Chapter 5
Nellie should have asked where they were going before she got in the trunk. She’d mistakenly thought she’d only be in the trunk for ten minutes. It was going on twenty minutes and the car was driving at a steady speed, which meant they were no longer in Charleston, but on a highway.
She couldn’t pull up the maps app on her phone to see where they were since her and Sue Ellen’s phones had been turned off as soon as Ingram had called Sue Ellen during their race to get away.
They weren’t na?ve enough to think he wouldn’t get their phone records illegally.
Of course, that was a moot point now that the phones had gone into the river with them when the rubber boat sank.
Sue Ellen had kept her purse and the important documents safe and dry and that was the important thing.
Music was turned on, and even in the trunk Nellie heard them singing.
What surprised her wasn’t Tally screaming her favorite princess song, but the deep beautiful male voice that joined in.
Then, a minute later, James’s timid voice.
He used to sing and bounce around in his car seat until a year ago.
He hadn’t done it since, and hearing his little voice as Gator encouraged him to join him made her tear up.
She didn’t need to see her sister to know she was in a similar state.
She heard the happiness, and the tightness in her emotional voice, as Sue Ellen joined them in song.
The car began to slow after several more songs. They turned right and then slowed to a stop. The singing stopped and the car turned off. A moment later, Sue Ellen was opening the trunk as Gator got the kids from the backseat.
“Where are we?” Nellie asked before the trunk was fully opened.
“Shadows Landing,” Sue Ellen whispered, her body tense. They’d gotten closer to Holland Springs when both would have preferred to be as far away as possible from their hometown.
Sue Ellen held out her hand and Nellie grasped it. Her sister steadied her as Nellie climbed out from the trunk.
“Well, that’s not something you see every day.”
“And we see a lot every day.”
Both Sue Ellen and Nellie whipped to the side to look at the two elderly women who had spoken, watching them from the sidewalk.
They were total and complete opposites. One was short, thin, and had skin several shades beyond pale.
The other was taller, rounder, and had warm walnut-colored skin.
They also both had amused looks on their wrinkled faces that quickly morphed into concern.
“You’re in Rowan’s car, yet Gator was driving. And goodness me, you have two children. And honey child, you look ready to fall over. Are you alright?” the one resembling a boiled chicken asked as she slowly approached Sue Ellen.
“Gator, what’s going on?” the other asked, turning to where Gator had James on one hip and Tally on the other.
“Sue Ellen, Nellie, this is Miss Ruby and Miss Winnie. If it’s all right with you, I was hoping to ask them to watch James and Tally while we talk with Granger.
We will need to tell him what’s going on and maybe that’s better left to the adults,” Gator said gently as if her sister was a skittish wild animal, which at this point, she was very close to being.
“Oh my! We’d love to watch these two little angels.
How do you two feel about some pie? The diner right across the street has a whole selection of pies,” Miss Ruby asked the children, her smile instantly setting them at ease.
They were two grandmotherly figures, way more so than Nellie and Sue Ellen’s own mother, who had desperately tried to still appear to be twenty years old.
“Pie!” Tally squealed, trying to wiggle free from Gator. James looked more hesitant, but you could see the flicker of desire in his eyes. Nellie also noticed the way Miss Ruby’s and Miss Winnie’s eyes took in the bandage on his leg, but didn’t push for information.
“The diner is right there,” Gator said softly to Sue Ellen.
Miss Winnie stepped between Gator and Sue Ellen and opened her giant purse wide.
She reached in and pulled something out just enough for Nellie and Sue Ellen to see it.
“We won’t leave the diner until you come get us.
And don’t you worry, we’ll guard them.” Nellie stared at the dagger that looked to be made of gold and steel in the elderly woman’s hand with more than just a little surprise.
“And Ruby has one, too. Heck, most of the women in this town are armed and we won’t let anyone take your babies. ”
Sue Ellen let out a long breath and gave them a nod. “James, Tally,” Sue Ellen said, trying to plaster on a happy face. “Miss Ruby and Miss Winnie are going to get you some pie. Now, stay with them the whole time and don’t leave the diner until I come get you. Okay?”
“Yes, ma’am,” James said, solemnly. Tally was nodding but obviously in a hurry to get to the pie.
Tally took Miss Winnie’s hand and James took Miss Ruby’s.
