CHAPTER FIFTEEN
After a dinner of barbecued steak sandwiches, they all sat around the living room. Addy tried to build up enough courage to try to convince Trent to take her back to her place for the night.
Finally, just before dark, she brought it up.
“So.” She took a deep breath and looked at Gail. “I’m very thankful for your kindness in allowing me to stay here. I can never repay you.”
Gail smiled over at her. “I’m just thankful you’re okay.”
“We all are,” Trisha added.
She stood up and glanced down at Trent. “If it’s not too much, I was wondering if you’d mind taking me back to my . . .”
“No.” He shook his head. “It’s too soon.”
“Honey,” Gail said in a softer tone. “The girl wants her own bed.” A look passed between mother and son. One that Addy had always hoped she’d see in her own mother’s eyes one day. Love. “Take her home.”
Trent took a deep breath, then stood.
“Thank you,” Addy said again. “For everything.”
“If you need anything,” Gail said, “just let us know.”
Addy made her way back to Trent’s room. He helped her gather her things in the duffle bag she’d bought at an army surplus store in Colorado. Then he carried her bag to the front door in silence.
She followed and stood still as he helped her on with one of his jackets. Which reminded her that she was now out of a coat since hers had been ruined along with her favorite pair of shoes, jeans, and her red sweater.
“You okay?” he asked as he got behind the wheel of his truck.
“Yes, just thinking of everything I have to replace.”
“When will your insurance be paying you?” He pulled out of the driveway.
“They said in a day or two. No more than a week.”
“You can borrow . . .”
“No.” She looked over at him.
“What? You don’t even know what I was going to suggest.”
Her eyebrows shot up. “You were going to suggest I borrow one of the company’s cars.”
He frowned. “So? What would be . . .”
“Trent.” She paused. “You do know what I do. Who I work for. Why I’m here.”
He took a deep breath. “Fine. How about I let you drive my car until we can go to Helena and get a replacement for you?”
“I’ll figure something else out.” Her gaze shifted out the window. She was sure there were already rumors spreading about her staying at the McGowan place; driving around in Trent’s car for the next week would be the icing on the cake and get her fired.
She’d been honest with Beau when she’d talked to him earlier.
“Are you okay?” Beau had asked after she’d filled him in on everything that had happened to her.
“Yes,” she’d started to say, but he’d jumped in.
“We’re heading there. Just give us—”
“No,” she’d broken in. “I’m fine. Really.”
Beau had been quiet.
“I just wanted you to know that I was staying with some old family friends, actually it’s the McGowans . . .”
“Really?” he’d said, sounding excited. “Any chance you could get a little chummier with them?” It had actually sounded like he’d held his breath while he waited for her answer.
“I . . .” She didn’t know what to say. “I guess.”
“Good, then it’s settled.” She could hear him shift and imagined him doing one of the fist pumps he often did when things were going his way. “You’ll keep me posted when you find something out?”
“Yes.” She’d caved. Completely. Wholly. Why was she so weak?
She hadn’t wanted to argue that she’d been too tired and hurt to even focus on trying to play spy.
As it was now, she was thankful she had a full bottle of Tylenol in her cupboard.
Trent parked next to her trailer and helped her out of the truck, then pulled her bag out of the back seat.
She was so busy watching him that she didn’t notice Brian and one of his buddies walk up.
“So the rumors are true,” he said, his tone causing her to cringe slightly.
“What rumors?” she said as she turned toward the pair. She was trying to act casual, but she knew that if the group found out their relationship, things could get even more complicated.
“That you’re shacking up with a McGowan,” Brian’s friend Gary said.
She felt Trent tense next to her and put a bandaged hand on his arm.
Brian and his little gang had tagged along with the rest of the protesters. She’d gotten the feeling early on that they hadn’t really had their hearts in the core of the group’s goals, but had rather used their time with the group to benefit themselves by any means possible. They spent half their time flirting and eating free meals and the rest of the time complaining about everything else. She doubted Brian truly cared what FREE’s goals were.
She knew what the rest of the group would think. Outside of Beau and Joy, no one else knew that it was their plan for her to get close to Trent. The term sleeping with the enemy came to mind and had her cringing inwardly. She wasn’t a spy. What made her think she could do this? Still, she felt the need to defend the only people in town who had gone out of their way to help her when she needed it.
“Not that it’s any of your business, but I’m not shacking up with anyone. The McGowans were kind enough to help me after my ordeal.” She turned as if to go.
