Riddle (13 page)

Chapter 22

Kort struggled awake to a knocking sound. It took him a minute to clear his head and realize someone was knocking on his bedroom door. Sun shone brightly through his bedroom window filling the room with light. Groaning he called out, “Yes.”

“Kort are you all right? It’s after seven o’clock,” Agnes called through the door.

Struggling to sit up he buried his head in his hands. “I’m fine Mother. I overslept.”

“Do you need anything?” she asked anxiously. “Should I call Chad?”

“No, no. I’ll do it. Thanks Mom.” He sat up slowly and grabbed his phone from the night table. Chad answered on the second ring. He quickly explained he’d overslept and assured Chad he would be at the site in thirty minutes.

“You sure you’re okay man? You don’t sound too good.”

“Yeah, I just have a little headache. I’m on my way I’m sorry about this.”

“No problem. It happens. I’ll let Frank know.”

After showering and dressing hurriedly, he ran downstairs. Agnes came out of the kitchen when she heard his footsteps. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah I just forgot to set my alarm.” He grabbed his keys and pulling his jacket on he shoved his cell phone into the pocket.

“You don’t look too good,” Agnes observed. She hesitated a moment before adding, “You were out very late.”

Kort stopped with his hand on the door knob. She thought he was going to give her a smart answer but instead he apologized. “I’m sorry if I woke you. It won’t happen again.”

“Well.” Agnes moved toward him. “Just be careful Kort.”

He smiled and nodded then hurried out to get into his truck. As he drove toward the construction site his phone buzzed in his pocket but he ignored it. Distracted by the phone and the fact that he’d overslept he didn’t notice when the police car pulled out of a shopping center and began to follow him. It was only when he stopped at a red light that he glanced up at his rearview mirror and saw Butch’s familiar face staring at him. “I’m not in the mood for this,” he thought angrily. The light turned green and he proceeded carefully along the road. At the next corner Butch turned off, lights flashing but without his siren. Kort took a deep breath and let it out slowly.

By the time he got to the Timbers his phone was buzzing again and he pulled it out to see Norma’s name on the caller I.D. He shoved the phone back into his pocket without answering and found Frank to let him know he was there. Whatever had happened between Norma and him the night before was something they would have to discuss later; it was something he had to think about when his head was clear. He completely forgot he had promised to pick Grace up on his way to work so she could move her belongings to the apartment. Throwing himself into work he tried to avoid thinking about what had happened. No matter how he looked at it something seemed off. Barely speaking to the other guys on the crew he went through the morning not noticing the questioning looks that were sent his way.

Chapter 23

Grace was groggy when she awoke the next morning. She had slept fitfully, her dreams filled with dark places and strange happenings. They were so disjointed she couldn’t piece them together enough to make any sense of them. Even after the alarm went off after the third time she hit the snooze button, she struggled to sit up. Propping her elbows on her knees she held her head in her hands. The last thing she felt like doing was packing her belongings. Wondering if she could call Kort and put it off for later in the day she reached for her phone. Then, feeling guilty yet again, she set the phone back on the night table and got out of bed.

“Maybe I’ll feel better after I take a shower,” she thought. She turned on the shower, and then set the small coffee maker up to brew. As she let the warm water spray over her body she was unaware of her cell phone buzzing in the other room.  Fifteen minutes later she was drying off when it buzzed again. Wrapping her thick red hair in a towel she rushed into the bedroom thinking it must be Kort calling. When she looked at the caller ID it wasn’t Kort. It was David. He had called more frequently over the past few days. She had avoided answering. Debating if she should call him back she listened to yet another voice mail, this one angrier than any of the others had been. His tone convinced her she should just leave things as they were. She had nothing left to say to him or Emily. Her finger hesitated over the delete button before opting to save the message as hateful as it was.

Checking the time she realized it was well past the hour Kort had said he’d drop by to help her. Frowning, she decided to start packing up and if he had not called or come by when she was finished she would call him. Thirty minutes later she was debating if she should do that. It was well past eight thirty and he was supposed to be at work over an hour earlier. Biting her lip she finally gave in and dialed his number. It rang several times and just as she thought it would go to his voice mail he answered.

“Oh God I am so sorry Grace.” Kort didn’t even wait for her to say hello. “I overslept and I completely forgot. “

“It’s okay,” she assured him as she tried to figure out how she could get checked out by eleven.

“No, it isn’t. I can come by right after work.” Kort moved away from the sound of the nail gun one of the men was using.

Not wanting to make him feel worse than he obviously already did, she told him it was no problem. “I have to be out by eleven or pay for an additional day so I can just grab a cab. It’s really not a problem.”

“Absolutely not!” he responded emphatically. “I’ll be there before ten. Let me just arrange it with Frank.” He was already moving toward Frank’s truck where the foreman was busy with some paperwork.

