by Christine
“What I didn’t know was that they had a crew of people here in the house packing up all your gear at the same time. None of it got recorded. Not one item. When I realized what was going on, I rushed in here and began correcting the people in the house. Meanwhile, the staff in the barn left with the trailer of livestock and my notes. They never informed me where they were headed. As I was chasing down the livestock, the house items were taken away. All except that last load by the door. No one would listen to me, and I wasn’t sure what to do.” He looked on the verge of tears. Paige was tempted to hug him but resisted. He really didn’t like being touched.
“It’s not your fault.”
“I know.” He grew agitated. “It’s Elaine’s, but when I went to the office to talk to her, the security guard kicked me out. I’m supposed to be manager over the goat project, and she canned me before I even got my first paycheck. Is that even legal?”
Paige didn’t know that much about the law, but something occurred to her that hadn’t before. Even though she had been so particular in writing the details of her rights about the care and treatment of her goats and knowing the location they were held during the lawsuit, by giving Elaine the power of attorney, couldn’t all those documents became defunct? Elaine could change any stipulation she wanted like Austin’s involvement. “I think it is.”
The couch jiggled a little, and Paige noticed Austin’s hands trembling. She knew this was too much for him. “Why don’t you stay in Uncle Bill’s room tonight, and we can figure this out in the morning? We’re both exhausted.”
That was all it took. Austin stood, walked down the hall and slammed the bedroom door. Poor Austin. At least she’d brought this on herself. He was simply trying to help her and was probably the only person who was. Whatever she did, she’d have to make things up to him in the end.
With her mind so jumbled, she felt restless and wandered out to the barn. Glancing over the empty stalls wiped clean brought an ache to her heart. The property looked ready to sell. The strangest part was not hearing the constant bleat of goats in the background. It had become part of the texture of the farm and her life. Without it, she hardly felt home.
Walking back to the farmhouse, she looked up and saw the night sky. It was an identical color to that sapphire dress. The stars twinkled like the crystals, and she let her mind wander to what would never be. She’d hoped to dance in Sterling’s arms wearing it, feeling safe and loved and understood.
A lone goat cry sounded in the night, and she wondered if she had only imagined that, too. Like people with severed arms who felt pain after the limb was gone, was she only hearing a phantom song of the herd that had been part of her life since she was little? She meandered toward the house, hoping sleep would shut off her mind from all the troubles around her. She laid awake most of the night, haunted by what wasn’t there.
BY THE TIME THE SUN ROSE over the Dallas skyline, Sterling was at five thousand feet. He’d believed Julie when she said Paige had decided to rest instead of joining them for the benefit. In fact, he’d been relieved to hear it. She’d seemed a bit too close to both Julie and Kiyo for his liking.
At dinner Julie turned to Kiyo and dropped a bomb. She told him that Sterling was merely trying to steal all he’d built and that she could offer him a low interest loan that would keep his equity in tact. Sterling knew Kiyo would need help with locations, marketing and streamlining processes through the expansion, but she wouldn’t let him get a word in without taking it personally. An hour later she’d called him a liar to his face twice and by Kiyo’s concerned expression, it was clear there was only one option. Sterling had to get Paige. She could explain his side of the story and no one would doubt her credibility. There was something about her that was so honest. To find that sort of integrity with intelligence to boot was rare. He excused himself, drove too fast to the hotel, and knocked on her door. In less than a minute, he knew he’d been had. Paige was gone. He wondered briefly if Julie had lied to Paige to convince her to go, or worse, if she told her the truth about him. Either way, it was the first time in Sterling’s memory someone had outplayed him, and he was determined to have it be the last. He had to stop Elaine.
Trying every means he could think of, he attempted to contact his boss. He left her emails, texts and phone messages, but it was pretty clear she had no plans of returning them. He’d shut out other employees the same way to push a deal through and recognized what was going on. In a few days, when Elaine had all her ducks in a row, she’d give some excuse about how busy she’d been and pretend that it was an oversight. By then, what she was working on would be irreversible. So, in this game he had been a pawn. He couldn’t be angry. It was about time that this happened, actually.
