Natalie's Deception (The Candy Cane Girls Book 5)

by Bonnie Engstrom

  ~

  Monday morning. She had almost forgotten the sharing faith meeting. This time there were even more people hanging around and chatting. If nothing else, that was a good thing. Friendships were forming and faith was brewing. She liked that thought, but maybe percolating was better than brewing. She chocked back a giggle as she approached the group. Claire pulled her aside with a strong grip on her arm.

  “Where’s Bryce?”

  “I have no idea. Should I?”

  “I thought he might have said about taking time off?”

  “What? Why do you think he has?”

  “Look at the whiteboard where he schedules his personal clients. His name is wiped off.”

  Nat grimaced and tried to calmly walk over to the white rectangle hanging on the entry wall. Claire was correct – no Bryce. Client names were in one column, but the trainer name column was empty. Except for hers for the Jumba class. She shook her head and turned to Claire. “What should I do? What should I say?”

  “Just that he’s taken an emergency trip out of town. Everyone will understand that.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  November rolled in with cooler weather. The slight breeze that wafted in from the Pacific a few miles away was like a balm. Natalie was glad she had decorated the gym for Halloween last month. She had some reservations doing so as a Christian, but since she didn’t believe in goblins, she tried to make it a fun time. Claire and Emily had taken over, Claire providing most of the décor. The little skeleton wearing a mask and costume greeted everyone in the foyer. Every machine had a big, black rubber spider stuck to it, usually where the on button was. Some of the clients came dressed for the holiday, many of whom had to be at work right after their workouts where they were strongly encouraged to dress up. Frivolity pervaded. Of course the bags of candy for everyone to grab on their way out didn’t hurt.

  It had been almost a week, but no sign of Bryce. He never showed up or called or emailed.

  Nat was getting very worried. She even felt guilty. She had called his cell phone numerous times getting no answer. Should she have gone to his house and looked in the windows? What if he was lying prone from falling, or worse dead? Maybe she should have called 911.

  She asked Claire for advice. The woman was amazing. Maybe it was her age or experience, but what she had done reassured Nat, and she was finally glad Claire had taken control.

  “I stopped by his house several times and knocked. No lights were on. Then I checked the parking lot in his condo complex. No motorcycle. His little car was there – dusty. Obviously not driven for a while.” She paused to rub her arms. A strange expression was on her face. “What do you think the next step should be?”

  “I am going to call CATastrophe and ask how to get in touch with his parents. I used to have his dad’s home number, but I stupidly forgot to put it in my cell. Surely, they can connect me to his parents. Maybe,” she said hopefully, “they can give us answers.”

  When she finally got through, Jason Armstrong answered gruffly. She swore she heard Penny, Bryce’s mother, weeping in the background. What was happening?

  Using her most calming voice, the one her psychologist uncle, the shrink as she lovingly called him, had taught her, she calmed them down. She drove to their house overlooking Newport Coast and knocked. Or, should she have used the bell? A person of non-descript ethnicity and gender opened the door and gestured with a hand to enter and go to wide open French doors. The person with a black cat hanging from its arms and several others following winding themselves around the person’s leg led her outside to an enormous veranda. It was then she realized the person wore a costume; pointed black ears and a long black tail all in black. Weird was all Natalie could compute.

  ~

  “So, what happened?” Claire asked the next day.

  “Not much. They have no idea where he is, either. But, very worried. He usually checks in with them twice a week. Strong family, just something they do. No word,” she added.

  “So, basically, he has disappeared.” Clair rubbed her eyes. Must be the seasonal allergies from the sea breeze. Then her head popped up. “Could he be in Arizona at Connie’s and Jaeda’s? Have you called them?”

  ~

  “No,” Connie said. “He hasn’t called here. Explain, please.”

  Natalie shared her and Claire’s concerns, explained about Bryce’s disappearance so suddenly. Then, she wept.

  Connie tried to be strong like their sister Cindy. So, she yelled. “Nat, get a grip. We will solve this together.”

