He's Got Her Goat (22 page)

The front yard hadn’t changed at all, and she didn’t bother going near the house but went straight to the back. The sagging fences were untouched but that didn’t mean much. She trotted across the front of the house again and over toward the garage. Austin and Sterling were following her but were still a ways behind, trying to be more cautious.

“Back here!” she called to the Sterling and Austin as she rounded the corner. They flanked her and peered across the way.

As her view expanded, her hope shrank. Blackberry bushes had claimed the area west of the garage, creating a sea of thorns impassable by man or beast.

“They’re not here.” She refused to cry. Not in front of them. She knew they had both tried so hard on her behalf.

Sterling put his arm around her. “We’ll find them somehow. We’ll keep searching.”

“And I know where to start.” Austin had his cell phone out. The same readout that was on his computer flashed on his cell. “You do know that this is the last house on the street, right?”

“Yes.” Paige said.

He didn’t stay to explain but sprinted down the driveway toward the main road and turned right. They ran after him. Paige was getting winded, and by the time they hit the end of the road, Austin was a good quarter mile down a small dirt road to the right.

The intern pivoted and pointed with both hands to the left like a one of those ground controllers who direct airplanes into gates. “See? It’s new.”

Sure enough, a road had been cut through the thick brush. The fresh blacktop still looked wet. A low rattle alerted them to a coming vehicle. Paige flashed her eyes over her shoulder and back up the road, but no one was there. The nose of a large truck emerged from the woods on the new road, and Austin screamed, “Hide!”

He dove into a drainage ditch parallel to the asphalt, and the next thing Paige knew, Sterling’s arm was around her, pulling her down into the muck. The ditch wasn’t empty. Her hands bit against rocks as she lay face down in a position like she was doing push-ups, but in a few inches of water. Sterling had his arm across her back. Since the ditch wasn’t wide enough for both of them, his body lay on top of her, but surprisingly it didn’t weigh her down.

She tried to focus on his warm breath by her ear instead of the little creatures she could imagine crawling around her as the empty livestock truck rolled slowly by. It seemed an eternity before it was gone, and they could climb out of the two-foot depression. The front of Paige’s shirt was soaked, and her black pants had a stripe of mud down the center of each leg. But after wiping herself down with her palms, she was none the worse for wear. Sterling was clean except for one knee where his black slacks had been torn clear through. The exposed skin looked scraped up. His elbow wasn’t in great shape either. He’d obviously been bearing his own weight, and she was grateful.

Austin came up to them, amazingly dry with an “I-told-you-so” expression on his face. “I could see a metal building about a half mile down there. They’ve probably got the goats inside.”

Paige beamed at him. “You did it, Austin. Thank you.” A four-inch long banana slug was creeping up his shoulder and would soon be on the boy’s neck. “Don’t move,” Paige said.

“What?” Austin glanced at his shirt and saw nothing.

She gently removed the creature and put it back in the brush. When she turned back to the men, Austin was almost green. “That was on me?”

“It can’t hurt you.” Paige assured him, but Austin shuddered.

Sterling grabbed them both. “We have more company.”

They couldn’t all three jump in the ditch again. Besides, there wasn’t time to hide. A white van with no writing on the sides pulled out of the new driveway. The driver waved at them as he went by. He was wearing a security guard uniform.

Sterling waved back. “That’s good ol’ Chuck going for pizza.”

Austin seemed to be returning to his normal color. “Let’s call the police, and then I’m going to shower.”

Though Detective Dunn had been kind, the police chief’s statement echoed in Paige’s mind. “No crime has been committed. I gave Elaine power of attorney.”

“Only for five more days.” Sterling said. “Why don’t you two go back to the house and get cleaned up? I’ll see what we’re up against.”

Paige caught Sterling by the sleeve. ‘Are you sure it’s safe?”

He touched her cheek. “I’ll be fine. The security guard just left.”

“Uh, Paige.” Austin’s voice seemed terrified.

Was someone coming? Had something happened to the goats? She turned and saw a squished slug on the outside of his forearm. He couldn’t touch it. “Look, slug slime. I’ve got to shower.” His face seemed pale, and he was shaking.

Paige felt she should go for Austin’s sake. He’d begun dancing in place, shaking his arm to free it of the goo. “Sterling, don’t do anything foolish.”

He pecked her cheek. “You know me better than that.”

As she walked back to the farmhouse, she was haunted by his reply. She hoped she knew him, but did she really?

Chapter Twenty-Seven

M
AKING HIS WAY THROUGH THE UNDERBRUSH
beside the new road to the metal building was no easy task. Sterling’s shins felt like pin cushions from the brambles and stickers, but he didn’t want to risk being seen. Once he reached his destination, another hurdle presented itself. There were no windows that he could see on the ground floor. A gnarled apple tree’s top branches brushed one upper window at the middle of the south side of the building. Sterling wrestled his way up the tree, hooking a leg over each branch and slipping as much as climbing in his business shoes.

At last, hugging the branch with all four limbs, he peered into the window. The goats were grazing off a thick layer of scattered hay and held in pens of chicken wire with metal posts stuck straight through the dirt floor. The entire building was a single room except for what looked to be an office to the rear. The back door opened, and Sterling had two realizations. First, that he had overlooked a window on the main floor at the back of the building that led right into the office and would have allowed him to accomplish what he wanted without climbing a tree, and second, that it looked as though Ryan, the guy suing Paige, was the only person around. Though he could easily take him, Sterling had a better idea.

