A Reason to Love (8 page)

“I know.” Not that she sounded convinced of that fact. “But I’m having to learn the business from the ground up. It doesn’t help that all of the bookkeeping and accounting methods he had in place are hopelessly out of date. One of the things at the top of my list is to transfer all the records to an accounting system that’s more current. I also think a lot of the machines in the plant need a major overhaul, if not actual replacement. The trouble is that we can’t afford to take any of them offline long enough to work on them. The company is barely scraping by as it is.”

No wonder she looked a bit fragile. “Is there anything I can do? I worked part-time during the school year and full-time in the summer with old Mr. Cosgrove, the maintenance guy at the plant. Early on, I mostly handed him screwdrivers and listened to him cuss at the machines, but eventually he trusted me to do the routine stuff on my own. I’d have to read the manuals first on the newer equipment, but then I could help whoever is in charge of maintaining the machines now.”

She laughed. “I hate to tell you, but old Mr. Cosgrove is still in charge of maintaining all of our equipment.”

Spence was stunned. “That man was older than dirt fifteen years ago!”

“I wouldn’t tell him that, not unless you want him to come after you with one of those big wrenches he leaves lying around the place. A year or so ago, my father hired an assistant for him, maybe in the hope the guy would eventually take over for Mr. Cosgrove. But the guy quit after only a few months, and I can’t afford to replace him right now.”

Obviously all was not well at the Wolfe Millworks. “I don’t mean to butt into your business, but I really wouldn’t mind helping out. If Mr. Cosgrove is willing, I’d be glad to show up and give him a hand evenings or on the weekend.”

“Don’t you have enough on your plate right now? You’ve barely gotten home.”

“True, but it’s not like I have a lot I need to be doing. I’ll probably have to spend some time with my attorney dealing with a few things, but otherwise my schedule is pretty much wide open.”

He stood up. “I should get going. I need to pick up a few things at the store. Thanks again for hanging out with me last night, Melanie. Tonight, too.”

“You’re welcome.”

He glanced down at the floor. “And I’m sorry about making such a mess. My control isn’t what it used to be.”

Melanie came around the table to put her hand on his arm. “Cut yourself some slack, Spence. Accidents happen.”

But it wasn’t just an accidental spill, and he knew it even if she didn’t. In his head, he hadn’t been squeezing the shit out of a cup. That had been Leif’s neck in that viselike grip. That fool should never have bothered Melanie.

“Well, like I said, I have to hit the store to pick up a few things for tonight. I’ll do a bigger shop tomorrow after I figure out what all I need.”

When they reached the front door, Melanie asked, “Do you want to borrow my father’s car for your shopping expedition tomorrow? I’m guessing the space in your saddlebags is pretty limited.”

“Melanie, you’ve already done enough for me. I can make several trips if I have to.”

The stubborn woman wasn’t having it. “What are friends for? Just let me know what you decide.”

The offer was tempting. “Since I haven’t had a chance to make a shopping list yet, how about I call you at the office if I need the car?”

“That’ll work. Since I’m your new landlady, you should have my cell phone number anyway.”

After he entered the number on his cell, he gave her his in return. “I’ll leave you in peace. Don’t forget to talk to Mr. Cosgrove. I’d actually enjoy hanging out with the old coot for a while. He never let me get by with anything back when I worked there, but I learned a lot about machinery from him.”

“I will.” She followed him outside. “Let me know if there’s anything at the cottage that needs fixing. As far as I know, all of the appliances work, but they’re pretty old.”

That was the last thing he would do. It was obvious she was already carrying the weight of the world on her shoulders. She didn’t need to add him and his problems to that burden.

“I’ll be fine, Mel.”

At least he hoped so. Then on impulse, he leaned in to give her a quick kiss. He meant to aim for her cheek, but at the last second he couldn’t resist the temptation of those full lips. He kept it quick and friendly, but that didn’t lessen the impact it had on him. Melanie felt it, too, judging by the way her eyes flared wide in surprise.

