Holding On

by Jill Sanders

  “Dylan.” He turned her until she faced him. “There’s been some crazy stuff going on in the past year or so. Mark my words, if you’re getting calls, it won’t end there. We have to deal with this, now.”

  She sighed and asked, “What do you suggest?”

  “I’ll give Tony a call, see if he can stop by and take a statement. He might be able to do something we can’t to track the call.”

  She nodded. “I’ll call Tony. You’ve got a meeting with a supplier starting…”—she glanced down at her watch—“five minutes ago.” She motioned for him to go.

  “Tyler’s probably already on it.” He glanced down the hallway. “Call, I’ll be quick.” He leaned in and kissed her, then rushed down to join the call.

  By the end of the day, she had instructions on how to handle the calls and had filed a police report.

  When she drove home, she was exhausted and wanted a hot shower and her bed. But then she remembered Trey was coming over. Her bed would have to wait.

  She showered, pulled on some comfortable clothes, and lit a fire. Even though the sun had been out all day, they were a few months away from warmer nights.

  There was a knock on the back door, and she smiled as she opened it.

  * * *

  Trey could tell immediately that Dylan was tired. Feeling bad, he stepped in.

  “You’re tired.” He frowned.

  She chuckled. “For good reason. Someone kept me up most of last night.” She leaned up on her toes and kissed him.

  “For good reason.” He smiled. “This can wait.”

  “Trey, you’re here, what’s up?” He followed her into the living room.

  “I brought Chinese.” He held up the bag with the takeout.

  “Good. Sit, eat, talk.” She motioned to the sofa.

  He tried to keep the conversation light as they ate. Still, he felt a little nervous about what he had to ask her. It wasn’t every day you made a decision this big that would change the course of your life.

  When her box of rice noodles and beef and broccoli was half empty, she motioned with her chopsticks. “So, what’s up?”

  He set his own food down and jumped in with both feet. “I want you to help me pick a couple classes to sign up for. I’m not good at that sort of thing… school.” He rolled his eyes. “And, with my workload, I’ll need something light, to begin with.” He took a deep breath.

  “Trey.” She stopped him from rambling. “Of course, I can. Let me go up and grab my laptop.” She smiled at him reassuringly before disappearing upstairs.

  He was nibbling on his food when the back door flew open. Her brother stormed in the back door, muddy boots still on, and walked past him like he wasn’t there. Glancing back, he frowned at the still open back door.

  “Any problem with shutting a door?” he asked as the man began rummaging around the kitchen.

  Brent glanced over his shoulder quickly. “I’ll be out of here as soon as I find something to eat.”

  “By then, it will be freezing in here.” Trey got up and shut the door himself, just as Dylan came down the stairs, laptop in hand.

  “Brent!” She set her laptop down on the table and glared at her brother. “I just mopped the floor yesterday.”

  Her brother shrugged. “You can do it again today.”

  When Dylan started to pull the mop out, he stepped in.

  “I think since you’re the one who made the mess”—Trey held out the mop—“Dylan can finish helping me while you clean up after yourself.”

  Brent turned on him, his eyes narrowed. “You McGowans can boss me around while I’m on the clock, but in my house—”

  “It’s not your house,” Dylan broke in in a low voice, handing the mop to her brother. “It’s mine, and you’ve just made a mess in it.”

  Brent shrugged and started hastily mopping up the mess.

  “What was it you came in here for?” Dylan asked.

  “Food.” He shoved the mop back at her.

  “What happened to your own kitchen?” she asked, crossing her arms over her chest.

  “Nothing,” he replied, eyeing the Chinese on the coffee table.

  Dylan stepped between it and her brother. “As you can see, we’re having a meeting. You’ll just have to run and get something yourself.”

  Brent gave Dylan a strange look as she pushed him towards the back door. “And next time, have the decency to take off your muddy boots, or I’ll make you mop the entire floor.” She shoved her speechless brother out of the back door, then shut it and leaned against it.

