by Dana Mason
“If we work together, we can keep her from going through with this,” Dex said.
“I’ll do whatever she needs, and she needs answers.”
“Fine,” Lucas interrupted. “We’ll agree to disagree.”
“Fine,” Dex and Ryan said at the same time.
“You go right ahead and push her to look for these people and see where it gets you—and her. In the meantime, I’ll do what I have to do to protect her from getting hurt.”
Ryan scoffed. “Too late. You should’ve been here days ago. You’re the one hurting her.”
Dex held his hands out. “I’m trying here. Unlike you, I don’t live in a vacation. I have a real job.”
“Sheesh,” Ryan rolled his eyes. “Yeah, Dex, the upstanding citizen with a real job. Whatever.”
“All right, that’s enough,” Lucas shouted. “We’re here to help Bailey with this house. Pick a room, any room, and stay away from each other.”
“I don’t even know why we’re here.” Dex held his hands out, palms up. “There’s nothing wrong with this house.”
“Just like I said,” Ryan scoffed. “You don’t know Bailey at all.”
Dex shot Ryan a dirty look. “I’ll work in this room.”
Ryan shook his head. “No. Bailey doesn’t want this room touched.”
“Fine, I’ll work in the living room,” Dex said, stepping around Ryan and Lucas, not letting his eyes leave Ryan’s.
Ryan turned his back on Lucas. “I got Helen’s office.”
“Great. I guess I’ll take the kitchen,” Lucas huffed as Ryan turned toward the music room in the front of the house.
Helen’s office, as she called it, was where she practiced, played, and wrote her music. It faced Lake Tahoe in all its glory. Ryan would kill to have this room to write his music. The view, the easy light streaming in through the plantation blinds. He looked out the window and saw Bailey sitting on a park bench across the street with her knees to her chest, staring out at the lake. Lucas was right; he and Dex were both jerks, but Ryan couldn’t stand that punk. He didn’t even know what he had in Bailey. If he did, he wouldn’t be taking her for granted.
Ryan remembered, with a pain in his chest, what she said that morning about being alone in the world. He honestly had no idea what it felt like to lose both parents, and not just physically, figuratively, too. But she was wrong. She hadn’t lost everything. She hadn’t lost who she was. As much as he was afraid for her and afraid of her desire to search out the people who abandoned her, he also thought it would do her some good. Maybe remind her of what she’d had in the Mortons. Remind her that she’d had a great life with them, and nothing could take that away from her. He turned to go to her, but before he could, his father stepped into the picture, carrying two glasses of iced tea.
Ryan smiled and watched them hug. His father still lived in the house next door, where Ryan grew up. He must have seen her through the window, too.
Knowing she was in good hands, Ryan turned and looked at the room where he had learned to embrace music. He’d always had trouble communicating his feelings, and when he lost his mom, he’d had trouble coping. Helen had recognized that. She taught him to use music as a tool to get through life, and it had, in turn, saved his life. Without her help and without music, he would have self-destructed years ago. Creating music gave him the freedom to express himself and release his pent-up energy and emotions.
He synced his iPhone with the Bluetooth speaker on Helen’s desk and put on her favorite composer. Chopin was who she listened to when she needed to relax. He turned it on and let it play while he cleaned her favorite space.
It also helped him relax, and as he thought about Dex, he had to laugh. That jerk had no idea what Bailey needed. What made him think he could help her when he couldn’t even take a day off to be here for her mother’s funeral?
* * *
Bailey startled when she heard Vince say her name. She hadn’t heard him come up behind her. She smiled when she saw the glass of iced tea he held out to her.
“You’re a lifesaver,” she said, taking the tea and making room for him on her bench.
“How’re you doing, sweetheart?” He rubbed at the tension in her back.
“I’d be better if my boyfriend and best friend would stop brawling with each other.”
Vince grimaced. “Ryan’s always had a short fuse, which just gets shorter when it comes to you.”
