Vanishing Dreams: Vanishing Dreams (Devil's Bend #2)

by Nicole Edwards

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Awesome.” Nodding toward the barn, Dalton told the kid they would need to get the horses saddled, at least a few of them. Then they could wrangle one more volunteer to help out.

  And by that point, maybe Dalton would’ve forgotten all about Katie. At least for a few hours anyway.

  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

  “Sissy! I need your help!”

  Katie brushed her hair out of her face, blowing a couple of strands with a huff, a hint of frustration escaping with the exhale. She knew she shouldn’t be irritated. It wasn’t Lexi’s fault, but Katie was exhausted, and she had no one to blame but herself. Last night had been an incredibly long night, so the early morning wasn’t helping.

  “I’m comin’,” Katie hollered, keeping her voice as steady as she could. It was incredible how Lexi picked up on the slightest nuance in Katie’s tone, easily detecting her moods.

  “Now!” Lexi screamed.

  Katie ran through the small apartment, frustration replaced by a sliver of panic as she made her way to her little sister’s bedroom as fast as she could.

  Before she got there, Sarah peeked out of her bedroom, looking as tired as Katie felt. “She okay?”

  “Probably,” Katie answered. “Sorry we woke you. Go back to sleep. I’ll try to keep her quiet.”

  Sarah nodded and then closed the door softly.

  Katie made it to the end of the hall, calling out to Lexi as she did. “What’s wrong?”

  “I can’t find my pink shoes!” Lexi exclaimed.

  Crap.

  At least it wasn’t something that required medical attention, but in all fairness, when it came to Lexi, this was a critical matter.

  Katie took a deep breath and stood stone still in the bedroom doorway. There was her little sister, sitting cross-legged in the middle of her floor, her stringy dark hair falling down over her shoulders, her little hands in her lap, fingers white as she rocked back and forth.

  “We’ll find them, Lex,” Katie assured her. This was not what she needed today, but she couldn’t very well blame Lexi. “May I come in?”

  Lexi looked up at her, eye contact minimal as she nodded her head and looked away. Only after she had been approved to do so did Katie step into her little sister’s room. One of the fastest ways to set Lexi off was to approach her without warning.

  “Do you know where you last saw them?” Katie asked.

  That earned her a glare, followed by, “In my closet where they belong.”

  Right. Closet.

  Katie made her way over to Lexi’s closet. Not surprisingly, the room was clean. Spotless, in fact. Everything was in its proper place, to Lexi’s exact obsessive-compulsive standards.

  Katie’s heart ached when she thought about the hell her little sister went through on a daily basis. According to the doctors, there wasn’t anything Katie could do to fix Lexi’s obsessive-compulsive disorder, but she could help her to adapt. On top of that, they had to deal with her attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Which was exactly what Katie had been doing ever since their mother had hauled ass back when Katie had turned eighteen. That had been a truly suck-ass day that Katie was sure she would never forget.

  Opening the closet, Katie glanced down at the row of shoes on the floor, all in perfect order by color: Black to red to dark blue to lighter blue to yellow to… Nope, no pink shoes.

  Crap.

  Just for grins, Katie peered up at the top of the closet. Nope. No shoes there, either. Not that she had really expected them to be there, because the top shelf was reserved for Lexi’s dolls. The ones she didn’t allow to be on her bed. All in perfect order from biggest to smallest.

  “There’s one more place I need to check,” Katie assured Lexi. “You stay right there. I’ll be right back.”

  Lexi nodded as she continued to rock back and forth, wringing her little hands together in her lap.

  Running to the only bathroom in their tiny apartment, which didn’t take much effort since it was directly across from Lexi’s room and right next to her own, Katie threw open the hamper and rummaged through the dirty clothes.

  Just as she’d suspected, Lexi’s pink shoes were in the hamper, but finding them wasn’t the hard part. Now she had to try to explain to her sister why they were there in the first place. And to make sure that Lexi didn’t have a panic attack because they had been buried with the dirty clothes. Lexi had an incredible distaste for dirt.

