Chapter 5
As soon as Dan called Florence to tell her that Timothy had been at her house, she left the shop with Lacy, leaving Ava to close it up.
An ambulance was dispatched while Chase, Dan, Ricky, and Hal took off outside to look for Timothy. Stryker stayed at the house to protect Frank, Lacy, and Florence, though she had her gun out and was ready to shoot Frank’s attacker if he suddenly returned.
Lacy was holding Frank’s hand and wiping away tears when the EMTs arrived and took him to the clinic, Lacy riding with him.
Stryker and Florence checked over the house again to ensure Timothy wasn't hiding somewhere inside. They discovered he had broken Lacy's bedroom window and used a trellis to climb up to it. Shattered glass was on the carpet. Stryker took photos.
Lacy’s clothes were scattered all over the carpeted floor and bed. Furious, Florence didn't know what had been taken, if anything.
"Are you all right?" Stryker asked when they returned to the living room, and he took photos of her broken decorations and the toppled Christmas tree.
"Yeah. But I'm worried about Frank and Lacy."
"Why don't you go over to the clinic. I'll clean this up for you."
"All right." The mess in the living room wasn't important at all compared to Frank's well-being and Lacy's safety. "Will you be safe?"
"Yeah. I've got a couple of reserve officers coming to help me here. And Rory is on his way to the clinic to offer extra protection."
"Okay. I'm on my way then." The groceries were on the counter, so she put the items that needed refrigeration away before she left.
She was surprised that no one in town had seen Timothy before he arrived at her house. She assumed he had decided that, since the audio device had been destroyed when Lacy's trackers showed she was in Yuma Town, he had gone looking for her here first.
When Florence arrived at the clinic, she was directed to room four, where she found Dr. Kate, but Frank and Lacy weren't there.
"He's gone in for an MRI," Kate said. "He's conscious now. I need to see if he has any internal injury."
"Is he talking?"
"Yes. He didn't remember that he'd been struck at first, but the first thing he asked about was the groceries sitting on the dining room table."
"I put them in the fridge."
"He'll be glad to hear it."
Rory hurried into the room and frowned. "Where are Lacy and Frank?"
"Frank's getting an MRI. Lacy is with him."
Rory rubbed his lightly bearded chin. "Hell. How did he find Lacy?"
Florence explained what she thought had happened.
Then Frank was brought back to the room in a wheelchair, Lacy pushing it.
"I'm so sorry," Frank said to Florence.
"Nothing to be sorry about. I'm just glad you're all right."
"I should have stopped him, not been a punching bag."
"You shouldn't have gone into the house when you smelled his scent." Lacy gave him a reproachful look as he climbed into the bed with Lacy's help.
Kate was looking at the MRI scan on her computer. "Looks good. I'm keeping you under observation overnight. If you feel dizzy, nauseous, have blurred vision, or anything else that is unusual, let me know."
"Thanks, Doc. But I really am fine."
"Ah-uh."
Frank looked at Lacy and Rory. "Go. Have dinner tonight, you can drop by here later to check on me."
"Do you want me to pick up something from the Taco Shop?" Florence asked. “Or we could have it delivered.”
"Sure, that would be good. Did you find the groceries on the dining room table?"
"I did. I put them in the fridge. If you go home tomorrow and feel better, I can help you make the dinner you had planned for us. We may have to skip the cougar run. We'll see what Dr. Kate says."
"Are you sure you'll be all right?" Lacy asked her grandfather.
"Yeah. Florence is staying with me and we'll have dinner together. You two run along."
Just then, Leyton Hill showed up. He was a Cougar Special Forces agent. "I'll be here for your protection." He saw the gun on the bedside table. "Though it looks like Mrs. Fitz might have things in hand."
"Better than I have." Frank sounded annoyed with himself.
"We've all had someone get the best of us in this line of business at one time or another," Leyton said. "I'm Leyton Hill, by the way, special agent with the Cougar Special Forces. Dr. Kate is my mate."
"He was wounded when he came into town and took Kate hostage. He took her on an unscheduled camping trip, initially," Florence explained. “Everyone was searching for her and her kidnapper.”
"And she mated you?" Frank asked Leyton incredulously.
"Yeah, she's a very forgiving person." Leyton was all smiles.
Frank chuckled.
Florence figured Frank would get a kick out of it. He needed some cheering up. Then she pulled up the Taco Shop menu on her phone. "What would you like?"
Frank glanced over the menu. "The cheese enchiladas."
