No Plans for Love

by Ruth Ann Hixson

  "Now that everyone is here, I'm going home," Judy said. "Mom doesn't like it when I'm late."

  Scotty prepared to leave. "That car next door is gone. Did any of you see it leave?"

  "It might have left the same time Judy did," Mark guessed.

  "Mark! Stop standing around jawing and get these tires pumped up. I want to get home so I can get my Z's."

  Mark plugged the compressor into the cigarette lighter and squatted down beside the tire to fasten the hose to the valve stem. "You were already sawing wood when I woke you."

  The throbbing of the little motor had a comforting sound to Sherry as she and Frank went around to the driver's side. Frank knelt down and inserted the valve gut into the stem and used the little tool to screw it in.

  Sherry stood by shivering. It had been warm when she left home but now the night chill reminded her that summer was over. She'd have to remember to bring her jacket tomorrow.

  Frank stood up and took off his dark green jacket and draped it around her shoulders. "The air gets cool quickly after the sun goes down." He moved on to the back tire.

  Sherry put her arms in the sleeves of the jacket that was warm from Frank wearing it. Mark pulled the truck around to the drivers' side. When he saw Sherry hugging his father's jacket around her he cursed himself for not thinking of it first. He stepped down from the truck and squatted down to blow up the front tire. "If you're cold get in the car. Start it to warm up the engine so you can use the heater."

  Frank had walked around back of the store and now came striding back to the vehicles. "Sherry do you have your cell phone? Mine's at home on the charger."

  She dug the phone from her purse and gave it to him. He pushed the on button and squinted at the screen. "Good. You have Scotty's number." He spoke into the phone. "Scotty, that car didn't leave. It's parked behind the building. Maybe you should come have a looksee. Or do you want me to do it?" Frank turned off the phone and handed it back to Sherry. "He doesn't want civilians getting mixed up in police business. Here he comes now. Couldn't have been too far away."

  "Get out of the way, old man," Mark said. "Or do you want me to pump you up, too?"

  Sherry got in the car and started the engine. Frank leaned close to Mark. "I think I should drive Sherry's car home. You can follow in the truck."

  "I was going to suggest the same thing. I'll tell you one thing. There is no way I am going to allow Elena to get to Sherry again."

  They heard a shout from the next building over followed by the squall of tires. A black sedan tore across the parking lot followed by Scotty's police car with lights flashing and siren blaring. The car ran the stop sign at the end of the road and headed for the four lane with Scotty in hot pursuit.

  "At least they're going the opposite direction from where we'll be headed," Frank observed.

  When the last tire was inflated, Mark turned to his father. "Give me a few minutes to put this compressor away and get turned around. Then I'll be right behind you driving interference. No matter what you see going on behind you, get this wagon home and in the garage with the door down. I want Sherry safe inside."

  "Let me get that earphone to plug into Sherry's cell. That way we can keep in touch." He leaned in the truck cab and pulled the suction cup cell phone holder from the dash along with the ear phone while Mark put the compressor in the truck.

  Frank opened the driver's door on Sherry's car. "Scoot over. I'm driving."

  "Why?"

  "You've been through enough for one day."

  She didn't argue but slid across to the passenger side and buckled the seat belt. Frank crawled in with his knees almost against the steering wheel. "One of these days I'm going to fix this seat so it can be moved back. I feel like a grasshopper."

  Sherry giggled. "The woman I bought it from got tired of her teenagers pushing the seat back so she pounded a penny into the track so it couldn't be moved again. Have fun taking it out. Dawn's father tried but finally gave up."

  He stuck the suction cup to her dashboard. "Give me your cell phone." He plugged in the ear phone and stuck it in his ear. He scrolled to Mark's number and pushed the button. "Can you hear me?"

  "Loud and clear. I'm going to put this phone on speaker and put it in my shirt pocket. Tell me if you can hear me." A few seconds later, Mark asked, "Can you hear me all right?"

  "A little faint, but yes. I can hear you." He knew Mark wanted to have both hands free to drive.

