Living in Shadow

by Georgia Florey-Evans

  The phone rang, and he nearly dropped it in his haste to answer. He’d been expecting this call.

  “It’s working,” James assured him. “Our actions are pushing the dispatcher right into his arms.” He snickered. “Literally.”

  “And you’re positive about this woman’s family?”

  “She’s completely alone.” Doubt crept into the caller’s voice. “You promised she won’t suffer, though. Right?”

  “She’ll serve her purpose by causing pain for Davis. There is no need for her to suffer.” Other than the effect watching her writhe in pain would have on her new boyfriend. He couldn’t tell this person that, though. The fool thought himself noble.

  “Just keep making appearances to stir things up a bit,” he instructed the man on the other end of the call. “We don’t want the newly budding romance to fizzle out.”

  “If you’d have seen how he acted with her, you wouldn’t be worried. I wouldn’t be surprised if they didn’t make it something official before too long.”

  “Just remember your job.” He hung up before the other man could make one more self-serving comment. If it were left up to James, there would be a parade right down the main street of Shadow held in his honor.

  He caught a glimpse of his reflection in the mirror over his desk. When had he grown old? Had it been only after everything fell apart, or had it been from the life he was already living?

  It didn’t matter now. He stiffened his spine and stood straighter. What none of the men in Shadow knew, was that he had his own way of helping the plan along. And tomorrow would be a good time to kick things into gear.

  He’d better get busy. There were many preparations to make.

  He picked up the phone and dialed a number.

  Chapter 38

  Haley grasped Beau’s hand tighter and tried not to scream. Why she had ever let herself be talked into riding a roller coaster was beyond her.

  “Here we go!” Beau yelled, just as they crested a rise and plummeted down the other side.

  Fine. She had been okay with visiting Six Flags on one of the last open weekends of the season. She’d even been happy about it. She just failed to consider what they would do when once inside the park.

  At that moment, she was thanking her lucky stars she hadn’t eaten more than an orange for breakfast. Haley might just find herself being very embarrassed if there had been anything more in her stomach.

  She nearly went to her knees to kiss the asphalt when they finally stepped out of the car a few minutes later.

  “It’s official.” Beau tugged her along with him as he left the ride area. “We have now ridden all of the roller coasters here except the Batman.”

  Haley froze in her tracks. “Oh, no.” She shook her head. “I’m not getting on anything that turns me upside down. No way.”

  His gaze swept over her face before he laughed. “You do look a little green around the gills.” Beau reached over and pushed some hair that had escaped her ponytail back from her face. “Okay. It’s your turn to pick a ride anyway.”

  “First, I need to visit the ladies room.” Because she was too embarrassed to tell Beau before, Haley had “held it” much longer than she should. That crazy roller coaster had just about taken care of the problem for her.

  “Good idea.” He didn’t drop her hand as they headed for one of the several buildings situated conveniently around the park.

  “I’ll see you in a few minutes,” he told her before leaving her at the entrance to the women’s side, so he could go around to the men’s.

  After hurriedly taking care of her most urgent problem, while washing her hands, Haley made the supreme mistake of looking in the mirror.

  “Oh, my goodness.” She looked worse than she did when she first got out of bed each morning. Part of the hair on top of her head was standing up, and she doubted very seriously if even half of it was still inside the elastic band she’d so carefully put it in. And her eyes! Why had she tried to wear mascara to an amusement park? “I look like a deranged Barbie doll!”

  “Oh, honey, it’s not that bad.” Haley looked over to see an elderly woman standing at the next sink. “Would you like to borrow my hairbrush?”

  Haley knew using another person’s hair implements was generally not advisable, but in this case, the woman beside her appeared to be very nice—and clean. “Yes, thank you.”

  “Here you go.” The older woman handed a bright pink brush to Haley. “I have some wet wipes in my purse if you’d like to wash that mascara off.”

  A few minutes later, thanks to the kind woman, Haley felt like a new person. “Thank you very much.”

