by JL Redington
“Ready?”
It was clear by the look in his eye, as he took in the whole of her standing before him, he was having the same conversation with himself that she was. He had a lot more on his mind than ‘ready’, in fact, she wanted to ask him ‘for what?’ but she dared not go down that road. Instead she just cleared her throat and nodded her head.
They went together over to her room, which still gave her the creeps, and Cayman waited with her while she grabbed what few things she’d left there and hurried out the door.
They walked to the motel restaurant for breakfast. It was about nine-thirty and they were anxious to get back on the road, even though they were both tired. They figured it wouldn’t be a long day, as their night’s sleep had been pretty short. Still, they wanted to get at least a few miles of road behind them.
They ordered their breakfast and discussed the night. Cayman asked her again if she would recognize the man that attacked her if she saw him. She laughed and said, “No, but my knee probably would.”
Cayman’s laughter filled the restaurant and brought that flip flop feeling back to the pit of her stomach. She forced herself not to give in to the ache that made her want to give herself to him. She watched him as his laughter died to a smile. He looked at her with such warmth. Is it real? Is he real? Tearing her eyes from his, she turned her head and gazed out the window and gasped.
He was there again, her father, there in the window. Cayman was on his feet in an instant.
“What? What is it?”
She’d jumped up and was already heading to the door, but her father was gone. Had he even been there? Was this really someone impersonating him? How could he look so much like him?”
Cayman knew immediately who she was looking for. She could see the flashes of lightning in his eyes as he spoke.
“I don’t know who is doing this, Alexa, but we’ll find out. And he better be prepared when we do. No one has a right to play this kind of sick joke on anyone. Especially, you, after all you’ve been through. Come back inside.” He put his arm around her waist and gently walked her back into the restaurant.
She wasn’t crying this time, she wasn’t hysterical. She was thinking, mulling over the whole incident in her mind, all the incidents where she’d seen her father. Every time she’d seen him, Cayman was with her. He had to be connected to this, but how? Maybe he didn’t have anything to do with any of it, but that seemed like a long shot.
Cayman helped her into her seat and went to the other side of the booth and sat down. He stared at her as she looked out the window lost in thought.
“This isn’t the reaction I’d expect from you.” His voice floated into her head.
“Hmm?” she mumbled absently.
“I said, this isn’t the reaction I’d expect from you.”
“Oh, yeah,” she said, coming to the present, “I, uh, was just thinking. I mean, why do you suppose he all of a sudden shows up in my life? I mean, why now? And he’s obviously following us. I just have a million questions and no answers.”
Cayman looked down at his breakfast and then back up to Alexa.
“You’re amazing. After all you’ve been through you can still break this down and look at it piece by piece. Who can do that? I can’t even do that. I just want to crack his head.”
He sat there, staring at her with a softness that made her want to jump into his arms. His concern for her made him all the more difficult to resist. She’d almost let herself jump in that ring a couple times, and with all that had happened since he appeared on the scene, she couldn’t allow herself the luxury of falling for him.
She forced herself to eat, only because with food in her mouth she didn’t have to say much. It gave her time to sort through the events of the past few days, the proximity of Cayman to all those events and the appearance of her father, as well. Thinking through just that much of it made what food she had managed to get down come right back up her throat.
“I think I’m done,” she said with a smile. “Are you ready to go?”
She hadn’t been looking at him, but when she looked up he was studying her face.
“You’re sure doing a lot of thinking over there,” he said, trying to sound light.
“Yeah,” she said casually, “guess I was just hungrier than I thought.”
“Oh, sure,” he said with a laugh, “you ate all of two bites. You must have been famished.”
She was standing up and heading to the register as he spoke. He threw the tip down on the table and quickly caught up to her. He paid for the meal and they headed for the car. The effect of the pain killers gone, they decided he could try driving for a while and see how it went. He backed out of the parking space and headed for the freeway. It wasn’t long until they were at freeway speed. They would try to make it most of the way through Utah, at least as far south as they could.
“You know, you don’t need to pay for every meal,” she said turning to look at him.
“And why not?” he said most gallantly, “Isn’t that the chivalrous thing to do?”
His grin was incredible, causing her insides to tighten in a most deliciously uncomfortable way.
“It’s not about that,” she said, forcing her concentration, “it’s about sharing the expenses. This trip isn’t your responsibility, it’s mine.”
In that instant in the restaurant, Alexa had changed. She was no longer the weak, fearful woman he had put in the car back in Startup. She was now a woman on a mission.
“What happened back there?” asked Cayman curiously. He was exiting the freeway, opting for back roads with less visibility than a freeway.
“What do you mean? You know what happened. I saw my father again, or someone that looked like him.”
They had been on the road for about an hour, talking for some of the time, sometimes lost in thought. Now they sat in silence and finally Alexa spoke.
“Where’s the map?”
“In the glove box, why?”
“Because at the next major city, you’re going to drop me off at a car rental place and I’m going on by myself.”
