“That sounds better than my own plans—a long walk and leftover chili.”
She pulled on her jacket, locked the doors behind them and they strolled toward the fairgrounds amid a crowd of people filling the street.
“There are two food tents run by the local churches. The Community Church is known for their hot roast beef sandwiches and fried chicken. Faith Church is known for pulled pork sandwiches, pizza and their huge hamburgers.” She looked up at him and grinned. “Or if you prefer carnival food, there’ll be corn dogs, deep-fried Wisconsin cheese curds, deep-fried pickles, deep-fried Snickers and cotton candy. Which I think represent all of the most important food groups. Sort of.”
The sun hovered on the horizon, tinting the scattered clouds rose and blue. In the soft light of approaching dusk, Keeley’s pale hair gleamed and her skin took on a soft, luminous glow. She was truly so beautiful that she took his breath away.
“So what’s wrong with the local guys that none of them have nabbed you by now?”
“I haven’t a clue.” She laughed and looped her arm through his. “Though since it seems to be a pretty universal situation, it must be my fault. I date someone for a while. Then eventually we drift apart and end up as friends.”
“Your fault?” The warmth of her arm in his shot straight to his chest, making him want to deck the guys who had made her doubt herself. Making him want to thank them for being so blind.
He looked down at her in wonder. “It can’t have been anything to do with you. You’re smart, kind, and you have the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever met. You fiercely defend your friends. Oh, and you’re beautiful, but it’s the other stuff that matters.”
“I’m not sure that’s all true, but thanks.” She laughed. “Then maybe it’s just that I haven’t met the right person yet.”
Maybe you have, his inner voice whispered.
Though he had so little to offer anyone like her, he would never say that aloud.
Across the street, past the entrance of the fairgrounds, colorful carnival lights swirled and spun on the rides spinning up into the night sky. The laughter and shrieks of the kids competed with the cacophony of the midway music and the carnies shouting invitations to a row of tents offering games no one could win.
In stark contrast, a lone, familiar figure stood in the shadows outside the gate, hunched over, his arms wrapped around his waist as if someone had just landed a blow. A moment later he dropped to his knees then sagged against the trunk of a tree.
“Oh, my,” Keeley breathed as she started to run. “Is he hurt? Please—get ready to call 9-1-1.”
Connor followed, scanning the darkness for possible threats. His stomach clenched at the thought of someone taunting or physically harming Bobby just because he was big, and harmless, and too trusting. A child with special needs who would never quite fit in.
Life was unfair—Connor had learned that lesson himself.
And if he found out someone had hit Bobby, that person would be learning a lesson, too—but with an arrest, not a bully’s fist.
Chapter Sixteen
“Hey, Bobby,” Keeley murmured as she knelt next to him and rested a hand on his shoulder. “Are you okay?”
He jerked away and pressed his face against the tree.
“I need to know what happened, honey, and I’m not leaving until I do. Did someone hurt you?”
Connor hunkered down next to them. “If that happened, you don’t need to be afraid. Both of us can help. And Keeley has good friends in the sheriff’s department, so—”
“No! L-leave me alone.” His voice broke on a sob. “Just go away.”
“Friends can’t do that, Bobby.” Keeley rubbed his back. “I can’t just leave you here if something is wrong.”
He didn’t answer.
“Is your aunt Bess home? Do you want me to call her?”
He shook his head violently.
“Do you want us to take you home?”
“N-no. S-she isn’t there anyway.”
Keeley looked up as several cars drove past and turned into the lane leading to the fairground parking lot. Some of the deputies might well be patrolling the fairgrounds, and if one of them came by, she would have Connor flag him down. “You need to tell me, so I’ll ask you again. Did anyone hurt you?”
He lifted his tearstained face and shook his head, but his gaze darted away and she knew he was lying.
“Okay...for now. Connor and I were just heading over here for something to eat. Want to join us? I hear the pizza and the hot roast beef sandwiches are really good this year. And the all-you-can-eat chicken is always amazing.”
He started to shake his head again but then his stomach rumbled and she slid her arm around his shoulders to give him a hug. “I think you’d better come with us and have some supper. My treat.”
They walked through the crowds in the midway to the food tents, where long lines of people were waiting to be served. “This is obviously a popular choice. So what’s your favorite—crispy fried chicken, pizza or the hot roast beef?”
“Chicken,” Bobby murmured with such reverence that both Connor and Keeley chuckled.
“While you guys are waiting, I need to make a quick phone call. I’ll be back in a moment.” Keeley slipped out of line and headed for a quiet area beyond the petting zoo and the Aspen Creek Quilters’ booth with its colorful display of quilts.
She dialed the home phone number at Bess’s place and let it ring until the answering machine kicked in. She left a message about Bobby eating supper with her at the fairgrounds and promised he’d be home by ten.
But where was she?
Uneasy now, Keeley Googled the number of the Pine Cone Tap by Bess’s house. A surly bartender answered on the sixth ring, the noise of a rowdy crowd and a jukebox blaring in the background making it nearly impossible to hear him.
