The Price of Trust

by Amanda Stephan

  She was cornered. She hadn't meant to tell him what was said, but it was too late to worry about it now.

  "Yeah, I caught him behind the counter. He said he needed a tissue, and I asked him if he knew a guy named Ian Lane," she said as nonchalantly as she could manage.

  "Ian Lane? Who's that?"

  "My ex-fiancé."

  He stopped and peered at her over his bifocals, quiet for a moment.

  "No kidding. Now why would he know your ex?"

  "Ian didn't take it very well when I broke off our engagement," she said quietly, squatting down and cutting open a box to sort out the contents, trying to act normal.

  "Hmm. So he sends people to find you," Sam said flatly, going back to work.

  "Something like that. There's the phone! I'll get it!" She jumped up and ran to answer the phone, glad for a reason to get away and not answer any more questions.

  "S&S Hardware, may I help you?" she asked into the phone.

  Silence. "Hello?" Nothing. She hung up the receiver, frustrated.

  "Steve!" Chuck said softly, knocking on his buddy's door.

  Steve yanked the door open abruptly, and soft sounds from the television drifted into the hall. He glared angrily at him. "What do you want?"

  "She knows. Our cover is blown," Chuck said hoarsely, beads of sweat standing out on his thick forehead.

  Steve glared at him then stepped aside to allow him to enter, closing the door behind him. "How could she know? Did you slip and say something?"

  "No, I swear I didn't. She caught me getting the number and asked me if I knew a guy named Ian Lane. I'm telling you, she knows."

  "What did you say when she asked you if you knew Ian?" Steve said through gritted teeth.

  "I said I know lots of people, and one of them might be named Ian." Steve shook his head disgustedly. "Well, what was I supposed to say?"

  "You could have tried 'no.' That might have worked really well, you idiot! What else did she say?"

  "She said that she wanted to get a message to him."

  Steve sat down on the bed, running his fingers through his thinning hair. "What was the message?"

  "She wouldn't give it to me. Maybe she doesn't really know anyway. Maybe I'm just overreacting," Chuck said hopefully.

  Steve shook his head. "If she had the nerve to ask, she knows we're connected with him."

  "What're we gonna do?" Chuck asked tensely.

  Steve glowered at him. "I'll have to call him," he spat out, pulling the phone toward him. "You watch the store to make sure she doesn't leave." Chuck left quickly, thankful that he didn't have to deal with Ian. Steve watched him go, muttered something under his breath, and dialed Ian's number. It rang once before Ian's secretary answered.

  "Ian Lane please." He waited.

  "Ian here," was the usual curt reply not a second later.

  "This is Steve. I've got bad news. She knows that we're watching her." He winced, waiting for him to blow up.

  "Good. I'm glad she knows," was the unruffled reply.

  "You are?" Steve asked in shock.

  "Has she run yet?"

  "No," he said cautiously, wondering if that was soft laughter he heard or if he was going nuts.

  "She's getting tired of running. She's going to be easy to get back home now." He was still calm.

  "What do you want us to do? You want us to force her in the car and bring her back?"

  "No. I want you both to stay there and make sure she doesn't run until I get there. I'm going to come and get her this time." Pause. "I want the number to the store." Steve read it off the paper Chuck had given him.

  "When do you think you'll be up here?"

  "I can't come right away. Sometime over the holidays," he said noncommittally. "I'm going to take care of this whole business once and for all. She's either coming home with me willingly, or I'll have to persuade her. Keep an eye on her." He hung up.

  Steve hung up the phone, sweating. He'd never heard Ian so calm before. It was like the calm before the storm, and it gave him the creeps.

  Carly looked at the clock. Five. Finally, she thought, standing next to the phone, anxiously waiting for Joe’s call.

  "Red," Sam called, "I'm leaving. Will you lock up please? I'm going out the back door to throw away some boxes before I go home. I'll see you in the morning."

  "Good night, Sam," she called, leaning over the counter to wave. "See you in the morning." She heard him leave, shutting the door behind him. She locked the front door, pulled up the mat, and started to mop up the wet footprints left by the few customers they'd had. The phone rang and she ran to pick it up, dropping the mop.

