Cold Heart

by Sheila Dryden

  Tomorrow she might have Tucker back with her. She shut off the lights and took the booklets for the washers and dryers into the laundry room. She would peruse the instructions for them tomorrow. In the meantime the piles of sheets she had left there earlier in the week would just have to wait another day.

  Lexi went to every exit on the main floor and made sure the doors were securely locked. She realized that for the first time since she had moved in, a week ago, she was nervous to be sleeping here, alone. She couldn’t help it. She would not be forced to sell to Montgomery but how far was he willing to go to get this land? He was clearly an arrogant man, who wasn’t going to let anyone stand in his way. He looked like someone who was used to controlling people and getting what he wanted, no matter what.

  Well, he has met his match. I am not giving up and the sooner he realizes it, the better. With determination she marched up the stairs, turning the lights off behind her. She got ready for bed and crawled in. She was asleep long before she heard the big knocker on the front door banging.

  10

  Can a woman get no peace around here, Lexi grumbled as she hurried down the stairs. Her heart was pounding. She had only just fallen asleep when the banging had awakened her. She put the foyer lights on and peered out the glass at the side of the big front doors; no one. She opened the door and stepped out on to the porch. There was no vehicle there and no one in sight. Had she dreamt that she heard someone knocking? She didn’t think so. Clearly though, there was no one here.

  “Hello, hello?” she called out. “Is someone there?”

  She could see nothing but darkness beyond where the porch light shone. Strange and a little unnerving she thought. She closed the door and locked it, then turned off the lights and went back upstairs to bed. She got herself all tucked in and then. Rap-rap-rap, there was the sound again. It was the door knocker. There was no mistaking the sound. She got up and once again went down to the foyer this time taking the stairs two at a time and racing to the door, unlocking and pulling it open without even looking. Again, there was no one. She ran to the end of the porch and looked around the corner then back to the other end and looked around that corner. There was no one in sight.

  Lexi went back to the door and hurried inside and locked it. She was freaking out now. Was someone trying to scare her? If they were, it was working. A person could easily park on the road and walk up the driveway, knock on the door and then hide. Was someone out there right now, watching her? Was it Mitch? She decided to leave the porch light on for now and she would go and make herself a cup of tea. She was quite spooked so she wouldn’t be going back to sleep anytime soon.

  While she was in the kitchen, she heard the rap-rap-rap of the front door again and she ran to the foyer and yanked the door open

  “What do you think you are doing?” she yelled but immediately stopped. It was Carter.

  “Sorry Lexi, I was just ...” he stopped. Lexi had burst into tears. “Hey what’s wrong?”

  “Sorry,” she sniffed. “It’s just that someone has been knocking on the door and then there is no one there. It has me a little freaked out.”

  “Well gosh, sorry to add to your frustration,” he said. “When I was coming back from town I saw a truck pulling away. It had been parked at the end of your driveway and I couldn’t tell for sure but I thought it might be Mitch’s.”

  “Oh great,” said Lexi, regaining her composure and wiping the tears away with her hand. “I hate that guy. I saw his truck today when I was grocery shopping and by the way there were gas cans in it. Then I saw him walking back to his truck, as I was driving out of the parking lot and he just tipped his hat at me as innocent as can be.”

  “Well it wouldn’t surprise me if it was him then,” Carter said. “He’s just messing with you Lexi. I’m sure he means you no real harm.”

  “I appreciate you saying that, but I think he absolutely means me harm. I’m convinced,” Lexi said. “He is doing Montgomery’s dirty work and Montgomery wants me gone.”

  “I hear the kettle. I was just making tea, to settle my nerves,” she said. “Would you like to come in? Can I make you some?”

  “Sure, that would be nice, tea is fine,” he said and he followed her through the door and closed it behind him.

  Lexi suddenly felt embarrassed as she remembered she was in her pajamas which consisted of a pair of pink plaid shorts and a little pink camisole.

