Seeking Refuge

by Alana Terry

  The brightness of his day collapsed. “Oh man, I wish I could. I have a lunch meeting with Tony DiMarco about that big project. He seems genuinely interested so I need to follow through. Can you tell me your idea now? I have some time.”

  She told him her theory, and he brought up the farm’s website while she was talking. “It’s an interesting idea. I think it’s as solid as anything else they have to go on. You should call Detective Taylor and let him know.”

  “Okay, thanks for the vote of confidence. I was too close to this thing to be sure if it wasn’t just my desire to make some sense out of this.”

  “It’s smart thinking. Maybe the cops can do something with it.” He paused. “I’m sorry about lunch. It would have been great. I’ll bring by ice cream tonight to make it up to you.”

  Cait brushed away his concerns, and they hung up. But something in her voice made him wonder if he’d let her down.

  CAM’S BARKING REACHED Cait’s ears before she could get the back door open. He was wiggling like his tail was on fire as she let him out of his crate. He shot out and alternated between zipping around the room and coming back to sniff her. On one of his trips back to her, she snagged him and clipped on his leash. As soon as she opened the back door, he dashed out, yanking her along.

  They wandered among her garden beds while Cam sniffed and peed. He never stopped yanking on the leash. If he was going to stay with her, he would need some training. She’d have to look into it.

  It was nice having this break in the middle of the day. She had an excuse to walk around her yard and let her mind wander. She had been disappointed Grayson wasn’t available for lunch. For some reason, she had assumed he would be. She’d garnered so much of his attention lately, she’d taken it for granted. But he had his big project he was working on, and she wanted him to succeed at that, even if it meant she got less of his attention.

  Still, it stung a bit and left a hole in her day. Both feelings were unexpected and unnerved her. She was too dependent on him too fast. Yes, he had followed through on his promise and wanted to help her. But whether he continued to remained to be seen. She needed to guard her heart.

  But he was going to bring her ice cream tonight, so it certainly didn’t seem like he was dodging her.

  It had been a full morning anyway. After talking to Grayson, she had enough nerve to call Detective Taylor. He listened to her and didn’t call her crazy, so that was a good thing. She sent him the website link. At the last minute, she thought to tell him about Monica West’s latest request for an interview and ask his advice.

  “Keep the information you tell her to general facts,” he had said. “Refer her to me for more specifics.”

  Which is exactly what she did. Ms. West wasn’t thrilled about not getting any juicy details, but there weren’t any to give.

  She led Cam out to the side yard. The boot print was still visible. Cam sniffed that bed too. Maybe he’d get a scent and help catch the vandal. She gave a small laugh. Cam looked up at her, which made her laugh louder. His ears twitched. Poor guy, he probably thought she was laughing at him.

  Her laugh ended in a sigh as she took in the words painted on her house. That would take some scrubbing. Guess that was on her agenda for tonight. Along with trying to replant the verbena in the front.

  “Come on, Cam. Let’s take a lap around the house, and then I need to grab some lunch and get back to work.” She tugged on his leash, and he headed to the front. She hated to look at the disaster it had become. Maybe bringing Cam this way wasn’t a good idea. But he was already sniffing the front porch.

  She surveyed the damage again. The insurance company’s adjuster still hadn’t called her back. But with her high deductible, she’d be paying for a lot of this out of her own pocket, not to mention the sweat equity.

  The wooden screen door still swung lazily. She should take it down and see if it could be repaired. She loved that old door.

  Something was taped to the small brick wall where the stairs used to start. She grabbed the paper and flipped it open.

  YOUR DOG HAS BEEN BARKING ALL DAY. DO SOMETHING ABOUT IT OR I’M GOING TO CALL ANIMAL CONTROL.

  Crumpling the paper in one hand, she pulled on Cam’s leash with the other.

  What a Monday.

  GRAYSON LEANED BACK in his chair at the restaurant where they had just finished eating lunch. Tony DiMarco seemed pleased with the presentation. And if he got on board, everyone else would too.

