Through the Storm (Bellingwood Book 8)

by Diane Greenwood Muir

  "Tell our girl that all she has to do is call. One of us will be wherever she needs us to be immediately. She's not alone this time."

  "I'll tell her. Thanks."

  Polly put her phone down on the table and reached across to Sylvie's hand. "Do you have his phone number programmed?"

  Sylvie shook her head.

  "Give your phone to me and I'll put it in. You're supposed to call him any time. Whatever you need. He says that you aren't alone this time. That's the truth. You know it, don't you?"

  "I feel like such a little fool," Sylvie said. "I'm a grown woman. Why am I reacting like this?"

  Joss took the phone from Sylvie and passed it to Polly. "You know, everything I know tells me that you probably are facing the same type of thing that Eliseo faces with post-traumatic stress."

  Sylvie huffed. "That man fought in a war. It makes sense that he deals with it. He's a hero."

  "You fought in a war, too, sweetie," Sal said. "Yours was inside your house. You never got to choose which battles you would fight. Don't think for a minute that what you faced wasn't horrific and life threatening. Just because you lived through it and got out of it doesn't mean you weren't damaged by what that man did to you. It's okay to admit it."

  Sylvie began crying again and dropped her head back down into her hands. She looked up. "Things were just starting to go so well for us. What if he decides to move back to Bellingwood? I can't live here with him in town."

  "Don't worry about that," Polly said. "Can you see him living here peacefully once Aaron and Ken Wallers decide that he needs to move on? We don't know his reason for coming into town, but we definitely know his reason for leaving again. You are going to be safe in your home. We promise you that. Now, do you want me to call Eliseo and deal with your oldest boy or do all three of you want to come to Sycamore House?"

  Sylvie sat back up, wiped her eyes and blew her nose, then said. "Okay. Fine. Let me call Eliseo. It's probably better that Jason stay with him anyway. Once he knows his dad is in town, he's going to erupt. It will be awful. Eliseo will handle him better than I do."

  She took her phone back from Polly. "Do you mind if I make the call from here? I'm not ready to go back outside, just in case he's still around."

  "Go ahead," Polly said.

  Sylvie dialed her phone. "Hi," she said quietly. "No, he's fine. But I have a huge favor to ask of you. Would you mind if he spent the week on the farm with you?"

  After a pause, she said. "No. We haven't had another fight. He's really okay. Oh, Eliseo." Sylvie started to cry again and handed the phone over to Polly.

  "Hey," she said.

  "What happened?" he asked. "Is Sylvie okay?"

  Polly looked across the table at her friend, her eyebrows raised in a question. Sylvie waved her hand and Polly said, "Eliseo, Sylvie's ex is in town and she's scared that he's here for the boys for some reason. She saw him and can't figure out any good reason why he'd be here."

  "Oh. If Jason is with me, what is she planning to do with Andrew?"

  "I've invited them to stay at my house for a few days."

  "Nonsense. They can all come out to the farm. I have those three bedrooms upstairs and there's plenty of room to move around."

  "Seriously?"

  "Put her back on the phone."

  Polly handed the phone across the table. "Just listen to him. You don't have to say anything."

  Sylvie put the phone back to her ear and said, "Yes?" She listened and nodded. "You're right. It's a good idea. I have plenty of sheets. No. That's fine. Really? Tonight? But it will be late." Another pause. "Okay. That's true." A hint of a smile passed across her lips. "Thank you. We'll be out later."

  She swiped to end the call, her face softened. "We're going out tonight. I just need to go home and get the boys. I guess we don't have to pack a lot of things. We can do that tomorrow. I feel a little silly about being so dramatic."

  "You've said that already," Polly remarked. "You aren't being dramatic. We'll probably all sleep better knowing that you are somewhere safe. Now, why don't we take you home and make sure you get out to Eliseo's house safely."

  "He said I should eat something else and stay here for just a little while longer before I go home to talk to the boys."

  "More bread?" Sal asked.

