She had obviously been waiting on her. Mindi was so surprised, at first, she didn’t see the gun Tracy was holding. She was just about to speak until she saw it, and she was stunned into silence.
“You’re going with me. You might as well leave the groceries. You won’t be needing them where you’re going,” Tracy snickered. I’m finally going to get you out of my life for good.
Tracy truly would have been beautiful if it weren’t for the crazy, hateful personality. She was only about two inches shorter than Mindi with the classic hour glass figure with really long blonde hair and blue eyes the color of the sky. For some reason that Mindi didn’t understand, she always wore her dresses too tight. She always looked like something was going to bust lose at any second.
She could always date almost any guy she wanted. The problem was, it never lasted very long. Two or three weeks was the longest she ever dated any guy. Mindi had heard more than one of Tracy’s ex-boyfriends say it was because she was crazy.
Right now, she had a really crazy light in her eyes, and Mindi knew she couldn’t leave the parking lot with her. So Mindi did the only thing she knew to do. She started talking about Luke.
“Is that the gun you tried to kill Luke with?” Mindi knew she was walking a dangerous line, but there was no way she was going anywhere with this woman. She really does want to kill me. She is a complete lunatic.
“I never tried to kill Luke,” she hissed. “That was never proven. Now move.”
Mindi stood firm. She wasn’t going to budge. If she’s going to shoot me, she’s going to have to do it out here, where anyone going by can see.
“Luke is not going to fall into your arms just because you off me. He would never involve himself with a murderer,” Mindi said, trying to stall for time. “For someone who says they’re in love with him, you know very little about him.”
“They’ll never find your body where I’m taking you.” Tracy was starting to lose her temper. Mindi was hoping someone would come along soon. She didn’t think Tracy would wait much longer.
“It won’t matter. Luke will know it was you.”
“Luke will forgive me. He’ll understand why I had to do it. And don’t you dare bring up him again,” Tracy said with venom. “How dare you speak his name in my presence?”
“Well, he is the only thing we have in common,” Mindi replied in an almost conversational tone. “What else are we supposed to talk about?”
“He’s nothing to you. He’s in love with me,” Tracy said, actually stomping her foot like a toddler. He better be, or I’m going to kill him too.
“Maybe you need to tell him that. Because for someone who’s in love with you, he sure has a hard time keeping his hands off me.” She had hit her mark. Tracy’s face was an ugly mask of rage. Maybe I shouldn’t have said that. I think I may have gone too far.
Apparently, she had pushed her luck too hard, because the next thing she knew, Tracy was trying to push her toward the end of the building. And just when she thought all was lost, she heard a very familiar and welcome voice from behind her.
“Tracy Lewis, what are you trying to do to my sister? Let her go,” Zane demanded. Mindi could tell, despite how calm he sounded, he was furious.
Mindi didn’t know if Zane was in uniform, and if he’d have his gun, but it seemed like Tracy wasn’t going to take a chance. The second she heard Zane’s voice, she let go of Mindi and darted around the corner.
Mindi breathed a sigh of relief and turned around to thank her brother, a.k.a., her ‘guarding angel’, but stopped short when she saw Luke was with him, and he didn’t look happy. Now what have I done?
Mindi watched Zane walk around the corner of the build like he was looking to see where Tracy had gone. When he returned, he had a sour look on his face. “She must be part magician. She’s already gone,” Zane said, shaking his head. “What was she trying to do?”
Mindi just ignored him. She looked at Luke, and without second guessing herself, asked, “What now?”
“Why were you goading her?” Luke asked, almost whispering, after walking up and snatching her sunglasses off her face.
“I was stalling for time,” Mindi said, giving him a dirty look. There he goes with the sunglasses again.
“You could have picked a different topic,” he said, his voice dropping even lower.
“Wait a minute,” she said, starting to get angry herself. “How long were you standing there?”
