Deadline

by Judy McDonough

She arrived at the cabin forty-five minutes early and knocked on the door. Cade didn't answer so she knocked again. When he didn't answer the second time she walked to the side and saw his truck parked under the portable carport. Caroline knocked one last time and finally checked the door to see if it was locked. When the knob turned and the door opened, she closed her eyes, remembering the last time she'd entered unwelcomely. After a deep cleansing breath, she stepped into the cozy log cabin.

  "Hello? Cade? You in here?" Against her better judgment, she walked toward the hallway. At the bathroom, she paused to listen before going any farther. No running water. Music drifted from his bedroom. She tiptoed to the door and held her ear close to the crack. He was playing the guitar. She assumed that's why he hadn't heard the knock. She knocked loudly on his bedroom door and the music stopped. Cade opened it wearing only a pair of cargo shorts and headphones taking her breath away. She noticed the unusual scar on his chest again, but resisted the urge to ask how it got there.

  "Hey!" He plucked the buds from his ears. "You're early! You just can't stay away from me, huh?" His body was a sight to behold, and his playfulness adorable, but unfortunately, she wasn't in much of a frisky mood.

  "Ha. Ha. Hey, have you seen my cell phone?" She watched, a little disappointed as he dug through his chest-of-drawers, pulled out a snug black T-shirt and slipped it over his head.

  "No. I heard it ring late last night when you went to the bathroom to get ready for bed, but I never saw it. Did you check all over your room? Can you hand me that, please?"

  She reached for the white dress shirt he pointed to and brushed her fingertips across the embroidered Fleur de lis pattern on the back. "Yes. I knew where I left it and where it was when it rang. I had the phone and my ring in the jewelry box on the dressing table. This morning the ring was there but the phone was gone."

  Cade glanced at her left hand. "Well, that's strange. Why would someone take your phone but leave the rock behind?"

  She felt awkward. Ashamed. Guilty for wearing her engagement ring in front of Cade, rubbing it in. She seriously needed to get her act together and stop playing both sides of the fence. She made a promise to someone and she needed to keep it. She quickly handed his shirt to him and tucked her hands tightly under her armpits as she paced the room. "Who knows? I'm about tired of it, though. So what do you want to eat for lunch?"

  She honestly tried not to think about it. The current situation had her freaked out in every way possible, not to mention ticked off, so she tried with all her power to pretend to be calm and in control.

  "What would you like to do? We could go grab some Popeye's chicken and have a picnic by the lake?"

  Her last picnic with Trevor when they discussed wedding plans, sexual partners and what he was going to teach her after they were married flashed through her mind. She nixed the picnic idea and shrugged her shoulders. "No, I don't think I'm up for a picnic in this humidity. Any other ideas?"

  "Well, I could take you into town to eat somewhere you haven't been, and you could meet some of my friends."

  That wasn't a bad idea. Meeting his friends could be fun, get her mind off the pocket-picking ghost, and would allow her to avoid being alone with Cade all the time. "That sounds like fun."

  He smiled. "Fun indeed. I have to warn you, though, some of the guys you'll meet today really are zingers." He laughed.

  "Yeah? I've never hung out with a bunch of swamp rats before. This will be a very educational experience for me. Any advice you wanna hit me up with before you feed me to the gators?" She put on a good front, but beneath the smirk, she honestly wished for a tip on how to act around them. Of course, he saw through her façade.

  He approached her, gently tipped her chin up and invaded her soul. "Just be your beautiful self. They'll adore you as much as I do. Don't take anything they say too seriously, and don't stress too much about their accent. Sometimes I can't even understand what they're saying." He kissed her forehead and continued getting dressed as he threaded a woven belt through the loops.

  "I'll shoot you a glance if I get too lost." Excitement pumped through her, but the stress from the past few days had started to wear her down. She looked forward to hanging out and listening to some live music tonight. To unwind a little. Caroline wished Kristy could fly down for the weekend. She always knew just what Caroline needed to de-stress. Whether it's dancing, chocolate covered strawberries, rum runners or karaoke night. Plus, the extrovert Kristy is, she'd do away with some of the introductory awkwardness sure to accompany the jitters gouging holes through her entire body.

  Now she really fumed that she couldn't find her cell phone. She couldn't call Kristy to beg even if she wanted to. Caroline wondered how many times Trevor had called. He's probably having his fourth conniption fit because she wasn't answering. It wouldn't surprise her if he contacted the local police department to put out a search party. She chuckled and then cringed when she accepted the truth to that possibility. Nah, surely he won't go that far. Cade asked her something and snapped her back to reality.

  She shook her head as if to clear the cobwebs. "I'm sorry, what'd you say?"