“Good night, Spence. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

There was a husky note in her voice that he hadn’t heard before. He liked it. He brushed a lock of her silky red hair back from her face. “Yes, you will.”

Before he could do something stupid like kissing her again, he ran down the steps to where he’d parked his Harley. Giving in to the impulse to show off a bit, Spence gunned the engine and roared out of her driveway.

He was still grinning when he arrived at his new home. For the first time in nearly a year, he had a reason to be looking forward to tomorrow.

L
eif ignored the crowd milling around him on the lower level of Sea-Tac Airport while he waited for Nick and Callie to find him in the baggage claim area. He’d volunteered to meet their flight when they returned from their honeymoon, but he hadn’t counted on their flight being over an hour late. He watched a trio of soldiers making their way through the crowd, laughing and talking as if they didn’t have a care in the world. God, had he, Nick, and Spence ever looked that young?

He couldn’t remember.

Unable to watch them, he did an abrupt about-face and made yet another trip down the concourse to check the list of incoming flights. Good, Nick’s flight had finally reached the gate. He and Callie should make their appearance soon.

He hoped they’d managed to put the fiasco with Spence’s reappearance behind them long enough to enjoy their time alone. They deserved that much. Even now, a week after the wedding, Leif wanted to punch Wheels for showing up with no warning and no explanation. That effing idiot should’ve known better. Wheels could be thoughtless sometimes, but he’d never been cruel.

In fact, Leif had not even recognized Spence at first. The man had lost a lot of weight, but that wasn’t the reason. No, it was all of that crazy, out-of-control fury that had distorted Spence’s face beyond recognition. It wasn’t until he’d reacted to seeing Mooch again that Leif had seen anything of his friend in the man. Wheels had changed, that was for damn sure, and for the worse.

What was up with letting his friends think he was dead even one second longer than necessary? What made it worse was knowing he’d chosen to screw up what should’ve been the happiest day of Callie’s life. Whatever issues Wheels had with Nick and Leif, surely she had deserved better from him.

Leif finally spotted Nick and Callie heading for him. Before they reached him, she peeled off in another direction, maybe looking for a handy restroom. Leif walked over to wait with Nick. The first words out of his friend’s mouth didn’t come as much of a surprise.

“Is he okay?”

Nick had been more than a friend to both Leif and Spence. He’d been their sergeant and the one in charge the day that their vehicle had hit an IED. That single instant in time had changed all of their lives profoundly. Even though it wasn’t his fault, Nick had been living with the knowledge the life of a friend had been lost on his watch.

There’d been plenty of guilt to go around, and Leif had been struggling to live with his own share of it. He’d come damn close to losing his leg in the explosion. The only reason he was still breathing was that Nick chose to drag him to safety first. If Sarge had helped Spence instead, whatever had happened to Wheels would have happened to Leif.

Nick got right up in Leif’s face when he didn’t immediately answer. “Well? Is he?”

He fought the urge to shove Nick back a step. Both of them had short tempers these days, but right now Leif needed to defuse the situation. They were in public and didn’t need to draw attention to themselves like this. He forced his shoulders to relax and unclenched his fists. “I don’t know, Sarge.”

His efforts to take it down a notch failed because Nick was practically vibrating with tension. “What do you mean you don’t know?”

“I mean that I haven’t seen him, and Wheels sure as hell hasn’t come looking for me.”

A fact that hurt like a bitch. He shared the few bits of intelligence he’d been able to scrape together. “I talked to Melanie Wolfe the day after the wedding. She apologized for not coming to the reception, but she was worried about what Spence would do. After checking out the local watering holes, she finally found him at BEER. He told her to leave him alone, but she stayed with him while he proceeded to get stinking drunk.”

“That was good of her.” Nick frowned and finally let some of his anger drain away. “He’s never been a heavy drinker, so that’s not like him. None of this is.”

