Holding On

by Jill Sanders

  “Tony…” Suddenly his worry turned to anger. “Someone attacked her?”

  “We don’t know yet. She thinks she slipped. The tile was wet. She hit her head on the bottom shelf in the closet, knocked it clear off the wall.” Trent added, “The shelf, not her head.” He shook his head. “But she mentioned something on the trip here about the door being unlocked and hearing a sound. She doesn’t remember anything else.”

  Trey walked towards the receptionist.

  “She’s in room five,” Trent called after him.

  He swung past the woman behind the desk and made his way down the hallway.

  The clinic wasn’t large but big enough for the town’s basic medical needs. Surgeries and X-rays were in a separate building across the parking lot.

  When he got to the door, he could hear Dylan talking to Tony, answering his questions.

  “I thought I heard something, but… I’m not sure. It could have been…” She stopped talking when she noticed him in the doorway. “Trey?”

  “How are you feeling?” he asked, moving towards her.

  “Like I hit my head on a thick wood shelf,” she tried to joke. She was pale and lying on the gurney. Thick sheets covered her, but he could see the dried blood on her clothes.

  He moved over and noticed the white bandage on the back of her head. “Heard you got a few stitches?”

  “Three.” She nodded, and he could see the pain in her eyes.

  “Did they give you something for the pain?” he asked.

  “Yes, I took something a few minutes ago.”

  “Ms. McCaw, if you think of anything else, give me a call,” Tony broke in.

  “Have you checked out the office to see if anything’s out of place?” Trey turned to Tony.

  “Dale and Mike are over there now. I hope you feel better.” Tony tipped his hat before walking out, leaving them alone.

  When Dylan patted the side of the bed next to her, he sat down, and she took his hands into hers.

  “I’m okay.” She met his eyes. “You look scared to death.” She smiled. “It’s a bump on the head.”

  “It could have been worse. I should have been there.” His mind had run through a million different scenarios while he waited for his mother and on the trip into town.

  “I’m okay,” she repeated. “I didn’t mean to scare everyone.”

  He sighed. “What happened?”

  He listened to her story of how she arrived back to the office and found the front door open. After that, she didn’t remember everything. She thought she’d heard a noise, but she couldn’t remember if it was from an office or the supply room. She had woken in a pool of blood when she’d heard Trent’s voice.

  “It’s my fault. I must have forgotten to lock up. I know I forgot to set the alarm. Your uncle… he made me nervous.”

  “Carl? He was there?” he asked. Upon seeing her look, he jumped in. “Hey.” He squeezed her hand. “It’s not your fault. We shouldn’t have to always punch in the alarm code.”

  “Are they going to keep me here overnight?” she asked him.

  “I don’t think so.” He glanced towards the door, wanting to talk to the doctor himself. “I’ll go check.”

  Less than five minutes later, he walked back into her room. “You’re all set to go home. They want someone to keep an eye on you tonight. Addy has agreed to stay with you if it’s okay with you.”

  “Sure.” She sat up, then groaned when she noticed her shirt, which was covered in dried blood.

  “I’ll buy you a new one,” he promised, helping her up.

  After checking her out of the clinic, he helped her into Addy’s Jeep and climbed into the back seat.

  “You’re coming too?” she asked.

  “I’m sticking by your side. There is plenty of room at your place. Besides, I promised to cook dinner for you.” He smiled.

  “Oh, are you going to make your spaghetti?” Addy asked, sounding excited.

  “Third wheel,” he tossed to Addy, who only smiled back at him. “I’ll make the garlic bread.” She wiggled her eyebrows. “And I can have Trent pick up a pie or cake on his way over.”

  Trey groaned as his date night turned into yet another family dinner.

  Dylan glanced back at him with a smile. “We can postpone our dinner until next week when we’re both feeling better.”

  “Promise?” he asked, feeling a little better that she understood. Her smile was her answer.

