by LoRee Peery
She’d come back to Platteville to make amends and for a quiet place to heal. Only to lose her heart, again.
She lost it first to Lakota. She lost it again to Aiden.
Beth wanted to leave it all behind and bound out the door after his Jeep.
Would she never learn? Something must be missing from her DNA. She invited either abuse or abandonment.
Wait. She was not alone. Thank You, Jesus.
She closed her eyes, eventually calmed, and exhaled.
One thing she had learned, sometimes one needed to humble one’s self and ask for assistance. Her renovation at the cabin was near completion. But she’d still be going out there a few more days. She needed to find somewhere else to spend her nights now that Aiden was no longer in the picture.
And while Barton was still out there. Somewhere.
****
June wheat fields shone the color of corn flakes under the cloudy skies, saturated by a recent heavy rain. Corn crackled in the wind, a good six feet tall. As a kid Aiden had heard many old timers claim a good crop if the corn stood knee-high by the Fourth of July. These days the hybrid, often irrigated stalks tasseled around the first week of July, and stood nine feet tall.
He watched the odometer and noted the landmarks according to Rainn’s instructions. He approached his turn-off. The address he sought appeared around a curve. Aiden pulled alongside the road just before the driveway entrance. Like many country lanes, the drive was long. He guessed this one to be the length of three football fields.
The lawn was manicured. A three-stall garage and two huge metal out-buildings complemented—rather than distracted from—the home that combined several designs.
When he shut off the Jeep engine, he caught the sound of a motor on the wind. Nothing moved, so he grabbed his field glasses. A black and yellow ATV loaded with lawn maintenance tools came into view. Aiden focused on the driver.
No doubt about it. He had Barton Littlefield in the crosshairs.
As much as Aiden wanted to crash through the gate and throttle the guy, he chose the smart move, and called the sheriff’s office. He recited the numbered address staked on a blue sign at the edge of the driveway.
He stayed right where he was in order to keep tabs on the dude in case he took off.
And if he comes my way before the law gets here, I will not be disappointed. It wouldn’t be false witness to claim self-defense.
He made sure the seat position was as far back as it would go, and locked the steering wheel in its highest point. Then he attempted to stretch his legs in order to get as comfortable as possible. How did stake-out guys handle it?
Littlefield climbed off the four-wheeler, grabbed a trimmer, and cut grass near one of the pathways. Impressed by his size, even at this distance, Aiden took advantage of the noise, and climbed out to lean on the fender.
Beth was such an itty-bitty thing. It was a miracle she’d escaped more serious injury at the hands of this gigantic man. Aiden ground his teeth. His hands curled into fists.
Then he remembered something Beth had said to him. “To get something you never had, you have to do something you never did.”
In other words, to gain peace, you had to eat humble pie. Sorry, Lord. I’m new at this turning-the-other-cheek stuff. Justice belongs to You. It’s not my job to go after him and get into trouble myself. I’m darn sure I’m gonna need to know Beth is safe though, before I can really be at peace.
He jumped at the trill of his cell phone and almost dropped it when he snatched it from his pocket.
Littlefield must have shut off the trimmer while Aiden was lost in thought and was now looking straight at him.
“Yeah,” he groused without identifying the caller.
“Wow, is that the way to answer a friend?”
Beth.
Littlefield jumped on the ATV and roared towards Aiden.
“Sorry I got busy with customers. Those teens were a hoot. You seemed reluctant to leave, so I called to ease your mind,” Beth said.
His mind wouldn’t be at ease until the cops showed up. Aiden circled the hood and reached through the window to open the glove box and grab his gun. He checked to make sure it was loaded, hoping she didn’t recognize the clicks.
“…anyway, I won’t return to the cabin without my cousin Cassie or one of the Frivolities women, or someone from church going with me.” She paused. “Aiden, are you there?”
The ATV was close enough now that he could see Littlefield’s muscles bulge as he worked the controls.
