36. Reese
Reese
Deciding to stay had lifted a weight from my shoulders, one that had been heavier than I’d ever realized. I still didn’t fully believe I deserved forgiveness, but my family had given it to me anyway. The least I could do was accept it.
Free from the crush of guilt, a new possibility opened in front of me. I could stay.
From the beginning, the idea of a life with Summer had called to a deep place inside me. I’d tried to ignore it. To push it aside as something not meant for me. But as soon as I said it—as soon as I told her I loved her—everything changed.
I had no problem uprooting my life and starting over in my hometown. There were logistics to figure out. I’d need to go back to Arizona to deal with my house—move out and sell it.
And I was rethinking my job. Travel would be inevitable, but I didn’t want to take on clients that would have me away from Summer for months at a time. Fortunately, I’d always lived simply, without a lot of expenses. Money wasn’t going to be an issue.
Summer was at work and Annika and Levi had taken Nate to the park for the afternoon. That had left me free to run a few errands. My last stop was my parents’ place. I’d spent the morning helping Josiah with maintenance on one of their rentals and needed to return some of Dad’s tools.
When I pulled up to their house, Dad’s truck was outside. I grabbed the tools out of my SUV and walked around back to his shop. The whir of a saw biting through wood rang out as I approached the open garage door and set the tool bag down.
Dad looked up and took off his safety glasses. “Afternoon, Son.”
“Hey, Dad. What are you working on?”
“Your mom wants another picnic table for the side yard. All those grandkids.”
“Are you sure you don’t need two more?”
He grinned. “Probably. I’m also thinking about an addition to the house, for the same reason. We can’t fit everybody in the dining room anymore.”
I glanced over at the house. “There’s room. You could even use the existing back door. That way you wouldn’t have to cut into any of the logs.”
“That’s what I’m thinking.” He stepped out of the shop and rested his hands on his hips. “It’s not easy to add on to a log home. Didn’t think I ever would when I built it. But here we are, with a family that keeps getting bigger.”
His eyes flicked to me, and he raised his eyebrows. He didn’t have to say anything. I knew what the look meant. Are you going to admit you’re staying?
“And I’m making it grow by a few more, I guess.”
“You gonna make that official?”
A smile crept over my face. “Yeah. Soon.”
He patted my back a few times. “Good. If you weren’t gonna marry that girl for real, you and I were gonna have words.”
I laughed. “No need for that talk.”
“Glad to hear it.”
“I’ll let you get back to your table.” I checked my watch. “I need to pick up Nate soon.”
“All right. See you later.” He started back into the shop, but paused and turned to look at me. “It’s good that you’re staying.”
A lump of emotion rose in my throat, so I just nodded. He nodded back.
And with that, the last vestiges of doubt left me. I was home, and it was exactly where I was meant to be.
I still had time to kill before getting Nate, so I headed into town and parked outside the Copper Kettle. Summer had to work until closing, so I didn’t want to pass up the chance to pop in and see her, even for a few minutes.
She turned as soon as I walked in, and her smile hit me right in the chest. Those eyes. They got me every time.
And now she was mine.
She lifted a finger to let me know she’d be there in a minute while I took a seat at the counter.
Rob came over with an ice water. “Afternoon. Do you want anything, or are you just stopping by?”
“Stopping by.” I glanced at my watch. “I’m picking up Nate in a few.”
“Sounds good.”
“How goes the squirrel war? Has the SPS made any progress?”
“Well, as you can imagine, there’s no reasoning with them. And someone did bring up a good point at our last meeting about not interfering too much with wildlife. But the secret squirrel treasure plan seems to be working nicely.”
“Secret squirrel treasure?”
He nodded. “We planted some stashes of nuts and seeds where the squirrels would find them. You know, as a distraction so they’d stop raiding each other’s food stores.”
“Glad it’s working.”
“Tell me about it. Now we can focus on our next project.”
“What’s that?”
“A squirrel bridge over Main Street. They’re causing traffic issues when they cross the street. Safer for everyone if they have another way to get around. This one will be a prototype. If it does the job, we’ll add some others at strategic locations around town.”
“Sounds like a good plan.”
“We think it’ll make a difference.”
Another customer came in, so he left to greet them and show them to their table. I still didn’t know what to make of the SPS and their dedication to Tilikum’s squirrels. Quirky? Sure. But they also did a lot of good for the town’s human residents.
Summer came over wearing the smile that lit up my world. Leaning over the counter, she gave me a quick kiss.
“Hey. I didn’t expect to see you in here today.”
“I missed my wife.”
“You don’t need to keep calling me that.”
“What if I like calling you my wife?”
She playfully rolled her eyes. “What have you been up to today?”
“Helping Josiah with some maintenance, then I ran a few errands.”
“I keep meaning to ask you. Do you need to go back to work? As in, your security job. There must be an archaeological dig somewhere that needs protecting from looters.”
“I’ve been thinking about that. I’m not going to take any clients that require too much travel, at least for now. It’s inevitable that I’ll need to go out of town now and then. But I don’t want to be away from you.”
She smiled again. “I guess as long as you can still make ends meet.”
“As long as we can make ends meet. And don’t worry. That’s not a problem.”
“Are you sure? Because school will be starting before we know it, and then it’ll be winter, and Nate’s going to need…everything. And with the way he’s growing, we’ll be lucky if any of his clothes still fit in another month.”
“Don’t worry.” I reached across the counter and took her hand. “Everything is going to be fine.”
My phone buzzed in my pocket, so I took it out. It was Annika.
“Hey,” I answered. “I’m already downtown, so I’ll be there in a few.”
“Reese, we can’t find him.” The panic in her voice sent a jolt of adrenaline through me.