“I was just ahead of Zane.” He didn’t seem at all flustered by her anger. “I didn’t dare say anything, for fear she’d get desperate, and hurt you. I know how crazy she really is, and how easy it would be to push her over the edge. I’m certain, if she really understood just how protective I am of you, it would make her that much more determined. But I was there long enough to hear you goading her.”
*******
When she got back home, with Luke and Zane both trailing behind her, she knew she was going to have trouble. Her parents were both going to be very upset by this, and she hadn’t even told the other two about the gun yet. They obviously hadn’t seen it. They hadn’t said anything about it. She was afraid she’d be under house arrest before they were done. They didn’t know yet that Tracy had been trying to force her to leave with her.
She wasn’t far off the mark. When they found out about the gun, they made a unanimous decision, without her vote, that she was not allowed to go anywhere on her own. She had to be with a family member, or Luke, at all times.
“Great. She’s the crazy one, and I’m the prisoner,” she shouted as she stormed up the stairs and slammed the door behind her. She almost felt sorry for Luke. From the look on his face, she could tell he knew they were about to hit a rough patch. But, only almost. He was the one pushing so hard for her to be under twenty-four-hour protection. If he thought she was going to make this easy for him, he thought wrong. She might be in love with him, but that didn’t give him the right to make her miserable.
Back down stairs Carl and Jamie were trying to make Luke feel better. “Don’t worry, she’ll get over it,” Jamie said, not sure she believed her own reassurance. They were doing so good. I hope this insanity doesn’t mess everything up.
“Look, I know my Baby Girl,” Carl said, sounding far surer of himself. “She’ll come around. Deep down inside she knows you’re just trying to protect her.”
“Do you mind if I go up and talk to her?” Luke asked, fighting the urge to turn toward the stairs without an answer. Please say yes. I really need to talk to her.
“No. Go ahead.” Carl could see how hard it was for Luke to stand and wait for his permission. The man is going crazy.
Luke ran up the stairs, and without bothering to knock on the door, went in. She had been reading, and when she saw who it was, the book went flying across the room. He caught it right before it smacked him in the nose and tossed it on the bed.
“Look, you can be as mad at me as you want. Right now, all I want is for you to be safe,” he looked at her, the pain showing in his eyes. “Promise me you won’t go anywhere by yourself. If anything happened to you, it would kill me.”
“Fine. I promise,” Mindi said, growling at him. “Now get out.”
He walked over to her, and sat down on the edge of the bed beside her. He knew if he asked, she would say no. He needed to touch her bad enough, he didn’t bother with asking. He turned and picked her up off the bed and stood up in one fluid motion. He could feel her trying to fight at first, but the moment their mouths met, she gave in. She was pulling at his hair. She was angry. He could feel it in her kiss. He wasn’t sure though, if she was angrier with him, or with herself for not being able to resist.
He sat her back down and turned toward the door. With his back to her, he reminded her once more, “Don’t go anywhere by yourself.” And without another word, he opened the door and left.
Chapter 14 - Monday July 9
Luke had, had it rough ever since Saturday, when they had all but put Mindi under house arre
st for her own protection. He had tried talking to her yesterday when he picked her up for church, but she wouldn’t give more than yes or no answers. Sometimes she wouldn’t even do that. When he dropped her off at home, he had tried to kiss her. She had let him, but she didn’t kiss him back. She was going to stay angry with him for as long as she could, apparently.
He’d been so hard on James at work today, he wouldn’t blame his business partner if he pulled up stakes and left. He was going to have to talk to Mindi until she decided to listen. This was making him crazy, and turning him into a real grizzly bear.
Luke pulled up to the Townsend’s and switched the truck off. He sat there for a few minutes trying to come up with a strategy he thought would work. He had nothing. He was going to have to do this the hard way.
He finally got out of the truck and made his way to the door. He knocked and waited to be let in.
“Hey, Luke,” Tonya said, eyeing him with humor. “Are you here to see if you can make my sister angrier?”
