“So, what are you going to do?”
“I’ve got his picture out to all my people. Hopefully someone will spot him. I’ll just have to wait until then or until we can catch him doing something else.”
“But what do we do about protecting Nicole?”
Floyd grinned then and simply pointed at Roger. “You.”
“Me! What do you mean by that?”
“I had a call this morning already from Shelly and she thinks you’re sweet on Nicole. She thinks you need to stay close to her to help protect her.”
Roger didn’t know what to think or say to that. He knew he had some thinking to do and he sure couldn’t do it with his brother sitting right in front of him.
“Okay, Floyd. Let me do some thinking about all this. Okay?”
“Okay, little brother. Just let me know soon so I can call off the patrol unit I have assigned to her.”
With that, Floyd left the room but not before he let out a loud laugh as he was going through the doorway.
Roger sat there as if he was shell shocked. He couldn’t think. He couldn’t even move for a few minutes.
Finally, he remembered he needed to bring Gina up to speed on all the new clients and went out to her desk with the new folders he’d started.
Thirty minutes later, he was extremely glad he’d not only hired Gina in the first place but that he’d brought her on full-time so soon. She would be running that office single-handedly in no time at all. Great!
Chapter Nine
Friday morning, Nicole went straight to the hospital to be with Nick until he was released. She’d cleared it with Ron to miss her first and second hour classes and third hour was her planning period. Dr. Martin had assured her she would release Nick in time for Nicole to make it to her fourth hour class which didn’t start until eleven-thirty.
She was so happy to be able to bring Nick into her home. It would be great. They had spent very little time together for years. Granted, he only planned to stay with her until he could find a house of his own, but he would still be close by wherever he moved in Crowleyville.
She opened the door to Nick’s hospital room and found him sitting in a chair on the near side of the bed already dressed to leave. She smiled. He wasn’t eager to get out of there was he?
“Hey. Anybody want to leave this place this morning.”
He’d been facing away from her and jumped up to face her and leaned over to give her a hug.
“Be careful of your wound Nick.”
He waved her off. “It’s okay. They put the bandage on real tight this morning so I wouldn’t accidentally pull it open.”
Nicole thought they needed to do some planning for the future. Last night, even though she’d stayed with him late, all they’d talked about was all the things that had happened to them since they’d parted at eighteen.
“Nick. I want you to know you can stay with Snowball and me for as long as you want. Don’t rush off because you think you’ll be inconveniencing me. You won’t be. If anything, you’ll really make things nice for me.”
He smiled at her in the way that only a close twin could smile at his twin sister. “I know that Laine and right now with somebody threatening you, I want to stay there until that’s over. But I’ll want to get my life together as soon as I can after that.”
“Are you still thinking about opening up your own small securities firm?”
“For sure. More than ever now. Say what you want about Dad, but he really does know the business, and I learned everything I need to know from him.”
“Have you heard from either one of them?”
He shook his head. “Didn’t expect to. I wouldn’t be surprised if my office isn’t already cleared out and maybe even someone else already in there.”
“I’m so sorry Nick. I still can’t help thinking this is all my fault.”
Nick leaned over and grabbed her by both shoulders. “No way Laine. It’s all his fault for the way he’s always treated you. I’ve just finally gotten enough of it and I’m doing something about it.”
She could feel the tears forming in her eyes again. It seemed that she’d cried quite a lot the last few days.
Nick touched her chin with his fingertips. “Don’t Laine. I’ve finally come to the conclusion that he’s not worth it. He wants to disown me. Well, I’m hereby disowning him.”
Nicole couldn’t help it. She laughed at the expression on Nick’s face.
She was about to change the subject since this one had become rather uncomfortable when Nick beat her to it.
“I was thinking this morning about the kind of house I’d like to get. You know, it might be nice to have a place where I could have my business right there too. Do you think there might be any places like that near your house?”
She laughed. “Nick, remember? This isn’t KC. Anywhere you live in Crowleyville will be close to my house.”
He laughed with her. “Yeah, I guess you’re right. I forgot about how small this place is.”
That made her think. “Oh, Nick, I didn’t stop to think about the possibility that you may not like living in such a small town.”
He grew serious as he looked into her eyes. “Laine. After thirteen years apart, anywhere you are will be perfect for me. I really was getting tired of the big city in so many ways.”
When she looked doubtful, he added. “You’ll see. I’ll love it here.” He grinned. “If the rest of the women around here are anything like a few of the nurses I’ve seen, then I’ll definitely love it.”
She punched him in the shoulder, careful to hit the side away from his wound. “Oh, Nick. You’re terrible.”
The door opened and Dr. Martin breezed into the room with a clipboard in her hand. She took one look at Nick and smiled. “I don’t guess I could talk you into another night here, could I?”
“No way. I’m ready.”
She signed the paper on the clipboard and opened the door for an aid who pushed a wheelchair into the room.
“Hey look Sis. You want to have a race?”
