The Price of Trust (8 page)

"Kelly, hey there. Come on in," she said kindly. "Welcome to my home." She was a little bashful about her place. She hadn't had anyone in it since she moved in, and she wasn't sure how Kelly would react.

"Wow, you live here?" Kelly asked in amazement. "It's so tiny," she said as she looked around the minuscule apartment.

Carly chuckled at her astonished look. "Yeah, it's small, but it's cozy. I don't have too much to clean up. Sorry it's not as tidy as usual."

"Don't worry about it. I just came up to let you know that you're going to need a coat. It's really kind of chilly out there. I've always loved this time of year, but it really gets cold fast if you're not used to it."

"All right, I'm ready," Carly said, grabbing her denim jacket. They talked about everyday things as they walked to the diner together. Weather. Colleges. Todd. Carly was completely comfortable with her and enjoyed her company.

They seated themselves at a booth in the back of the diner as she looked around. No Joe. Feeling a little silly and a lot disappointed, she turned to Kelly and smiled.

"No, he's not here. I didn't want you to be mad at me," Kelly said, looking at her menu.

"Who?"

"Joe. You know who I mean."

Carly blushed. "Why would I get mad at you if Joe was here? He can come eat here whenever he wants to."

Sandy came and took their order. Burger and soda for Kelly and soup and water for Carly.

"I must say that I never met anyone who liked soup and water as much as you do. That's all you ever order!" Sandy said, exasperated.

Carly laughed. "It's my favorite."

"Why don't you sit with us anymore?" Kelly asked after Sandy left.

"I've just been running late." She looked down, placing her napkin in her lap, avoiding Kelly's frown.

"I'm not convinced. You live three minutes at the most away from church, and you're late? I don't think so. Are you trying to avoid Joe?"

Sandy brought their food, and there was an awkward pause before Carly could answer.

"Why would I want to avoid Joe?" she asked with a shrug of her shoulders after Sandy had left.

"I don't know. Maybe you're scared of something; maybe you don't like him; maybe you've been abducted by aliens, and I'm just talking to your look-alike. But for whatever reason, I wish you would tell me."

Carly took a deep breath and pushed her soup away.

"Why am I trying to avoid Joe? Where do I begin? Because last time I saw him in church, he was busy with Angie."

Kelly eyes widened. "Are you jealous of Angie?"

"No. Yes. I don't know." She sighed. "All right. I guess I am," she admitted.

"But you don't have to sit in the back. He really wants you to sit by him instead of Angie. He can't stand her. Don't be a noodle."

"That's the problem. Kelly, I can't stay here. I'm going to have to leave again, and I don't want Joe to feel bad. He's too nice to hurt." Carly sighed heavily. "Trust me. It's better for everyone this way."

Kelly was unconvinced. "Why can't you stay? I don't understand."

"I can't stay because I have a problem to deal with," Carly answered evasively.

"A problem to deal with? Oh my. Oh
wow
," Kelly breathed, her eyes wide, her face pale. "Carly, are you married?" She squeaked the last word out.

Carly burst out laughing. "Married? No way, trust me. You should see your face. If you opened your eyes anymore, I think they'd fall right out!"

"Are you sure you're not married?" She eyed her doubtfully.

"Positive. You remember me telling you all at the Bairds' that I was engaged once?" Kelly nodded, not taking her eyes off Carly's face. "Well, when I broke off our engagement, my fiancé was less than pleased. In fact, he was furious."

"So? Why would that make it to where you couldn't stay here?"

"He told me that he would follow me wherever I went, that he wouldn't let anyone else have me, and that he'd kill me if I tried to marry anyone but him. That's pretty much it in a nutshell."

"Are you serious?" Kelly stared. "He loved you a lot then, right?"