  Frank put the car in drive and headed for the parking lot exit. He looked over with a grin and continued their conversation about the seat. "I don't give up too easily. That's why I'm still farming."

  Despite Frank's too-big jacket and she was still cold. "How long does the car have to run before it puts out heat?"

  "About now." He turned on the heater. Sherry's phone rang and he pushed the talk button expecting Mark to be on the other end but it was Scotty. "I lost him. I'm halfway to Lewistown and no sign of him. He must've gone some other way."

  "I'll let Mark know. Scotty, do you think Elena has someone helping her? How big was the guy?'"

  "Who do you have in mind?"

  "Steve Sturgis. He was with Elena last Monday morning when Mark stopped to see if she had anything to do with the break-in at Sherry's."

  "She didn't. That was Brian Winnette. He's Roy's oldest boy. The staties arrested him Saturday. He's back home in Roy's custody."

  "I know about that. That's why Roy kicked his sister out. He blames her for giving the boy the idea. She living with Sherry now."

  Scotty was silent for a moment. "The size is right but I don't think Steve Sturgis would do something like this. Besides, if the gossip is true..."

  "That's enough right there," Frank said sharply. "It's only speculation. I gotta let you go. I want to keep in touch with Mark. He's behind me driving interference in case Elena tries anything. Talk to your later." Frank rang off and connected with Mark again. "Mark, do you think Steve Sturgis could be involved with Elena enough to be helping her in this?"

  Mark didn't even have to consider it. "Steve's a good egg. I can't see him deliberately breaking the law. I've never known him to be mixed up with anything illegal. Why do you ask?"

  "I just talked to Scotty. He lost the guy he chased out of the parking lot next to the Dollar Store. I thought maybe Steve..."

  "I just picked up a tail. A car but I can't tell what kind and color. Get Sherry home as quick as you can. Now!" Mark slammed on the brakes and whipped the wheel sending the truck in a sideways slide.

  "What the heck are you trying to prove?" Frank yelled into the phone.

  "Get Sherry home and don't ask questions but stay in touch. The driver's getting out." Mark turned the crank to open the window, as the person in the car got out leaving the door open. The interior light cast a soft glow showing dirty too-big coveralls and a billed hat. But there was something familiar about the driver's movement.

  "That's some disguise, Elena. Where'd you get that idea?" Mark wasn't quite sure it was her until he noticed the gloves. He yelled out the window at her. "You made a mistake, Elena. You're wearing the gloves I bought you." He took his cell phone from his pocket so she could see he was talking to someone.

  "Who are you talking to?" she demanded.

  "Wouldn't you like to know." He lowered his voice. "Can you hear her, Dad?"

  "Not to understand what she says."

  Mark decided to try to trick her. "Chad tells me there is a court order for you to stay away from Sherry as part of your bail deal."

  "Are you talking to Chad Wertman? You set a trap for me, didn't you?" She piled back into her car and revved the engine. She made the quickest three-point turn on a country road he'd ever seen. He laughed as he rolled up the window. "Dad, call Scotty and tell him Elena's headed back toward town at a high rate of speed. Call the PSP, too."

  "We're in," was all Frank said.

  "I'll be there in a minute. Boy, do I have a tale to spin. She thinks we set a trap for her."

  Frank
removed the suction cup holding the cell phone to the dash and took the plug from his ear. "There's Mark now," he said to Sherry. "Go let him in while I call Scotty. Leave my jacket."

  "I have groceries in the back."

  "I'll fetch them." He already had the cell to his ear.

  Sherry smiled to herself. Fetch was a rather quaint word but she noticed that Frank often used expressions that were old fashioned.

  Her mother opened the kitchen door as she was unlocking the outside door. "I was worried about you. Why are you so late?"

  "Elena flattened my tires."She opened the door for Mark.

  As soon as he stepped across the threshold Mark seized her and folded his arms around her. "Thank God you're safe." He looked across her head to see the disapproving glare on Alison's face.

  Frank came through the breezeway with both hands full of bulging plastic bags. Alison stepped back to allow him room to get through the door. "There are two more bags in the car. You can get them." She crossed the breezeway looking back at Mark and Sherry.