Leif could only agree. “No, it’s not like the Spence we served with, but who knows what has happened with him? After talking to Melanie, I went back to the bar and talked to the owner to get his take on the situation. He didn’t much want to share details on a customer, but he did admit that Spence had been there until after closing. The only other thing he knew was that Wheels left the bar that night with Melanie.”

“What else did she have to say?”

“When I talked to her, she said Spence had crashed at her place that night, but she claimed not to know where he went after that. I might be grasping at straws, but I got the sense she knew more than she was telling. I’ve driven by her place a few times, but I haven’t seen any sign of him hanging around. It would be hard to miss that Harley of his.”

He hadn’t realized that Callie had rejoined them. “Once we get settled in, I’ll call Melanie.”

Nick put his arm around his wife and pulled her in close. “Better yet, the three of us will go see her.”

Leif considered that idea but rejected it. “No, we don’t want to overwhelm her or make her feel as if we’re ganging up on her. I’m guessing she’s more likely to share what she knows with Callie.”

Turning his attention to her, he asked, “You two have been friends since high school, right? Wouldn’t she talk to you?”

Callie frowned as she considered his question. That she didn’t immediately answer was ominous. Callie looped her arm through Nick’s and tugged him toward the luggage carousel. “Let’s get our suitcases, and I’ll think about how to approach her. For now, let’s go home. I’m ready to stop moving for a while.”

After they were all in the truck with Callie sandwiched between the two men, Nick looked over her head at Leif. “Maybe we should’ve asked this earlier. Do we actually still have a place to come home to?”

Leif waited until he turned south on I-5 and merged into the heavy traffic to answer, “So far no one has come knocking at the door to throw me and Austin out on our asses. I’ve also glanced through your mail, but there hasn’t been anything that looked like some kind of scary legal documents. Even so, I’m thinking you and Callie should check in with Spence’s attorney once you have a chance to catch your breath.”

“Spence wouldn’t kick us out with no notice.” Callie sounded sure of that, but then she went on to say, “But if you guys think we should move over to my folks’ until we know something definite, I’m sure Mom wouldn’t mind.”

Nick shuddered. “Sorry, Cal, but I’d check us in at a hotel before I’d move in with the in-laws. I like your folks and everything, but that’s a little too much togetherness for me. In fact, that’s way too much.”

Leif didn’t think Callie was wrong. They should be prepared for anything at this point. “I could move my stuff over to Zoe’s. I spend a lot of my time at her place anyway, but that would leave Austin in the lurch. He’s pretty touchy about accepting anything he sees as charity. There’s no way he would let us foot the bill for a room for him someplace until we get this all sorted out, and I don’t want him to end up in some dump like the one he was living in before.”

“God, what a mess. I’ve always been able to talk to Spence about anything.” Callie clearly sounded frustrated. “I would never have imagined a time might come when I couldn’t.”

She leaned her head back and sighed. “Which brings me back to what to do about Melanie. She and Spence knew each other in high school. They both used to hang out at my house a lot, although they were never particularly close. I’m glad she was watching out for him that night, but I don’t know what to make of it. If he is spending much time at her house, I wouldn’t want to risk running into him without warning.”

Leif mulled it over. “Maybe you should ask her to meet you for coffee. Bridey’s shop would definitely be more neutral territory than Spence’s house or even hers.”

“That might be a good idea, but right now I’m too fried by the long flight and the time zone change to think clearly.”

“Spence has waited this long to let us know he’s alive. Finding out what happened can wait another day.”

Nick looked over Callie’s head to meet Leif’s gaze head-on. “We may not like what we learn.”

Well, no shit!
But Leif kept that comment to himself. Nick looked haunted, and Leif suspected he had much the same expression on his own face. Tonight they’d all go back to the house and crash. But come tomorrow, the mission to reestablish communication with Wheels would begin.

“D
amn it, boy, do it the way I showed you!”

Spence winced and bit back the urge to air his frustrations. He prayed for patience, something he was in short supply of these days, and tried again. “Yes, Mr. Cosgrove, I know you told me how to do this, but that was nearly ten years ago. Could you please refresh my memory?”

