Chapter 8 - Andi’s Tail
Chapter 8
Andi’s Tail
Friday
Andi Delane worked with her computer propped on the tiny desk in the back cabin hidden among the trees. The sheriff had given her a good tip about the place. Silent. Private. Clean. She’d rented it so she could be close to town. Digger, the owner of the rustic cabins, told her the town woke at dawn.
Because of all the trees, the sun seemed to be sleeping later. She liked exploring nature, maybe because Andi had always thought she was wilder than most people. Every wild place had its soul. Each had its own personality. Her pop used to say that if you sleep somewhere for a week, a place seeps into your essence and you’ll never forget it. The smell, the sounds, the feel of the air.
Unfortunately, the whole cabin smelled of the burned beans someone had tried to cook for supper a few nights ago, and every shutter rattled when the wind blew.
To make her headache worse, the email from headquarters said it was still too hot to come back home. They feared, because she would be testifying, a drug cartel had a bounty out on her. Besides there were too many questions floating in her mind about Honey Creek. Meeting at least two of her brothers. Reading Morrell’s will.
Andi might be stuck in this town for a week with nothing to do but dig into a past she knew zero about. They would notify her when she needed to ID the perp in court. This quiet place was as good as any.
She turned off her laptop and put on her running shoes. When she slipped out the back window, she stood still to let her eyes adjust. The deputy was leaning against a tree five feet off the porch. He hadn’t heard her, which was good.
It rolled around in her mind that the sheriff couldn’t seem to find her half-brothers. He said something about her older brother telling his boss he was going on a hunting trip. That was the bad news. She’d have to wait to warn brothers she didn’t even know that they might be in danger.
With a possible extended stay, she was even more grateful that Pecos had told her about this old cluster of fishing cabins at the edge of town. She could come and go without anyone seeing her, including the deputy. Hotels always had too many people around. These cabins were scattered between hundred-year-old trees with branches that touched the ground. The creek ran on one side and the back of the place was wild land, too rocky and uneven to have trails.
The sheriff said her half-brothers would probably be back in a few days, a week at the most. It was much longer than she intended to hang around, and with this town being so small, people would start to get friendly. It was inconvenient to be noticed too much.
Andi decided she’d have to blend in more. After dawn she’d buy a few pairs of jeans and three Clifton College sweatshirts to appear as more of a local. She was good at fitting into new places, but that would be hard here with a tail—especially an obvious mountain of a tail.
She thought of pistol-whipping him and letting him sleep it off in the woods, but his head was probably as hard as a rock and the bounce back alone might break her wrist.
It wouldn’t be horrible if he wasn’t so obvious. It was like having a big Texas longhorn following you around and thinking he is invisible. If this was going to go on for a week there was no way people in town wouldn’t notice and talk. That would blow everything. She’d heard him circling the cabin as if she wouldn’t hear the world’s biggest raccoon. He’d even sat outside the café, eating a candy bar, when she ate dinner earlier.
The only time she didn’t see him was when she slipped in the sheriff’s station’s back door to see if Pecos had heard from her half-brothers. When she returned, there was her deputy dog acting like he was holding up the back wall of the sheriff’s office.
The last couple nights she’d hear him moving outside around her cabin for a while like Bigfoot, then silence. She thought then that maybe her tail went home to take a bath and eat a meal. She hoped. The guy was growing on her with his constant “Morning, ma’am.”
The deputy was always back at dawn.
The folks in town smiled at Deputy Obvious but didn’t talk to her. After all, she was a stranger. She couldn’t ask if anyone remembered her mother, and she had no idea what her brothers’ names were. She also couldn’t mention Jamie Morrell. That would blow her cover and have everyone asking questions. In short, she had no leads and few ideas. Small towns are the toughest places to get information on the down-low. Too many people in everyone’s business.
As far as anyone here knew she was just on vacation. If the Texas Ranger she once served with hadn’t told the sheriff about her, Pecos wouldn’t have been waiting for her. And if she hadn’t tried to order Pecos around, maybe the sheriff wouldn’t have put a tail on her. But here she was.
