Broken Trust

by Leigh Bale

  Toni felt like her heart sank to her toes. Even if she was willing to get inside, she doubted the boat would ever get them across the lake. How would they ever reach Clarkston in time to call and warn Grandma and Cara?

  She snorted. “I think we’re in trouble.”

  Mac pointed again, further out, beyond the dingy at an outcropping of trees and brush. “That’s our other boat. Dad bought a new one this summer.”

  Toni squinted her eyes against the afternoon sun and studied the shoreline where the gentle pulse of water flowed over the beach. She could just make out the nose of a boat peeking out from beneath the shadowed bushes.

  A large bank account and a new boat? Again, she wondered where Mac had gotten all his money.

  Hank took Mac’s arm and helped him negotiate the steep incline down to the wooden dock. Toni followed. When they reached the boat, Hank unloaded Mac’s backpack. The two men jerked a heavy tarp off the craft, revealing a sleek, chili-pepper-red speed boat.

  Toni laughed out loud, expecting no less. “The color suits you.”

  Both Mac and Hank grinned without shame. Boys and their toys.

  She could just imagine Mac racing across the lake, whooping with glee, as he pulled her and Eric behind on water skis. For just a moment, she had the insatiable desire to don a bathing suit and ask Mac if she could give it a whirl. She longed to return here with Cara and Grandma, to celebrate Eric’s life. At one time, she’d felt comfortable being with Mac. But no more. She had to keep reminding herself that she couldn’t love him anymore because he didn’t want her.

  Right now, she wanted to focus on getting to Clarkston.

  With Hank’s aid, Mac climbed into the boat, then turned to assist Toni. Always the gentleman, opening doors for her, letting her go first, and reaching to offer his hand even when his own leg was injured. Except for her father, no man had ever treated her with such respect.

  Clasping Mac’s fingers, she stepped into the boat and took a seat. Hank pulled in the mooring lines and pushed the boat away from the dock with his booted foot. Mac sat in the driver’s seat and started the engine. Slow and easy, he steered the boat away from shore, then waved at Hank who stood watching from the beach.

  The motor roared and Mac pushed the craft into high gear. The boat shot away, the breeze rushing through Toni’s hair as they sped across the water.

  Mac threw back his head and let out a yelp of glee. “Wooee!”

  Toni heard Hank’s bark of laughter from the shore. She caught sight of him just before the boat turned and the thick forest cut him from her view.

  Mac zigzagged the boat across the pristine surface of the lake. He held his injured leg to one side, his muscled arms directing the steering wheel, a wide smile on his face. Grandma told her once that time healed all wounds and Toni prayed it was true. Right now, they had a problem to solve, and she dreaded it. She couldn’t shake the feeling of danger nor the jittery flush of heat that kept her nerves revved up. If not for Mac, she didn’t know what she would do.

  Within fifteen minutes, they’d crossed the lake. On the opposite shore, Larry Coolidge, the nearest neighbor, helped them tie off the boat.

  “You want me to take it back to your pa?” Larry asked as he slung his thumbs around the straps of his overalls.

  “I’d appreciate it.” Mac tossed the keys to him.

  “Will do. I been thinking about some of your ma’s Dutch oven peach cobbler anyway.”

  Mac led Toni to a dilapidated shed where a brown, beat up Chevy truck was parked. “Larry lets me keep my truck here. It’s faster to skim across the lake and drive into town than to park at the cabin and drive the winding mountain roads.”

  Yes, she knew this already, but it still surprised her. In the city, everyone charged for everything. Making a buck seemed all-important. But here in the country, people offered service just to be good neighbors.

  Mac held Toni’s door while she climbed into the truck. Toni eyed his bandaged leg. “You think you can drive like that?”

  “Sure, no problem. It’s my left leg that’s injured, and I drive with my right foot.”

  While he got in the vehicle, she realized Mac wasn’t the type of man to sit in the passenger seat. He just didn’t.

  First thing when they arrived in town, Mac drove to the sheriff’s office. As they sat in the one-room building and filled out a report, Toni felt skeptical. Surely the gunman with the ponytail had fled the mountains by now. But she doubted he’d also ransacked the cabin and taken Eric’s letter.

