by Alexa Davis
I let him help me from the truck so I didn’t embarrass myself in front of my dad’s guys, some of whom I’d known since before I could drive, but still looked at me like they wondered what I’d do for them if they made the right offer.
I climbed the steps and looked over my shoulder at the noisy metal cage of the elevator as it jerked to a stop at ground level and pictured Nell where she’d been when we found her. In the daylight, the familiarity of the steel and concrete was comforting, where the night before, it had been a terrifying and foreign obstacle course through the shifting half-light of the nighttime site lamps.
George caught up to me as I stared at the elevator. He touched the back of my hand lightly and pulled away before I could.
“Don’t worry, Cal. We’ll get this all tied up, and you’ll be back in the puppy lounge of the store before you know it. I know I messed up, but I’d still like to help you with your house, okay? Just call me, and I’ll do whatever you need. You know, my thank you to you for helping me.”
I gaped at him. I wanted to scream my frustration in his face hard enough to make him tumble back down the rickety metal stairs, but my stomach still did a quick happy flip. I couldn’t keep up with what I thought he was saying and what was going on his head. I bit my tongue and breathed, counting to ten.
“You know what, George? I would love that. Thanks for the offer.” I had no intention of following through, but what on earth could I say? Please, in the name of all that is holy, tell me if you love me or not, so I can stop wondering why I feel this way? I sighed and unlocked the door. Someday, I was going to get the man out of my head, and if I was lucky, then he wouldn’t take up so much of my bruised and banged-up heart.
15. George
When I saw the look on her face, I knew I’d messed up again. There was a universal expression women seemed to make when their men screwed up, and I’d seen it, clear as sunrise. A few minutes in to the sky-high stack of inventory sheets, I had an epiphany. I’d told the woman I loved, who was so happy when we made her home beautiful, that it needed work.
I was an idiot.
I spent the next hour or so barely even glancing at the paperwork as I tried to figure out a way to fix my blunder. I glanced over at the stack of papers I’d been adding to and my eyes were drawn to a field I hadn’t been paying attention to. I shuffled through almost half the pile before I felt sure enough to ask Callie what she thought.
“Cal, can you read this signature?” I handed her the top sheet from my stack.
“Um, well…well, it looks like it starts with an S. But, this is even less legible than my dad’s signature. Geez. Why, is it important?”
“I don’t really know. But, there are names I can account for, and two I can’t. I was having a hard time concentrating, and I noticed this signature.” I handed her more sheets. “Here it is again and here. Am I seeing this correctly?” She glanced at each page.
“Um, George, I don’t know if this makes things better, or worse, but I know every single one of these guys,” she said, shuffling papers in her hand, “but I have no idea who this signature could belong to. I say we change tacks and try to pull everything that has this signature from whatever papers they’re on and talk to my dad.”
She smiled at me like I’d handed her the moon. It took only a couple of hours after that to pull the paperwork with unfamiliar signatures. We put the rest of the paperwork to the side and Callie began copying what we had. My stomach growling prompted me to look at my phone.
“Hey, Cal? It’s past lunchtime, and the dogs need to go out. You want to grab a sandwich? I mean, I’m almost out of your hair, it couldn’t hurt, right?” Callie laughed and grabbed her oversized purse.
“I think I can stand a sandwich with you, George. Besides, you aren’t getting rid of me that easily. You and Xavier the wonder dog still have to pass your finals. Though, I must say,” she scratched behind his silky ears, “he’s doing beautifully. I hope you’re paying attention.” I chuckled and cupped his face in my hand.
“He’s a life-saver.” I looked at Callie and wondered what I could ever do to show her she was the one who truly saved my life. I watched the color rise in her cheeks and my smile grew. “I’m so hungry, Xavi’s starting to look like he might taste good. You ready?”
“Yeah, let me just grab all these papers, in case Dad wants to join us and take a look at them.” She slipped the thick folder into her tote bag and led the way to the door. I attached Xavi’s leash to his harness and locked the door behind us as we left. The job site was humming with life, and I watched orange-vested men in hardhats milling about like what they did was a carefully choreographed dance.