The man who raised her was high enough in the government to stop any inquiries into Andi’s background. And her mother wouldn’t say anything about the guy who’d “knocked her up” when she was eighteen. The only reason Andi knew the sperm donor’s name and hometown at all was because of her birth certificate. Jamie Morrell was nothing more than a shadow in her life and she would like it to stay that way.
Pop, her stepdad, was her father. Every weekend she used to claim she was in bootcamp. They mountain climbed before she was ten, deep dived the next summer, flew before she drove a car. Pop never said he wished for a boy; he wanted Andi, his girl, who could take care of herself. He’d taught her to survive.
But once last year she broke a rule when she was undercover. She used her nickname, Andi. Andilana was her real name, but her mother had always called her Andi.
Andi wanted to use her name. She thought it was common enough no one would notice. They were going on a small bust. Only her team would call her Andi.
The raid went as planned, except for the fact that one of the perps heard her name and now she had to stay off the radar and far away from Dallas until things calmed down.
Hopefully soon, she’d testify against the suspect, ID him in court, and go back to her ghost life with dyed hair and another name. She’d only be in this little valley for a few weeks at the most. No one would think to look for her here. This place would vanish from her memory.
Once she was sure the deputy was gone for the fourth night, Andi slipped out of her cabin to a midnight sky and stretched. For a few moments someone might have heard her blending with the night, then only silence. When she was far away, she began running over wild, uncharted hills without making a sound. She always felt free in unbroken land. Deep down she knew she’d never settle down, get married, or stay in one place long enough to let the seasons all change. A part of her would always be a loner.
Since she knew the deputy had left, Andi thought she’d run for an hour, then maybe get some sleep.
The moon was high when she returned to the cabin. She stripped in the glow of her window’s low light, then ran to the creek and waded silently into the cold water.
Thirty minutes later after a brisk swim she ran back to her window. No one had seen her. At this moment she was totally alone. Wild. Silent. Solitary.
She stood, still dripping, as the cool night breeze blew her hair dry and the moon’s light made her skin glow.
One minute later she climbed in bed nude and closed her eyes. No one in Dallas knew anything about this town. “No one is chasing me,” she kept telling herself. She knew it was most likely true, but a small bud of anxiety she couldn’t place reared its ugly head. It had only happened a few times over the years, and she knew that sixth sense had saved her more than once. She’d slipped from one alias to another when she went undercover and then stepped into a nothing town barely on a map, so logic deemed the feeling to have no credence.
She was overplaying the problem. Seeing monsters where there were none. Making assumptions not based on fact.
If the Texas Ranger hadn’t shown up to talk to the sheriff, she wouldn’t be worried. He probably went back to Austin after getting her all confused. They weren’t friends anymore. They didn’t work together, and the affection they once had was ashes, but he still kept up. While he was the best at finding people, the idea that if he could find her, someone else could too, stuck with her.
A noise came from out back of the cabin. She glanced at the time. About the hour her beefy raccoon normally returned. Deputy Davis was probably digging through her trash right now, and that was actually a relief tonight.
She sat up and watched the side window. A porch light over the cabins’ office, fifty feet away, allowed just enough light to see anything moving in the shadows.
“Wait for it,” she said under her breath. “Wait for it.”
Snap. Snap and suddenly a howl came like a wounded coyote.
She giggled behind her hand covering her mouth.
She wanted to yell for the deputy to stop digging in her trash, but half a dozen mouse traps loaded and ready would teach him a lesson.
“Go away, Deputy!”
“I’m just doing my job!” he yelled back.
“Great,” she said. He was right. The guy was just doing his job and she was being intentionally spiteful. It bothered her a little but eventually she drifted off to sleep.
The next morning, he was sitting in his truck halfway between the cabin and the bookshop. The deputy looked terrible. He’d been sleeping under a tree for two nights, then he’d sat outside all day and was living on candy bars.
He was just doing his jobechoed through her mind.
When she walked into the bookshop, Noah poured her a coffee without being asked. “In early this morning, lady with no name. You want a scone today?”
“No, thanks.” She should have talked to the owner of the bookshop more. He was nice. Probably not an assassin or a drug dealer, but she’d assumed she would only be here a short time. Now it was awkward.