“Don’t think this is over,” Brian said under his breath. The two men chuckled and walked away without a backward glance.
“Damn it,” Trent said. “What the hell does that mean?”
“He thinks he’s trying to get me fired.” Addy shrugged, knowing that Beau was fully behind her methods, and went to open her trailer door.
“Why would he do that?” he asked, stepping in after her.
“Who knows.” She sat down on her bed and sighed.
“You really like this place, don’t you?” he asked, setting her bag down on the table.
“It’s home. My home.” She smiled.
“It is small.” He glanced around before sitting down.
“Not for me.” She sighed again and then remembered something vital. “Damn it,” she groaned. “I guess I’ll be going without gas for—”
“Tyler and Kristen got you two new tanks and hooked them up yesterday,” Trent said.
She had to swallow back the tears that started to burn her eyes.
“Hey.” He wrapped his arms around her.
She hadn’t allowed herself to cry yet. She was thankful that Trent held on to her as tears began to roll freely. Her chest hurt, her head hurt, and most of all, her heart hurt. Not for the pain or the loss, but for the possibilities that could have been.
Addy had berated herself more than a dozen times for rushing toward the fire instead of away. She’d always believed herself to be smarter than that.
She was just like those silly girls in a horror flick to be killed off first because they’d gone into the basement alone.
“No, you’re nothing like that.” Trent chuckled.
She hadn’t realized she’d spoken the thought out loud.
Leaning back, she reached to wipe her eyes, but he beat her to it and gently used his thumbs to dry her tears.
“Yes, I am,” she said, holding in a hiccup.
He smiled. “What doesn’t kill you . . .” He tilted his head. “Actually I probably would have done the same if it was Bessy.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’re a terrible liar.”
He pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her one more time.
“I’m just thankful you’ll be okay.”
“Me too.” When he released her, she stood up. “I need to get Mr. Thompson something wonderful. To thank him for pulling me inside.”
“He’s a sucker for anything with the Coke label on it,” Trent said. She looked at him in surprise.
“How did you know that?” She had been thinking the same thing.
“I helped him build a shed out back of his house one summer. He filled it with his collection so he could go out there and relax. I think Mrs. Thompson forced him to get the last bit of it out of her house after she retired.”
Addy giggled. “Yeah, every time I would go over there for lessons, she would complain that it was slowly taking over.”
“There are a few antique stores on the way to Helena. I could drive you up there to look for a replacement car and we could stop along the way?”
She thought about it. “I should have my check by Friday, or so they said.”
“How about Saturday?” Trent suggested.
She nodded and smiled. “You don’t have to.”
He brushed a strand of her hair away from her dry face. “I know that.” He leaned down and kissed her slowly. “I really want to stay here tonight with you, but . . .”
She nodded and closed her eyes as she rested her forehead against his chest. “Go home.”
She felt his chest rise and fall. Then he nudged her chin up with a finger until she met his gaze. “This means something. More than anything I’ve ever had before.”
Her throat had closed up tight, too tight, so she just nodded in agreement.
“If you need anything,” he said, before dropping his arms from her.
“I’ll let you know.” She watched him leave her trailer, and suddenly the emptiness in the small space seemed to make the room grow until it was too big, too empty.
She walked over, flipped the lock on the door, and leaned against it.
Trent had a few days’ worth of work to catch up on. He hadn’t realized before how much paperwork went through his desk. It took him until late Friday evening to finally catch up on the invoices and orders.
He was in charge of making sure the land they were done pumping oil from got back to its beautiful self. Which meant more work than most people realized. Even he didn’t understand how his father had handled every aspect of the business himself.
Of course, Trent had a knack for land development. He would have never guessed it until it had been thrust at him. He was even enjoying working on the board for the school.
The mayor had talked about giving him a full-time position on the board, under the title of town development. He’d gracefully declined, given the pace of his own business. Still, part of him was thankful that she had offered.
He had texted and talked on the phone with Addy several times. She’d been getting rides from a coworker, Estelle, who had shuttled her around so she could continue her errands.
He’d asked Kristen to reprint everything she’d given Addy the day of the fire and deliver it to her trailer.
Addy had texted him immediately and thanked him. He asked her to meet him at the diner for dinner, but she’d declined. She had a group meet-up planned.
He remembered everything she’d told him she did for FREE, but still, what was left for them to do in Haven? Sure, there were still signs all over town and outside several of the McGowan sites, but for the most part, the group had been relatively quiet.
