Berry on Top (A Farm Fresh Romance Book 6)

by Valerie Comer

  Liz slammed her fist against the icy pavement, welcoming the fierce pain.

  Honnnnnnnnnnk.

  A semi-truck loomed in front of her, and Liz scrambled out of its way. The contents of her gear bag lay scattered where she’d fallen, but the truck rolled right over the spot before stopping. The driver’s window slid down and a burly older man peered out at her. “You okay, sweetheart?”

  “I just slipped on the ice is all.” Liar.

  “It’s sure slick, all right. Hope your day gets better.” The window rose between them as he put the truck into gear and eased forward.

  Yeah, she hoped so, too. Because there weren’t all that many ways it could get worse.

  When all eighteen wheels had passed over the spot where she’d fallen, she retrieved the contents of her bag. The driver had somehow missed most of the items, but her foundation and bottle of gel had both been crushed.

  Liz scooped the remains and tossed them in the trash, catching sight of her scraped, bleeding hand. She leaned against the side of the building, hopefully out of Maurice’s sight, closed her eyes, and tried to regain control of her breathing.

  What had she done to deserve all this? Really?

  I’m waiting for you, my child.

  Her eyes sprang open, but no one stood before her.

  Stop trying to do it all on your own, and come home. Accept your Father’s love for you.

  The voice was not Dad’s. Not Steve Nemesek. It was the other father speaking. God.

  “I don’t really want to talk to You,” she whispered. “You abandoned me when I needed You most.”

  No, my child. It is you who turned your back. I am right here, waiting.

  Liz pushed off the side of the building. “It’s not that easy.”

  It is that easy.

  Liz summoned back her anger and strode around the corner and into the truck stop. She marched right up to the till and stared at Maurice. “What are you trying to prove? Call that driver and have my car returned this minute.”

  His smirk widened. “What driver?”

  “You had my car towed.”

  “It was in a no-parking zone.”

  “I didn’t see any signs.”

  “It’s marked on the pavement. You know, them yellow stripes?”

  She narrowed her gaze. “The ones covered with snow and ice?”

  “It’s possible.”

  “Why didn’t you just ask me to move the car?”

  Maurice leaned closer, his acrid breath wafting in her face. “You can’t live at a truck stop, cupcake.”

  “Hello? I was right here. You could’ve used words. You know, spoken verbal sentences to tell me to move my car.” She should’ve known. Should’ve seen the signs she’d overstayed her welcome. She’d never dreamed he’d have her car towed without so much as a threat, though.

  He slid a business card across the counter at her. “Give ’em a call yourself. They’ll let you have it back. For a fee.”

  Liz’s gut clenched. “How much?”

  “How should I know? I’m a law-abiding citizen. Never had my car impounded.”

  Law-abiding? As if.

  Maurice laid his hand on top of hers when she reached for the card. “I’m sure we can work something out, cupcake.”

  Liz yanked the card away and shoved it in her pocket. “I don’t think so.”

  Maurice’s eyes hardened. “Have it your way. Don’t come back here again.”

  “No worries. I won’t. Ever.” She gathered what was left of her dignity and her belongings and strode out the door into the sub-zero wind. Walking the five miles to Linda and Warren’s would keep her warm. Or was the impound lot closer?

  One thing was certain. She’d wistfully imagined God’s voice back there. It was plenty obvious He didn’t care a fig for what happened to her.

  Chapter 25

  Fury kept Liz going for the first frozen mile. Then she stepped into a doorway alcove and pulled out her phone and the business card.

  The phone that was on 4% battery. It was too cold to keep a charge, much like her. She’d planned to spend long enough at the soup kitchen today to get it charged.

  The cord was in the car.

  Liz sagged against the brick wall and closed her eyes. She could spend that 4% on calling her parents, or she could spend it trying to get her car back. And exactly what could her parents do to help her? Nothing. They were thousands of miles away.

  She wasn’t ready to let them see how far she’d fallen. No. She’d call the towing company. Her fingers trembled as she pushed the buttons. Don’t die now...