"Love? Ian didn't love me. He felt that I was his property, and he can't stand for someone else to have what he wants. It isn't romantic. It's frightening. I've had to keep running, because he keeps finding me and trying to force me to come back to him. I've lost everything I had because of him. When I tried to leave the first time, he took the car he bought me away, and he locked me in my apartment for a while. He's crazy. Obsessed."

They finished their meals, paid their bills, and left without another word. Kelly was quiet until they arrived at the hardware store.

"Carly, I'm sorry you've had it so rough, and I wish you felt safe here. I want you to stay here, and I know Joe wants you to stay here."

"I would love to stay here, but Ian will find me and will hurt anyone that he thinks I'm interested in. I can't let that happen to Joe. I'll just leave before he likes me too much," Carly said simply, shivering. The wind was cold and whipped through her light jacket.

"I think you should tell Joe and see what he thinks. You should give him that option before you leave," Kelly said stubbornly, refusing to see it Carly's way.

"Thanks for listening. You're the only person I've told, and it feels like a load has been lifted off my shoulders." Carly smiled sadly, giving her friend a hug.

"I'll see you later, girl. If you need anything, let me know," Kelly said, walking away. Carly watched her go, thankful for her friendship.

Todd called Kelly that evening.

"Hey, babe! How are you?" He always acted like it was the best part of his day to call and talk to her.

"I'm good. How was your day?"

Todd told her about his day at the farm as she listened patiently.

"How's Joe been today?" she asked, wanting to tell him about her experience with Carly.

"Joe? Let me see. How can I describe Joe? Hmm. Grouchy? No, too nice. Grumpy? Sounds too much like the Seven Dwarfs. Just plain cantankerous. He's grumpy, grouchy, crabby, irritable, and he's just not happy with anyone or anything. In fact, I'd have to say he's miserable. He spends a lot of time out at the horse corral though, which is good for the rest of us. Makes me feel sorry for the horses. Why do you ask?"

"I had lunch with Carly today."

His curiosity was piqued immediately. "Oh really? Did she have anything interesting to say?"

"Yes, she had some pretty interesting things to say, but I'm not going to tell you everything. Just the important things. It's not my business to tell you the rest; she'll have to do that. Joe doesn't need to be so miserable. She cares for him, but she's really scared, like I thought she was. And tell him that she's jealous when Angie sits next to him at church, that should make him feel better."

"Good. Maybe it'll cheer him up finally. He's been awful to be around." They continued talking for a while, said their good-byes, and hung up.

Todd went to look for Joe. He found him outside at the corral, scratching behind Ashes' ears. He was deep in thought and didn't hear Todd walk up. Todd rested his leg on the bottom rung and leaned his chin on his fist.

"I just got off the phone with Kell," he started. Joe kept scratching Ashes silently. "I thought you'd want to know that she had lunch with Carly today."

Joe looked over at him. "Really," he said evenly. He waited.

"Kelly said that Carly was jealous that Angie sat by you at church."

Joe nodded his head approvingly. "That's very interesting." He was thoughtful. "Thanks," he said finally, turning back to the horse.

"Welcome," Todd answered, walking back toward the house. He stopped and turned back toward Joe. "Oh. I almost forgot. She told Kell that she cares for you, but she admits that she's scared." He turned and left before Joe could reply.

Joe's mood had changed drastically when he finally came into the house. He hugged his mom, punched his dad on the arm, and tousled Todd's hair, which he knew he hated with a passion.

"How do you like that?" Todd asked, looking at his family. "You give the guy some good news, and he comes in and treats you with no respect. That's the last time I tell you good news!" Joe laughed.

"Good news? What good news?" their mom asked hopefully.

"Nothing," Joe said as he walked out of the room whistling.

They looked over at Todd. "What's got him so happy?" his dad asked.

"I just told him that Carly likes him."

"Carly? He's been in a bad mood because of a girl?" his dad asked, surprised. "Hmm. I thought he'd never like another one of those after Amy. Well, I guess that's good news after all."

Penny looked at Todd thoughtfully, then went and finished the dishes.

