Blue Ridge Sunrise

by Denise Hunter

  “Kyle, are you gonna wide wides with us? I’m gonna wide the cawousel! A white howsey!”

  “Yeah, yeah. First things first, though,” he said, joining them by the door. “I need you to grab all your toys and put them in a bag. Can you do that for me?”

  Gracie’s brows pinched together. “What for?”

  “It’s a game. I’m going to time you. You and your mama are going to race, and we’ll leave as soon as you’re done. Are you ready?” He checked his watch.

  She bounced on her toes. “I’m weady!”

  “Set . . . Go!” He gave her a smack on the tush, and she scrambled up the stairs. “Huwy, Mama! Huwy!”

  The ease with which he manipulated her daughter made heat flush through Zoe. Sure, it was only a little game designed to ensure her cooperation. But Zoe’s stomach twisted hard as she realized he’d once controlled her so easily.

  His methods had been much more subtle—it had been little things at first. How she folded his clothes or wrapped the mic cords during teardown. But before she knew it, she’d been doing everything to his liking. When the littlest thing went awry she worried that he’d get aggravated with her. His moods had controlled her behavior.

  Not anymore, though. Not anymore.

  FIVE MINUTES LATER the note was written and hanging on the door, and Axel had left. Gracie was in her booster seat between Zoe and Kyle, and all their belongings had been tossed into the bed of the truck.

  Zoe put the vehicle into drive and eased down the lane.

  Kyle had kept his tone friendly for Gracie’s sake, but the cold look in his eyes was enough to remind Zoe that rage boiled just below the surface. He’d stayed right with her every second in the house, giving her no opportunity to leave some kind of clue or pick up something she could use as a weapon.

  Gracie squirmed eagerly in her booster seat. Zoe couldn’t keep track of her chatter. She was so excited about the festival. Her daughter wouldn’t be happy when she realized there was no carousel at the end of this trip. Her eyes would fill with tears, and then the crying would start.

  Kyle would lose patience with her quickly, and his temper would flare. Not what they needed when he was already hanging by a thread.

  Zoe discreetly checked her watch. She was ten minutes late to meet Cruz. Too soon for him to start worrying. He probably figured she’d gotten caught in the festival traffic or was having trouble finding a parking space. He’d probably text her soon.

  “Are we going to the wides now, Mama?”

  “Be patient, honey.”

  Kyle handed her a spinning lollipop he must’ve swiped from the house.

  Gracie’s eyes lit up. “Thank you, Kyle.” The wrapper crinkled as she took it off. She flipped the switch, making the lollipop buzz quietly, and popped it into her mouth.

  “Look, Mama!” she said around the sucker.

  “It’s spinning, huh?” That would hold her over for a bit.

  “Wound and wound and wound,” Gracie said.

  Zoe pulled the truck from the drive and turned onto the street, heading toward 76. The sun was hanging low in the west, striping the sky with bold colors.

  The parade was well underway. Cruz must be wondering where she was. If a text had come in, Kyle hadn’t said anything.

  Minutes later she took the turn for 76 West. The road straightened as it left town. She wiped her sweaty palms down her jeans and tried to foresee what might be unfolding in town.

  Cruz would be getting worried, but he wouldn’t be able to reach her. He’d eventually call Brady—who knew nothing—and then Hope. But Hope didn’t know Kyle had come into town. Why, oh, why hadn’t she told someone?

  chapter forty-two

  Cruz checked his watch for the dozenth time in the last half hour. The parade was well underway. The high school band passed by, the horn section blaring out “Ramblin’ Man,” the percussion following in a line behind them delivering a lively cadence. The Bulldog mascot danced to the tune while the crowd cheered him on.

  Where was Zoe? He surveyed the crowd lining Main Street, looking for her red hair. She was always a standout. Beside him the barber’s pole spun, its red, white, and blue stripes going in an endless circle. She’d said right outside Josephine’s, right?

  It wasn’t like her to be late. The band moved past, and a group of little girls sashayed by in sparkly red outfits. Once it was quieter he stepped around the corner and dialed Zoe, but there was no answer.

