A Courtesy Call (Green Division Series Book #2)

by Monahan, Ashley

  “Aren’t you poetic.” Raleigh turned back around and continued to unpack.

  “I believe you are the first of the two options I listed. I see love in your eyes.”

  “Your belief is wrong. He only tried to talk to me once he knew I was Jen. He feels this way because of what I did.”

  “What you did to him?” Aiden’s mouth hitched in sarcasm.

  “Shut up.” She pushed him. “You know what I mean. He would only want me now because I saved him. He had no interest before. He was happy with our Vegas love affair before.”

  “Why do you think he had no interest before? Didn’t he try to ring you?”

  “He called, hung up, and never called tried to call again.”

  “Perhaps he got busy.”

  “Or perhaps he called by accident and didn’t intend on talking to me.”

  “You always assume the worst.”

  “The worst always seems to happen Aiden, that’s why.” She put her hands on her hips. “I’m going to call it a night, you should turn in too. We have an early morning of press commitments.”

  “Press circus.” Aiden smiled.

  “That’s more accurate.”

  “Call me if you need anything.”

  “Good night.”

  I don’t love him. And he certainly doesn’t love me.

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  “Mike, bud, wake up.” Mitch looked down upon Mike.

  “Did I oversleep?”

  “A little there boss. It’s ten o’clock and you weren’t answering your phone.”

  “I didn’t get back from the airport until three in the morning.” Mike yawned. “I took the day off.”

  “When do you work anymore?”

  “The perks of comp time.” He smiled. “Don’t you worry, I put my time in.”

  “It didn’t go well I take it.”

  “No.” Mike rose to his feet and put Sammy out.

  “So that’s it? You’re giving up?”

  “I could fly to Paris and try to talk to her there. Or wait a few weeks and try again in Australia. Or another few weeks and try in Argentina. I think our Vegas hook up is the way it has to be, no matter what I want.”

  “You have hell of a story to tell if nothing else.”

  “Great.” Mike didn’t want a great story.

  *****

  “Raleigh, I’ve never seen anything like this,” Lacie said out of the corner of her mouth. The two stood in front of a large banner for a photo op hours before the race.

  “Get used to it, this is your life from now on.” Raleigh put her arm around Lacie and they smiled together.

  Raleigh and Lacie spent the following hour talking to the press and throwing in bits for their sponsors and Tom. It was all about selling the products that funded her team.

  “Are you ready?” Raleigh asked Lacie.

  “Yes,” Lacie answered confidently and looked at her notes.

  “I trust you.” Raleigh wanted her fears to be acquiesced. Lacie nodded.

  Off they sped.

  The first day of the three day rally didn’t go so well.

  “Eighth place.” Tom flexed his hands out in front of him.

  Lacie and Raleigh looked at one another.

  “We’re still in it,” Lacie said strongly. Raleigh didn’t engage Tom’s attack.

  “Eighth place will hurt your points immensely, you can’t afford to be this far back at this point in the season.”

  “Thanks for the pep talk Tom.” Raleigh played with the steamed broccoli on her plate. She’d eaten nothing, Feng Shu-ing the food on her plate.

  “I’m trying to figure out what’s going on in that most complicated mind of yours so we can fix it and get in first, where you belong.

  “You know what Tom, if you think you can do better, get your ass in the driver’s seat and do it.” Raleigh pushed her chair back violently and stalked out of the dining area.

  Tom began to rise, but Aiden patted his shoulder. “I’ve got her.”

  “Raleigh, Raleigh!” Aiden jogged after her into the busy city streets. He clasped her shoulder. “Why do you always run away?”

  “Because it’s easy to run away.” She tucked her hair behind her ear. “And nothing else in my life is easy.”

  “You don’t realize how lucky you are. Your pity party has grown tiring.”

  “Pity party?”

  “We all experience heartaches and loss. But, look at the life you have. You have your health, your friends, your family, your FINANCES, your charity, your cars. What is so awful about your life, Miss?”

  “It still feels like something is missing.” She turned and disappeared into the mob of people.

  “Miss!” Aiden yelled, but couldn’t spot her. Throwing his hands up in defeat, he retreated back to the dining area of the hotel.

  Raleigh pulled the hood of her sweatshirt over her head and cinched it tight. She wanted to get lost.

