by Rivi Jacks
Still.
I crawl up into bed, pull off my boots, and drag the comforter over me. I close my eyes, shutting out the hurt and pain.
Sunlight coming through my bedroom window wakes me. Reaching above my head, I stretch from my fingertips down to my toes.
I take my shower and let the hot water beat against my back, releasing any tension still lurking. I dress in sweats and an old T-shirt Ben gave me from a Rolling Stones concert he’d attended in college. The need for coffee drives me to the kitchen, and as I come through the doorway, I stop abruptly. Sitting at the kitchen table are Diane, Emma Rae, Sam, and Jake. Sawyer sits on top of the cookstove. I narrow my eyes at him and consider turning the fire on under his butt.
“I’m not the stoolie!” He raises his hands in the universal sign of surrender.
“Nick called me after you left,” Jake admits, standing so I can sit.
“How upfront of him.” I move to the coffeemaker. Emma Rae gets the cream for me. I give her a meaningful glare. I sit at the table with my coffee. “Okay. You’re all here for a reason. Let’s get this over with.”
Emma Rae doesn’t need asking twice. “I wasn’t trying to keep anything from you, Sofe. I’d just worked it out myself.”
“You had the perfect opportunity to tell me last night. You chose not to.”
“Sofie, sometimes the messenger gets shot! I asked you those questions, and based on what you told me—”
“You should have told me.” I glare at her.
“I realize that now! Yesterday, I told Nick I knew about him and Bobbi. I told him if he didn’t ’fess up, I would tell you,” she insists.
“You did?”
“Yes, but I made up my mind I’d tell you anyway. That’s why I asked you to go with me to Murphy’s. Based on what you said, I decided to let Nick confess. I swear, I would have told you if I’d had an inkling of what would happen last night.” I am so happy she didn’t betray me. I stand and give her a hug. “You and Di are my sisters. I would never betray either of you.” Her voice catches.
I wish I could say I’m okay, but I still have a heavy heart. “I know why Jake and Emma Rae are here. Why are the rest of you?” Please, don’t let anyone else have a part in this.
“The rest of us are here for support,” Diane reassures me, taking my hand.
“Thank you.” I squeeze her hand.
“Support for you,” she reiterates and gives Jake’s back a disgusted look. I chew my bottom lip.
“Do you want us to give you some privacy with Jake?” Sam asks. I’m grateful for his sensitivity.
Jake turns as the others file out of the room. “I didn’t tell you because... he’s crazy about you. I think he truly loves you. Bobbi—”
“Means nothing to him. Oh, he stated plainly he just uses her for sex,” I tell him.
“I’m ashamed he treats her that way, and then tells you.” Jake is clearly embarrassed. “I trusted him not to hurt you. Nick’s my best friend. I liked the idea of you two together.”
“Jake, I... there was never a future for me and Nick. I mean, nothing permanent. I enjoyed his company, but we would never have anything serious.”
“Then why are you letting this hurt you?”
“I’m not mourning Nick. I’ve already settled my feelings on him. Although I do feel a fool, and the fact you chose Nick’s happiness over mine is... it feels equal to a betrayal, Jake. That’s what hurts.” I try not to cry, but a tear or two sneaks out. I never imagined Jake would hurt me this way.
“I am so sorry, Sofie, beyond anything I can say.” His remorse pulls at my heart. “Please forgive me.”
“Jake, I’ll always forgive you. You’re my family.” I swallow my tears. “All the same, I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t pissed at you right now.”
I leave him standing in the kitchen as I go back to my bedroom, shutting the door behind me. I sit on the edge of the bed, sure that my heart aches.
I dread going in on Monday and having to work with Bobbi, but I get a reprieve. She called in sick. I’m not sure why I feel guilty about that, but I do.
Several of the customers are obviously dying to ask about my breakup. I have no illusions that most of the town isn’t already aware of all the tawdry details. A couple people actually have the ill manners to come right out and ask. I finally stay back in the kitchen and focus on preparing the next day’s lunch special.
