Chapter 12 #2
Joel frowned. “I don’t know. What if the gunman finds us there and blows the place up? He seems to like setting fires and using bombs.”
“That’s the same argument no matter where we end up.” Justin shrugged. “I’m open to other ideas.”
“Yeah, well, the other problem is that Grady’s place is only a few blocks from where Trina and Ben live.” Joel played with his empty water bottle. “That may be too close for comfort.”
“Or we could consider that Grady’s place is exactly where the gunman would never think to look,” Justin countered. “As I said, I’m open to other ideas.”
Trina remained silent, deciding it was better to follow Joel and Justin’s lead on this. As long as they had a place to stay that wasn’t a tent in the middle of the woods, she was all in.
Although it occurred to her that staying in a tent in the woods might be safer. If they weren’t mauled by a grizzly. Or attacked by a bobcat or some other ferocious animal.
“Yeah, okay. We’ll stay at Grady’s.” Joel stood and began packing the food containers into the cooler. “I appreciate his help.”
“He’s a good friend.” Justin agreed. “And honestly, if anything bad does happen, I’m sure Maya and Chase will agree to pay for the repairs.”
“I can help pay too,” she offered. “I’m the reason we’re in this mess.”
“No need.” Joel shook his head as he continued packing. “We’ll be fine, especially since we’ll be staying off the internet moving forward.”
She nodded and wished she didn’t feel as if she were a burden to Joel and Justin. Yet she hadn’t asked for this. Nobody in their right mind would ask for this.
Turning, she watched as Ben and the dogs played. Then she glanced up at the sky and leaned on prayer for the second time that day.
Please, Lord Jesus, keep Ben safe in Your care.
Joel still wasn’t thrilled with the idea of being in a house so close to where Trina and Ben lived, but maybe his twin was right about that being the last place the bad guy would look for them.
As he hauled the cooler to Justin’s SUV, he frowned. “We need to stop and get a rental car.”
“Why?” Justin glanced at the dogs. “Our vehicles are designed for K9s.”
“I know that, but it’s occurred to me that the K9 crate might be too noticeable.” He gestured to the back hatch.
“Come on, Joel.” His brother cocked his head. “I can’t imagine the gunman is out there searching for SUVs that are designed to transport dogs.”
“My SUV was blown to bits,” he shot back. “We were either found via the internet somehow or the SUV. I’m not sure which.”
Justin sighed. “Okay, look, if you want to get a rental, that’s fine. But just understand you won’t have all your K9 gear if needed.”
Joel hesitated as that sank in. Maybe his brother was right. He could try to haul everything from Justin’s SUV to the rental, but it wouldn’t be the same.
“I’m not sure what to do,” he confessed in a low voice. Trina had walked over to chat with Ben, so he glanced at his brother. “I’ve never been in a situation like this. I feel like nothing I do is good enough to keep them safe.”
“Hey, don’t forget you have God on your side.” Justin clapped a hand on his shoulder. “And they’re safe now because of you.”
Yeah, but for how long? He didn’t voice his concern.
“Now that I think about it, we can move stuff around in Grady’s garage,” Justin said. “I know he doesn’t routinely park his truck in there, but I’m sure we can make room for the SUV.”
“That might work.” The plan cheered him up. “Hopefully, Grady doesn’t get upset.”
Justin waved that off. “You know he’s easygoing most of the time. Not sure why he’d care if we took the time to reorganize his garage.”
Cleaning the space would take some time, but he had to believe they had a head start.
Whoever had blown up his SUV hadn’t followed them into the woods.
So maybe, just maybe they could get back to Cody and get situated in Grady’s place before this guy realized where they’d gone. He nodded. “Okay, let’s go to work.”
“Now you’re talking.” Justin grinned. “We just need to cram everything into the SUV for the trip into town.”
“We’ll manage.” He already felt better having a solid plan. His twin was right; they could make this work. “Royal, come!”
His K9 instantly whirled toward the sound of his voice. Then Royal trotted to his side.
“You too, Stone,” Justin called. The yellow lab obediently came to his side.
“Where are we going?” Ben asked as he and Trina followed the dogs to the SUV. “Will there be video games there?”
“Nope, but there will be a television.” Joel forced a reassuring smile. Grady wasn’t one for gaming, and even if he had been, it wasn’t likely Grady would have anything suitable for young kids. “We’ll get your game from your house once it’s safe.”
“Okay.” That promise appeased Ben for the moment. Joel was learning that the vague answers Trina often gave Ben were the best way to handle the boy’s constant questions.
The longer he spent time with Trina and Ben, the more his admiration for her grew. Not only had she stepped in to take custody of her nephew, but she’d read who knew how many books to prepare herself for instant parenthood.
Trina was so different from the women he’d dated. Women, he silently acknowledged, who had plenty of outward beauty but lacked the sweet goodness deep within.