  He called the market, but there was no answer there either. He dialed Brady. The phone rang through to voicemail. He was probably somewhere along the parade route, unable to hear or feel his phone in the chaos. Hope was next on his list. She finally answered on the fifth ring, distracted by the parade. But she hadn’t heard from Zoe all day.

  He checked again for a message, then pocketed his phone and went back to the storefront, perching his hands on his waist.

  A fire truck paraded by, volunteers waving from the back. Next was a seventies model convertible red Chevelle. Ava sat atop the back seat, smiling and waving. Her Miss Georgia Peach banner crossed her upper body, and her tiara sparkled under the setting sun. Zoe would be disappointed that she’d missed Ava’s big moment.

  A feeling of foreboding swept over him like a strong summer wind. Something wasn’t right. Before he could even finish the thought his feet were already headed toward his truck.

  TWENTY MINUTES LATER he arrived at Zoe’s. Her truck wasn’t there, but he charged up the porch steps anyway. As he did his eyes zeroed in on a note taped to her front door.

  He scanned the contents, frowning.

  She couldn’t do this anymore? This wasn’t the life for her? This was bull. He ripped the note from the door and wadded it in his fist.

  He barged inside the house. “Zoe!” he called, though he didn’t expect an answer. After covering the first floor he took the stairs two at a time. “Gracie!” The house was as silent as a tomb.

  Upstairs he turned into Zoe’s room first, his eyes scanning the space. The bed was made, but her things were gone. He went to the closet and found it empty, hangers and all. He dashed across the hall. All of Gracie’s toys were gone, her closet empty.

  He stopped, his hand still on the closet knob. They were gone.

  His stomach sank to the floor as he reviewed the last several days. Sure, it hadn’t been easy. Between the grand opening, the investigation, and the insurance refusing to pay up, Zoe was stressed. But she’d gone through with the grand opening, and it had been successful.

  She had a few months of peach season to look forward to, and the investigation wasn’t finished yet. There was still a chance they’d catch the real culprit. That she’d be able to rebuild her barn and pay off her loan.

  The old insecurities came flooding in. The ones that made him fear he wasn’t enough. Hadn’t been enough for his own dad. Flesh and blood. Why would he be enough for Zoe?

  He shook the thought from his head. He wasn’t that man anymore. What his dad did was on him. Not Cruz. He had God-given value, and no one could take that away.

  The suddenness of this, on the heels of her grand opening, didn’t make sense. None of it was ringing true. His gut was screaming. Because Zoe wouldn’t do this. No way. No way would she leave. No way would she take Gracie away. She’d come too far. They’d come too far.

  This whole thing reeked of Kyle. Cruz didn’t know how or why, he just knew.

  He tried Zoe’s phone again, but it rang over to voicemail. He left a message begging her to call and tried to get through twice more before he hung up and slammed the closet door shut.

  If anyone could shed some light on this it would be Hope. He pulled his phone from his pocket even as he rushed from the room. She picked up on the third ring.

  “Have you heard from Zoe?”

  “You mean . . . she’s still not with you?”

  “No, she’s not with me. I’m at her house. Her stuff is gone, and she left some note, making it sound like she was leaving for good.”<
br />
  “What? Zoe wouldn’t do that.” Then Hope mumbled something unintelligible. “Oh, no. Oh, no. Cruz . . . there’s something I have to tell you.”

  “Tell me everything you know, and say it fast.”

  As the story tumbled out he rushed toward his truck. He started the engine, then pressed on the accelerator, the speedometer inching upward as he hit a straightaway on the drive.

  Zoe squeezed the steering wheel. A drizzle had begun, and she turned on the windshield wipers.

  Her breathing had gone so shallow she felt as if she were going to hyperventilate. She forced a few deeper breaths, casting a look at Kyle. The smirk on his face was less than comforting. He’d checked her phone a few minutes ago. She was sure there’d been a text or call from Cruz.

  He gave her a long, amused look. “Don’t worry, Zoe. I’m sure he’ll get over you fast enough. He’ll probably buy the orchard, if he can afford it, and be glad to cut you loose. He’s probably already forgotten about you.”

  As if refuting his words, the phone buzzed an incoming call.

