Lessons From the Heart

by Rachel Skatvold

  Holly’s frantic voice came through the earpiece. “Oh, Lexie, I’m so glad you answered! Cole was here in Lander. He’s been following me.”

  Lexie gasped for a ragged breath. “Holly, get somewhere safe and then call the police. You could be in danger.”

  “I’m okay. Calvin came to my rescue. He punched him right in the nose! Can you believe it?”

  Lexie’s brain struggled to catch up with her friend’s words. “Who’s Calvin?”

  “Oh, I guess I forgot to tell you about him.” Holly’s voice calmed and took on a dreamy tone when talking about Calvin. “He’s someone I met here in Lander, but I’ll tell you about him later. Right now, you need to know the rest of the story. After Calvin punched Cole, we called the police, but he snuck away before they could get here.”

  Lexie shook her head to clear her thoughts. “Holly does he have any idea I’m in Wyoming, too?”

  Her friend paused and Lexie knew whatever she was going to say wasn’t good. “He grabbed my phone and read some of our texts. I’m not sure how far he scrolled down before Calvin came. I’m so sorry, Lexie.”

  “It’s all right. I’m just glad you’re safe. When did this all happen?”

  “About three days ago. I’m sorry, I thought I’d wait until after Thanksgiving to say anything so you could enjoy the holiday.”

  “Okay.” She sighed and squeezed the bridge of her nose, trying to guess how long it might take him to figure out which town she was in. Lexie knew it was several hours away. She still some time since he didn’t know her exact location, but not much.

  Lexie journeyed back into the farmhouse and found Toby in the kitchen putting slices of apple pie on to plates for everyone. He was humming a praise song they sang at church and didn’t hear her enter at first.

  She wiped a few tears and watched from a distance as he poured generous amounts of whipped cream onto the desserts. She attempted to stifle a giggle in spite of her breaking heart when he poured some right into his mouth before putting it back into the refrigerator.

  He heard her and looked up, holding up the can of whipped cream. “Want some? It’s best squeezed right out of the can, or so I’m told.”

  “Tempting, but I think I’ll pass.” She kept her composure and hugged him tight, savoring his warmth and closeness. “My stomach is a little upset. I think I’m going to head on home for tonight.”

  He leaned back and cupped her cheek in his palm. “You do look a little flushed. Do you want me to drive you home? We could drop your car off in the morning.”

  Lexie shook her head and managed a smile. “No, I’ll be fine. Probably just ate too much turkey.”

  His eyebrow arched in amusement. “I think all of us are guilty of that.”

  She nodded. “I’m just going to go home, drink some ginger ale and cuddle with Picasso. I’m sure I’ll be feeling better tomorrow.”

  “Can I walk with you to your car?”

  “Sure.”

  Lexie held Toby’s hand, savoring every second of their short walk. She memorized the way his hand felt in hers—callused from working on the farm, but so gentle and comforting. She never imagined loving again after all she’d been through, but Toby had broken down her walls and showed her what a true gentleman could be like. She loved him—loved him so much her heart would never recover a separation between them.

  When they reached her car, Toby kissed her and then pulled her in for one more embrace. “I hope you feel better soon. Please send me a text when you get home.”

  She nodded against him, breathing in the scent of leather from his jacket and cinnamon and apples from the pie. Her sweet and sensitive, yet tough as nails cowboy. Lexie craned her neck to look up into his stunning blue eyes. “I love you, Toby.”

  “I love you, too. Have a good night Lexie.”

  She released him slowly. Then she forced herself to get into the car, start the engine and shift into drive. Lexie watched in the rear-view mirror, tears dripping down her cheeks as he faded from her sight. “Goodbye, Toby.”

  After his parents, brother and nephew retired early for the night, Toby fluffed the pillow on the couch and stretched out on the soft cushions, releasing a tired but happy sigh.

  Cami looked up from binding a special quilt for Jonah and smiled. “Staying here tonight?”

  He pulled a blanket from the top of the couch and snuggled underneath it. “Yeah, I’m too full and too tired to make it up that huge hill on the ATV tonight.”

