Chapter 19
Libby ran out of Basilio and Renata’s home still wearing her swimsuit, with her purse draped over her shoulder and her phone pressed to her ear.
“Are you coming home, baby?” Travis said as he picked up the phone.
“What? No! My daughter is missing and I’m calling because I need you to come help me find her! And so help me God, Travis, if you start your shit one more time, I’ll file for divorce and never look back. Harper’s life is hers, not yours!”
“I’m coming, baby. I’m coming and I know. I know all that.”
Libby yanked open the door of her car, got in and drove away. Before she hit the end of the driveway her phone rang again. “Harper?” she nearly shouted into the phone.
“It’s me,” Travis said. “Where am I going? How is she missing?”
“The restaurant, and I’m not fully sure yet but it has to do with Clay.”
“I’ll be there, Libs. I’m coming.”
Libby hung up and accelerated, driving like a bat out of hell as she took the curves of the back roads until she hit the highway. Just as she turned onto the highway and began to make really good time. Her cell phone rang again.
She snatched it out of the cup holder of her car. “If this isn’t Harper I don’t have time for this!” Libby shouted into her phone.
“Not even if I know where she is?” Maia said calmly.
“Maia?” Libby asked.
“Yep. She just left here. She’s been with me. She’s driving my truck and she’s fine. But I think we need to talk. I’m assuming you’re on your way. Can you continue on and we can spend a few minutes talking about what is literally none of my business?”
“You’re sure she’s okay? You saw her?”
“I brought her inside and we spent a quite a while talking. She’s okay, just wanting to hide for a while. She’s fine, though.”
“Okay, okay, why didn’t she call me?!”
“Her phone is with Summer, and honestly, I’m not sure how much more she can take at this particular point in time. I told her I’d call you.”
Libby eased her foot off the accelerator as the panic she’d been living with the last ten minutes began to loosen its hold on her. “What happened, Maia? One minute she was going to pick up take out with Summer, then Summer calls yelling that she’s missing.”
“She saw Clay having lunch with some woman. It sent her over the edge because she went inside with the intention of telling him she’s his. Instead he introduced her to somebody named Erica.”
Libby’s heart fell. “Oh, no. And she was so excited about the two of them.”
“You know how things like that are, Libby. It doesn’t mean they won’t be together.
Even she said that none of it was his fault, that she never told him what she’s realized and that he’d mentioned that he thought he might have met his mate.
She’s not blaming him, she was just reeling.
She didn’t want him to see her losing control so she ran.
She saw my house and her mind went ‘safe place’.
So she took refuge in my back yard. I brought her in and we spent some time together. ”
“Oh, thank God. I was panicking. I mean, I think, my girl’s a flipping Tiger! Nobody can hurt her. But then I realize that there are some sick bastards out there that could get the jump on her before she knows she’s got to protect herself, and for her to be gone in just a minute or two…”
“I understand. Believe me, I do. I have Cristie and despite the fact that she is mated to Remi, I still worry about the same thing.”
“Okay, whew! Heart’s calming down,” Libby said. “I’m at a normal rate of speed so maybe I won’t get arrested, and I’ll be there soon.”
“Maybe we can include Travis in a speaker call or something when you get here.”
“Oh, he’s coming. I called him when I realized I’m a human going to get my daughter back and he’s a shifter. I’m angry with him, but I’m not an idiot. If somebody was stupid enough to grab her, then he’s the one that can get her back, not me.”
“Good. I’ll see you both when you get here.”
~~~
Richie walked over to where Erica sat finishing her food. She looked up at him as he came to a stop beside the table she and Clay had been sharing. “Sorry about that. Too much assumption on the parts of both Clay and Harper and now she’s avoiding him and he’s searching for her.”
“Yeah, young love, huh?”
“You’re not kidding. I wouldn’t go back and do that again for anything.”
“Same. Think it’ll be okay?” Erica asked.
“Oh, yeah. It’ll work itself out most likely by sunset. If not, they’ve got nothing but time.”
“Sorry I added to their confusion, but I figured I’d just sit here and wait until one of them comes back,” she said as she took her final bite of her roast beef. She sat back and sighed. “Does that sound like a reasonable excuse to continue sitting here and eating instead of getting involved?”
Richie laughed. “Meaning if you weren’t eating you’d have gotten involved?”
“Well, Harper was doing her best to be polite and friendly despite the fact that she was obviously upset. I respect that. But no, I most likely wouldn’t have gotten involved.