The next morning, Joe got up earlier than usual. He showered, shaved, made coffee, ate some cereal, and waited for Todd to come down to the kitchen.

He had lain awake the night before, wondering what he should do. Should he go talk to her? He didn't want to scare her anymore than she already was, but he had to talk to her. He wanted to know what she was afraid of and how he could help her. She might not even know that Kelly had spoken to Todd and told him any of their conversation and would still avoid him.

Todd came to the breakfast table yawning. "What are you doing up so early?" he asked, stretching. He helped himself to a cup of coffee and sat down opposite Joe. "Mmm. Good coffee."

"I was wondering if Carly knew that Kelly told you about their conversation yesterday."

"Wow, no beating around the bush with you, is there? No. I don't think Carly knows anything. Why?"

Joe was disappointed.

"I wanted to go talk to her, but if she didn't know Kelly told you anything, then she'll still avoid me."

"Well, for some reason, I don't think she'd really want to talk to you anyway at five in the morning. Most people don't wake up with the chickens, you know." Todd's large grin suddenly stretched bigger. He had an idea.

"It's supposed to be really nice weather for riding today and tomorrow. We probably won't get too many more of these days this year, and Ashes looks a little fat, you know. You should really exercise her more often. Maybe I'll get Kelly out here later on and have her help me exercise the horses. We could take care of Ashes for you if you wanted to."

"I wonder if Carly would like to ride," Joe mused, taking the hint. "Do you think Kelly could entice her to come out here for a ride?" he asked hopefully.

"I could have her try, but Carly's probably got to work until five tonight, and by then it'll almost be too dark to ride. Or would you rather have Kelly ask her for tomorrow when you have all day?"

"Try for tomorrow so we won't be so rushed. Thanks for the idea, little brother." Joe smiled, put on his hat, and went out to the barn to start doing his work.

Kelly went to see Carly around lunchtime.

"Hey there, Kell. How's it going today? Any mean people yet?" Carly teased.

"Boy, do I have a story for you! There was a couple in this morning, and all they did was fight, fight, fight. It was embarrassing. Most of the guests were eating in the dining room, and everyone could hear what they were saying, they were so loud. Man, I hope Todd and I never fight that way." Kelly laughed, leaning her elbows on the counter.

"Anyway, on to more important stuff. I was wondering if you would like to go horseback riding tomorrow morning. We would have a picnic in the afternoon, and we could ride all day." Carly was frowning. "Don't you like to ride?" Kelly asked, disappointed. She had hoped their scheme would work.

"Where?" Carly asked bluntly, crossing her arms. She knew Kelly wouldn't lie.

"At the Bairds'," she said quietly. "Come on, Carly, please? You'd have fun," she pleaded when Carly shook her head.

"It's no good, Kelly; I can't go out there when I've been trying so hard to avoid him here. What good would that do?" Carly asked, exasperated.

"All right. I understand. But you know, the Bible says that we're supposed to bear one another's burdens, and you're not letting anyone else help you with yours." Kelly was just warming up. "Have you even prayed and asked God what he wanted you to do? What if he wants you to stay? Would you? Or would you be too scared? Give God a chance to tell you what he wants, Carly," Kelly ended in a storm. "I've got to get back to work. See you around." She stomped out the door.

"Kelly! Wait! Kelly!" Carly called, following her. "Kelly! Stop!" Kelly stopped and turned around. She was furious.

"You know, Carly, you haven't even given God a chance to take care of your needs. You've just kept running and running," she sputtered.

"Kelly." Carly grabbed her by the shoulders. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to make you so upset. You're right. I've been running so long that I think that's the only thing I know how to do. I'm sorry. Please don't be angry with me," she pleaded.

Kelly softened. "Okay. I'm sorry that I yelled at you like that. I usually don't do that."

Carly smiled and gave Kelly a hug. "Yeah, but you haven't dealt with a stubborn old mule like me."