His father used to say ‘it rained seas’ which meant that even if you couldn’t feel the consequences of your actions at the time, they were piling up and would get you in the end. Sterling supposed this was the day he would drown in them.
By eleven that morning, he rounded the corner and pulled into Paige’s driveway. He wasn’t certain of the greeting he’d get. Two vehicle were already there. One was her dented Honda, but the other, also a lowly beater car, didn’t ring any bells. He rapped at the door and waited with his hands shoved in his pockets, ready to eat crow. He didn’t have any new information to offer, but there had to be some way he could make up for not warning her earlier. He knew Elaine, and this was no surprise. What was surprising is who answered the door when he knocked.
The intern’s eyes were lined in red. “You jerk.”
Sterling didn’t see the right hook coming. Austin connected fist to jaw, and Sterling went down.
Chapter Twenty-Four
STERLING WOKE SURROUNDED by large packing boxes. He thought maybe he’d been dumped in a warehouse until he noticed the yellow walls and white trim. “Paige?”
Austin squatted beside him, holding what looked like a gun. “She’s not here, Benedict Arnold. You promised you wouldn’t hurt her.”
Sitting up, Sterling tried to scoot away and put as much distance between them as possible. “I didn’t mean to. Elaine fooled me as much as she did you.”
The intern seemed to be weighing whether he believed him. “I want you out of here before she gets back.”
“Are you sure she’s okay?” Sterling asked, rubbing his jaw.
Suddenly looking worried, Austin stood and began to pace. “I think so. She said something about going to the meadow, but I don’t know where that is. She’s been gone a long time.”
Sterling could now see what he thought was a gun was more like a toy pistol. “Should I go look for her?”
An open box sat on the counter, half unpacked with spatulas, measuring cups and muffin tins. Austin looked at it and at Sterling. “I can’t go. They could be here any minute to pick up the last of these boxes. They must be dotted.” Austin’s computer was on the counter, too.
Sterling saw the familiar spreadsheet with blinking icons for each item and suddenly realized the weapon Austin held probably had to do with his microdots. Sterling would have liked to stay and watch the process, but he was worried about Paige. “May I go find her now?” he asked.
Austin narrowed his eyes. “I guess, but then you have to leave.”
Squeezing out the front door, Sterling remembered his jaunt into the back meadow to catch that escaping goat and headed up the little path. He didn’t even make it to the clearing.
Paige’s call sounded frantic. “Austin, is that you?”
“Not exactly,” Sterling answered.
Suddenly she was there. She came up to him, standing close. He could see the echo of shed tears on her cheeks, but her tone sounded downright chipper. “Wow, it didn’t take you long to get here.”
He was expecting vengeance, wrath or righteous indignation. “Are you okay?”
“Let’s talk about that at the house.” She took his hand in hers with a gentle smile.
This was weird. Normally, he’d follow Paige anywhere, but as
she tugged on his hand to go the way he’d come, he knew something was back there in the meadow, and he just couldn’t let it go. “What don’t you want me to see?”
“Why would you think that?” Her voice was too high.
He’d told enough doozies in his day that he knew a bold face lie when he heard it. “Mind if I have a look at the daffodils?”
She was about to come up with another excuse, but the bleat of a goat was unmistakable.
“You got them back?” He strode to the meadow to find the escaper, Petunia, pregnant as ever and happily munching on flowers.
Paige rushed over to the nanny, knelt in the thick grass and placed her forehead against the goat’s. Her voice carried the sort of hopelessness that no person ever should feel. “Now that you found us, I’ll have to return her.”
“Why?” Sterling sat on the ground beside her. “She’s yours, isn’t she?”