  “You’re welcome.” Her benefactor smiled warmly. “You look lovely, and that braid will hold up much better than a ponytail.”

  Before she knew it, Haley found herself learning about her new friend. Ethel Bradbury had been married to Frank for fifty-three years. They had four children, nine grandchildren, and six great-grandchildren—four of whom they had brought to Six Flags for the day. The boys, ranging in age from four to seven, were currently sitting in one of the restaurants with their grandfather, enjoying a pizza.

  “Oh, gracious sakes.” Ethel looked around her. “I’ve kept you in here forever, haven’t I?”

  Beau! Haley had forgotten Beau! “My date is probably worried. It was really nice talking to you, though.”

  “I’m glad we met,” the other woman agreed.

  Haley practically ran out of the bathroom. Beau stood a few yards away, an anxious look on his face.

  Before she could say anything, Haley found herself wrapped tightly in his arms and held against him. “I was beginning to think you’d been kidnapped or something.” Beau’s breathing was ragged. “If you hadn’t come out when you did, I was going in there to get you.”

  “I’m sorry.” Haley felt horrible. There he was, with somebody after him, and his date had seemingly disappeared. Of course, it disturbed him. “I wasn’t thinking, Beau. I met a sweet woman in there, and we got to talking, and I just forgot where I was. I’m sorry.”

  Beau eased his hold so she could lean back and he could look into her eyes. “Please don’t scare me like that again, Haley.”

  She impulsively hugged him. “I won’t.”

  He took a deep breath and slowly released her. “Okay.” His smile wasn’t as bright as it had been earlier, but it was there. “What do you want to ride?”

  “I’m kind of hungry.” Now that she was off those crazy rides, her nearly empty stomach was starting to protest. “Can we eat something?”

  “Sure.” His hand once more claimed hers as they started walking. “What are you hungry for?”

  Twenty minutes later, Haley found herself sitting at a relatively secluded picnic table, across from Beau, with burgers and fries between them.

  “Are you having fun?” The solemnity of Beau’s voice told Haley he truly wanted her to be.

  “I haven’t had this much fun since I was a teenager.” And that was the truth. “When was the last time you were here?”

  Beau seemed to consider her question for a few moments. “I guess it was right before my sister graduated from high school. She asked for a family outing as part of her graduation present, and this is what our parents came up with.”

  That sounded very nice. “So, was it just the four of you, or did you and your sister bring friends?”

  “It was just my family.” A pensive expression appeared on Beau’s face. “You know, I think that was the only time my sister and I spent the day together. We’ve never really been close.”

  Haley had often wished she had a brother or sister, especially since her parents were gone. “What is your sister like?”

  A small smile came to his face. "Callie is a lot like our mom. She always wanted to be a wife and mother—nothing else. She married right out of high school, and slid right into the life she wanted.”

  “How did she and her husband meet?” Haley wanted to know more about Beau’s family. “
Did they go to school together?”

  He shook his head. “Elliott is six years older than Callie.” The french fry he was holding came perilously close to being dunked in his Coke as he spoke. “He was at a fundraising dinner my parents attended. Callie didn’t want to go, but Mom made her. It was for a good cause, and they were all going to support it.”

  “So, it was love at first sight.” How romantic!

  Beau swallowed his fry. “Not at all. In fact, Elliott mistook Callie for the drug dealer he was there undercover to bust.”

  Haley's hand froze with her soda halfway to the table. “What happened?”

  “My sister was standing by herself out on the veranda, pouting because Mom made her go. She had no idea it was the place where Elliott had arranged to buy drugs.” From the smile on Beau’s face, this must be an amusing story. “Elliott walked up and asked her if she had what he needed. Callie thought he was hitting on her, so she hauled off and slapped his face. He was shocked speechless.” Beau chuckled. “My sister has Mom’s temper, too. She told him in no uncertain terms what she thought of a man who would try to take advantage of a woman, merely because she had the misfortune to be standing outside alone. Then she got started about being forced to be there in the first place, and Elliott got chewed out for that, too. He says she was drawing too much attention to them, and he didn’t know how to shut her up, so he finally kissed her. I guess Callie liked it because they’ve been together ever since.”

