by Regina Duke
“I pay monthly for a room at the Cattleman’s Inn. It’s small, no room for guests. Just a place for me and Rocky to bed down when the roads are bad or I need to work late in town.”
“Oh.”
Silence.
Ashley played with the heater controls and cupped her hands around her warm mug.
Thor drove a few more miles, but after a while Ashley’s silence began to bother him. “Is everything okay?”
Ashley’s lips were a thin line. The shoeboxes sat at her feet. She tapped one with her toe. “I was thinking about what you said last night, how maybe my father was afraid that Julie was going to try to snatch me after school. It really skewed the way I look back at my life.”
Thor made an approving sound. “Understandable.” He waited. Then, “What else is bothering you?”
Ashley pushed a lock of dark hair behind one ear. “When I suggested I pay you by getting your mother off your back and pretending to be your fiancée, I didn’t know your family was rich. Britney Beth called me a gold digger. Your parents will think the same thing. I guess I’d better find a different way to pay you.”
“Oh, no, this is great,” said Thor. “Did you see Britney Beth’s face? That was priceless. And my mother hasn’t called once yet this morning. Would you hand Rocky that dog biscuit? I didn’t want to wait around long enough to feed him at home.”
Ashley passed the dog biscuit into the back. Rocky took it delicately from her fingers. “Is your mother going to be really angry about you having him fixed?”
“Not really. Look, if you’re worried about this gold digger label, don’t. Every girlfriend I have ever had was called a gold digger. That’s par for the course when your family has millions.”
Ashley’s eyes bulged.
Thor suppressed a smile. “Daddy’s an oil magnate.”
“So he’s the rich one, not you.”
Thor squirmed. “Well, let’s just say he has more than I do. Look, if you’re worried about all that, we’ll just draw up a little agreement at the office. Just between us. We’ll tuck it in the safe. Okay?”
“About me pretending to be your fiancée and not wanting your money?”
“Yeah. How’s that sound? Then you can just keep on driving Britney Beth crazy, and I can keep on protecting you while we figure out what’s going on with your mother.”
Ashley tilted her head to one side. After a moment, she nodded. “Okay. That’s a great idea. Let’s do it.”
“After we write up our contract, we’ll go through the rest of your dad’s letters. See if he left us any more clues.”
“You have a weight bench in your office,” said Ashley. “So you work out there. Do you have a dressing room and a bath?”
“Of course. I wanted a hot tub, but its awkward when a client walks in and finds you in your Speedo.”
Ashley burst out laughing.
“Hey, I’ll have you know I look pretty good in my swim trunks.”
“Oh, I’m sure you do.” Ashley blushed hotly, because that was exactly what she was imagining. “I asked because I want to get my suitcase and change my clothes. Do you want me to find a motel room?”
“No. Nothing has changed. We don’t know who’s after your mother and we don’t know who tried to snatch you in the parking lot. I prefer not to let you out of my sight.” He pulled the truck around the back of Thor Security and parked.
Ashley shrieked. “What happened to my car?”
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Ashley’s little sedan was a mess.
“Stay where you are,” said Thor. He got out of the vehicle, Rocky on his heels.
The side windows were smashed. The glove box was hanging open and empty. The trunk had been popped. When Thor lifted it with his elbow, it was empty, too. Ashley’s suitcase was nowhere to be found. He returned to the SUV.
“Rocky, get in. Ashley, I’m going to park in front and call the police. This is not a high crime area. I suspect someone knew it was your car.”
“But why destroy the vehicle? I don’t get it.”
Thor hesitated. “Are you sure—?”
“What? I’m not sure of anything anymore.”
Thor drove the SUV around the block and parked in front of his office. He glanced up and down the street. “Nothing seems out of place out here. Come on, let’s get inside.”
Ashley picked up her purse and her boxes of letters and trudged after him. Seeing her car destroyed took all the wind out of her sails. Inside, she set the shoeboxes and her purse on his desk.