“Why? What do they think will be achieved by fighting?”
“You’re important to Ryan. You’re part of his family. You can’t expect him to turn that off because you have a boyfriend.”
“No, I just want him to act like a mature adult.”
Vince snorted, nearly choking on his tea. “Good luck with that. I’ve never had any. Ryan’s an emotional person, like his mother. He feels deeply and fights hard for what he wants.”
“I know, but I’m not something he needs to fight for.”
“Maybe you are.” Vince picked up a rock and tossed it into the lake. “If you get serious about your boyfriend, even marry him, well… I guess, to Ryan, it’d be like losing you.”
Bailey turned to look at Vince. “That’s stupid. He won’t lose me. Even when I do get married, Ryan will still be in my life.”
Vince pursed his lips. “I don’t know. Most men don’t like to share their wives. What does Dex think about you hanging out with Ryan all the time?”
“Touché,” Bailey said. “But I won’t marry someone who doesn’t like my best friend.”
“So if Dex proposed to you next week, you’d tell him no?”
Bailey sat up straighter and thought about it, then shook her head. “I don’t know. I’ve never considered it before, but I get your point. It would eat me alive if Ryan were to marry someone who didn’t like me. I can’t imagine losing his friendship over a woman.”
“Which is why he’s having trouble with this boyfriend. Ryan always wants to be there for you, but if you don’t need him…”
“What’s he going to do when I do find someone to spend my life with? I want to get married and have kids. I can’t stay single to save his male ego.” Her lips curled up at the thought. “He’s so stupid.”
“Well.” Vince chuckled and shrugged. “I did my best.”
Bailey laughed into her drink. “You did all right.”
“I know you’re going through a hard time right now, Bailey. I’m here if you need me.” He put his arm around her and pulled her close.
Bailey lowered her eyes to the pebbly shore and wondered fleetingly if things would ever be normal again.
“Thank you, Vince. I appreciate you telling me that. I guess Ryan told you what I found yesterday.”
Vince nodded and pulled his arm free. “That must be a pretty hard blow, especially after just losing your mom. I wish I had some answers for you, but I don’t.”
“My mom never talked to you about it?”
He shook his head slowly. “No. Not a word.”
Bailey swallowed and focused on a ski boat racing by, causing a wake that brought the shoreline closer. “I can’t believe she never told me.”
“I can’t either. I just can’t believe you didn’t know.”
They both turned when a hint of Chopin drifted from the upstairs window where Ryan was cleaning.
“I guess I better get back in there. I can’t let those guys have all the fun.”
Vince laughed and stood. “You’re the only person I know who considers cleaning fun.”
“Thank you for coming out here. I know when Mom died, you lost a friend, too.”
“Just keep in touch. You’re welcome at my house anytime.” He smiled a sad smile. “When I saw that you were here last night, I almost came over to check on you, but I didn’t want to intrude.”
“What?” She narrowed her eyes at him. “I wasn’t here last night. I stayed at El Lago until closing.”
“Oh. Who was here then?” He gestured toward the house. “The light in the garage
was on, and a light upstairs, too.”
“Nobody should’ve been here.”
CHAPTER FIVE
Bailey stood and walked toward the house. “Which light upstairs?” Her heart pounded as she crossed the yard with Vince on her heels.
“It was the light in Helen’s bedroom.”
Bailey raced up the stairs and entered her mother’s bedroom. She looked around, but nothing seemed out of place. “Dex?” she shouted.
He lumbered up the stairs. “What’s up?” He entered Helen’s room and said, “I’m working in the living room. Would you rather I—”
“Did you stop by here last night?” Bailey asked as Ryan poked his head around the corner.
“No.” He slowly shook his head, looking a little confused. “I didn’t get into town until about 8:00 this morning. Why?”
“Bailey, maybe you just left the light on when you were here,” Vince said.
Dex scrunched his eyebrows together. “What light? What are you talking about?”
