Chapter 30
Avery
I woke up Friday morning when my cell did the vibration dance on my nightstand. It was only eight in the morning. And I was on break. Who the hell was calling me this early.
Hannah.
“You better have a good reason for calling me this early, Hannah.”
“Get up. Get ready. We’ve got some investigating to do.”
“Huh?” I asked, running a hand through my sleep-tousled hair, “What are you talking about?”
“I was blowing your phone up last night, apparently you had turned it off. Must’ve been busy or something, huh?”
“I’m waiting.”
“So yesterday after you left, Aunt Becky got a call on her cell while she was still at the house. It was Mandy. She told Aunt Becky she couldn’t come in today because she has a doctor’s appointment.”
“So? Not following.”
“Well, how in the hell does she get a doctor’s appointment on Thanksgiving for the next damn day?”
“I give up, Nancy Drew, how?”
“Listen Avery, I’m gonna be there to pick you up in ten minutes. I’ll park on the road out front. I’ve got Reese’s car. I don’t believe for one damn minute she has a doctor’s appointment. If it was scheduled, she wouldn’t have had to call Aunt Becky on Thanksgiving to let her know she wouldn’t be in today. We need to tail her.”
“Oh my God! You sound like somebody from an old P.I. movie. Hey, but I’m game. Got nothing better to do. I’ll see you in ten.”
I dressed in jeans and a black sweater. I piled my hair up into a ball cap and put on a pair of sunglasses. If we did follow her, she wouldn’t know it was me.
Ten minutes later Hannah pulled up on the road out front. I could see she had the same thing in mind when I got into Reese’s silver Mustang. Hannah had sunglasses on as well, and she’d donned a knit toboggan. “Her car is still in the lot,” I said as I fastened my seat belt. “How are we going to follow her if we don’t know when she’s going to leave?”
“We wait,” Hannah replied pulling away and making a left at the first road past the manor. She turned the car around and pulled up near the intersection, shutting off the engine.
And that’s exactly what we did for forty minutes. We talked, we waited. Hannah pummeled me with questions about Bryce. I shared with her that we’d expressed our mutual love for one other.
“That is so cool,” she said, getting all dreamy eyed. “You two are so perfect for each other. Sarah thinks so too. Did you make love?”
“Hannah! That’s personal,” I replied, feeling my cheeks warm.
“C’mon, just give me something. I live vicariously through you.”
I thought for a moment. “Okay, how’s this? Guys that moan fuck me up.”
She squealed in delight. “Oh my God! He’s even got you talking dirty! I’m so proud of you, Avery!”
We were still giggling when we saw a car pull up to the end of the drive at the manor. “Look,” I said, pointing, “There she is.”
Hannah started the engine and waited until Mandy had made a right onto the road before pulling out and following her. She was headed into Bristol which made sense because that was the heart of town. It was where the businesses and professional offices were located. But when Mandy pulled into a parking lot attached to the D & S Trailer Rental she threw us each for a loop.
“What the hell?” Hannah said, pulling down the street and parking. “There’s no doctor’s office around here.”
I looked at the side mirror and saw Mandy walk into D & S. Fifteen minutes later she came out, but she wasn’t alone. “Shit, that’s Carter Sims,” I said. “He must’ve been inside waiting for her.”
We watched as they both rounded the corner of the building to the parking lot. A couple of minutes later, Carter pulled out in one of the Sinclair Stables trucks he was permitted to use, and Mandy was sitting in the passenger side of it now. They’d left her car behind. “Duck,” Hannah ordered, sliding down in her seat. I did the same.
When we popped back up, they were in the next block, so we resumed our surveillance. They headed east on River Street and went about four blocks, pulling into the parking lot of Acme Hardware and Lumber.
“What the hell?,” I said, “This is a supplier to the ranch. It’s where we get our building supplies, plumbing and electrical stuff. What is she doing?”
Hannah sniffed. “I’ll tell you what she is doing. She blew off work to hang with Carter and run errands with him.”
“But why? This doesn’t make sense,” I replied. “They can see each other after work, at night, in the morning, what’s the point?”
“She’s a bitch in lust. She’s trying to find a daddy for that baby,” Hannah replied. “Even if the blood tests prove Bryce is the father, there’s no way he’s going to give you up. Don’t you see that Avery?”
“Yeah, but I know Bryce. He’ll want to do right by the child.”
“I agree. But that doesn’t include ole’ Mandy in the mix, you know? I say she’s working on finding this baby a stepdaddy.”
“I don’t know, Hannah. I think I need to talk to Bryce about our snooping. I don’t want him to feel like I’ve blind-sided him or anything if this does prove to be something.”
“Yeah,” she said with a sigh, “I get it. Maybe he’s got some info he hasn’t shared either. I think we should pool our resources.”
I had to give it to Hannah. She totally went with her instincts, and that probably wasn’t a bad thing. She was way more objective than me or Bryce could be in this particular situation.
“Okay, I’ll talk to him this evening when I sneak over to his place,” I said with a naughty grin.
“Girl, you are sooo in love,” she chided.
I couldn’t deny it.