Cayman came unglued.
“No you’re not!” he said firmly. “Alexa, there are people after you, after that album. You can’t do this by yourself. You need someone with you!”
“And how would you know I can’t do it by myself?” she asked turning to him. “I made it through my father’s murder, the trial and conviction of my fiancé, the purchase of the diner, a whole butt load of heavy duty issues. What makes you think I can’t do this myself?”
“Well, for one thing, you don’t have a gun, and if you did, could you even shoot straight?”
The car was in the middle of nowhere and Alexa said, “Pull over.”
“Why?”
“Just do it.” She was determined.
Cayman pulled the car over. Alexa got out and opened the passenger door. She fumbled around in her overnight bag until her hand hit the cold steel of her small hand gun. Grabbing a pop can from the garbage bag in the car she set it firmly on a rock off the side of the road. Crossing to the other side of the road she lifted the pistol she’d just pulled from her bag, aimed and shot the pop can off the rock. She crossed back to where the can lay on the ground, picked it up and placed it back on the rock, the bullet hole facing her. She went to the other side of the road again and shot the can just as she had before. The pinging sound of the bullet hitting the can resounded through the canyon. She crossed the road one more time, picked up the can and took it to Cayman, who was standing dumbfounded outside the driver’s side of the car. She handed him the can.
There was just one bullet hole in the can. She’d shot the can twice in the same spot. He was impressed.
“Wow-” he said, stopping abruptly as he looked up and into the barrel of her gun. “What--what are you doing?”
Her arms were straight, both hands on the gun in a perfect shooting stance.
“Do you really think my father would raise me the way he did, and not
teach his little girl to shoot?” she looked at him blankly and continued. “I don’t know who you are, or why you’re determined to help me, but you’re not kidding me. Either you tell me what your interest is in this right now, or I put a bullet in your knee cap and leave you on the side of the road.”
The dynamic between the two of them had just made a serious left turn. This was going to be a problem, and Cayman knew it.
Chapter Seven
“You had your gun out before that car ever got to the side of us. You knew something was going to happen. How did you know?” The gun was still pointed at Cayman, her voice was filled with suppressed anger.
“Geez, Alexa! It all happened so fast I’m not sure what I know.”
“DON’T LIE TO ME!” she screamed, her rage focused and intense. She had reached the limit of her willingness to follow blindly. She needed answers and she needed them now.
“I don’t remember! I just saw this car coming up behind us kind of fast, and my gut instinct told me I needed to be ready. What do you want me to say? I don’t know what you want from me!”
She stared into his eyes, frozen in time as the thoughts rolled around in her head. With a hard sigh she finally released the trigger on the gun and dropped her hands to her sides. She turned away from him and trudged across the road, looking over the dry plain that surrounded them. She could feel the familiar sting of tears forming in her eyes, but refused to let them fall. She only knew she would never be anyone’s stooge again, but she had no clue how to protect herself from that. She was frustrated, angry and confused, right back where she was before Cayman ever came into her life.
“Why did you come to my diner?” she muttered to herself. “Why couldn’t you and the rest of the world just leave me alone?”
Cayman was right behind her.
“I was hungry, but I can’t speak for the rest of the world.”
The situation was so ridiculous it made her smile. She turned and looked at him and saw the same confusion and uncertainty she felt, and for some stupid reason, that made her laugh. Still holding the gun, she placed the back of her hand against her mouth and laughed. Soon she was bent over, trying to suppress it, but it just felt so good to laugh. She realized she hadn’t laughed this hard since before her father died. How had she lived without laughter?
“First you’re going to shoot me, and now you think I’m funny?” he asked, incredulously. He ran his hands through his thick head of hair and said, “You are one strange woman…one beautiful, strange woman.”
She finally regained control of herself and took some deep breaths.
“Sorry…but man that felt good!”
They walked back to the car and he continued.
“Maybe you need some meds, I mean, who does that? Really.”
They slid into their seats and Cayman started the car and looked at her.
“What?” she said defensively.
“What? That’s all you have to say is ‘what’?”
“Oh, I forgot this part, ‘shut up and drive.’”
That made her laugh all over again and she spent the next few miles trying to explain what was so funny.
It really did sound crazy, but somehow Alexa felt relieved. It was like a million pounds of mistrust and fear had been erased. For the first time in more than a year she felt in control of herself and her situation, free of the benefactor in her diner purchase, free of the death of her father, free of the loss of her fiancé, and free of the hatred of him. She felt free, and as she rolled down the window and the wind rushed through her hair, for the first time, she felt she was going to find out the truth about the death of her father.
Cayman was still a piece in the puzzle. There was a secret he was keeping and she knew it. Knowing she was aware of that added to her feeling of peace, as she could watch him, be aware of him and figure out which side he was on. She wondered what sides there were to be on, but now she knew she would figure it out and finally put all of this to rest. Finally, it was her life again, and she was definitely the one in charge.