Maybe it was the calm before a storm. What exactly was Addy searching for besides their plans for the new land?
Before heading home, he stopped by the police station to see if Mike knew anything further about Addy’s car fire. The man told him they had interviewed everyone, including Dennis, Darla, and Brian. So far there wasn’t any further information he could or would give him.
“It looks like the investigation has stalled.”
“Stalled?” Trent repeated the word. “Like the NewField fire investigation has stalled?”
Mike leaned back in his chair and nodded. “There’s nothing more I can tell you.”
“Well, at least tell me you know where the three of them were and can confirm they weren’t anywhere near her Jeep when all this started.”
Mike’s head tilted and, after a moment, he nodded. Trent knew that would be all he would get out of him.
He ate dinner at the diner that evening alone. About halfway through his meal, he watched Addy’s parents walk in and take the table across from him.
There were a million things he wanted to say to the pair, but he remained silent, observing.
Her mother, Victoria, tore down the establishment, the food, and the waitress. She talked like she was above everything. Addy’s father sat by and kept his eyes glued to the table as his wife berated Katy, one of Trent’s favorite staffers at the diner. Actually, now all of the staff at the Dancing Moose were nice, since Darla had been fired a few weeks back.
Finally, after the woman had threatened not to pay for anything they had eaten, he stepped in.
“Katy’s just doing her job,” Trent said, controlling his tone, causing every eye in the establishment to turn toward him. Of course, everyone had been watching the show, and he could tell the crowd was curious as to what he was going to do next. “Pay your bill,” he warned. “I’d hate to have to call Mike over here and have him charge you with skipping out on it.”
Victoria’s eyes narrowed. “I shouldn’t be forced to pay for something that wasn’t up to my standards.” Her chin lifted, a move he’d seen on Addy plenty of times. Even though it was familiar, it had a totally different effect than Addy’s.
“You seemed to be enjoying it enough to clean your plates.” He nodded to the empty dishes. “If you had a problem, you should have left some evidence for Mike to see.” Trent let his words sink in, trying his best to look relaxed.
He watched the woman’s eyes heat and happened to chance a glance at Addy’s father, Richard.
“What about you?” he asked. “Do you have any complaints about the food?”
Richard glanced toward his wife, who started to speak.
“I wasn’t asking you,” Trent broke in. “I think the man can speak for himself.” He turned. “So?”
“Like my wife said . . .”
“Right.” Trent shook his head and took a deep breath. “I bet you just sat back all those years as she tore Addy down too and didn’t do shit about it.”
“How dare you!” Victoria stood up and tossed her napkin on the table. “We won’t sit in this half-rate diner and have some local tell us—”
“You’re locals too,” Trent pointed out.
The woman pushed Katy aside. She had been standing dumbstruck in the aisle, watching the entire thing.
Now Victoria stood over him, glaring down.
“I don’t know who you think you are, but you have no business talking about something you know nothing about. Our daughter is a spoiled child who has been acting out since she was eleven.”
Trent’s eyes moved once more to Addy’s father. He noticed the man’s shoulders had hunched, and his eyes were again fixed on a spot on the table.
“We’ve searched out help for our daughter, but she refuses it. We want nothing but the best for her. I don’t know who you think you are,” she said again, “but we’re not going to sit here and be attacked. This town can go on spreading rumors about us all they like. We’re ending all charity to this stupid place—charity we’ve been giving for more than a decade.” Victoria’s voice rose as she looked around the room. “I believe in giving where it’s earned, and I see nothing here worth it.”
“Not even your daughter?” Trent stood up and watched Victoria move back several steps. “You must have heard by now that she was almost killed the other day.” He watched for any reaction from the woman but found none, then he turned and saw Richard wipe a tear from his eye before his wife could see it. “If you cared anything about her, you would have at least called her to see how she was.” He tossed some bills down on his table, then tossed some on theirs. “If you can’t stoop to paying for your food, allow me.” He looked over at Katy. “Thanks,” he said and winked at her before walking out of the diner.
His temper kept him revved up the entire way out to the state park. He parked in the spot where Addy’s Jeep normally sat and switched off his car’s engine.
He sat there for almost five minutes trying to calm down. Then he noticed the lights in her trailer were off.
Getting out, he followed the sound of voices to a larger tent where Addy was holding forth with passion to a small group of people. She was a born leader.
Then he heard what she was saying and wondered if he’d made the biggest mistake of his life by trusting her.