  “Excuse my outfit,” Lexi said. “I had gone to bed.”

  Carter smiled.

  “Do you take anything in your tea?” she asked

  “Nope just plain,” he said.

  “Okay, be right back,” she said and she hurried into the kitchen returning in a couple of minutes with two cups of tea.

  “So what was in town?” Lexi asked, sitting down on one of the chairs and pulling a big mohair throw around her to cover up a bit.

  “Oh I was down in Napa,” Carter said. “And then I peeked in on Tucker on my way back. He is doing well, breathing tube is out.”

  “Ooh, that’s great. I spoke with Dr. Walters earlier and he said he was pretty sure he would be taking it out tonight.”

  “Yeah, so that means he can most likely come home tomorrow,” Carter said.

  “Yay!” Lexi said. “I miss him. Me, the non dog person! I’ve never had a pet in her life, and now I’m in love with a Labrador Retriever.”

  Carter laughed. “Well I will feel better when he is here and back on his feet and back on guard duty.”

  “Yes, I guess I will feel better on that front too, though you have been doing a pretty good job,” she said.

  It was true that she was feeling a lot better having this handsome hunk of a guy sitting on her sofa.

  “Well I promised Max I would watch out for you,” he said.

  “When did you promise him that?”

  “When he was dying,” Carter said. “I thought I told you that.”

  “No,” Lexi said, her eyes beginning to tear up. “What exactly did he say?”

  “He said look after Lexi, tell her I’m ... and that was it. He didn’t get the rest out.”

  “I’m what?” she asked.

  “Don’t know,” he said. “He really cared for you Lexi and was so proud of you, talked about you all the time.”

  “All these years, I had no idea. Then I find out he left this place to me and then I come here and see all the photographs in his room. My mom has been sending them all these years even though we never came to visit again, after that awful visit when I was twelve.”

  “Yeah he used to show the pictures to me,” Carter said.

  “Really!” Lexi said. “The things you don’t know.”

  “Yeah,” said Carter.

  “So what’s in Napa?” Lexi asked.

  “My mom,” Carter said.

  “Oh, for some reason I thought both your parents had passed away,” Lexi said, feeling badly because she realized that she knew absolutely nothing about Carter’s life.

  “Well, my dad is gone,” Carter said. “But my mom is still alive, if you can call it living. She has Alzheimer’s and most of the time she doesn’t know who I am. I have her in a facility in Napa because she is also in a wheelchair now. She gets great care there and I go down once a week.”

  “Oh my, that must be so difficult,” Lexi said.

  “Well it’s definitely not something you want to see anyone go through,” he said. “She really struggles. I think more on the days when she actually realizes what’s going on. On the visits where she doesn’t know me at all, it is almost easier for her.”

  “Yes I’m sure it’s difficult for her but I was thinking more of how difficult it must be for you,” Lexi said.

  “I think the hardest part was coming back and taking over the ranch when my Dad was dying because I really couldn’t move Mom at that point. I promised my Dad I would look after her. She was still sort of okay and I wanted to keep her in a familiar environment as long as I could. It meant changing my life drastic
ally but it turned out to be the absolute best thing I could have done.”

  “Oh Carter,” Lexi said. “I feel so selfish bothering you with all my worries when you have enough of your own.”

  “A promise is a promise,” Carter said very seriously. “I should go and let you get to bed. I bet it will be restless night tomorrow with Tucker here.”

  “Yes, I suppose it will be,” Lexi said. “I might sleep down here on the couch just to be near him because I think stairs will be a bit much at first.”

  “Doc Walters will give you lots of instructions. He’s good that way,” Carter said. “Would you like me to drive you to bring him home?”

  “Do you mean it?” Lexi said. “I hate to impose on you again but I would really appreciate it.”

  “Sure, just give me a call when you know what time, we can go get him.”