“I’m here, Beth. But I need to deal with something. Get back to you as soon as I can.”
“I hear a loud motor. Just remember, once the Lord has a person, He never lets go. We, you and I, belong to Him. I’m moving into the loft above Frivolities. Lanae is going to Geneva’s until she and Sage get married. The Lord will keep me safe.”
The question in her voice had changed to strength. Beth would be all right.
He had no more time for thought. Ensuing chaos crawled in slow motion.
Sirens silent, but bubble lights blipping, cruisers came at the drive from both directions of the road, blocked the driveway, and parked in place to ram the padlocked gate.
Littlefield heaved a machete that would have decapitated him, had Aiden not dove out of the way.
When he got his feet back underneath him, the ATV was tearing across a neighboring field of alfalfa, mowing down the purple heads ready for the proper mower.
A third cruiser screeched to a halt next to the Jeep.
Radios crackled.
The deputy driving the closest cruiser motioned to Aiden and yelled, “Move it!”
His Jeep blocked access to the alfalfa field. He slung in and sped out of the way, knowing in the pit of his stomach, Littlefield had eluded the law yet again.
He parked across the road. And answered questions as to how he’d known to come here and why he hadn’t turned that information in to the sheriff’s office.
Finally, disgusted with himself for not playing out the scene in a different manner, he was back on the road to Lincoln.
Would he never learn?
He’d never been good enough as a teenager. When his father and stepmother left to live with wolves, Leroy Holt’s instructions to his son were to “man-up.”
He’d messed that up big time, thanks to his cousin. And the teens had each taken the easy way out.
That wasn’t fair. It took two to cause such a mess.
That was then. For now, he’d gone to the acreage expecting to guarantee Beth’s safety by getting Littlefield back behind bars. Now that Littlefield got away, Aiden had failed to be a man again. He’d failed to live up to his own expectations by answering the call of duty rather than fighting for his woman.
And it had nothing to do with anyone other than himself.
****
“Isn’t life like art, in a way? The way one event stacks onto another so the layers fit together for completion?” Moselle asked, waxing philosophical. She gave a grand hand gesture that rattled diamond-shaped mobiles.
“Watch the merchandise. And I don’t know that much about art, only whether I do or don’t like something.” Beth was on a much more practical plane, still puzzling out the odd phone conversation with Aiden.
She untangled pastel mobiles, following Moselle to the front of Frivolities. “All I want to know is what was going on with Aiden. He’d better call back.”
“He will. And whatever was happening, like a painting, a sculpture, my memory boxes, or your single-shoe tree, all the tiny pieces layer to create the end result.” This time Moselle waved her hand through fringed scarves.
The moving fabrics reminded Beth of a shimmering rainbow mirage. Beth finally smiled at her friend. “OK. I get it. You’re saying one happening on top of another, added to the choices we make, results in a well-rounded life. We are who we are because of everything that is our own unique story to tell.”
“Give the girl some chocolate. Now, let’s finis
h our walk-through and call it a night.”
“Your mother could have told that little life lesson.” Beth giggled when Moselle mimed, “I’m turning into my mother?”
Beth made a funny face. When she could speak without sputtering, she said, “Eric and Rainn are following me to the cabin to get my things.”
“Got it. And I’m coming along, as well. I want to see that shoe tree I’ve heard about. You may have artistic talent you’re unaware of. Will you leave the shoes there?”
“Pastor wants me to. Said the kids will get a kick out of the tree. Maybe add to it.”
Beth’s cell phone rang as the Frivolities back door clicked shut. “Hi. Glad to know you’re still alive. That noisy interruption must be over now.”
“It is. I’m on 84th Street just off Highway 6, following a license plate that reads ‘Wolvie.’ You should get one.” Aiden’s voice held tension.
“That would only make me think of Lakota. I’m glad you’re back in Lincoln safe. Sounded like quite a commotion when we last talked. What was going on?”
