Chapter 7
Once the door to the cabin closed behind Troy, Lakin left her bedroom and went into the RTA office.
She spent the day there, doing what she always did: taking calls, talking to clients and vendors, putting out little fires.
And yet she felt like it wasn’t real, like she was in a Groundhog Day-like dream.
She was doing the same thing over and over, but she wasn’t really present.
She wasn’t sure where she was, but she knew where she wanted to be. And once she left the office, she hopped in her SUV and headed there. Home.
Not to her empty cabin but to the house where she’d grown up with her brothers and her mom and dad.
Because it was home and would always be, she didn’t knock. She just pushed open the kitchen door and walked in, surprising her parents at the counter. Her dad had his arms around her mom as she was chopping up something on the cutting board, and he was nuzzling her neck as she squirmed and giggled.
Lakin’s heart warmed with love for them and for the love that they had for each other all these years later. They’d been high school sweethearts like her and Troy, but unlike her and Troy, they’d shared their vision for family and their future.
And their love thrived even or maybe especially during the tragedies they’d suffered.
“Oh, there’s our baby girl!” Mom exclaimed as she dropped the knife and rushed over to hug Lakin.
Lakin smiled over being called baby. She was taller and bigger boned than her mother. Sasha Colton had a delicate build and facial features, but she was strong and fiercely loving and fun. She had so many friends because everyone who met her became her friend.
What about…? The woman in the photograph suddenly popped into Lakin’s head, the woman who’d looked so much like her. She felt a twinge of guilt.
Sasha Colton was the woman who’d raised her, who’d read to her at night and helped her with homework and talked to her about friends and boys and life.
Lakin tightened her arms around her mother, holding tight to her for a moment and to those memories.
She breathed in the scents in the kitchen.
The roasting chicken. The cinnamon and nutmeg spices from the Dutch apple pie cooling on the counter.
And her mother’s hair brushed across her cheek, soft and smelling like a combination of the cooking aromas, spring and clay.
She smiled again. “I love you so much, Mom,” she said.
Sasha clasped her tightly. She was as famous for her hugs as for her pottery and her cooking. “I love you, too, baby.”
“What about me?” her dad asked.
Lakin and her mother laughed. “Of course we love you, too,” they said together.
When they stepped back from each other, her dad hugged Lakin. Almost too tightly, like he was trying too hard to hang onto her.
Did he know about Jasper Whitlaw’s visit? Had Troy told him? He might have out of concern, but then he should have been concerned that he would make her even more mad at him. She doubted he would risk that.
Maybe Eli or Kansas had told Dad about the break-in at the cabin last night. But she didn’t think either of them would want to worry him when they’d really seemed to believe it was just a hungry vagrant.
But was that really the case? While she hadn’t felt that strange sensation of being watched since this morning, she felt it now. Was it because of how intently her parents were staring at her or…
Was there someone outside watching?
She glanced through the front windows of the house and noted a few trucks and other vehicles parked on the street. With the sun shining on the windows, she couldn’t see inside them. Maybe they weren’t all empty. Maybe someone was out there peering back at her. Whitlaw? Or someone else?
Once her dad released her, she walked over to the window and closed the blinds.
“Too bright?” Sasha asked.
Lakin nodded. The truth was she wanted to shield her parents from that watchful gaze.
She wanted to protect them. So she couldn’t tell them about Jasper Whitlaw and that photograph.
She knew they would seek him out and try to get answers for her like they’d tried all those years ago.
For some reason, she didn’t want them anywhere near Whitlaw or her long-ago past.
After they adopted her, the Coltons had given her such a wonderful, perfect childhood.
Even though she was an adult now, they were still here for her, helping her make her dreams come true.
If she hadn’t reached out to her father during that auction for the Shelby hotel, she would have lost her opportunity for the business she always wanted.
But, despite what Troy believed, the money wasn’t as important as the fact that her dad believed in her.
He and her mother always had.
“I don’t know if I tell you enough how much I love you two,” Lakin said.
Her mom smiled. “You definitely tell us enough, but I love hearing it.” She hugged Lakin again. “And I hope you know how much we love you.”
“I have never doubted your love,” she assured them.
“Uh-oh,” her dad murmured.
