Hearths of Fire (25 page)

“Do you believe that? I told you not to let her get to you, man.”

Daegan’s question hung in the air. Neal immediately regretted bringing up the topic
and put it down to the fact that having had sex with Charlotte was messing with his
head. They’d both agreed to keep it to the time he was in town, but damn if she wasn’t
making him doubt his decision to contain things to this trip.

“She’s not,” Neal said, more to convince himself than his friend. “Being back here
dredged up some shit that I thought was long ago buried.”

“Mine
is
buried, Doc.” Daegan’s inhalation could be heard clearly over the line. “Go and get
things lined up for our arrival. Looks like Gunny and Starr have a decision.”

As if the call never took place, Neal only heard silence as the line was severed.
He was glad on one hand because he sure as hell didn’t know what to say to Daegan’s
declaration. On the other, it made Neal evaluate what he would have felt if Charlotte
were no longer here and it wasn’t something he could wrap his mind around. At the
moment he didn’t even want to consider that concept and felt regret for what Daegan
must have gone through. Neal heard the front door open, prompting him to shove his
phone back into the front pocket of his jeans.

“Neal?” Charlotte stepped out onto the porch, wrapping her arms around her to protect
herself from the chilled temperature. “You’ve been out here a while.”

“Grab your coat,” Neal instructed, not willing to leave her here alone now that the
Ashes’ followers were roaming the town once again. “We’re going to pay a visit to
Becky’s parents and then track down Garreth. I need some more information before nightfall.”

‡

“W
ho
is arriving?”
Charlotte couldn’t believe what she was hearing. She and Neal had already been by
the Garson’s residence and spoken to Becky’s parents. They were so distraught it was
hard for Charlotte to sit through the additional questions that Neal had asked them.
Like most townsfolk, they put a lot of stock into the sheriff and they didn’t have
any concerns that Becky could be on the Ashes to Dirt compound now that the local
authorities had dismissed that lead. Neal was appreciative of their time and though
the Garsons assumed it was about Charlotte’s worry for Mandy, they didn’t bat an eyelash
at her and Neal’s visit. It was Charlotte that was having a hard time comprehending
Neal’s next move. “And is that even legal?”

“It is if someone is paying them.” Neal maneuvered his truck into the school parking
lot. Garreth had claimed his vehicle after the local authorities had released him,
but unfortunately she didn’t see his car in the lot. Neal parked his truck anyway,
leaving the engine idle. He kept his gaze on the front doors of the school while he
continued to address her question. “You need to act like nothing is different. I need
you to show up at the bookstore tomorrow. Technically you should have been the one
to open up the shop this morning, but I needed you with me at the Garson’s residence.”

“
Who
is paying your team to come here?” Charlotte felt like a fool for asking these questions.
Maybe the answers were obvious, but she was definitely missing something. A spark
of ire shot up her spine at the thought that he could continue with his investigation
while she went to work like a good girl. News flash…she wasn’t a good girl. Hadn’t
having sex with her in the kitchen shown him that? “And Pam is handling the store
just fine. I’m staying with you.”

Brad had called Neal a couple of times and informed them that Mandy was fine and they
had arrived to their destination, which Charlotte wasn’t even privy to. Until Becky
was found and Mandy was out of Garreth’s line of sight, Charlotte wouldn’t even think
about going back to work. If Neal pushed the issue, he’d find out how stubborn she
could actually be.

“Don’t concern yourself with the monetary aspect of things.” Neal straightened slightly
when high school kids came barreling out of the front doors, the majority of them
making beelines to their vehicles. “We’ll talk about the bookstore this evening after
the team arrives.”

“Don’t you think it’ll tip off the Ashes when an entire hostage rescue team arrives
in Hearth?” Charlotte couldn’t contain the sarcasm that leaked from her words, but
it wasn’t like Hearth was a metropolis. She quickly looked over the teenagers and
didn’t catch sight of Garreth. “I don’t see him.”

“The team knows how to handle themselves,” Neal explained as he reversed his truck
out of the parking spot and pulled out of the lot before the congestion occurred.
Instead of making a right, which would lead them back to Charlotte’s house, Neal turned
left as if they were headed into town. “They’ll arrive at the regional airport and
each member will take a different route into town. It could be via bus, motorcycle,
car, hitchhiking, etc. They’ll use the fall festival as their cover and we’ll only
use your house for essential meetings.”

Neal had been very methodical in his dealings with Charlotte since they’d left the
house. He was pulling away from her and she didn’t know what to do to stop it. She
looked out the window and contemplated bringing up their lovemaking this morning but
immediately decided against it. She kept the topic on business at hand.

“What happens when your team arrives?”

“We’ll search the compound thoroughly and locate Becky. With Becky’s testimony and
a little luck, the Ashes will lose their status as leaders and be imprisoned for kidnapping.”
Neal finessed the back roads until they hit the main drag. He pulled the truck in
front of the Ember Café. “Any other results will be reevaluated.”

“Can’t Red Starr HRT be arrested for trespassing? I’m not understanding how this works.”
Charlotte didn’t make an attempt to get out of the truck, wanting more information
and knowing if they went into the diner they wouldn’t be able to discuss a lot of
the things she wanted to. “Isn’t it the same if you and I were to go search for Becky?”