Not that he was ready to settle down. Still, he couldn’t help but realize how Trina had been forced into doing that, regardless of whether she was ready for a family or not.
Giving himself a mental shake, he opened the back passenger door. “Trina, you and Ben sit in the back with Royal. Stone will stay in the crate, and I’ll ride up front with Justin.”
“Yay! I love Royal!” Ben clamored inside, patting the seat beside him. “Come on, Royal. Get up!”
Joel gave Royal the hand signal to jump in. Royal gracefully leaped onto the back seat, then gave Ben a lick on his cheek.
“Royal, that tickles,” Ben said with a giggle.
The boy’s laughter eased the tension from his shoulders. Maybe he wasn’t doing the best job of protecting them, but as his brother pointed out, they were alive and unharmed. Physically, at least. Emotionally, he knew this was taking a toll on Trina. Ben seemed to be doing okay so far.
Yet he couldn’t stand the thought of failing them. Two innocent people who’d done nothing to warrant this level of anger and fury.
He closed the rear door and slid into the front passenger seat.
Please, Lord Jesus, give me the strength and wisdom I need to do this!
On the heels of that prayer, a familiar Bible verse flashed in his mind. I can do everything through Christ who strengthens me. (Philippians 4:13)
He relaxed against the seat, feeling better.
“Everyone set?” Justin put the SUV in gear and pulled out of the picnic space.
“Take the back roads into Cody if possible.” Joel glanced at his brother. “And avoid going past Trina’s house.”
Justin cocked a brow. “That was my plan.”
Joel knew his brother was smart enough to figure that out for himself, but for some reason, the thought of returning to Cody concerned him. Not that using a cabin in the middle of the woods had worked.
All he could do now was stay focused. He needed to trust that Griff and the local police would find one or both of their suspects very soon.
They were on the road for barely five minutes when Ben said, “I have’ta go to the bathroom.”
Of course he did. That was something Joel should have anticipated. “We’ll stop at the first gas station we find, okay?”
“Okay.” He glanced back to see the little boy was wiggling in his seat. One look at Trina’s brown eyes had him leaning forward. “Find a bathroom soon, Justin.”
“On it.” Even as his brother spoke, Justin hit the gas. The SUV surged forward. Two long minutes passed before a gas station sign came into view.
“We’re almost there.” Joel gave Trina and Ben a reassuring smile. “See? There’s the gas station.”
“Hurry,” Ben urged, still wiggling.
Justin pulled into the parking lot. Before Joel could get out, Ben had his door open and was running toward the gas station. Joel glanced briefly at Trina, then slid out and hurried after him.
The restrooms were located toward the back. Somehow, Ben had found it because the door was already closed and locked.
He stood nearby to wait. It didn’t take long for him to hear the sound of a toilet flushing and water running in the sink.
Ben emerged looking sheepish.
“Buddy, you can’t wait until it’s an emergency,” he told him. “What if we couldn’t find a gas station?”
Ben lifted his thin shoulders. “I was playing with the dogs.”
Joel sighed. He supposed this was another part of parenting. They should have used the restrooms at the campground before leaving. “Okay, let’s go.” He guided the boy back outside.
Sweeping his gaze across the parking lot, he didn’t see anything alarming. Reassured, he followed Ben to the SUV.
The rest of the trip into Cody via the back roads was uneventful. Justin pulled up to Grady’s small home and killed the engine, giving Joel a quick glance. “Why don’t you get Trina and Ben inside before we work on the garage. Front door key is hidden within the light fixture.”
He nodded and pushed out of the vehicle. Finding the key wasn’t difficult, and inside, he was reassured to note Grady’s home was clean and comfortable.
“Hey, my friend Mitch lives over there.” Ben gestured to the home across the street. “Can I play with him?”
“Not now, maybe later.” Trina looked worn out. “Let’s find something to watch on television, okay?”
Ben heaved a sigh, but since Royal and Stone had joined them in the house, he was easily distracted. The dogs followed him into the living room where he found the remote.
Trina walked into the kitchen. “I don’t know about you, but I could use some coffee.”
“Sounds good.” He tucked his hands in his front pockets and leaned against the door jamb. “I didn’t realize Ben had a friend living close by.”
“Me either.” She glanced over her shoulder at him. “I mean, I knew Mitch lived there, but I didn’t know your friend had a place across the street.”
“Maybe we should find another place to stay.” He grimaced. “Ben will keep asking to play with Mitch, but we can’t allow that. Not until this guy is behind bars.”
“I know. We’ll just keep putting him off. At least for the rest of the day.” She shrugged as she found the coffee. “This town is small enough that we probably can’t stay much longer than that anyway without being noticed.”
She had a point. People were out in the summer more so than during the long cold winter months. He pushed away from the doorway. “I need to help clear out the garage.”
Trina nodded and continued making coffee. As he turned to open the connecting garage door, Joel hoped and prayed staying there would work out.
He couldn’t afford to make any more mistakes.