“I’d never forget you, Buggy. You were one of the only friends I ever had, don’t you remember, the other kids all picked on me... they would call me dummy.”
Summer did recall that, and as a child, she thought the other kids were just mean, the way her father had been mean. But, as an adult, she could see that Michael might appear less than bright to most. His IQ didn’t matter a damn to her, only his heart, which was the warmest she’d ever known.
Summer moved over and sat beside Michael on the wicker loveseat he was sitting in.
“You’re not dumb; you run your own business don’t you?”
Michael leaned over and kissed her on the nose.
“It’s all right, Buggy; I know I’m not the brightest bulb in the chandelier, but that’s okay, because I like myself just the way I am and I enjoy what I do. That’s what’s important, right?”
Summer nodded, and then realized that she had never liked herself, nor had she ever enjoyed anything she had done to earn money. In fact, she had never been satisfied, and she always wanted more.
She leaned her head on Michael’s shoulder and marveled at the peace she felt just by being near him.
“Michael?”
“Yes?”
“Did you like your brother and mother?”
“Oh yeah, and he’s so smart, and so is Jessica. I can’t wait to meet their kids.”
“Why aren’t they staying here instead of a hotel?”
“They have reservations in town, but they’ll be staying here beginning tomorrow.”
“And when are they leaving?”
“In a few days, but my brother said that he and Jessica will stay here and help me get my things together. I’ve only got three weeks until I have to leave the farm.”
“Will you live with them?”
“I don’t know, but where do you live?”
“I’m in San Diego right now, but I just rent.”
“I want to be somewhere near you. I don’t want you to go away again.”
“I won’t; I promise, but do you have a girlfriend?”
“I was real serious with a woman named Peggy for a while, but it didn’t last.”
“How long were you together?”
“Six years, but then she had to move for her job. I couldn’t move then; I had to stay and take care of my grandma. Peggy visited a few times, but after a while we just drifted apart.”
“Six years is longer than my marriage lasted.”
“Who did you marry, a fella named Gray?”
“Yes, but it doesn’t matter, it’s over now.”
“Was he mean to you?”
“Sometimes, but I was mean too... I’m not a nice person, Michael, but I want to be, it’s just hard.”
“You’re nice to me.”
“That’s because I love you,” Summer said, and then she tensed up after the words left her lips.
They were just three words, and were spoken in friendship, but they were words that had power, and could be misconstrued.
“I love you too, Summer,” Michael said, and it was uttered as a fact long established.
Summer snuggled against Michael and felt safe and peaceful. That is, until she remembered that Todd could destroy her with his damn tell-all book.
She had been prepared to kill Todd, but she found out earlier that murder wasn’t something she was capable of, not when she couldn’t even bring herself to kill a man that was threatening her life.
Still, Todd would have to be dealt with, and the sooner the better.
CHAPTER 22
The following morning, Todd moved the curtain aside and looked out at the world, yet again.
He’d been in a growing state of paranoia since Jessica’s visit, when he had learned that Summer had been in the area without his knowledge.
She was up to something, of that he was certain, and he was equally sure that it involved him.
He had summoned Summer there once with the threat of exposing her as a fraud and demanded money for his silence.
Summer had told him that she had little money and that she wouldn’t be paid for the book she was writing until it was in print.
Well, he had written his own book, one that told the real story of her climb to fame, and although the truth would cause him more legal trouble than it would Summer, Todd no longer cared.
In fact, he no longer cared about anything other than getting revenge on Summer for leaving him when he needed her most.
He had dragged himself up the stairs and into his old bedroom where there was a gun in the nightstand. He’d been keeping the weapon with him ever since, as he waited for Summer to make whatever move she had planned.
Todd had barely slept since Jessica’s visit and jumped at every odd sound. He knew Summer as well as he knew himself, and expected her to try to kill him.
When a noise came from outside, he gripped the handle of the gun that was in the pocket of his robe, but then he saw that it was the mailman.
Todd watched as the man removed a thick envelope from the box and then replaced it with a stack of bills.
Once the man had left, Todd opened the door and moved outside cautiously. When he saw no signs of trouble, he rolled down the aluminum wheelchair ramp on the side of the porch and out to the mailbox.
After gathering the mail, which were bills that would never be paid, Todd stared at the departing mail truck until it turned the far corner and left his sight.
He then made it back up the ramp, where he noticed for the first time that the newspaper had been delivered. He was going to ignore it, but then snatched it up before going back inside.
After he warmed up leftover Chinese food in the microwave, he went back to looking out the window, as he took the rubber band off the newspaper.
On page eight, he came across a story that made his blood boil. It was about Summer and the danger she faced at Michael’s farm.
The details were few, but the story made it sound as if Summer had faced down a trio of mobsters and won, and to Todd’s amazement, he read that Jessica White had been involved as well.