  "Please, Mark. You're hurting me." Sherry tried to pull free of his arms and he let her go. "I must sit down. I'm tired, hungry and I hurt." She turned to the kitchen door and followed her mother inside.

  Frank got the blue mug from the cupboard and poured himself a cup of coffee. "That's cold," Alison said.

  He grinned. "It's coffee."

  "Dad doesn't care about the temperature as long as it's coffee," Mark remarked.

  Frank raised the mug in a kind of salute. "I don't have to wait for it to cool before I drink it." He took a big swallow.

  Alison took a package of toilet paper from a bag and threw it at Mark. "Put that in the bathroom."

  "Will you do something before you leave?" Sherry stepped into the dining room and switched on the light. "Please put these things under the daybed or over there in the corner so you can put the mattress here." She pointed to the corner on the opposite side of the wall from the kitchen table. "I worry that she may sneak up some night and shoot Mom through the window thinking it's me."

  "The cops took her gun," Mark reminded her.

  "Humph!" Alison scoffed. "Elena Bayshore has money and if she has money she can get a gun. There are probably more illegal guns out there than legal. If she comes around here with a gun she better make the first one count because she won't get a second."

  She opened her overstuffed purse that sat on one end of the table and pulled out a revolver. "It's legal and I know how to use it."

  "Mom put that gun away. You know I don't like guns."

  Frank took the gun and looked at it. "Thirty-eight. Is it loaded?"

  "It is so be careful. What good is a unloaded gun?"

  "You only have six shots so make them count." He handed the gun back to her and she returned it to her purse.

  "Mark, if you're coming with me, come on. I'm tired. I worked today."

  "I'm thinking about staying here tonight. To protect Sherry."

  "I'll protect Sherry," Alison declared

  "I appreciate your coming to help me," Sherry said. "but I'm safe now so go home."

  Alison followed them out. "Thank you for being there for her." She choked up. "I don't know what I'd do if I lose her. She's my baby." Tears came to her eyes. "I know she doesn't like it when I call her baby but she's all I have."

  "She's a grown woman," Mark stated. "If she insists on going to work tomorrow, please take her. I'll pick her up after work. That way she won't need to drive."

  Frank headed for the truck. "I'm driving."

  "I got the key." Mark fished the key from his denim jacket pocket.

  "Not the only one." Frank pulled a set of keys from his pocket.

  Chapter 10

  "Dang!" Mark let loose a few expletives as he mashed the accelerator to the floor sending the crimson vehicle rocketing along the drive. In front of the dollar store sat a police cruiser with lights flashing.

  Inside, Sherry sat on a chair at the cash register with her right arm lying across the checkout counter while Scotty took pictures of it.

  "What the heck's going on?" Mark demanded. As he got closer he saw long bloody streaks on Sherry's arm. "What happened?"

  "Your ex seems to think she's a cat. She clawed Sherry with those long nails of hers."

  "Chad told me they had her nails clipped when she went to jail," Mark said.

  "Artificial ones." Scotty took another picture.

  Mark walked over and took Sherry's left hand. "Now you know why I didn't want you to come to work." Mark turned his attention to Scotty. "Do you know there is a court order for Elena to stay away from Sherry?"

  "I know it. I got on the horn to PSP as soon as I got the call. They're out looking for her. I'm not too worried about that right now. If she doesn't show for that hearing tomorrow, they'll go after her to bring her in. If she shows, she'll be arrested. What's wrong with her? What'd you do to her?"

  "She broke up with me. I'm don't know what her problem is. Dad has a theory. He says Elena didn't like it that Sunday when Sherry held her own against her verbally. Last week, Sherry got in the last punch in that fight. Elena doesn't like to lose. He thinks she's out for revenge. Every time she tries to beat Sherry, she loses more and it's just snowballed to the point where she's obsessed with putting Sherry down."

  "Interesting idea. I'm through with Sherry, Judy. I still think she should go to the ER."

  "I got a tetanus shot Saturday and I'm on antibiotics," Sherry protested. "They wouldn't do anything more than Judy can."

