Out of the Wreckage

by CeeCee James

  “I have a feeling what we’re going to find on that computer is going to keep him locked away for a long time.” Detective Ramsey stood next to them like a barrel, the bullet proof vest adding a stiff layer to his already rotund frame. He glanced at the sisters. “You two did good. I’m impressed. And as for you,” he pointed a finger at Cassie. “You might consider becoming an investigator. That was amazing sleuth work.”

  “Anything for my sister,” Cassie said, giving Miranda a big hug. “She’s the real hero here.”

  Miranda felt the sting of tears as she closed her eyes. As the police car carried Vince away, she took a deep breath and smiled.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Autumn

  The next day Miranda followed Cassie home in a two car caravan. They’d tossed around the idea of getting another hotel, but in the end decided to drive the six hundred miles straight through. “I just want to get my dog back from Doug and sleep in my own bed,” Miranda had explained.

  Cassie agreed. “Okay, but we have to stop at Madras on our way back.”

  “Why…?”

  “River Phoenix was born there! I have to check it out.”

  Miranda laughed. “You got it. By the way, how the heck did you find that out about Vince?”

  “The internet footprint.”

  “Huh?”

  Cassie sighed. “Everyone leaves a trail on the internet. Vince didn’t take care of his. I tracked him through dating sites, porn sites and eventually caught up with people who knew him. I was waiting to hear back when you left for his house. They confirmed what I already suspected.” She arched her eyebrow.

  “I don’t want to know.”

  “All you need to know is that he’s going to pay for his crimes for a long, long time.”

  Once home, Miranda lay on the floor in relief. Archer nuzzled her cheek with his wet nose, so she pulled him down and wrapped her arms around him. “Did you miss me? You’re such a good dog. I’ve missed you, ol'boy.” She snuggled into his fur before leaning up on one elbow. “We kicked butt, Archer. The good won. The bad are done.” Miranda hugged him again as satisfaction radiated through her. She felt free.

  Standing, she stretched her back and smiled. “We freaking did it,” she whispered under her breath.

  “You talking to yourself again?” Cassie hollered from the kitchen. Miranda groaned. When was she ever going to break that habit? Probably never, she decided and yelled back. “Yes, I am! And I may for the rest of my life, so get used to it.”

  “Okay, weirdo,” Cassie called.

  Miranda grinned. She trundled upstairs to the shower, relishing the scent of her mango soap, shampoos and Downy-soft towels. Swooping her hair in a towel, she got dressed in her work out gear and quickly applied a mud mask. What she wouldn’t give for her sister’s creamy complexion. She gave a little side dance, swept along by an undercurrent of glee thrumming inside of her. A huge weight had lifted off her shoulders, and she felt lighter than she’d felt in years. She’d finally found her voice.

  Miranda skipped back down the stairs, the wood treads cool beneath her bare feet. In the kitchen, Cassie sat in front of the laptop holding a cup of tea. She looked up, before grabbing at her heart in exaggeration. “Sheesh! You gotta warn a person before you come wandering in like a swamp monster.”

  Miranda stuck out her tongue.

  “Ahh, there’s the mature sister I’ve come to know and love. You want some tea? The water’s still hot in the kettle.”

  Miranda grabbed her blue mug and dropped in a teabag. After filling the cup, she wandered over to the stack of mail gathered at the end of the counter and rifled through the letters. Mmmm. She breathed in the cinnamon scent and took a sip. “Bill. Bill. Bill,” she said in a monotone. Wait. Miranda paused at a creamy envelope. What’s this?

  She pulled a letter from the stack with a return address from James Ashbach Esq. What the heck? It was addressed to Jason. The familiar stab of pain pierced her heart at the sight of his name, quickly followed by a wave of anger at his abandonment. She hesitated for a moment, tapping the envelope against her hand.

  Cassie looked up at the noise. “What is it?”

  “Jason’s got a weird letter.” Miranda read the return address. “It’s from some law firm.”

  “What?” Cassie asked in disbelief. “Let me see that.”

  Miranda passed over the envelope and grabbed her phone. She quickly texted. —Hey, you got an important letter, just letting you know.

