by Heidi Angell
Clear couldn’t help but laugh. It wasn’t a good laugh. This guy was unnerving.
“What can I say? You do this every day… you know how hard it is. I guess… I guess I’m just not tough enough to handle it every day.” She sighed, hating that what she was saying was partially true.
Inman looked at her then shrugged. “I don’t believe that.”
“Well, you don’t really know me then,” Clear quipped.
“Bryce says you came because of Grant, but that both of you insist that there is nothing going on between you.” He took another bite of his burger and chewed slowly, thoughtfully. Clear took a bite of her burger, to avoid answering the question.
“So, if there is nothing going on between you, then why would you come here and go through this, when you say you can’t handle the job?” He looked quite pleased with his question.
Clear swallowed her bite and washed it down with a sip of coke. “I guess I owe him.” Clear shrugged. “I’m sure you read about what happened in Montana?”
He nodded and his eyes shifted to stare blankly at a carpet. “And from what I could tell in that report, you were in danger because he asked for your help there, too.”
Clear couldn’t help rolling her eyes at that. No, she got herself into enough trouble without Grant’s help. “Hardly,” was all she would say. “He saved my life after a lunatic kidnapped me.”
Inman returned to staring at her. “Fine, don’t tell me anything. You hardly know me and have no reason to trust me. I’m guessing you don’t trust very many people at all.” He looked away from her again. A pregnant pause filled the tiny motel room. He cleared his throat. “I want to thank you, for helping us.” His eyes darted to her. “And for what it is worth, he has very deep feelings for you.”
Clear looked up at him shocked. “Excuse me?”
Inman smiled at her. “Hey, love is complicated.” At the shock on her face, he pulled back. “And maybe love isn’t the best word… feelings. Feelings are complicated. Look, the point I am trying to make is that… I saw your… I know disappointment isn’t really the right word… but for lack of a better word… you looked abandoned and adrift when he left with his daughter like that….”
Clear shook her head vehemently. “No, of course he left with her. He did what anyone would do. And if he had done anything differently, then what kind of a father would he have been?!”
Inman held up his hand. “I’m not saying you were a bad person for what you felt. I’m also not saying he was bad for doing what he did. I’m just telling you what I saw. And something you probably need to know.” He crossed his hands and leaned forward on his knees. “When I went to the hospital, the first thing he asked was if you were ok.”
Clear was more than a little surprised to hear this.
“He was the one who asked me to get you your clothes and some food.” Inman indicated her things. “Now… I’ll admit, I didn’t know Grant when he worked here, but the general consensus from the people who did know him was that he is a great detective, at the expense of other people. His wife, his partner… even his own kid, to an extent.”
Clear started to protest, in an effort to defend him, but Inman held up his hand. “Look, I’m not judging him. I am just telling you what I know. He cares about you. I get the feeling he doesn’t really know how to tell you that, but he does. And if he is a cop anything like my dad, then he will never be able to tell you that. Hell, he probably thinks that it would make your life worse if he did. Especially after everything… you two have been through. Just because he doesn’t know how to tell you how he feels, doesn’t mean he doesn’t feel.”
“So, Grant reminds you of your dad, huh?” Clear sighed.
Inman chuckled. “A little bit, yeah.” He scratched the back of his head. “And so, I am telling you this because my dad couldn’t tell me or the woman he loved how he felt and we didn’t find out until after he died… and it was too late to have the relationship we wanted with him.”
Clear sighed. “What do you hope to achieve?” She looked at him pleadingly.
“Well, maybe to help you understand?” Inman spread his hands wide in a supplicating manner. “Some men… well, they need people and when they realize that, it… it scares them. So they distance themselves from those people, living in kind of their own private hell and… putting the people who love them most in their own private hell. It’s hard to love people like that, but we can’t help loving them…. But we feel the need not to let them know, so that they can’t hurt us more.” He looked at her and shrugged. “Maybe I am way off base, but if you do care about him… you’ll have to do the work. That’s all I’m saying.”
He stood up and moved toward the door. “Uh, if you need anything, just give me a call.” He handed her his card.
Clear took his hand when she took his card. “Thanks… for giving me your perspective… I don’t know what I’ll do with it, but… it helps to know.” She smiled.
Chapter Twenty-One
Grant was surprised to find out that Clear had gotten a plane ticket back to Montana and had already left. Detective Inman had dropped her off at the airport and she had asked him to give Grant a note.
Grant stared at the envelope that he had set on the coffee table. They had brought Kat home this morning and her mom was sitting with her in her room. He might not get another chance to read it in private, at least not for a while. Kat was really messed up from all that had happened and he was staying to help her through it. Of course, Laura was icily accepting it. She needed someone to stay with Kat during the day while she was at work. But she was more cold each day and barely civil, even in front of Kat.
