by L. Wilder
As soon as I reached my truck, Levi asked, “What’s the story with the girl?”
“No story.”
“That’s bullshit and you know it. I’m pretty sure I saw something about her on the news. She’s been reported as missing or something.”
“It’s nothing for you to worry about.”
“Just tell us what’s going on so we can help!” Grady barked.
“I’ve got it covered. Just need to get her somewhere safe.”
“Safe from who?” my father asked.
“Don’t know just yet. That’s why I’m going to see Devin.”
Grady’s expression softened as he asked, “You got something for this girl, don’t you?”
“I do.”
“Then, do whatever you gotta do.” My father placed his hand on my shoulder and added, “We’ve got your back. Just tell us what you need.”
“I need a place to hide out for a while. Somewhere that no one will be able to hunt us down.”
“You could take her up to the river and stay at the fishing lodge. Nobody’s been up there for years,” Grady suggested. “You’ll both be safe there.”
“He’s right,” Levi agreed. “It’s only an hour or so away, so we can come help keep watch or do whatever you need us to.”
“That’s not gonna happen,” I snapped. “I won’t have any of you getting involved in this.”
“Why the hell not?” Levi argued. “We got every right to protect our family.”
“Appreciate you wanting to help, but the answer is still no. I gotta handle this thing on my own.”
My father turned to Levi and Grady. “Boys, give me a minute alone with your brother.”
Neither of them looked pleased as they turned and headed towards the house. Before Grady went inside, he looked back at me and said, “When things settle down, I’ve got something I need to talk to you about.”
I nodded, then turned my attention back to my father. “Look, Dad, I know you’re worried, but I’ve got—”
“I know,” he interrupted. “You’ve got it under control. That’s not what I want to talk to you about.”
“Okay.”
“You’ve been away too long.” His eyes filled with anguish as he continued, “I know you’ve been through a lot, Son. Wish I could’ve done something to make things easier for you … kept you from locking yourself away in that godforsaken cabin, but you kept pushing us away … pushing me away. I know you had to face your demons and you’ve faced them head on. I know you’ve done things, Son, and I get why you did. But right now, I’m not letting you push me away. I’m done with that, so whatever this danger is that you two are in, I’m here for you. Just tell me how I can help.”
Hearing the emotion in my father’s voice got to me in a way I didn’t expect. I took a step forward and wrapped my arms around him. “You’ve already helped more than you know.”
“I love you, Jasper.” He gave me a pat on the back. “We all do.”
“I know I haven’t been good at showing it, but I love y’all too.” I released him, then said, “Once I get this thing sorted with Madison, we’ll come back for a longer visit.”
“Good to hear you say that. I know your mother will be pleased.”
“I better get going. Devin’s waiting on me.”
“I’ll get the keys to the lodge and gather some supplies for you.”
“That would be great. You mind keeping an eye on Nanook while we’re at the lodge?”
“Sure. Anything you need.”
“I appreciate that.” As I got in my truck, I told him, “Call me if anyone comes snooping around. Remember, don’t trust anyone.”
“You got it.”
I pulled out of the driveway and started towards Memphis. Before I headed out onto the interstate, I sent Devin a message to let him know I was on my way. When I arrived at his place, I took the paper out of the glovebox and headed up to his front door. I barely had a chance to knock before he appeared in the doorway with a big, goofy smile. “Jasper, my man! It’s good to see you, bro!”
He reached out and gave me a bear hug. “Good to see you too.”
“Come on in.” As I followed him into his house, he said, “Excuse the mess. I’ve been working on a project and haven’t had time to pick up the place.”
Devin had always been a neat freak, so I was surprised to see papers and books scattered around the living room right along with old pizza boxes and empty cans. “Must be one hell of a project.”
“It is, but I’m about to wrap it up.” He walked over and sat down on the sofa. “You said you had something you wanted me to look at?”
“I did.” I took a seat beside him, but before I handed him the paper, I said, “You have to keep this just between us. No one, and I mean—no one—can know I brought this here.”
“I got it, man. You can trust me. You know that.”
“That’s why I’m here.”
Devin looked down at the paper as he asked, “Does this have anything to do with the owner of that painting you had me look into?”
“I don’t know. I was hoping you could answer that.”
After studying the paper for several moments, Devin looked over to me and said, “It’s definitely a code to something, but it’s going to take me some time to figure out for what exactly.”
“That’s the thing.” I ran my fingers through my hair and sighed. “My time is running out.”
“Understood. I’ll use every resource I’ve got to get you as much info as I can. Discreetly, of course.”
“Thanks, man. I really appreciate you doing this for me.”
After answering a few more questions Devin had for me, I headed back to my parents’ place to check on Madison. A tightness filled my chest when she crossed my mind. In such a short time, this woman had brought so much light into my dark world, giving me hope that I might find peace, happiness even, outside the walls of my secluded cabin. That thought seemed strange to me. For so long I’d given up on such things, but with each new moment that I spent with Madison, I found myself believing anything was possible—even for me. It might’ve been a stroke of fate that brought Madison Brooks into my life, but now that she was here, there was no way in hell I was going to let anyone take her away from me—not without one hell of a fight.
