He cleaned up his mess in the kitchen and the bathroom so she’d never know he was there, at least not as long as she didn’t count her slices of bread or lunch meat. Like the careful sleuth he was, he went about her apartment, delving in here and there, searching for clues to her whereabouts. He’d almost been ready to give up when he noticed the intermittent, flashing light on her desktop computer.
“Well, hello there.” With any luck there was no password and lots of bookmarks. He rubbed his hands and nudged the mouse. A minute later the unprotected desktop popped up. A picturesque scene of cedar trees dotting a hilly landscape, most likely the Texas Hill Country. And right there on the screen was an icon for e-mail.
“For making this so easy for me, maybe I won’t slit your throat, bitch,” he growled softly to himself. “Maybe I’ll find a nice secluded place and chain you again so I can watch you suffer by yourself while you give birth to my kid. I could call my brother. Brian would like you. I might not be able to breed you anymore but I bet he’d like a chance at you.” The thought gave him shivers of pleasure and even made his cock tingle.
He double clicked on the icon and waited while the online mail site loaded. With any luck, there might be travel confirmations, or an e-mail from family giving a hint at her destination.
Nothing. Just a message from a doctor’s office. His kid. Maybe it was news about his kid. Hungry for information, he clicked on it and frowned. Then understanding dawned on him.
“Well, well, well.” He was grateful to the doctor’s office for being so careful with their patients’ information. It was important to confirm records transfers when they were requested via e-mail. Looked like his bitch wasn’t going to be back to the apartment any time soon. He still wouldn’t trash it because the noise might draw attention, but he did load up the desktop, monitor, and accessories in a cardboard box. He needed to take some time and regroup. Locate her but let her think she was safe. Let her finish baking the bun he’d put in her oven. He also packed up some food for the road and went about devising a means to get transportation. Shouldn’t be too hard. I’ve masterminded all this so far.
Chapter Four
March…
Charity pulled out her vibrating cell phone as she walked down the main hallway of the medical building she worked at in Divine. She’d just returned from lunch at Rudy’s with Dr. Emma Rivers and Maya Warner.
It was thanks to Emma and Maya that she’d found a job a few years before at the medical laboratory in the same building as Emma’s medical practice. Prior to that, she’d had to commute every day to Morehead for her job as a phlebotomist.
Drawing blood specimens wasn’t the most glamorous job but she’d been told on numerous occasions that with her level of skill she was worth her weight in gold. She was proud of that, and her ability to set anxious patients at ease.
She looked at the message from Justine on the phone screen. “Mom, would you mind picking me up after school? I really don’t want to wait while Beau is at basketball practice. Not today.”
She typed a speedy reply. “Sure, honey. See you out front around four.”
The reply was just as quick and in all capital letters. “BLESS YOU!”
Charity smiled. Justine usually rode home from school with Beau in his truck after practice every day. Her level-headed daughter didn’t ask for favors unless it was important. She sighed, knowing that the time was drawing near for a little talk. Maybe they’d go for a treat that afternoon. Charity might be able to coax it out of her with soft-serve ice cream and hot fudge.
She slipped in through the employee entrance door. The receptionist grinned at her when she handed her the takeout box from Rudy’s and said, “Thank you for picking something up for me.” Charity slid her purse into her locker, washed her hands, and then returned to the office. The receptionist slid two forms across the counter and said, “You’ve got a client waiting.”
Charity lifted the forms, read the name twice, and then opened the door that led out to the waiting room. “Presley Ann.”
No one moved at first and she scanned the heads in chairs and spotted the blonde in the corner, facing the front windows, sitting alone. She glanced at the tests requested on the forms and schooled her reaction.
We’ve got babies just popping up all over the place lately. I sure didn’t see this one coming.
She walked over to where Presley Ann Woodworth sat and perched on the edge of the cushioned chair next to her. The pretty blonde was staring out the window. Her face was ghostly white and her eyes were vacant and bloodshot. Tear tracks marred her otherwise perfect makeup. “Presley Ann? Want to come on back with me?”