  Minutes later, Mac drove them to the only gas station in town.

  “Do you need help filling the gas tank?” she asked as Mac opened the door and slid out.

  He reached for his crutch tucked behind the seat. “Nah, I’m good.”

  While he filled the tank, Toni whipped out her cell phone, praying she found service here in town. She dialed her home number and listened to the ringing. Her heart pounded in her ears when she got the answering machine. She didn’t leave a message but quickly hung up, then dialed Aunt Holly, her father’s sister.

  After her parents had died, Grandma insisted on living with Toni and Cara, believing the two girls needed her. She was right. Toni didn’t know what she’d do without Grams to help out at home while Toni ran the family shoe store. Not only did Grams make the best homemade bread and pasta, but she also provided sage advice whenever Toni needed a second opinion. Which was often, now she had a teenager to raise. Grandma was always there after school when Cara got home. After her stroke, Grams still had a lot of spunk, but seemed much more frail and tired. Toni hated adding more burdens, especially Cara’s numerous rebellions.

  Please, Lord. Please let me find Grandma and Cara safe.

  Chapter Ten

  “Hello.”

  “Hi, Aunt Holly. Is Grams there?” Toni took a deep, settling breath, grateful to finally reach one of her family members.

  “Yeah, honey. She’s right here.”

  Toni’s nerves tingled until Grandma Bernice answered the phone.

  “Hi, sweetheart.”

  “Oh, Grams. Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine. You sound out of breath, dear. What’s the matter?”

  “Grams, I don’t want to alarm you, but don’t go home to our house until I return to Vegas with Mac.”

  “Why, dear? What’s wrong?”

  She explained about the gunman and someone ransacking Mac’s cabin. The elderly lady was understandably shaken.

  “Oh, no! Are you safe? Where are you?” her grandmother’s voice rose to a shrill tone.

  “I’m safe here in Clarkston. I’m with Mac.”

  “Good. I know he’ll take care of you.” Grandma’s voice steadied. “Why would anyone want to harm you, dear?”

  “Right now, I have no idea. It may all be coincidence, but I don’t want to take any chances. I think it’d be best if you and Cara stay over at Aunt Holly’s for the time being.”

  “Okay, we will.”

  “Good. I’ll be home in a few hours. Can you find Cara and let her know?”

  “Of course. She spent last night at Shannon’s house, so I slept over here.”

  “You spent the night at Holly’s?”

  Bernice Hamilton gave a hollow laugh. “Yes, you know I can’t sleep alone in that big empty house when you and Cara aren’t there.”

  Bernice hadn’t been sleeping well ever since her stroke. News of Eric’s death had turned both Toni and Grams into insomniacs. The two of them had started sitting together out on the back patio at three in the morning, eating vanilla ice cream topped with peanut butter and strawberry jam.

  “Where’s Cara now?” Toni asked.

  “She should still be over at Shannon’s place. She said she wouldn’t be home until later tonight. Don’t worry. I’ll call her as soon as I get off the phone with you and have Glade go pick her up.”

  Glade was Holly’s husband.

  Good. One less worry with no one at home. They had time for Mac to use a
computer. Maybe they’d have the mystery of Eric’s letter resolved tonight.

  She relaxed, knowing both her grandmother and sister were safe. Looking out the windshield of the truck, she saw Mac prop his lean body against the fender as he topped off the gas tank.

  “Holly and I are going shopping at the mall,” Bernice said. “We plan to meet Christine for lunch. You want to join us?”

  Christine was Grandma’s youngest daughter and another one of Toni’s aunts. On Saturday, the three women always had lunch together and sometimes invited Toni and Cara along. Toni felt grateful to be a member of such a strong, loving family, especially now when she was struggling to raise Cara and grieving for Eric and her parents.

  “No, I can’t join you today. But I’ll see you later this afternoon, okay?”

  “Okay, honey. I’ll plan something for dinner.”

  “No! Don’t do that. You just have a good time with Aunt Holly and Aunt Chris. I’ll stop by and pick you up at Holly’s house.”

