by Kimberly van Meter - A Sinclair Homecoming (The Sinclairs of Alaska)
And boy, did he.
Sigh.
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Incognito Ex
by Geri Krotow
Chapter 1
“Mom, please calm down. Nobody’s going to kill me, for heaven’s sake!” Coral Staufer pinched the bridge of her nose, warding off the headache that her mother’s repetitive concerns inevitably triggered. It wasn’t that she disagreed with her mom, either. Silver Valley wasn’t the quiet, safe place it had been when she’d come back three years ago. She’d learned that firsthand this past winter, when she’d lost everything she’d worked so hard for in one catastrophic explosion.
The mere mention of Russian Organized Crime, or ROC, still made her stomach heave. And hadn’t she had her share of tense nights out here since she’d made the choice to camp on her property in her trailer instead of the hotel provided by insurance, or at her parents’ place?
Still, her safety wasn’t something she wanted to continually revisit with her parents. Why hadn’t she kept her phone ringer turned off?
Because you don’t want to worry Mom or Dad.
“You’re our daughter. Of course we’re going to be concerned about you, living out on Brenda’s property after what happened.” Her mother paused after mentioning Coral’s aunt, her mother’s younger sister. Three years out, the loss of Aunt Brenda still hurt her mom deeply. “Today the papers reported that they still haven’t gotten all of those Russian gang members out of Silver Valley. There’s always more than what we know, Coral.”
Yes, indeed. Living with a Marine intelligence officer turned undercover agent had taught her that the hard way, hadn’t it?
“There are always bad guys, Mom, no matter where I live. You were more worried when I lived in California, weren’t you?” Her time in the greater Los Angeles area had begun with college and ended with...a divorce.
Her mother’s pause told her that she was trying to say the right thing in the least annoying way, which meant Coral wasn’t going to like what came next. “Honestly, honey, no, I wasn’t as worried then. Your dad and I knew you had—”
“Stop.” She didn’t want to hear the rest of it, hear how in her parents’ eyes she’d made the most colossal mistake of her life when she’d left her five-year marriage.
Reminding herself that this had nothing to do with her failed relationship, that her parents were simply disappointed that she hadn’t come out for the family dinner as planned, she began again.
“I am so sorry I missed our time together this week, Mom. As my event schedule fills up I need more time here at my place, is all.”
She’d had to cancel with her family only an hour before the big sit-down due to an off-site event that had had last-minute changes. And to be fair, she’d been in no mood to sit with her parents and three older brothers and get treated like she always did—like the little sister who made poor decisions.
“I’m sorry, too, Coral. I’m happy for you, really. It’s about time that your business expanded again. And I know it’s been a nightmare for you since the gala. Please remember, honey, like we’ve said many times, you always have a place here at home.” Home for Mary Staufer was on a quiet suburban cul-de-sac in Silver Valley, outside of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
“And like I’ve said, Mom, your place is a forty-five-minute drive each way from where I need to be right now—on my own property.” She had Coral’s Catering and Events to run, no matter that her main venue was in the midst of being rebuilt from the ground up, or that she had no idea how long she’d have to deal with her temporary living accommodations since her house had been severely damaged, too.
“I understand, really I do. I’m not trying to take your independence away, honey. You’re a grown woman. Just pay attention and stay safe. Here’s your dad.” Ah, the classic method of hanging up without hanging up—getting her father on the phone.
Her dad was far more understanding in tone but still encouraged her to think about getting a guard dog, protection that would stay by her side while she was on her property. She ended the weekly call to her parents with a mixture of gratitude for their love and exasperation for their refusal to accept that she was almost thirty years old, no matter what they said.
Only after she’d disconnected the call and shoved her phone in her back pocket did she remember what she’d wanted to ask her parents. The lockbox she’d found in a pile of rubble earlier today sat on her kitchen table, dusty but otherwise not the least bit dinged up. Anticipation curled in her belly at the thought of Aunt Brenda burying some kind of treasure or, more likely, cash. Aunt Brenda had been known to stash bills in the oddest places. Coral had found money all over the farmhouse when she’d moved in three years ago, almost a thousand dollars’ worth. Bills were stuffed into nooks and crannies, including the back of the linen closet and a chipped ceramic flour bin.
She didn’t know where the box’s key was and wondered if her mother had a clue. Aunt Brenda’s health had declined so quickly there was no telling where her mind had been in her last days.
She’d ask her parents about it the next time they spoke. Chances were she’d find the key in the meantime.
Pulling a chilled bottle of pinot grigio from the camper trailer’s tiny refrigerator, she forced her shoulders to relax. With a quick twist of her corkscrew and a smooth pour into a stemless acrylic wineglass, she decided to make the most of what was left of the evening before she grabbed much-needed sleep.