“What?” her mom asked with a glance at him.
“I feel like there is a story behind that statement,” he said. “Trouble with Troy? I know he’s been gone a long time…”
“He’s back,” Lakin said.
Her dad arched an eyebrow. “And you’re here without him?”
She nodded. “I need some space,” she admitted.
“Uh-oh,” her father said again.
Tears rushed to her eyes, but she blinked them away. She didn’t want to start crying because she was afraid she might not stop. “Can we talk about that later?” she asked.
She had to figure out first if she could just be happy that Troy was okay and not worry about how he hadn’t called anyone when he got hurt or how uncertain he was about the future. She wanted to be understanding, but she’d been patient so long with him. She wasn’t sure she had any patience left.
“Of course,” her mom said. Then she turned toward her husband and gave him a pointed look. “We’re not going to pry, are we, Will?”
He sighed. “No, we’re not.”
Lakin smiled in appreciation; she knew how hard it was for him to not step in and help her.
Ever since they brought her home, her father and brothers had been the white knights trying to slay her dragons.
Mom had always been the one encouraging her to slay her own dragons and having the faith in her that she had the strength to do that.
But now her mom’s face flushed a bit and she murmured, “We were actually going to call you about moving back home for a while.”
Lakin groaned. “Eli told you?”
“About that girl’s body being found,” her dad said with a nod. “Yes. And I know you probably think we’re being overly cautious, but you shouldn’t be alone in your cabin. It’s too far from the other guest cottages.”
It didn’t sound to Lakin like they knew about the break-in the day before. That was good. It was also the least of the things she was keeping from them right now. But she didn’t want to worry them any more than they already were.
“And you said you want some space from Troy, so you really will be alone out there,” her dad added.
“Troy spent last night on the couch,” she admitted,
Her mom smiled. “Of course he would be worried, too, and want to protect you. He loves you so much.”
Lakin sighed. “I’m not so sure about that anymore.” Did he really love her, or was he just used to protecting her and everyone else in his family? He probably believed that he’d been protecting them when he didn’t call after his fall.
“What happened?” her dad asked, his long body stiffening with outrage. Like he intended to go defend her honor.
Tears sprang to her eyes again, blurring her vision for a moment. He was her father no matter what Jasper Whitlaw claimed he was; he hadn’t been there for her like Will Colton had always been.
“I don’t want to pry, honey,” her mom said as she slid her arm around her shoulders. “But you seem really upset, and you might feel better if you talk about it.”
“Troy got hurt…” her voice cracked “…badly on the oil rig.”
Her mother gasped. “Is he all right?”
Lakin nodded. “Now. And I am relieved and grateful that he is.” If he hadn’t recovered… She couldn’t even consider the horror of that without more tears rushing to her eyes.
“But?” her mother prodded.
“But he was in the hospital for weeks, and he didn’t call me,” she said. “He didn’t let me know.”
“He probably didn’t want to worry you,” her dad said.
“He still should have called,” her mom said. “Men and their foolish pride, trying so hard to be strong for us.” The look she gave her husband was telling.
Lakin understood. These killings had to have brought back all the pain of his family tragedy, the loss of his parents and sister. She hugged him.
Her father patted her back, comforting her instead of accepting her comfort. “You and Troy will work this out,” he said. “I don’t remember a time that you weren’t in love with him and he with you.”
Neither did Lakin. She’d loved him for so long. But she sighed again. “I don’t know if we want the same things anymore,” she explained. She wanted it all, the business, kids, a family…
“Oh,” Mom said, her brow furrowing beneath a lock of silvery gray hair. “That’s hard.”
It was. But so was this, being here with her parents and keeping so much from them. Lakin wanted to tell them both everything like she always had. But she didn’t want to worry them. Like Troy hadn’t wanted to worry her…
Maybe she was a hypocrite to be mad at him for doing what she was doing. While she could forgive him for not telling her about his accident right away, she wasn’t sure if she could continue on the way that they’d been for so long, this long-distance limbo waiting for their future together to start.
Life was too short for that, as his accident should have made him realize. As the horrible deaths of those women had made her realize.
“Well, dinner is almost ready,” her mom said. “I hope you’re hungry.”