After my shift ends, I decide to tell Murphy. I reason he needs to know since Bobbi and I work together. Murphy’s office is right off the kitchen, and I knock on the door before opening it. He glances up from the ledger he’s working on.
“Hey, Murph, got a minute?”
“For you... always.”
I tell him everything, leaving nothing out, even though I’m extremely ashamed to admit what I did to Bobbi.
“Well, I appreciate that you told me.” He leans back, looking up at the ceiling—Murphy’s way of studying an idea. “I think it might be good if you two don’t work together for a while. I’ll figure something out on the scheduling.”
I chew on my bottom lip, trying to keep my composure. I hope he doesn’t say anything more. God bless Murphy; he doesn’t.
I get out of fixing a meal that evening because Jake is going over to Jordanna and Billy’s. Jordy called early that morning to talk with him and tell him she expected to see him for supper. If I were ten years old, I probably would have said, “You’re gonna get it!” in a singsong voice. But I’m not ten, and part of me just wants everyone to stay out of it.
I meet up with Diane and Emma Rae at the Shotgun Shack early. We decide to do some stretches and have a little exercise time. Sawyer and Logan stop in during our workout on their way somewhere—which I think sounds cryptic. After telling us how hot and sweaty we look, they leave.
“What was that all about?” Diane asks.
“I’m not sure, but I think Sawyer wants us to know they’re up to something we might find interesting,” I say. The three of us stare at the door as if it will tell us.
“I bet they’re having a meeting with others about the Kihn,” Emma Rae says.
“What others?” Diane asks.
“Santiago’s men,” I announce.
“Why would they have a meeting before the meeting tomorrow night?” Di asks.
“Probably strategizing ways to keep us out,” I murmur.
“Want to follow them?” Emma Rae asks.
“They’re already gone,” Diane points out.
I think for a moment before calling the person who would know where the meeting is if there is a meeting.
“What?” They both ask as I end the call.
“They’re at the old Mitchell place,” I reveal. “Let’s go, and I’ll tell you what Sam told me on the way.”
The Mitchells were longtime friends of my grandparents, and I’d visited them in their home many times. After Gram and Gramps died, the Mitchells moved to a retirement community to be closer to their grandchildren. Since they’d left, their house had been closed up.
The night the McNish went missing, Nick and I had picked Taylor up from the old Mitchell place. I’d forgotten about that in the excitement. I remembered the tall iron gates across the driveway. Sam told me the mysterious Santiago now owned the home. He’d done extensive remodeling to the house and built an enormous building on the property.
We drive past Diane’s, staying to the left when the road forks and leads us toward the river. At the point I think we’ve reached the Mitchells’ property line, a security fence about twelve feet high begins. It has razor wire on top, and the fence runs all the way to the gates and beyond. As we near the gates, I slow the Jeep, hoping to glimpse something inside. A small building is on the other side of the fence and a light is on inside, not giving us much. We drive past, following the road and the fence down to the river. I turn the Jeep around, drive slowly past the gates, and stop where the property line and fence start at the top of the hill. I pull the Jeep to the side of the road.<
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“Why didn’t you stop at the gates?” Diane asks.
Emma Rae glances at her. “So they could announce us?”
“And turn us away,” I add.
“Oh,” Diane replies.
Emma Rae and I look out the window at the intimidating fence.
“That’s some keep away type of fencing,” Emma Rae observes. “Did you catch the no trespassing signs?”
“Yeah, I did.” I’d played in these woods many times with my family and several of the local boys as a kid. However, Gramps showed me something and, to my knowledge, the boys never figured it out. “I have an idea.” I open the door and reach in the side pocket for my flashlight.
“What are you doing?” Diane cries.
“If I’m not back here in” —I look toward the woods— “thirty... no, forty minutes, or if you see any sign of activity, leave. Go to your house, Diane, and I’ll get there as soon as I can.”
“Sofie, no! You don’t know what’s in there!” Diane cries.