  "I can't stomach the idea of pizza," Sylvie responded. "So yes. Bread is fine." She pushed the beer away from her. "Okay, three was ridiculous. I can't get through two of them."

  Everyone around the table took a deep breath and tried to eat the pizza in front of them. Polly didn't have the energy. "Who wants to take this home tonight?" she asked. When there was no response, she said. "Sylvie, will your boys eat this?"

  "Of course they will."

  "Then one box it is." Polly turned around. "Bri? Could you box this up and skip Sylvie's other beer? I think she's done."

  Bri took the pizza off the table. Polly looked up and started to laugh. "Your white knight is here," she said.

  "What? Who?" Sylvie turned around and stood up.

  Eliseo folded her into his arms. "I'm sorry that you have to face this, but you don't have to do it alone. Shall we go get the boys?"

  Polly's eyes filled with tears and she smiled at her friends. Holy cow, something was going on with those two. Bri put the pizza box back on the table and Polly didn't even have time to catch Sylvie before she walked out the front door with Eliseo's arms around her shoulders.

  "What in the world?" Joss asked. "Did you know about that?"

  "I didn't know anything," Polly said. "Do you think it's really something?"

  Sal chuckled. "If it wasn't before, it's about to be. He's got it bad for her and she just figured it out."

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  "Except for coming to work," Sylvie said as she dropped into a chair in front of Polly's desk, "This was a weird morning."

  "You look like hell. No sleep?"

  "Thanks." Sylvie tried to pat her hair into place and gave up. "No sleep. Two really upset boys and to top it off, Jason has to go back to school today and face those kids. He was just awful this morning. I could have kissed Eliseo when he offered to drive him to Boone." She shook her head. "I'm really sorry about my behavior last night. Looking back at it now, I blew it way out of proportion. There's nothing that man can do to hurt me. I shouldn't have been so overdramatic."

  "Stop it. You had a terrible shock and we handled it the best way we knew how. You also got everyone into a safe place and now you can deal with whatever comes next."

  "I suppose. But I erupted all over you and then Eliseo come into town to take care of us and then we were at his house. Aaron is all worried about me and that's just too many people."

  Polly smiled. "Uh huh. You're talking to me, you know. The entire town knows when I'm in the middle of something."

  "Yeah. We didn't even get to talk about your newest body find. Do you know who it was?"

  "I haven't talked to Aaron yet. I hope he'll tell me something."

  "I have a huge favor to ask," Sylvie said.

  "Anything. You know that."

  "Do you care if I use your shower? I suppose I could go home, but I promised Eliseo I wouldn't without someone with me and I didn't have time this morning."

  "I can either take you to your apartment or you can absolutely use my shower. Henry's gone and the one back by his office is never used. It's really nice, too. There are towels in the cabinet and I think it's fully stocked with soap and shampoo."

  Sylvie lifted her bag. "I have what I need in here. It was easier just to keep carrying it." She slumped back in her seat. "I wish I knew why Anthony was in town. I'm going to have to confront him at some point, just so I can make some plans for myself. I can't hide at Eliseo's forever."

  "Well, you could ..." Polly said, grinning.

  "What?"

  "Are you really that blind?"

  Sylvie wrinkled her forehead, squishing her eyebrows together. "What in the world do you mean?"

  "Oh, good heav
ens, you are that blind. Sal and Joss even noticed it last night."

  "Noticed what? There wasn't anything to notice."

  "You keep telling yourself that. Eliseo is smitten with you."

  "That's ridiculous. He's just helping out a friend."

  "You can say whatever you want, but you need to pay attention. He loves your boys and Sylvie, he's fallen for you."

  Sylvie sat forward and crossed her arms. "Don't do this to me. I don't need to worry about some man wanting me to fall in love with him now. My ex is in town for god knows what, I'm trying to get an owly freshman settled in high school, my ...," she glared at Polly "... our catering business is just taking off. I have to think about employees and family and where I'm living. I can't be thinking about him and I certainly don't have time to fall in love."

  "You just keep telling yourself that. We watched you in his arms as you two left last night. You fit perfectly."