“She didn’t bother to show up tonight, so she’s fired. But even if she was here, no one takes personal calls here. Not ever.” He slammed down the receiver.
Troubled, Keeley considered the possibilities as she walked back to the Community Church food tent and joined Connor and Bobby just as they were at the front of the line ordering.
Olivia looked up at them and smiled. “Hey, Bobby, Keeley. Nice to see you.” Her gaze veered over to Connor. “This must be your new employee?”
“Connor, this is Olivia—one of my book-club friends. Connor will be working at the shop for a few more weeks.”
“Good. So what will you have? The chicken is excellent tonight, if you want to give it a try.”
Keeley checked with Bobby and Connor, then placed her order with theirs, insisting on paying the tab when Connor reached for his wallet. “Consider this employee appreciation night. On me,” she said lightly. Once they’d settled at a table with their heaping platters of food, she watched Bobby attack his meal as if he were starving.
When he finally slowed down, she sipped her coffee and chose her words carefully. “This all looks wonderful, doesn’t it? By the way, I called your aunt to let her know you were eating with us, so she wouldn’t worry.”
Bobby froze, an extra-crispy chicken leg halfway to his mouth.
“She wasn’t home, though,” Keeley added. “So I hope this is okay with her. Any idea where she is?”
Bobby shifted uneasily. “Working. She said she would be working at the bar tonight.”
“Ah. Of course. Does she still work at the Pine Cone?”
He nodded. “Every night but Monday and Tuesday.”
So why hadn’t she shown up to work? Then again, the woman could have been asleep when Keeley called. In the bathtub. Or just ignoring landline calls as so many people did to avoid irritating robocalls from companies selling something.
But with a teenage boy who wasn’t home, how could an
yone not answer the phone?
Since meeting Bobby several years ago, he’d always been a sweet, honest and forthright teen—never late for work, never dishonest with her. As far as she could tell.
Yet in the space of a few days, his lies and half-truths were stacking up like cord wood for the winter and his tension was palpable.
So what on earth was wrong?
After Bobby finished his chicken, Keeley led the way to the petting zoo, where she and Connor sat on a park bench watching Bobby pet the baby goats, lambs and calves. Her heart warmed when he moved on to the enclosure filled with chicks and ducklings, a huge smile on his face as he asked the supervisor a barrage of questions.
“He seems so enthralled that I wonder if he’s ever been to a real zoo,” she murmured to Connor. “It’s so sad, really. I do think his aunt loves him, but he has missed out on so many of the things other kids take for granted.”
“You’ve done a lot for him, though.” Connor glanced down at her, frank admiration and another, deeper emotion in his eyes. “Sounds like he’s needed a good influence in his life.”
She bit her lip. “I try, but it’s just not enough.”
“He’s been blessed to have you.” Connor watched Bobby move on to study the reptiles contained in a long row of glass aquariums. “I remember hearing a sermon as a kid. Something about how God uses people around us to provide help, emotional support and comfort in answer to our prayers. That’s what you do for Bobby.”
Surprised, she glanced at him. “I didn’t realize that you’re a believer.”
“That’s how I was raised, but once I went to college I got cocky. Figured I was my own man and didn’t need help from my dad, other people or even the Lord above.” A corner of his mouth lifted in a faint, rueful smile. “It was one of many reasons my dad and I fought. Now that I’m older, I realize he was right.”
“You’re sure welcome to come to church with me, if you’d like.”
“I’ll think about it.” Connor hooked one ankle across his opposite thigh and leaned back. “I sorta had a falling-out with God, but then had five long years to dwell on it.”
“That’s a long time to hold a grudge. Did it help? Being angry, that is.”
“It’s kind of hard to let go when you stay behind bars year after year.” He slid a glance at her then lifted his gaze to the darkening sky, where thin ribbons of gold and red trailed along the horizon. “But I’m working on it.”
“A lot of people think that if God is so all-powerful, then he should keep us from harm and fix everything that goes wrong.” She tipped her head and looked at him. “I figure He gave us free will, so we make our own mistakes, might be at the wrong place at the wrong time, or can be at the mercy of those who choose evil over good. But God doesn’t make the bad things happen.”
Bobby came over to stand beside them.
“Can we go to the midway and see the rides?”
“Better than that. I think you should go on them, don’t you?” Keeley reached into her pocket and pulled out a long strip of tickets. “I bought these while you guys were standing in line at the food tent. I hope you can use them up, because I hate heights and those rides give me a bad case of vertigo.”
Bobby had been tearful when they’d found him by the fairground entrance and still subdued while eating supper, but now he broke into a smile from ear to ear. “Really? All of them?”
She handed them over. “Have at it, kid. I think there’s enough for every ride here. You deserve a good time. We’ll be on the bench by the Ferris wheel when you’re ready to leave.”
During their long wait, Connor had draped his arm around her shoulders and she’d leaned against him to savor his warmth against the chilly night air. It felt so right, sitting there with him...even if several passersby had looked at them and raised an eyebrow as they strolled past.
“I want to apologize for Todd,” she said after a long pause. “He grew up in town and it seems like he’s still trying to prove something to everyone. That’s all I can figure out, anyway.”