  *****

  Mike stared at the only picture of his wife in the house. A family portrait from when Cass was five years old. Sometimes he wondered how and where she was. The anger he felt toward her he’d long released, but the question of why still bothered him a decade later. She’d just up and left one morning. She wouldn’t answer her cell phone, her family was closed lips, and he was petrified. When the police finally located her a week later, they determined she was of sound mind and judgment. The reason she gave the police as to why she vanished without telling her family was, she didn’t love them and no longer wanted to be a part of their lives.

  Mike would have coped better with their sudden breakup if their relationship had been unhappy. When she left, he and Cass were devastated. The phone never rang and Cass didn’t understand. The first year of her absence was the most trying time of Mike’s life. Learning to be a single dad and questioning what he did wrong.

  Mike opened the back of the picture frame and took the photo out of its home.

  “This is something I should have done long ago.”

  The photo floated to the bottom of the garbage can and with its release, Mike felt a sense of relief.

  Mike returned to the living room and looked ta another framed article on the fireplace.

  “If only I could release the guilt about you as easily.”

  GAME WARDEN REMEMBERED FOR HEROIC ACTIONS

  Below the title was a picture of Game Warden Tucker Johnston in his dress uniform, a smile on his face.

  The day was one Mike would never forget. The familiar sound of his cell phone woke him in the twilight hours of morning. There was a domestic situation at a cabin so remote it was only accessible by boat or ATV. The report was a husband had physically assaulted his wife at the yuppie couples uppity camp. The couple’s teenage daughter called when her father passed out drunk on the camp floor.

  When Tuck and Mike arrived at the camp, they were let in by the daughter who stated her father was upstairs resting in the bedroom and her mother locked herself in the bathroom upstairs. Before any facts could be established, a shot rang out from above them and feet pounded down the stairs. Expletives and threats were loudly exhaled. The daughter froze and when the husband bared the gun down on the daughter, Tuck pulled her out of the way, pointing his gun at the man. Three shots rang out. One from Mike’s gun, one from Tuck’s gun, one from the husband’s gun. In the end, Mike and the daughter were the ones left standing. Tuck had given his life to protect the young girl. Mike’s guilt came from the delay in his shot. Had he acted a split second sooner, the scenario would have one less victim. Little Tucker would have his father. Chance would have married the man who’d gone through hell to earn her love. And for all those reasons Mike blamed himself. Blamed himself so badly he barely slept most nights. All except the one night with Raleigh when they found solace in one another’s arms.

  “If ever there was a day I could go back in time, it would be that day.” He took a deep breath and batted back emotion. “I’ll visit you soon buddy.”

  Mike had ye
t to visit Tuck’s grave since the burial ceremony. Like a true man, Mike preferred to bury any feelings he had and deny them.

  Bark, bark, bark

  Sammy jumped on the door outside indicting her readiness to join Mike inside.

  “I’m coming.”

  *****

  Raleigh looked up at the building puzzled. When she thought of churches in Europe, grand stone cathedrals popped into her mind. Not a modern stick built.

  For some reason, the building called out to her. Religion was not an important part of Raleigh’s life and hadn’t been since she’d run around in Sunday school as preschooler. But the building drew her attention and she couldn’t shake it. The church was a warm shade of green and lights were on inside. She could hear music emanating from the building and it invited her inside.

  Raleigh pushed the front door open and walked inside. There were a handful of people sitting in the pews, another two dozen or so in the front singing heavenly.

  What are you doing? Raleigh asked herself.

  “Puis-je vous aider?” A middle aged man asked her.

  “Ah, no parle vo frenchie. Do you speak English?”

  “Very badly,” the man said with almost no accent; he could nearly pass for an American.

  “Wow, I guess you speak better English than I do.”

  “Welcome to our church.” He smiled. “What brings you to our establishment?”

  “I heard the music from outside. Should I leave? Is this a closed practice?”

  “Our church is never closed. The doors are always open for all of God’s children.”

  Raleigh nodded her head. Though the topic of religion made her uneasy, she felt welcomed inside the green walls.

  “You look as though something is troubling you.”

  “Something’s always troubling me.” She smiled.

  “Care to talk about it?”

  “No. They are my problems, not yours.”

  “That is why I am here. It is my job.” The man led her over to a pew in the back row. “You can talk to me. My name is Leon, I am the minister.”

  “My name is Raleigh.”

  “I know who you are child.”

  “And you still welcome me into your church.” Raleigh blushed.

  Leon interlaced his fingers. “This is the Lord’s house, not mine. He welcomes you.” Leon smiled. “As do I. Faith teaches us not to pass judgment and love our fellow man. So do not worry, you belong here. And that is why you are here.”