Todd, already paranoid, ran over his conversation with Jessica in his mind, and wondered if he had been a fool where she was concerned.
He flung the paper aside and went into the kitchen where he grabbed a bottle of whiskey from a low cabinet. After upending the bottle and taking a long drink, he went back to the window and waited for Summer to appear.
In the pocket of Todd’s robe was the gun, but there was also a knife with a very sharp blade hidden beneath the folds of his robe.
Todd had plans to use both of them.
***
In California, Jessica held up her phone as her husband came out of the bathroom after having taken a shower in their hotel room.
“There’s a new email from Caliber Investigations. The header says that it concerns the DNA tests.”
“What’s it say,” he asked, as he ran a towel over his wet hair.
Jessica read the letter quickly and then explained.
“According to the results, Michael Hobbs and Michael Wheeler are related, not brothers, but cousins.”
“That’s odd, and I feel sorry for Hobbs, he may have found a relation, but he still doesn’t know who he really is.”
Jessica pointed to her phone.
“No, their DNA matched that of a Virgil Stoddard. Stoddard died in prison two years ago, but his DNA was on file. He was convicted on six counts of murder the same year that Amanda lost Michael.”
“I remember Amanda mentioning that name. Virgil Stoddard and his brother were both friends of my father, Billy Gant, and they were part of the cult as well. That’s why Michael Wheeler had that blanket; both he and Hobbs were born in that compound like I was.”
“You’re right, and you probably knew them both as a young child,” Jessica said.
“Who did Stoddard kill?”
“Stoddard was believed to have killed his brother, his brother’s wife, his own wife, and their three children,
two of which were his own. The bodies of his brother, the two women and one child were recovered from a stream where they were shot, while Stoddard was seriously wounded by his brother, but lived. It had been believed by the authorities at the time that the two Michaels were also victims, but that their bodies had been washed away by the stream.”
“But they ran during a firefight between the two brothers and made it to safety.”
“That’s what is assumed now, yes, and the dead child, he was named Jeffrey too, and was Michael Hobbs’ brother.”
“That damn cult of my grandfather’s destroyed a lot of lives.”
“Yes, but it was your father that caused the most damage. Although I’d never met him, I’ll always hate him for what he did to you as a child.”
“He may have warped me and Jeffrey but it appears that Michael turned out well. He may be the nicest man I’ve ever met.”
Jessica stood and wrapped her arms around him.
“You’re nice too.”
“How nice?” he said, and Jessica pulled him onto the bed.
CHAPTER 23
Summer started cooking breakfast when Jessica, her husband, and Amanda arrived back at the farm.
Michael had told Summer that they all had plans to go out to breakfast together, but Summer insisted on cooking and had ventured out earlier to the local supermarket.
Jessica was dubious about Summer’s culinary skills and asked if she could help her.
Summer handed her a serving tray that held a carafe of coffee and several cups, and then shooed her from the kitchen as if she were a child who had gotten underfoot.
When the aromas drifted into the living room where everyone waited to be called to eat, their mouths began watering, and at their first bite of food, they all sighed with pleasure.
“Summer, where did you learn to cook like this?” Jessica asked. “This food is wonderful.”
“When I lived in Hollywood I had a neighbor who was a retired chef, and she taught me to cook. I like doing it too, but I rarely get the chance. All Todd ever wanted to eat was take-out or hamburgers.”
“This food is superb, Summer,” Amanda said. “And I’ve also never had biscuits that were so light and flaky. Do you also bake?”
“Um-hmm and I’m making Michael a batch of oatmeal cookies before I leave today. They are still your favorite cookies, aren’t they Michael?”
Michael swallowed a mouthful of food as he nodded.
“They sure are, but I haven’t had any since my grandma passed. But you don’t have to go to so much trouble, Summer.”
Summer leaned over and kissed Michael on the cheek.
“It’s no trouble at all.”
***
It was just past noon when Summer said goodbye to everyone, and the others watched with interest as she said farewell to Michael.
Summer took Michael’s hands in her own.
“We’ll see each other again soon, I promise.”
“I’m really gonna miss you, and I wish I wasn’t losing the farm, because then you could come and live here.”
“This place doesn’t seem to want us to be together, but it doesn’t matter, because we’ll never lose touch again.”
Michael released her hands and hugged her.
“I love you, Buggy.”
Summer hugged him back as if she never wanted to let go, but when she released Michael, she kissed him gently on the lips.
“I love you too; now go have fun with your family.”
“Have a safe trip.”
Summer drove off in Robert Weaver’s rented car, and began missing Michael just minutes later.
***
Weaver was exiting the hospital on a pair of crutches when Summer pulled up in front, and she helped the smiling reporter into the passenger seat and then headed for the airport.
“You’re awfully happy for someone who’s been shot.”
“You’re going to be smiling too when I tell you the news. Despite what an ordeal yesterday was, it was also great publicity for the book, and the publisher has decided to double the print run.”