“She’s right, Sofe. There might be tigers or bears behind that fence,” Emma Rae adds.
I gape at her. Tigers or bears? I study the top of the fence. “No, this fence is for keeping things out.”
“Which I’m sure includes you,” Diane says. “Sofie, we’re not kids anymore to go running through the woods trying to keep up with the boys!” I’m already heading toward the fence. “Get back in this car, right now!” Diane demands.
I wish I’d worn boots instead of my Converse. The sneakers will be good for climbing trees, but the boots are better for traipsing over rough terrain and through soggy woods. We’ve had a typical Ozark weather change, and the last two days have warmed, melting most of the snow and leaving the ground muddy and mucky. In this part of the Ozarks, the weather varies from one holler to the next.
“Sofie!” Diane hisses through the dark.
I jog along the fence. Luckily, the ground is clear of brush and scrub on either side. After several minutes, I come to the old, majestic oak tree. I’m glad it still stands outside the fence. I shine the flashlight about, looking for the large oak well inside the fence. They’ve built this new, highfalutin security fence in the same spot the old barbed wire one once stood. They cut down or trimmed most of the trees, but I know which one to climb to get across. We played war in these woods as kids, and the boys never figured out my hiding place or how I got past their patrols.
I flash the light up into the tree limbs, but I can’t tell what I need to know. I’m just going to have to climb and check it out. I stash the flashlight in my jacket pocket to free my hands. Lucky for me, there are still tree limbs within my reach. I’m up the tree and in the first level of limbs lickety-split. I take a moment to rub my hand over the bark, ever fanciful in my notion that I might be touching the same spot my grandpa had touched as a boy. My sappy moment over, I clamber around until I get to the limb I want. It’s slower going than I expected, but not too shabby for someone who hasn’t been in a tree in a few years. And in the dark no less! Thank goodness for the full moon. I take the flashlight out of my pocket, hang on to the nearest limb, and shine the light out over the tree. I come near to losing my grip, and drop the flashlight in the process, but I’ve seen enough.
Okay, time to decide if I go on or not. My tree climbing has taken longer than I planned, and if Diane and Emma Rae leave, I’ll have to make it to Diane’s house on foot. Decision made; I only need to take a few steps out across the large limb with nothing to hold on to until I reach a limb of the other tree. Then I can grab hold and finish walking across.
Piece of cake.
Yeah right. This height seems a whole hell of a lot scarier now than when I was twelve. I walk across and finally reach the tree trunk of the old oak inside the fence. I go down, just not as graceful as I’d hoped. I have skinned hands and have even managed to scrape my stomach.
Finding the flashlight takes a few minutes. I don’t want to leave any evidence behind, and I might need some light before I get out of here. I move through the woods toward where I think the house is located. Almost immediately, I’m aware of movement to my right. I turn the flashlight on and scan in the direction the noise comes from. All I spot is rustling in the brush a few yards away. My body freezes as I think about tigers and bears. Damn Emma Rae!
I take a deep breath. Okay, I need to move. I take a few tentative steps, and when I don’t notice anything moving with me, I pick up my pace. Before long, whatever is out here decides to keep up with me. Without stopping, I swing the light to my right and find two glowing eyes.
I screech like a little girl and take off tearing through the woods. I don’t care that briars snag and low-hanging branches scratch. My foot catches an exposed root, and I hit the ground hard as the flashlight sails through the air. I roll into a ball, covering my head with my arms. If I could draw breath, I would scream because I hear something moving through the brush, coming closer.
CHAPTER TEN
The next sound near me is a sniffing, snuffling noise. When it stops, the only sound I hear is my heart pounding. I carefully move my arms from the front of my face. What I see astounds me.
Sitting and looking intently at me is my wolf. Well, the wolf I’ve seen twice, and one of those times, he saved my life. With caution, I sit up. When the wolf doesn’t react, I stand. “You scared the shit out of me!” I tell him. He cocks his head, his eyes alert, watching me.