“Ha-ha. Very funny. Can I come in?” he asked, barely stopping himself from snarling at her. She’s turning into a little Zane.
“I don’t know. Let me go ask Mindi first,” Tonya said, the humor still shining in her eyes.
“Nice. If it’s left up to her, my guess is, all be standing here all night,” Luke said, giving Mindi’s younger sister a dirty look.
“Tonya, who’s at the door?” Just then Jamie came into view. “Oh. Hey, Luke. How are you?” she asked, waving him into the house. He looks miserable.
Luke stepped through the door, shaking his head. “I’ve been better.”
“You want to stay for dinner?”
“We’ll see. I need to talk to Mindi first.”
“Okay. She’s outside on the back porch,” Jamie said, stepping back out of his way.
Luke made his way through the house to the back door. He took a deep breath and opened the door. She was sitting on the porch swing with her feet up in the seat. She just gave him a dirty look and then looked away.
“You know I’m not going to let this go,” he said, stepping over in front of her. “So, you might as well talk to me.”
“So, talk.” He could tell by her tone she didn’t plan to make this easy for him.
“You know that’s not what I meant.”
“Really? Apparently, I don’t know anything. I have to wait for your decision,” she said, giving him a scathing look.
“Mindi, I don’t want to make all your decisions for you. Just try to understand my need to protect you. Please. She’ll kill you if she gets the chance.” She just gave him a dirty look.
He knelt down in front of her. “Woman, if anything happened to you, it would kill me. I can’t explain how important you are to me. Please…” He trailed off, unable to say anything else. He had his head down, just waiting for her to tell him off.
She wasn’t ready to completely relent, but she was just as miserable as he was. She turned, bringing one leg up over his head, placing him between her knees. She placed her hand under his chin and brought his eyes up to meet hers. The misery in his face was too painful for her to look at. She just groaned and leaned over and kissed him.
He come up to a standing position, picking her up on the way. He held her tight and kissed her back for a few seconds. When he finally pulled away, he was smiling. “Does this mean you’re okay with me staying for dinner?”
Chapter 15 - Tuesday July 10
Luke had finished working on Mindi’s car, and had planned on taking her for a ride in it before sending it to Phillip. When he got to the Townsend’s and knocked on the door it was to discover she wasn’t there.
Her mom was looking at him like she thought he was going crazy. Maybe he was a little bit. “She took off a couple hours ago. She went to see Lisa.” Jamie’s concern was growing. Luke seemed very upset.
“You let her leave here by herself? Does Carl know she’s not here?” Luke was really intense right now, for someone who was always so easy going.
“No. He’s not got in from work yet. Why?” Jamie asked, her concern growing even more. He looks like he’s going to explode at any second.
“Do you not remember Saturday? Tracy tried to kidnap Mindi. At gun point. From the grocery store parking lot.” His agitation was growing. “She was right outside the front door of the store.” Luke grit his teeth, doing his best not to lose his temper with Mindi’s mom. He had always thought of her as a second mother, and he knew she deserved his respect. “We had agreed she should not go out on her own.”
Jamie was getting a little nervous. Luke wasn’t one to get hysterical over nothing. He’s going to ‘blow a gasket’ as he is always saying. “She just went to her sister’s. Do you really think she’s put herself in danger?
“Jamie,” Luke’s voice dropped a whole octave. Everyone knew the quieter he got, the angrier he was. “Tracy had a gun. She has shot at me before. She professes to love me. What makes you think she would hesitate to shoot Mindi, whom she openly despises?” If it was possible, his voice had dropped another octave by the end of his outburst. And that was a major outburst for Luke.
He didn’t say another word. He just turned and left. A few seconds later, Jamie heard what had to be Mindi’s car fire up. That boy can fix anything with a motor. He has a true gift with cars.
His was the only garage in town. No one else cared to try to compete with him.