12
Madison
“Grady was just ten years old ...” Clare and I had been sitting on the front porch swing for almost hour as she told me stories about her boys’ childhood. While hearing about Grady’s time as quarterback on the school’s football team was interesting, it wasn’t nearly as entertaining as the stories of all the trouble he’d gotten into with his brothers. “… He had no business driving that old pickup truck, but Levi and Jasper had him scared to death. There was no way he was going to stay out in those woods alone.”
“How did Jasper and Levi get back home?”
“They had to walk.” She started chuckling under her breath. “It was ten miles back to the house. I’d told Roger he should go pick them up, but he’d figured they deserved it for making Grady think that they’d found Big Foot.”
“I have to agree with him there.”
“It seems those boys were always into something. I can’t tell you how many nights I’d lain awake worrying about them. I thought it would get better after they’d grown up, but it hasn’t. In fact, I think it’s gotten worse … especially with Jasper.” I could hear the anguish in her voice as she said, “That child has been through so much. I was worried he’d never find his way back but seeing him today … seeing the way he was with you, I think he might end up surprising us all.”
“I’m sure it’s been hard on all of you.”
“Yes, but you know what they say.” She feigned a smile as she continued, “Having bad days makes you appreciate the good ones even more.”
“Yes, they do.”
She studied me for a moment, then said, “I bet it’s exciting living in a big city like New York.”
; “Maybe for some people, but for me, it’s pretty mundane.” I shrugged. “Only because I spend most of my time working. I should do better about that.”
“You most certainly should. Life’s too short, darlin’. You need to get out and enjoy yourself. Make some memories to share with your children one day.”
I was about to respond when I noticed Roger’s truck coming down the driveway. He’d gone into town to get some things for Jasper and returned with an entire truckload full of stuff. Once he’d parked, he got out and walked over to us. “Any word?”
“He sent a message saying he was on his way back.”
“All right. I’m gonna head over to the garage and grab a few gas cans.”
As she stood up, Clare announced, “I’m going in to start dinner.”
“I’ll come give you a hand.”
After checking to make sure that Nanook was still in the front yard, I stood up and followed Clare inside. I had every intention of helping, but she wasn’t having it; instead, she insisted that I just sit at the table and chat with her while she started to get everything ready. I was amazed at how quickly Clare pulled together an elaborate meal. We were about to start setting the table when Jasper walked through the back door. With a concerned look, he came over to me and asked, “Everything okay?”
“Yep, everything’s just great,” I assured him. “How did it go with Devin?”
“Good. He’s gonna try and find as much intel as he can then get back to me.” He glanced over at his mother as he asked, “What have you two been up to?”
“Your mother has been sharing some very entertaining stories about you.”
“Oh, really?”
I smiled. “Yep.”
“How entertaining?”
“Very entertaining.” I cocked my eyebrow. “I would’ve never guessed that you had a thing for drag racing … at least not with tractors.”
“She told you about that, huh?” He kissed me lightly on the forehead as he continued, “I can only imagine what else she told you.”
“Like I said, it was very entertaining.”
“Um-hmm.” Jasper then turned to his mother. “I thought I told you to take it easy on her.”
“She’s still here, isn’t she?” Clare gave him a mischievous smile, then added, “I haven’t had a chance to tell her about your little adventure with the school bus.”
“I think she’s heard enough stories; besides, we need to get ready to go.”
“Not until you’ve had dinner,” Clare fussed.
“She’s gone to a lot of trouble.”
Jasper peered over at the stove, and a smile crept across his face when he saw that his mother had made all of his favorites: fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green peas, homemade biscuits, and gravy. “Okay, but as soon as we’re done eating, we’ve got to head out.”
“Great. We’ll get started as soon as Levi and Grady get here.”
“Mom, we don’t have time to—” Jasper started.
“It’ll only be a few minutes, Jasper,” Clare snapped, cutting him off. “Your brothers want to spend a little more time with you before you go. I think that’s understandable considering how long it’s been since you’ve come for a visit.”
It was clear by Jasper’s disgruntled sigh that he wasn’t happy about the delay, but he didn’t argue. Instead, he said, “We can wait a bit.”
“Good.” She motioned her hand towards the back door and directed, “You can go help your father for a while. He’s out in the garage.”
“Okay.” He leaned over and kissed me once more, then started towards the back door. “I’ll be back in a few.”
Once he was gone, Clare turned to me with a knowing smile. “He’s crazy about you.”
“You think so?”
“I know so. I can see it in his eyes.” She turned her attention back to the stove, stirring the mashed potatoes as she said, “It does my heart good to see him happy, especially after all he’s been through.”
Grady and Levi came barreling into the kitchen, looking like a pair of hungry wolves as they both asked, “What’s for dinner?”
As soon as Roger and Jasper came in, we all sat down at the table and started to eat. With the men eating one plateful after the next, it didn’t take long for every last morsel of food to disappear. We spent some time talking and letting our food settle, but when it started to get dark, Jasper stood up and said, “We’ve really gotta get going.”
