Chapter 6 #2
I’d remembered him telling her to be careful.
I also remembered how horrible those stupid migraines were.
She would be so happy, so full of life, but when they hit, they’d put her down for days.
It was like those damn headaches stole the life right out of her.
She would lock herself away in her room and close all the blinds, sealing herself off in darkness.
And she’d stay there until they finally went away.
It was the only thing she could do. I hated seeing her in so much pain, and I had no doubt my father felt the same.
I placed my hand on his arm and said, “You know, it wasn’t your fault.
There’s nothing you could’ve done to change what happened. ”
“I wish I could believe that.” He glanced down at his uneaten cake, then inhaled a quick breath. “I’m sorry. You came all this way to celebrate my birthday, and here I am messing the whole thing up.”
“You didn’t mess up anything. I know you miss her.
I miss her, too. I think about her all the time.
” I wasn’t exaggerating. I did think about her all the time.
We had such a good life, and while there were still some good times, it just wasn’t the same without her.
In fact, everything changed. I had to fight back my tears as I said, “I often wondered what our lives would be like if she was still here.”
“I don’t have to wonder. I know my life would’ve been better with her in it, and I have no doubt yours would be, too.” A soft smile crossed his face as he said, “But we have each other, and we’re doing okay, right?”
I was tempted to tell him that he was wrong, that we weren’t doing as well as he might’ve thought, but I couldn’t form the words. I wasn’t ready to tell him about what I’d seen so many years ago. I wasn’t sure I would ever be ready, so I simply nodded and said, “Yeah, we’re okay.”
“Good.” He turned his attention back to his cake, and in a matter of minutes, he’d eaten every bite. “Why don’t you tell me a little about this guy you’re seeing and why it’s so complicated?”
“I’m not exactly seeing him.”
Before I could say anything more, my cell phone started ringing. I grabbed it out of my pocket and when I saw that it was Braylon was calling, I turned to Dad and said, “I’m sorry, but I have to take this.”
I slipped inside the house and closed the door before answering, “Hey, what’s up?”
“I hate to bother you while you’re at your dad’s, but a guy came by here looking from you. Said he knew you from school. I believe he said his name was Drake Coburn.”
“Damn.” Drake was in my agronomy and crop science class.
He was a nice guy and not bad-looking, but I found it creepy the way he was always staring at me.
Even though I’d tried to make it clear that I wasn’t interested in him, he was always trying to strike up a conversation and used every excuse in the book for us to meet up out of class.
“I have no idea how he found out where I lived.”
“I was afraid of that.”
“Did he say what he wanted?”
“Nope.” I didn’t like the sound of concern in his voice when he said, “I gotta tell ya. I didn’t have a good feeling about this guy. I think he was up to something.”
“What makes you say that?”
“Just the way he was snooping around. I caught him looking down the hall, but he played it off and said he was just looking for you.”
“Damn. He had no business coming there like that.”
“What do you want me to do?”
“Look through the security feed and find out exactly what he saw. Maybe ask Riggs to check them out too—just to be sure we don’t miss anything.”
“You got it.”
“Thanks, Bray.” Before I hung up, I told him, “I’m on my way.”
I was just returning my phone to my back pocket when I heard my father ask, “Is everything okay?”
“Yes,” I lied as I turned around to face him. I had no idea how much he’d heard, so I tried to choose my words carefully. “My partner and I have run into a little snag with our project, so I need to be heading back.”
“So soon?”
“Afraid so.” There was no missing the disappointment in his eyes when I said, “I really need to get back and take care of this before a real problem arises.”
“I understand.” He stepped over to me and wrapped his arms around me, hugging me tightly. “I can’t tell you how much it meant to have you here with me today. I enjoyed it so much.”
“I enjoyed it too.” I gave him a quick squeeze back, then said, “I’ll try to get back soon.”
“I really hope you will.”
He walked me outside to my car, then waited as I got inside.
I was looking at him as I started my car, and for a brief moment, I didn’t see the man who made dead bodies disappear.
I simply saw my father—and only my father, and that was something I hadn’t seen in years.
It felt good to see him like that which made it difficult to leave.
Sadly, I didn’t have a choice. I had to get back to Langford Manor and figure out what the hell was going on with Drake Coburn.
By the time I finally got back to the office, Braylon, Timms, and Duggar were done looking through the security feed. I hoped that meant they’d figured out what Drake was up to, so I asked, “Find anything?”
“Hard to say.” Braylon pulled up the surveillance footage, then pointed at Drake’s red pickup truck as he said, “Looks like he walked around to the gym. Never looked inside, but seemed to just casually walk around. Then, he made his way into the school. He looked down one hall and had just made his way to the other when I found him.”
“Did he look inside any of the rooms?”
“Nope. Just stuck his head through the door like he was looking for you.”
“This makes no sense.” I’d always been very careful not to mention where I lived. I certainly wouldn’t have told Drake. “I don’t even know how he found his way here. I never told him where I lived.”
“He must’ve followed you home.” Timms brows furrowed as he asked, “Who is this guy anyway?”
“That’s just it. He’s nobody. Just a guy from one of my classes. He’s been trying to get me to go out with him for months, but I’ve made it clear that I’m not interested.”
“Apparently, he didn’t take the hint.”
“Obviously not.” I let out a deep breath. “This is bad.”
“It certainly isn’t good.”
“So, what are we going to do?”
“Riggs is looking into him. He’ll be able to tell us if there’s anything we need to be concerned about. Hopefully, he’s just a fucking nutjob who doesn’t know how to take no for an answer.”