  Sherry winced at the sting of the hydrogen peroxide Judy used to clean the scratches. When the wounds were cleansed, Judy wrapped her arm in gauze. "Take her home, Mark. And get her there safely."

  After she got her jacket and purse from the employees' room, Mark took Sherry's uninjured arm and led her out to his truck where he assisted her up to the passenger's seat. He started to pull the seat belt across her but she took it from his hand. "I'm injured not crippled," she snapped.

  He went around and stepped up to sit behind the wheel. "Are you all right?" As soon as the words were out of his mouth he knew he should have said "Okay."

  "No. I'm half left," she retorted but there was no humor in her voice. She remained silent until they passed under the four lane. "Did you get a subpoena for Elena's hearing?"

  "Yup. Do you want to ride down with me?"

  "I'd appreciate it. I don't feel like driving that far and I don't want Mom there. She's unpredictable and could say something that will do more harm than good. I got quarters for her to take the clothes to the Laundromat. I know she'll spend money to dry them instead of bringing them home to hang out but that's the price I must pay for keeping her out of my affairs. She tries to 'help' too much."

  "I'll be right there for you, Sherry. You know I love you."

  "The less said about that the better. It could go against us in a trial."

  "It could also go for us to prove motive. Though I have my doubts about that. I know she was cheating on me. I just don't understand what's gotten into her. Maybe Dad's right."

  "She's insane. I saw it in her eyes. Close up. I just don't know how she hides it from everyone else."

  "She didn't on Saturday when she took on two state troopers. Chad isn't someone to make mad at you. He's fit and capable; a formidable foe."

  He turned in her driveway. "Do you want me to come along in?"

  "No. I just want to eat something and go to bed. But Mom will be full of questions as to why I'm late the second night in a row, especially since I'm wearing a bandage on my arm. I am so tired of this whole thing. I wish it would just go away so I can get on with my life."

  Mark wondered if she wished he would go away, too, but he didn't ask. He might not like the answer. He helped her down and walked her to the door. Again, he saw Alison looking out the window. "May I kiss you?"

  She nodded. "I saw Mom, too."

  He leaned to kiss her but she didn't allow him to linger. Alison was at the door. "I'll pic
k you up about a quarter past eight in the morning. I love you. Good night." He turned and went back to his truck.

  Once inside the storm door, Sherry turned to watch him get in his truck. Her mother seemed impatient to get her inside so she could close the door. When they were in the kitchen with the doors locked and bolted, Sherry asked, "Will you help me out of my jacket?" She held out her left arm.

  Alison pulled the sleeve away as Sherry bent her arm to free it. "I can get the other one." She gingerly tugged the denim sleeve from the bandaged arm.

  "What happened?" Alison demanded.

  "Elena clawed me. I reached out to give her change to her. She hissed, spit in my face and scratched me. Then she said she doesn't take money from impoverished bastards and walked out."

  "Did you call the cops?"

  "Judy did. Scotty took pictures and information. Mark almost had a fit when he showed up to bring me home."

  "You told me there's nothing between you and Mark. So why do you let him kiss you?"

  "He thinks he's in love with me. I think he's on one king-size guilt trip because of what his ex is doing to me. He wants to make up for it."

  "Your courting trouble, girl. The last thing you want is a relationship with Mark Blakely."

  "Why?"

  "You really don't want to know."

  Sherry sighed deeply as she sat down at the end of the table. "What's for supper? I'm famished."

  "I took the opportunity to go to the store when I took you to work. I bought chicken and stuffing mix. I also got some salad. The only dressing you have is vinaigrette."

  "I don't have a fridge, Mom. Just get me something to eat. Then I'm going to bed. Is there tea?"

  "Cold or hot?"

  "Hot."

  "I'll heat the water. You should get a fridge."

  "I don't have the money to get a fridge and buy heating oil. Do you want a fridge or a warm house?"

  "I suppose heat is more important. When are you going to do this?"

  "It's not that cold yet. At night you can snuggle down under your duvet to keep warm. Dress warm in the daytime. I'm doing the best I can with what I have."