As Grace protested that she didn’t want to cause him trouble at work Kort was telling her to hang on a minute. Placing the phone against his chest he began explaining the problem to Frank. Frowning slightly, Frank listened then sat quietly for a few seconds before responding. “Go ahead and take a break. But we need to talk before you leave this afternoon.”

Nodding in agreement Kort thanked him before telling Grace he would pick her up at ten. He gave her no time to protest as he hurried back to work and after a quick “See you later” he shoved the phone back into his pocket.

As he worked he thought about the previous evening and the way his day was going. He must be exhausted from the changes in his life; being released, returning to Riddle, starting a new job, and last night. Part of his mind knew things had been fine until the night before, until he had dinner with Norma. Distracted by his thoughts he tripped over a cable. One of the crew reached out and caught him before he tumbled off the crossbeam. “Be careful man!”

Stunned, Kort looked down at the lower level, then back at his savior. “Thanks man. I wasn’t paying attention.”

“Well, start paying attention,” the man ordered releasing his arm and moving on.

As Kort began moving forward again he caught Frank frowning at him and knew their talk was not going to be pleasant. Determined to shake it off and show the foreman he was qualified for his job, he pushed everything else to the back of his mind giving his full concentration to the duties at hand.

It was a few minutes before ten when Frank called out to him. “Kort! Take a break.”

Everyone turned to look as Kort climbed down to the parking lot and hurried to Frank’s truck. “Thanks sir. I appreciate it.”

Frank merely nodded. “Make it quick. The weather man is calling for rain early next week and I want to get as much of the piping put in as possible.” As Kort turned to go to his own truck Frank called out again, “Have lunch with me.”

Kort nodded, not speaking and continued to his truck. He dialed Grace’s cell as he drove toward the inn. She answered on the first ring. “I’m on my way.”

“I’ll bring my things to the lobby,” she told him. “I’m so sorry.”

“It’s no problem. I’ll help you when I get there.” He hung up without waiting for a response so he could concentrate on the road. As he pulled onto the main road he saw the police car pull in behind him and cursed under his breath. “Not now,” he thought, “I don’t have time for this right now.” But the car turned off at the next road and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Within minutes he was at the entrance to the inn and saw Grace inside at the front desk talking to Sandy. Jumping out of the truck he hurried inside. “Hey.”

Grace smiled at him gratefully. “I’m just checking out.”

He looked at the two suitcases, the laptop bag, and the covered plastic tote box. “Let me grab this.” He picked up the two suitcases and took them out to the truck placing them on the back seat. As he went back inside to get the tote he met Grace carrying it out with the laptop case on top.

“I’ve got this,” she managed a tentative smile.

Slowing down he smiled back and took the tote from her. “I can’t help you if you’re carrying this.” He slid it into the truck bed then opened the passenger door. “Everything is fine.”

As he climbed behind the wheel he said softly, “You didn’t do anything wrong. I overslept.” He pulled into traffic, driving carefully. “Something I ate must have upset my stomach.”

Grace looked at him out of the corner of her eye. Something about his tone was strange. She wondered if perhaps he was angry with her. The trees overhead cast shadows on his face as they drove around the curves. She noted dark circles under his eyes as though he had not slept at all. His eyes never left the road, his stare intense, and a vein throbbed in his forehead. As he parked in front of the manager’s office he turned to catch her staring at him.

“Grace, it’s fine. I’m the one who let you down. You didn’t do anything. If it’s okay I’d like to come by after work and I’ll explain.”

“You’re welcome to come by but you don’t owe me any explanations.”

“Well let me pick up a pizza and maybe some beer? Do you like beer?” He was trying to smile but it didn’t reach his eyes.

“Yes I like beer. I would love it if you came by with pizza and beer. Let me just go grab this key so you can get back to work.”

A few minutes later Kort was helping her carry her belongings upstairs to the apartment. “I hate to run but I have to get back to work. But I’ll be back around five thirty or six. Pepperoni?”

Grace impulsively hugged him. “Thank you. And yes, pepperoni sounds great.”

Kort was surprised but pleased by the hug. The grin that had struggled to surface finally appeared as he turned and left the apartment. In a couple of minutes he was parking his truck next to Frank’s. Grabbing his hard hat off the seat he hurried back to what he had been doing before his break. Suddenly he felt much better. Thinking all he had needed was a break he waved at Frank and focused on his job.

A little over an hour later Frank called everyone together for a quick meeting before breaking for lunch. As he was laying out the schedule for the following week a black car pulled into the parking lot. Frank’s voice trailed off and a frown crossed his face. “Okay guys go have lunch and let’s see how much we can finish up today just in case tomorrow is a wash.” As the crew began to discuss where to go for lunch, Frank called Kort to one side. “I really want to talk to you over lunch. Just you and me, okay?”

