Chapter 7
Chapter Seven
T he front desk at the hotel where Lacy was supposed to be wasn’t answering phone calls. Connor pressed his screen to dial once again, hitting the phone a little harder than necessary.
“Tell me again why you don’t just get in your truck and go?” Dad chuckled. “You’re not doing anyone any good if you’re sitting here worried and focused on that phone.”
He’d considered it a half-dozen times. “But I can’t do that. It will tell her I don’t trust her. What good is trying to get her to trust me enough to come back if I show her that I don’t, even if that’s not what I mean.” He’d been rolling the cons around in his head for hours.
“Connor, she’s known you longer than she hasn’t known you. Trust isn’t the issue.” His dad massaged his sore knee.
“Then why did she need time to herself? She needed time away, that’s what she said. There was no, ‘do you want to come with me’? It was clearly, ‘I need time away from you,’ and running after her seems pretty desperate.”
Maybe he was desperate. Maybe he was one of those guys who just couldn’t get his head on straight in the morning until the woman he loved was doing well. He’d always thought he wasn’t the kind of guy who needed to prove anything, but the last few weeks, her silence was testing him.
“Connor, I think if you search through your history, you’ll find that it’s not that kind of trust that made her go. She needed time because you divorced her for something she never did. It was preemptive. You and I both know that. You thought she’d be like your mom. I think we both know deep down she’s not. I wouldn’t have made the rule I did if I didn’t believe that.”
The rule that Lacy was more welcome to stay at Wayside than Connor. “And why wouldn’t I believe that? What other guide did I have? She said she loved me, and she turned her back on me. What kind of woman does that to her son?” He hadn’t even meant to talk about this with anyone but having Lacy gone and potentially in danger had forced him to think about everything in his life, including his mistakes.
“The kind that isn’t like Lacy,” Dad said quietly. “Look, I loved your mother when we first married. I still cared about her when I made the wrong choice with Gloria. Even if she had mentally left our relationship by then, I had no right to do what I did. I blame myself for the fact that you had to finish growing up without a mother. But at the end of the day, she’s the one who chose to stay away. She never let me apologize and never let you in after you stayed with me. I never kept you from her and I darned sure never told her she couldn’t see you.”
“I know. Even though you both didn’t do much together, I always felt that family was important.”
Dad squeezed his knee, then let it go. Clearly, the weather was bothering him. “Family was and is important, which is another reason why I think you should go. You know as well as I do that a signed piece of paper doesn’t make you a family any more than a signed paper makes you not family anymore. Maybe it does legally but to the heart, it means nothing.”
Lacy had felt like family even when she had no designation. Their friendship went far deeper than a qualification. “I want to go but something is telling me that I need to wait until she asks me. If I jump in headfirst and stick my nose into this business, she’ll be mad. I don’t know how I know. I just do.”
“If the Holy Spirit is telling you to wait, then you’d better wait. I’ll be here whenever you need me to do your job. I’m not as good as you and I don’t have near the energy you do, but I can keep these people safe. Nadine is good at what she does, too. We can handle this for a few days.”
“What about Christmas?” That, too, had been a thorn in his side. Every time he thought about leaving, he’d remember that he’d invited his brothers for Christmas Day. If he wasn’t around for that, they may never come back. They might see his invitation as a slap in the face, just another taunt.
“If push comes to shove, I’ll handle that too. They may hate the idea, but it’s important that they meet Ferd. She’s a good kid and deserves to know her family.”
“She’s not a kid, Dad.” Connor laughed.
“I never got to know her as a child. To me, you’re all kids.” He stood and hobbled toward the door. “I need to go do some of my therapy. This weather is getting to me. Might be the last winter I spend up here. Arizona is looking mighty nice the longer I put up with this.”
He hadn’t told his father yet about his plan to bring cattle back to Wayside Ranch. Especially now that they’d have more pastureland. “Would you still want to leave if you could look out your window and see cattle grazing?”
“I’m too old for that.” Dad scratched his forehead. “But I have to admit, it would be nice. Nothing more calming than watching cattle forage as the sun comes up. Might even be good for some of the people living here.”
He’d thought about that, too. “Means I’ll have to hire a few more people. My men have enough work without adding cattle to the mix.”
Dad nodded and scrunched his lips, furrowing his chin. “I’d be around to help you hire the right people. Might be good for me. One last way to give back.”
Connor didn’t like the fact that his dad was now sounding like he was planning the end of his life. He hadn’t ever talked like that before getting shot. “You have your trust set up. You’re set. Don’t worry about death’s door until you’re standing in front of it.”
“If you don’t think about it, you’ll miss important things, thinking you can always do them tomorrow. At some point, you’ll run out of tomorrows.” Teddy plopped his cowboy hat back on his head. “Keep me posted on your plans. I don’t want to find out by surprise like I did when Lacy left.”