“No, Red Starr HRT has licenses and the right to enter premises on the grounds of
endangerment per their client, for which they will have a federal warrant based on
my testimony.” Neal leaned his left arm on his steering wheel as he finally turned
toward her and made eye contact. “That client is me.”

“And that’s not a conflict of interest?” Charlotte thought back to his words and how
she basically hadn’t taken into account what he’d wanted back then. Yes, she’d made
her decision based on both of their needs at the time, but he didn’t see it that way.
If he were to make a choice to use his place of business that could result in his
losing his job, she would ultimately be responsible for the outcome once again. She
could only handle so much guilt, even though she hadn’t thought she’d borne any. The
more time they spent together the more she was realizing the consequences of her long
ago conclusion. “Neal, if this could—”

“Do you trust me?”

Charlotte was momentarily speechless at Neal’s question. Did he think she didn’t?
That had never been the issue and he damn well should have known that. Searching his
face for answers, she grasped that she might have taken his question a little too
seriously when he’d meant it in a more rhetorical sort of way. She took a deep breath
to try and control her wayward emotions.

“Yes, I trust you. I wouldn’t have called you otherwise and you know it.”

“Then trust me on this.” Neal pressed his fingers to his lips as if he was contemplating
on his next words and she found herself fixated on the act. Things were happening
so fast that she was afraid he would be able to escape facing what had continued to
grow between them. “Until the team arrives I need for us to be seen around town. That
means the diner, the shops, and the festival. We’ll reevaluate after my team arrives
this evening.”

“Then I hope you’re ready for Thelma to probe why you’re still in town and Mandy isn’t
at school. The rumors must be swirling up into a tornado by now.” Charlotte managed
a small smile when all she wanted to do was go home and have him hold her…in bed,
not a chair. “I think calling her absence in daily was a good idea versus giving details
that she isn’t in town.”

“If this goes down as quickly as I think it will Mandy will be back in school by the
end of the week.” Neal reached forward and placed a loose strand of Charlotte’s hair
behind her ear, and the years faded away at the familiar endearing act. “We’re getting
closer to you and Mandy getting your life back, Char. Just hang in there with me for
a few more days.”

Charlotte remained silent as Neal turned and exited the vehicle. She watched as he
walked around the front and came to her door. The rest of the evening would be done
with a smile on her face, regardless that Thelma and her old biddies were bound to
be relentless in their pursuit of juicy gossip. When he opened her door and held out
his hand, Charlotte scanned the restaurant’s window. Her fingers tightened on his
when she saw who was seated in the front booth—Robert and Patricia Ashe.

*

“We couldn’t believe
our luck when you pulled up,” Patricia stated, her unnerving smile in place as she
spoke over her water glass. The moment that Neal and Charlotte walked into the diner,
Robert stood and motioned them over before asking her and Neal to join them at the
table. If anyone in the diner thought it odd, no one said a thing. “We’ve been meaning
to call you and apologize for Garreth’s behavior yesterday. He should have remained
calm, as we have taught him to.”

Charlotte felt comforted by Neal’s hand on her leg while he drank his coffee with
the other. She needed to feel his warmth as the frigid ambiance at the table seeped
into her favorite red sweater. Regardless that Patricia Ashe was apologizing for her
son, there wasn’t an ounce of remorse in her dull brown eyes.

“Does Garreth have anger issues?” Neal asked, setting his mug back down onto the table.
“Have you thought of therapy?”

“As with all boys, their temper sometimes gets the best of him.” Robert shifted uncomfortably
in his seat, as if he hadn’t made the offer for Neal and Charlotte to join them. It
seemed that speaking about Garreth’s anger management issues hit a nerve. “He loves
Mandy very much and would never harm her. She knows that, which is why we’re confident
they will work things out. Whatever Mandy claims to have overheard that would get
her so upset as to leave Sunday’s sermon needs to be addressed. I’m sure whatever
was said it was misunderstood.”

“Mandy is young and needs time to sort out her feelings,” Charlotte said, contributing
to the conversation. Patricia’s stare was starting to make Charlotte uneasy and she
thought maybe it was because she’d let Neal carry the discussion. “I’m sure the time
apart will put things into perspective for both Mandy and Garreth. After all, this
is their senior year and with college right around the corner—some big decisions need
to be made without the distraction of a teenage infatuation. And yes, Garreth’s behavior
did make Mandy uncomfortable.”

Silence reigned and Charlotte could easily sense that what she said wasn’t what the
Ashes wanted to hear. It didn’t come as a shock, but the way Robert’s lips thinned
and Patricia’s eyes tightened around the corners, Charlotte felt a slither of fear
travel up her spine. Her words seemed to have been some type of catalyst for what
came next.

“Mr. Bauer, the sheriff mentioned that an informant called
you
to say that poor young girl might have been on our compound.” Patricia tilted her
head and reminded Charlotte of one of those china dolls that didn’t blink. “It hurts
me to think that the people of this town believe that our beliefs are a danger to
them when in fact, it’s the complete opposite. We promote good.”

“I’m sure you can understand that when a call comes in like that, it has to be reported
to the proper authorities and actions need to be taken.” Neal lifted his mug and took
another swig of his coffee, not looking the least bit bothered by the other couple’s
odd behavior. “You have nothing to worry about though, since the sheriff and the state
police have struck that tip up to some townie that may not like your type of organization.
I’m sure they’ll be following up with Becky’s boyfriend and whatever other leads the
authorities may have.”