Noah moved away. Maybe he’d run out of conversation.
Andi straightened. “May I ask a favor, Noah?”
He turned toward her, seemingly surprised she could talk. “If I can.”
She pointed to the deputy sitting outside. “Would you take a couple of scones and the biggest coffee you got to the deputy out there?”
He stared at her for a few seconds and then nodded.
He was already bagging the pastry when she said, “I’ll pay. You do see him, right?”
“Of course. The whole town has watched Danny follow you around. We know he’s tailing you, probably because the sheriff told him to. We all think he’s doing a good job. It’s not easy to be invisible when he’s pushing 280 pounds. Folks say when he played football for Texas Tech no one could get past him. Said he could have gone pro, but he got injured.”
Noah put the lid on the coffee and picked up the bag of scones. “I’ll be back, so keep an eye on the shop, please.”
She stood and put her hand over his that held the bag. “I need to do this myself.”
Understanding eyes looked over his glasses. “Probably a good idea.”
She knew he got it.
As she walked toward the bench the deputy was sitting on, she noticed his clothes were wrinkled and dirty in places. He didn’t look at her and she thought he was sleeping with his eyes open.
She held out the coffee. “I’ve come to say I’m sorry.” She saw two knuckles still had red scabs. “It’s just I don’t like being watched.”
He didn’t look angry. “I was just contemplating my life choices. I have no idea why I got this assignment.” He glanced at her and took the coffee and scones. “I’m not stalking you. I like to think I’m just watching over you, that’s it. I sure would feel bad if you got hurt on my watch, though the mousetraps last night tempted me to rethink that. We got two men out with the flu, so I’m working round the clock.”
She smiled at him for the first time. “Look, Deputy, I’m only going to be here for a few days. How about I try to make it easy on you? I’ll let you know when I’m moving from one place to another. Since everyone knows you’re”—she hesitated, then continued—“watching over me, why don’t we eat meals together? If you’re sitting across the booth from me at the café, you’ll be warm and get a real meal, and I think the sheriff would agree you’re doing a great job.”
He smiled and she thought he looked five years younger.
She leaned a little closer. “We’ll have to set a few rules, though.”
He frowned. “If the rules do not interfere with my job, or include mousetraps, I’m in.”
“Agreed.”
When he smiled, she saw the kindness. Now she felt really bad about last night. He was being very kind about the whole mess and the least she could do was be civil. Besides, if she was getting along with everyone’s favorite deputy in town, then maybe she could get some of the information she needed without any nosy busybodies being the wiser.
While the deputy ate his second scone, she quickly shared the rules she’d made up on the spot. “I’m not doing anything illegal so I don’t have to tell you anything. I will not hide from you, but don’t follow too close. You cannot follow me into the restroom and do not take a picture of me.”
He nodded and added, “You might follow a few rules, too, like don’t stand in an open window when you get back from a swim.” The corner of his lips lifted in a half smile. “Unless you just want to.”
Andi rolled her eyes. “Forget what you saw, Deputy.”
“Not a chance.”
Andi had never been shy. “Then enjoy yourself and I’ll blacken those eyes if you ever mention it to anyone.”
“You are beautiful,” the deputy said, “but I guess you know that, so it puts a lot of questions in my mind as to what you are doing spending time in Honey Creek.”
“I will not answer any questions, Deputy. Don’t try to interrogate me.”
“I won’t. I don’t even know how. I’m not sure I remember how to talk to any female, let alone a spicy, feisty one. I’m just doing my job watching over you.” He met her eyes. “We don’t have to chat or be friends, but understand that if you need help, I’m close.”
A shiver slid down Andi’s spine. She knew he was serious but wasn’t sure if that was a good thing or a bad thing. She focused on her plan. She’d find out all she needed to know about the people in this town through him, and he wouldn’t even know he was helping her get the information she needed.
As they sat on the bench while he drank his coffee, she felt a bit guilty. She was used to dealing with smugglers, cheaters, and killers. The deputy was clearly a good guy, and she hadn’t run into many of them in her life.
He suddenly snorted. “If you start feeding me, folks will think you’re my girl.”