  Pressing send, she sighed. Jason hadn’t responded to any of her texts. It would be surprising if he did now.

  She turned around to see Cassie holding the envelope up to the light. Next to her the burner under the teakettle glowed red, and the water began to steam again.

  Miranda snatched the letter from her sister’s hand. “Forget about it.”

  “What? Why?”

  “Two reasons: None of our business and Federal offense.”

  “Party pooper.”

  Rolling her eyes, Miranda headed back upstairs, first stopping to grab a washcloth from the linen closet. She wandered into the bathroom to clean off the mask. Her phone dinged. Leaning up from the sink, she stared at it like it was a snake. On the phone's screen, Jason's text read:—How are you?

  Her mouth fell open. What? So casual? Furiously, she pressed the keys.—I’ve texted you a thousand times. You’ve never answered back before now.

  Three dots wavered across the bottom, showing he was responding. Finally: —A lot’s been happening.

  She frowned and typed. —Like what? What could be so important that you couldn’t answer my texts.

  And cause me so much pain, she added silently.

  —Are you with Dylan?

  —What’s that got to do with anything?

  —Never mind. So you have something for me?

  —Yeah a letter.

  —I’ll be by tomorrow.

  Miranda’s heart sped up at his words. He’s coming over. She let out a deep breath as the crazy emotions continued to twist inside. Play it cool. She texted back.

  —Okay, someone will be home

  More dots showed. Then: —Can I take you to lunch so we can talk?

  She bit her bottom lip. Yes! No! Jason, you’re a crazy mind-trip. Miranda stood and paced the room. This was what she wanted, right? This was why she’d texted him to begin with. She thought about how he’d mentioned Dylan again. Frustration rose up inside of her. He was so freaking jealous. Would he ever listen to her? Leaving the phone on the bed, she ran downstairs to find her sister.

  “Cassie!”

  “For crying out loud, what?” her sister yelled in an aggravated voice. Whipping around the corner, Miranda found that Cassie had moved to the other end of the counter. The envelopes were strewn in front of her. Her sister was holding one, her face pink. “You said bills, and you weren’t lying,” she said as Miranda closed the space between them. “This is a nightmare. I need a calculator.”

  “What are you doing?”

  “Trying to figure out how to pay these blood suckers. I swear they are multiplying and having babies in the dark, because there’s more hospital bills here now than there were last night.”

  Miranda’s gaze swept across the counter. “Need help?”

  Cassie frowned. “How much money do you have?”

  “Not a lot. How much do you owe?”

  “Let’s just say there’s lots of zeros in the number, matching the zero in my checkbook.” Cassie grabbed her checkbook and squinted at her register, before picking up the next bill. “I mean really? Three thousand dollars for an x-ray?” Cassie threw the bill down and stood. “I feel like I’m being punked.”

  “Sorry, Chickee. I’ll help you somehow.”

  “It’s okay, I’ll figure it out. Anyway, what were you freaking out about?”

  “Oh,” Miranda paused. “Jason texted me.”

  “He did!” Cassie smiled. “Finally! What a little creep.”

  “Yeah. He asked
if he could come over so we could talk.”

  “What did you say?”

  Miranda pulled at a loose thread on the seam of her shirt. “I haven’t answered yet.” She wound the thread around her finger and pulled. The seam came undone at her tug. “Lovely,” she muttered.

  “Why’d you do that?” Cassie asked with a smirk.

  “Like I meant to!”

  “So what are you going to say?”

  “I don’t know. That’s why I came down to talk to you.”

  “Go say yes!”

  “Why? He’s been gone for three months.”

  “You were gone for almost two years.”

  That hurt, and Miranda cringed. She took a deep breath. “That’s true, but this is the second time he’s left. Is he just going to keep leaving every time things get hard?”

  “Maybe he’s going through a mid-life crisis.”

  Miranda snorted. “He’s twenty-four.”

  “I don’t know. I just know he’s always been there for me. He didn’t start acting like a fruit loop until you came back last year.”