Presley Ann blinked and turned to her. “Huh? Oh. Sorry.” She sniffled and rose from the seat and slung her designer bag over her shoulder. Her confident front was belied by the way she teetered momentarily in her heels and Charity put out a hand to catch her in case she passed out. She directed Presley Ann to a seat in a private client room.
Presley Ann placed her arm where Charity directed her to and went through the motions as Charity prepared to draw blood to test for hCG, RPR, HIV and Alpha Fetal Protein. Tests normally performed early in pregnancy. Presley Ann looked off into the distance and didn’t even flinch when Charity did the venipuncture.
All Charity knew about Presley Ann was what she’d been told, and what she had observed about her bizarrely immature people skills. Intuition told her there was more to this young woman than anyone saw. She didn’t doubt Lydia Carlisle’s assessment of Presley Ann. She just thought there was more to the story.
Presley Ann gulped and sniffled as she looked off into the distance and Charity observed her become even paler as she switched out the glass vials one at a time, taking care to not inflict any additional pain.
“Presley Ann, did you eat lunch before coming in to have blood drawn?”
Drawing her attention back to Charity, Presley Ann looked up at her and Charity clucked sympathetically as her blue eyes rolled back and she passed out. She kept her from falling out of the chair and gently leaned her toward the padded arm and reached for a smelling salts ampule and broke it open. After she came to, Charity reached for a Wintergreen candy from the dish she kept filled just for such an event.
Presley Ann moaned and Charity quietly asked, “Are you diabetic?”
“Huh? No.”
“Open up, honey. I’m going to give you something that’ll help. I have a feeling you just gave me most of your blood sugar if you didn’t eat or drink anything before coming here. Better?”
Presley Ann whimpered and sucked on the candy. “What happened?”
“You passed out.” She handed her a paper cup filled with water. “Drink all of that.”
Presley Ann tipped the cup and drank every drop and asked for another after Charity was finished and had placed a bandage on her arm.
“Thank you. I didn’t realize…”
“It creeps up on you like that.”
Presley peered at Charity as she handed her the cup and then eyed the forms on the counter. “You won’t say anything, will you? I mean, I know people in small towns gossip. Soon enough everyone will know. I guess that should be the least of my worries.”
Charity patted her shoulder and said, “You stay put until you feel ready to stand up. And no, I won’t say a word. You’re covered under the Patient Privacy Act but…I’d never say anything even if that wasn’t the case. Everyone gossiped about my husband and me when we got married. They thought I was pregnant right out of high school graduation. We proved them wrong but it still hurt. I’d never do that.”
After a couple of minutes, during which she was almost painfully quiet, Presley Ann seemed to gather herself and stood. She looked down at her heels. “I hate these things.”
Charity chuckled. “I know what you mean, honey.”
“Why do we do this to ourselves? The heels, I mean?”
“Beats me sometimes. I suppose it’s to make us feel good about ourselves. I have a love-hate r
elationship with mine, too.”
Presley Ann chuckled dryly. “I wear them to impress men. Pretty soon I guess my feet won’t even fit in them…and I doubt I’ll be impressing anyone.” Her unfiltered honesty struck Charity as refreshing, despite the devastation that still showed in the dried tear tracks on her cheeks.
Charity smiled and said, “Enjoy them while you can, just be careful until you get something to eat. Your doctor will have the test results at your next appointment.”
Presley Ann turned to her, hesitated, and then held out her hand. “Thank you, Charity.”
Charity shook her hand gently, her heart filled with sympathy. “Hang in there, honey.”
Presley Ann finished up at the reception counter and was gone before Charity realized that she had dropped the juvenile speech affectation she normally used. Charity had thought it was put on but couldn’t understand why. Maybe Grace was right and she was afraid of being an adult, on her own. Considering the situation she was in, how grown up she could be was about to be tested. Parenthood was not for the weak of heart or character.