  She chuckled at him before turning her attention back to her project. “Well, good. It’s been a while since we just relaxed and talked together.”

  “Yeah, I can’t tell you how relieved I am to have you home, Sis.”

  She nodded. “I really feel better than I have in a long time. Don’t even have that pesky oxygen tank to lug around anymore.”

  “God is good.”

  “Amen. He’s good all the time, little brother.” She paused and lifted an eyebrow. “It seems things are going well with you and Lexie. Seeing you little love birds getting along so well does my heart good.”

  “Your matchmaker heart?” he teased.

  She nodded with a wide grin. “It’s too bad she had to go home early. I would have enjoyed playing some cards with her or something. We have a lot of girl talk to catch up on.”

  He frowned, remembering her odd behavior and sudden departure. “Yeah, she said she had a stomach ache, but she seemed fine right before going outside to answer her phone.”

  “That is odd.”

  Toby glanced at the loveseat, remembering the time he spent cuddling with Lexie. It had been a wonderful day after finally admitting their feelings for each other. Something metal caught the light and he got up to investigate.

  “What is it?”

  Toby picked up a silver chain with a paint pallet charm. “It’s Lexie’s necklace…the one her father gave her. It must have fallen off.” He studied the charm with a frown, turning it over in his palm a few times. “Lexie never goes anywhere without this. I have trouble imagining she would not realize it was gone. She seemed so different after coming back inside from her phone call. Almost scared or guilty, the way she kept hugging me before leaving, like she didn’t want to go.”

  Cami pursed her lips. “You should return the necklace tonight, Toby.”

  He studied his sister’s cryptic expression. “Do you know something I don’t?”

  She released a sigh, her blue eyes troubled. “Lexie confided in me as a friend. It wouldn’t be right for me to tell you her secrets. She wanted to tell you herself.”

  Toby’s heart drummed in his chest. “Secrets?”

  Cami nodded. “Yes. Toby you need to go talk to her right now, before it’s too late.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  Lexie raced around her duplex grabbing anything valuable and small enough to fit in the four boxes she’d found in the basement. Four boxes and two suitcases—that’s all she could fit in her trunk and backseat, but she’d arrived in Tipton with much less. Thankfully, this time she wouldn’t be traveling alone. She’d save the passenger seat for Picasso and his cat carrier. All his food and supplies would fit on the floorboards in front of him.

  After packing up her boxes and largest suitcase in the car, Lexie headed inside for one last time to gather her smaller suitcase and her cat. Picasso didn’t care for the cat carrier at all and yowled loudly when he saw her come back into the living room. “I’m sorry, boy. I don’t want to leave either, but this is the only way for us both to be safe. Don’t worry, we’ll find somewhere else. Maybe L.A. We could disappear in a crowd there and find a cute little fixer upper beach house. After all those home improvement shows, I’ll be a pro at restoring it. What do you think?”

  Picasso continued to howl so Lexie looked around the house one more time, pausing to grab the coffee can from under her bed, packed full of her savings. She’d only kept enough money in her bank account to pay bills each month. The rest, she always cashed and put it into the can. That
way leaving town in a hurry would be less complicated in an emergency such as this. She’d have plenty of money to start over in a new place.

  Lexie looked around her duplex with tears in her eyes and reached for the charm around her neck, only to find it missing. She panicked at first, looking everywhere for it, but there was no time. It was gone. She grabbed her last suitcase, Picasso’s carrier and the can of money to head out the door. She’d barely stepped outside when a shadowy figure appeared in front of her. Lexie froze and backed up, eyes wide with terror, but unable to scream.

  “Lexie?” The man stepped into the light and she sighed with relief, recognizing Toby’s handsome face. His eyes shifted downward, taking in the suitcase and pet carrier as she set them down on the porch. “Are you leaving?”

  Tears streamed down her cheeks, seeing the confusion and pain in his eyes. “I’m sorry, Toby. This is the only way.”

