Chapter 1 #2
No, I ensured the ceremony would happen on time. I hold out my hand. “I took pictures on my phone, caught the broken vase from all angles. The pieces are in a trash bag in the dumpster if someone wants to take a look, but there really wasn’t much to see.”
Harlan gapes at me, but Luke takes a step forward and says, “With the door unlocked and very little touched, I’m not sure the police would’ve found much anyway. Probably nothing to fingerprint either.” He nods to me. “Still, it’s a good idea to notify them after the ceremony.”
“This is a private family gathering. Only eighteen people are attending, and we didn’t send invitations. Who else would know about today?” Harlan shoves the brochure in my direction. “And why would they do something like this?”
My boss’s rare display of frustration isn’t the only factor causing a nervous lump to fill my throat. But I straighten my shoulders and push past the feeling of foreboding that this might have something to do with one of the girls at the ranch.
“My best guess? An uber fan from one of the superhero movies you starred in. Or an obsessed person who caught wind of your viral YouTube video.” I shift to address Luke. “A little over a year ago, Harlan saved a teenage girl from drowning. The footage went viral.”
Luke nods. “Yes. I believe two and a half million people deemed him Hercules.” To his credit, his face remains blank when he mentions the embarrassing moniker.
Harlan’s glower shoots from Luke back to me.
“In the beginning, he had a few obsessed teenagers contact him,” I say to Luke.
“It was all very benign. Other than that, nothing. The bulk of the social media attention subsided after a month. Other than normal fan mail, we’ve never dealt with anything like this before.
” I study Harlan and take a breath. My boss has never been anything but honest with me.
“I hope it’s a teenage prank. But I called the security company to come evaluate the chapel just in case. ”
In spite of the crisp Colorado Springs autumn morning, the air in the room hangs heavy.
Harlan runs a hand through his hair, a combination of frustration and worry etched in the lines around his eyes. “Luke, what do you think?”
Luke plants his feet wide and crosses his arms. “I’ll point out that this incident wasn’t aimed at a specific person. It could be meant for anyone on either property associated with the halfway house.”
“It has to be for Harlan,” I say, the pitch in my voice higher than I prefer. “He’s a fairly well-known celebrity. This is just a local wayward adolescent acting on the dare of a classmate. Something for attention. I think you might be blowing this out of proportion.”
“You’re the one who called me,” Luke says.
“Because I wanted discreet monitoring of the chapel. Not because I wanted to escalate the situation an hour before the wedding starts.”
“Listen, I don’t know what happened in here. But this feels a little personal. Why didn’t the perpetrator unleash a can of spray paint? Why only destroy one flower arrangement, leaving everything else in place? It seems controlled. Intentional.”
I curl my hand into a fist, fingernails digging into my flesh.
“It’s too vague to assess if there’s a true threat,” Luke says. “I don’t know what this person’s endgame is. It could be nothing.”
Pressing a palm to his forehead, Harlan turns and takes two steps. “What needs to happen next?”
Luke sticks the ridiculous toothpick back into his big mouth.
“Your existing security on the ranch is all solid. No sensors or alarms were set off, so that’s good.
I’ll walk the property and look for signs of stakeouts, additional damage, or unwanted visitors.
I’ll also stick around today and keep watch.
It’ll all be fine.” His eyes glitter when he adds, “And if you’re interested, I can send two undercover bodyguards on your honeymoon with you. ”
Harlan angles back in our direction, shaking his head. “I’m not double-dating on my honeymoon.”
Luke laughs, the sound grating on my nerves. Why is he having this reaction? Not one thing about this is funny.
Rubbing the stubble on his cheek, he downgrades his outburst to a chuckle.
Wait a minute.
The stubble. The green eyes. That dumb toothpick attached to a cocky grin.
And Harlan’s thirty-third birthday party.
The one where I met a man named Luke who asked me to dance.
Whose intoxicating energy and sincere interest pierced right through my typical negative response to such a request and tempted me to say yes.
As I recall, I took a breath to accept, but his phone rang before I could utter a word.
He barely apologized as he hurried out of the restaurant, leaving me with the taste of watered-down lemonade and bitter embarrassment.