The summer twilight underscored for Coral why she’d come back home to Silver Valley, Pennsylvania, to start over three years ago. The sunset, so late after a delightful day of event planning, streaked crimson to the east, promising another warm day tomorrow. Cicadas hummed, but it was nothing like the full-on symphony August would bring. Toads, unseen but ever present in the former farm fields, croaked with warbled jubilation. It was still only mid-June, but an early heat wave had plunged her south-central Pennsylvania hometown into summer in a few short days. After the horrid Arctic winter they’d had, followed by a long, wet spring, Coral relished the heat. Her skin felt like a sponge soaking up every bit of the warmth and humidity. She held the cold glass of wine in her hands and sipped, allowed the full, crisp flavor of the grapes to smooth over her tongue before she swallowed.
She’d come back here after her divorce with a broken heart and a sense of disillusionment only a failed, married-too-young marriage can bring. Her parents had been tremendously supportive of her while still trying to convince her that she’d made a mistake. As if her ex would have changed his mind and agreed to stay at the snap of her fingers.
It had been more complicated than that.
Not one to wallow, she acknowledged that her disastrous marriage had taught her how to appreciate the little things. Being married to a Marine who was constantly deployed made the dependable routine of her life in Silver Valley all the more comforting. She’d also learned that total self-reliance was her best path in life if she wanted to avoid getting her heart broken again. Which was why she’d taken on the monumental work needed to get Aunt Brenda’s historical property and buildings back up to code and launched her catering and event-planning business. Coral had put her stamp on the inherited barn when she redid it to be an event venue.
As much as she prided herself on her ability to handle anything thrown her way, she’d been sorely tested this past spr
ing. Even the lessons from her broken heart, now mended, seemed minuscule in comparison. Her gut-souring ball of nerves had finally eased after a solid month of despair last February, after the January explosion that had leveled her main moneymaking venue. The historical barn that she’d converted into a top local wedding and event destination had been destroyed in a blink.
It no longer mattered that her schedule had been booked through the next two fiscal years as word had spread about the authentic location, superb catering and accommodating service. It didn’t hurt that she’d gone to high school with two of central Pennsylvania’s best wedding planners, either. Silver Valley already had the Weddings and More Barn, owned by Rob Owens and located on the other side of town. She’d launched Coral’s Catering only after consulting with her main competitor. Instead of competing, though, they’d helped one another’s businesses take off, recommending each other’s venues when their dates were full. And now Rob had generously allowed her to use his barn for some of her events, especially until she was able to schedule warm-weather tent festivities.
It could be much worse, but she wanted her venue back, her home rebuilt.
Her business had started off as a premier spot for Silver Valley events but quickly rose to compete neck and neck with the top spots in the larger Harrisburg and Susquehanna regions. She’d even started to have nibbles from New York City and Philadelphia as the popularity of country-set weddings grew.
The wine’s sharp taste did nothing to soothe her heartache as she looked at the remains of the barn that had served as a permanent fixture in her life’s backdrop. The historically significant and beautiful building had been reduced to piles of rubble. The newly built framework offered little solace, as it was still months from completion.
She’d lost it all. The hardest part for her to accept initially was that there was nothing she could have done to prevent the total destruction that occurred last January. There had been an altercation between law enforcement and Russian Organized Crime. Her high school friend and gala organizer Portia DiNapoli had narrowly survived an assassination attempt and, along with some SVPD officers, had saved the lives of over two hundred attendees at a local charity gala. Whenever she got really low about having to start all over again, Coral reminded herself that no one had been harmed in the criminal explosion and fire. Nothing else was of higher importance.
The gala had been to benefit the library and homeless shelter, the latter a good gratitude check whenever her self-pity swelled. In the fifteen-foot trailer that had become her home, she had far more shelter than many of the local homeless. Living single wasn’t always easy, but she had so much to be grateful for, including good friends and her family, no matter how intrusive they felt at times.
The loss of the barn was the absolute pits, for sure, but what really irked her was that its destruction underscored what she had and had not accomplished over these past three years. The structure’s empty shell was a harsh reminder that other than her thriving company, she’d not moved forward in her personal life since leaving Southern California.
Since she’d left Trevor.
You left him?
She allowed herself a quiet chuckle in the summer night. He’d left her first, if she was being honest. Not intentionally to break up their marriage, but to meet the demands of his career. First his military obligations and then continued service to his country as a civilian. He’d been gone more than he’d been home, and she knew they’d both expected too much from their marriage. You couldn’t work on something that had barely gotten off the ground when both people weren’t in the same geographical place for more than a month or two every year. The expensive trips to exotic ports to meet up with him couldn’t make up for the long nights alone in their apartment.
Darkness completely engulfed her on the tiny canvas chair, a folding hammock style that had become part of her outdoor living room. She sat in the small clearing where she’d parked the camping trailer, which had turned into a great little home since May, when the weather had become more temperate.