“Are you serious?”
“Yeah, and there’s more, they said that they’ll double my fee if I deliver the book to them in two weeks, so that they can push the book sooner. That means that I’ll be locked in a hotel room and chained to my laptop for most of that time, but I tend to write fast anyway.”
Summer deflated.
“Does that mean you’ll be bombarding me with questions all that time?”
Weaver laughed.
“No, I can write the book with what I have, but I will need you to answer your phone when I call.”
“That’s fine, but what about you? Are those two goons that were wounded going to come after you again?”
“The Ponte brothers are back there in the hospital in the intensive care unit, but they’ll eventually wind up in prison, so I don’t need to worry about them anymore. However, I do plan to write a book about my old investigation of them. I know that they and their dead boss Dominic were involved in an armored car heist, and I’m going to prove it. Hell, it will feel good to work like a reporter again, but first, I’ll finish your book.”
“Do you still need to talk to Todd?”
“I’ll try to reach him by phone when I get back to San Diego, but I don’t think I’ll need him with the new angle the book is taking.”
“San Diego? Aren’t you flying back with me?”
“No, I’ll take the car and drive down to San Diego. I still have a room there and that’s where I’ll work on the book.”
“Oh, but can you drive with that leg?”
“Of course, it’s the left one that was injured, and I’ll take a lot of breaks. Also, the drive will give me a chance to outline the book in my head.”
“If the publisher is doubling the print run, does that mean I’ll get more money?”
“No, but they are planning to send you on a book tour across the country. You’ll be on all the talk shows and do book signings, and with your looks and personality, you’ll earn back your advance in no time. It wouldn’t surprise me if the book needed a second printing.”
Summer grinned.
“That’s awesome. I’ve finally made it.”
***
Summer switched places with Weaver at the airport, and after the writer was behind the wheel of the car, she leaned in and kissed him on the cheek.
“Robert, um...”
“You don’t have to say it; I know we’re through.”
Summer shrugged.
“We had fun.”
“I sure as hell did, but I knew as soon as I saw you with Michael Storm that I was history.”
“It’s not that. Michael is a friend.”
“Um-hmm, but if you ever get lonely you know how to reach me. And I promise you, the book I’m writing will make America love you even more.”
Summer waved goodbye and walked into the airport, as a new idea of how to deal with Todd came to her.
***
At the farm, Jessica and her father were up in the attic as they tried to assess how large a moving truck Michael would need, and while they were doing that, Amanda was downstairs working on Michael’s computer, as she put his business files, invoices, and accounts receivable in order.
Michael entered the office with his brother at his side and asked a question.
“How bad is it, Mother?”
Amanda looked up at him. She was sitting at a small desk in a home office that sat off the living room.
“Thank you for that, Michael.”
“For what?”
“For calling me, mother, even though I let you down all those years ago.”
“But, but, that doesn’t matter. You said that my father was bad and was trying to hurt you, so I guess you did the best you could.” Michael gestured wide with both hands, as if he were trying to take in the whole house. “I had a good childhood here, and although I barely remember her, Mrs. Storm loved me, and so did my dad an
d grandma.”
“I’m so grateful for that; you’ll never know how much, and speaking of your grandmother, I see that she automated almost everything, so it was easy to bring your accounts up to date. The only reason the light bill went unpaid was because your bank had issued you a different credit card after the old one expired.”
Jessica stuck her head in the doorway and asked Michael if he could come upstairs to the attic. She needed to know what things he wanted to keep, and which he wanted to donate or designate as trash.
There was a lot to do before Michael could move on, and she wanted to contact donation centers and arrange for moving and storage before they all had to return home.
After Michael had left with Jessica, Amanda looked up at her other son and found him looking sad.
“What’s wrong?”
“Have I hurt your feelings by never calling you mother?”
“No, not really, because you had Betty for a mother, and I understand that you’ll always think of her that way.”
“Yes, but she’s gone now, and so like Michael, I think I’ll call you mother too.”
Amanda smiled.
“I would love that, and the babies already call me grandma.” Amanda’s face grew serious. “That Summer Gray, do you think she and Michael are a couple?”
He grinned.
“Are you wondering if they slept together last night?”
“I was, yes.”
“I don’t know, but Michael certainly likes her, loves her even, and I think Summer has genuine affection for him.”
“She seems nice enough when she’s not putting Jessica down or slapping James in the face, but I don’t think she’s right for my Michael. James has a friend whose daughter would be perfect for Michael though, and I think I’ll introduce them when he comes to visit.”
He looked at her reproachfully.
“You know that you shouldn’t interfere, Michael is a grown man.”
“I’m not interfering; I’m just being... motherly,” Amanda said, and then she laughed.
CHAPTER 24
Summer made it to Todd’s house just as the sun was going down.
The TAKEN! Series - Books 13-16 (Taken! Box Set Book 4) Page 56