Andi hesitated a minute as the idea turned over in her mind. “Would that be so bad?” She realized the deputy had a great idea. Maybe people would talk to her more if she was linked romantically with a local. She wouldn’t have to go through the sheriff or press Ranger Carlson Ramm for information. Maybe all she needed to do was stand next to Deputy Davis, bring him cookies or something and the townsfolk would be more friendly.
When she glanced back at him, he smiled. “I don’t mind at all.”
Andi closed her eyes and considered her plan. The things she didn’t think twice about doing to criminals, you just didn’t do to regular people. She’d gone from professional cop to selfish user overnight. She’d spent most of her life running into places where the bad guys lived. She routinely lied to everyone around her, knowing she’d be shot if anyone saw a crack in her cover. Now and then she had to fight her way out, destroying everything around her, and right this moment she was worrying about breaking this big guy’s heart. It shouldn’t be a big deal, but for some reason it just seemed wrong.
She was the best in her field—tough, skilled with all weapons—but after ten years she was drained. After she’d fought and ran and lied to do her job, she rested for a moment in between assignments and dreamed of a calmer world. A world where there was time for smiles, love, and trust. There had to be a place where she could sleep without being on alert or afraid, with people who would protect her as much as she protected herself.
The Lion of Lucerne flashed in her mind. A lion carved on a wall of rock in Switzerland. The brave lion is dying, as he lies on his shield. A monument to Swiss guards who died in the French Revolution in 1792. They were all from a little town in Lucerne. A generation of men lost.
Andi feared someday she’d die atop her shield without ever really living. Sometimes she felt she had trained her whole life to be a good soldier, to fight for right, but she was never taught to live.
Danny Davis watched as Andi walked back to the bookstore. There was something heavy about the way her shoulders hung, a burden she carried that pricked his curiosity. The vision of her in the moonlight had played through his mind on repeat since last night, and that was what he was thinking about when she brought over the scones, not that he would have told her that. She was attractive, for sure, but more than that, she was interesting.
As she settled in at a table in the bookstore, he thought back to that day eight years ago. It still played like a vivid horror story in his mind, just as it had every time he allowed his memories to surface. The worst day of his life was like a picture album covered in mud. The last day in college. The parties. His girl, who wore his engagement ring, laughing as they talked of the future.
They’d just graduated that morning when Danny walked into his best friend’s dorm room. Two graduation gowns had been thrown on the floor along with a suit and a dress. His friend was nude on top of Danny’s equally naked fiancée. They were both moaning and groping each other until they saw Danny.
The world stopped for a second. Love died. He could have sworn he heard his heart crack and even now could feel that jolt of pain and suffering in the moment.
“The day it stops hurting, I’ll take Karly’s picture down off the closet frame,” he whispered to himself.
That memory made him swear off all the fairer sex all the years since.
He’d had his future planned with her. Graduate. Get married. Go pro for a few years. By thirty he’d have enough money, thanks to football, and then he’d quit and buy land. All his life he’d been too big. Too big for the chair in school. We don’t carry your size. Watch the door. Don’t break anything. How is the air up there?
Danny had always wanted his own place made to fit him. A place where he didn’t have to duck through the doorway when he entered a room.
But all his dreams died that one day, that one moment. The shock of seeing them, the shouting, the fight, and then the accident. His best friend ran after him. They fought on the stairs. Both tumbled down the concrete steps. Danny broke his arm, his friend was crippled, his fiancée ran away, and he lost his ever-after dream. There was no football, no marriage, no dream life. His chest still burned with bitterness on occasion.
He leaned back on the bench and closed his eyes. The bloody scene of Paul and him at the bottom of the concrete stairs wasn’t there. No screams. No blood. No pain.
That awfulness was replaced with another vision. One he’d seen at dawn. It was Andi standing in the huge cabin window totally nude. Her eyes were closed. He didn’t turn away, he just stared. She was smiling at the night. Her hair hung wet down to her waist. No painting could match the beauty.
Danny had felt the earth shift as dawn’s light moved over her. He was changing, scars and all. He felt something for the first time in years, hurting, aware, alive. This ornery, bossy, headstrong woman was pulling him out of the fog and making him breathe whether he wanted to or not.