the place, but it wasn’t as if she cared. She was about ready to chug it straight from the bottle.
Five minutes into their dinner, Rory said, “This is great. Better than my mom’s.”
She laughed softly. “Does your mother know what happened today?”
“No. I’ll have to tell her something soon. I try not to keep secrets. She knows about the other threats, but this was more than a threat.”
“It’s an attempt,” she said.
“That’s right. They failed.”
“Thanks to your quick thinking and driving ability.”
“If I hadn’t been a cop I’m not sure I would have been able to calmly figure out what to do and the best way to do it. Catching up to traffic had been rough, but thankfully there wasn’t much. I was running out of time and knew it.”
She reached her hand over to grasp his. “You did good. It makes me sick thinking of how much worse you could have gotten hurt and I’m glad it didn’t happen.”
“Me too.”
They ate more, Gale taking a big gulp of her wine. One glass would be enough, even if she wanted to drink more.
“Are my brothers coming back tonight?”
“No,” he said. “I’ll talk to them tomorrow. Ford is looking into things and talking to the State Police. Clay said he has his ear to the ground to see if there is talk going on about what happened.”
“No one would be stupid enough to brag about it.” Did she think it’d make the rounds? Sure. But not this quickly.
Nothing more than he had an accident. Ford had said they were keeping it quiet that the brakes were cut.
If it got out, that would lead right back to the police report or someone in the Sheriff's Department.
She didn’t want to think it was happening under her brother’s nose. But she also knew that anything was possible.
“I’d think they wouldn’t,” he said. “But after talking to Detective Denning, he admitted he wasn’t doing his job.”
“Can you really take his word for it?”
“Not in a court of law,” he said, lifting his head, then reaching for more mashed potatoes. She was glad that he was eating well.
“True.”
“Everything he said is recorded. Ford and Clay have it.”
“Send it to me, please,” she said. He reached for his phone on the table, but she stopped him. “Later. Let’s just eat and rest.”
“I’m surprised to hear you say that,” he said. “I figured Gale Ridgeway would dig in the trenches for everything now.”
She wanted to. It was damn near close for her to get his phone and listen herself.
But neither of them needed it tonight.
There wasn’t much that could be done with the information and Rory needed his rest more than she needed to be a savior.
“I’ll get my time there,” she said. “No reason to get dirty tonight. Why don’t we finish and then I’ll clean up and you can rest and watch some TV.”
“I don’t watch too much. Or what I do is true crime.”
She smiled and stood up with her plate to clean it off and put in the sink. He was slowing down eating now too and pushed back so she grabbed his also.
“To get inspiration?”
“Sometimes,” he said. “Other times it’s seeing how sick people really are.”
“You know that firsthand. Go look for something if you want, or we can talk. I just figured you’d like some quiet from your thoughts. I can’t really talk without thinking.”
“Thanks, Gale. For cleaning up.”
“No matter how much cleaning I do in this place it will never feel clean to me, even though I know it is.”
Her mother would have come over earlier to clean out the dust and make the bed. Or Reenie would have. She’d thank them later for it.
“I can see this not being your style.”
“Not even close.”
“I enjoy listening to your voice. Talk to me about your childhood here. It will distract me.”
“Sure,” she said. “None of us wanted to take over the farm. Least of all Clay, but I think we always knew he’d step up when the time came. He’s just doing it his way.”
“Was that hard on your father to let go of it?”
“Very. But he couldn’t physically do much and my mother was still running the cafe and caring for my family. I mean, four of us were still in the area and here all the time helping with my father’s care.”
“I’m sure you were. Probably Blaze the most.”
“He was checking in on his free time. I stayed in the house with my mom for the first week. Ash was here too when he wasn’t at the firehouse. We got through it.”
“Seems as if your family gets through a lot.”
“We do. Growing up here wasn’t easy. We all had to work. Or I had to do more than I wanted, but thankfully my parents understood I wasn’t too keen on getting dirty once I hit twelve.”
“So you worked in the cafe?”
“I couldn’t really as I was too young. Or at least to do much more than clean up tables. I picked apples, cared for the goats and horses. Mucking stalls is not fun.”
“I can’t see you doing that.”
“And I never will again. My friends used to love coming here. Meredith and I were best friends until she moved in the ninth grade. She spent a lot of time here and loved it though all she did was trip and fall half the time.”
“And now she’s marrying your brother. How does that make you feel?”
She cleared the table off and wrapped up the rest of the food and then ran water in the sink to soak the pans and dishes.
“I’m happy for them. I don’t think I would have ever guessed it.
Clay is just...darker than he used to be, though he’s much better than he was when he first came home.
And Meredith has always been this bubbly light that saw rainbows, puppies, kittens, and chocolate bars in everything. ”
“Sounds a little like Rene.”
“Sorry if it’s going to make you sad.”
“Gale,” he said. “I’m long past sad. Even angry. I’m at the numb phase. It’s not a good feeling, but it’s getting me through.”
“Life should be more than just getting through.”
“I agree. I’m trying. If I wasn’t, then I think you and I wouldn’t have gotten as close as we’ve have. I want you to know that. I don’t know if I can give you what you need.”
“I don’t know what I need any more than you. I just know we’ve got to find out who is doing this. If not for you, then for Rene. For all of us. But more for your sister.”
“It’s always been all for her.”
“And now it has to be for you,” she said. She turned to see him sitting on the couch watching her. He stood up and moved closer. She held her ground and he put his hands on her waist.
“I want it to be about us, but it scares me.”
She swallowed past the lump in her throat. “What is scaring you?”
“Everything. What is happening around me. Trying to figure it out. Not wanting you to get hurt. I don’t even mean physically, just hurting your heart. I don’t want to do that, but I’m not sure I can prevent it.”
She took his hand and put it on her chest over her heart. “It’s tough, Rory. Maybe I fear hurting yours too.”
“It’s stone now,” he said.
“No, it’s not. Or if it is, it’s just a tiny layer waiting to be opened. As I said, I’m tough and I know how to use tools. You just need to ask yourself if you want more, not if you can have it.”
He nodded, gave her a light kiss on the lips, then walked away.
Well, that didn’t give her any clues what he wanted or even thought.
She turned her back to finish the dishes before she cried.
She never cried. Never over a man.
But this man, he was making her do things she never thought she would.