Count on Me (Petal, Georgia) (29 page)

A little something—Royal discovered as he began to unload all the stuff Polly had brought—meant what appeared to be a meatloaf and also fried chicken along with mac and cheese, roasted potatoes, corn, fresh bread and two pies.

All sorts of comfort food he could hopefully tempt his woman into eating. She’d retreated a little, saying she had to put some boxes away and take her shoes off, but he knew she also needed some time and space to get herself under control again.

Caroline wandered in with bare feet. She looked at the fridge, jammed with food. “Plenty of food for dinner tonight. Who keeps spare fried chicken around?” She shook her head. “I bet she just handed over their dinner. Edward said they’d been to Cassie and Shane’s and that’s where she found out about the break-in. What they didn’t say was that they went back home, she finished up the chicken and potatoes and then brought them over.”

“Probably. She’s sneaky. Come on. You need a bath.” He picked up a bottle of red wine and two glasses, following her to the bathroom where he put it all down and got the bath filling.

She allowed it, even when he pulled her clothes off she was a little withdrawn. Which he had every intention of dealing with once they were a little more relaxed.

“No one is expected here for two hours. We will bathe. We will drink some wine and talk about today. Later, I’ll watch while you put makeup on and do your hair, and then friends will arrive and we’ll have a nice dinner.”

She looked dubious but she got in with a hiss and a groan. She sipped her wine while he got his clothes off and then into the bath, settling behind her with her body between his legs.

“I’m really glad I chose the biggest tub they had in this style.”

“It’s a great tub,” she agreed sleepily.

“So, some fucking crappy day, huh?”

She was quiet a long time, gathering herself. “Most people didn’t know about my father right away. The older I got and the older the people I met got, the less incidents I’d have with people who were hostile and never spoke to me again, or more commonly, distanced themselves slowly but surely after they found out and just disappeared from my life.”

Her gaze sharpened as she came back from her memories.

“It’s a hot button for me. I’m defensive about it.”

He scoffed. “I’m consistently amazed at how well you keep your temper. I’d be flipping tables and punching people. But you manage to say
fuck you
by just doing whatever you want anyway.”

Pleased at the compliment, she continued. “I’ve met a lot of different types of people over the last fifteen years or so that this has been in my life. Sometimes it’s hostile. Usually it’s curious. Open. I’ve had people yell over me when I was speaking at an event and that sort of thing. But you know before I moved back here, I had a pretty normal life. I had a great job. My coworkers are some of the smartest people I know. I had a fantastic house with a view of downtown Seattle. I had friends. I went out and did stuff.

“This business with Benji and Garrett is distressing. In my life before now, I’d have handled them both. I’d have ignored most of it, but I most definitely would have pressed charges against Benji for nearly hitting me. I’d have told Garrett off so hard his ears would have bled. But this is different. Everything is different, and I’m off balance and freaked.”

He tightened his arms around her. “I’m here with you.”

“I know and I’m really glad. I gave up all that other stuff, a community, my own firm, a great house, and I came here. Here where people are hostile to me all the time. Here where my family—the ones I moved back here for—are hostile but for one. My apartment got broken into. My panties were handled by some creep! Damn it, that bra I threw away was perfect. Someone broke into my home and touched my stuff and destroyed my things. My memories. My perfume bottles.”

She hadn’t noticed at first, but survival was over and the tears were coming hard and fast.

“I don’t cry in bathtubs! I don’t have to deal with the police about anything I ever did. People don’t ransack my house. I don’t have men trying to punch me in restaurants. This isn’t my fucking life.”

She’d gotten to that gaspy, hiccuppy crying point where he couldn’t understand a word she said, but held her tight and murmured various comforting things anyway.

Finally she ducked under the water completely until the noise died away and then she resurfaced. He held up a bar of soap and a washcloth. “You’re dirty.”

He started to scrub her back, around each shoulder and down each arm to her hands.

“But I find I like my job. It’s not Seattle, I don’t have a view and lunch at five-star restaurants weekly, no. But I make a difference. For the most part I like my clients. I really like the people I work with.”

She forged ahead, needing him to know how he made her feel.

“And I have you. Which is the biggest and best thing about being in Petal. Everything else I could take or leave, or manage from far away. But you? You’re here with your hands in the dirt. And what you do changes lives. I love that. I love that you’re doing something so amazing with your land and your life.”

Surprised pleasure lit his face. “I’m a simple guy. A farmer.”

“Sometimes it’s the most simple things that make the biggest difference. Your successful farm is good not only for you and for all the places you sell your produce to, but to the community as a whole. Not just in health benefits, but it brings money to the area. And you’ve done something to me. To my life. You make me see things differently. And I like your house on this rise with the land spread out like a blanket all around. I feel safe here. With you. I like life when you’re in it. When your cat is riding me like I’m his horse and cleaning my head as he does it. I feel very much under siege right now, but less so because of you.”

He started to clean some of her better parts, and she gave him one raised brow. He showed her where he thought his dirtiest part was and urged her to get it nice and soapy.

After an hour they hopped in the shower, cleared up and then got out so they could get ready for dinner. As she walked past him, he stopped her by taking her hand. “You make my life better when you’re in it too. I know how much you gave up, but I’m sure glad you’ve found some of the things here worth the trip.”

She kissed him. “Yeah, you’ll do.”

Chapter Seventeen

Melissa held a bottle of beer Clint’s way. “So do you think the guy heard you on the first broadcast or later on one of the syndicated spots?”

Both Royal and Caroline narrowed their gazes as they leaned toward Melissa. “What? Syndicated?” Caroline asked.

“Oh my God, you didn’t know?”

“No! I had no idea. I mean the host guy said they sometimes used the shorter spots to fill out empty air but since my story was more local he wasn’t sure.”