Nellie knew how hard it was to watch her children walk off with strangers.
Nellie rested her hand on her sister’s shoulder as they watched the group cross the street and enter the diner.
Nellie turned back to Gator and looked around.
Main Street wasn’t large. There was the courthouse, the church, and several buildings farther down, but that was it.
She could see the end of the street from here.
“Where does Rowan’s brother-in-law work?” Nellie asked.
“Right here.” Gator pointed to the courthouse and both she and Sue Ellen sucked in a breath. “He’s the sheriff.”
Sue Ellen began shaking her head and backing up. “No!”
Even Nellie began to panic. He’d tell Ingram where they were. Ingram was a judge and the deputies in Holland Springs always did what Ingram told them to do.
“It’s okay,” Gator told them. He was gentle, but firm in his tone. “You trust me and you trust Rowan. You can trust Granger. You can trust almost everyone from Shadows Landing. Everyone except Dr. Adkins of the historical center. But he won’t hurt you. He’s just a prick.”
“That’s true. He is a prick.”
Sue Ellen jumped and Nellie let out a surprised gasp when the deep voice sounded behind them.
They both spun around to find, well, not what Nellie was expecting.
She was expecting a short, middle-aged, potbellied sheriff like they had in Holland Springs.
This man was the complete opposite of that stereotype. He was handsome, fit, and approachable.
“Hello, I’m Granger Fox. Rowan told me you needed me. What can I do to help you ladies?” Granger asked, holding out his hand.
Nellie and Sue Ellen both stared at it as if it would bite them. Slowly, Nellie reached out and shook his hand. Manners won out and Sue Ellen did the same.
“Do you want to go inside?”
“No!” Sue Ellen said quickly. Yeah, neither of them wanted to get near a jail cell. Not that they did anything wrong, but she was sure Ingram would have an arrest warrant out for them any time now.
“Well, it’s a beautiful day,” Granger told them, taking in every movement they made. “Why don’t we sit here on the courthouse stairs? That way you can keep an eye on both of your kids.”
“They’re my children,” Sue Ellen said, defensively. “And you’re not going to take them from me.”
Granger frowned at that. “Why would I take them from you?”
Sue Ellen swallowed and looked to Nellie. Gator hadn’t steered them wrong yet, so she gave Sue Ellen a little nod, silently telling her that it was safe to tell Granger.
“Because, my almost—just need my signature on the papers—ex-husband is Judge Ingram Faust and this afternoon he tried to kill me by blowing up my minivan.” Granger’s brows rose, but he didn’t say anything. “I take it you know my husband.”
“I know of him,” he said carefully, with a frown that gave Nellie a smidgen of hope. “I know he has a reputation for favoring men over women in his courtroom. Now, why don’t you start at the beginning, because I think there’s much more to this story than what happened today.”
Nellie and Sue Ellen told Granger what had happened.
Sue Ellen, from her personal experience, and then Nellie picked up with how she’d found out via the children six months ago.
They both talked about the divorce and how Ingram fought it, but today it should have been over since he’d signed the papers.
Nellie glanced down the street. She didn’t like sitting out in the open, but they also didn’t want to go into the courthouse.
It felt too much like being on Ingram’s turf.
She saw a man walking toward them from the opposite end of the street.
She couldn’t help feeling the relief as Rowan came closer.
He tossed a set of keys to Gator and climbed the stairs to sit next to Nellie.
She felt horrible for loving the nearness of him.
He gave her a silent strength when she should have been focusing only on her sister.
Granger was frowning as he took in the details they’d told him. “So, he tried to prevent you from signing the papers by blowing up your car?”
“I was supposed to be in it. If it was on a timer, I should have been halfway to Charleston when it blew up,” Sue Ellen told him.
“It makes sense that, after eight years of marriage, Ingram still didn’t know my sister always runs thirty minutes late.” Nellie almost rolled her eyes, but thought it might be too immature to do at this moment.
“This time it saved my life.”
“Were you getting a lot in the divorce?” Granger asked.
Sue Ellen shook her head. “Nothing out of the ordinary. I have primary custody of the children. He has visitation, but must have one of his family members present when he was with them. However, he hadn’t bothered seeing them much during the proceedings.
I get alimony and child support, but nothing close to half his assets.
It was just enough for us to rent a small house and for me to go back to school. ”