He punched in Natalie’s cell number, but it was busy. Not a man of patience, he threw his phone across the room just missing the TV. It landed on the pile of clothes he had stripped off last night. He picked it up and tried calling her again. Still busy. Didn’t she have voicemail?
He decided on Connie. Because his sister Candy was a Candy Cane, he had all the girls’ numbers. Nat was staying with Connie and Jaeda, so they could help. Couldn’t they, please, Lord? Was he actually praying?
~
Natalie scrunched her aching back into the stack of fluffy pillows with the pink cases propped against the headboard. She loved this room with the soft pink colors – the perfect guestroom for a woman. She giggled to herself and wondered if Jaeda had a buddy stay with them, would they change everything to blue or green? Still, the pink was so pale it was almost not noticeable, but it was soothing and beckoned one to rest. Maybe Jaeda’s friends were color blind or never traveled from Newport to Arizona where there was no beach. She giggled again, opened her journal and picked up her pen – the pink one lying on the night stand. Connie thought of every detail.
Well, Lord, here’s the truth (dot, dot, dot, dot, dot) I am not in love with either man. There, she’d confessed it. Now what? How could she tell Bryce and Billy to go back home? Yes, she was flattered. Even as a teenager she had never had this much male attention, even in her red and white striped Candy Cane bathing suit that showed off her emerging figure. For a while, a very brief while, she had been attracted to Bill Lord Senior, then his son, the gorgeous model Bill Lord Junior. When the older Bill fell in love with Candy’s widowed mother, Vivian, that deal was cinched, and so much more appropriate for two olders who had lost mates. Then, Bill Junior discovered Doreen. They had been an item for almost a year, and Natalie was thrilled for Doreen. Apparently, Mr. Super Model didn’t care about Doreen’s shorter leg.
Suddenly, she thought about Melanie. Melanie who had caused the accident that made Doreen permanently disabled, Melanie who had urged Natalie and convinced her to take sky diving lessons and stood by her and held her hand during all the lessons and the jumps. After hovering over her in the hospital, Melanie suddenly went undercover. Why? Where was she?
Natalie put down the pink pen and reached for her phone.
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Melanie checked the screen on her phone. Natalie. Thank goodness it wasn’t him. She felt guilty ignoring Nat’s call, but before she saw her name on the screen she was shaking. She wasn’t ready yet to talk with her friend. How would she explain? First, that she knew the name of the sky dive instructor who left Natalie on the ground injured; second, Bruce.
She hated her step-father, Bruce. Despised him. She guessed her mother did now, too, since she had left him over a year ago. At least that’s what she had heard. She’d had no contact with Helen for almost two years. Melanie had just graduated from high school when Helen married Bruce Walker. It had seemed like a good choice at the time. After all, he was the social studies teacher all the kids loved, and it was rumored he would someday become principal. That seemed like ages ago. Everyone cheered when he was made Assistant Principal. Then, during Noelle’s first year of teaching English at Vista del Mar High School, he was promoted again. Melanie chuckled under her breath remembering Noelle’s story of how she almost ran him over in the school parking lot. On purpose, after he’d tried to fondle her and entice her to go out with him. Instead, she fell in love with Braydon Lovejoy, noted for being the class clown who had grown up.
She gripped her arms across her chest and rocked. She really needed to share her anguish. She needed the Candy Canes to pray for her, and over her. She needed their love and their strength. She called Natalie back.
~
Natalie put Connie on the phone with Melanie’s permission. All three were crying. After wadding up several tissues, Connie took over.
“Dear Heavenly Father, we come to you for Melanie who is living in fear. Please give her comfort and peace and freedom.” She went on to explain to Him, as if He didn’t know, how Bruce was terrifying Melanie. Nat interjected and asked for God to put a block on Mel’s cell phone so Bruce couldn’t call her.
“But, Nat,” Melanie said, “I have a block on his number, but he uses other numbers.”
“That is exactly why I asked for it.” Natalie grinned, even though only Connie could see her. She knew God would honor it.