The afternoon rolled by at a quick pace and soon her workday was over. She pulled out her phone from her purse and checked for messages as she walked out to her car. Nothing new from Justine but there was a message from Justin.
“Hey, babe. Mom and Dad are coming to stay for the weekend. When you get home, pack a bag for a weekend getaway. Nothing fancy. You can pack some sexy lingerie but no guarantees you won’t go naked all weekend.”
“You’re a wicked man…and I love that about you. I’m taking Justine for a little treat after I pick her up at school. Beau will be home after practice. See you soon.”
“Can’t wait. I packed extra lube.”
Charity’s whole body quivered with anticipation as she started her car, pondering what evil uses he’d need extra lube for.
She turned off of Main Street onto the main entrance of Divine High School, home of the Divine Vikings. The line of cars picking up students had begun to dwindle, but there were still plenty of kids milling around the pickup area that was set up with benches and tables. She spotted her dark-haired daughter easily because her nose was buried in a thick book, studying no doubt.
Charity smiled, pride filling her. Justine had plans to one day be an interpreter and planned to learn as many languages as she could while she went to college. She had major goals and she pushed herself hard to achieve them.
Charity smiled again when she saw Beau get up from the table Justine sat at, along with a fellow classmate of his, evidently having spotted her car. Justine looked up for a moment, smiled at them, and nodded before quickly burying her nose in the text again. Beau was protective of Justine and would’ve sat with her while she waited for their mom before heading over to basketball practice. He’d always been protective of his bookish little sister and would’ve stayed with her, despite the fact she was studying.
Beau and his friend were talking and Charity removed her sunglasses and squinted, trying to get a good look at who he was associating with because she didn’t recognize the tall teenager.
“Who in the heck is that?”
He was tall and tan, had longish dark hair that nearly reached his shoulders and wore a baseball cap. He turned back to Justine at the last second, said something to her, and grinned before loping off on extraordinarily long, muscular legs after Beau.
“Good lord. Is he a teacher or a coach?”
He turned one last time and yelled something at her as he pulled his cap off to smooth his jet-black hair back before yanking it back on his head. He laughed when she buried her nose even deeper in the book and waved at him without looking. Beau frowned at him and whacked him in the chest when he drew close to him. The guy just grinned and Charity saw the smile Justine hid after a second.
“Wait a minute!” She knew that grin. She knew that kid. “Holy crap!” she shouted, startling herself with how loud she sounded, and was glad the windows weren’t down. “That’s Noah Cassidy? Fu—fudge!”
She took out her phone and dialed Grace’s cell phone and got voice mail. “Hey, sis. It’s me. It finally happened. I’m a dirty cougar. That’s all. Have a great evening!”
Noah Cassidy had been coming over to their house since he and Beau were in kindergarten. He’d gone on camping trips with their family, spent the night at their house, and helped build the outgrown treehouse in their backyard.
“When did he grow up? And why didn’t I recognize him?” She glanced in the mirror, noting the crow’s feet and laugh lines, and groaned. “Damn, I feel old.”
Her gaze was drawn to Justine again as a group of girls dressed in cheerleader uniforms descended on the table she sat at. A different sort of noise erupted from her that time, more of a mama bear growl.
She made herself stay in her vehicle as the line of cars snaked forward and watched as one girl in particular, with long blonde hair, leaned forward and stuck her finger in Justine’s face and spoke threateningly, judging by her body language. It’d been a while but Charity recognized Maggie Olson, who’d given Justine a hard time since they were little. The other girls were lookouts, evidently shielding Maggie from the view of the monitors as she actually poked Justine in the breast bone hard enough to make her flinch. A hand flashed out and shoved the large textbook Justine had been reading hard into her chest.