That was what I loved about the work that I did. Watching these men build something from nothing, each doing a job well that strengthened the whole, that was why I came back. I’d joined the military for the same reason.
I looked down the stairs at Callie and adjusted the one crutch I was still using. That cooperative effort was what made the Hargraves’ good together. We cared enough about the outcome to be there for each other, work together, and even set aside differences when necessary.
Callie had everything it took to put up with a Hargrave man. Her stiff spine and huge heart were the reasons she was so irresistible to me. Long after her slender body and beautiful face had aged and changed, she’d still be a spitfire with a heroic heart. Every time we both thought she was going to give up on me, she broke through the storm clouds with that smile and I knew I had another chance to make things right.
Her father had given me his blessing the day before, all that was left to do now was not blow the surprise and ask before the ring was ready. Well, not blow the surprise and not chase her the hell away from me forever. On a whim, I tossed Callie the keys to the truck.
“I thought it might be a good idea for me to talk to the only lawyer I know,” I explained when she raised her eyebrows at me. “Maybe his people can look at our results and help your dad out, too. Not that his own attorney isn’t good…”
“No, you’re fine. My dad’s attorney works for the same firm. Just make sure Tucker knows that.”
I texted Tuck and asked him to meet us. I didn’t wait for a response, but turned the phone to silent so we wouldn’t be interrupted and stuck it in my pocket.
Cal drove us to Shelly’s, where we met her dad and found a booth away from the most raucous noise of the lunch rush. Fortunately, “lunch rush” at Shelly’s was in large part the same group of locals that had been frequenting the dive bar since I was a kid. A quick hello from a few familiar faces, and we had the back corner to ourselves.
We had time to order a beer before Tuck walked through the door. He gave quick kiss to Mandy, daughter of the current matriarch of the bar, and then he sauntered over to sit with us. There were no introductions required around the table. We’d been like an extended family for so many years, it was only a matter of minutes before we were talking and laughing like we’d never been away from each other.
While we waited for our lunches to arrive, Callie pulled out the manila folder and laid it out on the table between us and the two men. Tuck looked at them first, but said from his perspective, nothing looked out of place. He handed the papers over to Tom, and Callie pointed out the signature line.
“Dad, can you tell me who that signature would even belong to? Because George and I couldn’t find a person whose signature would even start with those letters.” Tom rifled through page after page.
“Baby-doll, I have no idea who that is. I don’t even recognize the handwriting. But, the rest of this is all typed. It can’t be changed without going into the system, right?” He glanced at me and I shrugged.
“I have no idea, Tom. I work with my hands. Jackson is the computer brains of the family.” Tucker snapped his fingers and pointed at me.
“I have a feeling that if you know your way around computers, you could change these with a little effort to hide your tracks. But I am not that savvy. I think we should ask
Jackson. He’s just finished school for the term and is taking a couple months off before going back in the fall. Now would be the time to invite him to a barbeque and ask his advice.” I nodded my agreement.
“Yeah, Dad. I work with spreadsheets all the time, and our tracking program is just a spreadsheet program on a secured server. If it’s an employee doing it, they may be able to cover their tracks or use a dummy login. I agree that someone who knows computers needs to take a look at our system. Having Jackson do it gets us the best guy we know, and he can still do it on the sly, without making anyone suspicious.”
Tom clenched and unclenched his fists and shifted in his seat like it was hot to the touch. He’d built his business from the ground up, literally. I couldn’t imagine how he felt knowing someone was messing with his livelihood and his reputation. His brow was furrowed as he slammed the file closed.
“Should we do this on our own, or do we get the police involved?” he asked, looking at me.
“I don’t feel comfortable going to the police until we know for sure it’s not just me making wrong assumptions as I learn how to do this business stuff. I think we have Jackson look at the servers and if he can say that ‘yes, there is a problem,’ then we should absolutely get in touch with all the right authorities.”
