Clear Intent

by Diane Benefiel

  “I wouldn’t put anything past him, but I’m not spending the day sitting on my butt doing nothing. What would Adrian do?”

  “Hang out with you?”

  “An eight-year-old cooped up all day with his mom trying to entertain him? There’ll be tears on both sides by lunchtime.”

  “Okay, how about I drive you to Bishop. You can stay with Emma and Maddy at Jenny’s place, or get a hotel room, or whatever. You’d be safely out of the Loss.”

  “No, Jenny already has enough people to deal with, and with the evacuations, there won’t be any hotel rooms available. Take me to Trish’s house. Since you wouldn’t let me drive my own car.” She held up her hand to forestall the argument. “I know, I know. It’s the same one I drove when I was with Rodrigo and he might recognize it. But since I don’t have it, Adrian and I will get a ride with my parents to the middle school. We’ll be as safe there as we would be anywhere else.”

  ***

  Dory eyed Adrian as he stirred his cereal. “You going to eat that, bub?”

  “It’s soggy.” She knew the feeling.

  “Because you’re stirring it around.”

  He pushed the bowl away. “I don’t want it anymore.”

  He always ate his breakfast. He had to be super sick to skip the morning meal, so something was wrong with her baby. They sat in Trish Gallagher’s sunny kitchen, brighter today because the wind had changed direction and the smoke from the fire was blowing away from Hangman’s Loss. That was good news not only for the air quality, but also for the fire threat to the town. While evacuation orders were still in place, they hadn’t been expanded. Maddy had texted her the welcome news that containment was at forty-five percent.

  Dory sat in the chair next to Adrian, taking a sip of coffee from her travel mug as she eyed him over the brim. “You worried, baby?”

  “I’m not a baby.”

  She raised a brow. He’d never complained about her pet name for him before. “No, you’re not, even though you’ll always be my baby. Are you afraid because your dad escaped from the fire crew?”

  “The man is not my dad. He was the sperm donor.”

  Dory coughed to keep from choking, pounding her chest with a fist. “Sperm donor? That’s not true, but where did you hear that?”

  Adrian lifted a small shoulder. “Someone said it.” At her look, his expression turned wary. “Sperm donor’s not a bad thing to say, is it?”

  “No, but it’s a grown-up thing to say.”

  “Cameron is almost a grown-up. He said Eli is his real father, even though he didn’t make a sperm donation. And the man who did isn’t really truly his father.”

  “Cameron has a long way to go before he’s a grown-up. Do you know what that means—being a sperm donor?” She hadn’t thought this conversation was coming quite so soon.

  “A sperm donor is a guy who helps make a baby, but doesn’t act like a dad. Like the man. A dad is different because he wants to be a dad.”

  Deciding with relief that she could leave the discussion of the biology of making a baby for a later date, she considered her response. “I’m not sure when you started thinking of your father as ‘the man,’ but that’s your choice. As much as Rodrigo wasn’t a good dad, he wasn’t what I would call a sperm donor.” She brushed a lock of hair from her son’s forehead. “Adrian, are you afraid because he escaped?”

  His little chin wobbled, and he nodded his head. “What if he captures you? He could hurt you like he did before.”

  “I’ll try my best not to let that happen. The police are looking for him, and eventually he’ll be caught.”

  “Jack would protect you.”

  “Yes, he’d protect you too. But Jack can’t always be around, and we need to be smart and protect ourselves.” She took another sip of coffee, braced herself, and asked the other question that had been weighing on her. “Do you like Jack?”

  He nodded, then the guarded look returned to his eyes. “Are you thinking of marrying him?”

  “Honestly? I don’t know.”

  “I don’t think you should, because he could hit you like the man did.”

  “Not all men hurt their wives.”

  “I know. Pops doesn’t hurt Gran, and Cameron says Eli doesn’t hurt Gwen. But some men do, so I don’t think you should get married again. At least until I’m big enough to protect you.”