  "That's just horse crap."

  "No, that's what I shoveled this morning while you were trying to manage all of the people in your life."

  "Sorry about that. We have to figure out a better schedule. He was really antsy when he couldn't get to the barn to help you."

  "All I had to do was put feed out and open the doors. I cleaned up the big chunks and Jason and Eliseo can do the rest tonight. Don't worry about it."

  Sylvie reached down, picked up her bag again, and stood up. "I'm not talking about this with you. It's ridiculous."

  "You already said that."

  "Well, it is. I'm in my forties and don't need to be hooking up with a man. I like my life and my boys need me."

  She turned to the door and threw up a hand. "Don't say it. I'm not that stupid."

  "Good, because I wouldn't want to have to remind you how much your boys need Eliseo."

  "I told you not to say it. Now I'm going up to take a shower. I have a meeting at ten." She left as Jeff came in the front door shaking himself like a dog. Another round of thunderstorms was passing through. Polly hoped it wasn't a portent for the day.

  He sat down in the seat Sylvie vacated. "What was up with her? She looked terrible. Is everything okay?"

  "She's going upstairs to take a shower. I think she had a rough night, but I'll let her tell you about it."

  "The boys are okay?"

  "Yeah. Everyone's okay. I will tell you that her ex-husband is in town and she's pretty freaked out."

  "I wonder what he wants."

  "So does she. What's up this morning around here?"

  "I'm sorry I'm late. I had a breakfast meeting downtown. Then we got to talking and before I knew it, too much time had passed."

  "Why would you ever apologize to me about being late?" Polly asked.

  "Well, I should tell you where I am. Is Sarah coming in this morning?"

  Polly shook her head. "I don't think so. She's in pretty bad shape right now. Rebecca didn't even want to go to school. I'm pretty sure that Sarah has several more months, but it terrifies Rebecca that she'll be away from her mom when she needs her."

  "Poor little girl."

  "Yeah. She's handling a lot right now. I'm just glad that she's here and that Andrew is around to distract her."

  "What would you think about spending some time at the hotel this afternoon? I have a group coming in. I'd go if Sarah was going to be here, but ..."

  "No, that would be fine. We really need to find someone to manage that place, don't we?"

  "We're not quite there yet. I'd like to see at least a regular sixty percent occupancy before we hire."

  Polly ran her hand through her hair. "I just keep thinking that there has to be someone who would like to live on-site."

  "That would be great. When you're there, you need to walk through the apartment. Len Specek has done a beautiful job with the woodwork. Henry said something about finishing the basement this winter. That would make it really nice."

  "Maybe you should move in," Polly said, teasingly.

  "Not happ'nin. Bellingwood isn't ready to have me around full-time." He huffed a chuckle out. "It's enough that I live in Ames. Sometimes I think it would be easier to commute from Chicago."

  "Did something happen?"

  "Nah. Prejudice is everywhere. It's just not so obvious in a city the size of Chicago."

  "Oh Jeff. Why didn't you tell me that something was going on?"

  "Nothing's going on, Polly. Nothing has happened to me. I promise."

  "You know I love you and it would destroy me if anyone hurt you."

  "You old softie you," he said. "I love my job here and I love working with everyone. I have a great life and good friends. Changing attitudes don't come easily to people. Bellingwood does right by me most all the time. I shouldn't have said anything."

  "Well, please talk to me ... about any of it. I'm serious. Any of it."

  He stood up and tapped the corner of her desk, then winked at her. "You're a good person, Polly Giller. I wouldn't want to work for anyone else." When he got to her door, he turned back around, "If you see Sylvie before I do, let her know that I'll do what I can to help."

  He walked into his own office and Polly took a deep breath, then picked up her phone and called Henry.

  "Hey sweet thing, how are you?" he asked.

  "I think that one's acceptable," she responded. "I just wanted to hear your voice. Some days I feel like you are the only sane person I know. What are you doing this morning?"

  "I'm up at Bennett's house. We'll finish here this week and then it's interior work over at Chubby Dean's place."

