Perfect Storm

by Geri Foster

  “I made it clear to Lydia in the beginning—no talk of marriage and no kids.”

  “And she went along with that?”

  “Our relationship was more of a convenience than anything else. We’d have never lasted in a marriage.”

  “So, is that how you’re going to live? Afraid to love and enjoy life with a family?”

  He looked back at his dad. “I don’t know. I honestly can’t say.”

  “I know it probably isn’t my place to be giving you any advice, considering, but I want to say that my mistakes are not your mistakes. Don’t be afraid to go for what you want because I screwed things up for you.”

  He shook his head. “It isn’t all that simple. But, the one thing I know I want, is to see Candi, and Tyler only sweetens the pot.”

  “Don’t sound like a confirmed bachelor to me.”

  “Maybe only Uncle Jeff will carry that title.” He snapped his finger. “Speaking of, I better get out there before it gets dark. He’ll skin my hide.”

  “Well, why are you standing around here? Get going.”

  He passed the recliner, then stopped and turned around, bending down and hugging his dad’s shoulders. “I love you, Dad. You weren’t perfect, but Mom died happy and now we have a chance to get back to a place of good. So, it all worked out in the end.”

  “I love you too, son. And I’m sorry for the pain I caused and I pray every day for your happiness.” He rose up out of the recliner. “You and your Uncle Jeff.”

  “Yeah, he’s a hard nut to crack, but he’s got a good heart.”

  “He’s harder on himself than he needs to be.”

  “He ever tell you what happened?”

  “Not all of it, but enough to know he’s carrying around a lot of guilt.”

  “Most guys do, Dad. That seems to be something we’re really good at.”

  His dad lowered his head. “You got that right.”

  “Well, let me get out there. I’m taking Candi and Tyler to the park tomorrow. You’re welcome to come.”

  “Oh, I don’t want to be the extra wheel. Besides, I think I’ll drive out in later and spend the day with Jeff.”

  Nodding, he lifted a hand to wave, saying, “See you out there,” when the doorbell rang.

  Surprised, he walked across the room and opened the door to find Tyler standing on the porch, grinning.

  “Howdy, Austin. I come to tell Russ what a great day I had.” He ducked his head and looked beneath Austin’s arm. “But I have to hurry because my mom will be looking for me.”

  He opened the door wider, allowing the young boy to scurry into the living room. “Hey, Russ. Did Austin tell you we went to Uncle Jeff’s ranch today?”

  Uncle Jeff. He grinned to himself. So, we’ve moved in that direction after all.

  Chapter 11

  Candi stood outside watering her fall garden when Helen came out and greeted her. She turned off the hose and smiled. “How are you today, Helen?”

  “Oh, not bad. My arthritis is acting up a little, but when isn’t it?”

  “I’m sorry. It’s such a pretty day.”

  “Yes, but winter will be here soon and that’s when it’s the worst. I hope I don’t have to get my walker out again.”

  She touched her arm. “I do, too. I know how you hate that thing.”

  “I do, but I have to get around. I’m afraid if I stop moving, I’ll tighten up and be stiff as a board.”

  “How are things at the flower shop?”

  “The same for this time of year. Not that many people buying flowers today. It’s all about gift cards and things they can order from Amazon.”

  She smiled. “The modern days.”

  “Yes, the world is changing.”

  “Electronics. That’s the difference. When I was growing up I had the great outdoors and little else. Today, children have to be entertained.”

  “Well, I’m glad you keep Tyler busy doing other things.”

  That was never a problem for her. She didn’t have the money for all the latest, fancy gadgets. There wasn’t room in their budget for her to lavish her son with all that stuff.

  She frowned. “I want him to be a normal boy. Not another Josh Newman. All grown up and hibernating in his parents’ basement. I don’t think he’s ever going to move out and make a life for himself.”

  “I saw his Aunt Beth the other day at the Hair Pin while Kendall was doing my hair. She says he’s a serious burden on his family. They’d planned to retire to Florida but can’t because they’re supporting him and if they left, he’d have no place to live.”