After they hung up Connie and Natalie discussed the horrible terror Melanie was going through. Bruce was stalking Melanie. They even looked up the term on the internet. They learned there were many ways to stalk. Even, somehow, getting children to wear a stalker’s clothes. This didn’t apply to them, but constant phone calls did. They prayed for a way to help. Maybe, Nat suggested, Bryce and Billy could help. Was that possible? Would they be willing?
~
Jaeda poured coffee, then settled on the sofa next to Connie. Jake jumped on his lap and pushed his pointy nose under his master’s arm.
“This is weird,” Bryce said. “Why are we here? Together?”
Billy echoed his comments. Where there parrots in the room again Nat wondered?
Nat gestured to Connie. Connie took charge while holding Jaeda’s hand. It looked like she was squeezing it hard. A smile passed between them, and Jaeda nodded.
“This,” Connie said with conviction, “is the deal. Actually, the problem.” She explained Melanie’s horrifying situation with Bruce and how he is stalking her. Murmurs and head shakings. Then, questions.
“How can we help? What can we do?” Bryce spoke up first.
“We need to be aggressive,” Billy said. “But, how?”
“I have several ideas,” Connie said. “But, Jaeda doesn’t agree with some of them.” She turned to her husband and smiled weakly.
“I have some concerns, but first I want you all to hear Connie’s ideas.”
Connie perked up. She explained how Bruce Walker was trying to intimidate Melanie, and maybe succeeding. How he was relentlessly calling her and making inappropriate comments and suggestions, both about her mother and her.
“And,” Nat interrupted, “how about the notes on her door?”
“And on her car,” Jaeda said.
“Can we retaliate? Put nasty notes on his car?” Bryce asked.
“Nope. We will be doing the same thing he is doing,” Jaeda said. “We would be stooping to his level. And,” he continued with half-closed eyes, “he would know she has support. We don’t want him to even suspect that. Gotta go with surprise.”
“I would love to do that,” Billy said. “Back him into his own corner.”
“But, we can. If we do it right.” Connie was on a roll. The others listened intently.
Now, she needed Noelle.
~
“You want to do what?” Noelle’s normally soft voice was shrill.
Connie explained, and Nat got on the extension. “We have to help Melanie; she’s one of us.” Natalie sounded firm.
“Oh, I agree,” Noelle said with conviction. “But, this is hard for me. I endured so much from that horrible man. It took me a long time and a lot of prayer to forgive him.” She paused, and the women in Scottsdale sensed by the sound of tissues being pulled out of a box she was crying. Finally, she responded. “I need to discuss it with Braydon, and if he agrees, we will devise a plan.”
Connie and Natalie hung up, grinned at the three men in the room, and all five of them raised arms and yelled, “Yea!”
Bryce looked confused; Billy looked angry, and Jaeda finally spoke. “I haven’t known the Candy Cane girls very long,” he said. “Certainly not as long as you, Billy, since your sister is one of them. Pretty special group.” He rubbed the stubble on his chin and made eye contact with the other two men. “Gotta do it. Gotta put that Bruce man to shame.
“But, we need Noelle’s help and her husband Braydon to develop a plan. Their marriage is more important than our plan.”
~
They mapped out a plan. T
he first step at least.
The first thing they decided was Melanie should come to Scottsdale, at least for a while. She knew it would be a burden on Dana the preschool director to hire a temporary teacher, but she knew Dana would understand. Hadn’t she hinted she too had escaped a difficult situation?
Billy would drive back and collect her and drive her to Connie’s and Jaeda’s. This time in his own car, not the expensive ‘borrowed’ one. Too bad. He would love to show off. He’d always thought Melanie was cute. But, she didn’t seem impressed with fancy. After all, she drove a truck.