  Nat slumped in her office chair and riffled through her handwritten notes. She told Connie the dates when Bryce hadn’t shown up to the gym and what she and Claire had done to try to track him down and find him. Also, about the sad conversation with his parents. Even Connie was stymied.

  “This is weird,” she finally said. “Do you have any reason to think he is in an illegal situation, or abducted, or disappeared voluntarily?” She decided to call GO AZ, just in case because of his love for cycles he might have gone there. No luck. Then she remembered Larry one of the guards at the community gate was a PI, a private investigator. Maybe he would have some ideas. She called him.

  “Larry is on it,” she told Nat. “He is good, and trustworthy. If Bryce is in Arizona, Larry will find him,” Connie assured her. “I am glad I had a picture of him on my phone, sent it to Larry. He remembered Bryce coming in several times on his cycle. Like most guys, Larry remembered the cycle more than the person. He, he.”

  Natalie was worried, but felt much better knowing about Larry’s help. She had met him when she and Melanie visited. She remembered Mel telling her how cute she thought Larry was. Mmm. Nothing came of it, but she sure hoped for a romance for Melanie, a sincere one to replace the horrid memories of Bruce Walker. She wouldn’t mind one for herself, either.

  ~

  The next morning Claire grabbed Natalie so hard she almost toppled her over. The older woman was jumping up and down, practically dancing. She started to swing Nat around right in the entry. The few others there, early clients, laughed.

  “Engaged!” she stage whispered to Nat’s raised brows. “They are going to get married.”

  “Who?”

  “Oh, Nick and Emily,” she said with a grin. “That’s who. My boy and that sweet girl who decorates.”

  “Wow!” was all Nat could exclaim. Then she gave it a minute’s thought. “They haven’t even known each other that long.”

  “Sometimes,” Claire said and quirked her brow, “love happens fast. Usually, means lasting love. That’s the way it was with Nick’s dad and me.” She fastened moist eyes on Natalie’s face. “I miss him so much, still after all these years.”

  Natalie dredged up a memory of Claire once mentioning her husband had passed away when Nick was a preteen. How hard it was to raise a boy that age, and that’s why he got into substance abuse trouble. Thanks to his love for surfing and his friendship with Rob Lovejoy who dragged him to AA, he had been sober for close to eight years. Nat hadn’t thought much about it at the time. Nick was close to her age. She remembered so many kids in high school getting high, but Nick hadn’t gone to Vista del Mar, so she hadn’t known him personally.

  Her heart swelled for Claire, Nick and Emily. She hugged Claire furiously, her turn to almost crush bones. “How wonderful, how special for both of them. And for you,” she added. “Do we know when the wedding plans are?”

  “Soon, I think. They don’t want to wait too long. But, I insisted since he is my only child they at least have a proper religious wedding. They both claim to be believers.”

  “When you get a date, we need to call Jill. She can do a beautiful wedding in a heartbeat, she is so talented.”

  “Call her now, please. They agreed to my coming up with several dates within the next few months. See what her availability is.”

  ~

  Bryce pulled his cycle behind the building and tossed the black cover over it. No one would look for him here a
nyway, so a futile effort. Clicking the key to lock it, he shoved it in his pocket and walked in to the glittering lights. If only the air wasn’t so stifling he could breathe better.

  ~

  “Oh, another wedding?” Natalie thought Jill was trying to sound composed, but she knew she was truly excited. The woman loved to produce weddings, and she was so good at them. Nat explained about the different date possibilities, and Jill checked her calendar. She came up with two. Would they work for the couple? One was two months away, the other three months. Not the ideal length of time for planning a wedding, but it could be done. Nat was sure it could with Jill’s help.

  The next morning, another gloomy overcast Wednesday, Nat shared the dates with Claire.

  “Nothing sooner?” she asked.

  “Heavens, Claire, even these dates say the wrong thing. Invitations are traditionally mailed out at least six weeks before the wedding. Sooner and guests will wonder why. Do you get my drift?”

  Claire nodded and did the hand-wringing thing she often did when stressed. “If they want a special wedding, they need to choose one of these dates.” She retreated to somewhere in the gym to find one or both of the couple.

