I Love You

by Shanade White

  “Well, you’re welcome to ride along, but I hope you brought a coat.” Paige said, heading for a barn behind the house.

  Amy followed her confused, then watched horrified as Paige opened the door to reveal a golf cart. Having no choice but to go along with riding in such a vile vehicle, she climbed in next to Paige, brushing the seat off before she got in. Once seated, she held herself rigidly as Paige headed down the road.

  “Don’t you drive cars around here?” She asked, looking longingly behind her at her car when the wind cut through the sweater she was wearing.

  “Only on the roads. There isn’t a road into Cedar Ridge, only a trail, and it’s like that in a lot of places around the park.” Paige explained, wanting to laugh when she saw the shocked look on Amy’s face.

  Then she looked at Paige with contempt and asked, “Well, why don’t you build some roads? It seems pretty obvious to me.”

  Paige took a deep breath and said, “The whole point of the park is to try and keep it as close to how it was in the 1930s, give people a chance to immerse themselves in the decade.”

  Amy thought about that, shivering in her seat, until they pulled into Cedar Ridge and stopped in front of the school. She got out of the cart, her eyes huge, then understood that what she was seeing was real. A bit stunned, she followed Paige into the school house feeling like she’d stepped back in time, although that impression ended as soon as she stepped through the door.

  When she stepped out of the doors of the school, she was suitably impressed and sure that there must be some truth to the rumors that had been going around. This place seemed to be charmed in some way she couldn’t name; it was like it had been left back in time, even with the modern touches she’d seen. For the first time since she’d stepped out of the car yesterday, she found that she was a little bit jealous and sorry that she wasn’t part of this, but then she tripped over a rock and almost fell.

  Cursing the outdoors, she followed Paige back to the cart. “So what’s next? Will you give me a tour of the park?” Amy asked, trying to sound chummy, when in reality she wanted to pull Paige’s hair out.

  “The park covers almost 350 thousand acres and most of it is nothing more than wilderness. No one has lived up here for decades. I couldn’t possibly show you the whole park, besides I have to get to work.” Paige said, pulling up in front of Marissa and Scott’s house where she always parked her when she was working with the artifacts.

  Amy looked around her taking in the property which was much nicer than anything else in the park, so nice in fact that she decided that she could live there. “Well, I uhhh…” Amy was trying to decide if she could just up and ask if she could see the house when Marissa came out on the porch with the baby on her hip.

  “I can take you back to your car.” Paige offered as Marissa came down the step toward them.

  Paige introduced the two women then let Marissa take over; she’d grown very tired of hosting Cooper ex-wife. It was a true testament to her love of him that she’d let it go on so long. Marissa, who had been filled in on the full story by Scott the night before, was curious about the woman who had so ruthlessly thrown away her son. She’d seen the covetous look on Amy’s face when she looked at the house, and one look at Paige told her that she needed a break.

  “Would you like to come in for coffee? I’m sure Paige is dying to get to work.” Marissa turned to Amy and gave her a big smile.

  Amy looked back up at the house then at Paige knowing that she’d probably already pushed it far enough with her, she’d get another chance with Paige later. Right now she saw an opportunity with Marissa that might not present itself again, so she accepted Marissa’s invitation and followed her into the house.

  Once they were seated in front of the fire in the breakfast room, Amy saw her opportunity and said, “I hear there’s been a lot of commotion around here.”

  “Oh, yes. It’s been so exciting seeing the water change the land.” Marissa said, pretty sure that wasn’t what Amy was talking about.

  “Oh, well there’s that. But I heard a rumor that there’s an Indian burial ground somewhere around here.” Amy said, with an obviously fake shutter.

  Marissa looked at her for a second trying to evaluate what it was that Amy was looking for, then she said, “Yes, Paige and her Indian burial ground, it’s an important find that’s for sure.”

  “I heard that there were some very valuable artifacts in the cave.” Amy said, the word artifact so carefully that Marissa was sure that she’d been coached.