  DiMarco crossed his arms, the fabric of his custom-made Italian shirt bunching at the elbows. “I like it. That was pretty ingenious thinking to link those two parcels. If all goes well, we all stand to make a killing.”

  Grayson nodded, trying to keep cool but inwardly excited that someone else had finally caught his vision. And the money wouldn’t be bad either.

  Since DiMarco was pleased, Grayson moved the map on his screen over and pointed. “Now if we could ever get our hands on this parcel ...” He watched DiMarco’s face, but the man was inscrutable.

  “Yeah, people have been trying for years, but they’ll never sell that farm. I can’t imagine what kind of persuasion it would take.”

  “Any idea who might be trying to persuade them currently?”

  “Who wouldn’t, if they thought it would work? Anyone would kill to get their hands on that property.” He held Grayson’s gaze for a moment, then, “Back to the original project, I just have a few... suggestions.”

  “Okay.” Grayson took notes as DiMarco’s “suggestions” got more involved. Some of these were things he really didn’t want to do, but it wouldn’t do to balk at it now. He’d thought through these contingencies and made different decisions. He pushed back on a few, explaining his reasoning, but clearly Tony DiMarco was a man used to having things his way or not at all.

  Finished jotting down DiMarco’s ideas, Grayson closed his laptop. He had one more idea flitting around his brain.

  “That single-family housing development you did over off Cedar Ridge?” At DiMarco’s nod, he continued. “How did you manage to let that farmhouse get excluded?”

  “What do you know about that?” DiMarco cocked his head.

  Grayson shrugged. “I met the owner.”

  DiMarco pursed his lips. “She had gotten to it before we did. And then she was unwilling to sell, no matter how much I offered her. Quite a piece of work.” He waited a beat. “She works for the Samashimas, doesn’t she? Seems like they’re cut out of the same cloth.” He stood. “I’ll look for your revised proposal by the end of this week.”

  Grayson shook DiMarco’s hand and then watched him walk away. As he packed up his computer and notepad, he wondered if he had done the right thing mentioning the farm and Cait’s house. DiMarco was no dummy. He knew Grayson was fishing. And he knew more than he was telling. The question was how much more?

  He rubbed his face. He was going to have to cancel getting ice cream with Cait tonight. It would be a minor miracle if he could make all DiMarco’s changes by the end of the week. But it would leave Saturday for him to fix Cait’s porch steps. She would understand.

  And he hoped DiMarco was only speaking figuratively when he said anyone would kill to get their hands on the Samashima farm.

  Chapter 8

  CAIT came back from the staff meeting to find Cam curled up in her office chair. It was his favorite spot. Or, if she happened to need her chair, he crawled under her desk. Luckily, he had been good mannered at work, and it hadn’t been a problem with anyone to have him here.

  She rattled his leash, and his head popped up. She snapped it on him and led him outside. He could use a potty break, and she could use some fresh air. They walked down one of the farm access roads, Cait breathing in deep of the damp, earthy air.

  Even though Cam had been a good guest, she still couldn’t figure out who had left the note. Her lot was much larger than any of the others in the neighborhood, giving her a good buffer between her house and her neighbors. She couldn’t figure out how anyone co
uld hear him barking unless they were standing in her yard. And if so, why leave a note basically advertising they’d been trespassing?

  It was just one more piece in her life that increasingly made no sense.

  At least the insurance adjustor had made it out, and she’d scrubbed most of the paint off, though a faint trace would remain until she could repaint her house. Something else to add to her to-do list.

  She’d talked to Grayson each night this week. He’d been too busy with his project, but he was excited that now it looked like it would become a reality. She was happy for him; she knew that feeling of facing an improbable situation, finding a solution, and then seeing it come to fruition. It was immensely satisfying.

  Plus, he had committed to coming over Saturday to work on her porch steps. She was already planning a lunch of grilled chicken, fruit salad, potato salad, and chocolate cake with fudge icing. If he was going to put in a hard day’s work, the least she could do was feed him well. It surprised her how much she missed him. He wouldn’t be at choir practice tonight because of the project, and it would be strange not to see his face in the tenor section.

