The Husband She Can't Forget

by Patricia Forsythe

  “Why would we need a gate?”

  “In case you want to pay us a visit, maybe borrow a cup of sugar.”

  She shook her head. “I can’t imagine any scenario where I would want to borrow something from Sanderson Enterprises.”

  The pleasure faded from his eyes. “You never know, Carly. We may turn out to be more useful than you think.”

  She doubted it, but maybe she was letting her worries about his project overrule her common sense.

  “But, um, Carly, I was joking about paying us a visit. It would be better if you didn’t come onto the job site.”

  “Rescinding your invitation already?” she asked, raising an eyebrow at him.

  “Just thinking about your safety.”

  Or his own liability. All he’d done was raise her curiosity about what he would be doing.

  “So... I need you to stay on your side of the fence...when it’s finished.”

  Definitely thinking about liability, she concluded.

  Reluctantly she nodded just as Jay returned. He’d picked and loaded the melons and found that at least a dozen of the cantaloupes were missing.

  “So, Mr. Sanderson...” Jay said. “Even if he is hungry, nobody can eat twelve cantaloupe melons. Right, Carly? Nobody can eat that many by himself.”

  Carly suppressed a sigh. She wasn’t going to hear the end of this until she let him pursue the thief. “You’re right, Jay. I think it’s time for you to give this your full attention. Catch the thief without harming him.”

  “You really want me to?” he asked eagerly.

  “Absolutely.”

  Jay marched off triumphantly, his teenage brain already full of plans.

  “And no traps,” she called after him. “Use your ingenuity.”

  “Not sure I’ve got it. I think I left it in my camo pants.”

  “Jay...” she called out again, but he answered with a laugh.

  “You’re seriously going to let him spend time on this?” Luke asked.

  “Why not? I’m not going to get any more work out of him until he solves this mystery. Besides, he’s a sixteen-year-old kid taking the initiative on something that will benefit people other than himself. That is behavior that needs to be encouraged.”

  * * *

  LUKE WATCHED JAY for another second. He was a man on a mission, determined to catch the thief and make him pay.

  “You’re probably right,” he said slowly. “It might be really good for him to be responsible for the outcome. Let’s hope it’s a good one.”

  “I’ll keep an eye on him, make sure he’s got a reasonable plan.”

  Luke nodded thoughtfully. As they cleaned up their tools and headed to their opposite sides of the fence, he tried to compare the confident, self-assured woman next door to the skittish, unsure one he’d known a dozen years ago. He couldn’t make a successful comparison—they were like two different people.

  * * *

  CARLY FINISHED DINNER and went out to the porch to sit for a minute. Ordinarily she would be working on one of her refurbishing projects, but since most of her stock was already in Upcycle, she was at loose ends—a rarity for her.

  She could already see that once her shop took off, as Lisa was so sure it would, the biggest challenge was going to be keeping up her stock. In that case, Lisa would have to go along on scavenging trips, her least favorite thing. Maybe Gemma would come, too, if she was willing to take an afternoon away from her new husband or the Sunshine Birthing Center.

  Carly gave a nostalgic sigh. She, Lisa and Gemma had been best friends all their lives, maintaining their relationship through detours to college, Carly’s own short marriage and Gemma’s nursing career in Tulsa. Now things were changing again and, for the most part, she liked what was happening, but she hoped that closeness didn’t change.

  In the growing dusk, she could see that her fields and greenhouses were bedded down for the night, with more crops to pick tomorrow. The pumpkins were getting ripe and would soon be ready for visits from the local elementary schools where kindergarteners and first-graders would pick a pumpkin to take home. She never made much money on her pumpkin patch, but it was a service to the community. And, besides, it was impossible to put a price on the joy in a kid’s face when he picked out the pumpkin he loved. The teachers often sent photos of the jack-o’-lanterns the children created. Carly tacked them up on the bulletin board in her kitchen.

  A flash of light caught her attention and she looked over toward the Withers place. Luke’s place, she corrected herself. She knew they were only in the initial phases of the process but she was wildly curious to see even a small part of it. After all, it was almost certain to affect her life and her livelihood, and this might be her only chance to walk over the hill to see it. After this, she would have to drive around to the other side of the property to the new access road.

  She had heard the deep rumble of diesel engines pulling trailers of equipment onto the site and she wanted to know how it was going to be used.

  Luke didn’t seem to grasp how vital her property was to her. She wanted to trust him, but how could she when he wouldn’t tell her what she needed to know?

  It wouldn’t hurt to take a little peek, she decided, simply a quick in and out.

  Standing, she grabbed the adjustable-beam flashlight she kept by the back door, took an aimless stroll around her property to make sure no one was watching, then headed up the lane to where she and Luke had reset fence posts that day. She’d decided not to take the four-wheeler. Too noisy.

  The night was cool but cloudless, so it was easy to see the path she needed to take. She was glad for the jacket she’d pulled on but wondered if she should have borrowed some camouflage makeup from Jay.