  A quick glance in the mirror above the sink was just what Katie didn’t need. She looked like hell, and the dark circles beneath her eyes certainly weren’t helping matters.

  It’d been a really rough morning. Lexi had woken up early, forcing Katie out of bed at five o’clock when she shouldn’t have had to get out of bed until at least seven. But that wasn’t unusual in her little three-person household. Especially not when Sarah had to go to work early, and definitely not these days, when Lexi seemed to be getting more and more antsy.

  “Found them,” Katie called from the bathroom, more of a warning to Lexi that she was coming back.

  “Where were they?” Lexi yelled, staring up at her as Katie stepped through the door of her room. She quickly took a step back when Lexi began that humming sound that she had been doing for the last few years whenever Katie would invade her personal space. Or rather, the space she deemed personal, which was her entire bedroom.

  “May I come in?” Katie asked, trying to rein in her patience.

  “Where did you find them?” Lexi asked again, nodding her head.

  Katie took a step inside and placed the shoes beside her sister.

  “I remembered putting them under the counter in the bathroom,” Katie lied. Telling her eight-year-old sister that her beloved shoes had been mixed in with the dirty clothes because Katie had been too tired when she’d come home at three o’clock in the morning to pick them out of the pile on the bathroom floor wouldn’t have gone over well.

  As she expected, Lexi studied the shoes, not responding.

  “We need to go in a few minutes, Lex,” Katie said softly. “You’ve got a field trip today, and you don’t wanna be late.”

  Katie couldn’t remember where the child care center that she had Lexi registered at for three days a week had planned to take them, but she hoped wherever it was, Lexi would enjoy herself.

  Thankfully, she’d managed to find reasonable childcare at a place in the neighboring town that actually seemed to enjoy Lexi’s attendance there. They completely understood her diagnosis and had even insisted that they would work with Lexi in order to help her acclimate to her surroundings, as well as the other children. For the most part, Lexi was actually doing well there.

  That had been three years ago. And to be honest, Katie wasn’t sure what she’d do without them. Well, the center and her part-time nanny, better known as her best friend, Sarah, who watched Lexi at night when Katie worked. They were her lifeline most of the time, and she doubted they even realized it.

  After gathering her purse and her cell phone, Katie went back to get Lexi, finding her sister standing just inside her bedroom door, her pink shoes on her feet. She was waiting patiently to leave, studying the doorframe of her bedroom, and as was her routine — she didn’t leave her room until it was time to go.

  Just another oddity that Katie had gotten used to over the years.

  One of many.

  Chapter Seventeen

  “Did y’all have fun today?” Dalton asked, making sure he kept his tone upbeat as he addressed the fifteen eight-year-olds forming a line behind him. The kids must’ve heard him, because they cheered, and a chorus of “yes” and “we don’t wanna go” could probably be heard for miles.

  “Thank you so much, Mr. Calhoun,” Bethany, the center’s director, said for the umpteenth time, her gaze a little too intimate for Dalton’s peace of mind.

  “You’re very welcome,” he answered, making sure not to hold her gaze for too long. “And please, call me Dalton.” Mr. Calhoun was his fat
her, but he wasn’t going to tell her that. As it was, he was a little worried there were a few too many stars in her eyes when she looked his way.

  Dalton continued to walk through the barn, holding hands with one little girl who’d insisted on sticking close to him throughout the day. According to Bethany, it was just short of a miracle, because little Lexi wasn’t very fond of most people.

  Not that he minded one bit. Lexi was quite cute and very polite, almost freakishly so at times. She didn’t speak unless spoken to, and even then, she sounded like she was light years older than eight.

  “How about one more treat before y’all head out?” Dalton asked, glancing over his shoulder at the long line of kids making their way behind them in an orderly manner as instructed.