“You got it.” Meaning he’d have to make a decision soon.
As soon as his dad left, he picked up his phone and typed out a text instead of calling the hotel number. He’d wanted to go that route in case they weren’t in the room. If he called during the middle of something, he might interrupt her at an important time. But if the front desk didn’t pick up, then he couldn’t even get transferred to her room.
Hey, I was trying to reach you at your hotel. I think you picked a dud. They aren’t answering.
Hopefully, framing his question in humor wouldn’t make her think he was stalking her. A reply popped up quickly.
We ended up having to leave the hotel early this morning, just a few hours after I talked to you. Melinda’s husband came to the hotel and threatened us. We’re fine. We’re staying at a private house, and he doesn’t know where we are.
Connor swallowed back the urge to rush to his truck, jump in, and drive as fast as he could to come get her. Instead, he tried to think clearly and type out a coherent response.
This is getting a little out of hand. Do you need me?
He hated having to ask that question. No woman he’d ever met was as independent as Lacy. She’d had to be. She loved him and he could be cold and belligerent, but she usually gave back just what he gave to her. They’d always been good that way.
No. I can handle it. We’re safely moved now and I’m trying to talk Melinda into taking a hot bath and resting. She is so stressed out after this morning.
He wanted to call. This was a conversation he wanted to have with her not with a phone, but if she wanted to talk to him, she’d call. She’d wanted a little time and space. He had to honor that.
Sounds like you have it handled. I just worry about you.
He set his phone down and bent his head. Lord, You know where Lacy is and what she’s facing. Much better than I do. Instead of rushing in and doing what I think is right, I’m praying that You step in and do what You think is right. Not my will. I love her, Lord, You know that. Please, bring her back to me.
His phone buzzed with another message.
I love you, too.
He stared at the message. Had he said he loved her? She hadn’t wanted to hear that for so long. Every time he’d hinted at it when his men had done their second chance missions, she’d shut him down. Looking back, he’d only said he worried about her. Was that the same thing to her?
Love you, too.
He hit send. If he was going to have a text to hold on to, she needed one to match.
Lacy waited on the sofa for Melinda to finish in the shower. From the couch in the living room, she could see most of the house, making it a great vantage point to feel secure. Randy sat at the counter a few feet away, eating a breakfast he’d found in the freezer and microwaved.
He finished the last bite and looked up at her. “Thanks for letting me hang out for a minute. I didn’t want to go home early. If I did, Dad would wonder why. He’s always wondering about me.” He shrugged like it wasn’t important, but his eyes said it was.
“After this morning, I’m in no hurry to be alone.” Lacy glanced out the sliding glass door that led to a fenced back yard. At least that part of the house looked safe. The rest of it was just like any other house with multiple entry points and windows all over. Far too many things for her to watch.
“I don’t blame you.” He wiped his hands on a kitchen towel, then quickly washed the fork he’d used and put it back in the drawer.
“Will you get blamed for the fire alarm? I don’t want you to get in trouble for us. If there’s a fine, I should pay it.” She wasn’t made of money, but she doubted a twenty-something year old guy who lived with his parents did either.
“I won’t. There are no cameras behind the desk and Melinda’s husband happened to be right in front of a camera. I had to turn the lock off to your room and cut all the cameras for a few seconds before forcing the alarm. That way, it would be plausible that Tod did it. Especially since our fire alarms are coded to unlock all the doors. If he wanted to get in, that was a sure way to do it.”
Lacy tried not to wring her hands when she realized how close she’d come to being attacked. If Tod had known that the doors opened, he would’ve easily gotten inside the moment the alarm went off.
“What if he would’ve known that and just flung open the door?”
“That’s why I told you to stand back by the window. He would’ve been forced to go all the way into the room, giving me a second to get to you. Pretty smart, huh?” He grinned.
“Yeah, it sure worked. Will you still have a job after they clean up any water damage?” She heard the shower shut off in the nearby bathroom. Melinda would be done soon.
“I’m sure I will. He has trouble keeping employees because he’s not a great boss. I’m in college for coding. I take classes online. When I sit there all night, it gives me time to listen to lectures or do homework.”
Great idea, getting paid to do homework. “Sounds like the perfect plan.”
“It would be if my boss wasn’t who he is. If you think Tod is bad, you don’t ever want to meet his brother. He has anger issues, times ten.” Randy hid a yawn behind his hand. “If you both are settled, I’ll head home. Dad said he didn’t have anyone booked in this house until New Years, so you can stay for a while. Maybe as long as you need, depending on how long that is.”