  “Hi, my name is Elizabeth Nemesek, and I think you might have my car.” She rattled off the license plate number, make, and model.

  “Let me take a look.” The guy sounded bored.

  Silence for a long moment. Silence that meant her battery was disappearing without anything to show for it.

  “Nope, don’t got a record of that.”

  “But I saw your business name on the door of the tow truck.”

  “George might not be back with it yet. Sometimes it takes a bit of time to get them all entered in the computer. Give a call back in a couple of hours.”

  Two percent battery remaining. Great. Liz thumbed off the phone, put her head into the wind, and began her trek once again. Fifteen blocks later, her phone rang. She looked at the display and saw her brother’s name. Should she answer?

  While she hesitated, the screen went black.

  * * *

  The mood at Green Acres was somber at their emergency noon-hour meeting. Mason wasn’t the only one watching Zach pace the great room.

  “This is crazy.” Zach slammed a hand against the wall. “How can she have just disappeared?”

  “Two possibilities. She can’t answer, or she won’t answer.” Jo gave Mason a pointed glare.

  “If she’s choosing not to, there isn’t much we can do about it,” Claire put in reasonably.

  Chelsea dabbed her eyes with a tissue. “But what if something happened to her?”

  This was where Mason’s mind had been going more and more. What if it wasn’t Liz’s choice?

  “There are ways to search.” Allison flipped open her laptop. “We can call the police in Des Moines. We can try the hospitals.”

  Chelsea pulled out her phone. “Give me a number.”

  Allison read off the police department number. Then she assigned hospital numbers to several others.

  Mason sank deep into the leather chair and closed his eyes. All he could do was pray. Pray one of these calls had results they could act on.

  None of them did.

  “She might not have stayed in Des Moines,” said Sierra. “She could be anywhere, really.”

  “But this is crazy! I’m going to be in the city for three days. Yeah, I’m supposed to be in meetings, but I’d skip them all to find her.” Zach grimaced.

  A slow thought niggled at the back of Mason’s mind and then erupted. “If I can leave the kids with Allison or someone, I’ll go with you. I’ll pound the pavement while you’re in meetings.”

  “You what, Waterman?”

  “I’m the reason she’s gone.” He choked out the words. How much had Zach told the others? By the way Jo treated him, she knew. But the others?

  “How’s that, Mason?” Claire’s voice was gentle.

  “Zach didn’t tell everyone about our talk last night?”

  Heads around the room shook as his friends glanced between them. Would they still be his friends? Not only that, but Rosemary and Steve were here as well. Liz’s parents.

  Mason focused on Steve as he recited the short version of his relationship with Liz. “I wronged your daughter,” he said at last. “Can you ever forgive me?”

  Steve’s fingers tightened around Rosemary’s. The couple exchanged a look then Steve turned back to Mason. “We forgive you, son, as God has forgiven us. All of us have sinned, and God doesn’t categorize those sins into hierarchy. You have asked His forgiveness and r
eceived it. I cannot withhold mine.”

  Mason stared at his feet. “I don’t deserve it.”

  “None of us do,” put in Rosemary mildly. “But this explains a lot.”

  “Steve’s right,” said Noel. “Each of us here has had a struggle. We’ve all fallen short of God’s standards. I forgive you, brother.”

  “I do, too,” said Claire softly. Others murmured similar words.

  Tears blurred Mason’s vision. The next thing he knew, a gentle hand rested on his shoulder. Steve’s. Then more hands touched him.

  “Father, I escort Your child to Your throne.” Steve’s deep voice spoke into the hushed room. “I thank You for bringing Mason into relationship with You. I thank You for saving him and making him a new creature through Jesus’ blood.”

  The anguish in Mason’s soul eased with every word from Steve’s lips.

  “Lord, you know where my little girl is.” Steve’s voice broke. “You know what she’s going through. Please forgive me for failing her.”

  “Yes, Lord, me, too,” whispered Zach.

  Tears dribbled down Mason’s cheeks. He’d failed her the worst.