The old man spit tobacco into the empty soup can he always kept handy. “Fine. Loosen that bolt there.” He used a screwdriver to point in the general direction of the one he meant. His advice might even have been helpful if there hadn’t been half a dozen identical bolts within twelve square inches of space.

Spence rocked back on his heels to study them for a second. Oh yeah, it had to be that one. Using a socket wrench, he gave the bolt a hard yank. Since Cosgrove didn’t start cackling at his effort, Spence had chosen the right one this time.

It had been a long evening, and he was relieved a few minutes later when they put their tools away, done for the night. One machine all tuned up and ready to go when work started up in the morning. He ignored how many more machines they still had left to do. It wasn’t exactly depressing, but he was too tired to count that high. Spence wiped his hands on an oily rag as he looked around to make sure they’d cleaned up their mess. The day crew wouldn’t appreciate having to pick up after them.

As they made their way toward the door, Spence automatically shortened his stride to make it easier for his old mentor to keep pace with him. Mr. Cosgrove stopped by a panel on the wall near the door and turned out the lights. “You did good tonight, boy.”

That was high praise from the old man. He’d never been overly generous with pats on the back, which made the ones he did give out all the more meaningful. “Thank you, sir. It felt good to get my hands greasy with you again.”

That was no less than the absolute truth. As they stepped out into the parking lot, Spence smiled down at his much shorter companion. “Everything I learned from you about engines and machinery is the reason they always put me to work maintaining our vehicles and equipment whenever we were deployed. Hell, I’m embarrassed to say half the guys in our unit didn’t even know their way around a dipstick.”

In a show of disgust, Mr. Cosgrove spit out the rest of his tobacco and tossed the can in a trash barrel as they walked past. “You were always a quick learner, kid. Not like that idiot that Miss Melanie’s father hired a year or so back to help me. He was plumb pathetic. My daughters have both been on my ass to retire for a couple of years now, but I couldn’t abandon my machines to that fool’s care. If he hadn’t quit when he did . . . well, let’s just say it wouldn’t have been pretty.”

They stopped at Spence’s motorcycle. “I’ll see you here again tomorrow night. Do you want me to wait with you until your daughter gets here?”

Oops, that was the wrong thing to ask. The old man bristled with indignation. “Boy, I don’t need no goddamn babysitter. I’ve been getting along just fine without one so far and don’t see that changing anytime soon.”

“Well, I’ll get going, then.” Spence took his time putting on his helmet and starting the Harley. He’d about run out of delay tactics when a car pulled off the street and headed straight for them. Good. Despite the old man’s protests, Spence wouldn’t have felt right abandoning him to wait alone in a deserted parking lot.

“See you tomorrow night, Mr. Cosgrove.”

The older man stepped closer to the bike and put his hand on Spence’s shoulder. “Even though he’s been gone for nearly thirty years now, ‘Mr. Cosgrove’ still makes me think you’re talking to my father. Don’t see no reason you shouldn’t be using my Christian name, boy. My friends call me Will.”

Another honor. Spence grinned at him. “Okay, then, Will.” He stumbled a bit over the name, but he’d get used to it. “I’ll see you tomorrow night, and I’ll bring some treats to go with our coffee. Maybe a couple of those fancy cupcakes that Bridey Roke bakes at her shop.”

“I don’t need nothing fancy, Spence, but I wouldn’t turn down one of her blackberry muffins.”

“It’s a deal. I’ll see what I can come up with.”

Spence waved at Will’s daughter on his way out of the parking lot. It was a nice night with a full moon overhead. Rather than drive straight back to the cottage, he took the long way around. His chosen route allowed him to enjoy a little more time on the Harley but also kept him from having to drive through the heart of town. So far, his efforts to avoid contact with very many people had been successful.