  Treading carefully, she made her way past the bare fence posts and moved into the shadows. The glow of lights drew her forward, just beyond the crest of the hill. Although she felt utterly foolish, Carly crouched and then dropped down to do the belly crawl so she could get as close as possible without being seen.

  Loose shale and gravel bit into her hands and rolled away beneath her palms. She slowed her movements as she tried to minimize the noise.

  Pulling herself along, she was delighted to find she had an excellent view of the entire work area—although now that she’d gone to all this trouble, there wasn’t much to see. The motor home Jay had seen was parked to one side, along with Luke’s truck, and beside it was a corrugated tin shed with the mobile office, lengths of pipe and some other equipment covered by blue plastic tarps.

  Propping her chin on her stacked fists, she studied the area and tried to determine what the extraction process would involve. There wasn’t anything unusual to give her a hint, except the pipe. It would be driven deep into the ground. Chemicals would be added, and pressure, too, using some kind of power source. That’s how fracking worked.

  The shed probably held equipment, the purpose of the mobile office was self-evident, and the motor home was likely where Luke would be living.

  “But who was the woman?” she whispered, recalling that Jay had seen a lady driving the motor home. Maybe she had been the one delivering it. Hadn’t he mentioned a VW Bug, as well? Maybe it was parked on the other side of the motor home.

  “Did you find what you’re looking for?”

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  WITH A SQUEAK of surprise, Carly flipped onto her back and stared up at him.

  “Luke, you startled me.”

  “Well, imagine my surprise when I went to dampen the concrete around the fence posts and saw you sneak past then fall down and crawl. Were you trying to get a drop on the enemy?”

  Sitting up, she tried for some dignity. “We’re not at war. I was just curious. I wanted to see what you’re doing over here since you can’t seem to share any information with me, even though i
t affects my land, as well.” She started to get to her feet and when he reached down a hand to help her up, she refused it, but the shale and gravel shifted beneath her boots.

  “Oh!” She began sliding backward down the slope until her feet went out from beneath her and she toppled onto her back.

  Luke made a grab for her but missed, falling as he overcorrected his balance and followed her down on his stomach.

  “Umph,” she grunted as she slid to a stop at the bottom of the slope. She stared up at the night sky and tried to get her breath back.

  Luke recovered more quickly than she did, crawling over to her as he said, “Carly, are you okay? Are you hurt?”

  “I...doh...hon’t think so.” Her breath came in wheezes as Luke helped her up. “How about you?”

  “Yeah, I’m okay.” He dusted himself off. “I think I ripped my jeans.”

  “How can you tell?” she asked, glancing at the worn denim of his pants as she steadied herself.

  He only gave her a steady look she could barely see in the dim light and said, “Now, do you understand why I said for you to stay away?”

  Carly gingerly moved her arms and twisted to feel movement in her back, then reached behind her to scoop gravel from her back pockets. “Yeah, I understand, but I’m here now, so why don’t you show me around?” She took out her flashlight to brighten the path.

  “I’m not going to give you the grand tour but—”

  “Can you at least tell me where the drill itself will be?” she asked, determined that defying his request and sliding down a hill on her back should gain her at least one piece of information tonight.

  “Sure.” He pointed toward a rise that was barely on his side of the fence line.

  “Of course,” she murmured in dismay. “So I can see the lovely thing from anywhere on my property.”

  He didn’t respond to her comment, but instead asked, “Would you like to meet Shelby?”

  “The scientist who’s developing this mysterious process? Sure.”

  “This way. Watch your step,” he advised. “There’s still a slope here. It can be slippery going down.”

  “I’m recently familiar with the properties of shale, thank you,” she answered in a sarcastic tone, but she turned and followed him down the hillside and into the clearing.

  “Are you two sharing the motor home?” Carly asked, dusting herself off again, then removing her denim jacket and giving it a good shake. It didn’t seem to be too much the worse for wear.

  Luke smiled as he walked up the steps and knocked on the door. “I didn’t think you’d be that interested in my living arrangements.”

  “I’m not.”

  “I’m staying with Tom and Frances. This is Shelby’s home.”

  When the door started to open, Luke stepped aside to reveal a woman standing in the doorway.

  “Oh, hi, Luke. I thought you’d left. Come on in.” She stepped back but when she saw Carly, she gave Luke a swift look and said, “Oh, hello.”

  “Dr. Shelby Wayne, this is Carly Joslin. She owns Joslin Gardens, right next door.”

  “Oh, yes, I’ve seen the signs and your produce stand. In fact, I stopped to buy some squash and tomatoes. Delicious. Um, come in. Sit down.”

  Once inside the cozy living quarters, Carly could see that Shelby Wayne was a very pretty woman who appeared to be in her fifties. She had dark eyes and curly brown hair, peppered with gray, which was cut in a short, convenient style. She moved with graceful gestures and her hands were more beautiful and artistic than Carly would have expected a scientist’s to be.

  Dr. Wayne offered them something to drink, and when they both refused, an awkward silence followed.

  Carly stumbled into speech. “This is a nice place,” she said, looking around at the living room and the minuscule kitchen. “I’ve always been amazed at how the builders can fit everything in.”

