Trista closed her eyes as her trembling daughter let go in her arms.
Seth freed Frank, who managed to remain calm. He placed a hand on Savannah’s shoulder and then turned to Seth. “Did you remember what your hands were for?” Frank asked, smiling.
Seth nodded. “Thanks for the tip.”
“I thought you’d figure it out. Besides, I was pretty sure you were bluffing about the twenty-five thousand dollars.” Frank paused, waiting for Seth to agree. “You were bluffing, right?”
“Yes,” Seth said, smiling. “But I couldn’t let him leave with the girls. He didn’t seem very stable.”
“Thank you so much.” Trista threw her arms around Frank. “I am so sorry for everything.”
“It’s not your fault,” Frank said, rubbing his wrists. “That guy is crazy, and no one should have to put up with that.”
“All I know is that I don’t think I could’ve taken him without your help, Trista. You never did mention how big he was when you talked about him.”
Trista knew Seth was trying to make light of it, but she still felt horribly responsible for the whole encounter.
They made their way back down to the lobby. The tiny room was packed full of people trying to get a peek at the action. “People, please.” Deana tried to talk over the commotion. “Can everyone please clear out of here while the officers speak to those involved?”
One of the officers tipped his hat. “Thank you, Deana.”
The officers took their time talking to Frank, Seth, Savannah, and Trista, nodding and jotting down notes. Then they questioned a few of the guests and Deana. “Thank you for your help, Deana.”
“No problem. You boys want some coffee?”
“That won’t be necessary. We won’t be here much longer. In fact, we’ll need you folks to come with us to the station to fill out some paperwork.”
“What?” Seth asked. “We don’t have time for that. We have to get back on the road.”
“Sir, this is a serious crime that you’ve witnessed. I’m sorry about your plans, but you are required by law to come down to the station and fill out this paperwork.”
“But we didn’t do anything wrong. It was that psychopath out there who did this.” Seth pointed to the front door.
Trista could see Tuck through the glass front door. He sat in the back of one of the police cars. For the first time since she’d left him, she knew that it was really over.
“All we need is for you to fill out a statement.”
“But we’ve already done that. You wrote down everything we know on that little pad of paper you have there.”
Frank placed a hand on Seth’s shoulder. “Hold on a minute. Let me talk to them.” Frank shook hands with the cops, formally introducing himself. “Can we talk for a minute over there?”
They walked off to the side where Trista and Seth couldn’t hear what they were saying. Frank talked and the policemen nodded. Then Frank pulled out a card and handed it to them. They shook hands and walked back over to Seth and Trista. “All right, given the current circumstances and everything that’s happened, we’ll fill out our report with the information you’ve given us. But we’re going to need some way of getting in touch with you for more questions.”
Seth let out a sigh. “No problem.”
One of the policemen asked a few more questions and jotted down some additional notes. Then they got the phone numbers from Seth and Trista and said goodbye. Frank walked them to the door, thanking them for their help.
“What was that all about?” Trista asked Frank when he returned.
Frank smiled. “I have a way with people.” Trista didn’t understand what exactly had happened between the police and Frank, but she didn’t doubt him for a second. Ever since she had met him, he had been so good with everyone, especially with Savannah. “Are you guys ready to go?”
“I know I am,” Seth said. They headed back to their rooms and quickly gathered their things. They met downstairs a short while later to check out.
“I have to say that I’m really sad to see you guys go,” Deana told them all. “You made things around here more interestin’ than they’ve been in years.”
“You’ve been very kind and understanding,” Trista said. “And you have a wonderful place.”
“You and your daughter are welcome here anytime. Please visit us again.”
After saying goodbye, they headed for the car and loaded the trunk. Trista climbed into the back seat with Savannah, who had been quiet ever since the incident. “Are you okay, sweetheart?”
Savannah nodded. “I’m just glad it’s over.”
“Me, too.” Trista looked back at the bed and breakfast. Despite all that had happened there, she knew that she was going to miss the place.
“Everyone ready?” Frank asked, slipping the key into the ignition. They assented, and he turned the key. Nothing happened. He tried again. Nothing.
“What is it?” Seth asked.
“I don’t know. It’s not doing anything.”