  ~

  Larry texted her. Connie had given him Nat’s cell to keep her up to date about Bryce. She was both disappointed and relieved. She didn’t care for Bryce as a romantic interest, but she cared for him as a friend. And, obviously, as the gym trainer.

  Going now to Vegas. Last possible place. I did learn he likes to gamble, but he hasn’t done it in AZ. Maybe Reno. I will let you know. Larry.

  How odd, Nat thought. If Bryce really likes to gamble, Arizona is the prime place with all the Native American casinos. Other than Vegas, of course. She tried to wait patiently for information from Larry. She remembered him, too, and really liked him. Hopefully he is as good a PI as he is a gate guard. He had a great smile, warm and engaging. A very handsome man. Dark-skinned like Jaeda. Still, she fantasized. She wanted someone like him to protect her.

  The next day she got another text from Larry.

  Found where he was, but not there now. Seems like he moved on from Vegas to Reno. Going there next. Don’t worry about travel expenses. I want to go there, too.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

  Jill searched for the perfect venue. She was told about the small beach at Corona, but even though the couple wanted what they called an intimate, small wedding, it wouldn’t hold many. Besides, guests would be slipping and sliding down the sandy trail.

  Then Jill, the ultimate wedding coordinator, came up with the ultimate idea. She knew all the Candy Canes wanted, and had, weddings in unique venues. Although Emily was not an official Candy Cane, Jill suspected she wanted something extraordinary, too. She knew Emily was a decorator and that she was currently re-decorating Nat’s Gym. She called Natalie right away.

  Lists were made quickly, and beautiful, somewhat funky, invitations were mailed. No time for a professional calligrapher. Blessedly, Natalie and Claire and Emily had beautiful handwriting still, even after all those years using a computer keyboard.

  Natalie licked the seal on the last envelope. Before she slid the invitation into the stiff white enclosure, she laughed out loud. Claire came into the office just then.

  “What’s so funny?”

  “The invitations with the surf boards on them, and,” she gulped a laugh, “ and the venue.”

  “You don’t like?”

  “I love it! I am so flattered. It will be so much fun to decorate the gym for … a wedding.”

  ~

  Jill was confused, and she seldom was. In all of her thirty plus years of designing weddings, she had never produced one in a workout room. Another challenge. Maybe she should write her memoirs. Not many from wedding gurus she guessed.

  She stood in the main workout room among stair steppers and walking machines (what were they called? Oh, yeh, treadmills) and wondered how this would all work. Then, Natalie came in with Claire, the soon to be new mother-in-law, and they reorganized. On paper, for the day of the wedding, but not today when clients needed to use the machines. Still, it was a relief and gave Jill some perspective. She would put the ceremony stage there, the aisle there, the guest chairs on either side. Nat’s little office would be where all the female attendants would congregate beforehand. The now revamped ladies room would serve as the bridal dressing room. Everything would work, and it would be a fun wedding. And, all the machines would be moved out!

  Emily, bride to be, swooshed into Nat’s office. Nat noticed how Emmy glowed now, so different from a few months ago when she was depressed and downtrodden. Nat’s heart soared for her. But, she selfishly wondered, would that ever happen to her?

  “I am so grateful, Nat, so blown away that you would do this for Nick and me.” She pulled the one extra chair close to Nat’s desk and sat down. She fiddled with her fingers, then asked a question that surprised Nat.

  “What about parking?”

  “You mean where will wedding guests park? I know we have limited spaces, but those will have signs reserved for the wedding party. We contracted with several local businesses and there will be complimentary valet parking for all others. No worries.”

  Nat wondered about Emily’s priorities. Was parking her biggest concern?

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  The windy and overcast day in January poked through the reluctant sun. Natalie pushed the keypad to unlock the doors to the gym. Her gown hung over her arm in a plastic bag, and the ring almost burned in her purse. She was thrilled and honored to be the maid of honor, but she was terrified to be responsible for the ring. Maybe she should tuck it into her cleavage in its felt bag. No one would look for it there.