  “I don’t understand. Things were going so well. I thought you were happy here.”

  “I am, but it’s not safe here for me anymore.”

  “Cami said you had secrets.”

  Lexie nodded miserably. “My ex-fiancé is looking for me. I just heard he’s here in Wyoming.” She paused and choked back a sob. “I wanted to tell you so many times. I got really close once but…”

  “After our first date?”

  “Yes,” she managed before bursting into tears.

  Toby enveloped her in his embrace, shushing her gently and smoothing her hair with his fingers. “I should have asked you again after things calmed down with Cami. I was so distracted, I forgot to bring it back up. I’m so sorry.” He took something out of his pocket and placed it in her hand.

  The dim light from the porch glittered off the charm her father had given her. “My necklace! Thank you, Toby. I thought it was gone for good.”

  He kissed the top of her head and continued to hold her close. “I found it on the couch at my parents. I knew how important it was to you.”

  When Lexie had calmed down, she fastened the necklace around her neck and they went back inside. She explained everything, including Cole coming into her apartment in Canton with a gun and how she knocked him out before escaping and leaving town. Then she told him about her life on the run, how she ended up in Wyoming and receiving the text from her friend, Holly.

  Toby listened until she was done and then kissed her hand. “You don’t have to run anymore. We’ll tell the sheriff exactly what you told me and give him Cole’s description. He won’t find you. I promise.”

  She shook her head. “I had a restraining order against him before and he still found me. I can’t stay here. It’s not safe.”

  Toby squeezed her hand. “You’re right, Lexie. Your duplex isn’t safe. That’s why you’re coming back with me to the farm. You can stay in my parents’ guest room.”

  Lexie bit her lip and wiped away few more stray tears. “Oh, I couldn’t impose.”

  “Are you kidding? My family would love for you to stay with us, especially Cami.”

  Her shoulders started to relax after absorbing Toby’s plan for her to stay at the farm. She felt safe there. “But what about my car? Cole knows what it looks like.”

  A wide grin spread across Toby’s face. “You let me worry about that, darlin’. I think your car might be the key to catching this creep.”

  Over the next week, things went as almost went as planned. Toby went with Lexie to the sheriff’s office the morning after Thanksgiving and she told him everything, including Cole’s description and the fact he’d probably be sporting a bandaged nose—a parting gift from Holly’s new boyfriend.

  The sheriff made a report including everything she’d told him. He even liked Toby’s plan to use Lexie’s car as bait. Before they left her duplex on Thanksgiving night, they had replaced her new Wyoming plates with the old Ohio ones in her trunk, making the little red car stick out like a sore thumb. If Cole was snooping around town, trying to find where Lexie lived, he’d walk right into a trap.

  When school started up after the long weekend, Toby and Lexie rode together to work every day since they both had the same hours at the school. The planned seemed to work, except by the end of the week, the local law enforcement had yet to apprehend Cole. He watched Lexie’s anxiety grow with each new day they didn’t find him. Not knowing if he was in town lurking around a corner watching them left Toby on edge, too. However, going to church on Sunday and spending some time in worship eased both their minds.

  Afterwards they went back to his parents’ house and watched some old movies until the late afternoon. With his parents out on a date, his brother at a neighbor’s house and Cami and Jonah resting in her room, watching TV, they had some rare alone time. Lexie fidgeted with the charm around her neck while cuddling with Toby on the loveseat. “Thank you for coming to return my necklace. If you hadn’t, I would be in California by now, searching for a new hiding place.”

  “You’re welcome.” He kissed the top of her head and held her closer. “You don’t have to hide any more, Lexie. You’re safe here.”

  She nodded against him. “I know. I guess it’s time to focus on Christmas. It’ll be here before we know it. I heard the forecast is calling for a snowstorm tonight.”

  “Yeah, I know. Speaking of that, I better check on the animals before the storm hits. The chickens will need some corn in their bellies to keep them extra warm tonight.”

  She chuckled. “Well, I’ll trust you on that, cowboy. I don’t know much about chickens, but I’ll brew you a hot cup of coffee while you’re gone.”