It was settled. She would bunk with Nat in the over-sized bed. Just like they had done in college, although not with each other. Natalie was looking forward to it, sort of like a teen sleepover. She was an only child and loved sleepovers in high school with friends from large families. Maybe it would lift her spirits to share with Melanie. Maybe Melanie could help her find out who the sky dive instructor was, the one who abandoned her when she crashed. She mentioned that to the group in Connie’s and Jaeda’s living room. Why was there a strange expression on Bryce’s face?
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
Bryce was a mess. He roamed around the motel room and kicked at his discarded clothes. One pile joined another. There was a coin washer and dryer room two stories down on the first floor. But, he couldn’t bring himself to use it. There was always an excuse. No quarters, no dimes. He knew he could get change at the front desk. Instead, he sank onto the edge of the floppy mattress and put his chin in his hands. How could he explain? Should he even try? He had disappointed Natalie twice. First when he didn’t reveal he was the instructor who had abandoned her after her aborted dive. He had been just close enough to see where she was, and he had watched her struggle to get up and hobble to her car. He saw her rub her back and grip her arm, and the expression on her face showed pain from where he was. A lot of pain. She was a trooper. He knew that from working with her at her gym, but instead of helping her, he silently turned away. What was wrong with him?
He had made a promise, too, and didn’t keep it. She had depended on him to help Claire with the gym. He was the only trainer. Members had signed up to train with him. He wasn’t there.
~
Billy pulled in to the parking area of his exclusive car dealership in the middle of Newport’s Pacific Coast Highway. He gave a sigh of relief that he hadn’t been stopped or questioned in Arizona or California. When he left, the current valets at the Westin shook his hand hard, slapped him on the back and grinned broadly when he pressed their palms with large bills. But, he also believed they really liked him and truly cared about the fancy car. Jimmy, the older gentleman who had assured him the car would be protected, was especially pleased that Billy had trusted him. He said he would put the money Billy gave him in his granddaughter’s college fund. Billy checked the car over like the rental guys did when returning one. He couldn’t detect a single scratch.
The next morning he pulled up in front of Melanie’s apartment just off of MacArthur Boulevard. Close to the donut shop. He grabbed one, and another for her. He texted her he was waiting outside. She took ten minutes struggling with a cumbersome pink rolling suitcase. When he tried to put it in the trunk of his BMW, it almost didn’t fit.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
They were collectively settled again in the Wayman’s living room in Scottsdale, except Melanie was present now, too. The phone finally rang, the phone call from California they had been waiting for. Noelle and Braydon. The three women all picked up extension phones in different rooms, so the guys couldn’t hear what was being said from the California end.
“Hi, guys,” Braydon said. “I talked with my dad, and even though he isn’t an attorney, he is a realtor who has dealt with many problems.” Braydon paused for a response. A mumbled “We trust Logan” spilled together over the landlines. “And,” he proceeded after laughing, “I talked to the Newport Beach Police. So, here is an idea. Actually, it was Noelle’s mom’s, so I can’t take credit.
“If you want to incriminate him, you will have to be upfront, Melanie. If you want to stop him from badgering you, he has to know who the person is. Or,” he paused, “you can do some annoying things that frustrate him, and maybe get him arrested or fined.”
“Like what?” Several voices chimed in. They could almost see Braydon shaking his head and laughing.
“Some of you may remember I was ‘the’ high school prankster.”
Natalie, Noelle and Connie giggled. Connie said, “Yea, Mr. Pants!”
“Yeh, maybe my former bad decisions can help now.” They all heard Braydon and Noelle chuckling.
“Here,” he said, “is what we have come up with. Several ideas, but one based on how he tried to intimidate Noelle.
“And me.” He added.
The girls all knew about the time Bruce Walker had anonymously ordered a bouquet of roses to be delivered from Love In Joy by Braydon to Noelle’s classroom. She had been embarrassed, and Braydon was beside himself after he learned about the deception.
Jaeda, Billy and Bryce looked clueless.
“We will explain,” Connie said, “in detail.” Her grin sailed around the room. “Just wait.”
