“It really was a great dinner. Thanks,” he said.
“Glad you liked it,” she said. She was reluctant to let him go, wanted him to kiss her so badly.
“Goodnight,” he said, turning and walking out to his truck.
Lexi stood there for a moment and then closed the door. She leaned against it. Her disappointment was palpable and yet she had known he wasn’t going to kiss her. He was a friend, that’s all. He was looking out for her because he had promised Uncle Max. What was wrong with her? Hadn’t she just told herself that romantic entanglements were the last thing she needed? Yes she had, but right now she wasn’t thinking straight because there was something about his hair, not straight, not curly, the way it was sort of messy and styled all at once. Then there were his eyes, sometimes his eyes twinkled and other times they burned right through you. You could lose yourself in those eyes. He made her need and right now; she needed him to kiss her.
Stop it Lexi. What you need is sleep. She was becoming delusional, reading too much into the situation, making no sense. She was dead tired but she ought to see if Tucker wanted to go out one more time. She woke him and put his leash on and he followed happily. Lexi put every possible outside light on. She was still nervous going out in the dark. It made her furious that those men had made her afraid to be here. Tucker cooperated and she went back inside quickly turning off all the lights and locking the door.
She decided that she would take Tucker and his bed upstairs. He seemed fine so she convinced herself it would be alright for him to climb the stairs. He may as well spend his first night in her room where she hoped he would sleep from now on. He did just fine with the stairs and didn’t seem at all out of breath. She was relieved about that. She got him settled down and then got ready for bed and climbed in. She did feel much better with Tucker right there. She lay there for quite awhile, her thoughts wandering but always coming back to Carter. She thought about all the things he had told her tonight. He had been through a lot, just as she had. Finally sleep came.
The phone downstairs began ringing at three am. It took many rings for her sleeping brain to hear it, wake up and then realize what it was. The office was some distance away and she was surprised she could hear it from there. The ringer must be turned up very high, perhaps Max had done that so that he would hear it from his room or maybe there was a phone in his room and she just hadn’t seen it. By the time she was out of bed to go and find the source of the ringing, it had stopped. Lexi realized she was shaking. Who was it and why were they calling at this hour?
Tucker had woken when the light went on but he put his head down again and went back to sleep. That was what she needed to do also but she knew that was not going to happen. She decided to get up and go to Uncle Max’s room and see if there was a phone there. She got her robe as it was chilly and she closed the door behind her to keep Tucker there. She turned the hallway lights on and made her way down the long hallway and around the corner to Max’s room. She opened the door and flipped on the light then began looking around for a phone. Sure enough there was one on the bottom shelf of the bedside table on the far side of the bed. That was why she hadn’t seen it.
Lexi had no sooner found the offending object when it began to ring causing her to shriek. Her heart pounding from shock and fear, she summoned all her courage to bend down and pick up the receiver.
“Hello,” her voice was barely audible. There was no response but she thought she could hear breathing. “Hello. Is someone there?” she repeated.
Still nothing. Lexi slammed down the phone and looked for the cord, followed it and pulled it out.
“See how you like that?” she said.
Now thoroughly spooked she looked around the room nervously and then left shutting off the lights but leaving the door open. She walked back down the hallway and had just put her hand on the knob of her door when she heard the phone ringing downstairs. She was furious and frightened all at once. Who was this? She went down the stairs as quietly as she could and then realizing that it was silly because there was no one inside, she picked up the pace and marched herself into the office. She flipped on the lights and found the phone which had now become silent followed the cord to the outlet and yanked it out.
She would have the number changed in the morning to an unlisted number. That would put an end to this nonsense. Wide awake now and trembling, she went into the kitchen to make some tea. She put the kettle on and stood tapping her fingers on the counter impatiently waiting for it to boil. Who could be doing this? Could it be Michael, hoping that if he frightened her, she’d come running back to him. It certainly couldn’t be because he loved her. He’d cheated on her and she wasn’t even sure that it had only been once. He liked her for her money.
Thinking back he hadn’t been interested at all until one of her friends had told him she had a big inheritance. Then he had suddenly begun wooing her, pretending all the while that he wasn’t interested in money, no not Michael he was a free spirit just out to love the world. Bullshit, she thought. He had used her for almost three years. Free room and board that’s all she had been. He was probably finding it hard to pay the bills now that she was gone, so if he wanted her back that was the only reason. But, would he go to these lengths to get her back or would he simply move on to the next mark.
It seemed more likely that it was Montgomery or Mitch that was making the calls. They definitely had a reason to frighten her off. If they could get her spooked enough she would be begging them to buy the property. Well they were winning weren’t they? She was spending too much time thinking about this and not enough time getting Wildwood ready to go. Plus she was getting all weak and mushy and thinking that she needed a man. This had to stop. The kettle whistled, making her jump. That made her mad.