  A tornado last spring had destroyed some homes completely and others had been in various states of upheaval. Slowly but surely, the town was re-building all that had come down. Sturtz Family Construction was gaining a terrific reputation for work well-done and on-time. Henry's employees worked hard and it showed with all of the new construction bids he was taking in. They were trying to plan through the winter as much as possible, in order to allow Bill and Marie to leave before the snow came.

  "Do you want me to go over to the shop with Jessie?"

  "Nah. I think she's got it. Mom's going to keep an eye out."

  "I appreciate you doing this."

  "It's no big thing, Polly. Mom needs the help and Jessie needs a job. If it doesn't work out, we'll do something else. Have you seen Sylvie yet?"

  "Yeah. She's here. I think she's a little embarrassed that she got everyone worked up last night."

  "That's foolish. If Anthony Donovan is in town, something is going on. That man is a piece of work."

  "You remember him?"

  "Sure. Everyone does. It was only seven or eight years ago. He wasn't smart enough to hide his beatings. Her bruises were obvious, even though she tried to cover them."

  "I just can't imagine."

  "It was pretty awful."

  "Well, she's here and taking a shower right now. I'm going to be over at the hotel later today. Jeff needs me to check a big group in. He tells me we're not ready to hire someone full-time over there yet."

  "Well, that's why he's your assistant. He knows his stuff."

  "Okay. You're normal and I feel better."

  Henry laughed. "That's me. Normal. I love you."

  "Love you, too." Polly put the phone back down on her desk. What a weekend. As long as Henry was stable, she could get through all of the other ups and downs in the lives of people around her, but sometimes it was nearly too much.

  Polly was neck deep in paperwork when her phone rang. She didn't even look to see who it was, just swiped to answer and said, "Hello?"

  "Hi Polly, Marie Sturtz here. Have you seen my new helper this morning?"

  She wrenched her mind away from what she was doing and looked at the time - ten thirty.

  "No. Let me check upstairs. I'll call you back."

  "Maybe she didn't realize we were starting this morning."

  "No, she knew. I'll let you know."

  Polly stuck her head in Jeff's office. "I need to run upstairs. Have you see
n Jessie?"

  "Ummm, no, but I haven't been paying attention to much."

  "Thanks." She left the office and ran up the steps to her apartment.

  "Jessie? Are you here? Is everything okay?"

  Other than the animals who were always glad to see her, there was no other sound in the place.

  "Jessie?" Polly checked the kitchen and media room. "Jessie?" She went into Jessie's bathroom. No one was there, so she walked across the living room to the girl's bedroom door and knocked. "Jessie? Are you in here?"

  With no answer, Polly opened the door to an empty room. The bed had been made and things were cleaner than she was used to seeing them. She stepped all the way in and opened the wardrobe. Some of Jessie's things were gone. Durango, Jessie's stuffed purple horse wasn't in its regular place of honor, hanging around the headboard post.

  What had the girl done this time? Henry was going to be furious. Polly sat down on Jessie's bed and called Marie.

  "Hey," she said.

  "Did you find her?"

  "I don't think she'll be in to work this morning. I think she left."

  "She left? Did she take everything?"

  "No, but it looks like she took some things that were important to her."

  "Oh Polly. I'm sorry."

  "Me too. I don't know whether to be furious or heartbroken."

  "Well, she's in an awkward place in life. Her parents have cut ties with her and she's trying to figure out how to be an adult. There really isn't anyone that she feels responsible to."

  "I guess I'd hoped that she would feel responsible enough to herself to cut through some of that. She's been fine for the last three months."

  "Can I ask a crazy question?"

  "Sure."

  "When is the trial for that boy in Oelwein coming up? Could she be running away from that?"

  "A couple of weeks. Oh, Marie, you're right. That's exactly what's going on. But why didn't she talk to me?"

  "Who ever knows what goes on in their heads. The only thing you can do is keep loving them and try to make life strong and safe while they leave childhood behind."

  "Henry is going to be furious that she screwed this up. He was so pleased that he'd figured out something so great for her."