by Laina Turner
Katherine shook her head. “The usual. One of the members of her family, who knew she was here, and who still believes he can change and she should give him another chance, told him so he could come make things work.” Katherine sighed. “It’s not the first time this has happened and won’t be the last. I just have such a hard time understanding what people are thinking when they give abusers this information.”
“I think people want to believe people will change. Just in these cases it’s not usually going to happen,” I said ruefully. “Anyways, I told her I would stop back tomorrow and check on her.”
“Thanks, Trixie. It really helped you coming here. I appreciate it and I know Phyllis does too.”
“No problem, Katherine. Glad I could help. Don’t hesitate to call me if you need anything else.”
Chapter 18
This is ridiculous, Sophie. You need to do something about this or I will!” I heard Berklie almost yelling at Sophie as I walked back into the shop after returning from the shelter. Luckily, the rush had passed and currently there weren’t any customers around to listen to Berklie’s outburst. Hanging my jacket up I asked, “What’s going on?”
“Her friendly stalker paid her another visit,” Berklie said, arms crossed in front of her chest. She was angry and I knew it was out of concern for Sophie. I agreed Sophie didn’t seem to be taking this seriously enough.
“Sophie, what happened?”
“It’s not that big of a deal…”
“Of course it’s a big deal,” Berklie interrupted. “You need to stop blowing this off and treating it like it’s not important.”
“Berklie, let her talk,” I said. “What happened?” I asked again.
“He left flowers on my front door. They were there waiting for me when I got home. It’s not that big of a deal. Berklie is overreacting. It’s not like he left a death threat.”
“Not yet,” Berklie muttered under her breath.
“And you’re sure they were from him?” I asked.
“Yes. There was a card enclosed. It just said ‘thinking of you, love Jim’. Once again creepy, but the card was not overtly threatening, so why worry about it? There’s nothing anyone can do. He’s just a harmless pest.”
“That’s not true, Sophie. There’s nothing the law can do, but Jonathan could do plenty!” Berklie said. “And you heard Macie yesterday. These things usually escalate. He needs to be stopped now.”
While I did think she was being hard on Sophie, Berklie did have a point. As annoying as this behavior seemed now, after what happened at the shelter earlier, it made me realize what things can happen when this type of behavior escalates. Which is what I proceeded to tell Sophie. She did need to take it more seriously.
“You need to tell Jonathan. You can’t put it off any longer, Sophie. He cares about you and has a right to know what is going on. You’re about to get married and have a baby. You shouldn’t have secrets.”
“I know, you’re right. I just don’t want to bother him. He has enough on his plate.”
“I don’t think he will see this as a bother. You’ll tell him? Today?” I said.
“Yes. Fine. I will. We are meeting at the florist and then having dinner. I will tell him then.”
“Good girl,” Berklie said giving her a hug. “We just worry about you. And like Trixie said, this guy found you here and followed you. That takes dedication. It’s not a stretch to think he will get tired of admiring you from afar. You don’t want to wait and see what he will do when that happens. Because then it’s too late.”
“You’re right. You’re both right.” Sophie finally agreed.
The rest of the morning passed slowly, and when I looked at the clock and saw it was only 3:12 p.m. I groaned. It was one of those days where it felt like it should be nine at night already. I was mentally and physically exhausted. I wanted my bed in the worst way.
“I’m right there with ya sister,” Berklie said. We were doing inventory of our coffee to place an order for the next month. We had found a place online to order in bulk, which saved a lot of money, but it also made it much more challenging to forecast and plan. We had only been open a few months and didn’t have that much sales history to go off of or to identify trends. Buying in bulk and saving money wouldn’t actually be saving money if the customers didn’t want what we had, and we couldn’t afford to have items sitting here that didn’t sell. Some of the things I hadn’t really thought about when we opened this place. It had definitely been a learning experience. Ah, the joys of being a business owner.
“Why don’t you take off?” Berklie said. “You had a stressful morning, and we’re about finished here. I can finish up, and Barbara will be here soon to help out.”
That sounded wonderful. If I left now I would have enough time to take a nap, maybe even a hot shower, before picking up Cody. Cody and I had plans to go to Pizza Hut and duckpin bowling with a couple friends of his and their moms. It would be great to get some downtime before tonight’s festivities. Hopefully I would wake up with renewed energy.
“Are you sure, Berklie? I hate to leave you with this mess,” I said, looking around at all the coffee we had pulled from the shelves to get an accurate count. I felt guilty leaving her to finish.
“Sure, it’s fine,” she said waving me away. “Go! You can repay the favor sometime.”
She didn’t have to tell me twice. I grabbed my coat from the coatrack, my purse from the office, and practically ran out of the building before she had a chance to change her mind or it got busy again. I was already mentally in a bubble bath. So focused on the thought of taking a nice, relaxing bubble bath I didn’t see anyone was in my path until I ran smack into someone.
“Oofff,” I said, dropping my purse. Luckily it was zipped, or my things probably would have been scattered all over the parking lot. “Sorry,” I said as I bent down to grab my purse.
“Don’t worry about it,” said a male voice. A voice I recognized. I slowly looked up.