  As far as dinners went, he couldn’t complain much. He hadn’t enjoyed time with Trent and Abby, outside of the presence of the rest of his family, since they’d gotten married.

  Seeing the pair together was simply amazing. He’d grown up with Addy and had had some classes with her. She’d been the silent nerdy type, much like he imagined Dylan had been. The pair of them got along wonderfully. They chatted over the spaghetti dinner about classes, and which ones Dylan was going to take next.

  He had to admit, he was feeling a little undereducated after listening to the pair of them talk. Maybe he should take a few classes himself. Running his father’s business wasn’t what he’d imagined doing growing up, but with the direction they were taking McGowan Enterprises, it wouldn’t hurt him to sign up for a few online classes.

  They sat around the living room and ate chocolate cake with raspberry sorbet, one of his brother’s favorites.

  Trent and Addy were snuggled together on the sofa, while Dylan was leaning back in the recliner, close to the fireplace. Trent had brought Dopey over to stay the night, and his own dog, Happy, was curled up to its sibling next to the fire.

  “So,” Addy finally said once Trey had cleared all the dessert dishes, “who do you think it was?”

  The room was silent.

  “It could have been Darla. After all, it’s all around town what you said to her at the Moose,” Trent pointed out.

  “She doesn’t have a key to the office. How did she get in?” Addy asked.

  “Carl,” Dylan said softly.

  “What?” Everyone turned towards her.

  Her eyes scanned his. “He stopped by before I locked up for lunch.”

  “What did he want?” Trent asked.

  Dylan shook her head slightly. “Nothing, he… just made a comment about my job title. I ushered him out, locked up and…”

  “You’re sure you locked up?” Trent asked.

  “Yes, I locked both locks. I did forget to set the alarm, but I remember locking up.”

  “Did you test the door after?” his brother asked.

  Dylan frowned. “No, why?”

  Trent sighed. “The only thing our dear uncle taught us was how to open a locked door.”

  “How?” Dylan frowned.

  “You don’t,” Trey answered, his eyes turning to hers. “You waltz in before they lock up when the door is unlocked and slide a piece of duct tape over the holes. That way when someone locks it, the bolts won’t engage.”

  “It’s an old trick. One I thought our locks were impervious to.” Trent stood up and pulled out his cell phone and stepped into the kitchen.

  “I…” She looked at him. “I should have checked.”

  He shook his head and moved over to her. “You didn’t know. He showed us a few other tricks—how to break into cars, figure out the code to our father’s safe, those kinds of things.” He sighed. “Great influence,” he added sarcastically.

  “Tyler’s heading back down there to check. He was sure he tested the door once he locked up, and he set the alarm, but he’ll look for tape marks on the doorjamb.”

  They all sat around in silence until Trent’s phone rang a few minutes later.

  “Okay, thanks.” He hung up.

  “Well?” Trey asked.

  “No sign of tape, but he’s down there putting in a new camera. The front door one didn’t catch anything, there was a gap.”

  “Gap?” Trey asked. “What gap? I installed those cameras myself.”

  “The wind must have turned it so that
it was pointed at the parking lot, instead of the door.”

  “Bull…” He glanced towards the ladies. “Sorry,”

  “I think I’m going to head up and take a bath.” Dylan rose from the chair.

  “Are you feeling okay?” he asked, worried.

  “Yes, but I think it will help relax me some.” She glanced around. “Thank you, everyone, for everything.”

  Trent nodded. “I’d better get going myself. I’ve got an early morning.” He leaned in and kissed Addy. “See you in the morning.”

  “Night.” Addy held onto Trent a little. “Call me,” she told him.

  “I will.” Trent smiled wickedly at his wife.

  “Eww.” He rolled his eyes. “Phone sex hints.”

  Addy chuckled. “You’re just jealous.” She pushed him and walked with Trent towards the back door.

  He turned to Dylan. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  She smiled. “If you’re waiting for me to ask you to come take a bath with me…” She paused and moved closer to him. “You’re out of luck tonight, buddy,” she added as she strolled by him.