Other than with Will, he hadn’t spent more than five minutes in any one person’s company for the past week, and that was fine with him. Well, there was one other exception—Melanie. She’d come knocking at his door two days ago to let him know that Mr. Cosgrove was willing to take him up on his offer of help to get all of the equipment serviced.

She’d started off insisting on paying Spence some ridiculous amount of money, which he didn’t need and suspected she did. They’d finally agreed that he could stay in the cottage rent free for a month in lieu of a salary. He’d pretended not to notice how relieved she was by the arrangement.

While he was glad to have something constructive to do with his time, he had to wonder why she hadn’t just called with the news. Was this her way of checking up on him? If so, that would piss him off big-time. He was doing fine, damn it.

Mostly.

On the other hand, they’d ended up sitting out on the front steps for more than an hour talking about nothing in particular. When she announced it was time for her to get back to the house, he’d walked with her, stopping short of seeing her all the way to her door. Somehow that would have felt as if they were crossing into dangerous territory to be something more than just friends.

He didn’t want that. Or at least, he shouldn’t. He didn’t like to think about how he’d been unable to tear his eyes away from watching how her faded jeans showed off the curves of what was one spectacular ass as she walked away. Not to mention how much he wanted to tangle his fingers in that unruly red hair tumbling down her back.

It had been ages since he’d gotten laid, but Melanie Wolfe wasn’t the kind of woman a man pursued just to scratch an itch. At least he’d held on to enough of his honor to know that. He was damaged goods, and she deserved better. Not to mention he’d always hoped to come home and convince Callie to spend her life with him.

Thanks to Nick, that wasn’t going to happen. The enemy might have stolen months of Spence’s time, but it was his friend who had stolen his life. A fresh infusion of anger had him picking up speed as he tore down the back roads. He entered the next turn driving flat out and way faster than the posted speed limit. Big mistake. He and the Harley almost went flying straight into the trees that crowded close to the edge of the road. It took a shitload of luck and every bit of sheer stubbornness he had to muscle the bike back under control without laying it down.

When he successfully reached the straightaway on the other side of the curve, he slowed to a stop on the narrow shoulder. He yanked his helmet off and wiped the sweat off his forehead with the hem of his T-shirt. As he waited for his pulse to slow down, he studied his image in the review mirror. He didn’t much like what he saw.

“Damn, man, do you have a death wish?”

He tipped his head back to let the evening breeze cool him down. The familiar burn of adrenaline had left him breathing hard and shaking in his boots. Staring up at the night sky, he counted his lucky stars that he was alive. There’d been times in the past months when he would have greeted death with open arms, but it looked as though maybe he’d turned that corner and put it behind him.

When he had everything back under control, he checked for oncoming traffic and pulled back out on the pavement. This time he kept his speed within spitting distance of the speed limit. There was no use in pushing his luck.

When he made the last turn onto his street, there was an unfamiliar car parked right in front of the cottage. It was tempting to drive right on by, but maybe he was only jumping at shadows. Besides, he was tired. All he wanted was a hot shower and a cold beer, and not necessarily in that order. He sure didn’t need uninvited company, but he suspected he was about to get some.

Sure enough, as soon as he pulled into the driveway, the driver got out of the car. Now it would be a footrace to see if Spence could get inside before the guy caught up with him. He would’ve made it except the other man sprinted directly across the yard to stand on the steps, effectively blocking Spence’s way into the house.

“Corporal Lang?”

“Yeah, that’s me.”

“It’s nice to finally meet you, Corporal. I would’ve been here sooner, but it took me a while to find out where you were staying.” He offered Spence a smile and stuck out his hand. “My name is Reilly Molitor, and I’m a reporter for the
Snowberry Creek Clarion
. I’m here to interview you.”

The reporter probably thought his grin was all slick and charming. Spence wanted to smack it right off his face. Ignoring the reporter’s outstretched hand, he pulled out his cell phone. “You have fifteen seconds to get back in your car and drive away before I tell the police that you’re trespassing.”

The smile faded a notch, the shark coming out. “I just have a few questions, Corporal.”