“That didn’t turn out the way I wanted. Right now, my concern is for you.”
“I’m OK. Like I said, I won’t be alone unless I’m locked up safe in the loft. And saying that out loud, you know I don’t consider myself alone, anyway, because of the Lord.”
“You still gotta be smart, Beth.”
“It’s my turn to go. Eric and Rainn are here. We’re headed out to the cabin for my things.”
Thirty minutes later, her truck held all her earthly belongings, minus the single shoe collection.
Beth paused, fingers wrapped around the door handle. She felt Moselle’s comforting hand on her shoulder.
“I moved to this cabin in the woods because I felt lost, searching for my purpose in life. Lakota came, Aiden followed. I thought I’d found what I was supposed to be doing. Now they’re both gone. And it’s not safe for me to be here alone.”
13
Beth shuddered, emotion like a glob in her throat. She gazed towards the trees and thought of the trip to Wildlife Safari with Aiden. At the recollection of “meeting the pack,” she suppressed the urge to howl. She felt their absence keenly and wished for the freedom to yell her longing.
“If I’ve learned anything by coming back home myself, it’s that God has a plan. And if Lakota or Aiden are a part of your purpose in His plan, things in your life will work out,” Moselle said.
Beth muttered her agreement, and gave the knob a twist. The cabin was locked up tight. Moselle climbed into Eric’s pickup, shutting the door as Beth jumped off the porch.
She couldn’t help but smile regarding the overkill of having two pickups. Her meager belongings fit in hers, where Rainn took the wheel. Had Aiden asked the muscular firemen to protect her?
On the drive into town, Beth let her gaze roam her area of vision. She checked every driveway and intersection, in case the crazy man lurked. She hadn’t thought to do that when they’d driven out to the cabin, but relied on the security in numbers to scare off Barton.
Why was she doing it now? She had no idea what kind of he-man vehicle Barton was even driving.
Enroute to the cabin, she had felt safe with friends. Friends who allowed her to stay above Frivolities in the loft. The women who owned the innovative business would have never dreamt of trusting Beth to live on their property a few short months earlier.
Thank You, Lord. For the people You’ve brought into my life, old and new. I don’t know what my future holds, but You do. So I’m in Your hands. And thank You, Father, for the courage to override fear. You helped me fight Barton behind Frivolities. Now, please, help me view myself as someone of worth. I want to see the value that You see in me.
****
Meandering through the comfortable loft Moselle had decorated, Beth jumped when her cell phone rang. She somehow managed to answer in a calm voice.
“Glad I caught you, Beth,” Pastor Rick said. “The elders and I met briefly after service yesterday. We don’t want your safety to be in jeopardy any longer.”
He paused, but she didn’t interrupt.
“You’ve done an exemplary job on the cabin. Won’t take much for the rest of us to finish up. And we wouldn’t enjoy the fruits of your labor at all if something happened to you.”
“Thanks, I think.”
“You’re welcome. We don’t want you alone out there, where you can’t even call on your cell phone.”
She thanked him for their consideration, and brought up his words from the past Sunday. They spoke briefly about the sermon.
“So you’re done hiding from who you really are?” Pastor Rick asked.
“I may have been hiding in the Lord’s presence, secluded in the woods. But I have realized how free I am in Christ. Free to be whoever He created me to be. And I’m safe in town now, here in the loft above Frivolities.”
“Good place to be. You’re well on your way to total healing, as long as you face that fear issue.”
“Have I been that transparent?” When he didn’t respond, she searched her soul for honesty. “I’m still working on it. Too bad I can’t carve the line into my heart that’s in my mind. I know faith and trust cancel fear. I know I own the freedom to never give in to my fears again.”
“You are human like the rest of us.” He chuckled. “You’ll be just fine. You have the best Advocate in the world on your side. See you next Sunday, Beth.”
I won’t be totally healed, free to be me, free of fear, until Barton is captured. For good.