Everyone laughed as Nick sat in the wheelchair and they all left the room.
* * *
Fridays at the big law firm Roger had worked for in the city had been just another day for most, especially those low on the totem pole like he had been. Most worked a full day on Saturday and sometimes even a few hours on Sunday.
Not anymore! He’d cut loose from those insane hours and was settling into a more humane set of hours and days per week. With that in mind, he’d made a promise to himself that he’d be out of the office every day by six-thirty even or especially on Fridays.
With that in mind, Roger had worked hard all morning to be able to leave the office at two-thirty on this particular Friday. Since his talk with Floyd the day before, he hadn’t had a chance to talk to Nicole to see what he could do to help keep her safe.
Now, he planned to go to her house and spend from thirty minutes to an hour with her brother before Nicole came home from school. He’d checked with Shelly and knew Nicole usually left right at three-thirty on Fridays.
As he was going out the door and saying goodbye to Gina, she stopped him. “Roger, I just want to thank you again for hiring me. I’m already loving the job. I can’t wait until you start going to court and I can help you prepare for that.”
He smiled at her. “I’m just glad I hired you before someone else grabbed you. I think we’ll make a good team together. Why don’t you see if you can sneak out of here a little early this afternoon? I don’t have any more appointments and I’m not coming back in.”
He headed for the outer door and stopped again. “Oh, by the way, Gina. I’ve decided to pay you a salary based on what you would have gotten with forty hours a week at the hourly rate we agreed on.”
She looked surprised, but he held up a hand. “And if you work overtime, you’ll get the hourly rate on top of your salary.”
She actually had tears in her eyes. “Oh, Roger. You don’t have to do that.”
With that, he did leave, and he left a young woman with her mouth hanging open. He felt good about that. Even though she’d told him that her husband was going back to work a week from this coming Monday, he knew they’d run up bills while he was off from work.
All the way to Nicole’s house, he thought about what he could say first to her brother and then to her to get them to let him help her. He hadn’t been around Nick much, but he seemed like the normal protective brother.
He chuckled. “Like he and Floyd were about Shelly. So, he had a feeling he knew how Nick would react. Exactly the way he and Floyd had when Shelly had started going out with David. Not good. No, not good at all.
At least he had one thing going for him. Nicole only had one brother, not two. But then, not knowing much about twins, he’d still bet a twin brother would be even more protective. Okay! He would have to be very careful.
When he pulled his new Jeep Wrangler to the curb in front of Nicole’s house, he breathed a sigh of relief. There was a BMW sitting in the driveway. He remembered that was what Nick drove.
When he rang the doorbell, it only took Nick a few seconds to open the door and stare at him. Then he seemed to recognize Roger.
“You’re that lawyer that helped Nicole out before.”
“Yes, I am. Roger McCracken. Could I talk to you for a little while Nick?”
He seemed to think about that for a short time then shrugged his shoulders, opened the door wider and stepped back to allow Roger to come in.
Once they were both seated in the living room facing each other, Nick looked him in the eye. “What’s this about? You’re not still representing Nicole in anything legal, are you?”
Roger shook his head. Unknowingly Nick had given him an in to start with.
“I would imagine that being twins, you and Nicole are much closer than most brothers and sisters would be.”
He paused, and all Nick did was nod his head at Roger’s implied question.
“So, that’s why I’m coming to you first. Did Nicole happen to mention to you that I’m running for mayor in the special election next Tuesday?”
The guy was good at whatever game he was playing. Again, he only nodded his head a little.
“Well, that combined with the fact that my brother is the sheriff, I know most things before very many other people around here do.”
“Okay, quit beating around the bush and spit it out. What do you want?”
Now, he’d finally penetrated the hard shell Nick was trying to keep between them.
“I just found out who may be harassing Nicole and maybe even shot you.”
That got his attention all right. Nick sat up in his seat and leaned a little toward Roger. “Who?”
“His name is Gary Andrews. His brother Tony was killed in the incident that wounded Nicole.”
Nick hit his thigh with his fist. “I knew it had to be somebody from one of those families. Have they arrested him yet?”
“No. They can’t do anything until they can prove he did something. Not only that but he appeared here Tuesday night, and no one has seen him since. But another thing you need to know about him is this. He just got out of the Marine Corps and had some extensive combat training and also combat experience.”
“Okay, why are you telling me this now then?”
Roger tried to sit back in his chair in an attempt at taking some of the tension out of the room.
“If the police can’t find the guy, that means we won’t be able to know when he’s coming after Nicole.”
Roger paused to make sure Nick was still following him. “You can’t protect Nicole alone. I want to help.”
That threw the guy. He crossed his arms over his chest and leaned back in his chair. “Why?”
Roger had been expecting that question and was prepared for it.
“Because I’ve gotten to know Nicole some over the last week or so and I think she’s just about the most determined woman I’ve ever known. Not only that but her strength of character makes me want to be a better man too.”
