My skin felt tight with a strange mixture of shame for my past and arousal for the man in front of me. We needed to get out of the house. Now.
Gray smiled again and stroked a finger down the side of my neck. “You’ve had a shitty day, so I’ll let that one slide for now.”
I fought the urge to shiver at the touch of his finger on my sensitive skin and gave him my best “don’t mess with me” glare. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You’re a terrible liar, Ruby McLean.” The tone of his voice was dark and sexy. “But that’s okay because I’m a patient man.”
Chapter 16
Gray
“I need your help.”
“Welcome home, buddy. Nice to see you too,” Hunter said in a droll tone.
I sighed and collapsed into the Adirondack chair next to him. Hunter’s panache for needling me at every opportunity was getting old.
“Hello, Hunter. How was your day?” I said in a tone just as snarky as his.
The bastard put down his phone and turned to smile at me. “I had to work the pumps. All day. All while dealing with Lucy. Do you have any idea how shitty she can make a work shift?”
“Maybe if you were clearer with her. Tried to explain—”
“You don’t think I’ve tried?”
“I don’t know,” I said. “She keeps switching between ice princess and rage queen.”
“I’ve done everything I can to try and explain, but she’s given me no chances. Other employees are starting to notice.”
I nodded. “You’re right. I’m sorry. What can I do to help?”
“You can hire someone to manage the daily stuff. Then I can work on restoring the boats. Like I’ve wanted to do for months.”
Hunt had been begging for this exact thing for months. I knew he was interested in repairing and modifying the boats in our fleet and potentially taking on clients. I’d never seen Hunter so excited about a project idea, but we already had so many irons in the fire. I worried that adding custom work to our services would stretch us so thin we’d fail.
With another person around as a manager, we’d both avoid Lucy’s fire. The alternative, firing Lucy, still did not sit well in my stomach. Plus, I’d be able to help Ruby out more with the girls.
“Fine, I’ll get it posted by next Monday,” I said. Hunter nodded, mollified. “Now, can we talk about the favor I need?”
“Okay. Shoot.”
“Ruby’s mom is in the wind. She dropped the girls off on Friday and didn’t come back today. Ruby called around to some of Pearl’s friends and found out she got her hooks into a high roller at the club. Now, both Pearl and high roller are missing.”
“They could just be on a bender.”
“They could,” I agreed. “But Ruby insists that’s not Pearl’s typical behavior. You and I both know how quickly a bender can turn into something bad. Especially for a woman in Pearl’s line of work.”
“Right, so why doesn’t Ruby call the cops?”
“She said she’d called a friend that works as a dispatcher, but it sounds like she doesn’t trust the sheriff to take a report seriously.” I remembered Ruby’s face as she explained what type of backwoods hick the Sheriff of Monroe County was, and it made me angry all over again. “I need you to do that computer voodoo shit they taught you in the service and get me some information.”
Hunter snorted. “You know you shouldn’t be so tech illiterate. It’s the twenty-first century, bud.”
“I’m not that bad,” I argued. “I’d just rather get this shit done fast, so I came to the expert.”
Hunter laughed. “You know flattery will get you everywhere with me.” He stood up from his seat. “Come on, you can cook me dinner while I do some digging for you.”
Hours later, we had gotten no hits on Pearl or her mystery man, Ted Jordan. I watched Hunter look through every site and database he knew, and each one was a bust. It was as if Pearl and Jordan had vanished off the face of the earth. Ruby was sure something nefarious was happening. Could she be right? Did a person disappear with no clues without it being bad news?
“I’m sorry,” Hunter said as he leaned back to take a sip of beer. “I see nothing on Pearl or Jordan in the last forty-eight hours. He’s like a ghost, and her social media has been dead since Friday afternoon.”
“Can’t you—,” I waved at the screen vaguely, “—just, you know, track their cells or something?”
“No can do, buddy. That would require warrants. Your best bet is to go to the cops. Let them handle this.”
I stood up and paced around the combined kitchen and living room. “There’s got to be something we can do.”
“There really isn’t. Unfortunately, adults go missing all the time of their own free will. You may have to wait this out.”
“Wait this out?” I asked. “What about those girls, Hunt? Their mom just dropped them off with their sister without another word.”
“Dude, calm down,” Hunter said. “Ruby will figure something out. No need for you to get worked up.”
I stopped pacing and turned to look closely at my friend. “What did you just say?”
Hunter shrugged and wandered back into the kitchen. “You keep saying shit like ‘what are we gonna do.’ But, there isn’t a ‘we.’ You’ve got yourself so twisted up about this girl, you can’t see she’s parked you squarely in the friend zone. Do yourself a favor and exit from this drama now. Before it gets out of hand.”
“What did you say?” I repeated as I followed him into the kitchen.
“I mean, come on, Gray. I get it. She’s cute in that plain girl next door kinda way, but she’s so young, and she comes with a ton of baggage. Do you really want to deal with all this shit just to get your dick wet?”
