by Iris Abbott
He gave his head a visible shake as a reminder to focus on the job. He stepped up to the door and put himself between Faith and his deputy. He gave Faith a stern look that stopped her tirade in midsentence. He dismissed Deputy James Palmer with a curt, “I’ll handle this. See if there is anything you can do to help wrap this up and get everyone out of here.”
The deputy gave Cole a grateful look and scurried off to another part of the house. He was fresh out of the academy. He was very willing to please, but he was green at the job. He had potential though and given time Cole knew he’d be a great asset to the sheriff’s department.
Faith squared her shoulders for the confrontation to come. “I just wanted to know what the police have been able to find out.” She pointed at the retreating officer’s back, “but he wouldn’t even let me in the door.”
“He was just following procedure, Faith.” He tried to lighten the mood a little. Maybe he could tease a smile out of her. He really wanted to see her smile. “He’s new to the job. Try not to scare him away will you. I need all the deputies I can get right now. He’s not used to women with a bite.”
The corner of Faith’s mouth lifted slightly before she even knew what was happening. “Sorry, I didn’t think he’d be that sensitive. Who knew a man in uniform would be afraid of little ole me?”
Cole relaxed ever so slightly. It was apparent that Faith was so much stronger than she looked. She could handle this and she would have to know eventually, so he might as well break the news to her now. He lightly grasped her elbow and led her through the door. “Come on in just don’t get in the way. The investigators are almost finished. I called your landlord and he is sending someone from a private maid service over to clean up this mess. Also a man from the hardware store is coming to board up the window. He will eventually replace it, but he had to do a special order on the glass and can’t fix it until later in the week.”
“Whoa wait a minute.” Faith held up a hand. “I don’t expect Mr. Morris to pay someone to clean up this mess. I can do it myself.” She chewed on her bottom lip. “I hope this doesn’t mean my rent is going to go up anytime soon. I’m saving to buy my own place,” she confided to Cole. “That is if things work out at the school and I end up staying in this area.”
The thought of Faith leaving twisted Cole’s gut. He was quick to reassure her that this little town was the place for her. “Mason Blake has nothing but good things to say about you and your performance in the classroom. I don’t think you have to worry about the job working out. I also know that Caroline is thrilled to have you living nearby. And about Mr. Morris, he likes to fuss over his tenants since he doesn’t have any family of his own left in the area. Just let him do it this one time. He’d be the first to tell you that he’s thrilled this place isn’t just standing empty collecting dust.”
“I guess.” It was time to focus on why she was really there. “So did the investigators find anything while they were looking over the place?”
“It doesn’t look like there were any intruders, just the rock.” He pulled her aside and out of the range of anybody that might be eavesdropping. “There was a message written on the rock,” he told her.
Faith gasped. She hadn’t been expecting this little piece of information. “What? Really?” She shivered and moved just a little bit closer to Cole. She knew there had always been a good chance that this attack was personal, but a message only served to confirm her worst fear. “What was the message?”
“Go home.” Cole didn’t see any reason to beat around the bush, so he blurted out what had been written on the rock. “Think really hard, Faith. Is there anyone who would want to scare you out of town?”
“Other than a possible murderer you mean,” her voice hitched on that last word. Murderer really wasn’t a nice word at all, especially if you thought one had it out for you.
Cole resisted the urge to pull her into his arms and hold her tight. It wouldn’t be professional behavior and the house was filled with law officers from the county level all the way up to the state level. “I know this is unsettling, and I’m going to do my best to get to the bottom of it. I’m going to need your help though. Are you sure no one else is holding a grudge against you?”
“Nobody that I know of,” she truthfully answered. “I haven’t been here long enough to make enemies. I usually hang out with Caroline and the Montgomery sisters. We all get along just fine. There are no problems there.”
Cole nodded his head in agreement. He knew that group well and there was no trouble coming from them. He’d grown up with Abigail and he also knew Annabel and Aubrey well enough to mentally cross them off of any suspect list. Caroline was just as sweet as the Montgomery sisters. Besides she was the one that had invited Faith to move to Florida. He crossed Caroline off the list too. “What about work?”
Faith shook her head. “I really don’t think so. Everyone at the school has been very friendly. I think a lot of people know that Mason put in a good word for me with the principal. That probably guaranteed me the job, but I don’t think there were any hard feelings over his recommendation. No one was fired to make a spot for me and I think all the other applicants were out-of-towners just like me.”
“Let’s look at this from a different point of view,” Cole suggested. After all he wouldn’t be doing his job if he didn’t at least contemplate every possible angle. “What if it wasn’t someone trying to drive you out of town, but someone trying to drive you back to where you came from?”
Faith’s eyes grew wide and she gripped Cole’s arm with trembling fingers. “Do you really think this might have something to do with my ex-husband?”
“I don’t know, but I have to consider and investigate every possibility. I obviously don’t know all the details, because you’ve never discussed him with me, but I’ve picked up enough negative vibes from Caroline to know she didn’t like your ex.” He wasn’t sure if he really wanted to know the answer, but he had to ask the question. “Was your ex-husband ever abusive toward you?”