  “That is amazing.” Haley smiled at him. “What a remarkable story.”

  His brow lifted as he looked at her over his burger. “You mean like the story of a man rescuing a woman from poison oak?”

  Haley’s heart sped up. “That’s a good one, too.” She couldn’t help but laugh. “Especially if you include the shower.” Her cheeks immediately warmed as she realized what she’d said. “I mean, not that you saw me in the—” She dropped the fry she was holding back onto the tray and buried her face in her hands.

  The sound of his soft laughter brought her eyes slowly over her hands to peer at him.

  “You are even prettier when you blush.” Beau shook his head. “I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of seeing it.”

  She made herself pull her hands away from her face and focused on her sandwich. “That wasn’t the first time we met, you know.”

  “I remember when we both helped Luke and Holly move in,” he assured her.

  Haley shook her head. “Still not the first time. We ran into each other once.” She couldn’t stop her smile.

  “What?” Beau looked confused. “I think Holly might have introduced us once, but I’m not sure if either of us really noticed the other.”

  “You almost knocked me over.” If he didn’t have any memory of it, maybe she should just forget it.

  His eyes studied her face for a minute before they lit up. “That was you! I literally ran into you at the drugstore, didn’t I?”

  “Yes.” She was already having second thoughts about reminding him. What if he’d noticed what she was purchasing? That could be embarrassing.

  “Tell me about your childhood.” She would just change the subject.

  He gave her a puzzled look at the change in topic, but then a smile appeared as he spoke. “I had a wonderful life.” Beau seemed surprised by his own words. “I guess you could say I had the best of both worlds. We lived in a suburb of Chicago, where culture and activities were available, and I spent every summer on my grandfather’s farm. My mom insisted her children would know what her life was like before she married Dad. Then, we could make up our own minds whether to live in the city or the country.”

  “So, your sister spent summers on the farm, too?” Haley had experienced a good childhood, too, but Beau’s sounded fascinating.

  He nodded. “Only she was inside with Grandma, or outside at the horse barn. I think we’d see each other at breakfast and dinner, and not even know the other one was there the rest of the time. Callie learned to garden from Grandma.”

  “You were happy.” It was a simple observation.

  “I was happy,” he agreed. “What about your childhood? Before you lost your parents, I mean.”

  Haley swallowed the last of her hamburger before she answered him. “My parents and I did everything together.” Her memories were precious. “Most of my friends complained about their moms and dads, but I never did. I never had cause to. They made sure I knew who Jesus was and encouraged me to be as involved in church activities as I wanted.” She could still see her mom and dad smiling and waving goodbye the first time she’d gone away to church camp. Most of the other moms were crying and acting all sad, but her mom was happy Haley was going to experience something special. She knew Haley would be home in a few weeks. “We went on a family vacation every summer.”

  “I understand if this is too hard for you to talk about.” Beau’s gentle voice reached her ears.

  “It’s not.” And it wasn’t anymore. She found herself wanting to share her life with the man sitting across from her. “Can you believe I’ve been in all forty-eight contiguous states? I mean, we only drove across the corner of some of them, but we made it to every single one.”

  “That’s quite an accomplishment.” Beau set his empty paper cup on the tray in front of him. “How did you end up in Shadow?”

  “After my parents . . . I decided I wanted to be a dispatcher. So, I went to Kent State and earned a bachelors’ in communication. Then, one day, I was searching online and saw the opening for a police dispatcher in Shadow. I sent in my résumé and credentials, and the rest is history.”

  Beau frowned. “What’s the deal with Shadow, anyway? Do you have any idea where it got its name?”

  That was actually one of Haley’s favorite stories. “A man named Virgil Richmond and his wife Betsy spent months traveling west.