  “Um, yes.” Shelby gave her a nervous glance and pressed her palms together.

  Luke seemed to pick up on this, so he said, “Carly is very curious about what we’re doing here.”

  “Well, that’s understandable,” Shelby said cautiously. “Wouldn’t you be? Some aspects of gas extraction don’t have the best reputation.”

  Carly relaxed, glad that Shelby seemed to understand.

  “However,” Shelby went on, “I’m afraid I can’t tell you anything except that we’ll do our best to limit the impact we have on the local environment.”

  Not exactly a guarantee, Carly thought. “But your process will involve chemicals, possibly injected into the ground, right?”

  Shelby bit her lip. “I’m sorry. I can’t say. It’s a process I’ve been working on for a while, but at this point, it’s secret. You see, I developed another process a couple of years ago, but it was...stolen, so I don’t share any of my procedures or notes.”

  “The agreement I have with Shelby is that I’ll provide the funds, help when I’m needed, but generally stay out from underfoot.”

  Carly sighed. Shelby looked as though she really wanted Carly to let this go, and Luke was watching her warily.

  While she could understand Shelby’s reluctance, she didn’t like not knowing what was going on. She had spent twelve years making sure she was in control of her life, gardens, finances—everything she could control. She was able to handle the unexpected things that happened, even make them work for her sometimes—the summer’s overwhelming rain had meant she didn’t have to water her gardens, making it possible to replace part of the sprinkler system that had seen so many years of use. This was different, though. She had no control over any part of it—except for her reaction to the situation.

  Finally she smiled. “I appreciate your concerns, but if anything happens that I need to know about, any mishap that might affect my gardens, you’ll let me know, right?”

  Shelby nodded with relief. “Of course.”

  “I’ll drive you home, Carly.”

  She said good-night to Shelby and stepped outside. When Luke joined her, she said, “I can find my own way home, Luke.”

  She started toward the house, and he stepped in front of her. “Has all of this been worth it? Did you learn anything?”

  “You know I didn’t, Luke. It was an exercise in futility.”

  He gave her a cold glare. “Then stay out of it.”

  “It’s my livelihood, Luke! People are depending on me.”

  They were at an impasse, feet stubbornly planted on each side of a dividing line.

  She stepped around him to stalk away, but he said, “At least let me walk you home. It’s getting late and it’s the gentlemanly thing to do. Omi would say my manners could use some brushing up.”

  “She would be right.”

  Because they had to watch where they were walking, they didn’t talk much until they reached Carly’s porch.

  “I forgot to leave the porch light on,” Carly said, placing her hand on the familiar railing and mounting the steps.

  “You probably didn’t need it for your nighttime reconnaissance mission,” Luke responded in a dry tone.

  “Not when I’ve got my trusty flashlight,” she answered, patting her pocket. When she turned around to say good-night, he was taking a seat on the top step.

  “Okay if I sit down?” he asked.

  “I thought it was past your bedtime.” She sat at the other end of the wide step and turned toward him, resting her back against the post.

  “Yeah, but I wanted to tell you I didn’t make specific plans for any of this to happen. Not here and not now. Not right next to you. The corporation owns other properties, but this one is the best bet for Shelby’s process.”

  “Oh, why is that?”

  “It’s rural, not too many neighbors. A stranger would be noticed if they were trying to spy
on her process.”

  Carly smiled. “Unless they were as successful at hiding their presence as our produce thief.”

  “Yeah, I guess.”

  “So, her process is that valuable, hmm?”

  “I think it can be. All she needs is time to develop it.”

  “But she’s only got six months, right?”

  “Thanks to my dad’s deadline, that’s right.”

  “I’m still confused about how you even got into the natural gas extraction business.”

  “By accident,” he answered on a sigh.

  “Wendolin told me that after we...broke up, you left Dallas, worked on building projects in South America.”

  “That’s true, and I wasn’t management, either. I was a carpenter.”

  She smiled into the darkness. “That was always your favorite type of job. How did your father feel about that?”

  “Oh, he wasn’t happy, but it suited me for a long time. Then I ended up on an oil field and got interested in the energy business at about the same time Sanderson Enterprises invested a boatload of cash in oil. It seemed to me that there could be more efficient ways of producing energy, more sustainable ways. Nobody wanted to hear that from a carpenter, though, so I came home, went back to university, took some chemistry and environmental science classes along with engineering, and tried to make a few changes in the way my dad does business.”

  “How has that worked out for you?”

  “You’ve met my dad. What do you think?”

  Robert Sanderson wasn’t someone she wanted to spend her mental energy on, especially not this late at night, but she knew the more information she had, the better.

  “I think he gave you an ultimatum and not much time to finish what you had to do.”

  “Yes. The big changes in the oil industry have had an enormous impact on him and his company. He’s not seeing the kinds of profits he’s seen in the past. No one is, and while some of the smaller producers are sticking with petroleum, he wants to cut his losses. Most of his management people agree with him.”