by Rea Winters
Amie laughed nervously. “So, I’m aware. Now. Sorry, who’re you?”
“I’m an old friend of Adami’s. The name’s Josephine Becker. But you can call me Jo.”
“Okay, Jo. Caspar’s not here right now, but I can take a message for her.”
“Actually, I’m just here to pick something up. A gift I hired Caspar to make for my wife. Our anniversary dinner is tonight.”
“Oh. Crap. Cas didn’t mention it.”
“Ah. With everything going on, I was afraid she might’ve forgot.”
“I could look in the garage for it. One sec.” She stepped away, slipped on her bunny slippers, and opened the door.
Jo peered down at her legs. “No, that’s okay. I don’t know if you should be trying to navigate that mad maze of metal back there, not on that ankle. Besides, you’ll ruin those adorable slippers.”
Amie chuckled. “You sure?”
“Yeah, positive. Do you think she’ll be back soon? I couldn’t reach her on the cell all day and she never said if the order was here or at Hammer, so I’m just taking my chances. The dinner’s in a handful of hours and I was really looking forward to surprising my lady.”
“Yeah, she should be back any minute now. Do you want to wait inside?”
The woman grinned, slapping a hand over her heart. “If it’s not too much trouble?”
“No no, come on in.” Amie opened the door. Becker nodded in thanks and crossed the threshold.
Chapter Twenty-Five
The rich aroma of freshly brewed coffee filled the room. Amie handed Becker a cup and joined her on the couch.
“To be honest, I’m surprised to hear someone call Cas a friend.”
“Let me guess, some little birdies gave you the Cedamire rundown?”
“Yeah, you could say that.”
Jo took a short breath. “Well, it’s true that Adami and I aren’t as close as we could be if not for the past. We played the same sports growing up. Bonded over keeping each other on our toes. But stigma is its own currency around here and it costs a lot to maintain Becker Excellence. I’d try to defend Cas from the other kids, which just led to both of us getting into fights. After three suspensions, my parents were terrified that a, uh…what did my mother call it? Oh, a “pattern of delinquency” was forming. So, like everybody else, they made me keep my distance and focused fire on grooming me to be the next head of the family empire. I did worry about her after her mom…you know. Tried to reach out, but as you can probably tell by now, she’s not the reach out type.”
Amie hummed. “So, an empire, ey? What’re you, a trust fund kid?”
Jo chuckled, bashfully rubbing her neck. “Something of the sort, yeah. I work hard, but the foundation of everything I work for was laid down decades before I was born, which makes things a lot easier for me than most have it. Grandpa Becker is one of the few who transformed Cedamire from a Podunk hovel at the foot of some mountain to the thriving beacon of small-town innovation it is today. After he retired, my mom and dad kept the engines he built running smoothly. And now that they’re retired, it’s my turn.”
“Impressive.”
“No. I’ll tell you what’s impressive.”
“Please do.”
“You are impressive, Miss Amie Seda.”
“Moi? The coffee’s not that great, is it?” She peered into her cup.
Jo laughed. “No, I’ve just been hearing a lot of exceptional things about you from the workers at Hammer. They say you practically run the place.”
“Oh no. Most of the time, I have no idea what I’m getting into. I learn as I go along, you know? I’m just really good at making the hard stuff look easy. Comes with practice.”
“I like that. You know, word’s also gotten around that you were at Hammer when that break-in happened. A friend of mine who works at the Sheriff’s Department said that you were hurt. I’m so sorry you went through that.”
“I’m fine, really.”
“Have the cops caught the bastards?”
“Not yet. But between you and me, I’ve already moved on. Not like it’s the first time I’ve been knocked down. I mean, don’t get me wrong, I was scared shitless at the time.”
“But now you’re okay?”
“Yes. Now, I’m more than okay.”
“I suppose Adami has a lot to do with that. Taking you in like this.”
“Yeah, I won’t lie.” Her heart fluttered and gaze fell shyly as she grinned. “She has everything to do with it.”
“You don’t have your own place in town, yet?”