Frank got out of the car and walked around it. He climbed back into the car without lifting the hood. “I’ve got some bad news.”
“What’s wrong?” Trista asked.
“There’s a bullet hole. I’m guessing your incident with the gun killed the engine.”
Chapter 21
Seth
Deana gave Seth the number to the town’s gas station attendant, who also happened to be the local mechanic. Seth talked to him for a few minutes before hanging up and banging his head onto the counter.
“What’s the matter, deary?”
“Oh, nothing. Just that the mechanic is busy working on someone else’s car and won’t be able to get to ours for another day or so.”
“That’s nonsense.” She picked up the phone. “I’ll call him back and have him put your car to the front of the line.”
“I tried that, but he said he couldn’t if he wanted to. I guess the car he’s working on now is in pieces and scattered all over the garage floor.”
“I see,” she said, hanging up the phone. “I can’t tell you enough how sorry I am.”
“Not half as sorry I am,” Seth said.
“I’ll tell you what I can do. I can give you guys your rooms free of charge.”
Seth forced a smile. “Thanks, but that won’t be necessary.”
“I insist. It’s the least I can do.”
“Thank you very much,” Frank said, picking up his bags. “Come on. Nothing more we can do here. Let’s go back to our rooms and get cleaned up.”
Seth walked up to his room and shut the door. He set his guitar on the bed and stared at the photograph of Faith. What was he going to do now? It was his second chance at getting his daughter back. His last chance. All he had to do was get back to Fort Wayne. But he couldn’t make it happen. He could write songs that went platinum, fill an entire stadium with screaming fans, but he couldn’t get to his daughter. Seth pulled out his cell phone and called his attorney. He wasn’t surprised when Simon didn’t answer the phone. Most people had plans on Valentine’s Day. He left a message, hoping Simon would get back to him right away. Then he lay down on the bed, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.
*****
A knock on the door woke Seth from a deep sleep. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, trying to clear his vision as he looked over at the digital clock on the nightstand. He had been asleep for nearly three hours. “Who is it?”
“It’s me,” Trista said. “Open the door.”
“Hold on a minute.” He stood up, ran his hands through his hair a few times, and opened the door.
“Whoa,” she said. “Looks like someone’s been sleeping.”
“Can I help you?” Seth glared down at her.
“And it also looks like someone has gotten up on the wrong side of the bed.”
Seth didn’t understand why she was so perky, but he didn’t care. He just wanted to be left alone. “Is there something I can do for you?” he asked again.
“No,” she shook her head, smiling bigger than he’d ever seen her smile. “But there’s something that I can do for you.”
“Really? And what’s that?” He let out a long yawn.
Trista held up a set of keys and smiled proudly.
“What are those?”
“Keys, silly.”
“I can see that. Are they supposed to mean something to me because I’m really not gettin’ it.”
“These are the keys to my new car.”
Seth cocked his head to the side. He looked at the keys and then back at Trista. “What are you talkin’ about?”
“Welllll,” she said, drawing out the word as if drawing out the suspense. “After everything that went down today, I asked Deana if they had a local dealership that sold used cars. And not only do they have one, but she drove me there herself. When I arrived, the gentleman working there told me all about their Valentine’s Day sale they were running today, so I bought a car.”
“You’re serious.”
She nodded. “Uh huh.”
Seth grabbed her and pulled her into a hug. “You are a lifesaver!” He picked her up and spun her around before setting her back down. “I never unpacked, so I’ll be down in a few minutes.”
“There’s only one catch.”
“A catch? What’s the catch?”
The smile faded from her face. “We’ve been through a lot. And Savannah is still really shaken up over everything. Since it’s almost nighttime anyway, I’d like to stay here tonight and leave first thing in the morning.”
Seth rubbed the back of his neck, smoothing out the tension growing in his muscles. One more night, he thought. If they left in the morning, barring no more issues, he should still make it in time to get Faith. “All right,” he said. “But can we get an early start?”
She flashed a playful smile. “That can be arranged. But you have to do one thing for me.”
Seth paused before saying anything. People didn’t usually say that when it meant anything good for the other person. “And what’s that?”
“I’d like you to come with me and Savannah to the wedding and Valentine’s Day celebration tonight.”