A million things to say came to mind, but I couldn’t manage one. I just stared at the man who had been my friend for years, who’d had my back whenever I needed it, and this turn about dumbfounded me. “If you think this is about getting my dick wet, then you’re not the man I thought you were.”
“You can’t seriously be considering more with that girl.”
I slammed my hand on the counter. My grin was fierce when Hunter jolted. He may have been the former intelligence officer and resident smart ass, but I’d been the more senior officer and the undisputed muscle of our group. I used the extra bulk and power I’d maintained since retirement to square up with Hunt and intimidate him. “Enough.”
“I—”
“I don’t know where this is coming from, Hunt. Especially, after you’ve spent weeks encouraging me to ask her out.”
“I thought she’d be a bit of fun.”
“Do you think that little of me? Of Ruby?” I shifted closer, feeling the frustration and confusion still burning through my body.
Hunter’s eyes widened a little, and it made me feel good.
“Even if I didn’t care for Ruby, I’d be a sorry excuse for a human if I didn’t want to help her and her sisters. She works a night shift and now has the role of temporary caregiver for two kids. She’s gonna need all the help she can get, and if you have a problem with her, you got a problem with me.”
“You’re right,” Hunter agreed. “I just—man, I just thought it was a silly crush you’d get over, eventually.”
“It’s not.”
Hunter held up his hands. “Okay, okay. Look, I just don’t want to see this girl take advantage of you. You’re such a nice guy, and she’s so young ...”
“So, what? That means there’s no way she could be interested in a guy like me?”
“No!” Hunter sighed and stepped back to lean against the opposite counter. “No, I didn’t mean it like that. I just don’t want my friend to get taken for a ride just ’cus he’s a decent guy. You date so rarely, I was just concerned.”
“Concern is one thing. Talk
ing shit about her is another.”
“Right. You’re right.” Hunter ran a hand through his hair. “I was out of line. I was just trying to look out for you, but I took it too far.”
Hunter looked ready to puke, so I let him off the hook. “Look, I appreciate it. I really do, but you’ve met Ruby, and you know what kind of person she is. And even if she was just using me, I’m capable of dealing with that on my own. Make it up to me. You can watch the kids when I take Ruby on our first date.”
Hunter’s skin paled. “Kids? I dunno man, I’ve never been around kids much.”
“You want to show me you’re not harboring doubt? You’ll do this for me,” I said.
Hunter’s skin was still pallid, but he gave a quick nod. “You got it, buddy. I’ll be the best damn babysitter you’ve ever seen. So, you asked her finally?”
“Not yet, but soon.”
“You’re gonna go all out, right?” Hunter asked. “I mean, this girl’s been on your mind for months. You gotta pull out all the stops.”
“I don’t know,” I said. “It’s been so long since I went on a first date that was more than a prelude to fucking. Do you think she’s gonna want something special?”
Hunter laughed. “Dude, come on. I know you’re out of practice, but you can’t be that dense.”
“The last woman I seriously dated was nothing like Ruby,” I said in my defense. “We went to bars, saw bands, fucked in parked cars.”
“Sounds like a good time to me,” Hunter said.
“It was. But I’m not interested in that anymore. And Ruby isn’t that type of girl.”
“What do you mean? She’s in her twenties. Partying and making poor decisions is like a requirement.”
“Ruby works late nights, and when she’s not working, she’s taking care of the girls,” I replied. “The few times I’ve seen her with a free moment, she’s been reading or watching a movie. She spends all of her time helping the kids or the old folks that I’m not even sure she has a friend her age.”
“That’s sad.”
“Maybe,” I said. “I would’ve hated to miss out on the shit I did in my twenties, but Ruby doesn’t care. She’s content as she is. I think it’s what I like the most about her. She doesn’t seem to need anything more than what she has.”
“So you need a date that’s good but not over the top.”
“Right,” I said. “Something nice but nothing that looks like I’m trying too hard.”
“Well, what the hell does that look like?”
I laughed. “Damned if I know.”
“You should call Ida. She’ll know what to do.”
“Maybe,” I agreed. “First, I should probably ask Ruby out. No point in planning a date I get turned down for.”
“True. But hey,” Hunter slapped me on the back, “if you ever need a date, I’m happy to fill the spot.”
Chapter 17
Ruby
For several days after mom disappeared, I just reacted to all the things that needed my attention. The first thing was figuring out how I could manage my work schedule and take care of the girls. There was no daycare center in town that went past six at night, no way to keep them with me at the store, and no in-home babysitter wanted to take on two girls overnight.
Instead of bothering either Ida or Gray to take on more, I begged my manager at the store to give me some day-shift hours. With the school year in full swing, he had more room to accommodate me on the day shift. When the girls had half days at school, they would go to their usual babysitter. I would still need to ask Gray or Ida for the occasional overnight with the girls, but it was a start. I was hoping Mom would show up before I wore out my welcome with my friends.
Once I got work sorted, I shifted gears to make sure I was the legal guardian on record. I had an old friend that worked as a dispatcher in the sheriff’s office. She pointed me toward a good local lawyer who could help me file the right paperwork. My bank account was meager, but I’d take the hit to ensure I protected the girls.