  "You're late. I've missed you," she said, unable to stop smiling.

  "How sweet, I've missed you too," a voice said. Not Joe's. She caught her breath, her heart thumping with horror.

  "Ian."

  "Of course. Who else did you expect?" He waited for an answer.

  She didn't give him one. He went on, "You know if you missed me so badly, you could have come home anytime you wanted to. You don't have to do this cat and mouse thing anymore."

  Silence.

  "Carly," he said in a singsong tone. "What's the matter? Cat got your tongue? I know you're still there. You wouldn't dare hang up on me; you've missed me too much. Why don't you just come home now?"

  "Why won't you leave me alone?" Carly said helplessly, her hands shaking.

  "Because I love you, dear," he said slowly, enunciating every syllable.

  "You don't love me," she said vehemently. "You hate me!"

  "Hate you?" he asked, his voice rising. "If I hated you, why would I buy you everything you ever wanted? Why would I have paid you so well? Why would I have taken such good care of you? Why would I still want you to come home?"

  "You? Take good care of me?" She laughed scornfully. "If I recall, I don't think beating me was taking very good care of me, but I may be a little biased."

  "You have to admit that you deserved it. If you wouldn't have provoked me, I wouldn't have beaten you."

  She gave a short bitter laugh. "All I had to do was breathe to provoke you.”

  "You're starting to provoke me now, Carly, and I don't think you want to do that. All I've got to do is make a phone call, and you're on your way back down here," he said through gritted teeth. "Besides, I wouldn't want to force you to come home; I want you to decide to come back of your own free will because you love me. We'll start all over, and it'll all be better. You'll see," he said, forcing himself to be calm.

  "Why are you doing this to me?" she said quietly, starting to cry. "You don't need me, you don't even want me, so why won't you just leave me alone?"

  "You belong to me," he said menacingly. "I bought and paid for you, and you owe me."

  "How do I owe you?" she asked angrily. "I left everything you bought me. I didn't take one thing of yours, or anything you gave me. I left it all for you to do whatever you wanted to with it. Even the engagement ring, which I could have very well kept and pawned, seeing as how you've stopped me from being able to get any money of my own." She paused. "You know, I have an idea. Why don't you give everything that you gave to me to your new secretary? I know how you are with secretaries. I'm sure she'd be happy with it all," she said bitterly, remembering how humiliated she had been.

  "Yes, I think my secretary would like to belong to me, she's made it very obvious. But I don't want her. She's too easy. I need a challenge," he said arrogantly, laughing cruelly.

  "So that's it? That's why you keep hunting me like a wild animal? Because I'm a challenge?" Her voice rose as she endeavored to control herself.

  "Every man loves a good chase, and you've given me a good chase," he said coldly. "But, I'm ready for you to come back now. My patience is running out. Just tell me you're coming home, I'll send you a first-class ticket, and we'll be married immediately."

  His calmness of manner infuriated her. "I'm not ever coming back," she said through clenched teeth. "I'm staying here, and I don't ever
want to see you again. We're through, so leave me alone."

  It was his turn to get angry.

  "Why? So you can waste your life in that filthy little town? What could you possibly want to stay there for? Oh yes." He laughed sardonically. "You've found yourself a little farm boy who can't offer you anything, not even a place to stay."

  The color drained out of Carly’s face.

  "I know all about him. I've had you watched since the first week you arrived, you and that backwards hick that you're so fond of. I won't let him have you. You're mine, and I don't share, so if you really care for him, stay away from him. I don't like to see my future wife kissing anyone but me, understand? We'd hate to see anything bad happen to him, now wouldn't we?"

  "I'm staying here, and that's it!" Slamming the phone down, she sank to the floor, her knees unable to keep her shaking body erect any longer.

  The insistent phone rang several times, but she refused to answer, knowing it was Ian. After a little while, it stopped, and she gave a sigh of relief.

  She was still there when she heard a knock on the door. She was afraid to look and see who it was, sure that it was one of the people Ian had alluded to. They knocked again, this time more loudly.