  “Sounds good.” He stole a quick kiss before putting on his coat and gloves. When he opened the door, an icy blast of air nearly blew him over. “Whoo-ee! The temp has dropped since this afternoon. Please make me an extra big cup of coffee sweetheart…and maybe heat up a bowl of that leftover turkey stew. I’ll be back in half an hour.”

  She chuckled from the living room. “All right. I will. Don’t blow away out there.”

  Toby went outside with a smile on his face and noticed snowflakes had begun to fall. He fought through the wind to the barn and grabbed what he needed for the chickens. They clucked happily, appreciating the extra corn and woodchips he added in the nesting boxes and run.

  Afterwards he returned to the barn to check on the horses, cows and goats. They had plenty of food and water in case they were snowed in the next morning, but he added some more straw to give them extra warmth and comfort.

  When he came out of the barn, it was almost dark outside and a thin layer of snow had formed on the ground. Toby started the long trek back to the house, but stopped when the dogs started barking near the woods. Moving closer, he noticed them sniffing a strange pattern in the snow.

  His heart skipped a beat, realizing what was going on. Large footprints hugged the tree line and then snaked their way toward the farmhouse. The danger had been lurking where they least expected, striking when his guard was down. Now all he could do was pray he made it back to the house in time.

  Chapter Twenty

  Lexie just finished brewing a pot of fresh coffee and heating up two bowls of turkey stew when she heard the front door open. The breeze whistled through the opening as someone entered and then closed the door behind them.

  She smiled while pouring hot coffee into two cups. “Are you an abominable snow man now? It looks like a blizzard out there.” She heard feet shuffling across the kitchen floor and then two cold arms wrapped around her waist. Lexie shivered. “Oh, you’re freezing! Toby, take off your coat and go sit by the fire while I finish the coffee.”

  “Who is Toby?” a deep voice hissed.

  She wriggled free of the man’s grasp and turned toward him while backing away. “Cole!” Her heart fluttered and skipped a beat, praying it was only a nightmare, but there he was—the man she had risked everything to get away from.

  His dark brooding eyes shot fiery arrows in her direction. “Yeah, now that we’ve got the names straight, answer my question. Who is Toby?
Is he the man you’ve cheated on me with—the one in that photo with the huge hat? The same one who you’ve been driving with to the school every morning?”

  Lexie’s blood ran cold as she backed into the counter and could go no further. “How did you find me?”

  “I started searching for schools a few hours from Lander. There are only one or two art teachers at each school. It didn’t take long until your profile and pictures from the year came up on the Tipton School District website. Do you think I’m stupid, Alexandra? Did you really think I’d follow the car bait and get caught by the Sheriff? It didn’t take me long to find out you were in Wyoming from your friend’s phone, but when I found this town, I was patient. I knew Holly would warn you. I had to wait for the right moment and now it’s here. You’re coming back with me to Ohio.”

  Lexie shook her head. “I’m not going with you, Cole. It’s over.”

  He growled and pulled a handgun tucked into the back of his belt. “I didn’t want things to get violent, but you forced me to, Alexandra. Remember that. If you want your darling Toby and his family to live, come with me now.”

  Lexie nodded, fighting the tears rolling down her cheeks as he came closer with the gun still in his hand. Trying to keep her voice down so Cami and Jonah wouldn’t hear and be put in danger, she answered. “Okay, I’ll come with you. Just put the gun down.”

  “Now there’s my girl.” His eyes softened as he tucked the gun into his belt and closed the gap between them. He pulled her stiff body into his arms and caressed her cheek. “I’ve missed you, baby. I haven’t stopped thinking of your beautiful face since you disappeared.” Lexie shuddered as he ran his free hand through her curls and kissed her. “I hate it when we fight. Once we go back to Canton, everything will be different. I promise.”

  Lexie saw something moving out of the corner of her eye and recognized Toby ducked down in the mud room, past the living room. He had to have come in the house another way. “It will?” she asked, Cole, trying to keep him distracted.