  Kyle checked the screen, his lips twisting. He set the phone down, not even bothering to turn it off. Tension built in the cab as she waited it out, wanting with everything in her to answer. It had to be Cruz.

  Finally the buzzing stopped. A moment later a voicemail buzzed in.

  “Well, let’s see what he has to say.” Kyle placed the phone on his ear. A few seconds later he chuckled. Then he hung up.

  “What’d he say?”

  He only ignored her, that smug smile making her want to strangle him.

  The phone started buzzing again.

  Gracie stopped the spinning sucker. “Who’s calling you, Kyle?”

  “Nobody, Gracie-girl.”

  The phone rang on, shrinking the air in the cab until it wrapped around Zoe tight as Saran Wrap.

  Cruz wasn’t giving up so easily. He’d know she wouldn’t go, wouldn’t leave him, wouldn’t he?

  The ringing continued. “Maybe I should just answer it, Kyle.”

  His eyes narrowed on her as the ringing stopped. Zoe waited for the voicemail, but none came. A breath she didn’t know she’d been holding escaped.

  The phone began buzzing again.

  Kyle shifted in the seat, his muscles tensing. He tugged the brim of his hat down. Emotion tightened the corners of his eyes, and his upper lip was dotted with sweat. He jabbed the button that turned off the phone. The ringing stopped, and the cab was suddenly silent except for the hum of the spinning sucker.

  Zoe drove on, but she could sense the tension on the other side of the cab. If she could just talk to Cruz maybe he’d be able to figure out what was going on. Maybe she could slip him a clue or something. She just had to get Kyle on board. And somehow manage that without angering him.

  Her fingers tightened on the wheel. “Turning off the phone’s not going to fix this, you know. He’s not going to let this go with a note on the door. He won’t believe it without hearing it straight from me.”

  He turned wild eyes on her. “If you think I’m going to let you talk to him you’re crazy.”

  “What can I possibly do, Kyle? You’re sitting here with my daughter, and you have”—she thought of the gun tucked in his jeans—“plenty of incentive to inspire my cooperation.”

  He gave her a long hard look until Zoe turned to look out the rain-speckled windshield. “Answer’s no.”

  Zoe stared ahead at the road stretching out in front of her. She’d once thought Kyle would never harm her daughter, but the crazed look in his eyes was making her doubt his sanity. He was livid about losing Zoe to Cruz and felt she’d played him for a fool. She’d bruised his precious ego, the unpardonable sin.

  chapter forty-three

  Zoe drove on, regretting every mile she was putting between herself and Copper Creek. She’d kept a light foot on the accelerator, going five below the speed limit. Fortunately Kyle hadn’t noticed. The truck was so old and rattly it felt as if they were going much faster. The rain had begun in earnest, and she turned the windshield wipers to a higher speed.

  “Mama, I want to wide wides now!” Gracie tugged on Zoe’s shirt.

  She patted her daughter’s leg. “Be patient, honey. Where’s your sucker?”

  If only she could unwind this night and do it over. She would start yesterday when she’d had the bright idea to bait Kyle. Her plan had completely backfired.

  And that was the key right there. It had been her plan. Since she’d been back home she’d been working so hard to make her own decisions. To fight her way back to the spirited young woman she used to be before she’d fallen prey to Kyle.

  It was true that the reins of her life didn’t belong in any man’s hands. But they didn’t belong in hers either. They belonged in God’s. She’d forgotten that one critical thing. He was the One who’d placed the planets and stars in the sky and set the moon in orbit around the earth. He’d created the pulls of tide and gravity. He’d created every human being who ever existed.

  Maybe, just maybe, He knew what was best for her.

  All this time she hadn’t asked Him about the orchard’s direction or about the Peach Barn. And she sure hadn’t stopped for a single second to ask Him about baiting Kyle. She’d just taken control of the situation. It had felt so good to do her own thing. But it didn’t feel so good right now.

  I’m sorry, God! Oh, what have I done? Help me!

  Kyle caught her looking at him and sneered at her. “Poor, poor Huntley,” he said over Gracie’s whimpering. “I hope he is all broken up over you. Serve him right, trying to take my place.”

