High Desert Hideaway

by Jenna Night

  “I’ll call Mr. Torrent in a few minutes and find out what he knows,” Wolfsinger said. “We’ll go to his business and talk to as many people as we can.” He got to his feet and turned to Nate. “If the men we’re looking for are not employees, then we’ll get a list of all the drivers who’ve been in and out of there in the last month.”

  Someone knocked on the office door and called out to the sheriff.

  “I need to get back out there.” Wolfsinger turned to Lily. “I’ll have a deputy drive you home.”

  “I can drive you home,” Nate said to Lily a couple of minutes later as they walked out of the store and into the parking lot.

  “No thanks, I can drive myself.”

  “I can bring you back tomorrow to get your car.” Despite her brave front, her nerves had to be shattered after what she’d just been through. This wasn’t a good time for her to be driving. And maybe Nate felt a little bit of a personal connection to her now because she had known Joseph.

  Growing up, Joseph was the only friend Nate had who didn’t make jokes about how drunk Nate’s mom got or how crazy she acted. Joseph and his family were always warm and welcoming. Maybe it was a stretch, but it felt as if seeing Lily safely home would be a way of doing something for him.

  Nate was heading toward Copper Mesa to get to the ranch, anyway. He was also looking forward to sleeping late for the first time in weeks, but he would get up early in the morning and drive into Copper Mesa to get Lily and take her back to the Starlight Mart to fetch her car if that’s what she wanted. And that would be the end of it. No further personal involvement or obligation.

  “You’ve been through a lot,” Nate said. “I think it would be wise for you to let me take you home. I’m heading in that direction anyway.”

  She looked as if she was going to argue, but then blew out a breath. “Maybe you’re right. Let me go move my car so it’s out of the way.”

  Nate held out his hand. “Give me your keys. I’ll move it for you.”

  Inside Nate’s truck, Lily sat pressed so close to the passenger-side door that he was afraid she might try to jump out. The apparent shock that had helped her keep herself composed after that one brief crying jag earlier was starting to wear off. He could tell by her slumped shoulders and the pinched expression on her face.

  Thank You, Lord, for getting us through this. Nate couldn’t always pray in the midst of trouble, but he always prayed eventually. For help. For healing. For guidance or to give thanks. He couldn’t do his job without it.

  Before turning left out of the parking lot and heading toward Copper Mesa, Nate glanced right toward the intersecting highway that led to Painted Rock. His apartment was in Painted Rock. He’d been exiled to the substation up there several months ago. By the time he left for his assignment in Phoenix, he’d managed to make a few friends and develop a fondness for the little town. But he still wasn’t anxious to return to his empty apartment there.

  “So, you’re a cop now,” Lily said after they’d pulled out onto the highway and driven a few miles in silence. “From what I remember in high school, I would have expected you to end up on the other side of the law.”

  “Yeah, there was a time when I would have expected that, too.”

  The highway they followed passed through a stretch of scrubby flatland. In the wash of headlights, it looked like the bottom of an empty sea.

  Nate’s life had felt empty from the time he was a kid. He’d had one picture of his dad, a United States marine who was killed protecting an embassy in South America. Nate’s mother, Brenda, had turned to alcohol to deal with her grief. Oftentimes she went on benders and Nate wouldn’t see her for days at a time.

  In his midteens he finally moved in with his Uncle Bud and Aunt Ellen at their ranch, the Blue Spruce. Bud and Nate’s mom were brother and sister. Bud offered multiple times to help Brenda sober up and get her life together, but she wasn’t interested. She didn’t want him involved in her son’s life, either. Eventually, against Brenda’s will but with the insistence of the state of Arizona, Bud got custody of his nephew.

  At first it was hard living by Bud and Ellen’s rules. Nate was a kid back then, and nearly everybody acts like a jerk when they’re a teenager, but it was still embarrassing to think about how he’d behaved.