***
The remainder of the drive to Salt Lake City was spent discussing whether or not Alexa would continue on by herself. Cayman was right, she knew he would follow her, and what was the point of driving two cars?
“So, are you ever going to tell me what you really do for a living?” she asked, gazing out her passenger window. The landscape was flat with hills in the distance. Though some might say it was boring, she thought it beautiful, like Arizona.
“Oh, I guess we never did quite get to that,” he said. “I work with insurance companies, big insurance companies. I’m an insurance investigator. I have to investigate claims all over the world, which means I have to go on site to the different companies we insure and take a look at the problem. Then I report my findings back to the company and they either pay or deny the claim.”
“Ah, I see. So you’re the one I would blame for a rejected claim.”
“Yup. Fortunately for me, no one knows I’m the bad guy, so I don’t get any flack. That goes to the company.”
They were quiet for a few miles and finally Alexa asked, “What did your dad do for a living?”
“Farmer,” said Cayman. “We have a ranch in Sultan. We used to have livestock, we had horses, about seventy head of cattle, if I remember correctly, and Dad grew hay and lots of wheat that he sold every year. It was a fun place to grow up.”
“Sounds wonderful,” she replied with a smile.
“You never told me what your dad did for a living,” he said.
“My dad?” she began, “Oh, he was in the export business. At least that’s how he explained it to me. He’d find buyers overseas for people that had large items to sell here in the states, or big lots of items and then he’d hook the two of them up and they’d make the sale. He traveled a lot with that because a lot of the items went to China or Africa. Some of it went to the Middle East, but that wasn’t very often. He didn’t like going there much.”
They chatted the rest of the way, stopping for lunch and enjoyed a walk in the sunshine for a bit before returning to the road. It was a couple more hours before they reached Salt Lake City. The perfect stopping place, they had to decide where they wanted to stay the night.
“I don’t care where we stay, but no more main floor rooms!” she smiled at him. A nice cheap two story motel would be fine with her.
“Well, now that I know you’re not a helpless innocent, I can feel a little better about agreeing to you staying in your own room.”
“Oh, like you’ve had to babysit me? Is that what you’re saying?” she teased.
Cayman smiled and shook his head, knowing any answer at this point, would be the wrong one.
They pulled up in front of the Grand America Hotel in downtown Salt Lake.
“They must pay you pretty well to afford to stay here,” she laughed, “I’m a Motel 6 kinda girl.”
“Well, there’s more security at a hotel like this,” he said glancing up the side of the building. “I definitely feel safer here.”
They entered the lobby, complete with marbled floors and giant columns. Approaching the counter Cayman asked about a room.
The woman at the counter checked the availability for the night.
“You need one night?” she asked.
“Yes,” replied Cayman.
“Are you here for Conference?” she asked them.
“Conference? No, we’re just passing through,” said Cayman. “What conference is going on here? You probably have a few.”
“Oh, no, just one this weekend, but we fill up pretty fast. It’s the LDS Church General Conference. On these weekends we fill up months in advance and rarely have anything available until Monday night. But, I do have one suite with two bedrooms if that would work for you. I’m sorry I don’t have anything smaller at this time.”
Cayman booked the room and they headed to the top floor. It was an amazing view from the windows set around the outside of the room. Mountains surround
ed them with soft rolling sides and craggy tops. They had very few trees, these mountains, but they were green and huge. The gentle contours of the mountainside were somehow relaxing, comforting. Alexa had to ask herself how a mountainside could be comforting, but it felt true.
The room was amazing. Very elegant, each room had its own bathroom with a central lounging area. Alexa was impressed, though she looked a little sad.
“What’s with the sad face?” joked Cayman.
“Oh, nothing,” she lied, “it’s nothing.”
He crossed to where she stood and put his good arm around her waist and pulled her to him.
“I’m assuming it’s still okay if I do this?” he said with a smile.
She nodded and rested her head on his shoulder.
“So…why the sad face, then?”
She sighed and pulled away from him, walking to the window and looking out to those beautiful mountains.
“It’s just…” she began, “I’d always thought this was the type of room I’d have on my honeymoon. Instead, I was home, alone. More alone than I’d ever felt in my life. Just seeing this room brings all that back to me. I’d thought I was finally past it all.”
Cayman came up behind her and gently turned her to him.
“I’m sorry, Alexa. I didn’t think about that.” He lifted her chin and kissed her softly. His hands moved to the small of her back and he pulled her into a kiss. She melted at his touch, her mouth hungrily accepted his offering. She could feel the muscles in his back, strong and firm. The kisses became more passionate, more heated and he lifted her with his good arm and carried her to the bed. She had both arms around his neck, the heat inside her made roiling and burning. Their lips never parted as he laid her gently down and then moved in beside her. She pulled him to her, wanting him, needing him, her body burning with a fire she’d thought had long died.
There was a knock at the door and everything stopped.