Right after the explosion, she’d had to stay elsewhere. The blast had destroyed a good half of the farmhouse, also historical and her home. Her parents had convinced her to stay with them, which seemed a viable alternative until the wear and tear of driving to and from the slowly progressing construction site each day wore her down. After a few short weeks, she’d begun to count the days to warmer weather, or at least, warm enough, when she could be on her property while the renovations continued. Even without her permanent venue, the property was where she felt the most creative and productive. Besides, she needed to be nearby for any construction concerns that arose.
The fancy camping trailer had its own generator, which she only ran as needed on the hottest of days. It was noisy, and she preferred to fall asleep to the sounds of the farm fields and woods that surrounded her property.
Thank goodness her never-married aunt Brenda had gifted her the farm upon her unexpected death, right as Coral’s marriage was falling apart. As much as Coral had wanted to continue her event-planning business in California after the divorce, she’d needed the comforts of Silver Valley more than she’d realized. For as beautiful as she’d found California, where her ex had been stationed at the US Marine Corps base Twenty-Nine Palms, there was nothing like the endless greens and blues that melted together to form the Appalachian Mountains that surrounded her hometown.
Stars sprang out across the dark sky, and she tilted her head to watch them, searching for a meteor. Her kind of camping was definitely “glamping” compared to the wilderness treks she and Trevor had taken. Thoughts of her ex had been popping up more lately, as annoying as the ubiquitous gnats and mosquitoes that she worked hard to keep away, as bug bites in the event tent weren’t anything she wanted her clients and their guests to experience.
Her memories of Trevor seemed different lately, not the usual rehashing of the failed relationship she’d initially done in her first months back in Silver Valley. Back then she’d gone over every freaking inch of her marriage, wondering where she’d gone wrong. It was like sifting through the rocky barn rubble for a diamond. When she’d figured out that it hadn’t been solely her burden, that Trevor had had his part to play, she’d finally let it go. Lots of people had a failed first serious relationship. She and Trevor had made the added mistake of making it legal, was all. They’d been kids when they met and never really outgrew seeing themselves as that young, carefree college couple.
But the burned-down barn mocked her day after day, stabbed at the most tender spots left over from her broken heart. Not that it hadn’t healed. It had. She just had a few sores left that clearly needed to be patched up, judging from how often Trevor had crossed her mind these past couple of weeks.
She took another sip of wine. Maybe it was time to do whatever it took to start dating again. Until now she’d only spent every possible date night here, on her property, in the barn. Helping others with their happily-ever-afters.
Moving back into the trailer to grab her bug spray, she didn’t turn on any lights to encourage the flying demons. It wasn’t as if she needed extra illumination—the space was small enough that she knew every inch of it. Her fingers felt the cool aluminum can on the tiny kitchen counter and grasped it. As she stepped back outside, Coral heard the unmistakable sound of men’s voices floating across the field.
She froze.
It’s just teenagers passing through.
Her logical mind wanted to brush it off, reassure her that her parents were overwrought in their concern. But the cold reality of ROC’s insidious infiltration into Silver Valley and her ratcheting heart rate disagreed. She drew in a deep breath, forced herself to focus. Think.
The construction workers had left for the day almost five hours ago, so it wasn’t the familiar sound of voices interspersed with pounding hammers or whining drills that she’d heard. Her event tent, located on the other side of the pro
perty, was set up and ready to go for next week’s wedding reception. It’d been important to do a trial run with the behemoth structure, as this was her first event back on-site.
She’d arranged to begin the other event tasks earlier than usual, too, but her small staff wouldn’t arrive to prep the decorations or cook what could be frozen ahead of time until noon tomorrow.
Whoever was out in her fields didn’t work for her. It didn’t mean they were criminals, though, did it?
Call the police.
She would, but only after she made certain they were on her property and that it wasn’t just a group of bored teens. SVPD had bigger fish to fry—like ROC bad guys.
The rumbling voices stopped, and she waited. Maybe it had been a couple of teens walking down the main road, or biking, shouting as they rode the undulating highway. She stood a full quarter mile from the road, but a good breeze could carry voices that far, especially at night.
Except there wasn’t a hint of wind tonight. The still air was why the mosquitoes were so omnipresent.
As the silence lengthened, she thought maybe she’d imagined the sounds. Until a sharp epithet carried across the field to her ears. Fear shot down her core, and she immediately regretted not going to the family dinner. Fear and regret weren’t going to keep her safe, though. Trespassers were on her property, and Coral didn’t entertain uninvited guests.
She acted on instinct, using the checklist her ex had drilled into her head to help her survive the long months he’d deployed, leaving her alone and at times vulnerable in Southern California. Using caution to be as quiet as possible, she stepped backward until her butt hit the trailer and reached inside the door, her hand closing on the hunting rifle she kept propped against the doorjamb, just in case. “In case” usually meant the errant black bear or a deer so injured by a car strike she had to put it out of its misery. Fending off attackers wasn’t high on her list in the hometown she knew so well. Until January, when outside forces had invaded the serenity bubble she’d lived in since moving back, the hunting rifle had stayed locked in a case in the old den of the farmhouse.