  Nate cleared his throat. “It took a while, but I finally got my head on straight. I enlisted in the army and served as a military policeman. When my enlistment ended, I knew I wanted to come home and work as a cop.” It was the only way he knew to pay back the people who’d helped him over the years.

  The highway rose in elevation and pine trees began to appear on the sides of the road. They rounded a bend and the town of Copper Mesa came into view. Streetlights gave it the appearance of a blazing crown in the darkness.

  “All right, which way?” Nate asked as they got closer to town. He glanced in his mirrors. There’d been a couple of vehicles behind them for a while. Not much he could do but keep an eye on them. It could be nothing. If they followed his turns once he got into town, he’d know they meant trouble.

  “Head toward Cottonwood High,” Lily said. “I’m living in the old neighborhood. I had to move back into my mom’s house.”

  “Do you want to borrow my phone and call her?” Nate asked. He’d offered her the use of his phone earlier, but she’d turned him down.

  “I don’t want to wake her up if she’s asleep,” Lily said. “She’s been battling bronchitis for a few days. She has asthma, so it’s kind of a big deal.”

  Nate kept his eyes on the road, but he picked up his phone from where it was sitting on the bench seat and held it out to her. If the bad guys really were connected to the place where she worked, they might have access to her home address. He didn’t want to mention that possibility because he didn’t want to send her into a panic without reason. “I think you should call your mom.”

  She hesitated, then took the phone and punched in a few digits. Soon she was talking to her mom and giving Nate hand gestures showing him where to turn. Hearing her mom’s voice seemed to relax her a little. It sounded as if everything was okay. She didn’t mention what had happened at the Starlight Mart, but he didn’t blame her. Some things were better shared in person.

  Nate kept checking his mirrors. One car stayed on his tail, which worried him. But then Lily directed him to make a turn and the car behind them kept going straight.

  “We’re almost home,” Lily said into the phone while pointing Nate toward a house at the end of the road. “I mean I’m almost home,” she quickly said into the phone. “I’ll be there in a couple of minutes.” She disconnected.

  Nate pulled into the driveway of the house. The porch light was on and a couple of lights burned upstairs. It was in the older part of Copper Mesa, a little run-down-looking, and it backed up to the ravine that meandered through town.

  Nate cut the engine and opened his door.

  “What are you doing?” Lily asked, getting out.

  “I’m walking you to your door.” He got out and came around to meet her.

  “Thank you, but I’d rather you didn’t.” She bit her bottom lip for a few seconds. “It’s just that I’ve already put my mom through a lot lately. Seeing you might make her heart stop. Not in a good way,” she added with a slight smile.

  Nate looked down at his leather jacket and torn jeans. He ran his hand over his beard. When he’d gotten the green light to leave Phoenix and go home, he’d just jammed. No cleaning up his appearance first, no haircut or shave. “I’ll tell her I’m a deputy sheriff,” he said. “Show her my ID.”

  “I realize you think that would be comforting, but it won’t make her feel better. She’ll realize something bad happened if I need a cop to drive me home.”

  “Okay.” Nate glanced up and down the street. “Sheriff Wolfsinger will have deputies driving by throughout t
he night while they’re on patrol. I’ll hang out here until the first one shows up so I can fill him or her in on the details. Let them know one of the guys they’re looking for should have soda can–sized bruises on the side of his face.”

  Lily managed a small laugh despite her apparent exhaustion. “Thanks.”

  “You’re welcome. Good night.” He watched her turn, walk up the garden path to the front door and step inside the house.

  He got back into his truck, pulled out of the driveway, drove around the block and then parked midway down the street, where he had a good view of the house. The chilly, late-autumn wind started to pick up again, shaking leaves and branches around her house near the windows and the front door.

  Something caught his eye. Movement by a corner window. He stared at it, trying to determine if it was something to be concerned about, or if it was just a shifting shadow.