  Raleigh considered his words.

  “I am not trying to preach to you, though it is a habit.” Leon laughed. “But back to your troubles. I am a good listener and not so bad with advice either.”

  “I don’t believe you’d approve of what is troubling me and neither would He.”

  “We are all sinners.” Leon put his hand on her shoulder.

  “I don’t believe in religion though.” She couldn’t bring her eyes to meet his with her confession.

  Leon drew in a deep breath. “Faith is a difficult thing. Difficult because you can’t see or hear the Lord in a solid form. That is why it is called blind faith. But let’s drop the religious aspect of our conversation. That is not what is bothering you. What is heavy on your mind?”

  “Love. Loss.”

  Leon nodded his head.

  “What plagues us all. The whys. Why me? Why him, or her? Why now? Why then? Why not?”

  “That says it to a tee.”

  “Have you lost a loved one recently?”

  “My fiancé, over a year ago now.”

  “You have not found peace with his passing?”

  “I can find no peace in it.”

  “What happened?”

  “A car accident. I was driving.”

  “So it is guilt that also plagues you?”

  “Very much so.” Her voice shook.

  “Was it your fault?” Leon asked frankly.

  Raleigh thought about his question.

  “When I look at the cold hard facts of what happened that day, then no, it wasn’t. It was an accident in every sense of the word. Something I couldn’t have prevented with the knowledge I had.”

  “Was it his fault?”

  Raleigh brought her hand to her forehead.

  “It was a mistake he made, but you blame yourself regardless.”

  “Keen intuition, Leon.” She wiped her face.

  “That is a heavy burden to carry. It is one thing to carry the burden of one’s own mistakes, but you cannot blame yourself for someone else’s and pin the blame on yourself. That it is very egotistical of you.”

  “How?”

  “You don’t have control over the world. To blame yourself, is to assume that you do. You don’t child. It is not in your control, rest assured.”

  Raleigh winced her eyes together.

  “You need to let go of this bitterness you have. It will eat you inside out.”

  “It already has.”

  “Unfortunately with our births, there is only one thing in life that is guaranteed to us all.”

  “That we die.”

  Leon nodded his head.

  “Would he want you living your life as you are? Or would he want you to be happy?”

  Raleigh smiled. “He would want me to be happy. He’d probably be mad at me for the way I’ve cried over him truth be told.”

  “He would want you to move on and find happiness.”

  “Yes.” She sniffed.

  “Then perhaps you should live your life remembering his spirit and celebrating it, rather than punishing yourself. Do you think you can do that?”

  Raleigh studied the ground.

  “I’d like to try.” She smiled.

  “Let go of the guilt, it is not yours to bear. You’re fiancé wouldn’t want that. Neither would He.” Leon looked over at a cross. “Perhaps you should talk to him.”

  “To God?”

  “To Him as well, but your fiancé.”

  Raleigh reached over and hugged Leon. “Thank you.” She sniffed.

  “You’re welcome. I’ll give you a moment. If you want to talk more, I will be at the front.”

  Raleigh nodded. The words Leon spoke to her were more direct and straightforward than those from any family or friend. And they’d struck a chord. He was right.

  “And Raleigh.”

  She looked up at Leon.

  “You can love again. He would want you to.”

  “How...?” How does he know that?

  Leon tipped his hat and smiled.

  “I’m glad I came inside your doors.”

  “Me too, child.” Leon walked to the front.

  Raleigh bowed her head down and began to talk to Luke. Her conversation with Leon had not changed her faith, and it never would. But Leon had changed her perspective and her want to move forward.

  *****

  “Uncle Mike!” Tuck came bounding into Mike’s legs at full speed.

  “Tucker!” Mike smiled and lifted him high into the air.

  “Spaghetti for dinner.” Chance looked up from her laptop, busy writing an article due within the hour. Always a procrastinator. “You’re staying.”

  “I can’t argue with that.” Mike tickled Tuck’s sides.

  “Hey! No!” Tuck squirmed.

  “You look like hell,” Chance told Mike.

  “Thanks.”

  “She really got to you.” Chance clicked send and closed the laptop. “You like her.”

  “Mitch.” Mike rolled his eyes. “I’m done talking to him.”

  “We’re married, come on, you know he tells me everything.”

  “I can’t believe he told you I slept with her.”

  “He didn’t.” Chance laughed. “But you just did.”

  “Dirty reporter.”

  “All he told me was you were smitten with a famous woman you’d met on vacation. He didn’t say you’d slept with her.”