Thor turned the “Open” sign over, but locked the door and left the window shades down. He felt safer knowing a possible attacker would have to shoot blind. The thought made him shudder. In the year he’d been building his Colorado business, he’d been courting commercial and residential clients who wanted security setups for their homes and businesses. But he couldn’t turn Ashley away. He didn’t have the heart to tell her he was more techie than detective. But refusing to help was not an option. He’d already done that once in his life, and he would be paying for it until the day he died.
Someone was after Ashley. But the trashing of her car didn’t fit into the missing mother scenario. He walked up behind her and set his hands on her shoulders. “I’m going to report the vandalism to the police. Then I’m going to have some breakfast delivered. You need protein.”
Ashley turned to face him, and found him pleasantly close. She looked up at him sheepishly. “I need clean clothes.”
Thor found himself toe to toe with the prettiest woman he’d ever met. His heart beat faster. His hands landed on her upper arms.
“As soon as the police are done, we’ll take care of that, okay?”
Ashley leaned against him. “Sorry. I hope you don’t think I’m a total wuss. But a girl needs a change of clothes. And I’m totally bummed out, because I can’t afford to buy a whole new wardrobe. Who breaks into a car and steals a suitcase full of clothes?”
Thor patted her on the back, then stepped away so he could breathe. He cleared his throat. “That’s a good point. Earlier I was going to ask if you had any enemies who might want to make your life miserable?”
Ashley ran a hand through her hair. She busied herself by preparing the coffee maker on the sideboard with a filter and three scoops of coffee. “I’ve been doing nothing but taking care of dad since he got sick. I haven’t had a social life since college. In fact, I had to tell Wayne that I—” She stopped in mid sentence and turned to face Thor, carafe in hand.
Thor perched on the edge of his desk. “Wayne?”
Ashley handed the pot to Thor. “I haven’t thought about Wayne in months. He took it kind of hard when I told him I had to break it off. That surprised me because, frankly, I didn’t think we were serious at all. We just went to the movies together and went out to dinner a couple of times.” She frowned. “Come to think of it, when I explained about dad, he kept asking me who else I was seeing and what was the real reason.” She shook her head. “I apologized for hurting his feelings, but I was so blindsided by dad’s cancer, I didn’t really pay attention to what he was implying. But why would he follow me across the state and trash my car out of the blue?”
Thor carried the carafe into the back room and Ashley followed him. He filled it at the sink.
“Oh my gosh, you have a kitchenette. This is excellent.”
“About Wayne. I think he might be a candidate for the car trashing. If he thought you were leaving him for another guy, he might have held a grudge. Although, if he were that upset, you’re right, he should have acted out before now. There weren’t any strange incidents while your dad was sick?”
“No, nothing.” She followed him back to the sideboard. “I mean, there were some odd coincidences, but they didn’t happen to me.” She frowned.
“Like what?”
Ashley sat down in the chair in front of Thor’s desk. “Well, one night I was leaving the hospital late. Dad was recovering from a treatment and I was with him all day long. I
needed a night off, away from his hospital room. I was in the parking garage, and some nurses were coming off shift, getting in their cars and leaving. One of them was parked right next to me, and we laughed because our cars were the same make, model and color. Just silly stuff, because we were exhausted. Anyway, she got in and pulled out before I did, and I heard this horrible crash. Her front wheel had come off. It just fell off. She said she’d taken it in to get new tires the day before, and someone must have done a lousy job of tightening the bolts.”
Thor flipped the brew switch. “Could be a coincidence, I guess.”
Ashley leaned back in the chair. “And then there was the morning I arrived at dad’s room just as an orderly was leaving. He was in a hurry.” She frowned. “All covered up like a surgeon, with a cap and a face mask. Then alarms went off. Dad’s IV tubing had a huge air bubble in it. Thank goodness those machines can sense that sort of thing. The machine sounded an alarm. The nurses came running. They seemed really puzzled and upset. One of them said they’d had some new nurses on the floor that night, but neither of them would talk to me about it. They just tried to be reassuring. But they kept looking at each other kind of funny, you know? Like wondering what the hell was going on?”