“Vince said he thought I was here last night because a couple of lights were on,” Bailey said. “But there were no lights on when I got here.”
Ryan stepped farther into the room. “Did you see someone here last night, Dad?”
“No, I assumed Bailey was here. It didn’t occur to me it could have been anyone else.”
“Bailey, does it look like anything’s missing?” Ryan asked.
She looked around, walking toward the window and then to the closet before tugging the closet door open. She shook her head, then turned, her eyes landing on her mother’s jewelry box. She walked over and opened it. Nothing looked out of place.
“No…” She glanced over at the trunk before approaching it and lifting the lid. The perfectly neat piles of photo albums and scrapbooks were no longer perfectly neat. They were tossed sideways, the cover ripped off of the oldest.
Ryan peered over her shoulder. “Whoa.”
“Someone’s been in here,” Bailey said. “Who’d break into the house to dig through an old trunk and not steal anything?”
“That makes no sense,” Dex said.
Vince looked into the trunk, too. “Maybe they were looking for expensive family heirlooms.”
“Then why didn’t they take the jewelry?” Ryan asked.
Ryan walked to the window and checked the lock. He tried the window, but it was secure. “We need to figure out how they got into the house.”
“Bailey, this is ridiculous. Nobody would break into a house just to dig through an old trunk. You must’ve left it like this,” Dex said, gesturing toward the trunk.
“She didn’t,” Ryan growled. “Pay attention, Lumpy.”
“I’m going to knock you on your—”
“Stop it,” Vince said. “Ryan, if you’re not going to be helpful, keep your mouth shut.”
“Dad, you said lights. What other lights were on in the house?”
Vince shrugged. “Just this room and the garage light.”
Bailey turned and rushed down the stairs, hurried through the living room and into the kitchen, where she reached for the key, but it was gone. Bailey and Ryan both stared at the empty hook next to the back door, which usually held the key to the side garage door.
“The garage key’s gone,” Bailey muttered as she turned toward Ryan. “I know I put it back yesterday when we left.”
Lucas looked up from his spot in front of the oven. He was wearing rubber gloves, and the kitchen reeked of oven cleaner. “What’s going on?” he asked.
“Someone broke into the house last night,” Ryan said before rushing through the door and directly across to the garage. The garage door was adjacent to the kitchen side door. Between the house and the detached garage was a concrete path about four feet wide. Exiting the kitchen and turning right led to the back of the house and the driveway. Exiting left led to the front of the house, which faced the lake.
The side door to the garage was ajar. Ryan pushed it open as Bailey slipped in next to him. The smell stopped her. She hated being in the garage. It reminded her so much of her father. She could almost see him standing at his workbench, hunched over with a tool. She flipped the light switch and gasped.
“Whoa! Shit,” Ryan said.
Bailey threw her hands up. “What the hell?” All the boxes she and Ryan had packed and stored in the corner were opened and the contents scattered. She stepped farther inside and stared at the mess. Broken trinkets, books, paperwork, even family photos were thrown everywhere.
“I’ll go call the police,” Vince said from the open door.
* * *
Ryan stared at the pile of photos in complete confusion. Why? Why would someone spend so much time going through Helen’s old photos? And there was no denying most of the intruder’s time was spent on the pictures. Everything else had been haphazardly gone through, but the photos had been dumped out.
Bailey bent to start picking them up, but Ryan stopped her. “Wait until the police have finished.”
“I can’t just leave them all on the ground.” Bailey cupped her face in her hands, obviously fighting tears. Ryan wanted to comfort her, but Dex had already engulfed her in his arms.
The sight pissed him off. Talk about a day late and a dollar short. The asshole should have been here days ago to help her. Ryan pulled out his cell phone and started taking pictures of everything. The mess, the open boxes, the photos scattered everywhere. Damn, he and Bailey had spent hours meticulously sorting those pictures. She planned to have them all scanned and placed on a drive so she would have electronic copies.
