Chapter 10 A Unit
A UNIT
Ford parked his SUV in front of the cabin, didn’t see Reenie’s car, but the lights were on.
He grabbed the few bags of groceries he’d picked up and carried them to the front door.
It opened before he could knock.
“Don’t do that,” he said.
“Do what?” She reached for the bags, but he held them back and walked in.
“Open the door without asking who it is.”
She didn’t seem scared to him. Even rolled her eyes.
“I looked out the window and saw your SUV. I even have the curtains closed because Clay told me I have to. It’s dark in here and I’d like some sunlight.”
“Sorry,” he said. “Better safe than sorry.”
He wasn’t paying attention to the curtains moving, but was watching everything else around the landscape.
From the camera that Clay put on the tree hidden in the front to see anyone coming down the driveway, to the lock that was pretty damn sturdy, telling him his brother had replaced it today. He’d get a key for that later.
“Thanks for picking everything up for me.” She was unloading the bags that he’d set on the table. “How long am I going to be a prisoner on the property?”
He sighed. “Not long. You need to come and go. It’d look odd if you didn’t.”
There were employees on the grounds. No one that he knew of that ventured this far down the road. He didn’t think anyone even went to Clay’s house on the property.
There were new apple trees planted behind Clay’s ranch and the cabin, but further back and as far as he knew only Clay and his father checked on them.
But people would still see Reenie at the cafe and driving around.
“That’s right. What do you want for dinner? Burgers or chicken?”
“You don’t have to cook for me.”
“I’m cooking for me and you’re here. We can eat together. I know you want to talk.”
“That obvious?” he asked.
“You’ve never been obvious,” she said. “And you don’t have to use the excuse of running errands for me. I appreciate you went to the store and got me stuff, but I’d like to do it myself. Did you have enough money?”
“Yeah.” He pulled the change out and set it on the counter.
He’d wanted to pay for it, but she all but ripped his head off when he offered.
It made him grin thinking she was shy and withdrawn because it was almost as if she’d reverted to her personality before she’d left the area.
She held up the package of ground beef in one hand and chicken in the other hand. “Burgers are fine.”
She put the chicken in the fridge, left the beef out and everything she needed for dinner.
He found the pan for her and pulled that out. The place was neat and organized. Not that there was much here.
“You didn’t tell me how long I’ve got to stay here. I won’t be working seven days a week. Your mother won’t let me and I’ll get bored sitting around. I thought I’d ask Clay if I could help with anything.”
She turned and faced him. It was then he noticed the sweatshirt she was wearing. One of his that he’d left here after college.
The sleeves were pushed up past her elbows but barely staying, the hem covering her hips, almost hitting her mid-thigh.
“Cute sweatshirt. Looks good on you.”
Her head dipped. “Clay dropped off a box of old shirts of yours for me to wear since I don’t have a lot of warmer clothes. Hopefully, I won’t need them much longer.”
He hoped she’d wear them all the time. And when she did, that she would think of him.
How they were almost a unit for that year she’d lived here.
In his mind, they were inseparable. They’d sit together and stare at the outdoors, no words spoken, their hearts quietly beating in sync.
He was so far gone on her. At twelve, he didn’t understand the pain it would cause when she left.
Something he struggled to get past for years.
That was a lie. He never got past it. Never forgot.
He wondered if that was why he’d recognized her so easily. She was this burn that scarred his soul. Nothing and no one had repaired it.
Only she could do it.
She was here. He wasn’t only going to protect her, as was his job, but he was going to convince her to stay at the same time.
Keeping her a prisoner wasn’t the way to do it.
She had to feel as if she belonged, and to do that, she had to spread her wings... but with rules.
“It won’t warm up enough for T-shirts all the time for another month, usually.”
“Unless I can’t figure out the temperature in here.”
She had a timid smile on her face. “It’s comfortable.”
He’d taken his jacket off. He was in jeans and a long-sleeved cotton shirt, having gone home to shower and change before he arrived.
“I’ll shut it down before bed again. It was almost too hot at one point last night and I was kicking the covers off.”
He tried not to think of what she slept in.
“I would have thought living in Florida that this would seem freezing to you.”
She shrugged and went back to making patties and then lighting the burner.
“Do you want some baked beans with it? It’s that or chips on this short of notice. I’ll make a pasta salad to snack on later.”
“That’s fine,” he said. He found a small pan, then the can opener in the drawer and got them started while she finished with the burgers.
“I know you want to ask me things. Go ahead.”
“I don’t know if you want to talk yet.”
“I might as well get it over with. I thought of what you said about communicating with the same dictionary. We can’t move forward if I can’t get some of the past out. Just know everything will not come out.”
He nodded. “I’m more concerned about the past week right now. Are you going to tell me Oliver’s last name?”
“Frontage,” she said. “I told Gale. I checked to see if anything happened to him. Your sister scared me yesterday. She asked if I tried to kill Oliver by putting the sleeping pills in his food when he’d been drinking. I hadn’t thought of that until he ate it and it took effect so quickly.”
“I’ll see if I can find anything,” he said.
It’d been something that crossed his mind too. That if anything happened to Oliver, she could be on the run. He wouldn’t know unless he ran her name, and to do that, it’d alert Gainesville Police she was in this area.