Randy seemed to have a similar issue to some of the clients back home. They talked a lot when they got nervous. Sometimes it helped, other times it just made them embarrassed.
“I wish I knew how long I needed to stay, but I’m not sure. Thank you for checking with him. Moving around isn’t fun. We’ll probably be here most of the time.”
“Great. Well, if you need anything you can call me at the number I gave you. Not sure I’d be much help if I can’t control the weather though.” He laughed.
“Making it rain was perfect. Thank you again.”
Though she didn’t particularly like Randy, she could see he was already turning into a decent man. Whatever set off her weirdo alarm that morning had been completely wrong.
Randy paused at the door. “They hang out at the Pretty Pint uptown in the evenings. You might want to stay away from that block any time after five in the evening. They know everyone who drinks there. It’s like one of those old man clubs. I hear all about it when my boss comes in stinking of alcohol and wanting to talk about all the things he did that evening, things he can’t tell his wife. Anyway, since there are a bunch of restaurants over there too, I thought I’d mention it.”
Lacy swallowed hard. What kind of family had Melinda married into? “Thanks for the heads up.”
As soon as Randy left, she got up and locked the door. Melinda emerged from the bathroom scrunching her wet hair in a towel.
“That felt amazing. Your turn?” She looked pointedly at Lacy with eyes that said she’d better not argue.
While she would love a shower, she was worried about leaving Melinda alone without anyone to watch the doors or windows. “Are you sure? I could wait until this evening or even until Randy comes back to see if we need anything. He promised he would.”
Melinda snorted. “It feels strange to have met him today and he is already nicer than anyone else we’ve talked to. How did he know you?”
“Long story.” And not one she wanted to relate again.
“Okay.” Melinda glanced at the fridge. “Anything in there?”
“Randy said there were a few frozen meals. He had one of them before he left. We can go shopping later, but I think we should drive out of town to do that. I don’t care if we need to go an hour out of the way, I’m not going to be looking over my shoulder every few minutes as I try to buy food.”
Melinda nodded her approval of the plan. “I know of a little mom and pop store about an hour from here. They don’t have a huge selection, but I like that you can hear the door open and close because of the bell above it and I like that the shelves are short enough that if you stand on tiptoe, you can see everyone in the store.”
What kind of life would she have to live to make her think that way and not even realize it was defensive? That was exactly the kind of place they needed, but it sickened her to think that Melinda had lived that way for years. “Sounds like a plan.”
“Seriously, I’m not saying you need a shower, but it’s okay if you want to go take one. You look tired and it will help. I’ll be fine. I’ve lived this long, so another twenty minutes won’t be an issue.”
The pull of the hot water and letting the last two days go down the drain was more than Lacy could stand. “Fine, but I’ll be quick.”
“I’ll have a few of these frozen lunches made by the time you get out, then we’ll plan how we’ll get food and what we’ll need to do so we can leave. Now that my aunt is gone, I have no reason to stay here.”
“Except you’re a suspect for the time being. We can’t leave until they arrest someone for the crime and clear you to go. We didn’t touch anything but the door, so they won’t find our prints anywhere. They have to clear you, but I don’t want to leave before we get the okay.”
“I know. I also know that he’ll tell the police that my aunt and I were estranged and hadn’t spoken in years. He won’t tell them it’s because he told me there would be severe consequences if I spoke to her, only that we were estranged so there must be bad blood there. He’s made it so easy for himself to frame me for everything.”
“Only because he made it so you can’t fight back. We’ll win this. The truth will set you free.” She just had to keep believing that.
Lacy headed for the bedroom she’d decided to use while they were staying there and gathered a change of clothes and a towel from the rack in the closet. Randy had told her there was also a washer and drier in the house that they could use, making the house a better long-term option than a hotel. If only she could relax for even a second.
She headed into the bathroom, locked the door, and turned on the vent fan. Within a few minutes of turning on the hot water, steam covered the mirror and hung in a mist near the ceiling. She got in and closed the curtain. The shampoo left in there was better than the stuff she used at home, and she poured a liberal amount into her hand and lathered her entire head, letting the fragrance and the soft bubbles sooth her frayed nerves.
A soft creak stalled her, and she froze. Was that the door? Hadn’t she locked it. “Hello?” she said quietly in case she’d heard something that didn’t exist, and her mind was playing tricks on her again.
She heard slight shuffling just outside the shower curtain and the stuttered groan of writing on the mirror. “Hello?” The pitch of her own voice betrayed her sudden fear. She was trapped in a shower with someone on the other side of the flimsy plastic.
There was no way she was going to open that curtain. She heard the door of the bathroom close, and Lacy whipped the stiff plastic out of the way. In streaky letters on the mirror in front of her read the words, I’ve got her. You’re next .