  “God, I believe You are working in Lizzie’s life,” Steve went on. “If she did not feel the prodding of the Holy Spirit, she wouldn’t need to run away. I claim Your victory over her soul. Please work in her life and turn her eyes back to You. Please put God-fearing people in her path. We rest her in Your hands, Lord. You love her more than we do.”

  Hands still touched Mason’s head, arms, and legs as several other team members prayed for him. Prayed for Liz. His body warmed, and a level of peace he hadn’t felt in days settled on him.

  One by one, the hands were removed, but the peace remained. And with it, an even more certain sense he needed to go to Des Moines. Zach had his meetings. Besides, the man had never lived in any city’s seamier side. Mason had. Not in Des Moines, but he’d find his way around. If things had gone really wrong for Liz, he’d find her.

  “What airline are you flying?” he asked Zach.

  “You’re serious.”

  “Totally.”

  “Of course the twins can stay with us.” Allison glanced at Brent, who nodded. “They can catch the school bus just as easily from here as from next door.”

  “What company did she accept that job from?” asked Claire. “Anyone get a name?”

  Mason wracked his brain. “Pretty sure she never told me. But they have a head office in Vegas.”

  Sierra shook her head. “That’s not enough to go on.”

  “And all the information would be on her laptop and her phone. Neither of which we have access to.” Jo tapped her fingers, deep in thought.

  “What recruiting company was it?” asked Noel.

  Mason looked around the group, where heads shook in unison. He didn’t know, either.

  “How many can there be?” asked Chelsea. “It can’t take that long to call each one and see if she was registered with them.”

  “Good point.” Jo nodded. “I’ll help work our way through them.”

  “They probably won’t release that information,” said Sierra. “Confidentiality and all that.”

  Chelsea glanced at her sister. “It’s worth a shot, especially if we say she accepted a position and then went missing.”

  “Yeah, maybe.”

  “Delta.” Zach’s voice came from close beside him.

  Mason blinked. “Huh?”

  “You asked about my flight.”

  “Oh. Right. Sorry.”

  “Leaves at one-thirty-six. One hour stop in Minneapolis. I don’t have the flight number on me.”

  Mason pulled out his phone and toggled the browser on. “I can find it.”

  “Can we pay for your flight, son?” asked Steve.

  “No, it’s okay. I’ve got it.” His charge card had space, and he’d pay it off, even if it took a few months. Anything for Liz.

  Rosemary’s dry voice interrupted. “We insist. She’s our daughter. If Steve was in any position to go, he’d be there in a heartbeat.”

  They should hate him. God’s grace was bigger. “Thank you. That would be a huge help.” His fingers danced on the phone’s screen as he found Zach’s flight and tapped to purchase a ticket. A seat was available! Thank You, God. He handed the phone to Rosemary to complete the payment section.

  Uh. He’d better get back to work so he could ask Roger for the rest of the week off. The flight’s confirmation number flashed on his screen as Rosemary passed it back.

  More like tell Roger. How would that go over?

  * * *

  Liz staggered in the soup kitchen door, as frozen as juice concentrate. Her cheeks were numb, and she’d lost feeling in her toes a while back.

  “Liz! Linda and I hoped you wouldn’t be in today. That you’d find a warm place to hole up. We must be pushing minus twenty out there.” Warren steered her to a table near a heat register. “Are you okay?”

  Liz stared at him, trying to make sense of the question. What did okay even mean? She shook her head slowly, sluggishly. “So cold,” she murmured.

  “Have you eaten anything today?” Linda hovered in front of her.

  Had she? “Dunno.”

  “Go heat up a cup of broth,” Linda said to Warren. “Now, dearie, we need to get your boots off and have a look at your feet. How are your fingers?”

  Liz pulled trembling hands from the depths of her pockets and held them out for inspection.

  “Child, where are your gloves? I know you have some.” Linda clasped one of Liz’s hands between both of hers.

  “In my c-car.”

  “And where’s that?”

  “I don’t know. Th-they towed it.”