"Hmm, I'm going to get the cheese and spinach enchiladas. Anything to drink?"
"Lemonade."
"Me too." Then she ordered it and told them where to deliver it, deciding that was the best option while she stayed with him. "They said it would take about half an hour."
"Okay."
Florence pulled up a chair. "Did you see Timothy?"
"No. I just smelled his scent in the air. I heard the floor creak, but before I could turn and confront him, he struck me, and I guess I was out for the count."
"You sure were."
"I'm glad neither you nor Lacy had been there at the time. No telling what he would have done."
“I wish I had been there for you. You didn't call for backup?"
"I did."
"But you didn't wait for them."
"I wanted to make sure he didn't get away."
"We need to stop him for sure, but your life and safety are more important."
Shannon called Florence, and she answered the phone.
"Hey, Stryker and Chase are at your home, cleaning up the mess the housebreaker made. Tracey and I are dropping by, and we're going to help them clean up."
"Oh, thanks so much. I'm staying at the clinic until Frank's ready to sleep for the night."
"Leyton, Chet, and Dan are also going to take turns watching over you.
Hal wants Lacy to stay at his and Tracey's home until we catch this guy," Shannon said.
"He's calling her about it, but they have three ranch hands and Ted and Hal to watch over her there, since Timothy is after her.
We all believe Frank was collateral damage. "
"That sounds good."
"You and Frank will still be safeguarded at home or the clinic until this guy is caught."
"All right. I think I’m going to need a bunch of security cameras. I never needed them before." Florence was glad they would be watching over them.
“We’ll make sure it’s done.”
“Thanks.” After they ended the call, Florence called Ava to make sure she was all right.
"Yeah, Nina came to safeguard the shop as soon as Frank was hurt. She even helped me serve customers until closing."
"Oh, wonderful." As a deputy sheriff, Nina was perfect for the job.
"I'm fixing dinner. Will you be at the coffee shop tomorrow?" Ava asked.
"Yes. Someone will be watching Frank whether he's home or at the clinic."
"Nina said she would be at the shop all day tomorrow in case Timothy realizes Lacy works there."
"She'll be at the ranch. I don't want her working until they catch this guy."
"I understand. I'll check with you later," Ava said.
"See you tomorrow." Then they ended the call.
Not long after that, Frank and Florence’s enchiladas and drinks were delivered, and they enjoyed each other's company as they ate.
Dan called her then. "Hey, I just wanted you to know that we found the perp's car and have confiscated it. He won't be going very far without it. Also, we have your guest room window repaired, and I want to ask you if you want us to remove the trellis."
“Yeah, sure. We don’t want him to come in that way again.”
“Okay. We’ll take it down and place it in the garden for now. Hopefully, you can use it in the garden as an architectural feature when the snow has melted in the spring.”
“I like that idea. Thanks.”
Then they ended the call, and she finished her meal. Frank ate the last of his enchiladas. She was glad he had a good appetite, but he appeared worn out.
“I’m going to let you get some rest.” She wanted to go home and straighten the mess up at home so that when she took Frank there, he wouldn’t have to see how awful it was again.
“You be safe.” He reached out and squeezed her hand.
She kissed him on the cheek. “I will be. You too. And I’ll be in to see you tomorrow before I go to the shop.”
“All right.”
Then she left him for the night and said goodnight to Leyton, who was sitting outside the room.
“Night. Do you need someone to follow you home?” Leyton asked.
“No. I’ll be home before you know it, and Stryker or someone else will be there to watch over me.”
“Okay. Call him to let him know you’re on your way home.”
“All right, I will.” She got into her car and called Stryker on the way home. “Hey, it’s Florence. Are you still at my house?”
“Yeah.”
“I’m on my way home.”
“All right. See you in a few.”
She soon pulled into the garage and closed the garage door. Stryker opened the door for her. “How’s Frank doing?”
“He’s okay. Hopefully, he won’t have any complications tonight.”
“I sure hope not.”
She looked at the tree and couldn’t believe it. “Oh, my.”
“Shannon and Tracey brought ornaments over and replaced your broken ones. The Christmas lights were fine.”
“It looks beautiful.”
“They did a nice job on it. Every time I tried to put balls up, they kept telling me that I needed to space them out and watch that I didn’t add too many of the same color in the same place. My dear mate always decorates our tree with the kiddos.”
Florence laughed. She could envision it. She would have to call them and thank them later. It was late, and she needed to see Frank early before she went to the coffee shop. “I’m off to bed. If you need anything or hear anything, let me know.”
“I sure will.”