  “Adrian, it’s not your job to protect me.” The look he gave her spoke volumes. She never thought she’d see such an obvious I know better than you expression on her son’s face.

  With a sigh, she put their breakfast dishes in the dishwasher, wondering why her life had to be so complicated, and when that was going to end.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Dory and Adrian waved good-bye as her mom and dad left the evacuation center. Bert was on his way to City Hall where he had a meeting to update all department leaders on Rodrigo’s escape. He had refused Dory’s assurances that he didn’t need to walk her and Adrian into the school, and stopped to talk with the volunteers manning the desk, reminding them to be on the lookout for the escaped prisoner. Rosa’s shift at the medical tent didn’t start until noon, so she was going with her husband to help out at City Hall.

  Dory mulled over her conversation with Adrian as they walked into the crowded evacuation center. She hated that because of her failure to leave Rodrigo after the first time he’d used his fists on her, the men in her life were convinced she needed their protection. She paused, chewing her lip. Perhaps her inclination to blame herself for what Rodrigo had done might have something to do with that. Maybe she needed to change the narrative.

  Yes, Rodrigo had beat her, but she’d been strong enough to leave him. She’d gotten a divorce. She’d testified against him in court despite the cold stare he’d fixed on her the entire time. And she’d built a life for her and her son, doing her best to make her boy feel loved, happy, and secure. If she really believed that she was a strong, independent woman, maybe others would, too.

  She caught Adrian eyeing the image of his father plastered on a bulletin board, ducking his head after studying it. She sighed. It hadn’t occurred to her that he would be embarrassed that “the man” was a wanted criminal.

  Dory left Adrian in the area designated for kids. Cameron and the Cutter children from the Broken Arrow were there along with about a dozen children from around Hangman’s Loss. Volunteers were organizing the kids into teams for a scavenger hunt. Satisfied that her son would be safe and occupied, Dory checked in at the volunteer booth, then reported to her designated task. Today, she was assigned the area behind the gym to sort donations coming in by the truckload from as far away as Los Angeles and Reno.

  During a lull, she ducked inside the gym to get out of the hot sun and to help set up more tables where evacuees could get supplies. The Hensley sisters arrived, geriatric identical triplets with their bleached-blonde hair and matching pantsuits in turquoise blue, and announced their assignment was to sort the clothing donations. Dory found chairs so they could sit, set bags of clothing on the tables, and let them get to it.

  She returned to the blacktop behind the gym where another truck had arrived, the bed packed full. Thankfully, instead of more clothing, this couple, who introduced themselves as Steve and Greg from Carson City, had gone to a big box store and purchased cases of water, along with boxes of diapers in various sizes, and diaper wipes.

  Dory heaved the third flat of water onto a dolly when a large hand reached around her to take the handle.

  “Where do you want it?”

  She straightened, wiping her forehead with the sleeve of her t-shirt. Her chest tightened as what felt like every emotion she’d experienced in the last twenty-four hours swelled inside her. It frightened her that she could want Jack so badly when they’d spent most of the early morning hours making love.

  “I can get it, Jack. I’m not a weakling.” Her tone was pure defensiveness.

  “No, you’re not a weakling.”

  But he didn’
t let go of the dolly.

  “So let me take it.”

  Ignoring her, he tipped the load back to balance on the wheels and started wheeling it to the door of the gym.

  “You’re sexist.”

  “No, what I am is bigger and stronger than you. The water is heavy. I’ll take it inside. Don’t make a big deal out of it.” The exaggerated patience in his tone only increased her aggravation. “You going to tell me where this water goes?”

  “To the right next to the food area.” She watched his broad back as he pushed the loaded dolly ahead of him. She was an idiot, and worse, she was an ungrateful idiot. Her emotions were all over the place since she’d spent the night with Jack, and she wasn’t handling it well. She took a moment to breathe and level out before following him inside the gym.

  Jack had already unloaded the water by the time she caught up to him. He eyed her cautiously like she was going to bite his head off. She blew the hair out of her eyes and took off her gloves. “Sorry. I’m sorry I snapped at you.”