  “Oh, dearie.” Compassion flowed from Linda’s voice. “There you are, Warren. Can you get Liz’s boots off? Here, child, have a sip. Warren heated it, but not too much. We want to warm you, not scald you.”

  Warren knelt in front of Liz and unzipped one boot before tipping it and pulling it off her foot. Then the other. How could the room feel even colder without them?

  “You sit with her for a minute, Warren. I’m going to get some warm blankets. Don’t worry, dearie. We’ll get you warmed up. I don’t think you’ve done any permanent damage.”

  Did that mean none of her toes had frozen off? They were going to hurt like crazy as they thawed. “I’m s-sorry.” Great, now her teeth were chattering.

  “For what?” Warren asked as Linda bustled away.

  For everything? For being such a nuisance? For living? “For imposing on you.”

  “You’re not an imposition, Liz. Never. You and others like you are the very reason Linda and I are here. To make a difference. To be God’s hands and feet to those in need.”

  Well, Liz was in need. Pretty hard to deny.

  “Here, have a sip of the broth. We need to start getting some heat inside of you. Finish this, and I’ll get you a coffee.”

  Liz forced a smile. After even this short time, Warren knew it was coffee she really craved. If she had to get through a mug of beef broth to get there, she’d do it. She swished the warm liquid in her mouth for a few seconds before swallowing.

  “You said your car was towed? What happened?”

  “I was in the truck stop having a shower when the owner decided I’d been there too much, I guess. I tried to stop the tow truck as he drove away. When I called, the guy said they had no record of my car.” Liz closed her eyes. “And then my phone died.”

  “I see.” Warren sounded thoughtful. “Which impound company?”

  Liz pried unwilling fingers from around the warm mug and dug into her coat pocket. She laid the business card on the table as another shuddering spasm wracked her.

  “Here, dearie.” Linda wrapped a large blanket around Liz’s shoulders then tucked another around her feet.

  “How did you get them so warm?”

  “Just tossed them in the dryer for a few minutes. I can do that as many times as needed.”


  The fuzzy warmth cradled Liz. Maybe, just maybe, sometime in the vague and distant future, she wouldn’t be frozen straight through. She had a gulp of the warm broth then buried her hands in the depths of the blanket.

  Warren chuckled. “Here, girl. I’ll get you a coffee. The car can wait another half hour or so. It’s not going anywhere.”

  Chapter 26

  Mason stomped the snow off his boots at the back door to the tire shop after his extended lunch break.

  Roger glanced at the clock. “You’re late.”

  “Yeah, I know. I’m sorry.”

  “What happened that was so important? One of the kids sick?”

  “No.” Mason shook his head and took a deep breath. Here went nothing. “I don’t suppose you know the Nemesek family?”

  “The vet?”

  “Yes, them. They’ve lived in the Galena Valley for decades. Anyway, their youngest daughter — Zach’s sister — has gone missing.”

  Roger frowned, clearly puzzled.

  “So...” Mason shot up a prayer. “I need the rest of the week off work. Zach and I are flying out to Des Moines tomorrow to try to find her.”

  “To Des Moines.”

  “That’s where she was last known to be, about ten days ago.”

  Roger tipped his head, still frowning. “I’m sorry for the family, but what’s that got to do with you? You don’t have any vacation time accumulated, Waterman. And even if you did, we need to plan stuff like that in advance.”

  “Is the shop busy right now?”

  “That’s beside the point.”

  “Look, I know there’s not much scheduled. If I take a few days off without pay, it will save you money. And I really need to go.”

  “Didn’t know you were independently wealthy, man. Thought you needed this job.”

  “I do need it.” Mason forced himself to meet Roger’s eyes. He didn’t want to lose his job over this. How could he have felt so strongly that he needed to go find Liz if it wasn’t meant to be?

  Trust Me.

  “This isn’t the way a man who needs a job acts, Waterman. He doesn’t come in and demand time off with no notice.”

  “I understand, but emergencies don’t come on a schedule.”