~
The others settled around the living room with all eyes on Connie whose hands were clasped demurely on her lap. Bryce sat on the tile part of the floor with legs crisscrossed, elbows on his knees and chin in meaty hands. Melanie sat in the same manner on the large octagonal carpet, and Billy settled in the largest and most comfortable leather chair with no apologies. He tucked one foot under one leg and grinned. “Carry on!”
Little Jake was wedged between Jaeda and Connie with his chin on his paws and his ears pointed up, as if to catch every word. Connie looked at Natalie sitting in the only straight-backed chair, Jaeda’s precious and priceless Eames.
“You alright, Nat? You look uncomfortable.”
“Yeh, fine. Back hurting, that’s all. Used to it since my bad landing.”
Bryce squirmed and put his forehead in his hands. Everyone looked at him, and he shrugged. “Just getting settled. Press on, Connie.”
Six sets of eyes focused on Connie’s expressive face. Jaeda turned to her and gave her hand a squeeze. She smiled at him in a trusting way, the way lovers do. Then, she spoke.
“Most of you attended Vista del Mar High School,” she said, “some at different times, but all have heard the legend of the Candy Canes. Right?”
Even Jaeda who grew up in New York knew the legend from Connie, so he nodded along with the others.
“How many of you know the Braydon antics?”
A few raised their hands laughing. Even Jaeda knew about them from Connie.
“Well, as you know, he was the class clown and pushed his creativity to the limit. Even mooning Coach Wilson.” More giggling. Bryce slapped his knee, and Billy clapped his hands and whooped. Jaeda quietly said, “Wish I’d known that. He’s a great guy. Met him at our wedding. Did all the flowers, right?”
“Yes,” she replied with a smile.
Connie continued. “He did a lot of other pranks, nothing illegal, but several got him suspended from school for brief times. So, he and Noelle, who had problems with Bruce trying to date her and fondling her in the parking lot when she was a first year teacher, came up with some ideas.
“Do any of you know that she almost ran over him in the school parking lot? Do you know about the rose bouquet he sent anonymously to her in her classroom?”
Melanie and Natalie both yelled “Yes!” with hands raised high. Jaeda grinned, Jake woofed.
Connie nodded. She knew about it, too. “I will never forget her sobbing on the phone. She had called Kerstin her mom first, then she called the Candy Canes.”
“Go on!” Bryce voiced in a hoarse stage whisper. Connie noticed his forehead was damp.
“Now,” Connie said, “we need to recreate some scenes, put Bruce in his place and scare the living dickens out of him.” She looked around the room and de
liberately caught the eyes of each person, her Christian friends and her Christian husband and the two men she wasn’t sure of.
“Melanie and I called her mother yesterday, and as you know Helen has left him, mostly because of his embarrassing wandering. She actually had high school girls and teachers calling her about him. We learned something unusual, not what we expected. She looked around to bulging eyes waiting for the answer.
“He is deathly afraid of spiders!”
“What?” A chorus of voices responded to her. “So?”
~
Braydon was having fun. He was picking out some of his finest roses that Love In Bloom was displaying and making a gorgeous arrangement. He wrapped it in tulle and cellophane and tied it with an enormous yellow bow. He planned to personally deliver it later today. But, before he transferred it to his van, he had to do two more things. He added a tag and a card on a plastic stem. It said, “Blessings to you. May you writhe in fear.” Simple. No name, just Blessings.
Finally, he reached into the plastic box Helen Walker had ordered from the internet. He pulled on long rubber gloves and grasped quickly. Handfuls of spiders, none lethal, fell from his hand to nestle into the bouquet. To be sure they couldn’t escape, he tossed a large filmy plastic bag with pin prick holes in it over the bouquet and tied it again with a yellow ribbon. He couldn’t wait to deliver it.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Braydon pulled into a guest space in the school parking lot. He wondered again if he should have had his delivery kid do the deed. But, he so wanted to do it himself, although he would never see the expression on Bruce Watkins’ face when he opened the roses. Maybe he would hear a scream. He hoped.
Natalie's Deception (The Candy Cane Girls Book 5) Page 6