  He nodded. “Want to tell me what’s going on?”

  She lowered her voice so no one in the crowded gym could hear her. “You mean like the fact that we had sex and that scares me? Or maybe it’s that there’s a fire threatening my town. And, oh yeah, let’s not forget that my crazy ex-husband escaped from prison and could be a danger to me and my son.”

  He bent forward, his voice matching hers, eyes glittering. “It’s not that we had sex that scares you, Isadora, it’s that you realized you love me while we were having sex.”

  Alarm had her taking a hasty step back. “Wait, I never said that.”

  “You didn’t have to.”

  Even when she wanted to deny the words, enough heat sparked between them until Dory was afraid they’d start another fire. Jack must have felt it too, because he took a step closer, gaze locked on her lips, until the moment was interrupted by a group of kids trooping up. Cameron MacElvoy held a wrinkled sheet of paper in his hand, Adrian, Christy, and Robby trailing behind him.

  “Mom, do you have a quarter from the 1980s? We need it for our scavenger hunt.”

  Still feeling a little wobbly from her confrontation with Jack, Dory gave her attention to her son. “Sorry, I don’t have any money on me.”

  Christy, her black hair in braids, smiled up at Jack. “Do you have a quarter from the nineteen eighties, Mr. Jack?”

  Jack reached into his pocket and pulled out a fistful of change. The kids gathered around as he let them sort through the coins in his hand.

  “Found one.” Robby, who Dory guessed had grown half a foot in the past six months, held up a quarter in triumph.

  Cameron used a stubby pencil to make a mark on his list.

  “What do you get if you win?” Jack asked as he returned the rest of the change back into his pocket.

  Christy beamed. “We get a whole bag of Starbursts for ourselves.”

  “Come on, guys, we need to find three different people over seventy and ask them the secret to long life,” Cameron said, reading from his sheet.

  After directing the kids to the Hensley triplets, Jack touched her elbow then indicated the tables set up in the food area. “You want to get something to drink?”

  She nodded, taking a seat while he opened a huge ice chest and pulled out two chilled bottles of water. Dropping down next to her, he handed her one, unscrewing the top on the other. After a long swallow, he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand, gaze scanning the crowded space. “Whoever dreamed up the scavenger hunt idea is a god.”

  “You say that because you haven’t seen kids sick from eating an entire bag of Starbursts.”

  “Maybe it’s a small bag.” Jack sounded distracted.

  “I saw it, it’s not.”

  His eyes moved constantly over the people bustling about, pausing, assessing, then moving on. He may have been trying to appear relaxed, but wasn’t quite hitting the mark.

  “What’s going on, Jack?”

  He picked up her hand, lacing his fingers with hers. Even the simple contact with him tugged at her heart. He turned to face her, leaning forward in his chair and speaking as if choosing his words carefully. “Garrett drove out to the ranch. The fire has moved back into the forest, so the Circle M and the Broken Arrow are safe for now.”

  “That’s good.”

  “Yeah.” He brought her hand up and, in an almost absent gesture, pressed warm lips to the inside of her wrist.

  Dory felt like she was having a hot flash. But despite the fact he’d reduced her insides to something like warm Jell-O, she pressed on. “There’s more.”

  “Yeah, there’s more. Rod had been there. He used the Pulaski to break open the door, then ransacked the house. Princess was with him at that point.”

  “Oh god. Stacy must be beside herself.”

  “The place is trashed, and they torched the barn.”

  “Oh no. I’m so sorry.” Intellectually, she knew Rodrigo’s actions were not her fault, but that didn’t keep guilt from weighing on her. “Will insurance cover the damage?”

  “I think so. Garrett’s been too busy to call, but he’ll get to it. He’s majorly pissed, but thankful the house didn’t burn. He’d be feeling a hell of a lot worse if any animals had been killed. Plus, from what he could tell, most of the cattle we cut loose are still on Circle M or Broken Arrow land. He was able to feed and water them, so other than Rod being a shit and making a mess of things, they’re doing okay.”