  THREE

  Lily’s muscles felt stiff and sore as she walked through the front door of her mom’s house. She’d experienced nearly every emotion possible over the last few hours, as well as the physical reactions that went with each one. No wonder she felt like she’d just gone a couple of rounds with a three-hundred-pound prizefighter.

  The chilly fall wind loosened wisps of hair from her ponytail, and brushed the skin around her face like itchy, impatient fingers. She smoothed her disheveled hair as she walked through the small entryway in the house. The kitchen, which was to the left, had a dining area with room for a small round table, two chairs and not much else. The living room was to the right, with its comfy, well-worn and unmatched furniture.

  The curtains in the window on the far side of the living room twitched.

  A furry snout pushed through the spot where the two pieces of fabric met. Another snout poked through beside it and then wagging tails batted the fabric back and forth. Two miniature dachshunds jumped down from the windowsill. Abby and Beatrice. Their dark eyes shone with light that spilled into the living room from the kitchen.

  “Hi, girls!” Lily kneeled to let the little pooches kiss her.

  She was finally home. And Deputy Nate Bedford had helped her get here. That was still hard to believe. Her entire experience tonight was hard to believe.

  Abby and Beatrice whined joyfully. “I’m happy to see you, too.” Lily picked them up for a squeeze and gave them each a kiss on the head before setting them back down.

  Once the dogs were settled, Lily took a minute to take a breath and compose herself before going upstairs to tell her mom what had happened at the Starlight Mart.

  Kate Doyle had worked very hard at multiple jobs over the years while Lily was growing up, providing for the two of them and keeping a roof over their heads. The memory had made Lily’s failure and subsequent return home from college all the more bitter.

  She was supposed to have made something of herself by finally earning her degree after numerous delays. The plan had been to get a well-paying job and pay her mom back for all her sacrifices over the years. Kick a little extra money her mom’s way so she could take a break and put her feet up now and then. Not that her mom had ever asked for such a thing.

  It was Lily’s goal to make her mom’s life easier and she had failed. By moving back home, she’d added to her mom’s burdens. She’d been forced to leave college just a couple of months ago, and now she had to tell her mom she’d been held hostage and nearly killed.

  She was tempted not to tell her mom about what had happened to keep her from worrying. But Kate was a social butterfly—definitely not an attribute Lily had inherited—and somehow she would find out. Might as well get it over with.

  Lily walked through the shadowy living room and up the narrow stairs. “Come on, girls!”

  Abby and Beatrice bolted past her, their ears flapping like proud wiener-dog flags as they led the way.

  Her mom had a sitting room next to her bedroom. It was really just a small bedroom, but she’d put in a sofa, a comfy chair and a TV.

  Lily hesitated when she reached the top of the stairs, trying to decide if she should ease into the details of what had happened or just blurt it out.

  The dogs ran ahead of her down the hall and into the sitting room. Over the sound of the TV, Lily heard her mom say, “What have you two girls been up to?”

  “I’m home,” Lily called out, trying to sound upbeat as she walked down the hall.

  Her mom was stretched out on the sofa, a hand-crocheted multicolored afghan pulled up to her chin. She had to feel terrible. It took a lot to keep Kate Doyle down. A tissue box sat within reach on an end table. A few foil-wrapped chocolates trailed along the arm of the couch.

  “Hi, honey, you’re home late.” Her mom sat up. She started to brush her hair away from her face and then suddenly froze. “What happened?”

  Lily caught her reflection in a wall mirror. Tear-smeared mascara had left dark circles around her eyes. Her blouse was rumpled and dirt covered the bottom of her slacks where she’d crawled across the floor. She had a bruise and some small cuts on her face.

  How could she not have noticed that earlier?

  She walked to a chair and sat down, smoothing her hair and straightening her blouse. In this warm, safe, cozy room where Lily could finally let her guard down, the icy terror that came from having a gun shoved into her neck wormed its way back into her consciousness. Her hands started to tremble.