  Miranda crossed her arms. “Excuse me? Are you blaming this on me?”

  Cassie rolled her eyes. “No! But he obviously has unresolved stuff he needs to deal with. Somehow you’re involved.” She waggled her finger at Miranda. “But just because you might have triggered it does not make this your fault.” Walking over to the fridge, she grabbed an apple out of the bin and inspected it. After a quick polish on her t-shirt, she took a bite. “Anyway, I’d say yes if I were you.”

  Miranda stared at her for a second, then sprinted back to her room. She grabbed the phone and checked for new messages. Just his, with the question mark. She texted back. —Okay.

  —Great. See you at 7

  She frowned when she read it. —At seven? What happened to lunch?

  —Plans changed

  Huh? She texted back. —Plans change in ten minutes?

  His text was immediate. —Yeah. And wear those shoes I like.

  Her mouth dropped open. Wear the shoes he likes? He doesn’t contact me for three months and then tells me what shoes to wear? I’ll show him where he can put those shoes.

  Her lip turned up in a smirk. —Don’t think I have them any more.

  —I think you do.

  —Nope, gave them to the Goodwill

  —You always were a bad liar.

  “Oh really?” Her eyebrows arched as her fingers flew: —I wouldn’t wear those shoes again if I had to cross a bed of coals and they were the last pair I owned.

  Smiling, she sent the text and tossed the phone on the bed.

  “Put that in your pipe and smoke it.” Miranda strode over to the dresser to grab the brush. What was she doing? Getting into an argument over shoes? What was wrong with her? “You’re acting like a twelve year old,” she told her reflection, yanking the brush through her wet hair and pulling it into a ponytail. “I’m going for a jog.”

  On the bed, the phone dinged again. She glanced at it a moment, found her sneakers and slammed the door.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Autumn

  The drama about the shoes faded by the next day as butterflies took over her stomach. Miranda flew around her room searching for her scarf. Why am I so nervous? It’s just Jason. “Maybe not seeing him in three months is why you’re nervous,” she muttered. “Now, where is my lipstick?” She leaned close to the mirror, dabbed at her lips with the glossy pink tube and rubbed them together. At the last second her eye caught a jewelry box. Inside was a tiny pearl hanging from a silver chain, a birthday present from Jason. She bit her lip in indecision, then clasped the chain around her neck. The pendant glowed against the black neckline of her dress, and she touched it with a smile.

  “Okay, got to get moving.” Miranda whirled around. “Shoes, shoes, shoes.” She cast a look around for her ankle strap heels. Her heart beat like a pair of castanets. Should I wear the shoes he wants? Miranda smoothed down her black thigh-high dress and frowned with indecision. Am I overdressed? He’s probably planning on taking me to Fry Guys. She groaned. “I swear, I get it wrong every time.” In a frantic scrabble, she began yanking out all her shoes from the closet in search for his favorites. “Stupid shoes, where the flip are you?”

  “Stop being so negative,” Cassie called from the doorway.

  Miranda stared up at her, hair in her eyes. She blew it back. “I’m not being negative. For crying out loud, run down stairs. He might be here already!”

  “He’s not. I didn’t hear his truck.” Cassie eyed her sister’s room, destroyed with scattered clothing and shoes. “Wow. You really are stressed. Take a deep breath. It’s going to be okay.”

  “I’m not stressed. I’m just trying to be prepared.”

  “Prepared for what? It’s not like you’re going out to dinner with a Sasquatch or something. It’s Jason. Hello, you’ve seen him a few times.” Cassie winked at her. “I mean he’s still coming around after seeing you dressed in your Where’s Waldo outfit.”

  “I liked that shirt!” Miranda grabbed the nearest thing at hand and threw it in her direction.

  Cassie laughed as the slipper bounced harmlessly off the doorframe. “You should wear it tonight!” she teased. “Red stripes make you look hot.”

  “Whatever, even your famous movie stars like stripes.”

  “Puh-lease.”

  “Yeah? Well, what about that one actress with the little mocking bird who wore them for her magazine cover?”