  “That felt good,” she said with a smile as she sat back down.

  “Sticking up for yourself feels good.” He gathered her close and kissed the top of her head. When he felt her shoulders slump and her body shake with her tears, he held on tighter.

  “Are you okay?” he asked when her tears lightened up.

  “I cried all over your shoulder.” She sniffled but remained still.

  “It’s okay.” He smiled and kissed the top of her head again. “I can deal with a little salt water.”

  She chuckled and leaned back. If he’d thought Dylan McCaw was beautiful before, seeing her dark eyes pink from tears solidified it. He was a goner.

  Tugging her towards the sofa, he sat down and pulled her into his lap. “You’re tired and pissed.” He gently brushed the tears away with his fingers. “Why haven’t you stood up to him before?”

  She sighed and rested her head on his shoulder. “I have, it’s just never gone in my favor before.” She looked up at him. “But you were here and, I don’t know, I felt empowered.”

  He sighed. “You may not see it, but as far as the two of you go, you’re in charge.”

  She tilted her head as her eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean, even though he doesn’t show it in the normal brotherly way, he respects you. He may even look up to you.”

  She laughed. “Right,” she said sarcastically.

  “Take it from someone who has two older brothers. What we just witnessed was his way of giving you respect. Think about it—he mopped the floor and left your kitchen without taking anything.” He shrugged. “That’s as close to respect as you can get.”

  She was silent for a while, then climbed from his lap to take up her laptop. “Thanks.” She smiled and wiped her face. “Now it’s my turn to help you.” She sat at the table and motioned for him to sit beside her.

  Less than an hour later, he was signed up for two classes, with a promise from her that she’d help him if he needed.

  Dylan’s eyes were drooping, so he kissed her goodnight and drove home. He was thankful that the inner ear infection had pretty much run its course. He still had some occasional ringing, but his balance had returned.

  When he parked in his usual spot, a faint glow in the distance caught his eye. Stepping out of the truck, he pulled out his phone and called Tyler.

  His brother answered on the first ring. “Hey.” Trey could hear the baby crying in the background.

  “Looks like we have a squatter on the far west side of the hill. I see a fire going midway up the hill.”

  “Damn it. Call Trent. We’ll get the ATVs and go check it out.”

  “I’ll meet you at the barn.” He hung up and called his brother.

  Trent answered on the third ring. “What’s so damn important?”

  Trey chuckled. “Sounds like I’m interrupting something.”

  “What do you want?” His brother punctuated each word.

  “Squatters on the property. Meet us at the barn, we’re going out.” He chuckled when his brother flung some choice words in his direction before hanging up.

  “Yup,” he said as he climbed back in his truck, “definitely interrupted something.”

  It took them almost forty minutes to find the campfire. By then, whoever had started it was long gone. The fire had been left to burn out, so Trent dumped some water on it to put it the rest of the way out.

  “Looks like t
here’s tire tracks over here,” Tyler said from behind them. “They lead back up the hill.”

  “Think we scared them off?” he asked.

  “For now.” Tyler glanced at his watch. “We’ll take the long way back and check out the gate at the service road, just to make sure.”

  Another hour later, Trey walked into his house, muddy and cold. Someone had broken the lock on the service gate, which they’d had to replace with another. They talked about installing a wild game camera but figured whoever it was had been spooked off by the sound of the ATVs. Still, if Trey knew his brothers, the cameras would be going up that weekend anyway.

  He showered and climbed into bed with Dopey just after one in the morning and fell fast asleep.

  The fire alarm didn’t wake him. It was Dopey scratching at his face, hard, that jolted him from his sleep. He sucked in a deep breath of dark smoke and coughed. Realizing what was happening, he yanked the sheet from the bed and covered his head with it, scooping up his dog with his other hand.

  The hallway was already blocked and full of smoke. He could see the flames consuming the pictures he’d hung up in the hallway.