  Planning dinner would require grocery shopping and taking food home to be put away in the refrigerator. Toni didn’t want Grams at their house alone.

  “Okay, I’ll see you tonight,” Grandma agreed. “But you be careful.”

  “I will. And Grams?”

  “Yes, honey.”

  “I love you.”

  “I love you, too, dear.”

  Toni hung up the phone, feeling like a three ton elephant had just hopped off her back.

  “Everything okay?” Mac asked as he slid his crutch across the floor of the truck, then pulled himself into the cab and snapped on his seat belt.

  “Yes.” She told him about her conversation.

  “Great! I really think there’s nothing to worry about. Until we’re sure, maybe you, Bernice and Cara could stay at your Aunt Holly’s house.”

  “Grams hates Aunt Holly’s beds.”

  “You could all stay over at my folk’s house in Vegas. We’ve got enough bedrooms.”

  “Thanks, but I don’t think that will be necessary.”

  He turned on the ignition, but didn’t put the truck in gear. He sat there, looking out the windshield, his big hands resting on the steering wheel.

  “Just say it, Mac.”

  “What?”

  “Whatever’s bothering you. I can tell you’ve got something on your mind. Just tell me.”

  He glanced at her, his eyes clouded with emotion she couldn’t discern. “It’s nothing, really. I’m just thinking about Eric’s letter.”

  He reached over and squeezed her arm. She tensed, remembering they weren’t a couple any more.

  “Did the gas attendant know anything about a stranger in town?” she asked.

  “Nope. He said he hasn’t seen anyone but locals. Right now, are you hungry?”

  It’d been several hours since they’d had breakfast. “Yes, I am.”

  “Done.” He put the truck in gear and pulled onto the two-lane Center Street and drove three blocks to the Hidden Lodge Diner.

  “Can we get it to go? I’m anxious to get home,” she urged.

  “Sure, but I want to ask Miriam and Tate if they’ve served food to any visitors. Nothing gets by them and they can tell us if someone came through town recently.”

  Inside the restaurant, Toni scanned the booths and counter, noticing almost every table filled with people. She found herself being hugged by almost everyone there as they expressed sadness over Eric’s death.

  Miriam, the waitress, lifted a deep-dish apple pie from beneath a glass cover. “I’ll be sure to slip a couple pieces of this pie in with your burgers and fries. Eric always ordered a double cheeseburger and Tate’s apple pie when he came to visit us.”

  Tate winked at her from behind the grill. A big, burly man with a shiny bald head, he wore a white apron tied around his enormous waist. “You come in for my apple pie anytime, girl.”

  Tears burned Toni’s eyes. “A burger made with Swiss cheese.”

  “Of course,” Miriam nodded. “It had to be Swiss for Eric.”

  Somehow, Toni felt closer to her brother knowing he loved Tate’s apple pie and Miriam served him Swiss cheese on his burgers. Over the years, Eric had spent a lot of time here with Mac and Hank, working as a guide. In high school, after she and Mac had realized they were in love, she’d spent time here also. She couldn’t help feeling like she belonged. Strange she didn’t feel that way in Vegas, inside her own house. Yet here, a place she only visited occasionally during the summer months, she felt as though she’d come home.

  Looking across the counter at Mac, she noticed him staring intently at her face.

  “You okay?” he asked.

  “I’m fine.”

  He gave her a quirked smile that tripped her heart into double-time. She felt conscious of him as a man. When he reached out and clasped her hand, she flinched. She felt comfortable with him, as though she belonged in his arms, and yet he’d put barriers between them.

  She tensed.

  He disengaged his fingers and pulled away. “I’m sorry. It still feels so natural.”

  The heat of embarrassment filled her face. She didn’t want to mistake his actions as a desire to get back together. As she looked at him, she felt lost in his dark eyes, but she couldn’t read his thoughts. How she wished they could go back in time and undo the hurtful things they’d said to one another during their breakup. She wanted to marry a man of God who put his family above everything else. Now, it appeared Mac had lost his faith in the Lord. His career was his first priority. They could never bridge the problems in their relationship enough to be together again.