“Are you serious?” The tension in the back of his neck grew tighter as he mulled it over.
“It would mean a lot to Savannah.”
“How can I possibly say no to that?”
“You can’t.”
Chapter 22
Trista
“Come on, Mom. We’re going to be late.” Savannah stood outside the bathroom door, waiting impatiently for Trista to finish getting ready.
“In a minute. I’m almost done.” Trista took a final look in the mirror. She grabbed her comb and gave her hair one last tease for added volume. Then she added a touch of red gloss to her lips, rubbing them together. “There,” she said, stuffing the makeup back into her kit.
She turned to walk out but stopped for a final inspection of her outfit. She wore a red sweater that was cut low in the front and a black skirt that stopped just above the knees. Not exactly her best outfit, but it would have to do. She hadn’t been planning on attending a wedding dinner when she had stuffed her suitcase full of clothes.
“Mom?” Savannah’s voice had taken on a whining tone, and Trista knew she was out of time. “All right, all right. I’m ready. Let’s swing by and get Frank and Seth.”
Savannah took a step back and scanned her mom from head to toe. “Are you sure you want me and Frank to go with you? I haven’t seen you this…”
“This what?”
A smile bright enough to light up the room filled Savannah’s face. “You look beautiful, Mom.”
Trista returned the smile. “Why, thank you, sweetheart. You look beautiful, too.” Trista puffed up Savannah’s hair a few times and then rested her hands on her shoulders. “I can’t believe how grown up you are. What happened to my little girl?”
“She’s here, Mom. But she’s hungry. Can we go? Unless, of course, you want me to hang out here while you and Seth go.”
“Stop saying that. I have no interest in a man like Seth Storm. Besides, we have enough on our plate without further complicating it.”
“I don’t know. That kind of complication might be worth it.”
Trista’s eyes grew wide. She opened the door and turned to Savannah. “We’ll talk about that later.” She took a step outside and walked into something hard. Startled, she reached out her arms against the obstruction—which turned out to be Seth. He took a few steps back, and with her weight thrown onto him, she felt a sudden loss of balance. The next thing she knew, they were falling to the floor, with her on top.
Her hands planted firmly onto his solid chest, her eyes locked onto his. “I’m…I’m so sorry. I didn’t know you were there.” His face had turned crimson, and his eyes seemed like they were about to pop out of his head. “Are you okay?” she asked him.
“Your knee is in my groin,” he said, holding his breath.
“Oh, I’m so sorry,” she said again. She shifted her weight onto her knees to get up, but she had obviously made things worse as he let out a sound that could only be described as someone getting the wind knocked out of him. “I’m sorry. I didn’t know you—”
“It’s fine,” he said, catching his breath. “I should’ve been watching where…where you were going.”
Savannah let out an ear-piercing shrill that was followed by a laughing fit that had her doubled over.
“Savannah! That’s not nice. He’s hurt.” Trista leaned over Seth, who lay flat on the ground, holding his groin. “Is there anything I can do?”
“Can you not stand so close?”
Trista noticed how close her foot was to his groin and completely understood his apprehension, given the number of times now that he’d opened a door only to find her walloping him in the groin. “I can’t tell you how sorry I am.”
“You have a great way of showing a guy you like him, Mom.”
“Savannah!” She snapped around to face her daughter, whose face was now as red as Seth’s. “That’s enough.”
“It’s okay,” Seth said, taking a few deep breaths.
“What’s going on here?” Frank asked, walking up to the group.
“Oh, nothing. My mom just made it impossible for Seth to have more children.”
Frank turned to Trista. “Again? Why? What did he do?”
“What did
I
do?” Seth asked. “I’m the one lying on the ground.”
“It was an accident,” Trista explained. “I was leaving the room but wasn’t watching where I was going, and I ran into Seth, who was waiting for us. We stumbled, he fell, I fell on top of him and… it was an accident.”
Frank put his arm around Trista. “It’s okay. He’s fine.”
Seth watched them, a look of disbelief on his face. “No, don’t worry about me, Frank. I’m good.” He stood up and brushed off his pants. Then he ran a hand through his hair and let out a few deep breaths.