” She pointed at her empty plate. “This is fantastic. I don’t know when I’ve had a better meal.
Any chance I could get some to-go meals? ”
“Sure. You want a repeat of what you just had, or you want Salisbury steak and steamed veggies as the side?”
“Yes,” she said.
Richie laughed again. “Tell you what, let me fix you up with some dinners to go, and I’ll send out your dessert, too.”
Her eyes lit up. “Dessert? I forgot about that!”
“I’ll pack you some of that, too.”
“You’re awesome!”
He grinned at her. “Sometimes. Just don’t expect it often.”
Erica laughed as Richie went back to the kitchen. Three minutes later another male, tall, dark, gorgeous, was standing at her table. “Hi. Richie said to bring you a double helping of our peach cobbler. I wasn’t sure if you wanted ice cream on it, so I brought you two scoops in a separate bowl.”
“I’m going to have to be wheeled out of here.”
“Yeah, it’s good, right?”
“So, good. So, who are you? Are you one of the waiters here?”
“When needed. I’m Remi. I’m a chef here. My wife is the owner’s daughter.”
“Oh, okay. I see, a family kind of business.”
“Yes, ma’am. All the recipes, the techniques, learned at home and offered to our customers.”
“Well, it’s successful. I can tell you that I’ll be looking for a reason to come back to Missouri so I can eat here again. Often,” she said.
“We’ll be glad to see you.”
“Thank you,” she said, picking up a dessert spoon and scooping out a couple of spoonfuls of vanilla ice cream and placing them on top of her cobbler.
“Oh, and Richie said not to worry. If Clay doesn’t show up to drive you to your car when you’re ready, he’ll get you there.”
“No worries. My car’s outside. I followed Clay. And I’m in no rush at the moment. Once I’m done eating, I’m heading home.”
“I’ll let him know, and I hope you enjoy your dessert,” Remi said, smiling as he turned to go back into the kitchen.
“Oh, no doubt!” Erica answered.
~~~
Summer was leaning against her car relaxedly eating her late lunch with a plastic fork as she waited for something to happen.
She knew that Harper was well on her way to where she was going — most likely her horses.
True she took Maia’s truck, and she was wearing one of Maia’s hoodies, but no way in hell did that fool Summer.
She’d have known it was Harper even if she hadn’t known in advance that Harper was at Maia’s.
She just rolled her eyes and chuckled as she watched Harper drive away.
It was at that point that Summer decided there was no reason she should be hungry.
The food was right there, and though she had to remain where she was and pretend she didn’t know where Harper was, it didn’t mean she couldn’t eat.
So, she was eating, grinning at the thought of Clay searching the six hundred acres across the road for any trace of Harper.
Then she’d chuckle to herself and keep grinning because if the bastard could make sure she never had a date in high school, she could make sure he searched Riley’s other six hundred acres until next week for all she cared.
Just about the time she’d finished her meal and started on her peach cobbler, she noticed a car slowing down at the front gate of Maia and Riley’s driveway.
It only took a second to figure out that it was Aunt Libby.
She watched as Libby keyed in the code, then slowly drove up to the house and parked.
Libby got out of her car, and flashed a wave at Summer before she went into the house.
“Maia must have called her,” Summer said to herself and took another bite of her dessert.
Ten minutes later Travis’s old beat up truck tore into the parking lot.
He brought it to a stop, brakes squealing, gravel flying and slammed it into park right where he was, in the middle of everything and left it as he got out.
“Libby?! Harper?!” he bellowed, walking a few feet toward the road, then stalking back toward the restaurant.
He spied Summer and made a direct path toward her.
“What happened, Summer? Where is everybody? Libby is supposed to be here looking for Harper! Why are you just standing here eating?”
Summer raised one eyebrow and pointed at Maia and Riley’s with her plastic fork.
Travis looked to where her fork pointed and saw Libby’s car parked at Maia’s.
“Is Harper there, too? Did you find her?”
“She was, but she left. She’s okay. Maia will tell you.”
“Why are you standing over here alone, eating?”
“I was hungry. And somebody has to keep Clay searching over there,” she said, aiming her fork at the property across the street.
“He still doesn’t know she’s okay?”
Summer looked down at her dessert and placed another bite in her mouth. She took the time to chew and swallow before she looked up at Travis again. “Nope.”
“And you’re not going to tell him.”
Summer placed another bite in her mouth and silently shook her head.
“You’re cold.”
Summer smiled at her Uncle Travis as she started chewing.