He had to give the man points for having the balls to stand there when Spence had several inches on him in height and a good thirty pounds of muscle. “I asked you to leave.”

The reporter held up a small recorder. “Seriously, man, just a few quick questions is all I need. I can get whatever else I need for the article from other sources.”

What article? Spence didn’t want his name plastered all over any paper, not even the
Clarion
. “No interview and no article.”

The reporter remained unfazed by Spence’s growing anger. “Look, Corporal, or can I call you Spence?”

“No.” He forced himself to back away, but the reporter’s next words brought him to a dead stop.

“It’s not often we have a real hero come home from the war, especially one everybody thought was dead. It’s your obligation to share the story, and I think your neighbors and friends have the right to hear what happened to you over there. It’s an amazing tale.”

That did it. Spence latched onto the reporter with one hand and dialed 9-1-1 with the other. The reporter was still fighting like a fish trying to break free of a hook sunk deep in its gut when Gage Logan himself pulled up in front of the house a few minutes later. The police chief strolled across the front yard, the flicker of the blue lights on his patrol car lighting up the yard.

“Hi, Spence. I see you’ve met Reilly.”

The reporter twisted his head to the side, trying to look directly at the lawman. “Chief, I want to press charges against this guy for assault.”

Gage ignored him. “Spence, want to tell me what’s going on here?”

Not particularly, but he had no choice. “This guy ambushed me when I came home. I told him I wasn’t interested in being interviewed and made it clear that if he didn’t leave I would call the police and report him for trespassing.”

He finally released his hold on the reporter and stepped back, figuring things would go more smoothly if he at least appeared to be in control of himself.

“He refused to leave and prevented me from entering my house.” He flexed his hands and fought to calm himself. “Then this little pissant told me that it was
my obligation
to tell him my story, that people have
the right
to know what happened to me over there.”

He hated that he sounded desperate. Rehashing the hell he’d lived through would be like ripping the scab off a barely healed wound, one where the infection had run bone deep. To make matters worse, at that moment Melanie came pelting around the end of the house. Son of a bitch, he should’ve known the sound of the siren would bring her running.

Ignoring her, he kept talking. “He threatened to tell the story one way or the other, and if I wanted to control what went into the story, I’d better cooperate. I don’t much like being threatened.”

“And that’s when you called me?”

Spence nodded. “It was either that or beat the shit out of the little prick.”

Melanie gasped.

Gage turned his attention to the reporter. “Are you going to deny any of that?”

“I didn’t threaten him, Gage. Hell, look at the difference in our sizes. I’m not suicidal. I did tell him that I was going to run the story whether or not he contributed to it. Neither of you can stop me, First Amendment rights and all that.”

Melanie sidled nearer until she was standing close enough to Spence for him to feel her body heat. Damn, he wished she wasn’t there. He didn’t need her rushing to rescue him again. It might not look like it, but he had the situation under control. Mostly.

Gage got right in Reilly’s face. “Spence is a personal friend of mine, so I’m going to tell you this once. He’s already sacrificed enough for our country without having to give up his privacy just to satisfy your need to fill the front page of the paper.”

“But, Chief, he’s a hero!”

Spence started to speak, but Gage cut him off. “Every man and woman who puts on a uniform is a hero, Reilly, not just the few who make for good headlines. The last thing Spence needs right now is the attention you’d be aiming his way, especially when he’s been back such a short time.”

“But I—”

“No! You’re still not listening. Maybe you’d really like to face those trespassing charges Spence mentioned. If that happens, I’ll also have your car impounded, so you won’t only be spending a night in a cell, you’ll be out a couple of hundred bucks in towing and storage fees. It’s your call. And if you do bother Spence again in any way or form, well, let’s just say it won’t be pretty.”

Reilly stalked away still muttering under his breath about the Constitution and the public’s right to know. It made Spence queasy to think about seeing his life spelled out in black and white for everyone in town to read. He didn’t care what most folks thought about him, but there were a few whose opinions mattered.