I peeled at the label on my beer. “Because this goes back far enough, that if there was ever a problem with one of the other buildings, you could be open to lawsuits, and you don’t deserve that.”
Callie patted my knee, and Xavi reached up and touched my hand with his nose. I stopped peeling labels and scratched him behind the ear. We all picked at our food, everyone caught up in their own thoughts. I looked around at my crew. I pulled the file into my lap and thumbed through the pages again.
“I wonder how many people it would take to actually pull something like this off?” I wondered aloud.
“I would think it all depends on your resources, and if you were working with people you hired or friends.” Tom rubbed his jaw. “A man could do it alone, if he had time and the materials he was switching were manageable without help or special equipment.”
He jerked his thumb at the folder in my lap. “But, as it stands, you’re looking at a coordinated effort. I saw some mid-grade materials listed in the inventory for that high rise downtown. That buyer was specific about his desire for a high-end, storm-proof, earthquake-proof, hell, nuclear-war-proof building, and I charged him for it. If the materials were switched and someone pocketed the extra, then what’s in my building?”
I promised we’d get to the bottom of it as soon as possible and grabbed my phone. I turned it on and it lit up with alerts like I was the goddamn prom queen. I read the first two and grabbed Xavi’s leash as I stood.
“Tom, there’s been a fire. We have to get back to the site.” I grabbed my wallet, but Tucker threw some bills on the table and motioned us out. I looked back to see him speaking to Mandy, and hurried after Callie.
Tuck piled into the backseat of the cab as I was letting Xavi in, and Callie put the pedal to the floor to get back to the job site, where we’d left Slinky in the air-conditioned office. My hands shook as they clutched Xavier to my chest. We ran two red lights and nearly ended up going through the fence as she spun out on the gravel.
The trailer that housed the office was being doused in water as we skidded to a stop just inside the fence. Callie threw the truck into park and jumped down from the cab. She ran full out toward the office, but a firefighter stopped her and held her back.
I limped my way to her as she screamed and fought to get free of the hold he had on her. I reached out to another firefighter and yelled above the din, asking about Slinky. He pointed me toward a group of men sitting and standing around near a beat-up Ford truck. I tried to calm Callie down, but she was inconsolable, screaming and beating on my chest. It wasn’t until Xavi wedged himself between us that she sank to her knees and held him, sobbing into his neck.
“Callie. Goddamn it, Cal, listen to me!” I grabbed her face and forced her to look up at me. “Slinky is over there.” I pointed towards the truck, and saw one of the guys headed our way. “She got some smoke in her lungs, but they got her out. Let’s get her to the vet, okay?”
She let me help her to her feet and met the man in the middle of the yard. He spoke to her and gestured back at the guys still standing around, watching us, or watching the bed of the truck. Tucker joined me, and I let him know that we needed to take Slinky to the vet right away. Tom had just pulled into the parking area, so I left Tucker to support him and drove the truck over to where Callie was holding Slinky in her arms.
The guys helped us get both pup and girl into the truck, and I drove them straight to the emergency vet clinic, while she called ahead and warned them we were coming. We were met with a stretcher and oxygen for Slinky dog, and she and Cal were taken back into a room while I stayed behind to answer questions.
I didn’t know much, but I did my best to fill in the blanks for Slinky. They left me in the waiting area and I used the time to check in, first with my brother, then with my boss. Tom said the inspectors told him the fire had started outside, but a quick-thinking crane operator name Jim heard Slinky barking as he returned from his lunch break and kicked the door in.
He also said that there was both fire and water damage to the inside of the trailer and that much of the paperwork we’d had out all over the desk was destroyed. I thought about the copies Cal had made. Suddenly, her fear from the night before made perfect sense.
I knew she no longer wanted me to stay with her, but until we figured out what was happening, I didn’t want to let her out of my sight. I asked the vet’s assistant if Xavi and I could join her, and with a treat for my guy, we were escorted back to an exam room, where little Slinky was still on oxygen. Callie reported that her prognosis was good, so I left them in the care of the vet and her assistants, and drove back to the job site.