“Jack! What are you doing here? I mean, it’s great to see you,” I continued, giving him a hug. “But what are you doing back?”
“Good to see you, too,” he said, smiling with the smile of his that had caught me off guard the first time I met him. That, and his voice. He had such a deep sexy voice.
“Really, what are you doing back? When we talked the other night you didn’t say anything about flying back here?” I hadn’t talked to him in a few days. Neither of us had tried to call the other, and while I realized our relationship was following the long distance fizzle out path, I was surprised he hadn’t told me he was coming. I was kind of miffed, though I didn’t have a right to be.
“It was a last minute thing. I thought I would surprise you.”
“I’m surprised all right. In a good way.” I didn’t want him to think my surprise was due to not wanting him here. I was just caught off guard. So many thoughts were running through my head. I was so confused. “Did something at the law office need your attention? By the way, the girls and I like the new lawyer Bill hired to replace you.”
“He told me she was fitting in nicely. No, actually I came back because of you.”
That sent warm fuzzies down my spine, and suddenly I wasn’t tired anymore. Funny how that worked.
“I’ve missed you, Trix. When Clive called me yesterday and told me everything that’s been going on around here, I had to come see for myself that you were okay.”
I took a step back. “Clive called you?”
“Yes. He’s worried, too, about you, and he wanted to make sure you had told me.”
I had told Jack everything. At least up to the last time we spoke. While I knew Clive cared and that was his motivation for calling Jack, the independent woman in me was a little miffed. It wasn’t like Jack and I were married, and even if we were it would have annoyed me. Jack knew me well enough that he picked up on the fact I was a bit annoyed.
“Trixie, don’t be mad at Clive. He has your best interests at heart, and you h
ave to admit, your life hasn’t exactly been normal lately.”
“I know,” I said and let him pull me in for another hug. It was so nice to melt against him. I inhaled a whiff of his cologne and felt tears prick the back of my eyes. I really did miss him. This distance thing sucked. After a few moments we pulled back.
“Where were you heading in such a hurry, that you weren’t paying attention to where you were going?” he asked.
“Home, actually. Berklie took pity on me and sent me home early. There was a disturbance at the shelter this morning, and with everything else going on, I’m just drained.”
“What happened at the shelter?” Jack said, concerned.
“Nothing related to me. The estranged husband of one of the women I have been working with discovered she was at the shelter and tried to get in to see her. The cops came quickly, and thank goodness, nothing happened. She was just rattled. Makes me appreciate my life more. I can’t imagine having to deal with that. And they have a daughter together. At some point she will probably have to let him see her. How terrifying that will be.”
“If you were headed home, why don’t I join you and you can fill me in on everything?”
“That would be great. I would love your company.”
Thirty minutes later, I was relaxing in a hot bubble bath with a cup of my favorite herbal tea since it was too early for wine. Not because it was actually too early, but because I had to drive later. Jack offered to pick Cody up from practice so I could have a little more time to relax before going out. I quickly took him up on the offer, fully grateful to be surrounded by people who cared so much about my well-being that they were willing to help me. I called the school to notify them and drew my bath. So I was surprised a few moments later to hear a knock on the door and Jack’s voice.
“You decent? Can I come in?”
“All the important parts are covered in bubbles, if that’s what you’re asking,” I said. “So come on in.”
“Darn. I have such bad timing,” he said as he opened the door and walked in bringing me his cell. “It’s Berklie. When you didn’t answer yours, she called mine. She says it’s urgent, or I wouldn’t have bothered you.”
I had called Berklie on my way home to share the news about Jack popping up out of nowhere. So if she was trying this hard to get ahold of me, it must have been important. I knew she wouldn’t disturb me otherwise.
“What’s up, Berk?” I said as Jack motioned to me he was now leaving to get Cody.
“Stephen just called!”
I sat up so quickly some water and bubbles sloshed over the side of the tub. “What?!”
“He thought you were here and at first didn’t believe me when I said you weren’t. So I guess the good news is he wasn’t in sight of the shop,” she said dryly.
“Small consolation,” I said, though it made me wonder how many other times he had pretended to know where I was and was only guessing.
“I think it’s more than small. Think about it. He was counting on you being here and being able to fool us into thinking he knew what was going on. So maybe he hasn’t actually been there all of the times we have thought he was around. He’s just a good liar. Anyways, it made me feel a little better. He was livid when he found out you weren’t here. I think probably because he then knew that I knew he didn’t really know what was going on. Did that even make sense?”
I laughed at her explanation. “Yes, it makes sense. Did you call Clive yet?”
“No. I called you. And when we’re done I’ll call him.”
“So what did Stephen say after he found out I wasn’t there?”
“Nothing. He hung up. Clearly he only wants to talk to you. Having fun with Jack?” she asked suggestively.
“Not that kind of fun, but he was kind enough to go pick up Cody so I could take a bath, which is what I was doing when you called. Most importantly, did you tell Stephen I wanted to meet him?”
There was a pause.
“Don’t tell me you forgot,” I said.
“I was so thrown off guard by his assumption you were here. And then I didn’t know what to say. He hung up before I had a chance.”