  “You haven’t had any strangers in the diner yesterday or today, have you?” Mac asked Miriam when she brought them their sodas.

  Miriam leaned her hip against the counter and slipped a hand inside the pocket of her pink-and-white striped dress. “Yep, I sure did. Last night, a man with blond hair, wearing a suit and tie came in just as we were closing up. We’d already turned off the grill, so I gave him soup and a ham sandwich. You know I’d never send anyone away hungry. He came in again this morning for pancakes and eggs. He ate every bit, then drove out of town about three hours ago.”

  “That’s it? No one else?”

  “Nope, not in here. But you might check with Viola.”

  “Thanks, Miriam. I’ll do that. We’ll be back for our burgers in a few minutes. Can you get it ready to go?”

  “Sure thing.” Her gum cracked inside her mouth.

  Mac glanced at Toni as they stepped away from the counter and headed for the door. His smile made her stomach turn somersaults. “See, hon? I told you the people in town were good investigators. Miriam just described Derek Hooper. Let’s go to Bigby’s General Store and see if Viola saw anyone.”

  Toni noticed Mac walked more easily here in town. On the flat surface of the boardwalks, his limp wasn’t as pronounced and he didn’t clench his jaw as often. Even with a limp, he commanded attention, his stride confident and strong.

  A bell tinkled above the door as they walked into Bigby’s General Store. Viola Bigby stood behind the counter, a plump woman clutching a gray feather duster. Like all the other people in town, Viola embraced Toni.

  “I was so sorry to hear about Eric. He was such a fine young man. I’ll never forget how he and Mac helped me unload dry goods and stock my shelves after Emmett got laid up with a broken leg. I don’t know what I’d of done without their help.”

  Warmth flooded Toni. It didn’t surprise her that Eric had pitched in. He never shirked a little hard work. Mac was the same. In high school, both men had earned their Eagle Scout awards together, always helping others. They’d each served missions for their church and, even before they finished college, she wasn’t surprised when they’d signed up for military service. Mac had always loved the Lord and it hurt her that he’d abandoned his faith.

  “You haven’t noticed any strangers in town over the past two days, have you?” Mac asked Viola.

  “Yeah, there w
as a man in here about an hour ago. Said he couldn’t get reception on his cell phone, so he asked to use my land line. Impatient fellow. And rude.”

  “What’d he look like?” Toni couldn’t contain her eagerness.

  Viola pursed her lips. “Kind of tall and slender, red hair and a few freckles.”

  Definitely not Derek Hooper, nor the gunman from yesterday.

  “Did you overhear his conversation, by chance?” Mac asked.

  Viola flashed a devilish smile. “He didn’t think so, but I heard every word.”

  Mac chuckled and Toni smiled. No wonder everyone in this small town knew everyone else’s business.

  “He tried to leave without paying for the long distance call.” Viola frowned. “A sullen fellow, you know? Left his friend sitting outside in the car.”

  “His friend?”

  “Sure. Olive-skinned with long, black hair tied in a ponytail. He had a hooked nose just like that owl that nested in our attic last year. He acted just as mean, too. Had a great big scowl on his face.”

  Toni inhaled a sharp breath. Viola had described the gunman who’d shot at her last night. “What kind of car were they driving?”

  “That’s the thing. They had two different vehicles. They talked for a few minutes outside, but I didn’t hear any of that conversation. When they left, the freckled man got in a blue car and drove out of town. The ponytail man drove a white jeep, but I didn’t see where he went.”

  Interesting.

  “And what did the freckled man say on the phone?” Mac prodded.

  Viola stared at the ceiling as she recited from memory. “Let’s see…he said, don’t worry, I’m taking care of the problem. I’ll be in Vegas before noon.”

  Relief settled over Toni. Thank goodness her family was safe, but an inner voice warned that she was part of the problem he planned to take care of. The thought caused butterflies to swarm in her stomach.

  “That’s it?”

  Viola shrugged. “He wasn’t much on conversation. I tried to find out more, but he just walked right past me and out the door. Such a rude man.”

  “Thanks, Viola.” Mac hugged her, then turned to take Toni’s arm before leading her to the door.