Jasper and I went upstairs to gather our things, and by the time we got back down, Roger and Levi had all the supplies loaded into the trunk of Jasper’s SUV. We said our goodbyes, assuring each of them that we would come back as soon as we could. Jasper took a moment to love on Nanook, told him to be a good boy for his folks, and then we both headed over to the SUV. As we started to leave, Roger called out to Jasper and said, “I put a few gallons of gas in the back. That should keep the generator running for a couple of days.”
“Thanks, Dad.” I got in the passenger seat and was just about to close my door when Jasper said, “I’ll be right back.”
I watched as he rushed over to Grady and pulled him to the side. They started to talk, and Jasper’s expression quickly grew tense as he listened to what Grady had to say. They continued for several minutes, and then Grady leaned forward and hugged Jasper tightly before he started back towards the truck. Sadness washed over me as Jasper gave his family one last wave goodbye. I knew how much it would’ve meant to his parents if Jasper could’ve stayed longer, and I hated that I was part of the reason why he couldn’t. If I’d never found that code, then neither of us would be in this crazy mess. Overcome with guilt, I turned to Jasper and said, “I’m sorry.”
“Sorry, for what?”
“For everything. For not being more careful with the painting … for finding that stupid code … for getting on that stupid hit list or whatever it was. I’m sorry for it all.”
“I’m not sorry. Hell, the only regret I have is you didn’t find it sooner.”
“How can you say that after all the trouble I’ve caused?”
He looked over at me and said, “Because it brought me to you.”
“Jasper,” I muttered softly.
“Best thing that ever happened to me, Madison, so, no … I’m not sorry. I won’t ever be sorry.”
He turned his focus back to the road, and I let his words slowly sink in. Amid all this craziness, Jasper and I had found something neither of us realized we’d been missing—each other—and even though the circumstances couldn’t be worse, we were good together.
“Is everything okay with Grady?”
“Unfortunately, no, they aren’t.” I could see the concern on his face as he explained, “He’s run into some trouble down at his bar.”
“Oh, no. I thought he was doing so well.”
“He is doing well. Very well. That’s the problem.” He ran his hand over his face and sighed. “His success has drawn the attention of some pretty bad people, and it could cost him everything.”
“What’s he going to do?”
“I don’t know, but he’ll come up with something. If he doesn’t, I will.”
“Good.”
We made a quick stop at the gas station, then got back on the road. By the time we made it to Savannah it was after eight and dark outside, making it difficult to see as Jasper turned onto an old gravel road. Other than a few abandoned trailers and campers, there was no sign of anyone living in the area, and even those disappeared as we started down a dirt path that was barely wide enough for his SUV. The treetops hovered over us, creating a tunnel as Jasper drove through the overgrown grass and weeds, and after ten minutes of rattling around on the bumpy dirt road, we pulled up to a small white house nestled on the edge of the river. Before Jasper got out of the truck, he said, “Stay here while I unlock the door and get the generator going.”
“Okay.”
After grabbing one of the gas cans out of the back, he disappeared into the darkness. Fifteen minutes later, I
noticed a light shining in the front window, and Jasper stepped out onto the front porch and waved to me, letting me know it was safe to come in. I grabbed my bag from the back seat, then made my way through the tall grass up to the house. It was too dark to see much, but I could hear the river flowing next to me as I stepped up onto the porch. Jasper held the door open as he said, “I’ll go on and warn you … it’s nothing fancy, but we’ll be safe here.”
“I’m sure it’ll be great.”
With its ’70s plaid sofa, and a large, round woven rug, it was like stepping back in time as I entered the living room of the two-bedroom fishing lodge. There was a small kitchen with white cabinets and a sink to the left, and a narrow hallway that led to the bedrooms on the right. Dust and spider webs covered every crevice, making my allergies act up. When I sneezed, Jasper chuckled. “Sorry about the mess. I’ll have to air the place out.”
“It’s fine.”
“No,” he disagreed. “It’s gonna need some dusting and clean sheets on the beds.”
“I can help. Just let me know where to start.”
“Let’s get everything unloaded first. I think Mom sent us some fresh bedding.”
“Sounds good.”
I followed him back out to the SUV, and we made trip after trip until we’d gotten everything out of the hatchback and brought inside. After we put the groceries away, we started doing what we could to get the place cleaned up. While Jasper swept, I dusted the furniture and windows, and then we moved into the bedroom to change the sheets. Once we’d finished, I took a look around and smiled with pride. “It looks great.”
“I don’t know if I’d go that far, but it does look a hell of a lot better.” He glanced over at me and chuckled under his breath. “I’m not so sure that I can say the same about us.”
I looked down at my clothes, and like Jasper, I was covered in dust and grime. “Yeah, I’ve definitely seen better days.”
Jasper followed as I went out on the front porch and tried to clean myself off. Neither of us were having much luck, so he suggested, “Why don’t you go take a shower, and I’ll take one when you’re done.”