“Mentally and verbally yes,” Faith confirmed. “He tried to control every aspect of my life and unfortunately I let him get away with it for far too long. I lost a lot of good friendships including Caroline for a while, because I let him isolate me from family and friends. His controlling behavior slowly escalated over the years and I finally snapped out of my complacency and took back my life.”
Faith’s ex-husband sounded like a real piece of work. “Does he know where you are and do you think he’s capable of something like this?”
Faith shrugged. “I didn’t tell him where I was going, but I didn’t try to keep it a secret either. He could easily trace me using my professional credentials if he wanted to. I just can’t see him going to all this trouble though. We’re divorced and have been for several months. My gut instinct tells me that Patrick is too lazy to come all this way just to start trouble. He liked to control me through manipulation. He wasn’t an in your face kind of person and shattering a large window with a rock in my opinion is very in your face.”
“The act itself does reek of desperation,” Cole thought out loud. Something a murderer would do, but he kept that chilling thought to himself.
“Exactly,” Faith agreed. “Patrick is cold and deliberate. I just don’t think this is his style.”
“That may be, but I still need to mention the possibility of his involvement in my report. And I need to investigate Patrick Riley if only to rule him out as a suspect.” Yep that was the reason Cole reiterated to himself. It had nothing to do with a burning curiosity to know everything about the man that had once been married to Faith, nope nothing at all.
An awkward silence fell as both of them thought about the implications of the vandalism and the accompanying message. Faith fidgeted from foot to foot until she couldn’t stand her own wandering imagination anymore. She broke the silence. “I talked to Caroline before I walked over. I’m going to stay with her and Kyle for a couple of days, at least until the window is fix
ed and it’s safe for me to come back here.” She paused and when the silence grew uncomfortable she pushed the next words out in a mumbled rush. “Thank you for looking out for me last night and giving me a place to go.”
She gave him a shy smile. “For the longest time I felt alone in the world. Now I know I’ll never be on my own ever again and if I need help someone will be there for me. I’ve got a wonderful circle of friends here and I hope you know that I include you in that group.”
All thoughts of professionalism completely disappeared from his mind. He pulled Faith close and gave her a comforting hug. He didn’t care who saw him do it. “I’m glad you realize you can’t stay here. And you’re welcome. Any time you need me you just have to call, Faith. There will be a place for you in my home anytime you need it.” And to Cole’s surprise he realized he meant every word. The more he got to know Faith the more he liked her. He wanted her safe and he was not opposed to giving her personal protection if she needed it.
“Thank you Cole.” She hugged him back and allowed her body to relax into the comforting embrace. “I’m not reckless, Cole. That written message says it all. Someone doesn’t want me here. I’m not going to hightail it back to Georgia, but I’m not going to put myself in harm’s way either. Nor will I bring danger to Caroline and her family. At the first sign that someone has followed me over there I will have to leave. You’ll be the first person I call in both a personal and official capacity. I promise.”
She felt reassured by the steady beat of Cole’s heart. There was only one problem. Being that close to him was sparking her body to life and making her have very wicked thoughts. Heat stirred in her lower abdomen and began to spread throughout the rest of her body. She so didn’t need this right now. She took a hasty step away from Cole and out of his arms.
Cole missed the warmth of her soft and sexy curves against his hard flesh, but he let her go. Faith was a lot stronger than she gave herself credit for being. She’d come out on the other side of this mess just fine, he’d make sure of that. She’d placed her trust in him and he wasn’t going to let her down.
Suddenly Faith let out a gasp and her hand flew to her mouth. “Oh my God I almost forgot! Have you heard anything about Jasmine’s dad? And how are she and that precious baby doing?”
Cole was glad for something to distract her from the vandalism of the house and the written threat issued against her. He was also glad of something to distract his wayward thoughts and aroused body. It wanted more of Faith, but Cole knew that right now much to his regret was not the right time.
Instead of concentrating on her he concentrated on answering her question. “Deputy Owens the baby’s father has been contacted and he’s arranged emergency leave. He should be here soon. His wife Susan is stable but still critical. He’s probably going to be spending most of his time at the hospital when he does get back to town. She hasn’t regained consciousness yet, so we still don’t know if she can identify the shooter.”
“Oh that poor man,” Faith exclaimed. She’d never met the deputy, but any normal person would feel empathy for him and this horrible situation. “And the children,” she insisted on knowing. “I hope that Child Protective Services was able to find a nice place for them to stay and that they are together.”
“They’re fine and yes they are together. You’ll be happy to know that Joyce Montgomery has taken both of them into her home. They will be well loved and taken care of until Robert gets back to town.”
Faith had absolutely come to adore the matriarch of the Montgomery family. “It’s very sweet of Joyce to do that. I didn’t know she was a foster mom, but I couldn’t think of a better person to take care of those two children.”
