Chapter Twelve
The next morning, Aaron’s cell phone woke him before Sadie did.
They were in a little two-bedroom cabin, which was quite nice.
It felt welcoming and homey, although he was beginning to think that had more to do with having Sunny and Sadie with him.
They both became his everything, and he hoped like hell Sunny felt the same way.
He planned on asking her to marry him; he just needed to find the right time.
Or, at least find a time when they weren’t being chased by a madman.
Sawyer’s name popped up on his screen, and he sighed.
He knew that his friend was going to have news about Reid, or at least he hoped he did.
Aaron was just looking for a little more time in the little fantasy world that they created before he had to dive back into reality.
“Hey, Sawyer, what’s new?” he whispered into his cell, not wanting to wake Sunny or the baby.
Sunny insisted that they put Sadie in their bedroom for the night.
She was worried that something would happen while they were sleeping, and they wouldn’t be able to get to her.
Hell, he felt the same way even though he tried to convince Sunny that they were very safe at Mrs. Hobbs’s ranch.
He still felt the need to keep them both as close as possible.
He pulled on his jeans and flannel shirt and stumbled out to the front porch.
“Sorry, man, did I wake you? Oh fuck, did I wake the baby?” Aaron laughed. Sawyer was going to have a lot to get used to once his and Lorna’s baby got here.
“No, it’s all good. She and Sunny are both sound asleep.” Aaron looked around the ranch and out towards the mountains that surrounded it. Goose Creek was a beautiful little piece of Colorado. If he and Sunny had to be away from Harvest Ridge, Goose Creek wasn’t a bad alternative.
“Well, I talked to the former Mrs. Reid. She verified that her ex-husband was alive and not so very well. She told me that he made it back down the mountain that day. He was found by another company and listed as a John Doe for months. They fixed his face and healed him, but he didn’t look like himself.
When he finally contacted his wife, he was a different person—literally.
She said that at first, he seemed to fit right back into their family, but then he got hooked on the pain pills, and he changed.
She had to leave him—for the kids’ sake.
He was mean and threatened to hurt them.
He went sniffing around his family again, claiming that he went to rehab and was clean, but she didn’t know him anymore.
She met someone else, and she and the kids moved on. ”
Aaron whistled at Sawyer’s story. “So, the poor sap made it out alive, went through what I can only assume were grueling, painful surgeries, only to find out that his wife and kids no longer wanted him in their lives? I kind of feel bad for him, but not enough to excuse the shit that he’s put my family through. ”
Sawyer hummed his agreement. “There’s more.” Sawyer seemed to hesitate to tell him the next part, but Aaron waited him out. “Um, well, there is no easy way to say this, but the two other guys that made it down with you that day—they’re both dead.”
“Fuck. Both Ted and Billy are dead? How the fuck did that happen?” Aaron heard his voice echo through the valley, and he felt bad. He slid down into one of the chairs on the porch, needing to catch his breath.
“It appears that they both died in house fires,” Sawyer said.
“You mean, on the job?” Aaron whispered.
“No, man. I mean, their own houses. I read the reports, and they seem to check out. It looks like both were ruled accidents. Ted was alone in his home; he didn’t have any family.
But Billy’s three kids and wife were listed as casualties on his report.
I’m so sorry, man,” Sawyer breathed. Aaron felt like someone had punched him in the gut and knocked all the air from his chest.
“How long ago did this all happen?” He held his head in his hands, finding it hard to think or breathe, for that matter.
“Ted’s report was dated six months ago. He was living in New Mexico at the time. Billy was living in Montana and died about two months ago,” Sawyer all but whispered.
“Shit. So, he’s going after each of us one at a time, and I’m next on his list,” Aaron guessed.