  Heat roiled in her belly at his smug attitude. Her chin thrust up of its own accord. “Maybe he won’t buy it at all, Kyle. He’s a pretty smart guy.”

  He reached across the back of the seat and smacked the back of her head with enough force to make her head spin.

  “Mama!” Gracie cried, burying herself into Zoe’s side.

  “I’m all right, honey.” Zoe blinked, orienting herself, working to keep the truck between the lines. Just the fact he’d take such a chance when she was driving proved he’d already lost it.

  “You’re just as stupid as ever. Bear in mind you texted me yesterday. This is all your fault. Huntley’s going to see that note you left, and he’s going to believe it.”

  Doubt pricked her hard. “He—he’ll trust me. He knows I wouldn’t leave him.”

  Kyle gave a cruel laugh. “Like he believed you last time, Zoe? Huh?”

  Pain flared in her heart as the arrow hit its target, a direct shot. The memories flooded back, making the back of her eyes burn. She remembered the way Cruz had been so quick to believe she was leaving him for Kyle and the band. Remembered the accusation in his eyes.

  “Just like last time . . . ,” Kyle continued. “I didn’t even have to do much convincing. Just laid a little lie out there, and he snapped it right up. Easy pickings.”

  Her heart hammered in her chest, and heat flushed through her body. She set her jaw, glaring out the speckled windshield, hating him for being right.

  “Know what?” Kyle said, his eyes like a heavy weight on her. “I can see I have a little work to do with you. I don’t think we’ll be heading back to Nashville just yet. Not until I’ve had a chance to knock some sense into you. I know of a nice little place we can be together to bond again, just the three of us.”

  His gaze raked over her, long and slow.

  Cold fingers of dread wrapped around her throat, squeezing tight. If they didn’t go to Nashville their chances of being followed shrank to almost nothing. And as he’d said, those chances were looking pretty slim.

  She could only imagine Kyle’s plans for her. She’d always suspected he had a dark side, but he’d mostly kept it under control. It seemed to have surfaced with his swelling ego.

  “I know of a nice little fishing cabin on the back side of nowhere,” he continued. “Once you’ve learned to behave I’ll take you back to Nashville. By the time Huntle
y comes sniffing around, you’ll be begging me to let you stay.”

  He probably planned to lock her and Gracie up in that cabin until he believed he could trust her. God only knew what he’d do to her in the meantime. But she’d endure anything as long as he left Gracie alone. He would leave Gracie alone, wouldn’t he?

  Maybe it wasn’t too late to change his mind about Nashville.

  “What . . . what about the band? Aren’t they expecting us?”

  He scowled. “Don’t worry, you’ve got plenty of songs to learn. That’ll keep you busy for a while. Can’t you do something about her?” he said over Gracie’s whining.

  “It’s all right, honey,” Zoe said. “Settle down now.”

  “Mama! When we gonna be there?”

  Kyle shifted in his seat as Gracie’s complaints rose over the sound of rain beating the roof. His hands fisted.

  “I wanna wide the cawousel.”

  “Be patient, Gracie,” Zoe said. “Where’s your lollipop? Let’s make it spin again.”

  “I wanna wide wides with Daddy!”

  Kyle pulled off his hat and flung it to the floor. “That’s enough, Gracie!”

  Gracie’s cries filled the cab. She turned back into Zoe’s side.

  Kyle snapped on the radio, turning it up ear-piercingly loud. An old Johnny Cash song blared out. The music merged with the sound of the rain and Gracie’s cries, a discordant clamor.

  If only Zoe had something for Gracie to play with. But she didn’t have anything in her purse. There was nothing in the glove compartment but some old receipts and maintenance records.

  “Do you still have Tinkerblocks on your phone?” she yelled over the cacophony. “Maybe that’ll settle her down.”

  “I ain’t giving up my phone! You think I’m stupid?”

  “Mama . . . ! I want Daddy!”

  Kyle pounded his fist on the windowsill, glaring at Zoe. “Shut her up! Now!”

  She had to calm Gracie down before Kyle hurt her. Zoe tightened her arm around her daughter. “Maybe if you drove I could keep her occupied. I’ll get one of her toys out of the back.”