  He received an overwhelming agreement, so he continued on his way toward the small area that Tessa had cordoned off for the petting zoo. At the moment, they didn’t have but a handful of animals populating the various pens, but Dalton knew it would be enough to satisfy this bunch.

  As they approached, Austin made his way to the front of the group and offered a quick overview of the animals they had and what they were going to be able to do. They would only be taking two kids at a time into each pen, which meant their little detour was going to take a little longer than expected, but Dalton wasn’t in a big hurry. It didn’t seem that Bethany was, either.

  Taking a seat on one of the benches just outside the pen, Dalton was surprised when Lexi sat down beside him rather than joining the rest of the kids gearing up to visit the animals.

  “Do you wanna go see the rabbits?” he asked softly, glancing down at the little girl who was still holding his hand as if the world might swallow her up if she let go.

  “No, that’s okay,” she said quietly.

  Dalton shot a look over at Bethany to find the young teacher staring back at him as if he’d hung the moon.

  Shit.

  He knew that look, and he knew that he was going to have to do some serious damage control if he was going to get out of this one without hurting her feelings.

  “Come on, Lexi,” Austin called to the little girl. “I’ve got a friend I think you’ll wanna meet.”

  Dalton watched the young man as Austin approached the little girl slowly. It hadn’t been hard to detect how skittish Lexi was from the moment she’d stepped foot into the barn just two short hours ago. She’d come in latched on to Bethany’s hand and hadn’t joined in when they’d begun giving them the kid-friendly version of the equestrian center. The version that was catered solely for these visits with day-care centers, church groups, and a handful of organizations that worked with at-risk youth.

  “What is it?” Lexi asked, seemingly interested yet still reluctant.

  Austin squatted down in front of her, keeping a good two feet between them. Dalton had to hand it to the young man, Austin had a way with kids. The boy couldn’t have been more than sixteen, maybe seventeen, yet he handled the group of eight-year-olds as though he did that every single day.

  Dalton watched as Austin glanced to his left, then to his right and then leaned forward just a little bit. “Can you keep a secret?”

  Turning his focus on the little girl still gripping his hand tightly, Dalton noticed the way Lexi’s eyes widened and her cheeks puffed slightly from her small smile.

  When she nodded, Austin continued, “We’ve got puppies.”

  Lexi’s eyes lit up like saucers, and her hand slipped from Dalton’s as she leaned toward Austin. “Really? Can I see them?”

  “Of course you can. Why don’t we bring Ms. Bethany along with us, too?”

  Dalton nearly laughed aloud when the boy shot Dalton a glance that said, “You’re quite welcome, and you owe me one.”

  When Lexi took hold of Bethany’s hand and pushed off the bench, ready to follow Austin to the puppies, Dalton took the opportunity to make his way over to the goats to watch as a couple of kids fed them from their small hands. He didn’t make eye contact with the teacher because he already got the feeling this wasn’t going to end well. No matter how he handled it.

  A solid half hour later, Dalton was waving good-bye to the kids in the day care van while Austin stood beside him. Once the van was out of sight, Dalton turned to head back to the barn. They needed to get the animals settled, and then the afternoon volunteers would come in to ensure the various chores were taken care of.

  “She gave you her number,” Austin said chuckling.

  “Shut it,” Dalton offered with a laugh of his own.

  “Oh, Dalton, you’re so handsome. Oh, Dalton, I think I love you. Oh, Dalton…” Austin said in a high-pitched, singsong voice.

  Dalton knocked Austin’s hat wonky before taking off to the barn, ignoring the continued mocking from Austin. Bethany hadn’t been quite that bad, but Dalton had also managed to use a small group of eight-year-olds as his battle shield for most of the day, giving her little opportunity to get a word in edgewise.

  “Mind if I head out early?” Austin asked a little while later, when they’d double-checked all of the latches and locks on the small pens that housed the animals used for the petting zoo.

  “Nope, I don’t mind. I’m thinkin’ about headin’ home for a bite. I’ll be back in a bit to check on the afternoon help. Anything I need to finish up for you?”