  “Such a shame.” She looked down the driveway and noticed Austin’s car still parked in front of Russ’ house. She thought he’d have left for Jeff’s by now. Just as she turned back to Helen, she caught movement out of the corner of her eye and thought it might be Tyler.

  She was wrong.

  It was Levi Travis and he didn’t look too pleased.

  “Uh oh, here comes trouble.” Helen turned. “Want me to go get George?”

  “No, let’s see what he wants. He can’t do anything out here in front of everyone.”

  Levi marched toward her like an evil dictator ready to send down a death sentence. “I want to talk to you, young lady.”

  “I’m right here,” she said, folding her arms across her middle.

  They squared off six feet apart. “You know Aaron goes to court Monday on a trumped-up charge of harassment. I want you to tell the judge it’s all a lie.”

  “Why would I do that?”

  “Because he’s got a clean record and I want it to stay that way. Between you, the Sheriff and Austin Crawley, poor Aaron doesn’t stand a chance.”

  “Poor Aaron,” she mimicked. “He just can’t do wrong in your eyes, can he?”

  “Him going in the diner and ruffling your feathers is a long way from harassment.” He narrowed his eyes and pointed his finger at her. “And it’s not like you don’t deserve it. You’re the one who got knocked up. You figured if that happened, Aaron would marry you and you’d be set up for life.”

  “That’s not true. I was in love with Aaron and I thought he loved me, too. Obviously, I was wrong.” She took a dangerous step forward. “But you keep pushing me and I just might make both of you pay. Get off this property.”

  “You better not show up for court Monday if you know what’s good for you.”

  He moved to leave when, unable to help herself, she taunted, “I’ll be there with bells on.”

  He stopped, turned and glared at her. Her heart pounded against her ribs and she wondered if she’d gone too far. When he slowly retraced his steps back to her, she wanted to cowl, but refused. Instead, she lifted her chin and grit her teeth.

  No more backing down.

  To her surprise, Austin walked up behind Levi and called out, “Can I help you with something?”

  Levi turned, his murderous gaze disappearing. “This is none of your business.”

  “Sure, it is. There are two defenseless women standing there and you look mean enough to hurt someone. Probable cause.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. I wasn’t going to do them any harm.”

  “Just threatening them, huh?”

  “I didn’t actually do that either. I simply reminded Miss Matthews it was in her best interest to not show up in court on Monday. Nothing wrong with that.”

  “Other than it’s a thinly veiled threat. You can’t go around doing that.”

  “I can do as I damn well please in this town.”

  “Like hell you can!” Helen shouted. “Now get off my property before I get George out here with his shotgun.”

  Austin chuckled. “When you assume you can do anything you want in this town and get away with it, consider where your son is right now.”

  Levi’s face heated and his eyes widened. “You’ll pay for that.”

  “Now think about what you’re saying, Travis. There’s a big difference between threatening two innocent women and an FBI agent.
I can arrest you for that alone.”

  Not having a reply, Levi turned and stomped to his pickup and sped away.

  “Thank you,” she said. “What a jerk.”

  “You two be careful. Levi and Aaron are pretty desperate right now and no one knows what they’re fully capable of.”

  Austin watched Levi leave and decided he should follow him and make sure he truly left Candi alone. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he said to her, wishing he could kiss her again. But he didn’t want to embarrass her in front of Mrs. Humphries.

  Her cheeks flushed and she lowered her gaze. “I look forward to it.”

  As he turned to walk away, he heard the two women whispering. Unable to make out what they said, he smiled and continued on his way. There would be no stopping the gossip now.

  On Stark Road, Austin caught sight of Levi’s taillights. Apparently, they were heading in the same direction—he to Jeff’s ranch, and Levi home. Knowing the old man had no intentions of returning back to Candi’s loosened his muscles and made it easier to breathe.

  By now, darkness had set in and he hoped Tyler had made it safely home. He suspected his dad would see the kid across the street and safely behind the door.

