Plain Obsession (Hunters Ridge Book 1)

by Alison Stone

  "The books haven't been maintained properly since your father left?"

  Theo smiled sheepishly. "I'm afraid not. My dad kept a ledger." He pulled out a drawer to show her. "I started an excel spreadsheet, but mostly we got behind." He felt strangely self-conscious. Theo knew his strengths, but he generally didn't allow himself to feel embarrassment for his weaknesses. He was perfectly good at numbers, just not at organization. The former high school troublemaker turned army captain turned businessman felt inadequate sitting across the desk from someone who had far more education and business savvy than he would ever have.

  Who cared if they had once sat next to each other in algebra class and had actually been friendly? Too much life had gotten between them. Money had provided her a wealth of opportunities. His working-class roots hadn’t afforded him that same luxury

  "It's not that I can't do the books," Theo added quickly. "I don't have time." He pulled open a side drawer and lifted up a wad of papers. "All these receipts have to be organized. I manage to pay the bills and payroll, but that's about it."

  Violet tipped her head. "I can help you with that." She fidgeted with the button on the coat stretched across her lap.

  "Are you okay?" Theo asked, studying the delicate features of her face.

  "I'm fine.” She jerked her head back and laughed, as if he had asked a ridiculous question. “What time would you like me to come in tomorrow?"

  "Does nine work?"

  Violet nodded. "Will I be working in here?" She glanced around the small office trailer. A space heater in the corner spewed out warm air that smelled slightly of burnt dust with a hint of corn chips.

  Theo couldn't help but smile. "Will that be a problem?"

  She slowly shook her head. "I'll dress for the weather." A slow smile brightened her face.

  Theo wanted to ask her how she'd been, but he figured they'd have plenty of time to catch up now that she was going to be working for him. He cleared his throat when the silence stretched too long.

  "Definitely." He scooted out from behind the desk. "I'll show you out."

  With a solid tug, Violet yanked the door open and a rush of cold air filled the small space. "No need, I found it." A hint of amusement lit her eyes. She paused in the doorway. "The Amish woman who showed me your office…"

  "Yeah?"

  "What's her name?"

  "Lorianne. Lorianne Graber. Why?"

  Violet's eyes widened and then she quickly schooled her expression. "She looked familiar, that's all."

  Theo nodded, but sensed there was something more to it. "The employees here are predominately Amish. Hard workers."

  "I'm sure they are."

  Theo stood and watched the shadow of Violet through the thin shade as she pulled the door closed from the outside. Never in a million years did Theo think he'd have Violet Jackson working for him.

  With a sense of satisfaction, he plopped down in his chair. It squeaked as he tilted back. He traced the torn leather on the chair's arms and made a pledge right then and there not to get involved, despite all the old feelings suddenly coming to the surface.

  Theo gathered up his sketches. He really should put them on the computer, but something about the hand-drawn sketches seemed quaint.

  Tapping the edge of the papers on the desk, he thought about Violet's pretty smile.

  Knock it off, buddy. You're not traveling down that road again.

  Violet stepped onto the metal stoop of Theo's trailer-slash-office and was relieved when the frigid air cooled her fiery cheeks. She did it. She had left the safety of her house, sat through an interview and didn't make a fool of herself.

  How far I’ve fallen from my world travels with my mother's business ventures.

  She grabbed the railing and closed her eyes and reveled at how the meds contained the familiar tangle of raw nerves and anxiety.

  She had indeed forced herself out of her comfort zone, but not without a little help. The reality dulled her victory. For weeks she had been holed up at the mansion, determined to win against her panic without medication.

  She had done it as a teen. She could do it again.

  Glancing over her shoulder at the closed trailer door, she hoped Theo didn't notice her fidgeting. He wasn't someone she trusted to be sympathetic.

  Now how was she supposed to share this small space with him every day without white-knuckling it through her panic? She refused to rely on medication. Was she just being stubborn?