Kort nodded, “Sure. No problem.”

Frank inclined his head toward the car. Kort had not paid attention but now saw Norma getting out of the car, a bag in her hand.

“Damn!” Kort swore softly. Embarrassed, he turned to Frank. “I had no idea she was coming here. Let me tell her I have plans.”

“Look if you want to have lunch with your girlfriend I understand. We can talk after we finish this evening.” Frank was annoyed but Kort’s discomfort made him feel sorry for the young man.

Kort’s jaw tightened. “No. I didn’t expect her and I need to talk to you too. Just give me a couple of minutes. Please.”

Frank just nodded and headed toward his truck as Kort began walking toward Norma. She stood by her car, smiling widely. When he was close enough she reached out to hug him and give him a kiss but he stepped back quickly. Norma stiffened.

“I brought lunch for us.” And before Kort could answer she continued. “I thought you might need a good lunch after last night.”

Taking a deep breath Kort looked directly into her eyes. “Norma, I appreciate the thought but I have a lunch meeting with my boss. You can’t just drop by like this. It doesn’t look good.”

Norma’s eyes narrowed and her lips tightened to a thin line. Her tone was icy as she responded. “Oh I see. You don’t want anyone to know we’re lovers.”

Kort looked back over his shoulder hoping Frank hadn’t overheard her. Feeling anger growing he turned back to Norma. “Shh. It isn’t like that. I told you before, lunch isn’t a good idea. And we need to talk about last night. This isn’t the time or place to do that.”

Sensing she had pushed him too far Norma’s eyes began to fill with tears. “I’m sorry Kort. Please don’t be mad at me. I just wanted to do something nice for you.”

Panicked Kort assured Norma he wasn’t mad. “I’ll call you when I get off this evening. Please don’t make a scene.”

Sniffling Norma offered a small smile. “Okay. Maybe we can have dinner?”

Avoiding the question Kort responded, “I’ll call you later.” As she leaned toward him he moved quickly away toward Frank’s truck. Tossing the bag of food into her car Norma got behind the wheel and started the engine before squealing out of the parking lot.

Kort glanced over his shoulder before turning back to Frank and smiling uncomfortably.

Frank looked from the disappearing car to Kort’s face and shook his head. “Women.” He continued more seriously, “Hop in. I’ve got my lunch in Cindy’s refrigerator and there’s plenty for both of us.”

Kort struggled to find the words to apologize for Norma’s unexpected appearance, his tardiness in the morning, and his mid-morning need for a break. Frank parked in front of the management office and Kort followed him inside. Cindy was seated behind her desk and smiled as they entered.

“Well hello. What can I do for you fellows today?”

Grinning, Frank told her he was just there to pick up his lunch. “Do you mind if we eat here?”

“That’s fine. I have a couple of things to handle but you guys can have the run of the place until I get back. You know where everything is Frank. Make yourselves comfortable.” Grabbing her clipboard she left the office.

“Grab a seat,” Frank indicated the couch and coffee table near the window. He turned off the television before getting a small cooler out of the refrigerator. “I hope you like chicken salad. My wife makes it and I think it’s pretty damned good.” Sitting across from Kort he set two over stuffed chicken salad sandwiches on paper plates and popped open a bag of potato chips. Then he set a thermos of coffee on the table along with two cups. “It may not be the healthiest lunch but it guaranteed to hold you until dinner.”

“I appreciate it Frank. I need to explain …” Kort began.

“Hang on son. You haven’t tasted the sandwich yet.” With that Frank took a big bite of his and indicated Kort should do likewise. Although the last thing he felt like doing was eating Kort obligingly took a bite. Smiling and nodding appreciatively he followed it with a sip of coffee.

Wiping his mouth Frank began talking. “I know you have a lot going on. You’re a good worker from what I’ve seen. I can even excuse you being a little late this morning. It happens to everyone sooner or later. Don’t make a habit of it. Now this thing with your girlfriends is none of my business.”

Kort opened his mouth to protest but Frank held up his hand to stop him from talking.

“You’ve been away and I’m sure, being a young man, you are eager to make a few female friends. My advice is that you keep them away from your job,” he grinned, “especially if they might show up at the same time.”

“They’re not my girlfriends,” Kort protested, shaking his head. “I’ve known Norma since high school and Grace is just passing through.”

Frank looked thoughtful before saying, “I don’t know about this Grace, but I saw the way Norma looked at you. You may not think she’s your girlfriend but someone needs to tell her. Women can be funny Kort.” Taking another swallow of his coffee he went on, “Mostly I want you to keep your mind on what you’re doing out there. Chad has plans for you. The company is growing and sooner or later he’s going to have more crews and he’ll need more foremen. You could move up here Kort.”