Lexi made her tea and carried it upstairs turning lights off on her way. When she reached her room she tiptoed in so she wouldn’t wake Tucker. She climbed into bed leaving only the bathroom light on with the door slightly ajar so she could see to drink her tea, at least that’s what she was telling herself. Tomorrow she would get on with her list. Wasn’t that what she had told herself yesterday? Well tomorrow she would do it. There would be no distractions. She was also going to call Grace Montgomery and ask her to tea. Maybe she could get some information about Max’s mystery woman and maybe she could find out what Grace knew about her husband’s plans to buy Wildwood.
Having decided that and having finished her tea she lay down. Tucker was snoring softly and she found it reassuring. She was grateful that Carter had given him to her. He could have kept him himself, especially since he was such an animal lover. It was so wonderful that he rescued horses. It seemed like such a sweet and caring thing to do. He probably had planned to keep him but with Tucker running back over here every chance he got, it probably seemed best for Tucker to be here. It had certainly been the best thing for Lexi.
With her life so full of questions and uncertainty these days it was nice to have the companionship of this big brown dog. Lexi realized that it was already almost four am. She really needed sleep. She supposed that was what her mystery caller was trying to do, frighten her but also keep her sleep deprived. That would hamper her judgement and keep her off balance. It was working and she needed to do whatever she could to stop it. She was going to speak to the Sherriff, because he was obliged to help her no matter who he was related to. If he wouldn’t she would tell him she would go above him. He would have to help her then. But what did she really have to tell him. She had no real evidence of any wrong doing by anyone. The only thing they knew for sure was someone had latched the barn door. That was it. There was no proof of anything.
So maybe speaking to the Sherriff was out for now. She would have to figure out something else. Perhaps the clearest way to let Montgomery know that she wasn’t selling was just get on with getting Wildwood ready to go.
13
Carter put the binoculars down and rubbed his eyes. He’d been watching the apartment for several hours
and it didn’t look like Michael was going to do anything but lay on the couch today. He put the binoculars to his eyes again but this time he was surprised by some action. Michael was putting on a jacket. Okay, he was going out. Carter switched his view to the front entry and watched and waited. He was rewarded quickly as Michael came through the front door just as a car, driven by a young brunette, pulled up in front. He climbed in and the car sped away. Carter had started his engine already but he had to move quickly to get his vehicle turned and in line behind the other car before it disappeared into traffic.
His day had started early but it would be worth all the effort, if he could find out what Michael was up to and eliminate him from the list of those who might have been making the crank calls to Lexi. He had been keeping his distance since their dinner together the other night. She was so easy to be with and to talk to and he found himself opening up about things to her in a way he had never expected to. There had been a moment though, just before he left when he had looked in her eyes and had felt a heat that had made him want to cross the room and simply devour that mouth of hers. It had been so difficult to keep his hands off her when they said goodnight that he decided he needed to stay away for awhile.
Then she had called to give him her new numbers and on learning that there had been more calls, he had been furious. He managed to surreptitiously get Michael’s last name and he used the internet to get Lexi’s previous address. He decided the best way to figure out what this loser was up to, was to follow him. However, up until now he hadn’t gone anywhere.
He only had to follow them for a short distance and then the woman pulled into a pretty fancy restaurant. There was valet parking and when the valet took the car the two went into the restaurant hand in hand. Carter was glad he hadn’t driven his truck and was somewhat more dressed up that he usual. He pulled up once they had gone inside and let the valet take his vehicle also. He hoped this wasn’t one of those places where you could only get in with a reservation. After checking that they were not still in the lobby he went inside. The hostess asked if she could seat him and he asked if, since he was alone, he could sit at the bar. He could see that Michael and this woman were seated right next to the bar so he could probably sit with his back to them and maybe hear their conversation.
The hostess told him to go ahead. Carter took a somewhat circuitous route to his seat so that he could keep his back to Michael. When he was seated the bar tender gave him a menu and asked for his drink order. Carter ordered a beer and then quickly perused the menu while trying to listen to the conversation behind him.
“Listen baby,” Michael said, “you’ll have to spot me today as I have a ton of bills that bitch Lexi left me with.”
“That’s okay, sweetie, we can just put this on Daddy’s tab anyway,” the girl said.
She was maybe twenty-five and dumb as a bag of hammers as far as Carter could tell. He also knew that Lexi had paid everything for the month even though she was leaving, so he was obviously stringing this one along.
“I was just so glad you weren’t working today so we could see each other,” she said.
“Yeah, well my boss said because I’ve been doing so much overtime, I could take the next couple of weeks off,” he lied.
Carter knew he was lying because Lexi had also told him that Michael was currently unemployed. He was clearly up to his usual tricks and had found one that had a bottomless purse and was preparing to freeload off her for awhile.
The waiter asked what he wanted and Carter ordered a burger since he knew it would be quick and was probably the cheapest thing on the menu, besides he was hungry. He finished his burger and paid his bill. He had listened to about as much of the useless drivel between these two as he could possibly stand. Making his way out to the curb, he gave his parking stub to the valet and waited for his car. The pair came out just as he was climbing in his vehicle. Thank goodness, Carter thought. They were hanging all over each other and Carter could pretty much guess where this was going. He pulled ahead and parked and waited. When they were in their car and had pulled out he got in behind and followed them.