“What?”
The color drained from Summer’s face, and she stared at me.
“The kids were playing hide-and-seek. We told them not to go too far and to stay in the park. Emma was it and she couldn’t find Nate.
We figured he’d just picked a good hiding place, so we let Juliet search for him.
She didn’t find him, either, so Will wanted to try.
That’s when we started to worry. Thomas started looking, then Levi and I combed the entire park.
He’s not here. We’ve looked everywhere, multiple times. ”
“It’s okay,” I said, keeping my voice calm. “His watch has a tracker on it. Give me a second, I’ll tell you right where he is.”
“Oh thank goodness,” she said.
I opened the app and alarm hit me like a bolt of lightning. He was well outside town, moving fast.
“What’s wrong?” Summer asked.
“They lost track of Nate during a game of hide-and-seek.” I swiped to the app with the tracker I’d put in his shoe. It showed the same thing. “He’s in a moving vehicle, already outside town.”
“What?” she shrieked.
With my eyes locked on Summer’s, I stood and lifted the phone to my ear. “Annika, I have to go.”
I ended the call before I heard her reply, and a second later, Summer and I were racing out the door.
Axel
The kid sat with his arms crossed, casting me occasional wary glances. Considering I’d grabbed him at gunpoint, shoved him in a car, and raced him out of town, he was pretty calm. Maybe Summer hadn’t turned him into a total pussy after all.
No one had seen a thing, and we weren’t being followed. I’d been quick. And the gun was deterrent enough to keep him from doing something stupid, like yelling out the window at the passersby on our way out of town.
Driving down the highway, I kept an eye on my speed. The last thing I needed was some fucking cop on my ass. I knew what was going to happen. The kid would be reported missing. Steering clear of law enforcement was a priority.
I pulled out a cigarette and my lighter. “Want one?”
He shook his head.
I shrugged and cracked the window before lighting it. I took a long drag and blew the smoke toward the opening.
Nate waved his hand in front of his face and coughed. “Those cause cancer.”
“Do they?” I took another drag, and my reply was thick with sarcasm, but I lowered my window a little more. “I had no idea.”
“Where are we going?”
“Montana.”
“Is that where your biker gang lives?”
“Biker gang?” I chuckled. “It’s a motorcycle club. And no. We’re finished with those fuckers.”
“Why Montana?”
“Do you always ask so many questions?”
He shrugged and fiddled with his watch.
“We’re going to Montana because my uncle lives out there. He’s older than dirt, probably gonna kick the bucket any day. But he’ll put us up for a while on his land.”
“You think I’m just going to live with you now?”
“I’m your father. You bet your ass you’re going to live with me now. You should’ve been with me all along.”
He didn’t, but I could have sworn he was about to say “You’re not my father.”
He’d learn.
I took a drag and blew the smoke out the window. Nate twisted his watch again. Narrowing my eyes, I took a hard look at it. Some kind of smartwatch. I’d already made sure he didn’t have a phone on him. That would be easy to track. But that watch might have GPS.
“Get rid of the watch.”
He looked at me in alarm. “What?”
“Take it off and throw it out the window.”
“Why?”
“Just do it.”
He hesitated. I put my hand on the gun sitting on top of the cupholders in the center console.
“Now,” I said through gritted teeth.
He unfastened the band while I lowered his window, and he tossed it outside.
“You got any more trackers on you?” I asked.
Without looking at me, he crossed his arms and shook his head.
“Listen, if you’re lying to me, I’m not just going to hurt you. I’m going to hurt your mom.” The lies came easily, as they always did. “I have guys in town watching her to make sure you and I get away clean. If I give them the signal, they’ll kill her. You don’t want your mom to die, do you?”
He shot me a glare that almost made me laugh. The kid had a fierce streak, I had to give him that.
“As soon as we stop, I’m searching you head to toe. I did time, kid. I know how it’s done.”
“Fine,” he spat. “There’s one in my shoe.”
I was about to tell him to take off his shoes and throw them out the window like his watch, when a sign up ahead caught my eye. Gas 1 Mile. I didn’t want to stop, but a gas station might be a better place to dump the shoes.
“Take them off, but don’t toss them.”
“Why?”
“Stop asking fucking questions and do what I tell you.”
With a sullen pout, he removed his shoes and held them in his lap.
I took the exit and pulled into the gas station. It was small—only four pumps. The outside of the convenience store was papered with ads for energy drinks and junk food. Two other vehicles were parked alongside the pumps—a full-size black pickup and a silver sedan.
Eyeing the situation, I parked next to one of the outer pumps. A woman got into the pickup and started the engine, while a bald guy with a beard pumped gas into the sedan.
“Listen,” I said, my voice low. “You so much as breathe too loud and attract attention, your mom is dead. And so are you. Understand?”
The fear I’d been expecting flashed across his face. He believed me. Good.
I tucked the gun in my pants and grabbed his shoes. When I got out, I casually set them on the hood. There was a garbage can I could stash them in. Anyone searching for Nate would find them quickly—wouldn’t be much of a detour.
The guy with the sedan replaced the nozzle and closed his gas cap, then headed into the convenience store.
I couldn’t help but grin. As soon as he disappeared inside, I casually moved over to his car and checked the driver’s-side door. It opened. I popped the trunk and shut the door, then tucked the shoes in the trunk before closing it again.
That would do it.
I got back in the car and left, getting back on the highway. The whole stop had taken about two minutes. Depending on where the sedan was headed, it could lead Summer on a wild-goose chase.
Served her right. Fucking Summer. Once Nate and I were settled, I’d go back and finish her off. It might not be soon, but eventually, I’d get her. I was a patient man, and she needed to pay for everything she’d done.