  “Well, I don’t know about valuable as far as money goes, but valuable to science.”

  “I’d love to see the burial ground and the cave where everything was found.” Amy said, again sounding as if she’d been coached.

  “I’m afraid that’s impossible. The cave is very unstable from the earthquake that exposed it in the first place and there’s really nothing to see at the burial ground but an empty field. There’s not work going on there right now.” Marissa said, knowing for sure now that Amy was digging for information.

  “Oh.” Amy said, suddenly quiet. “Well, maybe I could have a tour of your property.”

  “I’m afraid that’s not possible either; we just flooded the pasture for winter, it is three inches deep and much too muddy out there.” Marissa explained, lying through her teeth but not caring.

  “Oh, well maybe if we stayed on the sidewalk.” Amy pressed, “Or took one of those carts.”

  Now Marissa knew that Amy was digging for information about what they’d found in the cave, but what her angle was she wasn’t sure. She had no claim to anything that had been found, it all belonged to the park — they’d seen to that before Paige had started the dig. It seemed unlikely that she’d come looking for the coins, but they’d been turning people away by the dozens at the front gate, so it was possible.

  But one thing was clear to her — Amy wasn’t working alone. She’d been fed information by someone else, then sent in here to snoop. She hadn’t shown up here wanting to visit her son, she was on a fact-gathering mission and Marissa wanted her off the property at once, but that wasn’t her choice. Making an excuse to leave the room, she went back to her office and closed the door and called Scott who would know where Cooper was.

  When she got back to the sunroom, Amy was nowhere to be found. Going to the window she saw Amy disappear into the trees headed straight for Paige’s lab and the storage facility they’d created out of an old barn. The building had been a perfect choice because it couldn’t be seen from the house because of a grove of trees, they’d been thinking about removing them but they made good cover for the building.

  Even Amy, who didn’t seem to be the brightest of people, couldn’t miss the huge solar panels and climate control equipment that was perched on the roof of the barn. Wishing she hadn’t left the room to call Scott, but knowing that she’d had to, she paced the living room hoping he’d get home soon.

  Paige heard the intercom buzz on her desk and looked up from what she was doing to see Amy heading straight for the doors of the barn. Cursing, she hit the button and said, “Yes, I see her. Let her through, I’ll handle her, just go back to work as if nothing’s happening.”

  Rising to her feet, she went to the heavy door that separated the climate control area from the entryway where people were expected to take off their shoes and put on protective gear. She waited for Amy to try the door, smiling when Amy pulled and the door didn’t budge. Amy tried the door a couple of more times before banging on it, Paige stood on the other side of the door letting Amy’s frustration build.

  Finally, when she was sure that Amy must be exhausted from all the banging, she opened the door a crack and peeked her head out. “Amy what are you doing here?” She asked, feigning surprise. “You shouldn’t be back here.”

  “I just wanted a little peak at the artifacts you found in the cave.” Amy said, then added as if she just thought of it. “It would be so cool to tell my friends that I got to see real Muno artifacts
.”

  Even if she hadn’t sudden been suspicious of Amy, she was only letting a few people in. “I’m sorry but this is a clean environment and you don’t have the training to come in. Now if you’ll excuse me, I have work to do.”

  But Amy was becoming desperate, if she didn’t get some kind of information soon, it would not be a good thing for her. “Oh come on, it can’t be that big of a deal for me to just take a quick peek, unless there’s some reason you don’t want anyone to see what you have.”

  Paige’s eyes narrowed at Amy and she realized that she’d taken a misstep. “Amy, these are fragile artifacts that need special care. Not everyone has the knowledge needed to see that we don’t damage them in some way. Now I really need to get back to work.” She said and slammed the door in Amy’s face.

  Chapter 14

  Amy walked away from the barn hoping that the gardener who was working on the shrubs around the barn hadn’t heard any of their conversation. It was embarrassing enough that Paige had slammed the door in her face, but she’d practically begged to be let in. Heading back across the yard, she saw Scott and Cooper heading across the yard toward her.