Grant pushed the drama of his current situation out of his mind. The truth was that he would rather worry about these issues than about what Clear’s abrupt departure meant. He picked up the letter and thumbed the flap. To read or not to read.
He set it down again nervously. He took a few turns around the living room then peeked in to check on Kat. Laura was reading to her from a fairy tale book. Everything was relatively peaceful.
Grant wandered aimlessly through the apartment, ending back in the living room. He stared at the innocuous letter. Sighing and raking his hands through his hair, he embraced that he was going to have to read it sooner or later and the sooner he got through it the better he would feel. At the very least, this unending torment would end. He would possibly understand something.
With the decision made, he tore the envelope open and pulled the pages free, unfolding them. Her handwriting was elegant and precise. She had obviously been calm when she wrote this. Hmmm… was that a good thing, or not? Grant began to read.
Grant,
Once again, an exciting adventure! I am so very glad that we were able to get your daughter back. She has been through so very much and I suspect that you will be staying in Chicago indeterminately. I needed to get back to my horses, so I have left by plane.
I know this may be a bit of a surprise to you. Or perhaps not. Honestly, I do not know how to read you. I do know this: we need to talk. But it would be inconsiderate of me to demand your time and attention now when you are under so much strain with your daughter’s situation.
For what it is worth, she is a very strong girl. She will make it through this, I am sure. And she will not let this destroy her life. She will be a survivor, not a victim. And when she gets to the point where she is ok, I hope that you will come back to Montana. I already talked to the chief and he said he had not heard from you, but given the situation he was sure that you could have an extended leave as needed.
When you do come back, and I really hope you do, we can sit down and talk… about… everything. In the meantime, I think that I will be relieving your neighbor of responsibility for those kids. They really need better supervision. Not that I am necessarily the best with kids, but I’m sure Anne will be more than happy to help me out.
I will be moving them out to the ranch while you are away. There is more room for them th
ere. What we do after you come back will, I suppose, be a part of that talk we need to have. I can wait.
Wishing you and yours a speedy recovery,
Clear
Grant smiled, tucking the letter into his pocket. At least he had something to look forward to.
About The Author
Heidi Angell has been passionate about writing since she "published" her first book in her first grade class! She has written thousands of short stories, plays, books and poems. She has published a psychic thriller novel Elements of a Broken Mind, an urban fantasy/ horror The Hunters, a children's picture book Royal Prince Vince, and an activity book Creative Exercises to Inspire. The First Book in her Hellschool series is expected out in early 2015.
She is living happily ever after with her Prince of a husband and her two wonderful boys in Utah.
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Other Books by Heidi Angell
Elements of a Broken Mind By Heidi Angell
Grant Anderson is a small-town detective whose job was quiet and easy, until three girls end up dead. A serial killer is stalking the young ladies in his town. Without the high tech equipment of big cities at his fingers, Grant must rely on good old-fashioned police work; but with no discernible pattern and no clues to follow, the case seems to be grinding to a halt.
Then Grant gets a visit from a mysterious young woman. Who is Clear Angel? What is her connection to the case? If Grant is to believer her, then he must accept that she has "seen" these things. But Grant is a professional. He cannot believe in psychics! Yet when another girl goes missing, and Grant's search is yielding nothing he is desperate enough to try.
Grant and Clear team up to stop a madman bent on the destruction of the world. As their feelings for one another grow, they try to deny them. But when Clear goes missing, Grant must face his feelings and save her before it is too late.
Available in paperback and e-book from your preferred dealer for from Heidi’s website.
The Hunters by Heidi Angell
What would you do if you found your town had been infested with vampires? For Chris and his brother Lucas, the answer was simple enough: you fight back. Gathering a small band of other people in their town who have been affected by the vampires, they begin a resistance. But after a year of fighting, they have only managed to kill a handful, while the vampire leader has turned five times that many.
Then two enigmatic strangers appear, changing the groups lives even further.
Fury and Havoc. They call themselves hunters, and want no part in this little band of heroes. Ordering them to lay low, the duo vow to rid their town of vampires. When Fury is injured, Chris aides these strangers, entwining his future with theirs.
Now that the vampires know the hunters are here, and that Chris and his friends have helped them, the group is in more danger than ever before. Lucas is torn between protecting his new family from the vampires, and protecting them from these seemingly inhuman beings who say they are there to help.
After all, what beings could be so powerful as to scare a vampire?
Available in paperback and e-book from your preferred dealer for from Heidi’s website.
Royal Prince Vince
The tale of Royal Prince Vince, a spoiled little prince. His parents don't know what to do to make him happy and get him to stop throwing fits. Then help comes from the most unlikely source! A great story for children to learn the joy of hard work and pride in accomplishment.
Available in paperback and e-book from your preferred dealer for from Heidi’s website.
Creative Exercises to Inspire
A guide to creative writing and finding your creative gifts and interests. The book is based on Exercises that the author used during a summer camp with underprivileged youth.