  Turning back into his room, he rushed into the bathroom and glanced around. Only then did he realize he’d left his cell phone on the nightstand. He turned back but decided he couldn’t chance returning to the pitch-dark room. The smoke was too thick. Yanking open the small window, he tossed Dopey out first then shimmied his way out. He cursed when rocks dug into his bare feet.

  “Trey!” He heard several people shouting his name.

  “Over here,” he called out as Dopey circled him, barking frantically.

  “My god!” Tyler rushed over and wrapped his arms around him. “I thought…” His brother held on as Trent rushed over.

  “You’re naked.” Trent laughed and hugged him.

  Trey glanced down and cursed under his breath as Tyler removed his jacket and handed it to him.

  “Son of a bitch!” He glanced at the place, fully engulfed now. “What the hell happened?” He ran his free hand through his hair, the one that wasn’t holding the jacket over his crotch.

  They walked to the front of the place, going slowly since he was barefooted. His feet were torn up from all the rocks and branches.

  They reached the front as his mother’s car jerked to a stop. She rushed out and raced towards him. Tears were streaming down her face as she embraced him.

  “Don’t ever scare me like that again.” She kissed his cheek before slapping it lightly

  His brother handed him a blanket from the back seat of his truck, which he wrapped around himself quickly.

  “Yes, ma’am.” He pulled his mother into a hug and held on.

  Chapter 15

  “What happened?” Dylan rushed into the office first thing the next morning and hugged Trey. The entire family was gathered in the reception area, along with a few others, including several police officers.

  Trey had called her from his mother’s place earlier that morning and told her that his place had burned down and that he and Dopey were both okay. He told her to head into the office at the normal time. She had tried to argue, but he told her they were all meeting there.

  “I’m okay,” he assured her, running his hand over her hair. “Dopey woke me and we crawled out the bathroom window.”

  “That small thing?” She pulled back and looked at him. “How did you fit?”

  “He shimmied out of it, butt naked,” Trent said, laughing as he slapped Trey’s shoulder.

  She turned to him. “All your stuff?”

  “Up in smoke.” He sighed.

  “Don’t worry, a lot of his stuff is still in my garage,” Gail added. “Good thing he was too lazy to haul it away.”

  “I was waiting until my house was built,” Trey said, wrapping an arm around his mother and kissing the top of her head.

  “We won’t know much until after the inspector gets done going through the rubble.” Tony stepped forward. “Until then, we’ll need to make sure everyone stays clear of the property.”

  “I don’t need anything from there. Sucks that I lost my cell phone and truck keys, but I’m having someone come out and make a replacement. My new phone will be delivered later today. Thank god we sprung for the insurance on those.”

  “Food’s here.” Addy walked in with Kristen and the baby. Tyler was following with a stack of boxes from the donut shop. “Coffee’s here too,” she added, holding up two holders full of cups.

  Everyone flooded into the conference room and sat around talking about last night’s ordeal. Speculations swirled around the room, but Dylan remained silent as she kept her eyes on Trey.

  She’d been so scared when he’d called. Seeing him tired and trying to act cool only made her more so.

  “I was thinking”—she leaned closer to him—“about your living arrangements.”

  He leaned closer and smiled. When he wiggled his eyebrows, she chuckled.

  “I have a spare bedroom.”

  This time, it was him that laughed. “Sold.” He wrapped an arm around her. “As long as Dopey can come too.”

  She glanced down at the dog sleeping at his feet and nodded. “He can sleep with me.”

  She didn’t know what had caused her to offer her place, other than the fact that she felt better with him around. She’d been telling the truth when she said she felt more empowered with him there. She knew she had to learn to deal with Brent on her own and seeing Trey stand up to her brother had given her the courage to do so.

  She’d done a lot of thinking last night about what Trey had said about Brent’s attitude towards her. She had thought that maybe he was right. Maybe her brother had his own way of showing her that he cared.