  They headed back toward the farm office. Cait let Cam run the full length of the leash, and she let her thoughts wander while the sun warmed her shoulders and released the tension.

  A quick bark and the leash yanked out of her fingers. Her thoughts jerked back to the present to see Cam take off after a rabbit, clearly the terrier in him in control.

  “Cam!” She took off after him, but she had zero chance of his listening to her or catching him. The best she could hope for was to keep her eye on him until he lost his prey or wore himself out.

  Except that he was headed for the barn. The rabbit ducked under a stack of wood and Cam sniffed it mightily. She had almost caught up to him and lunged for the leash when the clucking chickens caught his attention. He darted off, barking all around the chicken enclosure, darting back and forth. With his attention on the chickens, she closed the gap and stepped on his leash, holding it down while he tried to take off.

  He looked back at her, confused, and she snatched up the leash. “Don’t chase the chickens.”

  As if he understood, he cocked his head. He leaped up at her.

  “Cam!” Muddy paw prints covered her pants and blouse. “Ugh!”

  She glanced at her watch. A conference call in a few minutes meant she’d be stuck with muddy clothes; there wouldn’t be time to go home and change. She blew out a sigh. Grayson meant well in giving her Cam, but it was a complicated gift.

  GRAYSON TOSSED HIS keys and a bag of fast food on the counter of his kitchen. His eyes burned and his shoulders hurt from being hunched over a computer most of the day keeping up with his regular work load and the DiMarco project. But the end was in sight.

  He slid into a chair and started eating. He missed Cait. Was he paying too high of a price for this project? It was the first time he’d ever considered that kind of question. A project like this didn’t come along often, so he had to take advantage of it while he could. In the future, though, he couldn’t imagine making this kind of sacrifice on a regular basis. It was why he chose the law firm and specialty that he did.

  What time was it anyway? He glanced at his phone. Cait should be home from choir practice now. He touched her number, thinking he needed to get a photo of her for his phone.

  Her voice was soft in his ear, but she sounded glad to hear from him. She told him about her latest adventures with Cam at the farm. He laughed at the rabbit-chasing story, but sensed some of her frustration with Cam’s energy and mess-making capabilities.

  A stab of regret shot through him. She didn’t need the hassle of an active puppy on top of everything else. But he pushed it down. He couldn’t take Cam now either. Not with his work schedule. The silence grew a bit taut.

  “Also I got some other great news.” Sarcasm dripped through the phone. “I came home to a notice of a code violation for my porch stairs. I have to pay a one-hundred-fifty-dollar fine, remediate the problem within ten days, and pay another seventy-five-dollar re-inspection fee when they come out to make sure I’ve done the work up to code. And since the steps were completely destroyed, I have to rebuild them to code instead of just repairing them.”

  “No! What on earth? Why would they even come out to your house in the first place?”

  “Someone made a complaint. Probably the same person who complained about Cam’s barking. Frankly, it’s probably the vandal. He’s determined to make my life miserable. What am I supposed to do? Quit working at the farm? How would that help?” Discouragement had pushed over the outrage in her voice. He hated that. None of this was fair. She didn’t deserve to have any of these things happen to her.

  “Oh, Cait. I’m so sorry. I wish I could hug you and make everything better. But I will be there Saturday to fix the steps. We’ll figure out what we need to do to bring them up to code. Between the two of us, we can handle it.” He smiled. They did make a good team.

  A big sigh. “I know. And I appreciate your help more than you know. I’ll even pay you with a great lunch.”

  He glanced at the greasy sack his dinner had come in. “I know it’ll be way better than what I have been eating.” His eyes burned, and he knew they both needed to call it a night. It was unsatisfying to leave her without any real comfort, but he didn’t know what else he could do.

  She seemed to sense it too. Without a sense of satisfaction, they awkwardly ended the call.

