Chapter 41
Chapter Forty-One
CHARLOTTE
“What do you mean, she’s not here?” I ask the receptionist, a mid-thirties man with a goatee. His nametag says “TUCKER.”
“Just that. She left this morning.”
I shake my head. This isn’t adding up. “And her care team just let her go?”
He raises an eyebrow. “The programming we run here is voluntary.”
Right…and yet. “Did she say where she was going?”
“No.” He gives me a kind smile, but it just makes me want to slap him.
“Wait…did she check out, or is she maybe she’s just…away?”
“I don’t have that information.”
Fuck. I look around the modern but sterile entry space. “Can I talk with Dr. Shreve?”
“I can leave her a message, and she can call you.”
“I meant like right now.”
Tucker’s eyes widen. “I’m sorry, no. That’s not possible.”
Pinching the bridge of my nose, I shut my eyes for a moment and gather what patience I have left. “Fine.” Tucker takes down my message and promises to deliver it.
There’s nothing left for me to do here, so I spin and retreat. Once I’m back in the foyer, I pull out my phone to call my sister, then remember that her phone is with Finn River Sheriff’s Department.
Worry chews at my insides as the hospital doors slide open and the soft, cool air in the breezeway hits my hot cheeks. Where did she go? And is she planning to come back?
On my way to Thunder Mountain, I call Zach’s line.
“Hey, Zach, it’s Charlie, have you by chance seen Morgan today?”
“Uh, no. Why?”
“She left Jackson this morning.”
“Left, like…checked herself out?”
“Maybe. You still have her phone?”
“She hasn’t come to pick it up. I know because it’s still sitting on Ev’s desk.”
“And she hasn’t called you.” I cringe because I’m not making sense.
“You think something’s happened to her?”
“No,” I say. “She probably just got fed up, or missed her horses.” Or wanted a fix, but I don’t say that part.
“You want me to meet you at Thunder Mountain?”
I huff a full breath. His kindness is appreciated, but wrangling my sister isn’t his job. “No. I’ll be okay.” If she’s not at Thunder Mountain, I’ll regroup.
If Morgan’s gone back to using, she could be in any number of places. The Pinedale Motel. The Gear Jammer truck stop. Someone’s basement. Doing whatever it takes to get high.
To escape.
I know what Theo’s going to say, but I call him anyway.
He huffs a giant sigh. “If she’s not at the rescue, call me back.” He hangs up before I can say anything else.
Morgan hurt him too many times. Broke him down, bit by bit, until he’d reached his limit. It’s partly my fault. And maybe Sally’s too. But at the time, we both knew nobody would take Morgan’s side. Not with her history of promiscuity. Her blatant disregard of social norms.
They’ll say she was asking for it, and that’s not something I want either of you to have to experience.
Getting something Morgan wanted seemed like the best way forward.
If only I’d known how much heavier that burden would grow. How it would erode our relationships. The very fabric of our family.
With me in Seattle and Mom in the wind and Dad married to The Limelight, the only person left was Theo.
And since high school when Theo often played the role of enforcer with Mo, he became the dog Morgan kicked when she was hurting.
And he was too bruised to see that it was a cry for help, reassurance, love.
The secret we’ve kept has held us hostage all these years. Keeping us from healing. Keeping us apart.
How I wish I could go back in time. I wouldn’t have gone to that party. I wouldn’t have taunted Nic that night. I would have left with my friends.
If Nic had never hurt me, I would have had the capacity to protect Morgan from him and what he did to her.
I wouldn’t have had to break William’s heart. Or mine.
Where would we all be right now if I’d never gotten trapped in that bathroom?
Swiping my wet cheeks, I turn onto Salt Spring. Dark raindrops dot the soft dirt in the center of the road and speckle my windshield. I can’t help rolling my window down so I can smell the peppery sage and the rich scent of thirsty earth, but it just twists my longing even harder.
Morgan’s house comes into view. Her truck is gone.
I force a tight sigh through my tense lips.
Fuck .
However, Morgan’s bestie and right hand woman Adeline’s SUV is here.