“All right. No roommates on your honeymoon,” Luke says. “But I think while you’re traveling, someone needs to keep an eye on the ranch in case this joker shows up again.”
“I know you’re usually on the road,” Harlan says, rubbing the back of his neck. “But can you stay on the property? Beef up our existing security system? Watch the place?”
My entire body jerks back. What? Stay on the property? I know I called for help, but this is not what I meant. My control of the situation seems to be unraveling, and the snag is a man named Luke Granger.
“Not a problem,” Luke says, chewing his toothpick like it’s cud.
How hard would it be to yank that thing out of his mouth and stab him with it? Death by toothpick.
“I want you next door at Twelve Bluebells with the girls.” Harlan hitches a thumb toward the adjacent property across the wooden fence line.
“My fiancée’s halfway house serves young women who’ve aged out of foster care assistance but need help getting their feet on the ground.
It doesn’t officially open until next spring, and we have yet to hire a program director to run the place.
But Meredith can’t turn anyone away, so we already have three boarders. ”
The girls. Nothing can touch those girls.
“Sounds like Meredith’s doing good work,” Luke says.
Harlan nods. “The women work hard. They just need a little direction. We’re grateful Penelope agreed to look after them while we’re on our honeymoon. She can smell when rules aren’t being followed.”
I peer at Harlan out of the corner of my eye. “We’re trying to have a civilization here.”
“I know. It’s your life’s motto. It’s also why you’re in charge while we’re gone.” He wraps one arm around my shoulders and squeezes.
In charge while they’re gone. Hopefully in charge long-term after they come home.
Harlan returns his focus to his friend. “Thanks for handling this, man. I’ll let you work out the rest of the details with Penelope.
But, you guys”—his intense stare bounces between Luke and me—“Meredith knows nothing about this. She’s been through enough in her lifetime.
I’ll tell her later, but I want today to be perfect for her. ”
I square my stance to him, and for the first time in five years of employment with my boss, I make a promise I’m not sure I can keep. “This won’t go anywhere near her.”
As soon as Harlan leaves the chapel, I spin on my heel to face the man who stole my breath away four years ago at a birthday party.
I point at his chest. “I knew there was something familiar about you.”
A blinding smile breaks over his face, and he winks.
Whoever said lightning doesn’t strike twice was dead wrong. His sway is as powerful now as the first time I met him. Maybe more so.
“So, you do remember me,” he says.
“Yes.” With my arms outstretched, clipboard still attached to one hand, my voice rises. “How could I forget your opening line? ‘Excuse me, ma’am, I don’t think you’ve had the pleasure of meeting me. I’m Luke.’”
“The one and only.” He grins. “At your service.”
My face flushes. Will he bring up his disappearing act? I don’t have time to be embarrassed. I have a job to do.
I lower my voice. “This situation isn’t a joke to me, Luke.”
All hints of humor leave his face, and he aims his fierce green eyes at me. “It’s not a joke to me either.”
“I can’t let anything happen to them.” My whisper carries the weight of my world. This job is my home. The only place I’ve felt like I belonged since I was twelve. “The Holcombes. Meredith. The halfway house girls. Any of them.”
Luke moves one heavy cargo boot a step toward me. “I’m a professional, Penelope. I specialize in the security of large acreage property. You took great care of them when you called the company for reinforcements.”
I proceed to a pew. Aware of his scrutiny of me, I study the floral arrangement hanging on the end of the bench with the out-of-place daisy.
After setting my clipboard aside, I bend down to rearrange the flowers.
Maneuvering the blooms with a gentle touch, I shape the arrangement into perfect symmetry with the bow.
My boss trusts this man. I need to trust him too.
I rise and turn to him, dusting my hands off. “All right. What’s your plan?”
He scowls while staring at the brown ribbon I adjusted.
“Like I told Harlan, I’ll walk the property.
I’ve got some temporary cameras I’ll strategically place for additional short-term monitoring.
I’ve also got one drone ready to go. Everything is linked to my colleague’s computer at the office. He’ll be in constant contact with me.”
I sidestep to the next pew and repeat the reorganization process with the next floral decoration. “Where will you be?”