  She tapped her fist on the cold railing, then made her way to her car, picking her steps carefully over the dusting of snow that had fallen during the short interview. The forecasters had predicted snow, but she never believed it till she saw it.

  Tomorrow she'd dress more appropriately, too. No one here wore business attire. She should have thought of that. This was Hunters Ridge, not New York or Los Angeles.

  Even the owner of the company wore jeans and a knit sweater that stretched across his broad chest, not that she should have been thinking of her new boss in those terms. She had been struck by how much Theo had filled out over the years. His face had transformed from boyish good-looking to ruggedly handsome. The shadow of a beard was a nice touch, too. Someone had probably already scooped him up, not that she cared.

  The cool breeze at her open collar snapped her out of her musings. Ugh, she’d never get used to this. The dark clouds had moved in and big snowflakes fell on her eyelashes. How had she ended up here? Looking for a job as a bookkeeper in sleepy little Hunters Ridge?

  She could hear Betty suggesting she dig deep. Find faith. Comments that always made her bristle. Hadn't Abby been faithful? Probably the most faithful person Violet had ever met. And now she was dead.

  Figuring she should take advantage of the relaxed feeling she was riding, Violet glanced around, looking for Abby's little sister, Lorianne. The young Amish woman had escorted Violet to the office but hadn't seemed to recognize Violet from the fast-food restaurant five years ago when she bade her sister farewell.

  Violet glanced around, but decided searching for Lorianne in the facility would have to wait for another day. Encouraged that she might be able to make amends—if only to find some peace herself—she aimed her key fob at the car door and the lights on her little sports car flashed.

  "Not exactly a winter car."

  Violet spun around, surprised to find Theo crossing the parking lot, his hands shoved in the pockets of his winter coat. Flakes of snow dotted his short dark hair. She forced a laugh, but feared it sounded uneasy. "I hadn't planned on spending the winter in Hunters Ridge when I bought it." She blinked away another snowflake from her lashes. "I rarely drove in the city. Period."

  A smile seemed to come easy to his lips. It always had. He was an easygoing teenager who had cut class, got caught with beer at the football games, and seemed unfazed that he was the cool clique, picking and choosing who was in and who was out.

  How could seeing someone from high school make me feel just like I was back there?

  "Want a ride?"

  Violet glanced at her car. A thin layer of light snow covered the windshield. "No, I'll be fine. I don't believe the forecasters called for much snow." She tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. "I suppose I should get used to it."

  Theo flipped up his collar. "Are you sure I can't give you a ride? I have to drop some forms off in the warehouse, but after that I'm running an errand."

  She flicked her wrist in dismissal, then opened her car door. The snow fluttered off the roof and landed on her seat. She bent over and swiped it away with her bare hand, aware Theo was watching her.

  She straightened and said, "See you tomorrow."

  "I'll let my cousin know you've accepted the job. I told him you were stopping by today. He bet you'd never show. He was wrong." He dragged a hand through his hair, the lines around his smiling eyes deepening, as if he'd perhaps realized he had said too much. "We both thought perhaps this job would be too boring for you."

  "Not as boring as staring at the
four walls of my mother's house." As soon as she said the words she immediately regretted it because the follow-up questions weren't ones she wanted to answer.

  "I believe that house has far more than four walls." He squinted against the increasing snowfall. "Are you sure you don't want a ride home?"

  "If I get going now, I'll make it home before it gets worse." She climbed into her car. "See you tomorrow at nine."

  "Nine it is."

  Inside her car under the thin layer of snow covering her windshield, Violet unbuttoned her coat and let out a long breath.

  "I can do this," she muttered to herself. "You are not going to let panic control you." Absentmindedly she touched the hard bottle through the fabric of her coat pocket.

  Shoving aside her spiraling thoughts—because they were certainly not helping her nerves, even with the meds—Violet turned on the wipers and the snow disappeared in a single swoosh. She turned on the front and rear defrosters, then powered down the side windows to clear the snow from them. Living in Hunters Ridge as a newly minted driver had taught her a thing or two—mainly how to effectively clear the snow from all windows without getting out of the car.