“Okay. Well, I’m sure he will call back.”
“I’m sorry, Trix.”
“Don’t be. I’m not sure I know what to say either. And you can’t help that he hung up.”
“Well, I need to let you go so I can call Clive and let you get back to your bath. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t do. Call me later.”
“I will,” I said, hanging up and settling back in the bath. Setting the phone down on the ledge behind me, I closed my eyes and tried to relax again, but too many things were running through my head. Part of me was relieved that I hadn’t been there when Stephen called, but part of me wanted this to just be over. And it couldn’t be over without talking to him. After a while I looked at the clock and noticed it was about time for Jack to be back with Cody, and I should probably get out of the tub and get dressed. Cody hated it when I made him late.
I heard the front door open and Cody’s loud footsteps as I was just finishing getting dressed. In a few seconds I made my way downstairs and into the kitchen where Jack had fixed Cody a snack. I wasn’t worried about it ruining his dinner, the boy was always hungry. I ruffled his hair and sat down across from him, stealing one of the peanut butter crackers Jack fixed him.
“How was school?”
He shrugged. “Boring.”
“Boring? School’s fun.”
“Only ‘cause you’re not in school.”
Jack sat an iced tea down in front of me. He knew what I liked.
“Thanks,” I said, smiling gratefully and turned back to Cody. “Do you have any homework?”
“Yeah. Mrs. Harper gave us reading to do over the weekend. Can you believe that?” He said in that kids tone which made it seem as if it were the end of the world. The kind of tone that’s funny, but you can’t laugh as not to hurt their feelings.
“Well then, why don’t you take your snack up to your room and get the reading out of the way. We have an hour before we need to leave, and if you get it done now, you won’t have it hanging over your head this weekend.”
“Okay,” he grumbled and took his stuff up the stairs. He was a good kid.
I turned to Jack. “Thanks for picking him up for me. The bath was wonderful. I feel so much better.”
“No problem. Did something happen while I was gone? You look worried?”
“Stephen called the shop after I left. That’s why Berklie was trying so hard to get ahold of me. The strange thing is he thought I was there. Don’t you find that odd? Clearly, he doesn’t know as much as I thought he did about my comings and goings.”
“That’s not necessarily a bad thing,” he said.
“No, not at all, just unexplained, I guess. Hey listen, you’re welcome to stay here while I do the mom/playdate thing at Pizza Hut. We can catch up more when I get back… . unless you had other plans.” I was suddenly a little uncomfortable not knowing exactly where we stood and if I should be assuming he would want to stay here.
“I was hoping you would say that. I didn’t want to ask and impose. I have some emails to catch up on and will wait patiently for you to get back. Maybe then we can talk over a bottle of wine.”
“That would be nice and maybe…” I stopped talking when I heard my phone vibrating on the counter. I glanced over. Blocked. Jack noticed the look on my face.
“You think that’s Stephen?”
“It has to be. That’s the only blocked number calling me lately.”
“Answer it. I’m here. He can’t hurt you.”
I slowly nodded and picked up the phone. Forcing my voice to be strong, I said, “Hello?”
“Went home early, did you?”
I looked at Jack and mouthed that it was indeed Stephen. His face grew hard. I knew he wasn’t any happier than I was to have to deal with this, but I wanted to get it over with.
“I think you already know the answe
r to that. So why ask me?”
“Just trying to make some friendly conversation.” He said in a conversational tone, like he was just one of my friends.
I decided to go right for it. “Then how about we meet and have some friendly conversation?”
There was a slight pause. I’m sure he was taken a bit off guard by my forwardness.
“I take it you have what belongs to me?”
“Guess you will have to meet me and find out,” I said, trying to act like it wasn’t a big deal.
“You name the place and time and I’ll be there,” he replied. I proceeded to give him the directions to the remote farmhouse we had followed George and Rachel’s dad to. Rachel had suggested it as a perfect place because it was remote, yet the barn provided a place for cover. The barn would allow Jonathan and some of Clive’s men to watch over us. The only way Jonathan said he would allow us to go through with this “idiotic plan,” (his words, not mine). He went through the roof when Sophie mentioned what we were wanting to do. I hung up the phone and looked at Jack. “Well, hopefully in about thirty two hours Stephen will be one less worry,” I said with a bravado I sure didn’t feel.
“You are going to tell Clive, aren’t you?”
“Yeah, I’m going to tell Clive. I’m not stupid,” I said more harshly than intended. I think I was still a little rattled from the phone call.
“I know, Trix. I didn’t mean to imply you were. I’m just concerned.”
“I’m sorry. I know you are. I shouldn’t have snapped at you.”
I picked my phone back up to call Clive and then the girls.
Cody and I were finally on our way to Pizza Hut. Running behind, to Cody’s annoyance, due to the calls I had to make. But as I had learned years ago, annoying your child was a mom’s right. My phone rang again and I reached for it, seeing it was Avery.
“Have you talked to Clive?” she asked the second I answered.
“I just left him a message a few minutes ago, but he hasn’t called back yet. Why? Is something wrong?”
“One of his deputies came over with the report for the forensic investigation they did on CupCakes.”