CHAPTER 9
RHODES
I’m looking at the map of my state, one where Loudon, Monroe, and McMinn counties are all blown up.
What am I even looking for at this point?
Everything is starting to blur together and there’s not a damn thing I can do about it.
I’ve been sitting here and studying this map for far too long with not a damn thing to show for it.
All because Lyons called me a few days ago with information which I haven’t been able to confirm or deny. I lean back in my chair and go over the conversation in my head. Again.
“Wilder,” I answered my ringing phone while I thought about what I was going to say to Helen and going back and forth between calling and texting her.
I was kind of spiraling, though I didn’t want anyone to know it. As much as I wanted to text her right after she gave me her number, I held off. Because I knew if I pushed too hard and moved too fast then she would try and put some walls up.
Considering the number of times I had already found myself in her orbit, intentionally with some coincidence mixed in, the last thing I wanted to do was give her a reason to run from me.
Hell no, it wasn’t even something I was willing to consider as a possibility. Not when I was spending so much time thinking about all the ways to make her mine permanently. But I knew it couldn’t happen until I messaged her.
And then Lyons’s gruff voice came through on the other end of the line, “Might have a lead.”
My entire body froze and, even though thoughts of Helen still hovered in the periphery of my mind, my focus was on Lyons and whatever news he had to tell me. The idea of finally, maybe, having a lead was intoxicating.
“What?” I sounded confused before I drew in a long breath and let it out slowly with the hope that it would slow my racing heart. My next words came out suspicious, “What kind of lead?”
Lyons chuckled and admitted, “Yeah, I wasn’t sure I believed it as well when I got the call from the Sheriff over in McMinn.”
“What’s the lead?”
“There’s been reports of movement out at the Old Mill. At first, he thought it was just some rowdy teenagers, seeing as the place has been abandoned for a long time,” he explained.
I couldn’t help but snort out a small laugh because it wouldn’t come as a surprise if some kids found an abandoned building and turned it into a party spot.
How many fields had I done the same in? How many beers had been drunk under the shadow of the old water tower at the edge of town? It rusted out and became unusable far before my time, but it still stood as a testament to what once was and bad decisions.
“Yeah,” Lyons agreed, “sounded plausible to me as well. I think every town has those kinds of spots.”
“What would teenagers do if they couldn’t get into some kind of trouble?” It was a rhetorical question, and we both let out low chuckles. “I’d rather them be safe while doing stupid things than just being plain stupid.”
Lyons grunted, “I hear you.” Then we both sobered because he wasn’t done. “Now, they’re not so sure the reports and rumors are just about kids blowing off steam. Every time a deputy has driven out near there, they haven’t seen any activity.”
My gut tightened when he said that. Without thinking, I mused, “Could any of those deputies be involved?”
“Not my monkeys, not my department,” he responded, his tone far too flippant for my tastes. I bristled but kept my mouth shut.
Making any accusation about another county’s sheriff office was dangerous waters and we both knew it. Even if we were thinking the same thing while knowing it was none of our damn business.
Except for the fact that we both wear the same badge and take an oath to uphold the laws of our state. Letting the thought, the possibility, go was difficult, but I swallowed down my questions because I knew Lyons wouldn’t know anything.
“What’s the plan?” I couldn’t help myself and asked, needing to know what kind of resources were needed while already trying to figure out ways to help.
“Nothing right now,” his voice gave away exactly how he felt about his answer.
Lyons hated it and he didn’t agree with it. But he also couldn’t do a damn thing about it.
“They’re going to keep an eye out for activity and see about a warrant.
” Before I could say a word about how fucking ridiculous that sounded and how it wasn’t a plan at all, Lyons blew out a breath.
“Can’t say I agree with it, but I did let him know that my department, and yours, is ready to assist.” His voice changed, turning almost coy for a man who wears a badge, “Hope it’s okay. ”
“Of course,” I was quick to assure him, “I’d be more than happy to help. If they have someone sitting on the place and need some more bodies, I’ll gladly take a shift.”
“I’ll let him know,” Lyons grumbles. He pauses for a moment before adding, “I just wanted to call and fill you in. That’s all I know though.”
“Thanks, Sheriff.”
He hung up without another word being spoken. It didn’t offend me in the least. It’s not like we were going to organize a fucking spa day together or a lunch date or some shit. We work the same job in two different counties, but we sure as fuck aren’t friends.
I’ve spent the last few days looking at maps and old pictures of the mill in question, hoping to see something, hoping to find some sort of pattern when I added it to the other information we’ve gathered about this operation, but it wasn’t nearly enough.
And I still haven’t reached out to Helen.
I should, I know I should. But I’ve been putting all of my energy into trying to figure out what is going on in McMinn County and to ensure no one has set up fucking dog fighting ring in my own backyard. Of course, nothing has come of it.
And it’s pissing me off.
Because now I’m no closer to putting whoever is behind this ring behind bars. And I haven’t seen or talked to Helen.
When someone breezes into my office without knocking, my head snaps up from where I’m scrunched over the map on my desk. I’m fully ready to rip into whoever has walked into my office without notice, but the words die on my tongue.
Because standing in front of me in all of her five-foot nothing glory is my grandmother, Betsy Wilder.
Even though she looks fit to be tied, I find myself smiling from ear to ear and standing up. I reach her in just a few strides because my legs are long and my office isn’t big.
She might be pissed at me, which is clear from the glare she’s giving me, but she doesn’t resist when I envelope her in my arms and give her a small squeeze.
“Ugh,” she groans like I’m crushing her, “let go of me you big brute.”