“No. Working on it. Well, I was working on it before work became a crime scene.”
“If you don’t mind my asking, how long were you planning to stay up here?”
Amie blanked. She didn’t have an answer. “Huh. We actually haven’t really talked about it, yet.”
“Well, real estate is a Becker strong suit.” Jo fished a card from her breast pocket. “You should give us a ring sometime, preferably before our friend, the lone wolf, gets tired of the company. I’d hate to see you displaced out of the blue.”
Oddly enough, the sense of urgency which normally pushed Amie to go out into the world and get her own as soon as possible had waned a great deal, replaced by a trust-filled complacency enforced by Caspar’s consistency. She enjoyed being able to lean on someone more than she thought possible for a girl like her. It came so naturally so suddenly that she hadn’t even noticed the change until now. But suddenly recalling in painful detail the pitfalls that had typically followed trust and complacency her whole life, she tentatively accepted the card. Just in case.
“Thanks.”
“Not a problem.”
Amie’s gaze rose to a clock on the wall. “Looks like she’s taking a while longer than I thought. Uh-oh! Are you okay?” Upon turning her attention back to Jo, she shot up and snagged some tissues off the endtable. Jo touched her hand to her nose, staining her fingers with blood. Amie quickly held a tissue to the leaky nostril as Jo tilted her head back and huffed.
“Well, this is embarrassing. I’m fine, really. It’s just exhaustion. So much work, so little time.”
“Ah, I’ve been there. The coffee probably didn’t help. I’ll get you some water.”
“Mind if I use the bathroom?”
“No, go ahead.”
A second after Jo disappeared down the hall, Roadie started barking. He galloped to the door, scratching and whining at the wood.
“Looks like Mama’s home,” Amie quipped. “Perfect timing.” She followed Roadie out the door, but stayed on the porch, watching Caspar peel herself from the seat.
“Jeez, you look exhausted. How’d it go? No good?”
Caspar fixed her gaze on the shiny silver car in front of the house, her brows furrowed.
“Amie, whose—"
“Adami,” Becker greeted. She came out through the front door and stood beside Amie, her smile oozing into a sly smirk underneath a thin mask of pleasantness. “Long time, no see.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
Caspar said nothing. She stood like stone at the headlight of her truck, her narrowed gaze darting between Becker and Amie. The former skipped down the steps, stood directly in front of Cas and stuck her hand out for a friendly shake.
Caspar’s fists itched to curl and strike, but her hard glare shook loose when darted to Amie. The girl was preoccupied wrangling an overexcited dog on the porch, but a fight would be hard to miss. The last thing Cas wanted was to frighten her or land her in a situation where she might end up with worse than a sprained ankle. Because she wouldn’t risk Amie, Cas couldn’t touch Becker. And if the smugness etched into Becker’s face was any indication, she knew it, too.
“Jo stopped by to pick up an order,” Amie explained, a bit breathless as Roadie stood on his hindlegs and rubbed his face into her hip. “I would’ve looked for it—”
“But I told her not to bother. Didn’t want her to get hurt in the mess you made back there. Again.”
The thinly veiled threat wasn’t lost on Cas. With her voice menacingly low, she played along as best she could. “Whatever you’re looking for, it’s not here.”
“Oh. Well, that’s alright.” Becker squeezed her reddened nose and sniffed, then stuffed her hands in her pockets. “It’s understandable considering what you’ve been through this week. I’ll just get Nat something else. Something better.” She glanced over her shoulder and threw Amie a wave. “It was a pleasure meeting you, Amie.”
“You, too! And get some rest, okay?”
“I will.”
Amie waved goodbye, then ushered Roadie back inside.
Becker squeezed Caspar’s shoulder. “Smile, big boi. Wouldn’t want to scare off your new pet.”
“You don’t want to touch me,” Cas growled.
“And you don’t want to mess with me. I heard about your little chat with Hayden today. Don’t think you’ll be sneaking up on me like that. Because if I want to talk things out like old times, Adami, I’ll find you. Got it?”