  “Jennifer Lawrence? Only the most awesomest actress on the planet. You don’t remember her name?” Cassie rolled her eyes. “You are such a dork. And she did not.”

  Miranda started to say more, when she noticed Archer stand from under a slew of dresses, his ears alert. She ran to the window to look outside.

  Headlights wove down the driveway. What the heck? Who’s this? It definitely wasn’t Jason’s truck. Frowning, she lifted the curtain higher to get a better glimpse.

  The car’s engine had a beautiful deep rumble. At each of the potholes it slowed and cautiously eased over them. Miranda stared, lips parting slightly. It approached a particularly deep one but seemed to anticipate its location, deftly swerving around it. The car rolled to a smooth stop in front of the house. The headlights flipped off.

  A second later the driver’s side door opened and a tall man stepped out. The darkness made his features indistinguishable, but he was dressed to the nines. Slowly, he looked out to the lake and buttoned his jacket. His face was hidden in shadows as he turned to glance at the house. Unexpectedly, his gaze snapped up towards the upstairs window.

  Jason.

  Miranda sucked in her breath and let the curtain drop. What in the—? Warmth filled her cheeks at being caught peeping.

  A minute later the front door opened, and Cassie squealed, “Jason!” Archer raced down the stairs, his loud barks shutting down any conversation.

  Miranda stood frozen by her bed before grabbing the first pair of shoes she could find and hurrying to greet him.

  Jason was down on one knee with his arm wrapped around Archer. “Hey ol'boy. How you doing, huh?” He scratched the dog’s neck, his eyes wet with tears.

  Miranda paused at the bottom of the stairs, absorbing the scene. Slowly, Jason stood as he caught sight of her. He pulled at his cuffs again and then nodded in her direction.

  “Hi, Miranda. You look nice tonight.”

  She didn’t feel like she looked nice, especially since she’d rushed out of the room before a final “All clear” in front of the mirror. Anxiously, Miranda patted at her hair and a zing of anxiety zipped through her. Ah! It’s doing its crazy thing! She tucked a stray curl behind her ear.

  “Thank you.” Forcing her tone to sound confident, she slipped on her heels and walked over to him, taking in his dark suit and flashy tie. “I wasn’t sure if I’d be overdressed but I guess I’m not.”

  He glanced down at his clothing, the corner of his mouth curving in a self-deprecating grin,
then raised his green eyes to study her again.

  His face was clean-shaven. When had she ever seen him like that? He almost always wore a thick five o’clock stubble. Her eyes widened as she realized his hair was short too, and he’d tamed the usually thick unruly wave in front.

  What in the world? Even his eyebrows had been groomed. Unconsciously, she lifted a hand and touched her own brows. Good grief, I forgot to check mine. He’s in better shape than me tonight. She bit her lip and said. “Jason, you look so…different.”

  He held out his hand to her, the nails clean and filed short. She suppressed a shiver at the touch. His hand was soft, his scent foreign. Miranda’s breath caught. What on earth is going on? She pulled her hand away. “Let me get your letter.”

  “It can wait.”

  “No, I’ll be right back,” she said and went to retrieve it.

  She ran from the room, her thoughts reeling. What’s he playing here? It’s like he's morphed into some weird version of Dylan. She chewed on her thumbnail, thinking quickly. Fake it. Pretend everything is normal. Maybe he’s trying to impress me.

  She scooped the letter off the counter and hurried back.

  Jason stuck the envelope inside the front of his jacket without a look. Miranda’s forehead crinkled in puzzlement.

  “I already know what it says.” He answered her unasked question.

  “Oh? Why did you come then?”

  “I wanted to see you.”

  Miranda felt her cheeks color.

  Walking to the coat rack, Jason casually pulled down her grey wool jacket and held it out.

  “Thank you,” she said as she slid her arms into it. “So where are we off to tonight?”

  “I have a few surprises.” He grinned. His lip caught on his crooked tooth and she exhaled in relief. There he was, his beautiful smile.

  “You kids be good,” Cassie admonished.

  “Shake that finger at me again—” Miranda warned with a scowl.

  Cassie laughed as she shut the door behind them.