“Not just you, man, but you and Sunny and the baby. He seems to think that you are the reason he lost his family. His ex said that when he would get high, he would talk about the three men in his company who beat death and took everything away from him. He blamed you three for leaving him on that mountain to die. She alerted the local authorities, but they never did anything with her report, just filed it away. He was listed as a person to ‘watch’, but it never went any further than that. He disappeared, using his new face to his advantage. I’m guessing the other two guys weren’t lucky enough to piece the puzzle together before he found them.
He made it look like an accident,” Sawyer said.
Aaron sighed into the phone. “Yeah, he would be good at that. When we are taught how to put out fires, we also learned how to start them. We are also taught how to make fire look like an accident since we need to figure out how they are started. Fuck, how did we miss this? Why wouldn’t his making it down the mountain be reported to anyone? ”
“I’m thinking that after he was listed as a John Doe, he didn’t fill them in otherwise. His wife said that he was never quite the same, even before he got hooked on the pain pills. I’m guessing that losing his family was the straw that finally led him to snap,” Sawyer said.
“I can’t imagine losing Sunny or Sadie. He probably went crazy when he found out they had moved on and forgotten him.
So, what’s the plan?” Aaron suddenly felt a new resolve to find Reid and get this whole thing behind him.
His family needed to get back to Harvest Ridge, and he was determined to keep them safe.
The only way for both of those things to happen was to catch Travis and put him away where he wouldn’t be able to hurt anyone else.
“I’ve contacted the local authorities in Goose Creek.
I’m working with them, and they’ve agreed to keep the lines of communication open.
You need to talk to Mrs. Hobbs and clue her in as to what’s going on.
Justice told her some of it, but she needs to know everything.
She said that her grandmother wouldn’t turn you all away over a little danger.
She sounds badass—I like her.” Aaron smiled at Sawyer’s assessment of Mrs. Hobbs.
She was pretty badass as far as grandmothers went.
“Yeah, she is. I’m sure she would love to hear you say that, too.
She’s got a good security team here at the ranch.
I met with them last night while she and Sunny got to know each other.
I will talk to her foreman and the head of her security and fill them in on the whole situation.
Let me know if you hear where Reid is. I want to be kept in the loop, too, Sawyer,” Aaron insisted.
“Of course. Let’s plan on daily phone calls at eight in the morning. That way, I can keep you updated and know that you three are safe.” Aaron grunted his approval, and they ended their call.
He turned to go into the cabin and found Sunny standing in the doorway with the door cracked, listening to his conversation with Sawyer. She looked worried, and he pulled her into his body for a hug.
“We’ll get through this, baby,” he promised, but a part of him worried that he might have just made Sunny a promise that he wouldn’t be able to keep.
Aaron filled Sunny in on his conversation with Sawyer while she fed Sadie.
He made them some breakfast, and she worked to unpack their things.
It would be easier to take care of the baby if she knew where everything was.
In the middle of the night, they had to turn on all the lights in the cabin to search through their bags for the new pack of diapers.
She didn’t want to live out of suitcases, but a part of her felt like a traitor for unpacking their stuff like she was planning to stay in Goose Creek.
She called home to talk to Justice and was happy to hear that her bakery was doing great.
Justice was easily becoming a part of her family, and she was so thankful for her new friend.
Sunny told her all about how Norma Jeane took to Sadie and gushed about what a wonderful woman she was.
She could hear Justice’s sadness even though the phone line when she asked about her grandmother.
Sunny was determined to find out what was going on with Justice.
Just as soon as she could get her shit together, she would help her friend fix hers.
She also called Piper to find out that her friend was still dealing with morning sickness at night, and she was grumpier than a bear that wasn’t invited to the picnic.
She promised Pipe to call home every day and assured her that they were all safe and sound at the ranch.
Before they got off the phone, Piper started crying, telling Sunny how much she loved her and how she wouldn’t be able to make it through the rest of her pregnancy without her best friend around.
Sunny knew that she shouldn’t laugh, but a part of her wanted to.
Was that how she sounded the whole time she was pregnant with Sadie?
How did her friends put up with her? She knew she was a handful, but geez—how did they not get sick of her?