  It felt strange seeing his dad interact with Tyler. He certainly hadn’t treated him that kindly when he was a kid, but maybe this was Russ’ way of making up for all the heartache he’d caused in the past. Regardless, his dad and Tyler made a good pair. They both needed the companionship.

  He pulled into Jeff’s driveway and got out to find his uncle waiting on the porch. “About time you showed up. It’s too dark for us to get much done tonight.”

  “Sorry about that,” he said, climbing the three steps to join him on the porch. Somewhere he’d rustled up a couple of dilapidated chairs to add to the miserable décor. Sitting, he glanced in the direction of the Travis ranch. “Levi paid Candi a visit this evening. I had to intervene.”

  “No, you didn’t, but I can understand why you felt compelled to help her out.”

  “He doesn’t want her in court Monday.”

  “I heard Aaron’s sitting in jail. That’s exactly where he belongs.” His Uncle Jeff was a big man, muscular and lean at the same time. He had biceps the size of watermelons and a fist with enough power behind it to bust up a guy pretty badly, but he rarely got angry enough to use all that talent.

  Maybe it was the hint of grey in his hair, the sharpness of his eyes—the same color green as his own—or the general scruffiness of the man, but whatever it was, his uncle’s look screamed combat ready. Whatever happened in the Middle East was definitely written all over him with invisible ink.

  “Let’s hope the judge does something about it.”

  “I wouldn’t count on the justice system, if I were you.”

  “I live and breathe that system. I believe in it with every fiber of my being. Law means everything.”

  “I’ve learned in my experience that isn’t always true, but I’ll let you live in your fairytale world until the truth smacks you in the face.”

  Jeff reached down in a cooler, pulled out a cold beer and passed it to him. “Your dad won’t allow it in the house, so I bought this cooler and a twelve pack with the intention of enjoying a cool one on my own property.”

  He accepted the offer and twisted off the cap. The first swallow burned all the way down but it tasted delicious. “That’s exactly what I needed after working most of the day on your ranch.”

  Jeff laughed. “Gets you sweating, doesn’t it?”

  “Man, I’m out of shape. I need to get back to running.”

  “Don’t waste your time, get a ranch instead. I stay in pretty good shape and I haven’t lifted a weight since leaving the military.”

  He peeled the moist label off the bottle. “I have a job. The FBI keeps me busy. I have no intention of leaving.”

  “Can’t say I blame you. Job security and all.”

  “It isn’t that, Uncle Jeff. I love what I do. My job is important to me and so is the security of this country. I wouldn’t want to do anything else.”

  His uncle smiled and slapped him on the shoulder. “You’re one of the good guys, Austin. You always were.”

  He gazed out into the darkness. “Dad told me about mom this evening.” He shook his head. “Marriage can sure screw up a family.”

  Uncle Jeff didn’t say anything for the longest time and he thought perhaps he hadn’t heard him. He had no intentions of repeating it, though.

  Finally, in a soft voice, Uncle Jeff replied. “Your dad isn’t all bad. He’s had some troubling years and it wasn’t pretty, but I like to think that’s all behind him now and he’s trying to make amends.”

  “I agree with that, but it’s hard for me to jump all in because I got the blunt end of most of that mess.”

  “Yes, you did. That’s why I wish I’d never gone into the military. If I’d have been here, I could’ve protected you.”

  He froze momentarily then glanced over at his uncle. “Listen, you have no responsibility in this. You had your life to live and you weren’t responsible for my well-being.”

  “You can think that all you want, but you had no one to step between you and your mom and your old man. He’s my brother, but he was a monster.”

  “I try not to think of him that way. The alcohol fried his brain. I’m surprised he’s still alive.”

  “He had a choice every day to reach for that bottle and he let it ruin his life.” Uncle Jeff tossed his empty bottle in a pail he’d scrounged from somewhere and opened the cooler again. “And don’t go blaming your mom for anything. She was a saint, married to a man who couldn’t climb out of the gutter. She didn’t deserve the hand life dealt her.”