  The rear defroster took a minute to clear the window. She tried not to think of the drive home, but she couldn't help it.

  The thought of sending up a prayer crossed her mind, but she figured that would be too hypocritical considering how angry she was with God lately.

  "Here goes nothing," she whispered. Glancing in the rear window with its perfectly delineated defroster lines, she put her little sports car into reverse and backed out of her spot. She had to rock backward before she could gain traction to pull onto the main country road. Despite everything, her palms were already sweat slicked. She tugged on her seatbelt and let out a long breath through tight lips.

  Focus on the road, not on your shortness of breath, your heart rate, your dizziness…

  Violet blinked rapidly. The snowflakes were mesmerizing. Her skin tingled and her face grew flushed.

  Focus.

  She didn't dare take another pill, not knowing the effects of a stronger dose on her driving.

  She pressed on the accelerator. The faster she got home, the more likely she could stop her panic from rolling over her. The home on the ridge overlooking a lake was her safe place. It always had been.

  Gripping the steering wheel tighter, she trained all her attention on the quickly disappearing yellow line in the middle of the road, separating the oncoming traffic from her little car. The snowplows hadn't been out yet.

  She swallowed hard, then wiped one sweaty hand then the other on her coat.

  "You can do this." She glanced in her rear-view mirror. No one else was on the road.

  A rumble made her tighten her grip on the steering wheel. Road noise. It was just road noise.

  Thump, thump, thump.

  "Oh, come on, what is that?" Violet glanced at the dash. The low tire pressure indicator for the rear passenger tire was on. Her heart sank and heat flooded her face. "Oh, you have to be kidding me."

  A hard knot formed in her stomach.

  She squinted out the windshield, trying to figure out exactly where she was, but knowing the closest gas station was in town, a mile away or so. Could she drive on a flat tire? Even if she damaged the rim, she could afford repairs.

  She pressed the accelerator, thinking that the closer she was to town when her vehicle became undrivable, the better.

  Thump, thump, thump.

  The sound grew louder. Her vision tunneled.

  "What am I going to do?" she muttered.

  A pop sounded and the steering wheel yanked to the right. Despite her efforts to gain control of the car, it swerved off the road.

  "Oh, no—"

  The steering wheel shook violently under her grasp. Her little red car bumped off the road. A scream ripped from her throat as bare branches smacked the windshield and sides of her car.

  Chapter 3

  Theo hopped into his truck and headed toward town. His five-year-old son had talked him into picking him up from kindergarten today after complaining the bus was too loud and the trip was too long. Theo agreed to pick him up this time, but that was it. Liam had to learn to be a big boy and ride the bus from now on.

  Theo smiled to himself, realizing Liam knew as well as he did that today was not going to be the last time he picked him up from school. He'd do anything for his son, especially because Theo remembered the long bus ride home himself when he was a kid, with all the noise and diesel fumes. And the bigger kids trying to prove how tough they were. But they'd soon learned not to mess with Theo Cooper. No one got into Theo's face without getting a bloody nose for their troubles.

  Looking back, he was never proud of himself for always being in trouble. He hoped he could guide his own son toward being a productive, God-fearing adult without repeating all his mistakes.

  Now that Theo was back in Liam's life, he was going to make up for lost time. And if he had known what was going on with Liam's mother, he would have come home much sooner.

  As the familiar tune to some country song played over the radio, Theo's thoughts drifted to his meeting with Violet Jackson. Her hair was still long, dark and silky. He remembered the feel of it as it brushed against his cheek when they danced at the prom. Yet her face was narrower now. Mature. And still as beautiful as ever. But underneath, he sensed she was waging a battle of some sort. She'd held her coat as if it were a security blanket. He wondered if the anxiety that plagued her as a teen was still affecting her as an adult, but he wouldn't dare ask. Not immediately. He knew how private she was.

  Or maybe he had completely misread her.