  “The good news is I’m okay,” Lily said, her voice a little shaky.

  Kate turned off the TV, swung her legs around so her feet were on the floor and dropped the remote onto the couch cushion beside her. “Why wouldn’t you be okay?”

  In a wavering voice Lily told her mom what had happened, everything from overhearing the conversation at work to Nate Bedford seeing her home.

  “Well, you’re not going back to work at that trucking company.” Her mom crossed her arms over her chest.

  Not exactly the comforting response Lily had hoped for, but Kate typically turned practical when she was upset. Lily stood up, walked over and sat next to her mom on the sofa. Kate put an arm around her and pulled her close.

  “So, Nate Bedford, huh?” her mom said after they’d sat together in silence for a couple of minutes. Kate didn’t know Nate personally, but his mother’s drunken antics were well-known throughout town. In the quiet, Lily could hear the wind outside rattle tree branches against the side of the house. “Nate’s really a sheriff’s deputy now?” her mom added. “Good for him.”

  “Yeah, I didn’t recognize him at first.” And if he hadn’t shown up when he did, there was no telling what might have happened.

  “His poor mom was one tortured soul. And it seemed as if she was determined to drag Nate down with her.” Kate shook her head. “It’s amazing to see what God can turn to good. I’m going to track that boy down and thank him for helping you.”

  He might still have been outside watching the house, but more likely he’d headed up to his aunt and uncle’s place, the well-known Blue Spruce Ranch. Bud and Ellen Wells had done a lot of good work in the community over the years, much of it with troubled teens. Nate was eventually one of the teens they helped.

  “You might get a chance to see Nate in the morning,” Lily said. “I left my car at the Starlight Mart and my purse and phone are at work. He’s going to take me to get them.”

  Kate turned to her daughter with a slight smile.

  “What?” Lily shook her head, feeling her cheeks warm. “It’s not like that, Mom. It’s his job to help people. That’s all it is.”

  And that was all it was ever going to be.

  Nate had been completely professional. He had no personal interest in her other than as the mutual acquaintance of a beloved old friend. And Lily had a life to rebuild after her engagement had come to an abrupt end and her carefully crafted plans crumbled like an imploded high-rise bu
ilding. She worked lots of hours with no time for a personal life these days and that’s exactly how she wanted it.

  After the pain and humiliation she’d been through, mind-numbing work was exactly what she needed.

  Her mom hadn’t eaten dinner yet and Lily was hungry, too. “I’m going to heat up some soup.” Lily had made a pot of chicken noodle soup from scratch the night before. “Do you want me to bring you a bowl?”

  “After what you’ve been through, I should get it,” her mom said, her breath sounding wheezy.

  “I can get it.”

  “Thanks, honey.” Kate patted the cushion beside her on the couch. Abby and Beatrice jumped up to cuddle with her. She picked up the remote and turned on the TV.

  Downstairs, Lily got the pot of homemade soup out of the fridge and ladled some into a couple of bowls. A mental image of the men at the Starlight Mart, determined to grab her and most likely kill her, flashed through her mind. Her hands started to shake and she spilled some soup. Everything is okay. It’s over. I’m fine. She took a steadying breath.

  Doors and windows. Were they all locked? Probably not.

  She put a bowl in the microwave, set it to heat for three minutes and hit the start button. Then she went to check the front door. Yep, it was locked. She turned to face the living room. Through a thin curtain, she saw shadowy black branches wave outside the windows.

  Except for one branch that remained still. Something about it didn’t look right.

  Lily stared into the darkness for a moment. Slowly she realized she was looking at the outline of a man. Her breath caught in her throat. The man wasn’t outside the window. He was in the house. In the living room. Standing right there in the corner.

  Her first attempt to scream came out as a ragged exhalation. Terrified, she felt as if she was caught in a nightmare, unable to make a sound. The man took a step out of the shadows, toward her, and she could see he was one of the men from the Starlight Mart. The one in the hoodie.