  His face crumpled with concern. "Are you okay? You seem distracted. If you don't want to go out anywhere for lunch I can fix something here for us. It's no problem."

  "No, please. It's nothing. Really, I'm okay. I just have a lot on my mind. I want to go. I need to. . .get out, you know, a change of scenery. I gotta get out of that house for a while."

  "Yeah, I totally get it. I can't imagine why you'd be stressed. Meeting your father for the first time in twenty-one years, your stepmother despises you, you learned you have siblings," he smiled. "You literally ran into a strange naked man who later revealed his intentions to steal you away from the man who put that beautiful ring on your finger. And to top it all off, you discovered a family ghost in your room who seems intent on contacting you about her past through your dreams. Yeah, I can't imagine why you don't want to just lock yourself up in the house alone. What kind of nut-job are you, anyway?" He smiled, but his incredibly accurate summary unnerved her.

  "Well, when you put it like that. . ." she sighed, her shoulders slumped. "Let's go eat. I'm starving." Caroline tired of always being the good girl and never taking any chances. Maybe meeting some new people who knew nothing about her would help relax her, even if they were crazy Cajuns. Maybe that would be even more fun. They got into Cade's truck and headed for the Bayou. Caroline's attitude perked up with the thought and she now bounced with enthusiasm, eager to witness the true Cajun culture and see how much it differed from the stereotypical Hollywood depiction.

  As they drove down a two lane back road, she stared out the window and lost herself in the beautiful oak trees. The Spanish moss draped mystically from the branches of the desolate cypress trees. She studied the picturesque green swampy marsh. Barren trees and the sharp tattered stumps arose from the water, pikes of what used to be trees before Hurricane Katrina unleashed hell. She imagined how peaceful it must be to live in the small, one-room shacks along the bayou. To have everything you need to get by, how simple life would be with no drama.

  Suddenly Cade pushed hard on the brakes. She braced herself against the dash and yelped. A huge alligator lumbered across the road. It had to have been at least seven feet long, maybe even eight feet. Though difficult to tell because he waddled quickly to the other side with his mouth open in warning. He took long enough for her to get a good look at him before he disappeared safely in the swamp.

  "Holy Cow! That's a real live alligator!" Caroline couldn't believe her eyes as she plastered herself to the dash. "Holy Cow! An alligator just crossed the road!" She turned to Cade whose shoulders quaked with laughter. "For real, does this happen often?"

  He laughed aloud, but didn't answer her question. His amused face repetitively swiveled from her to the road and back. She didn't wait for a response.

  "In Arkansas we have deer, rabbits, or raccoons that cross the road, skunks, opossums, and even the o
ccasional armadillo, but never alligators!" Caroline was truly amazed. One thing she could cross off her list of things she'd hoped to see while down here this summer. Coolest thing ever!

  After he calmed his laughter, Cade smiled and gently squeezed her leg just above her knee resting his hand there. "You are so cute."

  "I've just never seen anything like that before. So stinkin' awesome! An alligator. . .seriously."

  "Sweet Caroline, I can promise you one thing. You will see more alligators during your summer here than you've seen in your entire life."

  "What do you mean? How can you promise that? I mean, I realize we just saw one cross the road, but how do you know I'll see more than just that one?"

  He studied her for a minute and pulled his hand back to the steering wheel. "You don't know what your dad does, do you?" His seriousness sobered her excitement.

  "What do you mean? Like, his profession?"

  "Yes, his. . .profession. You don't have a clue what he does for a living, do you? What kind of business he runs?"

  She thought for a moment and realized she'd never asked her dad anything about his life, only about why he left them so long ago. He hadn't really volunteered the information, either. "No, I don't guess so. What kind of business is it?"

  Cade shook his head. "Uh-uh."

  Caroline smacked his arm. "Oh, come on! You have to tell me now. You can't just leave it like that. What does my dad do?" Cade continued to shake his head with that ridiculous smirk. "Tell me."

  He smiled. "No, boo, I think I'd rather show you."

  Oh boy. Caroline didn't know what she'd just gotten herself into, but she was dying to know what the big secret was. Her imagination ran wild. She couldn't wait to see what Cade had in store for her, though she hoped her dad wasn't involved in anything illegal, like drug smuggling or something. A touch of anxiety crept into her thoughts.

  "Awesome. Should I be worried?"

  He answered with a smile and drove the rest of the way with a smug, knowing, grin on his face. He had something planned for her that she would never forget.

  With no idea what to expect, a mixture of nervous energy and excitement rolled in her stomach. It could have been extreme hunger, but the look on Cade's face had her impossibly curious. For the moment, Caroline was content absorbing the ambience of the Bayou and sitting in sweet, beautiful silence.