  Haley went on to describe the way Betsy outsmarted her husband. As the community grew, Virgil named it Shadow. It stuck, I guess.”

  Beau appeared to be amused. “You wouldn’t be a descendant of Betsy, would you? Because I can just see you shoving a man under a tree and telling him that’s where you were staying.”

  “Nope.” Haley laughed at the thought. “But Clay Richmond is a direct descendant of Virgil. If you ever get the chance, ask him to tell you the story. He’s actually much better at it than I am.”

  “I don’t know.” Beau reached over and picked up her last french fry. “You did a pretty good job of it.”

  Haley immediately felt her face grow warm and knew she was blushing again. “Let’s go. I’m going to drive you around the track in one of those antique cars.”

  “You’re going to drive?” Beau’s brow shot up. “I’m not sure if I can handle that kind of threat to my masculinity.” The teasing smile belied his words.

  “Then just wait until we ride the bumper cars.” Haley looked into Beau Harding’s eyes and felt her heart being tugged a little closer to his. This was good, and best of all, it was real.

  Chapter 39

  Hardy nearly tripped over Clarence as he stepped down out of his camper the following Friday afternoon. “Whoa, there!” He barely managed to stay on his feet. “What are you trying to do, Clarence? I just showered." He scratched behind the dog's ears. “I don’t intend to roll around in the dirt with you.”

  “Clarence!” Luke’s voice came from the side of Hardy’s camper a moment before the man appeared. “I told you to wait for me, didn’t I?”

  It was hard not to laugh when the dog appeared to nod. “Are you sure Clarence is really just a dog?” he asked Luke.

  Luke reached down and petted the animal. “I’m not too sure sometimes. He’s always been like this, though, ever since I brought him home.

  "You haven't trained him?" How could Clarence act this way if he weren't trained?

  Luke chuckled. “He plopped onto his stomach and wouldn't get up the first time I tried. The second time, he grabbed the trainer's soda out of her hand and ran like the wind."
/>   Hardy had to laugh at the image Luke described. “I take it you didn't try that again." Luke shook his head. “Well, then, if he's not trained, how does he know to act like this?"

  Holly says it’s because I talk to him like he’s a person. He thinks he is one.”

  “She may have a point.” Hardy took in the dirty jeans and jacket the other man was wearing. “How does it feel to be back at work?”

  “Good.” Luke touched his side. “I can still feel my wound, though. I’m blessed that the bullet missed my vital organs and passed right through.”

  “I know what you mean.” Before Hardy really considered his actions, he lifted his jacket and shirt, showing a scar on the right side of his abdomen.

  Luke’s eyebrows shot up. “That looks just like my…Have you been shot, Hardy?”

  Hardy decided he trusted Luke and didn’t care what the so-called rules of anonymity were. The Walkers should know enough to stay safe. “Yes. I was just given a clean bill of health right before I came here.”

  “What happened?” Luke asked, “If you don’t mind telling me.”

  “You can’t tell anybody except Holly, and it has to stop with her.” Hardy suddenly realized this was the right thing to do.

  Luke nodded. “You have my word.”

  “I was an undercover police officer in Chicago. I had to blow my cover to testify in a trial that put the top dog’s son away for the rest of his life.” Hardy found it oddly freeing to tell Luke. “The kid’s father was after me, and he runs a big organization, so when I was shot during an unrelated incident, the Chicago Police Department and FSA decided it would be a good idea if I died. After I recuperated I came here.”

  “These robberies and the murder.” Luke cast a worried look around them before returning his gaze to Hardy. “Do they have anything to do with you?”

  “I think they do,” Hardy admitted. “And even though I’m all but sure the syndicate hasn’t found me, I don’t know who has. I’m staying, though, and finding out. I won’t run off and leave a mess I’m responsible for.” He should have thought of this long before now. “If you want me to pull my camper out of here tonight, I understand. I don’t want you and Holly to be in any danger because of me.”