It would be at least five hours before the goats needed to be milked again, and by then, they would be in a place where no one would think to find them. He lowered his head against the rough branch, wondering if he could go through with it. Standing up to Elaine was nothing. Committing what may well be a felony didn’t bother him. Trying to help Paige was awesome. But facing his father after all this time made him sweat. If his dad kicked him out of the house for doing something completely legal, what made Sterling think his dad would accept him with stolen goods?

Sterling began his descent from the tree. It didn’t matter what his father said. After getting up before the sun and working late into the night from the time he was old enough to read until the day he left home, he deserved to be there. His dad could bend for five days, and if he had a problem with that, it would be the last five days they would ever see each other.

After his feet hit solid ground again, Sterling ran to the farmhouse. There was no way he was going through the underbrush again. He was done hiding. It was time to face both his past and his future. He’d fix what Elaine was destroying and perhaps mend himself in the process. Once he got to the main road, he whipped out his cell phone. The best way to get a mule to do what you wanted was with a carrot, and Sterling had one specific carrot in mind that should keep Ryan under control. He dialed in the numbers and waited.

“Dotty? What are you doing for the next hour or so?”

His secretary paused before replying. “Are we still on speaking terms?”

Sterling laughed. “We will be if you come out to the Lindon goat farm. I’ve got a little job I need you to do for me.”

After finishing his conversation with Dotty, Sterling headed straight for his Lexus and was driving away at break neck speed. He scanned the sleek dashboard and leather seats, wondering if he’d ever own such a nice car again. After this stunt, he may be blackballed for life, but Paige was worth it. He’d have no regrets.

IN THE FARMHOUSE THE SHOWER
had been running so long that steam had seeped out of the bathroom and was fogging Paige’s bedroom window. She wondered if Austin was scalding his skin because of that overgrown slug. How many times would she traumatize that poor boy when it was entirely her own fault she was in this predicament? And what about Sterling? He could lose everything for her. Paige lifted the receiver to call the police and file a report whether they believed her or not.

The sound of a diesel engine and grinding gears ignited righteous vengeance. What more could these people take from her? Slamming the phone in its cradle, Paige rushed to the front door and threw it open, expecting another white full-sized van. Instead, it was a large orange and silver U-haul truck with Sterling in the driver’s seat.

As she walked toward the window of his vehicle, a little red Miata pulled up right next to Sterling and would have hit her if she’d been moving at a quicker pace. Sterling’s red-headed secretary got out of her car. She had a long white riding scarf draped around her neck. “Out of my way, baby girl. I’m on a mission.”

Sterling opened his door and came up to both of them with a smile. “Actually, Dotty, the mission is for Paige. I need you to distract your friend while we do something you might not approve of.”

Glaring from Paige to Sterling, Dotty folded her arms across her ample chest. “There are very few things I don’t approve of.”

“True.” Sterling chuckled. Then he got serious. “You should know that there’s a good possibility neither of us will have a job by tomorrow, but I’ll get a good severance package I’ll split with you.”

Dotty’s expression didn’t change. “And I’ve got some beachfront property in Arizona to sell ya.”

“You’ve always suggested I should cut ties with Elaine and move on to better things.” He put an arm around Paige.

“But she’s got nothing.” Dotty’s nostrils flared. “Look around you.”

Sterling seemed surprised by Dotty’s reluctance. “Some things are more important than money.”

“Not in your line of work.” The older woman snapped back.

Paige backed away a little as Dotty got more heated. Wedging herself between them, Dotty shoved a finger at Sterling. “You want to give up everything you’ve built over the last ten years for a pretty face.” She peered at Paige. “And she isn’t even that pretty. Is that what’s going through your head?”

Sterling rubbed his forehead. “Dotty, can we discuss this alone?”

Dotty bristled and stepped to the side, so she could address both of them. “No, I think little Heidi here should know what she’s doing. She’s just like her uncle. He tried to stand up to Elaine, and look where it got him. He never got another contract job. Now you’re going to poison Sterling, too? Not on my watch. Sterling is the only upright part of Erickson Holdings. While I sit around playing Spider Solitaire all day, he works his buns off to make this world a better place. The companies he funds hire people at a time when there’s not enough jobs to go around. You want to kill all that for a few laughs?”

“You don’t understand,” Sterling practically shouted. Paige had never heard him so angry. “Elaine has targeted Paige for no good reason. This time she’s has gone too far.”

“Elaine always goes too far. That’s why she’s rich.” Dotty’s tone rose with each word. “Why suddenly the conscience now? Don’t think this is anything more than hormones. Sterling, you’ll regret it in the morning. I know. I almost did the same thing at your age and regretted it my whole life.”

Sterling’s chest heaved. “Dotty, I’m not you. I’m your boss. Either do what I ask, or you’re fired. That’s your choice.”

Riddled with guilt, Paige couldn’t let them lose everything because of her. The cost was too high. She had to stop this. “Sterling, she’s right. It’s too much to ask of you. We’ll let the authorities take care of it. I’ll call Deputy Dunn, and what happens, happens.”

Dotty whipped her head Paige’s direction with such force it seemed as if she’d been slapped. “Are you insane? Elaine will crush you like a bug on a windshield if you let the system get a hold of this. Sterling is your only chance. You should be willing to do whatever he asks and then some, not wimp out.” Then she faced Sterling. “See what I mean? This girl is not good enough for you.”