I take a couple of steps to check the results of my fall. By the time I get out of here, I’ll look and feel as if someone has dragged me through the woods. I’ve just about decided to turn back when outside lights light up the area. No doubt someone’s heard my none-too-elegant romp through the woods.
The wolf barks to get my attention before taking off the way we came. I follow him, trying to keep up. He evidently thinks it necessary to hurry, and I do my best. He stays just far enough ahead so I can still see him. In fact, he takes me back a less congested way.
About the time the tree comes into sight, my foot sinks in some mud. My left sneaker is sucked right off my foot, but I just keep on running. I reach the tree and scale it much faster than I came down. When I reach the first level of limbs, I look down at the wolf. “Thank you. Now go!” And he does.
I practically fall down the tree in my hurried descent. I run to the Jeep and smack the door, causing Diane and Emma Rae to yelp. I climb in, and we skedaddle.
We head to Diane’s, she’s mad enough she won’t speak. Emma Rae and I talk for a few minutes after Diane goes into the house.
“That was like old times,” Emma Rae says. I give a strangled laugh. “How are you going to explain your one shoe if Jake sees you?”
“I’m not sure.”
“Well, that was fun. Let’s do it again sometime,” she jokes.
Luckily, I get home before Jake. Diane calls to apologize for being so mad and I am never, never to do that again.
Now, if I just had my shoe—and my flashlight.
The phone rings in the wee hours. I try to ignore it, hoping Jake will answer. After what seems to be dozens of rings, I fumble around until I find the phone. “What?” I croak.
“Are you asleep?” Sawyer’s voice holds amusement.
“Ha, ha. What time is it?” I ask him, crawling out of my warm bed to hurry to the bathroom.
“A little after two.”
“Ugh!” I cover the phone so he won’t hear me pee.
“We had some excitement at the meeting tonight.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, they had an intruder,” Sawyer says.
“Huh.”
“What did you do tonight?”
“Not much.” I crawl back in bed and burrow under the covers. “Spent a little time out in the woods, traipsing about.”
He laughs. “I knew it was you!”
“Hey, did you know they have a wolf in there?”
“No! You didn’t get bit, did you?”
“Huh-uh. It was the same wolf that saved my butt a
t the McNish.”
“What?”
“Uh-huh, and he helped me tonight.” I sound smug.
“You’re making this up.” he accuses.
“Huh-uh, honest.”
“Shit!”
“Yeah.”
“I should’ve hung with you.”
“You’ll learn.” I can’t hold back my yawn. “What happened tonight?”
“Way too much to tell you on the phone. They’ve got a bunch of archery supplies, and we start training Saturday.”
“You already hunt with a bow. What’re you going to learn?”
“How to hunt Kihn with a bow, but I’ll fill you in later. We’re going to the Shotgun Shack before the meeting tomorrow, or I guess it’s tonight now.”
“What for?”
“To organize, make sure we come across as if we know what’s going on.” I giggle. “Gotta catch some zzzs. Talk to you tomorrow, cuz.”
“Night.” I roll over, snuggle down, and I’m soon back asleep.
The next morning at work is unusually slow, even for a Tuesday. I’m bent down under the customer order counter, digging through the cabinet for some pictures Murphy took, when I hear something thud on the tiled top. I stand and see Lucas on the other side of the counter. The shoe I lost the previous night is lying on the counter where he’s dropped it.
“I believe this belongs to you,” he says.
I swallow, looking from the shoe to his cold, hard, silver gaze. I notice a muscle twitching on the side of his jaw. “No,” I croak, shaking my head.
He raises one of those black arched brows. “No?”
My mouth goes dry. “No.” I repeat, with a whisper.
He gives me a long look. “Come now, Cinderella, I bet if you place that delicate little foot of yours up here—this shoe will fit perfectly.” His eyes glitter as he gives me a wicked once over. He’s wearing a black, thermal-type Henley shirt and leather jacket with black jeans. He looks—mouthwatering. I have a sudden vision of him down on one knee with my foot in his large hand as the other slips my shoe on.