  She hung the beautiful multi-colored gown on the back of her office door. Emily was truly amazing, and so creative. Nat had been in a number of Candy Cane weddings, all beautiful but all with a single color theme. Emily’s seemed to be all over the place, yet Natalie reminded herself, Emily is a designer. A bit avant garde, not traditional, somewhat unorthodox. She shoved the mounds of papers aside and sat at her desk and prayed. For the wedding Emily designed with a riot of color and fun stuff like the surfboards on the invitations. Finally, for Bryce, whom no one had heard of for weeks. Not even Larry the private investigator. She read the latest text.

  Seems like he skipped one step ahead of me every place. I pride myself on my tracking, but maybe he senses he’s being followed. If so, means he’s scared. In Reno now. Blackjack and other dealers recognized his photo, saw him once, then not again. Wish I’d known ahead so I could have put a device on his cycle to follow him. Heading back to AZ – think he might be, too. Larry

  Natalie couldn’t deal with the Bryce drama now. At least it seemed as if the man was alive and probably gambling somewhere. She texted a thank you back to Larry and went to the “Wedding Chapel,” the converted room in the gym. Everything glittered with bold color. Mirrored ball globes, like the ones years ago above dance floors, hung from the ceiling with multi-colored spotlights shining on them. As they twisted, the tiny fragments of glass reflected red, blue, yellow, green and purple onto the walls and ceiling. Upbeat music played, fortunately softly Nat thought, and gave the entire venue a fun party feel. Even the guest chairs were draped in cheerful alternating colors. But, most impressive was the runner the bride would walk down. It was a bold, bright yellow and red-striped velvet leading to a multi-blue alter made from the table in the gym’s entryway draped in layers of a gauzy fabric that puddled around on the floor. Small bouquets of mixed color flowers adorned the ends of each make-shift pew. She knew these were Braydon’s gifts to the couple. Leaving the impressive scene to return to her office, she realized she had entered and exited under a rounded archway made of hundreds of tumbling flowers and ribbons, all of different colors. Just to the left of the entry was a large placard with multi-colored letters.

  “Welcome to Emily and Nick’s Party!

  Please join us as we are blessed.”

&
nbsp; Nat was almost blown away. Then she remembered she needed to get dressed in her fancy, multi-colored, multi-layered gown made of several fabrics. Tulle and something sheer and see-through would swirl around her below the velvet bodice and above the skirt. She knew she would feel like a princess. Of course Connie had designed them following Emily’s desires. She wasn’t sure who was more creative, Emily the bride, or Connie the designer. Both were dear to her heart.

  Natalie was joined in her office by Claire and Melanie. They donned their dresses, struggling to get the waists to fit. Nat looked at Melanie, Mel looked at Nat, and both burst out in hee-haws. “You have my dress!”

  “No, you have mine. My waist is smaller than yours.”

  “Doesn’t matter, girls, as long as each dress fits,” Claire announced loudly. “Who cares? I don’t. I just want to see my son Nick married and happy.” Claire giggled nervously then. “Sorry, but I am a proverbial bundle of nerves.”

  The girls hugged her placing air kisses on her cheeks so as not to disturb her professional makeup, then they switched gowns. Natalie noticed Claire’s cheeks were super pink, almost too red from rouge. She dug in her purse and found a blush brush and softly wiped it across Claire’s flaming cheeks. “That’s better,” she said with a smile. “Don’t want the MOG to look tacky.”

  After a knock on the door, Braydon let himself in bearing armloads of bouquets. He handed the larger one to Natalie and the other one to Melanie. He pinned a three-colored miniature of the two on Claire’s left shoulder. “The MOG,” he said, “doesn’t carry a bouquet. Although she of all people should be able to toss one in joy.”

  The three women adjusted their skirts and prepared to step out onto the wedding runner. As Natalie opened her office door she heard a ping. A message on her cell phone. Drat! She thought she had muted it. She picked it up with mixed feelings. The message was from Larry.

  Found him, but not good. He is holed up at Fort McDowell off the 10. Close to home. Can’t get him to answer his door there or cell. I have contacted security, but unless he does something wrong, they can’t intervene. Wish I was there for the wedding. Larry