  “Any other sign of Rodrigo?”

  “Logan and I found where he spent the night. There’s a creek on the other side of the hill from where I tangled with him Saturday. Seems like he followed the creek bed for most of a mile. He probably thought we’d have tracking dogs and that would throw them off the scent.”

  “Do we have tracking dogs?”

  He shook his head. “It’s too dangerous with the fire. If we can get the east flank contained, we might be able to call trackers in, but I think it’s too late for that. Logan and I followed the creek and spotted where he’d pulled himself out. You remember the area where Horvath held Maddy?”

  Dory had to suppress a shiver at the memory of when her friend had been held captive by a brutal human trafficker. “Of course, I do.”

  “There was a cabin not far from there that had been broken into.”

  “Let me guess, Rodrigo was gone by the time you got there.”

  “Right. We contacted the property owner, who verified that he kept an old car in the garage, the keys being in the cabin. The car is gone.”

  “So now he has a car.”

  “Yep, but we also have the description of the car and the license plate number. With every cop in the area on the lookout, and with most police vehicles now equipped with plate readers, he’ll pop up at some point.”

  “Unless he switches plates, or ditches that car for another one, or finds another cabin to hang out in.”

  “Yeah, all those possibilities.”

  Running feet approached, and Dory glanced over to find Cameron MacElvoy racing toward them. He stumbled to a stop, face white. He gulped in a breath, then spoke in a rush of words. “Adrian’s gone. He was with us and now he’s gone.”

  Chapter Seventeen

  “What do you mean he’s gone?” Dory jerked upright and spoke through lips that felt numb.

  Cameron glanced from her to Jack and back again. “We were in front of the school looking for a rock made out of quartz for the scavenger hunt. There were some older kids there, kids who go to this school.”

  Jack spoke into the radio hanging across his shoulder as Elijah MacElvoy strode up to place a hand on his son’s shoulder.

  Jack acknowledged Eli with a nod. “Did something happen with the other kids?” Jack’s voice sounded like it was coming from far away.

  “They were saying stuff. Stuff about the man.”

  “Who, Cameron?” Eli prodded him. “What man?”

  “The man who’s on the wanted posters. Adrian won’t let
us call him his dad, he says he’s ‘the man.’”

  “We need to go look for him, Jack.” Dory’s stomach had clenched into a frozen ball, the cold leaching through until she felt like she’d never be warm again. “He couldn’t have gotten far.”

  Jack wrapped an arm around Dory to bring her against him. “We need more information.” He turned to Cameron. “What did these kids say?”

  “They said the man had escaped from prison, and that he is a murderer who was going to attack people in the middle of the night and slit their throats.”

  “Christ. Okay, then what?”

  Cameron looked uncertain. “Adrian got mad. Those kids laughed at him. They left, and we were still looking for rocks. I thought Adrian was with us, then he wasn’t. Robby and Christy are out there now with their dad, trying to find him.”

  “Was there anyone else hanging around?”

  “No.” Cameron turned big eyes on Dory. “I’m sorry, Miss Dory. I don’t know where he went.”

  Dory couldn’t find her voice. Jack turned and said, “Eli, go out with Cameron. You and Ben search out front and see if you can find those kids. They might have seen if Adrian walked off on his own, or if he was with someone.”

  Jack’s arm around her shoulders kept Dory from following Eli and Cameron out the front of the school.

  “I want to go look for him, Jack. What if he didn’t wander off on his own? Rodrigo could have grabbed him. Either way, he’s in danger.”

  “We’re going to do this right, Dory. Brad and Logan will be here as soon as they can. Adrian has on blue jeans and a red t-shirt. What was printed on the shirt?”

  “There was a peace sign, and ‘peace out’ was printed below it, all in white. He has on black sneakers, and he was wearing a watch with a red band that my dad gave him.” She drew in a shaky breath that did nothing to ease the frozen knot in the pit of her stomach.