  “Dad made it clear everything that happened was his fault.”

  “It was.”

  They sat in total darkness and silence, so when he heard a faint noise, he stiffened, instinctively reaching behind him to assure himself that he’d brought his weapon.

  “You hear that?” his uncle asked, slowly getting to his feet.

  It surprised him to hear the man’s voice so close to his ear.

  “Yes.”

  It must’ve been loud and clear to Uncle Jeff’s ears. Together, they eased off the porch and traveled in the direction of the noise. A sound not like any wild animal he had ever heard pierced the darkness. Someone was on Uncle Jeff’s property and maybe up to no good.

  “Stay close to me,” Uncle Jeff said. “And to the outside of the house. I think it’s near the barn.”

  “Got you. I’m right behind you.”

  “You armed?” Uncle Jeff whispered.

  “I am, but I won’t shoot unless necessary.”

  “Good, we don’t want to end up locked up with Aaron Travis.”

  Both stilled, waiting in the darkness.

  Suddenly, the soft thud of footsteps grew nearer and he tensed, his finger on the trigger. He peered into the night, trying to catch a glimpse of who, or what, approached. Why was anyone wandering around in the night in the first place?

  He saw nothing. Not even a silhouette or a vague outline. They were both blinded by their surroundings. Whoever was creeping around out there in the darkness had to be familiar with the property.

  Which meant they’d been there before.

  He instantly ruled out the previous owners, they were long gone, well on their way to retirement. That left the neighbor, Levi Travis. What did he have in mind? Catching a strong odor on the wind, he sniffed again. “Smell that?”

  “Yes. It appears someone might be thinking about burning down a barn.”

  “Only one person would try that.”

  “And we both know who that is.”

  Quickly retreating footsteps could be heard drifting away from them as Uncle Jeff felt around until he managed to flip the switch on the outside lights. Suddenly they were both bathed in brightness, nearly blinding him.

  They saw no one, but a red and yellow, five-gallon gas can sat next to the
barn. Eyes roaming the area, he didn’t see an intruder. “Do you think that’s just a warning? Put there by old man Levi to keep you on your toes?”

  “Could be,” Uncle Jeff said. “But he made a serious mistake if he did this.” They walked over and looked down at the can. Uncle Jeff tapped it with the toe of his boot. “Sounds full.”

  “Let me take it to the lab. We’ll run prints and find out who touched the can last. If it was Levi, I’ll bring him in for questioning.”

  “Sure, knock yourself out. But don’t worry too much about it. I can handle Levi Travis. He’s nothing but a blow-hard.”

  “Don’t be fooled by the man’s age. He’s done some pretty unscrupulous things in his life. Burning a barn is child’s play to him.”

  “Won’t be when I’m done with him.”

  “Listen to a good warning, don’t mess with this guy. Let the law handle it. I’ll make sure he doesn’t get away with anything. I would be proud to lock his ass behind bars, just like his son.”

  “Let’s hope he comes to his senses before it gets too serious.” Uncle Jeff glanced at him. “You know I have no patience for crap like this.”

  “I know, and I understand. That’s why I worried about you moving out here. Levi is going to be a lousy neighbor. This might just be a sample of how he wants this whole thing to play out.”

  “Again, he’s making a big mistake. I don’t play games. He might find his entire house ablaze with him and his son in it.”

  Sweat popped out of every pore on his body as Uncle Jeff turned and walked toward the barn. He glanced down at the gas can and wished his uncle had bought somewhere else. Anywhere but near the Travis’.

  Levi went into his home through the back door. He chuckled at the idea of that hotshot soldier seeing his welcoming card. He wanted him to know right off the bat that living in a place he wanted for his own hadn’t been a good move on Crawley’s part.

  The Patricks were to blame for all this. They adamantly refused to sell their property to him. He thought that unfair and unjust, but nobody listened to him. Said a man had a right to do as he pleased and, as long as the property hadn’t been listed publicly, there was nothing he could do.