  “Shot down, he crashes and burns,” Addy joked as she walked back into the room. “You can help me do the dishes.” She turned to him as he watched Dylan disappear up the stairs.

  This was not how he’d planned the night ending, but still, he enjoyed his sister-in-law’s company as they cleaned up.

  He wasn’t looking forward to sleeping on the sofa, but Addy was taking the guest room. Still, it was a comfort knowing he was there if she needed him. Plus, he wanted to keep a close eye on her. He was pretty sure someone had moved the front door camera and had attacked her. Which pissed him off.

  Thoughts of installing more cameras crossed his mind as he lay there in the dark, listening to Dopey snore at his feet.

  He heard a floorboard creak and jumped up, only to see Dylan standing at the base of the stairs.

  “Sorry, I needed some water to take these.” She held up the bottle of pills she’d gotten from the clinic. “I didn’t mean to wake you.”

  “You didn’t.” He moved into the kitchen with her, grabbed a glass, and filled it for her. “Feeling any better?”

  “Much.” She swallowed the pills. “I’m sorry for scaring everyone.”

  “You didn’t.” He nodded out the window towards the garage. “I haven’t seen your brother yet.”

  “He… I talked to him earlier. I told him not to worry.”

  “Doesn’t mean he shouldn’t have checked in on you.”

  He noticed her frown and placed his hands on her shoulders lightly. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to…”

  She shook her head. “No, you’re right.” She sighed. “Things are… strained between us. They have been since… for a while.” She glanced out the window and he wondered if he could ruin the night any further.

  Chapter 13

  Talking to Trey came naturally. They sat up until almost midnight, talking about family troubles. From her perspective, the McGowans were perfect. Even as Trey filled her in on past problems, she couldn’t imagine the family being anything but poster children for Leave it to Beaver.

  She climbed the stairs almost two hours after she’d gone down for a glass of water. Somehow, she was more relaxed than when she’d descended the stairs. She fell asleep instantly instead of replaying what had happened to her over and over again, which she’d been doing ever since she’d woken up on the floor of the supply closet.

  When she woke the next morning, her head felt like it was about to explode.

  She groaned as she climbed out of bed. Showering helped, but when she tried to wash her hair, her fingers brushed the bandages.

  Dressing in comfortable slacks and a thick sweater, she applied her makeup and tried to do something with her hair that would hide the bandages.

  She walked downstairs to the smell of pancakes. Addy was standing at the stove, and Trent and Trey were setting the table.

  “I think I could get use to this,” she said, sitting in the chair Trey pulled out for her.

  “Too bad, I miss my husband too much,” Addy joked, setting a plate of pancakes in front of her.

  Much like the night before, the four of them sat down to the meal and talked. It was nice, pretending to be part of a family, even though she knew it wouldn’t last long.

  When her brother walked into the house, Darla hanging off his arm, all the happiness was sucked out of the house and out of her.

  “Brent.” She stood up. “We’ve talked about this…” She took her brother’s arm, but he jerked free and walked past her.

  “I figured since you had company over, I could have my own.” His eyes narrowed at her.

  They had both agreed to keep his company contained to the garage.

  “Don’t worry, we’ve got to get going.” Trent stood up and took Addy’s arm.

  She glanced down at her watch and hissed. “We’re late.”

  Trey frowned down at his own watch, then picked up his dish and carried it to the dishwasher, like Trent and Addy had done.

  “Don’t worry, I’ll clean this all up, later.” She glanced towards Darla, who had made herself comfortable at the kitchen table. Even though all the food was gone, she appeared to be waiting to be served.

  “Brent.” She gripped her brother’s arm. “Aren’t you going to be late for work, too?”

  Brent shrugged. “If the bosses can be late…”

  Her eyes narrowed, and she lowered her voice. “Go, now. Get her out of here.”