  She peeked around the corner of the counter, relief spilling over her in torrents. It was Joe. She ran to open the door and flung herself at him.

  "Carly!" he said, surprised. "Are you okay? Why were you on the floor?" He walked her back inside, trying to keep her warm.

  "Oh Joe, I'm so glad you're here," she cried fervently, not letting go of him for a moment. "I thought it was you calling, so I answered the phone, and it ended up being Ian, and…"

  "Shh, shh," Joe said, putting his finger to her lips. "I can't understand what you're saying. Slow down. Shh."

  She took a deep breath and started again. Slowly. "I was waiting for you to call me. When the phone rang, I answered it, thinking it was you, and it was Ian instead. He knows all about you, and he threatened to hurt you if I stayed with you. He told me to come back, and we'd get married right away, and things would be fine." She looked up at him, upset. "I can't let him hurt you, but I can't go back there and marry him. He's a monster." Her voice caught with emotion. "He said that he's had me watched since the first week I was here." She leaned her head against Joe's chest. He held her close and rubbed her back soothingly. "What are we going to do?"

  "I don't know anything we can do except pray. Why don't we do that right now?"

  They bowed their heads and pleaded for God's protection for both of them, for wisdom and guidance in what to do, and for the peace that only God can give.

  She sighed sadly when their prayer was finished. "Do you want me to go? I would understand if you did. I wouldn't blame you."

  His arms tightened around her. "I wouldn't want you to go for anything in the world. You are a part of me, and if you left, I think I'd die of a broken heart. Your leaving would hurt me more than anything Ian could possibly do," he said lovingly. "But the real question is, what do you think God wants you to do? It really doesn't matter what I want if it's not the Lord's will."

  "I'm terrified of Ian, but staying here is the one thing I know God wants me to do. I don't understand it, but I've got peace. I'm truly afraid of what Ian will do, but I know God is able to take care of the whole situation. My place is here beside you, if you want me."

  "I love you, Carly Richards," he said, kissing the top of her head.

  "I love you too, Joe," she said softly, laying her hand on his chest. They leaned on each other for a few minutes, gaining comfort from one another.

  "Why do you always kiss the top of my head?" she asked after a few moments. He had never really kissed her yet, and she was a little confused.

  "Because I'm afraid that I wouldn't be able to stop kissing you, and then I'd be in trouble. I try to keep my distance, but it's getting difficult."

  "In that case, I'd better stop letting you hug me," she said, blushing, stepping away from him.

  "Oh no. I can't give that up now." He pulled her close again.

  She leaned on him for a little while then stepped back again so she could look up at him. "I thought you weren't going to come to town today," she asked. "Don't get me wrong, I'm very grateful that you did come, but I was just curious."

  "I came into town to plow the church parking lot, and I had to see you. If you'll go get your coat on, you can come with me while I plow."

  "Sounds good to me," she said thankfully, hurrying to get her old jacket on as she didn't want to mess up her new one.

  "You’re going to plow with that?" she asked quizzically, looking at the snowplow attached to the front of his truck as he helped her inside. "How in the world do you get it to work?"

  He and got in before he answered her question. "I've got it hooked up in here. This toggle switch turns it on and off, and I can turn the plow with this little control box," he said, backing out and driving to the church.

  She watched him control the plow once they were in the parking lot. "That's really neat. I've never seen anything like that before!" He glanced at her, laughing at her delight. "Do you do this every time it snows?"

  "Not every time. Dad, Todd, and I take turns. I volunteered to do it tonight, the next time will be Todd's turn, then Dad's. It doesn't take too long, and I enjoy doing it. Want to try to control it?" he asked, eyes twinkling.

  She shook her head vigorously. "Oh no, I wouldn't want to break it."

  "Come on and try. If you break it, I'll fix it. Here…" He took her hand and showed her how the controls worked, allowing her to try. He drove slowly, giving her plenty of time to figure out the turns. She squealed in delight.

  "Are we done?" she asked, disappointed when all the snow was cleared in the parking area.