  “Okay, just let me get something to write down your number,” Lexi said and she went quickly into the office and got her address and phone book from the desk. She flipped to the M’s and said, “Shoot.”

  Carter recited the phone number and Lexi wrote it down. Then he stood and began sauntering towards the door.

  “I don’t think you’ll have anymore rapping on the door tonight,” he said.

  “I hope not,” said Lexi. She had totally forgotten about the incident since Carter had been there.

  “If it was Mitch and I think it probably was, Montgomery has him trying to rattle you so you will decide this is just too hard and give up and sell,” Carter said.

  “Well I am not giving up,” Lexi said as they reached the door.

  “Goodnight,” Carter said. He opened the door and stepped outside.

  “Goodnight Carter and thanks for coming to my rescue yet again,” Lexi said.

  Carter smiled and then walked across the porch, down the steps and over to his vehicle. He climbed in and drove away. Lexi watched him until his truck was out of sight. She closed and locked the door and turned out the outside lights. Then she went in and turned out the lights in the great room where they had been sitting and made her way up to bed. She felt better. Carter had that affect on her. She wanted to ask him where he was living before coming back to the ranch to look after his mom and what he’d been doing. She had just assumed that he had stayed here after high school and worked the ranch with his dad. Now she realized that, of course, he’d had a whole other life somewhere else and she knew nothing about it.

  Another thought occurred to Lexi also, was he just being nice to her because of a promise made to a dying man? She really hoped that was not the case. She really liked Carter. He seemed like a sincere and caring man. Why was she so surprised by that? He was only a sixteen year old boy the last time she had seen him. Twenty years had passed. She remembered him as this older boy that had teased her and made her feel like a baby. All the while she had been absoutely smitten by his outgoing personality and his good looks. She wondered now about all the things that Carter had been through in the past twenty years that had shaped him into the man he was now.

  Lexi wandered down to Uncle Max’s room and flipped the light on. This man was also a mystery to her. What had he meant? Tell her I’m...she really needed to talk to a few of the people that had known him. She would like to talk to Grace Montgomery, despite that fact that her husband was trying to scare her. She seemed like a nice lady. Maybe she had no idea what Montgomery was up to. Tomorrow she would call her and make a date to have tea with her. Well, maybe not tomorrow, as she was likely going to be busy with Tucker, but soon, she would do it soon, because she wanted some answers.

  In the meantime, she would continue boxing up Max’s things and maybe she would find something, anything that would give her some insight into the man, the mystery woman he loved and why Lexi was so important to him. It was a tall order she realized. She was looking for a lot of answers from what looked to be just clothing and pictures. Time would tell and maybe one of the people she talked to would be able to tell her something.

  Lexi flipped off the light and closed the door. She brushed her teeth again and then climbed into bed pulling the covers up to her chin. She was sure that Carter was right and no one would be banging on her door again tonight. She wondered though, just how far Montgomery and his hired bully were willing to go, to get her to move. They were willing to burn down her barn, she was sure of that. No loss to them, as from the model she had seen they didn’t want the barn anyway. There was to be another building there with rooms.

  They were willing to kill her dog. He had been deliberately locked in the barn when the fire was set. Had they also killed Max? If they had, why wouldn’t those have been Max’s dying words? Why tell Carter to look after her and tell her whatever else he had wanted her to know. Maybe he thought he had more time and if he had lived a minute or two longer he would have identified his killer. Or, maybe the real answer was, it had just been a terrible accident.

  Lexi hated that she had so many unanswered questions. It was a very unsettling feeling. It was the last thing she needed. With such a big project ahead of her and so many things to think about, this was not where her head should be. She either had to get some answers quickly or simply set it aside and focus on the things she needed to. If Montgomery saw that she was moving ahead with her plans, maybe he would realize just how determined she was and he would back off.