Black smoke still smudged the sky in the distance where I knew the job site to be. As I got closer, the acrid smell of it coated my nostrils and throat. I pulled up through the chain link fence and parked next to Tom’s Chevy. The fire marshal was talking to my brother and my boss when I walked up.
“Hey, George, how you doing?” Steve shook my hand and fell back to include me in the circle while he spoke.
“I was just letting Tom and Tucker know that we’ll get back to him with lab results as soon as we can, but the preliminary report is exactly what everyone expected. There was some sort of accelerant used, and the fire started near the back of the trailer. Given the door was locked when it was broken down, and the window was shattered into the trailer, versus out, like you’d expect from combustion inside, I feel safe suggesting something like a Molotov cocktail thrown through the window.”
An Austin PD uniformed officer sauntered over while we were talking. He informed Tom that they were already canvassing for witnesses and asked if he could think of anyone who benefitted or was angry enough to commit a crime against Drake Construction.
Tom couldn’t think of anyone, and even if we all suspected there was a thief in our crew, we had nothing to present to the officer. Tom couldn’t think of any person to name, and I had been back such a short time, I had no information to add.
I asked the officer if the harm caused to Slinky would be part of the investigation and charges. He glanced at Tom and my brother and made a noncommittal noise. I explained that Callie would be asking again, as many times as needed to get the answer she wanted, and left it at that.
Instead, I asked if it was safe for me to look around inside yet. The marshal said we could, and I handed Xavi’s leash to Tucker, who hung back to keep talking to the cops.
Tom and the fire marshal accompanied me, and together, we approached the burnt-out shell of the office. It no longer smoked, but the heavy taste of metal and fried electrical wires and seared upholstery assaulted me. These were smells I recognized. I ducked my head as I edged through the door and put my back to the wa
ll so I could face the single window and the door at the same time. My hands shook, and I wished I had Xavi by my side.
My mouth was coated in fear and bad memories. I was backed into a corner of the trailer, but I was seeing the dust and stone of a desert city. My heart pounded in my ears and I blinked fast, trying to peel back the layer of Middle East that had invaded my reality.
A dull, roaring sound got louder and louder until it washed over me like the sandstorms on Bagram Airbase. I felt a tug at my sleeve and swung out with my fist, expecting to connect with flesh. Instead, my fist slammed into the charred remains of the particle board bookshelf that had stood there. In the distance, I heard Tom shout my name, and the crumbled pressboard that stuck to my hands helped tear down the curtain of the past that I’d draped over the present.
I brushed the chips of wood from the side of my hand, where they left impressions like teeth printed on me. I stared at the floor, the corners of the room, anything to avoid meeting Tom’s eyes, but he grabbed my shoulder and forced me to face him.
“George. Are you back?” I nodded and so did he. “Okay, then, you can listen to me. You are in Austin. You’re with your family, and we are here for you.”
He leaned in close and lowered his voice. “I get it, Sergeant. I can’t tell you how many nights I slept in the corner, or worse, didn’t sleep at all. I did my time during the Gulf War, remember?”
“It’s sort of fresh in my head still, sir.” I managed to rasp out a reply, but my hands were shaking worse than ever, and my tongue was swollen to the roof of my mouth.
“Yeah, I know, son. I know why you and Callie are having trouble, why you can’t commit.” He put my arm over his shoulder and we walked out together, where I was immediately attacked by Xavi.
“He sure was pulling at that leash, George. Good to know somebody likes you.” Tucker laughed as I got my face nearly licked off. Tom bent down and scratched Xavi behind the ears.
“Don’t make my mistakes, George. I didn’t trust my wife to understand or even stay with me. Then, I was the one to step out, and I almost lost everything. If you want Callie, you best be all in. There are some things she won’t forgive.” He patted my shoulder and stepped away to give me and Xavi a little time.