“I don’t know anymore.” Paige sunk to the ground and pulled her knees to her chest, looking up to the Northwest sky threatening rain. “Did you know what they were doing?”
“Elaine blindsided me too. I swear it.” Sterling said. “I’m done with her.”
“I wish I could believe you, but I’m so tired of being disappointed.” She half turned his direction. “What Elaine did is more than stealing. It feels like kidnapping.”
Sterling caught her gaze. “I’m here to help. Whatever you say, I’ll do it.”
“But there’s nothing to do. I don’t even know where they are.”
He could see the muscles in her neck constrict a few times, and he realized she was fighting back tears. “We’ll figure this out together. It will be alright.”
“How can you know that?” One stray tear broke free from her lashes.
Brushing the tear away with his thumb, he knew he’d do anything to help her. It didn’t matter what it cost him. “You’re not alone.”
She hugged him with both arms. It shocked him at first. Her face buried in the crook of his neck, his hand resting in her silken curls. As she pulled away, he didn’t want to let her go.
“I’d do anything to make it up to you. Do you know that?”
She was silent for a long time. Then she looked towards Petunia who was happily chewing on fresh blossoms, stems hanging from the corners of her mouth. “You know, she’s my favorite. She shouldn’t be, but I admire her drive to get what she wants. Still, I can’t trust her. Every time I do, we both end up in trouble.” She looked at him. “You’re the same way. I can’t trust you, Sterling.”
“You’re right.” He’d come clean. “I was selfish and wanted to spend time with you in Dallas. I figured I could fix whatever mess Elaine made later. You’ve got to let me try.”
She let out a huff of air as she got to her feet, and Sterling was worried he’d lost her.
“This is my proposal.” Her voice sounded firm. “From here on out, we’ll be a team. Mostly because I don’t see anyone else volunteering for the position, but there are provisions. First, you can never lie to me. Not even about the small stuff. Is there anything you have to confess before we continue?”
“Nothing that comes to mind.” It was a bold-face lie, and he knew it. He wanted to confess that he was crazy about her, but he was not going to blow this relationship by taking it too fast. This was the kind of girl you took home to your family, that you raised a family with.
She seemed satisfied but wasn’t finished. “Second, I’m not like you. I see you making snap decisions and convincing others to go along like you did with Austin when we first met and what you taught me in Dallas. If we’re going to work together, I can’t have you pushing me into things before I’m ready. My no means no. You have to respect that.”
“I do. I mean, I will.” He stood and noticed the knees of his dress slacks were wet. As he brushed them off, he said, “Shall we shake on it? But if you don’t want to, I respect that.”
When he lifted his chin, she was smiling at him. “I can agree to that.”
As he took her hand, a rustling sound came from the meadow’s entrance.
Austin was panting as he burst through the opening, his open laptop cradled in his arms. “They’re here!” His whisper was as loud as most people’s full voice. “I ran when I heard the truck pull up because I didn’t want them to see me or guess what I did.”
Paige cocked her head. “What did you do?”
“I micro-dotted the boxes. Sterling saw me.” Austin pointed at him as though it was his fault.
Sterling had an idea. “How far do those dots transmit?”
“About two miles,” Austin said. “One of the first companies I prototyped had multiple facilities three miles apart. I could never get them to transmit that far on an independent ionic power source.”
In the distance, Sterling heard the rumble of a diesel engine and the grinding of gears. “Well, then we’d better be on our way.”
He headed toward the path, but she didn’t move. “What do you have planned, Sterling?”
Austin grinned. “He’s going to follow them, aren’t you?”
“We are,” Sterling said.
“No, I can’t leave Petunia.” Paige folded her arms.
Sterling peered over his shoulder at the grazing goat. “She doesn’t look like she’s going anywhere.”
“But she could.” Paige knelt by the nanny and ran her hand down her side. “I can’t put her in the barn. They’d find her, and I can’t call someone to help because I don’t want to involve anyone else.”