He didn’t know how well Oliver knew people on the police force, but it wasn’t something he wanted to risk.
“I checked the news in the area online today. I have seen nothing. Oliver had social media accounts and they’ve been active with him posting things.”
He stalked the three feet toward her. “You’re on social media right now?”
“No,” she said. “I’m not stupid. But he’s public with his posts. I’m not on any social media. Most of what Oliver reads and posts is on Reddit and I know his username.”
“What is it?” he asked, pulling his phone out to make a note of it.
She read it off. “He’s made a couple posts in the past few days.”
“Anything to be concerned about?”
“No. He’s always following these weird conspiracy things. Nothing makes sense. Half the time his posts don’t relate to the subject either. I don’t know. I asked him once about it and he got mad at me and wanted to know why I was interested or concerned about what he read or did.”
He’d make note of that too.
“Why did you stay?” he asked.
“I tried to leave.” She flipped the burgers over. “He found me and brought me back. It was worse after that. I was afraid to try again until I had a solid plan.”
“Like last week?”
“Yes. I still didn’t think I was ready. It might have been a mistake to leave after the break-in. I don’t know. I wasn’t thinking of anything other than life had been calm since I broke my arm.”
“Since he broke your arm,” he corrected.
She snorted. “Same thing in his eyes. I just feared something was going to happen soon. It was in my gut. I saw an opportunity and took it.”
“And we are going to keep you safe,” he said. “You have nothing to worry about here. It’s not costing you anything to live here. You’re making some money in tips. If you need more or anything, just tell me.”
“I’ll be fine. I’ve got money put away. I’m making more online.”
His hands went up. “Whoa. What?”
“Relax,” she said. “Oliver knows nothing about it. No one does. I told Gale.”
He hated his sister knew more than him.
“Can you tell me about it and let me be the judge?”
She grabbed two plates down and set them on the counter, then opened the rolls and put them on the plates.
They made their dishes and sat at her table to eat.
“What would you like to drink?”
“Water is good,” he said. He stood up and got two glasses and filled them from the tap. He hadn’t bought her any water bottles and he’d seen her drinking it that way before.
“Thanks.” She took a bite of her burger and chewed.
He could see her thinking and processing.
He hoped it wasn’t to lie to him about anything, but he knew he wouldn’t get the full story either.
“I’ve got an online business. It’s easy.
Graphic designs and forms and templates.
I was home alone a lot at night while Oliver was out or with his cousin and played with designs and set up a little store.
New items get added every week. I don’t have to do much more.
People buy and download it and the money goes into an account no one knows about.
That’s the money I’ve been saving to leave.
I make a few hundred bucks a week, give or take. ”
“Good for you,” he said.
“I enjoy designing things. It occupied my mind. My form of doodling. I heard Clay talking about the barn and events. I can do fliers and stuff. Do you think he’d be okay with that? Your brother isn’t the easiest person to approach.”
He laughed. “He was never this bad.”
“What changed?”
He didn’t want to talk about his brother, but if she wanted to reroute the conversation to feel more at ease here, he’d let her take the reins.
“He hasn’t said. When he came back from the service, we noticed it. He’ll tell us if he wants or when he wants, but you can trust him. As my father said, he’s more bark than bite.”
“I’ll be staying far enough away to not worry about that,” she said. “But I do want to feel useful too.”
And Ford wanted her to feel as comfortable here as she had twenty years ago.
It’d take time, but he was positive with enough of it, she’d open up even more.
He knocked on Clay’s door two hours later. His brother opened it. “Are you going to move in now?”
He brushed past his brother with a bag over his shoulder. “No. But I’m not comfortable enough to be off the property.”
He went to the spare room he’d stayed in last night and dropped his bag on the bed and then came out to get a beer.
“How long is that going to take?”
Clay took the can of beer out of his hands, so he got another.
“I don’t know. Hopefully not too long. Reenie told me more tonight.
She’s got a better head on her shoulders than I thought.
She’s a hard worker and just wants to live a simple life.
She’s made some bad choices, or bad choices found her. ”
“Don’t get too close,” Clay said. “I’m not sure you can handle it when she leaves again.”
He didn’t think he could either, but he’d sure the hell never admit it.
“Hopefully she won’t leave.”
“Seriously, Ford. Do you hear yourself? She’s running from an abusive relationship. You don’t know the full truth of anything she says. You don’t know her mental demons and you’re hoping you two can pick up where you left off twenty years ago?”
“Don’t be an ass. I’m not hoping that. We are both different people. But she’s not skittish around me. Mom said Reenie was relaxed at the cafe today too. She feels at peace and at home here. I know it. I can see it.”
“Not around me,” Clay said.
“Maybe if you stop sneaking up on her.”
Clay smirked. “I can’t help it. It’s part of watching out for her.”
“Which I appreciate. Mom doesn’t want her working seven days a week and she’s going to get bored. The more she has to do to keep her busy, the less she’ll be off the property. She does graphic design. I saw some of her work. She’d like to help you with the events.”
“And she can’t ask me herself?” Clay asked, lifting an eyebrow.
“She will. I’m giving you a heads up. I know you’re fussy about things, but her work is good. Give her a chance.”
Clay tipped his beer back for a long swig. “We all lost our chance and choice when you brought her here yesterday. We’d do anything for you, and you’re already half gone again.”