“G-Bets,” I greet her brightly, ignoring her attempt to get me to let her go. I rock from side to side and squeeze her just a little bit tighter.
“Stop rocking me,” she demands, “I’m going to get seasick.”
“Should have taken your Dramamine today,” I tease her.
G-Bets makes a tutting sound that would have had me running in the other direction when I was growing up. Because this woman is the only reason that I’m here today.
When I was three, my parents passed in a car accident involving a drunk driver and a rainy night. The only good thing was that I wasn’t in the car with them. If I had been, I wouldn’t have made it out of the accident either.
I’ll admit, there have been times in my life when I’ve wondered if it would have been a better turn of events.
Then I wouldn’t have had so much pressure on my shoulders to succeed, to honor the life I was given, even though I never asked for it, to make my parents proud even though I could no longer remember them.
But I wasn’t in the car.
When the police arrived at G-Bets door, she stood there with her spine straight and tears streaming down her cheeks.
While I had been expecting my parents to come home from their date and take me home, she was finding out that her daughter was dead along with her son-in-law and I now needed a forever home.
This woman, my amazing grandmother, didn’t flinch. She didn’t hesitate. She simply made her home into mine and has done her best to help me keep pieces of my parents alive.
Losing them and seeing the pity on the faces of everyone around me is what drove me to be better, to do better, to achieve more.
What I couldn’t have known while I was running from my demons, and pretending it was drive, was that my parents would never know about my accomplishments and those looks of pity would follow me for the rest of my life.
I’ve become immune to them now, or maybe I’ve simply accepted them.
No matter what, the woman in my arms, the same woman who has perfected the guilt-trip, is the only reason I have the life I do now.
When I let go of her, G-Bets looks at me with disdain tempered by pure love and pride.
Still, she’s here for a reason and I’m fairly sure I know what that reason is.
“Rhodes Wilder,” she starts, her tone filled with pure disappointment, “I should not have to come all the way down here just so I can see you, while you’re working, since you haven’t been returning my calls and certainly haven’t stopped by.
Why do you think our weekly family dinner is simply a suggestion now?
If you think the badge clipped to your belt means I don’t expect you at my table on time, then you’re sorely mistaken. ”
The look on her face is serious, and I should be scared. But considering the number of times she threatened to grab a switch without any follow-through, some of the scary shine has dulled.
Oh, when I was growing up, I was terrified. Which is part of the reason none of my shenanigans was ever that serious or that dangerous. I knew G-Bets would kick my ass.
And not just my ass either.
She would have gladly kicked the ass of my friends or anyone else who led me astray. But she would, ultimately, hold me accountable. I’d be first on her chopping block and I never once thought it would be any different.
“I’ve just been busy, G-Bets,” I tell her honestly, my voice softening as I speak to her.
Because this woman deserves to be wrapped up in golden thread and protected so I don’t lose her as well.
Her eyes soften as she looks at me before she pats my cheek affectionately. Not at all like she’s tempted to slap me. Nope, not at all.
Okay, maybe a little bit.
The glint of mischievousness in her eyes isn’t helping either.
“If you are too busy to see your precious grandmother then you need to examine your work-life balance,” she huffs.
“My work-life balance?” I can’t help but question her while looking at her like I’ve never seen her before.
“Yes, I hear it’s the way to live nowadays,” her voice is innocent as she bats her eyelashes at me and I can’t help but smile at the woman while allowing some of the tension I’ve been carrying to roll off my shoulders. And that I haven’t just been frustrated with this case. Again.
No, not talking or seeing Helen has done a number on me. And the only person I have to blame is myself.
“What have you been doing in Dogwood Ridge?”
Her question or change of direction shouldn’t surprise me, but it does and my mouth drops open for a moment before I snap it shut. The look she’s giving me says more than any words ever could.
“At first it was just about the case,” I tell her honestly.
“The people who are animal abusers and deserve to be in the deepest pit of hell?”
I blink at my grandmother, who would skin you alive if you ever called her grandma, because her viciousness is only slightly surprising. Honestly, that’s kind of tame for her.
She only condemned them to eternal damnation. I’m sure she could do much worse if pushed to it without a second thought.
“And?” She wavs her hand in a ‘more’ motion while she glares at me like she’s daring me to waste more of her time. But I’m not stupid.
“And I met a woman. We aren’t anything official yet, but I know I want her, and I’ve never felt like this around a woman before,” the words rush past my lips.
We both freeze as my confession whispers through the space between us. The surprise on her face transforms into something like knowing and vindication.
“I knew it,” she hisses.
When she motions toward me to close the distance, I stoop down slightly. Not enough to be injured if I’m in the line of fire though. I learned that lesson the hard way.
She smacks a kiss on my cheek before smacking the other side of my face softly. “You’re a good man,” she tells me and I try to not tear up. “I look forward to meeting the woman worthy of the pure devotion you are capable of. If she has earned your heart, then she belongs in our family.”
My throat is dry, but I force the question out, “How can you be so sure without meeting her?”
Her eyes sparkle and she chastises me, “Rhodes. You know better than that.” She steps back and winks before heading toward my office door. She throws over her shoulder, “Also you look like a lovesick fool right now. I can’t believe they let you, a man without a poker face, wear a badge.”
Unable to help it, I bark out a laugh, the sound of it following my grandmother, the only mother I’ve ever really known, as she leaves my station. I know she’s right though, and there’s no doubt in my mind that she’ll accept Helen with open arms.
Now I just have to find the time to call her. The only way to put my questions to bed about this Old Mill place is to go and check it out. Fuck the jurisdiction.