  But then she’d rushed out of the house that morning to find his truck parked behind her car. When she’d banged on his door and asked him to move it, he’d tossed her the keys and told her she could move the damn truck if she wanted it moved. Which, of course, had removed all doubt from her mind about how her brother acted.

  For the rest of the day, people came and went, checking in on Trey and Dopey. Several delivered gifts to Dopey after hearing how he had woken Trey and warned him. He now had a new dog bed, toys, bags of dog food, and lots of treats. So many things had been delivered, Trey finally stepped in and told everyone to deliver the donations to the local shelter instead.

  Over the next few days, she couldn’t believe how smoothly things went. That first evening after the fire, Trey and Dopey had moved into the house with her.

  Of course, she hadn’t forced Trey to stay in the guest room. She was a little shocked at how right it felt to sleep next to him each night. Her brother had remained silent on the move, but she could tell he had plenty to say about it, just not in front of her, apparently.

  Still, it was nice to have Trey there, planning dinners, helping her out with the chores, and keeping her sexed every night. The last part was a major perk. She was going to be fully satisfied, exhausted, and happy.

  It was interesting to see Brent and Trey skate around one another at the house. After the first few days, Brent steered clear completely. Only once did he try to bring Darla back into the house. Trey easily shut him down without saying a word. How he did it left her speechless and impressed.

  They had been snuggling on the sofa, watching a movie, when her brother slammed the back door open, took two steps into the house, and turned and saw that Darla had followed him inside. Her brother’s eyes met Trey’s and her brother froze on the spot.

  Trey snapped his finger, which sent Dopey jumping off the end of the sofa and into a barking fit. Her brother made a quick retreat, pushing Darla out of the door as she complained.

  When she asked Trey about it, he shrugged. “Dopey doesn’t like your brother or Darla.”

  She got the feeling there was more behind it, some training he’d done, but she decided not to push it. Maybe she didn’t want to know what went on between the two men. Ignorance was bliss, after
all.

  Most evenings they spent huddled over their laptops for their classes. She helped Trey by reading his English paper, and he helped her by making dinners and cleaning up after them. It was odd how good of a cook he was. She doubted her brother knew how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich, let alone chicken Florentine.

  The inspector had found the cause of the fire and a full investigation had been launched. Apparently, a wire on the front porch had been snipped and fuel had been poured on it.

  If it hadn’t been for the minute traces of fuel, they would have assumed it was an accident. Now, however, they were looking for whoever purposely burned down Trey’s trailer and tried to kill him. More important to her and the McGowans was why. Why try to kill Trey? Were the other family members in danger as well?

  The police had interviewed her brother and Trey’s family; she had even gone in and answered questions herself. In fact, most of the McGowan employees had volunteered or been requested to come in. She’d had to make arrangements for each of them to take time off to go in during the workweek.

  At this point, they were no closer to figuring out who had started the fire. They spent a great deal of time trying to figure out why he was the target. They had their own suspects, but the police claimed each of them had alibis for the night the fire was started. Still, Uncle Carl and Dennis Rodgers remained on top of their lists.

  Carl lived alone in an old trailer at the top of a dirt road. He’d moved several times in the past year. Apparently, he’d been kicked out of his home after the bank had taken it back.

  Dennis had taken up residence in an apartment in one of the old buildings downtown since his divorce. The man lived alone and, to Trey’s knowledge, worked a part-time job driving a truck. He’d lost everything when he’d been locked away shortly after Kristen’s kidnapping. The proof of his embezzlement had gone up in smoke when the NewField building had burned down, but that hadn’t removed all his legal woes.

  Life continued to fly by her. She had gone into the ophthalmologist and gotten new contacts as well as a new pair of glasses that Trey had helped her pick out. He told her he found her irresistible when she wore them, so she started wearing them more often to work since the contacts irritated her eyes.