Well, it was out there now, and he’d have to wait and see how Nick reacted to it. Whether he’d throw Roger out or welcome him into Nicole’s protection detail.
Nick sat there staring into Roger’s eyes for what seemed like a long time. Finally, he looked down at his hands which were clenched into fists on his thighs. Not good.
Nick looked back at Roger. “You’re serious?”
Roger nodded back at him. “As serious as I’ve ever been about anything.”
Nick pointed a finger at Roger. “If I ever find out you’re not what you say you are, you won’t be able to hide from me.”
Roger chose not to respond but maintained eye contact.
Nick laughed which was far from any possible reaction Roger had prepared for.
“Man. You have sure got my sister pegged. You described her perfectly.”
“So, you’ll let me help?”
Nick shook his head. “Not my decision to make. Now that you’ve almost convinced me, you still have to convince Nicole. And let me tell you this. You left out one of her strongest attributes or maybe faults, depending on how you look at it. She is also the most independent woman you’ll ever meet too.”
They sat there in silence for a few minutes before they heard the garage door open.
Nick grinned at Roger. “There she is now. Are you ready to run out that door if you need to?”
Roger laughed with him, but it was only a half-hearted laugh at best.
* * *
Nicole steamed all the way home. As she’d been going out to the parking lot, Darla had confronted her. Out of the hearing of anyone else Darla had taunted and cursed Nicole badly. She’d had to sit in her van for a full five minutes before she could be sure she could drive home safely.
Then something Darla had said finally hit her, something about Nicole being responsible for two men getting killed in Afghanistan. No one around here knew that. How did she find out about it?
She decided that as soon as she got home, she would call Floyd and tell him. Maybe he could find out how Darla knew anything about Afghanistan.
She should have turned right around and reported Darla to Ron like he’d told her to do. But she knew when it was one on one that way there was nothing Ron could do and Darla had known that, even planned it that way.
She would tell him first thing Monday morning. It could wait that long since there wasn’t really anything, he could do about it yet.
Then when she’d turned into her driveway and saw a new Jeep sitting there, she panicked. Could it be whoever was harassing her, and he already had Nick inside?
She almost backed out of the driveway and headed for the sheriff’s department. She finally decided to go on inside the garage, but she left the garage door up in case she needed to leave quickly.
When she cautiously wheeled herself through the empty kitchen and finally into the living room, she had her gun in her hand but still in the bag. She was almost shocked to see Roger McCracken sitting there across from Nick. What could he be doing here?
Both men stood when she entered the room and Nick explained. “Laine, Roger has come with some new information about the guy stalking you.”
She wheeled her chair to a point between the two men but back a little so she could see both of their faces and thus be able to read their lips.
She watched cautiously as both men sat back down. Then she looked at Nick, expecting him to explain what was going on but he only looked at Roger who gave her what looked like a nervous smile.
That did it. Why would he be nervous about talking to her? It had to be something he didn’t think she would like. She was about to tell him so when he finally spoke.
“Nicole, Wednesday night, Floyd saw Vance Robertson, the man who owns a feed store in town and also my opponent in the race for mayor, at a local bar. He thought nothing of
it until he saw who the guy met.”
He stopped and looked her in the eye. “It was Darla Chadwick.”
That got Nicole’s attention but then she knew it could be completely innocent. “Maybe she’s going to help him with his campaign.”
Roger shook his head. “I don’t think so. Floyd went inside the bar and saw them sitting at a table with a man he didn’t know. He called me and since I was close by, I stopped in and I didn’t know the man either.”
After a short pause, she was about ready to tell him to get on with it when he started talking again.
“Well, I never knew my brother was so sneaky. He got a waitress to bring him one of the guy’s empty beer bottles and he took it to get the fingerprints off of it.”
This time, she didn’t wait when he paused. “Did he find out who it was?”
Roger nodded with a frown on his face. “His name is Gary Andrews. Does that name ring a bell for you?”
She thought for a moment then it hit her. “Tony Andrews was one of the men killed when we were hit.”
Roger nodded. “This guy is his younger brother. He was only sixteen when you were hit but as soon as he turned eighteen, he joined the Marine Corps. He just got out and apparently looked you up.”
Nicole had to do some thinking now. She wheeled her chair around so she couldn’t see either Nick or Roger. That effectively cut them both off since they knew she wouldn’t know what they were saying if they did talk.
What did this mean? Tony’s brother was in town. If he’d just wanted to talk to her, he’d had at least two days to look her up.
Then she thought about the fact that he had not only met with Roger’s opponent in the election but Nicole’s enemy at school. The sinking feeling in her stomach told her she now had possibly three enemies coming after her.
She turned her chair back around and looked at Roger. “Has Floyd talked to this Andrews?”
Roger shook his head. “No. He has the guy’s photo out with all his deputies, but no one has seen him since Wednesday night.”
She could tell there was more Roger wanted to tell her, so she gave him a questioning look. “Something tells me there’s more you want to say.”
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