  “What are you doing Amy? Since when is it good manners to go tramping through someone’s yard after you’d been told not to.” Cooper asked, barley masking the anger in his voice. He’d had enough of Amy’s snooping.

  “I just wanted to look around, it’s so beautiful up here.” She said, trying to sound innocent. Then thinking this might be her last chance with Cooper, she stepped up next to him and rubbed her breasts on his arm, purring, “I’d really like to see the cave and the burial ground.”

  Cooper stepped back from her as if she’d burned him, then shook his arm as if trying to rid himself of her touch. “That’s not going to happen. In fact, I think it’s time for you to go; I’ve had enough of you poking your nose into my business.” He said, nodding to Scott who took her arm and propelled her across the yard.

  “This is Charles.” Cooper said, motioning to a security guard sitting in a golf cart. “He’s going to take you back to your car and see that you make it safely off the property. If you want to see Brandon contact my lawyer, otherwise stay out of the park, and don’t think you’re going to get in again by having sex with the guard.” Cooper said, shooting Charles a look, then nodded his head.

  Cooper stood on the lawn watching the golf cart disappear through the trees. From everything he’d learned in the last few minutes, it was clear that Amy was here looking for information about what they’d found in the cave. Marissa had been right that she was working with someone else, but he couldn’t figure out who that could be. This was so different from her usual method of enriching her bank account, he wasn’t sure what to think.

  Amy got in her car horrified that she’d just been escorted by security to her car and would now have to endure the embarrassment of an escort down the road. Her anger rising as she was forced to follow the golf cart down the road began to grow; it was not her fault that she was in this position. She, the master of manipulation had been manipulated right out all her money. As if that wasn’t bad enough, the snake had left her to deal with his huge gambling debt.

  Slamming her hand on the steering wheel as the tears began to stream down her cheeks, Max was not going to be happy that she’d failed to find the gold coins or even any mention of them. She’d tried to buy herself some time, but it looked like her time was up, and the thought of what might be waiting for her at the motel was making her physically ill.

  When she pulled into the nearly empty lot at the motel, Max came out of his room and stood waiting for her to get out of her car. He motioned her to hurry up, then locked the door once they were both in the room. He stood looking at her for a long time, his eyes roving up and down her body, his tongue darting out to lick his chapped lips.

  “Well, do you have good news for me?” He asked, advancing toward her. “I almost hope you say no; I’m thinking I’d rather have a piece of you than a million dollars in gold coins.”

  Amy shuttered, debating whether she should lie to him. “Well.” He shouted, closing the distance between them.

  “I...uhhh...it didn’t go as well as I hoped.” She said, crossing her arms over her chest.

  Max got right up in her face and asked, “Have you been yanking my chain this whole time, because if you have I’m going to make you pay.” Then he reached up and grabbed a hand full of her hair and gave it a yank.

  “No, I know it’s there. They have all that security; it makes no sense otherwise. Even if they don’t have gold, there’s got to be some valuable stuff from the cave. They were very secretive about it.” She said, hopefully.

  Max gave her hair another little tug, then reached up and put his hand down her shirt and grabbed one of her breasts, “And what am I supposed to do with that crap? Sell it on the black market? That’s just not my style.” He asked, his fingers pinching her nipple. “I’m beginning to think there’s a good chance you’re going to be paying your debt on your back sweetheart.”

  When his hand came up between her legs she jumped away from him and he let her go, rubbing his erection through his baggy shorts. “It’s there, I know it. Just give me one more chance.” She begged, trying not to gag at the sight of him.

  “Fine, I’ll give you one more chance, but what’s your plan?” He said, actually pulling his erect penis out of his shorts and rubbing it with his hand.

  Panicked, Amy blurted out, “Paige has a son; if we get our hands on him, I’m sure they’ll tell us where the gold is.” She said, looking at the ceiling.

  Max chucked, then said, “I didn’t know you had it in you, but I think that’s an excellent idea. We’ll go up there together tomorrow. Now unless you’d like to join me, I’m going to watch a little porn and jack off thinking about fucking you.”