“Your dad was okay?”
“Well, he only had a couple of months left by that point. It wasn’t the air bubble that killed him.” She chewed her thumb nail. “Why would anyone hurt my dad? He was already dying.”
“We don’t know it was Wayne. We’re just trying to think of weird things that happened to you or around you during the past year.” He returned to the desk and sat on the edge of it, inches from Ashley.
“Right.” She straightened up. “I guess I should call my insurance company. They’re going to love this. Second claim in six months.” She raised a hand to her mouth and lifted her gaze to Thor.
“What was the other one?”
Ashley took a breath and let it out in a whoosh. “Oh my gosh. Six months ago, I found my car in the parking lot at our apartment complex with the windshield smashed. The policeman said it was probably some kid with a baseball bat.” A note of alarm elevated her tone. “He asked me if I had a jealous ex!”
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
Thor reached out and patted her knee. “Don’t worry. If it was Wayne, we can deal with that. Frankly I would prefer it was a disgruntled ex and not some mystery villain involved with your mother’s disappearance. You call the insurance company. I’ll call the police and arrange for a tow truck. Most of the damage appears to be glass. I’ll call the garage later and have them check everything.”
When the police car arrived, Thor introduced the officer to Ashley, then went outside with the man, leaving Ashley with her coffee.
After the policeman left, Thor took a dozen photos of the car for his files and for Ashley’s insurance claim. Once that was done, he donned a pair of gloves and took a good look inside, at the glove box, the papers strewn on the floor, and the detritus under the seats.
He felt something between the driver’s seat and the console, and he pulled it out. It was a small folded piece of paper. He opened it and read, “Witness protection. Run!”
He grunted in satisfaction and continued his search, but came up with nothing that might provide a clue to the perpetrator. He headed back inside.
Ashley was stretched out on the sofa against the wall, her arm over her eyes.
Thor held up the note he’d found. “Look familiar?”
Ashley’s face lit up and she rolled off the sofa. “My mother’s note! Where did you find it?”
“It was between the seat and the console. It must have slipped out of your pocket.” He stopped in the middle of the office and unfolded it.
Ashley drew near and leaned into him to look at the note again. “I guess this eliminates any doubts about my mental state.”
“I never had any,” said Thor quietly.
Ashley dropped her gaze. “Thanks. I worry that my mother’s mental illness may be hereditary.”
Thor stepped back and tipped her chin up to look in her eyes. “Hmmm. Nope. Don’t see any crazy women in there. And trust me, I know more than one.”
Ashley laughed.
Right on cue, Britney Beth stormed into the office.
“Leaving me behind was downright rude, Thor Garrison. I have a good mind to tell your mama on you. Did I miss breakfast and everything?”
Thor and Ashley exchanged surprised looks. “We forgot to eat.”
Britney Beth eyed Ashley sideways. “A likely story. What are you on? Amphetamines?”
Ashley’s brows drew together. “What?”
“Knock it off, Britney Beth. You are the only one in the room taking diet pills. Good grief, look at the time. It’s eleven o’clock. I’ll order something.” He patted his pockets and frowned. “Where’s my phone?”
Britney Beth pulled it out of her purse. “Right here. You’re lucky I saw it on the kitchen table. You left without it.”
Thor took it from her unceremoniously. “Thanks.”
Britney Beth’s lips curled in a secret little smile. “You’re so very welcome,” she gushed. She clutched his arm and listed against him like a hothouse flower.
“What’s that?” she asked, peering down at the slip of paper.
Ashley replied without thinking, “A note from my mother.”
Thor squirmed free of Britney Beth’s grip and read the cryptic note aloud. “Witness protection. Run!”
Britney Beth threw on a pout. “A bit overly dramatic, don’t you think?”
Thor and Ashley exchanged looks and rolled their eyes.