  Her brother’s eyes narrowed. “We’ll leave after we have some food.”

  “Ready?” Addy said, cheerfully.

  Grabbing her purse and jacket, she followed the rest of them out of the house.

  “Wow talk about leaving a sinking ship,” Addy said after getting in her Jeep.

  Trey and Trent had jumped in Trent’s truck and were following them to the office before Trent had to go to his meeting.

  “I can’t believe Brent is seeing her.” She closed her eyes and rested her head back, then hissed when she bumped her stitches.

  “Men. Some of them think with their lower brains.” Addy rolled her eyes.

  Dylan chuckled. “Thank god none of the McGowans are dumb enough to fall for that.”

  “Oh, there was a time when Tyler and Darla were an item. Long ago,” she added.

  “Tyler?” Dylan cringed.

  “Back in school, back when Darla and I were friends.”

  “I just can’t see either of those two scenarios.” She smiled over at Addy. “You’re too smart and Tyler is so in love with Kristen.”

  Addy chuckled. “I hear they couldn’t stand each other when they met.”

  “Really?” She leaned in and listened to Addy tell the story as they drove towards her work.

  When they arrived, the three McGowan men were standing at the front doors.

  “What’s all this?” she asked, stopping by Trey.

  “New security system. I installed it last night.” Tyler pointed up to the new camera next to the old one. “There’s a new keypad too.” He moved inside. “It alerts anytime the door is opened and locks via a phone app.” He pulled out his cell phone. “Everyone will have to download it.”

  For the next half hour, she learned the new system. It was really cool being able to see on her phone if the system was on and which doors were open. She also liked setting the alarm remotely.

  By the time she sat behind her desk, she was feeling more relaxed about being alone in the space again, but all three of the brothers had changed their schedules around so that they were sitting behind their desks for the rest of the day. Tyler and Trent had canceled their important meeting, just for her.

  After the workday, she drove herself home in the borrowed company car. She’d been thinking about buying a used car herself. Maybe a Jeep like Addy’s. She seemed to like hers and talked about how nice it was to be able to get around after a snowstorm.

  She had, with Trey’s
help, signed up for her new classes and was as prepared as she could be for her final that evening.

  She took a hot shower to clear her mind from work before logging into the laptop to take her test. When her brother walked into the house with Darla hanging on his arm, she groaned and wondered what it would be like to be an only child.

  Deciding not to fight with him, she gathered her things, went upstairs, and locked herself in her room. She wasn’t surprised when, half an hour later, loud music was playing downstairs.

  She tried to block out the noise as she focused on the test, but part of her knew her score would be lower due to the incident.

  Slamming her laptop shut, she marched downstairs to find Darla bouncing up and down on her brother’s lap, her shirt around her waist and her ample chest smacking her brother in the face.

  “Oh my god!” she cried out, covering her eyes. “What the hell?” She stomped her foot. “You have your own place to do that in.”

  She wasn’t surprised to hear Darla giggle. Actually, she wouldn’t have put it past the woman to have planned it this way.

  “Hell, haven’t you heard of knocking?” Brent joked dryly.

  “Get the hell out!” She pointed towards the door, keeping her eyes shut. “And don’t come back!”

  She heard them moving around and wagered it was safe to look again. Darla had just thrown her jacket over her chest and left it open enough that Dylan could still see her belly button.

  “Out!” She stomped her foot again, wondering if she’d ever get the image out of her mind.

  “I pay rent here too, you know,” Brent started.

  “You pay half of what I pay, which gives you full access to the garage apartment, not the main house,” she replied. It was an argument they’d had in the past a few times. She’d set it up that way on purpose after catching Darla coming down the stairs that first time. There was no way she wanted that woman to have access to the rest of the place, so she could do what she’d just seen her doing.

  “Listen,” Brent started, but Darla was pulling him towards the door.

  “Come on, sugar, let’s go finish our party.” Darla gave her a strange look, then winked at her.