  Lexi decided that was going to be her strategy. Full steam ahead, one day at a time, first things first; those would be her mantras. Tomorrow’s priority was getting Tucker home and settled, after that she would get her office set up and her business plan in place. Then she would begin the steps to get Wildwood ready to open as soon as possible, maybe even before the spring. Having decided that, she felt more relaxed and turned off the light. It wasn’t long before she was asleep.

  Lexi’s brain was still working on the questions however and while she slept, she had dreams about the fire, Max laying in Carters arms dying and people banging on her front door. She woke exhausted, not really knowing why, just feeling unsettled again. After a long hot shower she dressed and got ready for her day. She had only just finished when she heard her cell phone ringing. She grabbed it from the bedside table and answered, hoping it was the vet.

  11

  “Hello,” Lexi said. No response. “Hello?” There was nothing, but Lexi was sure someone was there. She hung up the phone, her stomach in knots. She looked to see who the caller was but no number was displayed. It could have just been a wrong number but she was afraid that it wasn’t. Were they going to start harassing her by phone now as well? Was it Michael? Had he called to try to convince her to take him back and then changed his mind. Or was it Mitch or Montgomery? Maybe, but if it was, she mustn’t let it get to her. That was what they wanted.

  Lexi took the phone with her and headed downstairs determined to get on with her day and not let this deter her. She made some breakfast and then went into the office to continue with her plans for getting it set up. She had made good progress last night and she finished emptying the cupboards at the bottom of the built-in then moved on to a closet in the office. She needed a couple more boxes so she went upstairs to Max’s room and put a box together up there and then filled it with some of the photos and carried it downstairs.

  She could hear a phone ringing as soon as she hit the bottom step. Putting the box down quickly she ran for the office. It was the land line that was ringing. She grabbed it but got only the dial tone. It was too late. Lexi had not even realized the phone was hooked up. She hadn’t tried it as she assumed it had been cut off when Max died. Perhaps the lawyer had contacted the phone company to reconnect.

  No number was displayed and she wondered if it was the same mystery caller as before. She decided she would call the vet herself and check on Tucker and then she might know once and for all if and when she could go and get him. That way she wouldn’t have to worry about missing a call. Lexi dialed the vet and the same receptionist answered. She asked about Tucker and the receptionist asked he
r to hold. Dr. Walters came on the line.

  “Hi Lexi,” he said.

  “Hi Dr, Walters,” she said. “Sorry to bother you but I have been having some issues with my phone and I just wanted to be sure I hadn’t missed a call.”

  “No problem,” he said. “I was going to call you shortly anyway. I think if you come about four o’clock Tucker should be ready to go home.”

  “Oh that would be great,” Lexi said.”Carter is going to drive me so we will be along about four then.”

  “See you then,” the vet said and hung up.

  Lexi hung up and dialed Carter’s number. He answered right away.

  “Hi Lexi,” he said. “Did you hear from Doc Walters?”

  “I just spoke with him,” Lexi said. She didn’t mention the mystery caller. She would tell him about that later. “He said that we could come about four, does that work for you?”

  “You bet,” Carter said.

  “I was wondering if afterwards you would like to stay and have dinner with us?” she asked. She had bought a roast with the intention of asking him but had only just made up her mind that she would actually do it. Then just so he didn’t get the wrong idea, she said “It’s the least I can do after all the help you have given me.”

  “Thanks Lexi,” he said. “That would be nice. I’ll pick you up about three forty-five.”

  “Great, I’ll see you then.”

  Lexi decided she would do some work towards dinner as she knew she would be busy with Tucker once she got him home. It would be great having Carter there during the first few hours to help keep an eye on him. Lexi prepped an apple crumble to bake later and some vegetables to roast with the meat. She was glad she had decided not to freeze the roast she had bought yesterday. She mixed up the batter for Yorkshire pudding and then hunted through her boxes for her special pan. It was a well seasoned muffin pan, totally black from the smoking hot fat that had to be heated first before the cold batter was poured into it. That was the secret to a really tall and hollow pudding.