Connor looked down at her with frank admiration. “He probably has a crush on you.”
“Well, if he does he’d better watch out. His fiancée is a tough cookie and she’ll lay into him good if she detects a wandering eye.” Keeley snorted. “They’re a good match, because he’s the most bullheaded man I ever met. I promise you I won’t let him railroad you. And if it comes to that, I’ll have my lawyer take care of it.”
He chuckled. “I don’t need one with you around. Have you ever thought about law school?”
“For about five minutes in high school, until I job-shadowed someone.”
They settled into companionable silence, watching Bobby move from one ride to another.
But an hour later Bobby was on the roller coaster for the third time and Keeley was long past ready to go home. Still, seeing the teen screaming with delight on one ride after another had made her day. He’d even found a buddy—a boy with thick glasses whom he seemed to know from school.
“You must be tired,” Keeley said, raising her voice over the noise of the midway. “You don’t have to wait here with me if you just want to go home.”
Connor gave her shoulders a quick squeeze. “I’ll stick around. Since you’re taking Bobby home, I’d like to come along. You mentioned his house is behind some run-down bar, so that can’t be very safe on a Friday night.”
* * *
Keeley had taken Bobby home after work many times and had nearly declined Connor’s offer to come along.
Now, looking at Bess’s dark, forbidding shack of a house, she was glad he was with her. Honky-tonk music blasting from the Pine Cone Tap was so loud she could feel the vibration beneath her feet. A trio of men lounged against the back door and stared at her, the smell of their cigarettes wafting through the windows of her SUV.
Rolling up the windows, she put it in Park and looked over her shoulder. “Where do you think your aunt is, Bobby?”
“Working,” he mumbled, not meeting her eyes.
“Where?”
He tipped his head toward the bar. “She always works there.”
“I called your house and the bar before we had supper, to let her know you were with me. She didn’t answer at home and a guy at the bar said she didn’t show up.” Keeley dredged up her sternest look. “Is there something you aren’t telling me?”
Clutching the backpack he held on his lap, he squirmed in his seat. “No.”
“Bobby?”
He dropped his gaze to his backpack. “She maybe doesn’t feel good.”
“Like the flu? A bad cold? Should I go in and check on her?”
He shook his head as he opened his door. “Thanks for everything. I gotta go.”
He hurried to the front door of the house, bowed under the weight of his backpack and let himself in.
Keeley sighed. “Doesn’t that woman ever lock her doors?”
She waited for the lights to blaze on inside the house, but it remained eerily dark. “If I go knock on the door this late at night, it might scare Bess half to death. But if I don’t, I won’t sleep for thinking about her.”
Connor nodded. “I imagine she’s had her share of drunks from the bar pounding on her door. Try calling her again.”
“Good idea.” Keeley pulled out her cell phone, found Bess’s number and put the cell on speakerphone.
But once again the call landed at the answering machine.
Connor frowned. “Does she have a landline or a cell?”
“Landline.”
“So even if her power is out, her phone should ring. Why didn’t Bobby pick up your call?” He stepped out of the vehicle and strode up the dark sidewalk, then knocked loudly on the door. “Bobby? It’s me—Connor. Are you all right?”
Keeley joined him an
d peered in the window next to the door, then tapped the flashlight app on her smartphone. “This is so strange. At least Bobby should be here.”
The door creaked open a couple of inches. “What do you want?” Bess’s voice quavered. “Just go away.”
“It’s Keeley, Bess. We just dropped Bobby off a few minutes ago, but the lights never came on and no one answered the phone. Is everything all right?”
“Yes. Now please go.”
She started to push the door shut but Keeley moved her foot to block it, then lifted the flashlight beam to waist level, enough to weakly illuminate the older woman’s face.
Heavy bruising darkened one eye and there was a dark bruise on the opposite cheekbone.
Keeley gasped. “What on earth happened to you?”
“Nothing—nothing at all. I just tripped on a rug and fell. Please—just go. I’m not feeling well and I’m trying to sleep.” But the urgency in her voice and her darting gaze told a different story.
“Is there someone in there with you who did this?” Connor whispered. “We can help. Or we can call 9-1-1.”
“No. No, of course not,” she snapped. “I was clumsy. I fell. End of story. I want to go back to bed, so don’t you dare call anyone. Hear? There’s no need.”
“Then would you let us come inside for a minute just to be sure everything’s okay? I’m worried about you, Bess,” Keeley said quietly.
“Don’t be,” she pleaded. “Look, my husband is asleep on the sofa and he’s had a long day. If you wake him up he won’t be happy. He’ll never get back to sleep tonight.”
Startled, Keeley stared at her. “Your husband?”
“Please, just leave us alone.”
“All right, then,” Keeley said quietly. “But you have my number and I’ll always be willing to help you any way I can. Okay?”
When Bess pushed the door shut in her face, Keeley stared at it for a moment, her heart sinking.
Maybe Bess had been truthful... It was possible that she’d fallen.
But it wasn’t likely.
The Single Dad's Redemption Page 13