*******
Mindi was sitting on the floor, leaned against the couch in her sister’s apartment. She had managed to get out of the house under her mother’s watch. She hoped she didn’t get her mother into much trouble. She really needed sometime out of the house, and she needed to talk to her older sisters. She had been trying to explain how her relationship with Luke was going before the other day at the grocery store.
“I thought we were doing pretty good. And then of course this thing with Tracy had to come back up. Now we’re on the outs again.” Of course, it’s not Luke’s fault Tracy’s crazy.
Jenny sat down in the floor beside Mindi, and took the popcorn that she had been playing with for the last fifteen minutes and started popping the buttery stuff in her mouth. “Correct me if I’m wrong, but you’re on the outs with him. He’s not on the outs with you. Right?” Jenny asked, using the TV remote like a wand for dramatic affect.
“I guess, but what’s your point?” Mindi asked, eyeing her sister suspiciously. Is she really going to defend him?
“Maybe you should just forgive him for being a little underhanded, and try to get things back to where they were. You were happier that way, weren’t you?” Don’t even try to deny it. You’re absolutely miserable right now.
“Yes, but he’s been a lot underhanded. Not just a little,” Mindi said, rising up and turning to face her sister. “I thought you were on my side,” she said, sounding a little put out at her sister.
“I am. But I’m on his side too. He loves you. He’s just trying to keep you safe.” Jenny let out a puff of air, trying to find the right words to explain. “How would you feel if the situation were reversed, and all you wanted was for him to keep himself safe?”
“This is crazy. I can’t even go to the store for milk without someone going with me,” she said giving her sister an aggravated look. “And he needs to be careful too. She’s actually shot at him, but I don’t see him under twenty-four-hour protection.”
“Tracy would stand no chance against Luke in a physical scuffle. Now you’re just being ridiculous.”
“It doesn’t matter how strong he is against a gun.”
“Good point, but she’s not focusing on Luke right now. She’s after you.” What’s it going to take to get through to her right now?
Lisa, Mindi’s sister just older than her, who had been quiet up till now, decided to defend Jenny, “I think what she is trying to say, is give the guy a break. He’s afraid Tracy’s going to hurt you, if she doesn’t manage to kill you. All he’s trying to do is protect you. You know he has al
ways been protective of you. That caused ninety percent of your fights after you turned sixteen. You’re making it very hard on him, and you’re miserable to boot.”
Lisa moved down in the floor with the other two and leaned against the couch, pushing her long brown hair back over her shoulder. “So, why don’t you forgive him, and use this house arrest to spend more time together. You’re making him more miserable than you could possibly image. He drove James crazy at work today. He said he was a total grizzly.
Mindi started to see the sense in what they were saying. “So, do I have to start cooperating with everything he says?” There is no way that is going to happen. He can really make me crazy sometimes.
“No. But you know,” Jenny said, a mischievous look in her eyes, “if you did, it sure would drive him crazy for a few days, trying to figure out what you were up to.”
“Do yourself a favor. The next time you see him, kiss him long enough to make up for all the time you’ve spent fighting,” Lisa said with a grin on her face.
Jenny chocked out, “No.” She almost sucked popcorn down the wrong pipe. “Not a good idea. Self-control issues. Remember?”
“Oh, yeah. Sorry. Not such a good idea.”
*******
Luke stood banging on the door to Lisa’s apartment. When there was no answer he banged again. After a few minutes of this he decided to try Jenny’s apartment. The two lived in the same building so they could be on their own, but still close together.
When he knocked on Jenny’s door, she opened it and glared at him. “So, you’re the one making so much noise.” Yep. He’s going completely crazy.
Luke didn’t bother to answer. “Is your sister here?” he growled.
Jenny decided to be obtuse. “Which sister? I have seven.” She just stood there looking at him, waiting for his head to blow off. Luke was always so calm and polite. Mindi was the only one that could ever make him lose his cool.
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