  He tossed his phone on the table and sighed. He couldn’t wait for this project with DiMarco to get the green light. Then he’d have more time to focus on Cait and why someone wanted to harass her.

  Chapter 9

  CAIT stared out the front window at the rain pouring down. She wanted to cry. No way they could fix the porch steps today, and she only had until next Thursday. The only question was, should she call Grayson and cancel? If he couldn’t fix her porch steps, maybe he could use the time on his presentation.

  On the other hand, she hadn’t seen him all week. Was she being selfish?

  It was a moot point because his car pulled into her driveway.

  She headed to the kitchen so she could let him in the back door. Cam was already going nuts, wiggling so hard he couldn’t sit down. As soon as she opened the door for Grayson, Cam took off like a shot. That dog! He splashed down the back steps, not even giving Grayson more than a passing sniff. Then around the garden beds, splashing mud all over himself. She had purposely let him out on a leash this morning so he would have to stay under the porch overhang and wouldn’t get muddy.

  Grayson hung up his wet coat on a hook in her enclosed back porch and toed off his shoes before pulling her into a hug and kissing her forehead. “I missed you. Want me to go get the dog?”

  Being in his embrace gave her a sense of security and rightness. She didn’t want to leave. She didn’t want to talk about the dog. She didn’t want to talk about the house. She’d like it to all go away. Reluctantly, she pulled back, glancing around him through the window where she saw Cam out in the mud and rain.

  “No, he’s as wet and muddy as he’s going to get. Might as well let him enjoy it.”

  He squeezed her arm. “So, since we have a rain delay, do you have any thoughts? We could work on that dining room floor.”

  She shuddered. “Ick. Not in this rain. Who knows what creatures will come climbing out down there? Plus, I don’t know if I have enough wood to patch it, and if we ran out, we’d have to stop and let it acclimate anyway.”

  He laughed. “We could always watch a movie.”

  She had been turning this dilemma over in her brain since she’d heard the rain when she woke up. “It’s supposed to last all day and into tomorrow. I don’t think there’s anything we can do.” Her stomach clenched. “I’m just afraid we won’t get it done in time.”

  “I’ll be here every night after work. I finished making all DiMarco’s changes around midnight. The whole group has a meeting set for Tuesday. Hop
efully, we can get the ball rolling from there.”

  She knew she struggled with having her plans changed. But there wasn’t anything they could do about it. She should enjoy this time she had with him and trust that somehow God would allow them to make the repairs in time.

  A slow smile spread across her face. “Okay. I’ll make some coffee to go with the blueberry muffins I had made for us. Of course, I also made a huge lunch, thinking we would be burning a lot of calories. So, we may just eat our way through this day.”

  “That’s my girl.” He pulled her into a long hug that moved into light kisses on her neck, cheek, and finally her lips. They became deeper, more tender, as all the pent-up emotion of not being able to spend time together poured out.

  It took a moment for the noise to penetrate her brain. Scratching at the back door. Cam.

  Wet, muddy dog always added to the romantic atmosphere. With a sigh, she pulled away and went to tackle the mess that was Cam.

  IT HAD TURNED OUT TO be one of the nicest days Cait had had in a long time. And that wasn’t something she had expected when she woke up this morning. Grayson had helped her bathe and dry Cam, as well as mop up the mud the dog had tracked in. Then he had gotten her hooked on a Netflix series, and they had binge watched their way through several episodes before lunch.

  She was putting lunch away while he was letting Cam out—on his leash—during a break in the rain. A buzzing sounded, and she turned to see Grayson’s phone light up on the kitchen island. A text.

  “Grayson! You got a text.”

  He hadn’t heard her. She peeked around the corner to the back porch. No Grayson and no Cam. Hmm. A look out the dining room window showed Grayson setting the dog on the concrete, keeping the leash tight. Aw, he was making sure he stayed out of the mud. And since the dining room windows were painted shut, she would have to put her gardening clogs on and go outside to inform him of the text.