They drove to a posh area of San Francisco and the girl pulled into a town house garage. Carter waited for awhile but it was clear that they were staying put and he thought he had seen enough. Michael had clearly moved on to a new mark. He decided he had been correct in his initial assessment of this man.
Unfortunately that meant that his original fears might be true, that Montgomery and his lackey, Mitch, were probably responsible for the fire and for the harassment of Lexi. That was cause for a lot more concern. He had no doubt about how determined Montgomery was to obtain Lexi’s land. He had seen the frustration that Max had been feeling from all the pressure Montgomery kept putting on him to sell. Carter had even wondered about Max’s untimely death and whether the pair could have been in any way responsible for the ‘so called’ accident. Since the fire, he had begun to wonder about it again, though he had been careful not to voice his concerns to Lexi.
Carter supposed the next person he best be watching was Mitch. He pulled away from the curb and started heading for the valley. He would stop in Napa on his way home and see his mom. It would have been quicker to take Highway 101 if he was just headed home but it didn’t make sense not to use this opportunity to check in on her. He took the Bay Bridge over towards Oakland and then took Highway 80 north to Richmond and Vallejo. Then he cut over to Highway 29 and up to Napa. With the traffic it took him nearly two hours. It was perfect timing though because his mom’s best time of the day was usually mid-afternoon.
That was not the case today unfortunately, as she was in an extremely agitated state, which only increased with his arrival. She didn’t know who this strange man was that was in her room and finally he just had to leave in order for the nurses to be able to settle her down. As he left, they all looked at him with such sympathy. He wondered how much longer this would continue. As he drove the additional hour to get home, he was feeling pretty low about everything. He was glad that it appeared Michael was not the culprit who was phoning Lexi and scaring her but that meant that it was likely someone who posed more of a threat.
When Carter arrived home he went straight to work caring for his horses and then headed into the house. He felt a little at loose ends. He really wanted to see Lexi but he resisted the urge to just drop over. He was pretty sure she would call him if anything happened to frighten her, so maybe no news was good news. Maybe Montgomery had decided that Lexi was not going to sell and that was that. If only Carter actually believed that. Montgomery was too smart to play his cards all at once. He wouldn’t do anything to show his hand too quickly. No, he would leave her be for a little while and then Bam he would hit her again, only next time it would be something bigger. He decided that he should be watching Mitch.
Carter poured himself a scotch. The phone rang and as expected, it was one of the nurses from the home. She was just calling to let him know that his mother was resting comfortably now. They never failed to call him whenever there had been any sort of incident like this afternoon. It was really above and beyond, he thought and he really appreciated it. It was just one more thing that he and Lexi had in common. They were both basically orphans.
Carter decided to do the only thing that really helped when he was feeling low and that was to paint. He headed upstairs to the large attic space where all of his paintings and paraphernalia were set up. He had been working on one that he was particularly fond of. It was a horse looking out from his stall, nose to nose with a little blond haired girl. He was working on the leather halter that was hanging by the stall. He had enjoyed creating this work and he had a feeling the gallery owner in Napa would like it too. First though, he would have a couple of hundred limited edition prints made.
Carter had learned that this was where the real money was, not that he cared all that much about money, but he did need to eat and so did his horses. He tried to paint not just subjects that appealed to him but ones that woul
d be marketable as well. What was fortunate for Carter was that most of the time, the two things seemed to coincide. After working for a couple of hours, he went downstairs and made a sandwich. He really wanted to call Lexi but he resisted the urge instead he turned on the TV to see if there was a game he could watch and was rewarded with two choices; tennis or college football. He chose the latter.
14
Wildwood and the grounds was a beehive of activity. There were men and equipment outside removing all the charred remains of the barn. The fire chief had given Lexi the go ahead to clean up. He told her they had found no evidence of any accelerant having been used and without that there was no way to prove it had been arson. Of course all someone would have had to do was stand inside and drop a match into the dry straw and that old barn would have exploded into flames. Lexi had no doubts that it was arson but there was nothing she could do.
She’d called Carter and asked him if he knew anyone she could hire to clean up the remains of the barn and he had given her a name. She hadn’t actually seen Carter this past week, which she supposed was a good thing because she needed to focus and he was definitely a big distraction for her. She called him a second time mid week to give him her new phone numbers and had explained about the calls she had gotten the night he had been there for dinner. She had assured him she was fine.
So, lots of work was being done. Lexi had taken Carter’s advice and hired a cleaning firm to come in and clean everything in the place from top to bottom. She could afford it and it made the most sense. Surprised at how reasonable the price had been, she wished she had just done that in the first place. Once everything was up to snuff she would have regular help to keep it up. The office was all set up as she had managed to finish that this past week and she had figured out how to operate the commercial washers and dryers in the laundry room and had laundered all the dust covers so that they could be used again. A contractor was coming tomorrow to work on a plan with her for any upgrades and maintenance that needed to be done.
Cold Heart Page 10