  "Yep. I'll shovel the walkway, and we'll be out of here in ten minutes," he answered, opening the door and grabbing a snow shovel out of the back of the truck. "Stay here. I'll be right back." He grinned, winking at her.

  She watched him start shoveling the walkway and quietly opened the door, closing it behind her. She bent down, made a few snowballs, and snuck up behind him. When she was close enough to hit him, she hurled a couple at his back, enjoying the smacking sound as it hit him. Surprised, he turned around as she ducked behind one of the bushes, laughing hysterically.

  "That's it! You're going down," he hollered, grabbing snow and making a gigantic snowball. He ran toward her, dodging the barrage of snowballs she hurled at him. She ran toward the truck as he got closer, slipping and falling on the freshly plowed parking lot, tripping him as well. They were both laughing uncontrollably as they continued to pummel each other with snow.

  "Uncle! Uncle!" he shouted, falling back to the ground out of breath. She tossed more snow on him, then gave up and lay down next to him, giggling.

  "That felt good," she said breathlessly, watching her breath float up to the stars.

  He chuckled, reaching over and punching her arm lightly. "You cheated."

  She grinned, her eyes twinkling. "There's no such thing as a fair fight."

  "Let me help you up," Joe said, standing and offering her his hand.

  "Thank you," she said. "You aren't done with that walkway yet? I thought you said it would take you about ten minutes." She grinned impishly, walking with him.

  "I was attacked by a runaway snowball," he said, putting his arm around her waist.

  "I hate to argue with you, but you're wrong." She batted her eyes innocently. "It wasn't a runaway. It hit exactly where I wanted it to!"

  He scooped up some snow and tossed it on her playfully. "You're soaking," he said, looking at her in amusement. "Don't you have any gloves or boots?"

  "Gloves? Boots? I had a pair once when I was young."

  "You sit here on the porch while I finish up the walkway, and we'll go. This way, I can watch you and make sure you don't attack me again." He grinned. "Here, wear my gloves."

  "Thank you," she said, taking them gratefully, rubbing her ha
nds together and stomping her feet to get warm. She watched him admiringly as he quickly finished up.

  "Done," he said, offering her his arm. "Are you ready, or do you want to stay and have another snowball fight?"

  "Do I get to keep your gloves?" she asked mischievously, stooping down to gather more snow.

  He laughed. "No way!" He opened the door for her, put the shovel in the back, got in, and started the truck. "Thanks for coming with me. That's the most fun I've had shoveling snow in a long time."

  "Thank you for coming into town." He turned to her. "Are you hungry?"

  "Mmm," she said, evading his question.

  "Sure you are. You're starved," he said, driving past her apartment and taking her to the diner.

  "Joe, I can't go in there! We're all soaking wet! I look awful." She ran her fingers through her wet hair.

  "You look great," he said, pulling into a parking spot and turning the truck off.

  "Do you have a comb or anything?" she asked anxiously.

  He grinned at her discomfort. "Sure don't."

  She grumbled as she got out of the truck resignedly. "That's just mean." He laughed and held the door open for her.

  They picked an empty booth in the back and sat down across from each other, looking over the menu. Sandy came up to take their drink order.

  "Sandy, do you ever go home?" Carly asked pleasantly.

  "Me? Oh yeah, I'll be off in about an hour. I'm working the evening shift for someone else. So, Joe," she asked, looking at him with raised eyebrows. "I haven't seen you in here in a long time." She looked over at Carly and winked. "I see you're keeping Carly company."

  He grinned while Carly blushed. "And enjoying every minute of it."

  "Oh really? Sounds fascinating. Carly, we'll have to get together sometime so you can tell me all the juicy details," Sandy said with a wink.

  "What's there to tell?" Carly asked naïvely.

  Sandy snorted. "Are you two a couple?" she asked pointedly.

  Carly gave Joe an awkward look. He just smiled in return, waiting for her answer. "Uh, well, I guess it depends on what you mean by 'couple,'" she said feebly.

  "How many different things can the word 'couple' mean?" she asked.