“Unusual handwriting.” Britney Beth moved to the weight bench. “Thor Baby, do you think I should work on building my biceps?” She picked up a five-pound dumbbell and pumped it once. “Ouch! That’s heavy.” She dropped it with a bang and stroked her arm. “My little princess muscles aren’t made for that kind of exercise.” She made even that innocuous statement sound sexual.
Ashley shook her head and returned to her chair at the desk.
“I’m going to make a copy of this for the files,” said Thor.
“Isn’t it enough to just tuck the note in a folder?” asked Ashley.
“I’ve learned the hard way that it always pays to make a copy.”
Britney Beth brightened. “I’ll do that for you, sugar. It’ll make me feel useful.” She took the little note and gave him a big smile. “What color folder you want me to put it in?”
“Red,” said Thor. “Label it Clair, C-L-A-I-R.”
“Yes, sir.” Britney Beth waltzed to the copying machine and studied it. “Let’s see. Green button, right?”
Thor had to smile. “Right. Ashley and I need to run a couple of errands. Do you mind hanging out here with Rocky? I don’t want to leave him in the car.”
Britney Beth’s expression threatened to slip into jealous disappointment, but she caught herself and smiled even more brightly. “Oh, that would be lovely. Just me and Rocky, hanging out. Don’t I get breakfast?”
“Last time you came to visit, you were getting pretty friendly with The Muffin Man up the street. Why don’t you call and have them bring you something? Come on, Ashley. We need to finish up your contract.”
“Oh,” said Ashley. “Sure.” She collected her purse and followed him to the door. She paused at the exit and glanced back at Britney Beth. Her adversary was pondering the vagaries of the copying machine. Ashley frowned as she left the building.
Thor held the car door for her and couldn’t miss her expression. “Don’t worry,” he said. “Britney Beth is a lot smarter than she pretends to be.” He waited for Ashley to settle on the seat and closed the door. Walking around the truck, he added under his breath, “Too smart for her own good.”
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
Ashley fastened her seat belt and sagged against the leather seat.
“Yesterday morning I left Boulder on a family errand, and it feels like that was a month ago. What am I going to do f
or a car? And for clothes? And oh, I have to call my insurance company.” She pulled out her wallet to look for her agent’s card. Her hands trembled violently.
Thor reached out and covered her fingers with his free hand.
His touch was warm, firm, and electric. Ashley felt a surge of emotion. She turned her face away.
“Sorry,” she said. “Too much going on, I guess.” She wiped at her eyes.
“Never apologize for feelings,” said Thor. He forced a lighter tone. “Of course, the last thing a fiance wants is for his beloved to burst into tears when he touches her hand.”
Ashley laughed through her tears, and felt a warm glow when he said “beloved.” She immediately checked those feelings. After all, they’d only met yesterday. He was just joking around to make her feel better. She straightened in her seat. “Okay. Meltdown over. Once we figure out what’s going on with my mother, I can always take the bus back to Boulder.”
“Don’t worry. I’ve got an idea or two about that.”
“Oh? Do tell.”
Thor drove a couple of blocks and pulled into the parking lot of the Cattleman’s Inn. “First, food. The Cattleman’s has a nice little cafe called Il Vaccaro, and they do great Italian food.”
Inside, it was obvious that Thor was already well known by at least some of the residents of Eagle’s Toe. He greeted three different tables, and a jovial man in a white shirt and a string tie with a large turquoise clasp approached with both hands out for shaking.
“So good to see you again, Mr. Garrison.”
“Hello, Reese. What’s this Mr. Garrison stuff?”
Reese grinned broadly, revealing big white teeth with a gap between his incisors. “Oh, you know how it is with us innkeepers,” he said. “We like to butter up all our guests no matter how insignificant they are.”
Thor laughed heartily. Reese’s ruddy cheeks and friendly manner made him instantly likable. Ashley found herself cheered by his presence.
“And who is this beautiful young lady?”
Thor reached for Ashley’s hand. “Reese McAvoy, meet Ashley Clair. This is the brave and amazing lady who texted my mother that we are engaged.”