The next morning, bright sunlight blazed through the windows that faced Main Street. Beth took another mug of coffee out to the balcony. She gazed west, caught a glimpse of the river in the distance.
The previous night’s phone call from Pastor Rick put the skids on her return to the cabin. What would she do with her day? Frivolities was closed on Mondays, so no one was scheduled to work.
Then she had an idea on how to pass the time. She gulped the last of the coffee and raced down the stairs to the office.
It was time to pursue what she was made of. She’d never had the chance to discover what she was capable of before she took on the cabin renovation. Working as a gas station attendant, or in a coffee shop, or bar didn’t qualify as giving purpose to her life.
If she meant to pursue the idea of becoming a child advocate, there was no better time than the present. She booted up the computer and searched the Internet for child advocate qualifications. Running down the list, she became more excited the more she learned. She could do this! No higher education was required, only forty hours of training for court-appointed special advocates.
The commitment covered a two-year period. She could handily find a couple more part-time jobs and work training around scheduled jobs.
Thank You, Lord. My life is in Your hands, where it has always been. For the first time in my life, I can say thanks for my background. You will enable me to make a difference in some little girl’s life. And I hope I can start with Grace, preferably outside the judicial system. But if she’s in trouble, I leave the details up to you. Please be with her wherever she is, right now.
When she turned to the printer for the pages of information she’d found, Deputy Bode Rau’s business card caught her eye.
Reality intruded. Where was Barton Littlefield hiding? Did the authorities know where he was hanging out? Was he lurking near Frivolities this very minute, waiting to pounce from another alley hiding place?
She refused to let fear of running into him keep her locked up, staring at four walls all day. Besides, didn’t a little fear mean she had feelings? Helped build courage?
She twirled the deputy’s card between her fingers; and gave a cursory thought to giving them a call for a status report. When she flipped it back to the desk, another card caught her eye. Aiden’s. She kissed the card and slid it into her shorts pocket. Beth folded the sheets of paper and shut down the PC and printer.
Just let Barton follow her. She was taking a drive
.
****
Beth had parked the pickup where the noonday June sun hit the windshield straight-on. She gagged at the heat and the odor when she opened the door. What was that horrid smell? It brought to mind the cabin stench before she started cleaning.
She rolled down the windows to let in some air, as if more heat would do anything, and circled the hood. She yanked open the passenger door, irritated with the delay to be on the road.
The odor hit her again. A mouse! She turned to investigate.
Mouse droppings dotted the passenger seat and gear shift area. She spied a chewed up napkin on the console, along with a gum wrapper where she’d stuck a used piece of gum the night before.
She raced up the back loft stairs for cleaner and a rag.
“I hope the gum killed ya,” she muttered upon her return.
Sure enough. There was a dead mouse, belly up, on the driver’s side floor. It was either the gum in the gut or the heat index that did it in.
Wait till Aiden hears about this. Beth chuckled over the episode all the way to Lincoln.
She found herself distracted by the beauty of the day. The passing Nebraska scenery was in full summer splendor. Vibrant greens, swaying grasses, intermittent wild yellow and white flowers with verdant fields as a backdrop, soon pulled songs of praise to the Lord from her soul.
At a light on Cornhusker Highway, she checked the address on Aiden’s card for Game and Parks.
The parking lot was behind the building. On her way to the front door, she wondered if he was in. Surely he knew about Lakota’s whereabouts and wellbeing. She frowned in thought while striding towards the entrance.
She could have simply called.
If Aiden wasn’t in, would someone else be able to tell her about Lakota?
The glass door opened way too easy, giving her the feeling she was propelled inside.
“Well, look who’s here,” Aiden said.
The second she laid eyes on his precious countenance, she faced the truth. Lakota’s whereabouts was just an excuse. She had really come to see Aiden.
A wellspring of feeling gushed from somewhere near the vicinity of her heart, only to lodge in her throat. She finally managed a breathy, “Hi.” And hoped her smile took care of the rest of the greeting.