✽ ✽ ✽
At the sound of Becker’s wheels rolling out of the yard behind her, Caspar took several deep breaths and raked both hands through her hair. She gave her shoulders a deep roll in some vain attempt to release the tension knotting around her spine before finally going inside.
Leaned against the doorframe of the art room, she watched Amie sort through old photos and cards. She was clearly unharmed and unaware, yet Cas couldn’t shake the fiery ache in her chest at the thought of Becker that close to her. It shouldn’t have happened. And it never would again.
Amie caught her standing there and flashed a sheepish smile.
“Hey, I hope you don’t mind. Snooping sort of passes the time and…look! I found all these pictures of guess what?”
“What?” Swallowing her anger, Caspar put on the best mask of nonchalance she could muster, and crossed the room to save Amie from limping over to her.
“Your mom and mine together at like ten years old. Can you believe that? It looks like they were really good friends growing up. Isn’t it amazing?”
“Oh, right. Des mentioned something about your mom and mine being close back in the day.”
Amie gaped at her. “You mean you knew this and you’re not amazed?”
Cas shrugged. “Why would I be?”
“It makes us meeting before and being here together right this very moment like…fate. Right?”
Caspar looked over the pictures. A few of them were of Chea and Bethanie at Pine Lake after a swim.
“Isn't it just a coincidence? Both of our mothers taught us how to swim at their favorite lake. We both like swimming, both miss our moms…hm, we were bound to meet there at some point.”
Amie pouted. “Way to suck the magic out of it.”
Cas half-grinned, though the amusement didn’t quite twinkle in her eyes. Truth be told, she didn’t like to linger on her mom’s past because it made her feel like she took something from her, but she was determined not to let such thoughts take root at the moment. Not today. She just didn’t have the room for it.
“She was beautiful, wasn’t she?” Amie said of her own mother, gazing at Beth’s youthful image.
Caspar’s eyes never leaving Amie, she said of her. “Yeah, she is.”
Amie looked up and her smile faltered. “You okay? You still seem a little out of it. How was the talk with Aaron’s mom?”
Cas sighed. “It, um…it went well, I guess. I’m going to the hospital tomorrow afternoon to start some tests. They’ll send my results to a hospital in Selas where Aaron’s staying. I guess, if things go the way everyone hopes, I’ll have to go down there, too.”
Amie had no words, no guarantees or promises, so she just gave Cas’ arm a comforting squeeze.
“Oh, did everything get straightened out with your friend?”
“Uh, yeah. Yeah. Was everything okay here with her?”
“Sure. She had a salesman like charm to herself. A little rehearsed, but minus the sleaze factor. Poor fella had a nosebleed right on the couch. Exhaustion, she said.”
Caspar hummed, suppressing a glare. She didn’t have the heart to tell her that Becker was the spouse of the woman who had offered her a “taste of normal.” And if she revealed the truth about their ongoing hate for one another, the viciousness of their tit-for-tats might surface with it. She couldn’t bring herself to let Amie know that side of her, not wanting to add any more grains of truth to the tales people spun about her.
“Aw, you look so cute in this picture.” Amie grinned and held up a photo of baby Caspar laid on her stomach in a bed with her bare butt in the air.
“Okay, that’s enough.”
“What, why?” Ignoring Amie’s whiny protests between giggles, Cas took all the pictures out of her hands and put them back in the box. Then she noticed the poor wrap job on her ankle.
“Icing only works if you keep the leg elevated, you know? Which means being off your feet for longer than thirty seconds.”
Amie, now tinkering with something else in another corner of the room, made a mocking face. “Why don’t you make me?” she muttered.
Cas quirked a brow and flashed an amused grin. “Challenge accepted.”
“What? Hey-aah!” Before Amie knew it, Caspar moved across the room, scooped her off the ground and hoisted her body over her shoulder like she was a sack of potatoes. Her screams of protest amid a fit of bellyaching laughter went ignored by Roadie as he led the way to the living room, barking and jumping in circles. Caspar carried Amie to the couch and laid her down on her back. With one arm on the armrest and one hand on the backrest, she hovered over Amie like a shield, blocking the beauty’s view from everything but her immaculate face.
