Chapter Sixteen #2
“I have an apartment and a no-contact order on Ian.” She rocked back on her heels, chewing her lip. “It’s the right thing to do, but it’s scary knowing the risk of him harming us increases right after leaving.”
The woman’s worry mixed with wary hope was unmistakable. Bailey Rae smiled her encouragement. “You’ve accomplished so much in a short time.”
“You pointed me in the right direction at the market, then afterward too,” Gia said, her voice soft. “But more than that, you believed me.”
“Of course I believe you,” Bailey Rae rushed to say.
Had her own mother been wary of speaking her truth?
Was that what had kept her from seeking help before coming to Winnie?
Except even then, Yvonne had left and returned to Winnie’s more than once.
The cycle was tough to break. “I just wish I could have done more.”
Enough that she wouldn’t worry about Ian finding Gia and Cricket someday.
Gia blinked back tears. “More? You did a world more than anyone else. My friends, even my own family, insisted it couldn’t be that bad. Or had a bunch of suggestions for how I could work on our marriage. Telling me to examine my blame because relationships are fifty-fifty ...”
“Until they’re not,” Bailey Rae said softly, understanding too well.
Gia’s eyes softened with sympathy. “There’s a man in your past too?”
Thank heavens, no. To keep herself safe she’d held back so much of herself from anyone. She wanted what Winnie and Russell had shared, but at the same time, that kind of connection terrified her. “In my mama’s past. So many bad men, just like my grandmama had before her.”
Her mind winged back to the fights and the bruises, the time her mother had tried to break the cycle by fighting back. Bailey Rae couldn’t remember the man’s name, just a shadowy image of a big guy with dirt under his fingernails who’d demanded red beans and rice. Then exploded that he hated them.
He’d ducked into the pantry and started hurling cans at her mom, shouting all the other foods she could have prepared.
Yvonne had ducked behind the refrigerator and freezer doors.
A sad move on her part since there never was much in the way of fresh food in the apartment.
Still, she gave it her best effort with a gallon of expired milk and some frozen peas.
The whole time, Bailey Rae had sat under the dinette table watching the dog lick milk off the floor.
She still couldn’t stomach the smell of red beans and rice. “Your plans sound solid. You deserve to be proud of yourself.”
“I don’t know about solid,” Gia said, rolling her eyes, “but certainly better thought out than showing up with a cookbook in my hands.”
Bailey Rae laughed softly. She couldn’t argue with that. Still ... “You took that first step. It’s tougher to do than people realize.” She didn’t share anything more about her mom. This was Gia’s moment. “I hope you have the most wonderful life.”
Blinking fast, Gia pulled her hands from her back pockets. “Do you mind if I hug you?”
“I don’t mind a bit.” Bailey Rae folded her in a tight hug before stepping back and watching Gia drive away to launch her shiny new future.
Was this how Winnie had felt over the years as she and her friends helped others? Warily hopeful. Excited. Humbled. And yes, even a little bit proud.
Although it sounded as if her aunt had done far more.
The secrets weren’t in the money, the safe or filing cabinets.
Not really. Winnie’s story was about the individuals she’d gone to great lengths to help.
Bailey Rae had been so focused on unraveling a mystery, focused on her own grief and need to know about the past, that she hadn’t taken time to marvel at all Winnie had accomplished.
Standing under the bower of oak trees that had served as her playground, her haven, she struggled with guilt.
And confusion. She’d thought she was honoring Winnie’s memory with her plans to leave Bent Oak and fulfill one of Winnie’s dreams. But was that really what her aunt would have wanted?
Was that a good way to honor Winnie’s legacy?
She truly didn’t know. In fact, she had no idea how to proceed next.
Martin ducked under the curtain of Spanish moss as he trekked out of the marsh to his truck. He smacked a mosquito feasting on his neck. Annoying and uncomfortable, but at least he’d had a welcome respite from thoughts of Bailey Rae.
He’d been deep in the woods following up on another case of a mutilated animal.
He suspected a ring of deeply disturbed teens were responsible, but he couldn’t discount some kind of religious cult too.
There was no shortage of crime hidden out in the swamps where the average person wouldn’t dare venture.
Sweat dripped from his forehead as he peeled off his hip-wader boots and tossed them into the back of the truck.
He hadn’t bothered taking his cell phone into the wooded bog since there wouldn’t be a signal.
He barely had one bar at the truck. If work needed him, they could reach him on the satellite phone clipped to his belt.
Sliding behind the wheel, he reached into the cooler on the floor and snagged a sports drink.
He chugged with one hand and reached for his cell phone with the other to power it back up.
Message after message loaded, including two from Bailey Rae.
Now that caught his attention. No surprise, since that woman turned him inside out.
He set aside the empty drink and thumbed open the text, scanning through her alarm about a strange car approaching, followed by her assurance it was only Gia. He wished he could have taken comfort from that, but his pulse still hammered. A shower and supper would have to wait.
“Siri, call Bailey Rae,” he said into the phone while cranking the engine. The ringing transferred to the truck’s speakers. Although even if she answered, he would still worry until he’d laid eyes on her. He peeled out, gravel and mud spewing from his tires as he floored it toward the cabin.
The phone rang, and rang until finally ...
“Hey, Martin,” Bailey Rae answered breathlessly. “I’m sorry to have alarmed you. I’m fine.”
“Okay,” he said, somewhat assured, yet still gunning it down the two-lane road with lights flashing, “but I think we need to come up with a safe word. Because until I see you, I’m going to worry.”
“Safe word?” She laughed softly. “Like red beans and rice?”
He welcomed her answering chuckle. “As far as safe words go, that’s pretty random.”