  Amy scrambled to the door and was out of the room before he could turn on the television. She locked herself in her room and leaned against the door afraid she’d started something bigger than she could handle. But knowing what the alternative was, she squared her shoulders and got ready for bed, checking to make sure the door was locked once more before she got in bed.

  The next morning, she opened her door to find the skies heavy with dark ominous looking clouds, and Max leaning up against her car. He had a bag of greasy food in his hand and two cups of coffee, “Let’s go. We need to get up there and come up with a plan, unless you’ve got something in mind.”

  Amy didn’t say a word, simply got in the car and started it, repulsed by everything about Max, including the food in the bag he set up on the dashboard leaving, a greasy streak when he slid it across the leather. She took a deep breath trying to control her temper, but was immediately sorry, Max smelled like he hadn’t showered in days.

  After several stops including one to the hardware store where Max came out with a shovel and some rope, making Amy shudder to think what he had planned for them, they headed for the park. It took far longer than she’d have liked to get to the park, Max cursing her when he discovered that she couldn’t even get onto the property.

  But finally he came up with a plan, involving some fancy driving on a road he managed to find, and Amy getting one of the golf carts. Using an app on his phone, Max broke into Paige’s phone and sent a text message telling Clarissa that Amy was going to pick up the boys early from school because of the weather, which was looking worse and worse. Then using a different app, he sent one that looked like it came from Cooper’s phone with the same message.

  When Amy showed up at the school in a golf cart she managed to steal from the shed behind Marissa’s house, Clarissa turned the boys over to her. As she watched them get into the golf cart and drive away, she had a terrible moment of clarity and immediately picked up her phone and called Paige.

  Paige knew nothing about sending her a text message and was immediately in a panic, “Clarissa, we banned Amy from the park yesterday. This can’t be good. Did you see which way she went?”

&
nbsp; “They were headed toward the new cabins on the hill behind the old mine. That’s what made me think something was wrong. They were going the wrong way. Oh Paige, I’m so sorry.” She said, suddenly as panicked as Paige.

  “I have to call Cooper. You call Scott, whatever is happening we need his help.” Paige said, hanging up with getting an answer from Clarissa.

  She tapped her phone to call Cooper, but it dinged signaling an email had arrived, she almost ignored it but opened it instead. Her breath coming in short gasps, she read the message which demanded that she give up the location of the gold coins or the boys would suffer. Sinking into a kitchen chair, she barely noticed the thunder rumbling in the distance or Calvin walking in the door.

  He took one look at her and rushed to her side, “What’s wrong?” He asked, pulling her to her feet making her drop her phone. She stared at the phone in horror, so he picked it up and read the message. “Shit. Does Cooper know? Has anyone seen them?”

  Paige managed to get her brain functioning again and quickly filled him in. “So they’re probably still on the property.” He said, when she’d finished. “I know where that cabin is. I’m going after them; call Cooper, tell him where I’ve gone. Then call Donovan.” He said, heading out the door.

  “Wait.” She said, pulling on his arm. “I’m going with you, that’s my son up there.” Then she crossed to the gun cabinet and inserted the key she carried on a chain around her neck. Cooper had teased her about it, but she’d insisted.

  She pulled out a hand gun, then a shotgun and looked at Calvin, handing him one of each when he shook his head in affirmation. After she’d retrieved the shells and bullets they’d need, she loaded her gun with a precision that amazed Calvin. If Paige hadn’t belonged to his brother already, he would have fallen in love with her in that moment.

  Paige tucked the handgun into her jeans and picked up the shotgun, “Let’s go.”

  Instead of getting out a golf cart, she motioned to the four wheelers parked on the other side of the garage. Without a word, they got on and were headed for the old mine in minutes. The weather had turned worse, lightening flashing above their heads and thunder crashing as they navigated the trail. The smell of rain was heavy in the air and Paige prayed that it would hold off until they got to the boys.