Clint spoke. “I heard it on my satellite radio when I was working in my office last night at like midnight I think. Melissa heard it during drive time on the local affiliate. The satellite station it was on was one that’s sort of statewide legal issues. I bet if you got hold of the guy he’d be able to get you that info. Shane probably needs it for the case.”

“Meh, it’s a burglary. It’s not like anyone is going to make a big deal out of it. People’s houses get broken into every day.”

“Clint is right, Caro. There’s a threat here. The vandalism and theft of the pictures say this is personal. They’re going to act to protect you if for no other reason.” Royal paused as he ate the rest of the chocolate cream pie Polly Chase had given them earlier. He’d protect her either way.

“I have a friend who produces
Good Day Atlanta
, and I told her about you and your story.”

Caroline looked to Melissa and then Clint. “You’re full of surprises.”

Clint laughed. “She wants to talk with you about maybe doing a spot. A local
if you have any information call this number
sort of segment. She said it’s like a three or four minute spot so not huge, but you’d be expanding your audience.”

“Wow, that would be incredible.”

“I’ll get your contact info to her then.”

“I really appreciate it. Media is so big and it has the chance of helping. But also, well it’s so big I don’t know how to get attention focused on it. We made a video and uploaded it to the internet too. Ron, the investigator, he’s on the ground doing all this stuff. He’s checking the tip line and forwarding relevant things my way. Nothing major so far.”

Melissa hugged her as she walked by. “I’m sorry this happened to you. I’m worried about your safety.”

“Right now we don’t know if it’s some jerk who got all bound up because a woman dared to have an opinion in public or if it’s the real killer. The first is way more likely.”

Royal uncoiled himself from where he’d been pretending to lounge. “She’s staying here at least until she finds a new place that’s far safer. I know her landlord, the guy likes money, but he won’t hold her to that lease. Not after this.”

“That means I have to drive in each day. Ugh. I hate that part. But it’s really not that far, and it’s better than waking up to find a weirdo having broken into my apartment standing over me.”

“Not a fan of this type of joke,” Royal murmured, and she leaned forward to kiss him.

“Sorry.”

“Good. Hopefully that will work in my favor when I explain how I’m going to drive you to work and pick you up every day.”

“We’ll talk about that later.”
Puhleeze
. She didn’t need an escort to work for goodness sake! But when he got all protective, it made her tingly so she’d let it go for a while longer.

“You mean you’ll indulge me but eventually think I’ll take no for an answer.” He grinned at her, totally on to her game.

“Until the sex is done at least,” she said in his ear.

“Go ahead on if you think you can withstand all my persuasive ways.”

She laughed, hugging him.

They hung out for another hour or two before Melissa and Clint headed out.

Royal turned to Caroline. “Glad they came over. I like them.”

“I do too.” Melissa was the first real friend she’d made since moving to Petal and they’d become pretty close. “She’s smart and funny.”

“And a bit of an outsider too.”

Caroline nodded. “Yes. She knows what I’m talking about in ways no one else does.”

“I’m sorry you feel so alone.”

She took his face in her hands, glad they were both sitting so he wasn’t towering over her. “I have you.”

He smiled. “Yeah, you do. But having other friends is important. I’d like to hope you also feel that way in the future about my group of friends.”

“I like your friends. I mean, we had a rough start, but they’re all fine now. And I get it. Their loyalty was to Anne first. In some ways it’s nice to see the way you all come together the way you do.”

“Nicer when you’re part of the us-versus-the-world stuff though.”

“Agreed.”

He pulled her into his lap. “Now, I believe I have some persuasion to work on.”

Shane held up the disc containing the possible worthy tips and the scary calls from the tip line. “I listened to them all. Of the two tips that caught your attention, I think one has merit. I’ll have one of my people check in with the county to see if there was a road crew out doing any work around the diner. I’d hope it was addressed then, but.” He shrugged and tried not to appear angry, failing. The sins of the old chief were heavy on his shoulders, Caroline knew.

“The other one I definitely don’t think. That dairy drive-through on the corner had been torn down two years before the murder.”

She nodded. One usable tip in the few days after the radio interview wasn’t bad. Sixteen years after the murder too. She had to hang on to this new way of dealing with the case and hope that she’d find a way to process the lack of control.

“As for the threat. You’ve got a male who references your radio interview and that he knows where you live. Since you had a break-in following that radio interview and the destruction was quite personal, I don’t think it’s a stretch to wonder if the two things aren’t related or if this is more than one person. These tip lines aren’t much help, but I’ve got someone on it. Right now I don’t know much, but I know enough that I don’t like it, Caroline.”

“I don’t like it either. My renter’s insurance will write me a decent check. They’re replacing my clothes and shoes. But so much was ruined. Books and photographs. A stranger was in my home. I don’t like that one bit! He touched my things. Read my notes. Stole a picture of me and one of my mother. ’Cause
that’s
not creepy at all.”

Shane reached out and patted her hand. “I know this is awful. I’m sorry. I can promise you we’ll do all we can.”

“I appreciate it. I’ll get in touch if we hear anything else. I’m at Royal’s for the time being. On the days I don’t have to leave town, he even says he’ll drive me. Insists. Says. Suggests.” She snorted. “I’m going on television next Wednesday. So it may bring a lot of attention or nothing at all. You know how this goes sometimes.”

“You’re going to need to be extra careful once you do that. This guy who’s behind the threats and break-in isn’t going to be happy about you taking this stuff out to a wider audience. And if he’s the real killer, he’s already killed at least one woman and let another person go to death row. That’s what we know. What we don’t know is far likely worse, and so he’s going to be eager to shut you up. Keep aware of your surroundings. If anything looks or feels weird, I want you to call me.”