Ryan snapped several more photos of the mess, glancing up when Lucas poked his head in.
“I think I know how they got in,” Lucas said, pointing toward the kitchen door.
Ryan stepped out and saw it right away. The back door had an old divided-lite window, top to bottom with single-pane glass. The glass panel nearest the knob was broken. They didn’t see it when exiting because of the long curtain.
“Shit,” Ryan said, snapping more pictures. “What the hell?”
Bailey and Dex stepped out of the garage and stared at the broken window panel. Ryan looked at her pale face and felt so helpless.
“Bailey?” he said, placing a hand on her elbow. “I think you should look through the rest of the house to see if anything else is missing. Just because Dad didn’t see any other lights on doesn’t mean he didn’t go into every room.”
She met his eyes, and a frightened coldness stared back at him. She was obviously freaked out, and all he could think about was how glad he was that she wasn’t here alone when it happened. “It’s okay, Bay. We’ll figure it out.”
* * *
Bailey hated saying goodbye to Dex on Sunday afternoon. She didn’t get any time alone with him, and they fought most of the weekend. She thought he would volunteer to stay in town for a couple extra days considering what had happened, but he didn’t. Did he care about her at all? Ryan and her other friends barely gave her a moment of peace due to their worry and concern. Why didn’t her boyfriend react the same way? Of course, Bailey didn’t think she was in danger, so she understood why he didn’t worry about her physically, but couldn’t he see that she needed him there for emotional support? She thought about Ryan and Mae’s efforts to get her to end things with Dex. Maybe they were right. Maybe it was time to reevaluate their relationship.
If that wasn’t enough to keep them fighting, his not wanting to search for her biological family certainly was. No matter what he said, she wouldn’t change her mind. With or without his help, she would keep looking until she found something about where she came from.
“I can’t stand it when this place is so quiet,” Ryan said, coming up behind her.
She jumped and clutched her chest. “Oh!” she squeaked. “You scared me. I didn’t hear you coming.” She was sitting in the El Lago office, staring off into space when he’d snuck up behind her.
“Sorry.”
“If you hate the quiet, why did yo
u come in so early?”
“I told Lucas I’d help him set up. His prep cook is coming in late.” He nodded to the ledger as he sat down across from her. His hair was pushed away from his face, and his eyes brilliant green from the green t-shirt he was wearing. His freshly shaven face glowed with a nice tan from spending so much time on the lake, and his hair was still a little damp from his morning shower. “How’s it looking?”
She had just finished with the El Lago payables. “Great.” She slid a personal check across the desk. “This is for replacing the backdoor at my mom’s house. Thank you…but I hope you know I could’ve done it myself.”
He slid the check back. “Yeah, I know, but you have a hundred other things on your mind.” He bobbed his head from side to side. “Replacing the windowpane wouldn’t have made the door more secure. I wanted to make sure it was done right.”
Bailey felt the heat rise in her cheeks at the subtle reminder of his argument with Dex. “I think Dex was only trying to save money and stay true to the architecture.”
“I understand that, but money and architecture don’t matter when your safety is at risk. You needed a security door and the locks changed, so I made sure it happened.”
“Thank you again,” Bailey said, nudging the check back toward him.
Ryan chuckled. “I’m not taking that. Consider it a bonus for the bookkeeping. How about I sweeten the deal and promise to help you research this adoption stuff.”
“Didn’t I tell you?” She smiled widely. “You were already going to help me.”
He snapped his fingers. “Right.”
“I need to finish my mom’s house and see what else I can find. I know it’s not glamorous work, but…”
“And paying El Lago bills is glamorous?” His smile faded. “I’m in, whatever you need.”
“But you agree with Dex. You don’t think it’s a good idea.”
“Not necessarily.” He lifted his feet and propped them on a box of Jack Daniels. The El Lago office was also used for overflow storage space. “I understand you need to know. I would, too.”