“I agree. Mike Thomas, the director of Child Protective Services approached Joyce about becoming a foster mom about six months after her husband died, but Abigail and her two children were still living with Joyce then.” Cole shrugged. “I guess she kept the offer in the back of her mind. When Abigail married Mason and her and the children moved in with him, Joyce got in touch with Mike. She went through the training to be a short term foster mother in emergency situations just like this one.”
“That sounds exactly like Joyce,” Faith agreed.
“Luckily we don’t have much of a demand for emergency foster care in this county, but it’s good to know Joyce and a few others like her are there when they are needed.”
Faith let out a little wisp of a sigh. “I’m just relieved to know that Jasmine and her baby cousin are in such capable and loving hands.” The smile on her face slowly slipped, “any word on Richard Tome?”
“Nothing yet,” Cole replied. “At this point he’s been moved to the top of the suspect list. If you catch a glimpse of him anywhere Faith, don’t try to approach him. Call the sheriff’s department immediately.”
“Absolutely,” she agreed. “I’m not one to go chasing after a suspected murderer especially on my own.” She gave Cole’s arm an awkward squeeze. “Thank you once again for all your help last night. I’m going to go ahead and pack a few more things while I’m here and then drive over to Caroline’s house. I locked up at your house before leaving, so I’ll just pick up my things later on if that’s okay.”
Cole gave her an absentminded nod. Someone from the Florida Department of Law Enforcement had come over to ask him a question and he had immediately switched his concentration from Faith to the job. The quicker the person responsible for this was apprehended the safer Faith would be.
Faith didn’t want to interfere with the investigation and she didn’t want a long and drawn out awkward goodbye. Things were subtly shifting between them, and she needed to put some distance between herself and Cole. She went to her bedroom and filled one of her larger suitcases with enough clothes and toiletries to last at least a week. Hopefully by the end of that time the window would be fixed and the murder suspect would be behind bars.
Faith slipped out of the house while Cole was deep in conversation with one of his deputies. And if her feet moved a little slower the further she got from Cole well that was just because it had been a very trying twenty-four hours.
******
Faith slowly sipped the refreshing sweet iced tea Caroline had made especially for her. Then she continued with her story aware that her longtime friend was shocked speechless for once. “The good news is both children are fine, probably better than fine. They are staying with Joyce Montgomery until Robert Owens can return.”
Caroline just nodded in wide-eyed agreement.
“Anyway, I want to thank you one more time for letting me stay here. I just hope that trouble doesn’t follow me.”
Caroline finally snapped out of her silence. “Well of course, where else would you stay? I am going to love having you here for an extended stay. My stepdaughter Sarah is a senior this year and she’s never home. She spends most of her time over at Abigail’s house hanging out with her son Jay or horseback riding.”
Faith was glad to have something to talk about other than her recent ordeal. She laughed out loud. “I noticed that Sarah and Jay like to spend a lot of time together.”
Caroline nodded her head. “I swear those two are probably going to end up getting married one day. Every time I say something like that Kyle growls at me. He knows Sarah is growing up, but he does not like having other people point it out to him. He’s a typical male. He doesn’t like hearing about things he can’t control. I imagine Cole is much the same way.” She arched a brow to give Faith a questioning look.
“Cole did take charge last night when everything started to deteriorate.” And Faith was thankful for all he’d done. She would never have been able to sleep in her little rental house after the rock came crashing through the window shattering her illusions of comfort and safety. “I imagine you’re right about things he can’t control.” It had taken an act of vandalism, but he’d gotten his way. She’d ended up spending the night in his house instead of her own.
Faith should have known that it wouldn’t t
ake Caroline long to start asking about Cole. She’d gotten the idea early on that her friends would love to see her and Cole have a go at a relationship. They often found themselves invited to the same social functions and they always attended alone, so they usually ended up paired together.
“That’s enough about Cole and all the unpleasantness of yesterday.” Faith brought up the one thing sure to get her friend’s mind off of any matchmaking schemes she might be harboring. “So tell me how everything went at the doctor yesterday. I hope everything is going well with your pregnancy.”
It worked and Faith listened for several minutes while Caroline enthusiastically shared the latest progress and updates of her pregnancy.
Faith listened with nothing but happiness for the love that Caroline had found with Kyle. And if her heart was just a little heavy, well that had nothing to do with her own loveless and childless state as she neared her thirtieth birthday.
FIVE
Cole clutched a bouquet of daisies in his left hand and pressed the doorbell to the Wakefield house with his right hand. The flowers had been an impulse buy. He’d been in the grocery store looking for something quick to fix for dinner when the lovely pink, yellow, and white flowers caught his attention. His mind had gone straight to thoughts of Faith. Instead of buying food for dinner he bought the flowers and then found himself driving out to Kyle and Caroline’s place to see Faith. Now he was standing on the Wakefield’s front porch like a nervous teenager waiting for his first date.
He heard movement on the other side of the door and tensed in anticipation. Even though it had only been a few hours since he’d last seen Faith he couldn’t wait to see her shy smile and those beautiful warm brown eyes. He smiled at his friend Caroline when she finally opened the door.