“Fine.” Sterling envisioned their window of opportunity shrinking. If they didn’t get going, there may not be another chance. “You stay with her. We’ll find your herd. Trust us.”
The two trotted off. Paige watched them until they were out of sight. “If only I could.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
STERLING LEAPT INTO HIS LEXUS, and Austin took the passenger seat. They peeled out and sped down the road. Austin’s eyes were glued to his laptop. His directions were sudden with no room for error.
“Left,” he shouted as the turn came into view.
“Right, there.”
Sterling missed it, made a U turn, and sailed down the road. As they got into town, the directions became less distinct and less frequent. Austin seemed mesmerized by his computer screen as Sterling drove straight into the city. There must be some mistake.
After going around the same block three times, Sterling had to ask, “Have we totally lost them?”
“No, the signature for the boxes is right there in the center of these buildings.” They were passing two older high rises, graffiti covered with broken windows, when Austin cried out, “There!”
Screeching to a halt so fast that the car behind almost back-ended them, Sterling waved the vehicle on and put the car in reverse. An alley barely wide as a single lane was only recognizable by the flattened curb. Backing slowly in, Sterling wasn’t certain what he would find. The pavement opened to a central loading dock. There, parked against a raised platform, was a nondescript white van.
Austin seemed hopeful. “Isn’t this clever? Who would think of hiding goats in the city?”
“I don’t think the animals are here,” Sterling climbed out his door. “I’ll see what I can find out. Don’t leave the car.”
Austin sat lower in his seat. “Won’t argue with that.”
Vaulting onto the loading dock, Sterling headed for the only open doorway. He wasn’t certain what he’d do if he met up with someone, but letting his fist do the talking wasn’t out of the question. If Austin could do it, why couldn’t he?
Two men were arguing down a hall, so he chose that direction. Their voices drew nearer. Sterling ducked into a closet.
“Chuck had better nix the meat, or he’s in for it,” a deep voice said. Sterling wondered if they were referring to the goats but had no idea.
“He will. Bet he’ll have it done in an hour, tops,” a younger man reassured.
“I hate these all night security gigs. Th
ey’re the worst,” the other man said. “Good thing my shift is over at eleven. He better be back by then.”
Sterling remembered that one of Elaine’s companies was a security guard contractor that she had used for her construction sites.
Their voices were fading. “Well, Chuck’s got to run to check on the livestock first, but I think he’ll make it.” A light flicked on further ahead, and Sterling continued down the hall and peered around a doorway. He could see the edges of unloaded boxes, about a dozen of them.
The younger man spoke again. “I hope he brings two this time. One pizza for three people is crazy.”
The older man’s reply was drowned out by a car’s ignition. Not worrying about whether he was caught, Sterling sprinted back to the van but was too late. By the time he got there, the white van was gone. Vaulting off the four-foot platform, he jumped in his driver’s seat and threw the car in gear, as Austin frantically buckled his seatbelt. They raced down the tiny alleyway and onto the main road. The first light was red. Sterling slammed on the brakes and craned his head down each adjoining street. The van was gone.
“That way,” Austin said.
He pointed back the way they had come.
The kid was such an idiot. Sterling wanted to shake him. “The boxes are in the warehouse. You only tracked the boxes, but the goats are somewhere else. That’s where the van is going next.”
The intern resembled a bobble-head doll. “I know, but you need to make a U-ey.”
“You know nothing.” Sterling gritted his teeth. “Paige has lost everything. It’s all our fault. Don’t you get it?”
“I do.” Austin seemed unaffected by his anger. “While you were in the warehouse, I micro-dotted the truck.”
“You what?” Sterling gripped the steering wheel.
“See?” Austin held up his laser gun lookalike.
Sterling chuckled, whipped the car around and floored it.
IT HAD BEEN LESS THAN AN HOUR since they left Paige and Petunia in the meadow, and Sterling found himself driving up the same street as the farmhouse again.