Justine caught the book before it could fall on the ground and stood so she was eye-to-eye with Maggie. Firming her jaw, Justine made a biting reply, then glared at the girl, not backing down. Maggie finally bobbled her head and sashayed her bony ass away with her friends in her wake, their ponytails swinging in the breeze.
She thought she’d heard Justine say a while back that Noah had been dating Maggie. That answered who had paid a visit to their house several weeks before. It also answered why they’d papered and egged the house. Noah Cassidy, evidently the hottest boy in school, must be interested in Justine.
Charity clucked maternally as she watched Justine gather her things together to come stand at the sidewalk. High color filled her cheeks and her lips were pressed together in a firm line. She dumped her backpack in the trunk and slid into the passenger seat. A huge sigh of relief burst from her as she buckled up, directed her gaze at the car stereo, and gave a slight smile. She turned up the stereo volume as Charity drove forward.
Charity chuckled as the windows vibrated with each beat of the music and, because there was no way Justine could hear her at the moment, said to herself, “Good thing I’m a Shinedown fan.”
When they reached the Dairy Queen on Crockett Street, she and Justine decided to split a brownie sundae with extra hot fudge and marshmallow cream. Justine groaned as she slid a bite of the hot fudge into her mouth.
Pride filled Charity as she considered Justine’s measured reaction to Maggie earlier. Charity knew her daughter could hold her own in a physical confrontation. Grace and Charity had coerced her into taking self-defense classes with them that Hank had been teaching. “I admire your self-discipline, sweetie. I watched Maggie poke you in the chest and had to fight the urge to take my earrings off and kick some skank ass.”
Justine snorted and looked at her with a mixture of amusement and gratitude in her eyes. “Thanks, Mom. She’s so not worth it.”
“What did she tell you?” Charity asked, already able to guess.
“That Noah Cassidy is her property and I’d better stay the hell away from him.” She took another bite of the ice cream and rolled her eyes. “They knew Beau and Noah came and sat with me at the picnic tables. I didn’t seek them out to sit with them. But that didn’t matter. In the animal world I think that was the equivalent of a cat pissing on a tire.”
Charity choked on her bite of brownie and ice cream and Justine gave her a wry laugh. After swallowing, she said “Are they the ones who papered and egged the house?”
“I’m sure they are. That’s the second time she’s approached me at school like that. I’ve been avoiding Noah, but I can’t do anythi
ng about it if he and Beau sit with me. But neither am I going to walk away from them. That would be rude to the guys and I’m not her little bitch. It’s not Noah’s fault Maggie Olson is a crazy-ass mean girl. They aren’t even together anymore.”
Charity was proud of the strong young woman Justine was becoming and knew the struggles she’d had with Maggie and other girls over the last several years. Being bookish and ultra-smart had meant she spent most of her time on the social periphery at school, labeled a nerd or a freak. The fact that she was beautiful and had been noticed by other guys just made the girls that much more jealous.
The saddest part for Charity was that Justine no longer complained that it wasn’t fair. Fair wasn’t even a part of the equation. It was all about pecking order. Justine seemed more resigned than actually upset and didn’t rage against the stupidity of one person thinking they could own another. She just curled her lip and rolled her eyes. “I’m so ready to be done with all that childish bullshit. I keep reminding myself that I graduate next May.”
“I wish that I’d called one of the guys to come pick you up. At least she’d know you have some badass guys in the family who watch out for you, besides your brother of course.”
“Now don’t go getting all wild on me, Mom. I’m handling things okay. I can endure anything until next May. Speaking of Val and Ransome, I like having them around.”
“Me, too, sweetie.” That was the total truth. She especially loved that they hung out in the evenings with the family.
“Can I ask you a question?”
“Sure,” Charity replied as she scooped out a bite of marshmallow-cream-covered brownie.
“Aunt Gracie is really happy, isn’t she?”
Divine Charity [Divine Creek Ranch 18] (Siren Publishing Ménage Everlasting) Page 7