“Stay,” she commanded with a smirk. “I’m gonna stop by Hammer for a little bit to do some repairs and then come back with some more stuff for your ankle.”
Amie’s laughter faded, quieted by the lip-biting grin she donned as a certain fire kindle deep within her, traveling lower by the second, making her heart race.
“You should worry about me more often. I like it.”
“Driving me crazy is what you like.” Caspar grazed Amie’s cheek with her thumb as that same fire spread through the depths of her, as well. She let her lips hover over Amie’s in a delicate kiss. Just as the eager girl’s tongue darted out for a longer taste, she pulled away. “I’ll be back.” With a teasing grin, Cas stood upright and left the house. Amie blew a curly tendril off her face with a huff, then looked over at Roadie who had watched them with perked ears and a tilted head.
“Your Mama’s mean.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
Desmond leaned back in his desk chair, rubbing at the stiffness in his neck caused by the last hours of paperwork at the end of a long shift. He hated all this pencil pushing before bed, but not all cop work was chasing down robbers.
“Taylor!” Sheriff Becker barked from his office door.
“Yes, sir?”
“Get in here.”
For once, the Sergeant didn’t need to reference the shrugs and brow raises of his deputies to tell him what was crawling up the Sheriff’s ass now. He already had a pretty strong idea himself.
“Close the door.”
He complied and stood at attention in front of the Sheriff’s desk.
“Sir, I think I know what this is about and I will look into it—”
“There’s nothing to look into. Have a seat, Sergeant.”
Desmond pulled out a chair on the guest side of the desk. “I don’t understand.”
Sheriff Becker, a slim gray-bearded man of middle age, leaned back in his chair and tapped the back of a pen to his palm.
“Caspar Adami attacked Hayden Ferreiro earlier today. Broke her nose and choked her out in a charge station bathroom.”
“Damn it, kid,” Desmond muttered under his breath. “Sir, Hayden Ferreiro may have been involved in the Hammer incident. If Cas attacked her, it was because of that.”
; Sheriff Becker waved dismissively. “Save it, Taylor. I already know.”
“You do?”
“Yeah, yeah. My niece’s idiot friend, our Miss Hayden, told me everything when she was pissing herself over what Adami did to her.” The Sheriff let out a deep sigh and pulled two glasses and a bottle of rum from a desk drawer. “There’s no need to worry. In exchange for letting her off for that stunt they pulled at Hammer and the assault of that young miss, Chung won’t press charges against your Caspar.”
“But what about the others involved?”
“You know,” Sheriff Becker started. “This rivalry between Jo and Adami is my father’s fault. My father started it with Caspar’s grandfather. Challenged him. Bemo Adami took the bait and from then on, back and forth they went, pushing each other to their first million in the bank. My brother was the same way with Chea over who could get the most A’s on their report cards. Hell, if the Adamis had other kids, I probably would've ended up fighting and competing against them, too. I think the old lions meant for it to be a friendly rivalry of sorts. You ask me, it’s always been stupid, but…” He leaned forward, planting both elbows on his desk as he slid a glass of rum across the desk and snagged his own. His face scrunched with confusion and discomfort as he waved his hand in the air, searching for the right words. “There’s just something especially ugly about it with these two laddas of ours. It’s volatile.”
Desmond sighed, nodding. “Yes, sir, it is. So, what do we do from here?”
“Nothing.”
Desmond’s brows raised. The Sheriff he knew was as level-headed and unbiased as they came. In the past, after scrimmages between his niece and Chea’s daughter, he would have both Caspar and Josephine dragged in to the station, thrown in a cell for a couple nights and lecture them about the life long benefit of letting cooler heads prevail. Now that things had taken a more serious turn, the Sergeant expected a more serious response.
“Nothing?” He double checked.
“Not a damn thing. I already closed the investigation into the vandalism at Hammer. Chalked it up to some teenage punks looking for fun in the wrong places. As for the real culprits, we’re letting them walk with a warning.”