That must be it. Morgan called Addie for a ride, and Mo’s running some kind of errand. Everything is fine.
After parking, I hurry past the house. Maverick plods toward me, and though I’m in a rush and the raindrops are cold on my shoulders, I stop to stroke his soft nose. “Sorry, sweet boy, I didn’t bring treats today.”
I expect him to dismiss me with a disappointed huff, but he slides his muzzle past my cheek and bends so the underside of his jaw cups the back of my shoulder.
Like a hug, his soft coat tickling my cheek.
For one moment, I lean against him, drawing from this simple act of trust, and reach up to rub his neck.
“Thanks, boss,” I say, and kiss his cheek.
I find Addie in the barn, tacking up. Her dark hair is pulled back into a long braid that swings between her shoulders as she adjusts her saddle.
“Hey,” I say, my voice breathy. I know I should start with how was your trip and when did you get back and how was the training and we need to talk … “Where’s Morgan?”
She looks up from adjusting the cinch under the horse’s belly, her brows knitted together. “What do you mean?”
Panic starts tapping beneath my skin. “You didn’t pick her up this morning?”
“No.”
“Have you seen her today?” My voice is growing hysterical but I can’t control it.
Addie turns, her arms falling to her sides. “I haven’t seen her since I left for training a month ago. She’s not at the hospital?”
I shake my head. “Is Gus here?”
“He’s out in the south pasture bringing in a couple of mares. That’s where I’m headed.” She plucks her radio from the saddle and raises Gus .
“You on yer way yet?” he claps back.
“Have you seen Morgan today?” Addie asks him.
“Nope. Should I have?”
“Tell you later.” Addie’s brown eyes tense. “Need my help?” she asks me.
I run my hand through my hair. “No, thanks.”
“I’m sorry,” Addie says. “Me being gone probably didn’t help.”
“It’s not your fault.” I turn away so she can’t see the anguish playing across my face.
Back at the house, I climb the porch to get out of the rain, trying to think up a plan, but where do I even start?
I call William. There’s so much left unsaid between us right now, but maybe we can put it aside for the time being?
But it rings and rings. When I get his voicemail, I hang up and call The Limelight.
“This is The Limelight,” Mike says over the textured sounds of clinking glasses and conversation and the television playing over the bar.
Mike doesn’t really know me, and I don’t have the bandwidth for pleasantries. “Hey, is Will Hayes there?”
“I can transfer you to the office line, hang on.”
I wait through a short pause, then the line rings again.
And keeps ringing. The answering machine recording is still my dad’s voice.
He sounds cheerful and youthful and so out of place in this moment—not just because it’s far from cheerful but because I could sure use him right now. I hang up and hit redial.
“This is The Limelight,” Mike says in that same bright tone.
“Hi, I just called looking for Will. He didn’t pick up. Can you see if he’s in the office?”
“Uh, sure. Give me a sec.”
The receiver clunks down on the bar. In the background, a sports whistle chirps, followed by the faint drone of an announcer, punctuated by the hum of conversation, a burst of laughter .
I count my breaths, forcing them to steady as I wait for what feels like hours.
“He’s not here,” Mike says. “I just saw him like twenty minutes ago, but he must have taken off.”
“Any idea where he went?”
“I don’t, sorry. Want me to take a message?”
I turn him down because I need help now . Pacing on the now-clean porch, the rain drumming on the roof above me, I’m about to call Theo when my phone chirps.
“Hello?”
“You broke our deal, and now you’re going to have to pay.”
Air whooshes from my lungs, followed by a surge of anger. Why can’t he leave us alone? “What are you talking about?”
“It’s such a shame. First, you and your whore of a sister get more than you deserve, and now you’re about to lose it all. What’s it going to be like watching us gut those animals one by one? To watch everything burn to the ground?”
“I haven’t done anything!”
But the line is already dead.
Breathing fast, I call William again, but when it goes straight to voicemail, panic sets in.
I need you!
I race through the rain to my car and tear down the gravel road. I don’t know where to go. Home?
Home . Even through my frazzled panic, I recognize the warmth vibrating my heart.