  “No, sir. I got it all taken care of. I’ll be back bright and early tomorrow.”

  “Good deal. See you then,” Dalton answered as he started toward his truck.

  “Hey, Dalton,” Austin called back.

  “’Sup?”

  “Would you mind if I start helpin’ with the groups more?”

  Dalton stopped walking and turned back to the younger man. “Is that what you want?”

  They had a handful of helpers who volunteered from the high school and a few through a program with the local church, and although they didn’t have a set job description, Dalton was all for letting the kids do what they felt they were most suited for.

  “I’d like to give it a try,” Austin replied.

  “You have brothers or sisters?” Dalton asked curiously.

  “Yeah,” Austin grinned. “Two. My brother’s five and my sister’s seven. I keep promisin’ them I’ll bring them by one of these days.”

  Dalton considered that for a minute. “How ’bout this? You bring your brother and sister up here next Sunday and give them the tour. Just like you would the day-care kids. If I like what I see, I’ll let you lead a couple of the tours durin’ the week. How’s that?”

  Austin’s face lit up and he nodded. “That’s great. Thanks.”

  Dalton watched as Austin rushed off toward his truck, nearly running the entire way.

  He couldn’t help but remember a time when he’d gotten that excited about something. Long before music had taken his life in a direction that he hadn’t really anticipated.

  And just as quickly, he shoved those memories away, because they had no place here. As far as he was concerned, those dreams had vanished.

  ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥

  Katie couldn’t remember a single Friday night in the history of Friday nights that she’d actually wanted to go to work. It didn’t have anything to do with not being able to go out with her friends, and it wasn’t that she had anything against the people she worked with at Diamonds and Lace. They were fine. It was the actual work that bothered her.

  But it was really hard to say no to the kind of money she received for stripping.

  Granted, if there was any other way for her to make that kind of money, she’d do it in a second. With child care, school, a nanny, and Lexi’s therapy sessions, it wasn’t that she had much of a choice. As much as she enjoyed working at The Rusty Nail, it just didn’t pay the bills, and anything else was off the table because of the amount of hours she’d have to put in to make even a fraction of what she made in two nights at the club.

  Not that she could explain that to anyone and have them look at her like she was anything but trash. It was
the consensus amongst most people, which was why Katie made a point to keep her side job as far from her personal life as possible.

  At least that had been the plan, only Dalton now knew her secret. And now she feared that, at any given moment, everyone she cared about was going to find out that she was a fraud.

  Katie knew what people said about her, knew that they all considered her the sweet, innocent little waitress who was putting herself through school, avoiding dating because her focus was on her education. That’s what they thought because that was the exact persona she had developed for herself, feeding into it whenever possible.

  If they only knew.

  Not many people even knew about Lexi or the fact that Katie had been pulling mother duty to her little sister since she was eighteen years old. Lexi had been three when their loser of a mother had disappeared, and Katie certainly hadn’t been equipped to handle a mentally challenged three-year-old at the time. No more than she was equipped now that Lexi was eight.

  But somehow they’d made it, and a lot of it had to do with this stupid job.

  Walking in through the back doors of Diamonds and Lace, Katie greeted Terrence, the burly, black bouncer who worked the door. “How’s Mona?”

  “Fantastic,” Terrence answered with a quick smile. “She’s about ready to pop, but she’s hangin’ in there.”

  “Tell her I said hello,” Katie offered quickly, hurrying toward her dressing room. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to stop and chat with Terrence about his pregnant wife and their unborn child, but tonight she was running late, and the last thing she needed was for Dwayne to come charging through there to ride her ass about it.

  Her boss wasn’t much of a people person, but even considering that, Katie knew he’d been lenient toward her. He knew about Lexi, knew that Katie was practically a single mom, although she wasn’t really a mom at all. She and Dwayne had one of those tolerable relationships. He gave her a couple of free passes as long as she came in, kept her mouth shut, and got her job done.