“I hate that dish, so the odds of me ever saying it are low. Less risk of sending out a fake alert.”
“Note to self. You hate red beans and rice.”
“Ugh, stop. I’m going to gag.”
A smile pushed through. Man, he liked her spunk. “Well, I’m almost at your place, so you can tell me all about what Gia said. Or is she still there?”
“You should check your messages more often. I sent that text a half hour ago.”
“I’ll talk to my cell phone carrier,” he said, even though he already knew. He didn’t want to discuss the horrific details of the case he’d been investigating. He waited for her to answer, only just realizing how much he’d missed talking to her.
He kept driving. Toward her.
She cleared her throat. “Are you almost here?”
Thanks to breaking land speed records through the forest, yes. “Am I welcome?”
“I wouldn’t mind the company.” Her voice grew hesitant with an unusual vulnerability. “It’s been a really challenging day.”
“I’m turning into the drive now.”
As he steered the truck off the road, his tires crunched on the gravel that would lead to Winnie’s cabin.
He soaked in the sight of Bailey Rae standing on the porch with Skeeter sitting beside her, leaning against her knee.
Her legs stretched from her jean shorts, tan and long, and he wondered what band tee she wore today.
He stepped from the truck in the hot afternoon. “Are we having red beans and rice for supper?”
“No, sir. I made my award-winning pimento cheese. Winnie’s recipe, actually.
Which you’re getting none of,” she said with a teasing smile, then swept an arm wide.
“See, I’m totally okay and alone. The place is clear.
But thank you all the same for coming so quickly. Kinda like a knight in shining armor.”
He strutted closer and propped a boot on the bottom step, taking in her Eagles T-shirt as well as the curves inside. “I feel confident you can slay your own dragons, but I’m happy to lend aid.”
She nodded toward the mud on his boots. “Did you encounter any of those dragons at work?”
Was that a hint of worry in her eyes? “Nothing worth noting. Just regular old wading through the swamp for a few hours.”
“Oh my, that sounds miserable. Come on into the air-conditioning.” She snapped for Skeeter and opened the cabin door.
“I won’t argue with you. I’ve even got a change of clothes in the truck,” he said as he jogged back to snag the T-shirt and jeans.
Once inside, Martin closed the door behind him before following her directions to the bathroom to change. The intimacy of the moment wasn’t lost on him, or the ease in her offer and his acceptance.
“Are you hungry?” Her voice wafted through the door as he shucked his grungy uniform.
He was starving, hollow for her and food, but he didn’t want to pressure her on either front. “I carry snacks and drinks with me in the truck.”
“Snacks aren’t nearly enough,” she admonished. “I’ve had a change of heart about sharing my award-winning pimento cheese with you. I still have a loaf of homemade bread left for sandwiches. And hummingbird cake.”
“What’s hummingbird cake?” he asked, the flowery scent of her shampoo permeating the small bathroom now that he’d ditched his swampy clothes. He washed his hands and splashed water on his face.
Laughing, she answered, “Well, it’s not made of birds. I promise. We really need to work on your grasp of fine Southern cuisine.”
He tugged on his jeans and a game warden T-shirt, leaving his boots and uniform in the shower stall for now.
He swung open the bathroom door and padded on bare feet through the living room toward the kitchen.
“You still haven’t introduced me to chicken bog, so I’m not a hundred percent certain if you’re pulling my leg—”
Whoa. He stopped short at the sight. Papers littered the floor. Kitchen counters were covered in opened spices and baking goods.
Concern kicked right back into overdrive. “Did someone break in?”
“No. That’s all me, and it looks better than this morning,” she said, slicing into a loaf of bread. A Mason jar of pimento cheese rested on the edge of the cutting board. “I was looking for something, and the mess got a little out of hand.”
“A little?” The place looked like a tornado had hit. “Do you need help cleaning up?”
“I’ll just sweep it all away and put it in the dumpster.” She passed him the cutting board and nodded toward the kitchen table.
“What did Gia have to say?” he asked, placing the sandwich makings on the table.
Bailey Rae joined him with napkins and two cans of Coke. “She’s got a job and a place to live. She even took out a no-contact order against her husband.”
“That sounds like good news.” He tapped the worry crinkle between her eyebrows. “What made this day difficult?”
She hesitated for so long, he wondered if she would even answer.
Shaking her head, she took a seat. “I just know how often those good intentions fall apart.”
“Because of your mother.” They’d come a long way in getting to know each other since the ticket incident. Working together to help Gia had shifted something between them.
It had shifted something inside him too. Something that had been closed off since he left the military. He took his seat, his knees brushing hers under the table.
“Yes, and after watching my mom,” she said, slathering pimento cheese on bread, enough for three sandwiches, “I understand there’s nothing more I can do.”
“Winnie would be proud of the way you’ve taken what happened to you and helped make sure it didn’t happen to another child.” He rested a hand on hers, pausing her busyness.
Her gaze snapped to his and held for three slugs of his heart against his ribs before she leaned forward to press her mouth to his. The feel of her soft skin under his touch, the flowery scent of her shampoo swept away a dark workday.
She eased back, her hands on his shoulders. “Thank you for saying that. It means more to me right now than I even know how to explain.” She drew in a shaky breath. “Now let’s have some supper and I’ll tell you all the ingredients in hummingbird cake.”
As the warmth of her voice filled the space between them, Martin couldn’t ignore the truth any longer.
He’d considered traveling to Myrtle Beach to see her once she left town, making an effort to maintain their growing connection.
But the kiss told him how much he was fooling himself.
His heavy heartbeat and undeniable hunger for her had him realizing he didn’t want only an occasional meeting.
He wanted her to stay in Bent Oak. The very thing she’d made clear wasn’t anywhere on her agenda.