It’s the tall pines and the wraparound porch and William’s truck waiting for an adventure.
It’s Ollie greeting me at the door, her soft muzzle brushing my shins, sleeping at my side like my own personal sentry.
It’s waking to the fragrant warmth from the woodstove in the morning.
The scent of William’s soap and the feel of his lips against my skin.
It’s cuddling with him on the porch bed while the rain drums on the roof.
It’s his body curled around me at night and his steady heartbeat against my cheek.
It’s knowing I’m loved and cherished and safe.
It's William. He’s my home.
He’s all I’ve ever wanted, and I’m about to lose it all again. A sob rips from my throat just as my phone rings through the Bluetooth.
“Zach?” I manage.
“Sorry, did I catch you at a bad time?”
His kindness just makes the hurt sharpen inside me. “I can’t find Morgan and I can’t get a hold of Will either and my dad’s at his cabin…” I suck in another breath and use my shirt sleeve to wipe my tears. And something bad is going to happen .
“I’ve been trying to reach Will too,” he says, concern lacing his tone. “I thought he might be with you.”
“No.” I wipe my nose with my sleeve. God, I have to get it together. I pull to the side of the road and press the heels of my hands to my eyes. Nothing is making sense.
“But, Charlotte, things are happening fast and there’s something urgent we need your help with.”
“What?” I cough out, batting my face with my sleeves. Wait, we?
“I’m going to join our call with Special Agent Luke Ballard’s.”
“No,” I croak, but it’s like he doesn’t hear me.
“Hi, Charlotte,” Luke says in that warm tone that has me breaking down again because how am I supposed to navigate this right now? “Forgive me for how this is going to come across, and the distress it’s going to cause you. I need you to know that I’m on your side, okay?”
“That goes for me too, Charlotte,” Zach adds. I can picture his face right now. Earnest, caring.
I shake my head, confused, my head aching from how long I’ve been crying, and the dread building inside me. Something bad is going to happen.
I know it.
“Okay,” I say.
“I checked in with Garnet County Sheriff’s Department,” Luke says. “Based on the information we’ve compiled, we were operating on the idea that Ari Pullman might have been assaulted that night you all played at Creekside eight years ago.”
I wrap my arms around my middle and curl into myself but the sobs still shake me. Because now I understand. Garnet County must be where Creekside is located. I don’t remember that detail, but no other explanation for what he’s saying fits.
“But it wasn’t Ari who ended up in the hospital that night,” Zach says in a kind voice that slides around me like a blanket. “It was you.”
Shame burns hot inside me, igniting my face. They know.
“I…can’t talk about it.”
“We’re going to put him away, Charlie,” Luke says, urgent, almost firm. “So he can’t hurt anyone else.”
“I said I can’t talk about it,” I say in a rush, squeezing my eyes shut. “I…signed an NDA.”
“Charlie, I’m on your side, remember?” Luke says.
“And I can tell you with absolute certainty that whatever terms you agreed to won’t stand up in a court of law.
He can’t keep you from complying with a court order, so you are absolutely one hundred percent protected.
A nondisclosure is not intended to hide a criminal act.
He manipulated you into thinking otherwise. ”
“But he’ll take everything.” I swipe my wet cheeks.
“We’ll keep that from happening,” Luke says. “He’s taken enough, don’t you think? Not just from you, but from Ari, and Dagney, and the others. Their families.”
My sister . I sob, covering my face with my hand. He pretended to be her friend. He stole her strength, her beautiful courage. “I thought signing the contract was the right thing to do.”
“You did the best you could, Charlie, okay?” Zach says. “But it’s time to let us take over. Can you come to the station? Or I could come to you and drive you in.”
“William,” I whisper. I can’t do this without you. But will he still want me when he learns the truth? Could he possibly find a way to forgive me?
“I’m trying to find him,” Zach says. “Hang on.”
“Salazar is back at Creekside tonight,” Luke says. “But he won’t make it to the stage. This ends now, Charlie.”
“Oh shit,” Zach utters.
Answering him feels like I’m swimming through molasses. “What’s wrong?”
“Why is William in Montana?”