  He ran a hand across his stubbled jaw and adjusted the wipers on his truck. Snow sure was coming down. A significant snowfall in early November didn't bode well for the rest of the winter.

  Sighing heavily, he thought back to their casual conversation. She'd deflected his question on why she was interested in the job. Was she bored? Then he laughed to himself. How bored did a person have to be to take a bookkeeping job? Maybe she was just doing Isaac a favor, since the caretakers at her mother's house were good friends with his father. He supposed he'd have time to ask her these questions now that she'd be working for him.

  Working for me. The notion made him laugh. The class valedictorian working for the class juvenile delinquent.

  Sure, they had gone to the prom together, but that had been a mistake. Or maybe trusting his ex Jenny to keep her mouth shut had been a bigger one.

  Theo turned up the speed on his windshield wipers yet again as the snow grew more steady. He slowed his vehicle so as not to slide through the intersection. The back end of his truck fishtailed even as he took the turn slowly. The plows had better hurry up and salt the roads or the ditches would be littered with cars.

  Up ahead, he noticed tire tracks in the freshly fallen snow and then deep ruts veering off the road. Exactly what I feared. He slowed and squinted through his windshield wipers and the gathering snow. His heart hammered in his chest. The back end of a little red sports car stuck out of an overgrown cluster of bushes with bare branches. Narrowing his gaze, he jammed on the brakes, skidded a few feet before pulling over. He slammed the gear into park and turned on his flashers. He jumped out and ran toward the car.

  "Violet!"

  The wind whipped around his ears and fear fisted in his gut. Theo slipped between the prickly branches and the side of her car. He pried open the car door as far as he could against the stiff branches.

  Through the opening, Violet turned to look at him, an unreadable expression on her face.

  "Are you hurt?" He couldn't see any obvious injuries.

  Violet shook her head. Her lips trembled. "I'm fine. I don't know what happened. I mean, I think I got a flat. I should have pulled over right away, but thought I could make it to a gas station."

  "Can you stand?" Theo pushed his back against the branches, forcing them out of the way while he pulled her door open wider
and offered his hand. A sharp branch poked him in the back of the neck and he hid a wince. Violet placed her cold, trembling hand in his and he helped her ease out of the vehicle.

  He held the branches back so she wouldn't get scraped. They slid along the side of the car and reached the back of the vehicle. She looked exceptionally pale.

  "You want to wait in my truck while I check your tire?"

  "I'm fine." She crossed her arms over her middle and shuddered.

  "You'd be warmer in my truck."

  "I’m fine," she repeated, the wind whipping color back into her cheeks.

  "Sounds like you had a tire blowout. Do you have a spare?" Without waiting for an answer, Theo tapped her trunk, then walked to check the other side of the vehicle. His boots crunched on the newly fallen snow. The rubber on the back passenger tire had fallen away from the rim. Theo shoved the branches out of the way and crouched by the tire for a closer inspection. He pulled out a long screw and held it up. "I think I found the culprit."

  Violet stared down at him with her arms tightly crossed over her chest. "I wonder where I picked that up."

  Theo inspected the screw. "We use these fasteners at work." He narrowed his gaze. "Not sure why it was in the parking lot, but that would be my best guess."

  He angled his head and studied the tire closer. He tugged out another screw and saw the heads of two more poking out of the tire.

  "What?"

  He stood and held out his palm with the two screws. "There are at least two more in your tire. I'm surprised you got this far before getting a flat."

  Violet blinked slowly. "Maybe someone dropped a box of screws in your parking lot and I ran over them?" Something akin to hope flashed in her eyes.

  He lifted his brow. "You'd have to be mighty unlucky to have four screws penetrate the rubber of one tire."

  She lifted her perfectly manicured eyebrows as if to say, Yeah, well…

  He shook his head. "My guess…someone did this on purpose."

  Violet bowed her head. Snowflakes dotted her dark brown hair and the ones that melted left tiny drops. She muttered something he couldn't make out. He took a step to stand directly in front of her. He thought back to their history. Her history. Everything she had shared with him as a teenager.