Natalie Morgan was a few years older than me and just about the most intimidating person I’d ever met. Her office in the middle of downtown was above the new coffee shop, so it smelled like dark French roast and baked goods. Normally, it would have put me at ease, but the dark wood decor and the beautiful yet scary woman behind the enormous desk had me feeling like a school kid brought into the principal’s office.
“My secretary said you need help with a custody issue?” Natalie asked as she pulled a notepad from a drawer. “Who’s the father?”
“They’re not my kids. They’re my sisters. Their father signed away his rights years ago.”
“And you want to remove them from their mother’s care?” Her voice sounded bland. Like hearing the worst sort of stories no longer phased her. How awful it must have been to feel that removed.
“It’s an emergency. My mother has actually gone missing, and she left no instructions or information with me when she dropped the kids off in my care a week ago.”
“We can petition the court for a temporary order,” Natalie said as she took more notes. “Those usually cover 6 months but can be extended if need be. With abandonment cases, we can usually push these things through without too much hassle. I assume you’re already registered as next of kin with their school?”
“Yes. My mom did that as soon as the girls started school.”
“Good,” Natalie said and gave me a brief smile. It made her look softer and more approachable but the smile was there and gone in a second. “Have you filed a missing person’s report for your mother with the police?”
I felt my cheeks heat with shame. “I called a friend that works for Sheriff Grady, and she said to wait a few days to make sure my mom doesn’t turn up.”
“Law enforcement likes to say that adults disappear all the time, but personally, I think that’s ridiculous. You know your mom and her routine. If you’re concerned about her whereabouts, then that should be taken seriously.”
“I was more concerned about their reaction when they found out her job is as a dancer at Foxie’s. No one knows the guy she was hanging out with last week, and I-I just don’t think this is something to ignore.”
Natalie stopped her writing and looked up at me with the softest look she’d given me yet. “Your mother’s job should have no bearing on whether the cops attempt to find her. But, I think we’re both smart enough to realize that’s not how it goes all the time.”
I took a shuddering breath. Tears were burning the backs of my eyes. “She dates a lot, but she never disappears like this. And she always calls the girls when she’s not with them overnight. I just want to make sure she’s not in trouble or worse.”
“You mentioned to my assistant that you had a friend with a PI background to look into it.”
“A friend of a friend, actually. Apparently, he did private security work after he retired from the Army. I figured it wasn’t a bad idea to get all the help I could.”
“Not stupid at all. If you can give me his information, I’ll contact him to get anything he found,” Natalie said. “I’ll get some more information from you, and we’ll get the ball rolling on the custody. Then we’re both going to the sheriff’s office to file an official report.”
U
Filing the report with the police went about as I’d expected. The deputy that interviewed me was a man I’d never seen before who spent most of the thirty minutes asking about my mom’s work at the club. Even as Natalie and I tried to keep him on topic, he seemed more interested in the people my mom encountered as a dancer and her personal relationships.
Repeatedly, Natalie interrupted his line of questions with a sharp, “I don’t see how that’s relevant.”
The deputy seemed to think that my concern was premature and had no issue telling me that several times. By the time the interview was over, I’d had eno
ugh of his opinions.
My childhood friend that worked dispatch, Beth, stopped us in the hallway. “Did you make your report?”
“I did,” I said. “Thank you for your help.”
Beth frowned and shot a glare toward Finch’s desk. “Did he even take a report?”
“He did,” said Natalie. “And I’ll be asking for a copy for my records on Monday.”
“Good idea,” Beth said. “He’ll have to file it then.”
“It shouldn’t be like that,” I ground out.
“No,” agreed Natalie. “But let’s not make a scene and give him another reason to act like an ass.”
I said my goodbyes to Beth and followed Natalie outside. I felt angry and overwhelmed. All of my old issues bubbled to the top, fed by what had just happened in the sheriff’s office. I hated my position in the town as the bastard daughter of a stripper. Hated that Mom’s job made people feel like she wasn’t worth finding. Hated that I had to hold my tongue while a bigoted asshole told me, “she’d turn up.”
For several long minutes, I stood clenching and unclenching my hands as I struggled to take a deep breath. None of my usual coping mechanisms were working. Natalie stood next to me, looking like she was ready to throw a punch.
“Is filing a report always this difficult?” I asked through clenched teeth.
“It’s never easy, but Deputy Finch did his best to make it worse,” she said.
“Isn’t there something else we can do? Someone we can go to get help?”
Natalie’s smile was gentle, making her ten times less intimidating. “There are still some good people in the area. I know a couple of deputies that I’d trust if my mom were missing. I can try to talk to them. See if they’ll take the report from Finch.”
“Could you?” I shivered at the memory of Finch’s face. “He gave me the creeps. Even if he looked for Mom, I’d worry what he’d do to her when he found her.”
“I know what you mean,” Natalie said and shifted her briefcase from one hand to another. “His boss is no better. Make sure you always have someone with you when you’re interacting with them.”
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