“Not far. Watching. No one will get anywhere near the door to the chapel unless they’re supposed to be here.” He picks up the newly pristine sprays and messes with my rearrangement.
“What are you doing? That bouquet was perfect.” I grab at the bundle in his possession, but his quick reflexes evade my reach. “I need to introduce you to Hank, the main ranch hand on duty for the holiday. He’ll need to know you’re on property.”
“Thanks, but not necessary. I met Hank through the Holcombes a few years back. I saw him earlier on my way to the chapel and briefed him. He’ll have eyes on this building too.
” He rehangs the flowers and moves to the second bouquet.
I dart an arm out to snag the decoration, but he uses his body to deflect my effort.
Shifting my foot one step, I attempt to reach around him. To no avail. His bulky mass is a wall. A giant, regrettably attractive wall.
“Well, good. Then you probably already know he’s hard of hearing and often has difficulty understanding others. Half the time, he refuses to wear his hearing aids.” I grunt with a repeated effort at stealing the bouquet, this time grazing his solid bicep.
“I told him to send up a flare if he found trouble. He thought I said something about his underwear.” Luke chuckles and pushes a cream-colored rose in front of a deep-orange daisy.
While this is a definite improvement to the arrangement, his finger catches on the brown grosgrain ribbon and pulls one of the loops free.
He pauses, examining his bouquet handiwork. After an approving nod, he flashes a confident grin my way.
I roll my eyes. “Hold still and let me at least fix the ribbon.” Leaving the flowers in his hands, I lean in and, with practiced precision, retie the bow.
The fresh floral scent combined with something manly teases my senses.
“Hank’s an honorable man. But I swear he misinterprets things on purpose to get a good laugh. ”
“He’s hilarious.” Luke crunches the ribbon I just tied, relieving it of its perfection and somehow creating depth to the display.
I pick up the clipboard and tap my finger on the shiny, smooth surface. We need to be aligned for the next nine days to run well, but everything seems to be a joke to this man. “I can’t handle you here with us every day if you don’t take the welfare of those girls to heart.”
He turns and locks his gaze to mine. “The only reason I’m staying is because I’m concerned about the welfare of those girls.”
“Right.” I nod. “I appreciate your help today. But you must know that we follow a purposeful regimen around here. I don’t want your presence over the next week and a half to disrupt the girls’ lives.” Or mine, I want to assert, tracing my index finger along the tattered edge of the ranch brochure.
“All I’m going to do is secure and monitor the grounds.
The rest of my time here, I’ll ask around, see if anyone has any leads on today’s incident.
I’ll get my job done, then I’ll be out of your hair.
And”—he leans an inch toward me and nods at my clipboard—“I won’t disrupt your purposeful regimen. ”
Before I can respond, his eyes dance, and a heavy dose of confidence zaps around the room. “But you can’t fire me if someone happens to smile while I’m here. Even if you’re the one who’s doing the smiling.” Bending over, he hangs the flower arrangement on the end of the pew.
The swirling, giddy sensation in my stomach is an unfortunate reaction to this man. Studying the two pews seems like a favorable distraction. But when my gaze takes in the stunning result of Luke’s floral creations, I shake my head in utter disbelief.
“I must admit,” I say through clenched teeth, “the arrangements look better your way.”
He crosses his arms over his chest, eyes never leaving the flowers. “The beauty’s in the wild.”
Something in my soul aches to reach out and grasp at the fragments of his words. Words I don’t understand, but words that somehow hang on wisps of hope.
The beauty’s in the wild.
I tighten the belt of my coat. “I need to check on the wedding preparations. I trust I won’t see you until this evening. But if you need anything, you have my number.”
As I stride through the doorway and onto the path, he calls after me, “Penelope.”
I turn to face him.
Luke raises his forearm over his head and leans his weight into the doorjamb. His gaze, full of intensity, bears down on me. “If there’s a threat, I’ll know. And I’ll take care of it.”
A flash of something unfamiliar streaks through my chest. What is that? Fear? Comfort? Tuning out the uncomfortable feeling, I offer a slow nod.
“I’ll catch you later.” He knocks the doorframe twice with his fist before he heads down the edge of the property line.
My stare lingers on his exiting form just a tad longer than I intend.