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Randy’s alarm went off at six am, signaling her to get up for her Monday morning workout with her friends and her job. She turned the alarm off and rolled to face the opposite side of the room without even the pretense of the snooze button. The gym? Work? Those things wouldn’t happen today. Every ounce of enjoyment she normally found in those activities felt as empty as the third finger of her left hand. Beneath the covers, her thumb traced the indention at the base of that finger, evidence that despite her dreams and wishful thinking, the last two days hadn’t been a nightmare that the morning would put right.
She closed her eyes as despair crept back into her heart with the second-by-second intensity of the sunlight waking up the rain-drenched world outside her window. It was all gone. Her plans, her dreams, her future...erased in one swipe, like dust off a chalkboard. Randy curled herself into a tight ball and stared at nothing.
When the phone rang, she glanced at the clock. She’d been lying there for an hour, oblivious to the passing time. It would be one of her friends, wanting to know where she was, ragging her about being lazy, ordering her to get her tardy butt in gear. She didn’t even reach for the phone, couldn’t bring herself to care. Randy couldn’t talk to them right now. They didn’t know about the broken engagement and the events that motivated it, and she didn’t have the energy to tell them. The phone stopped ringing. Randy closed her eyes again and sank further into the abyss.
Two hours later, the exercise repeated. A ringing phone, a look at the clock, knowing without answering who it was and why. The bank this time, Randy figured. Likely Sydney, worried some horrible disaster had befallen her. In all her years at the bank, Randy had never been late without calling. She needed to talk to them. She acknowledged that as a fact, but it didn’t have to be right this second. Later, once she found the desire to get out of bed and the internal fortitude to talk without blubbering, she’d call Mr. Snelling. He’d be annoyed at the short notice...no notice...request for leave, but she had more vacation time stored back than she could use. He would not refuse her request.
Vacation time.
The words gathered fresh tears into her eyes. How long could she stay here tucked away from the world and all her fractured plans and the friends who’d demand explanations she couldn’t give? That deserted island she’d prayed for Saturday night looked more appealing by the minute.
The phone rang a third time. Friend...job...Eli...
“Leave me alone!” Randy yelled into the empty room. She pulled a pillow over her head. Couldn’t they just all go away? Wasn’t there some rule about leaving a message and allowing the person a chance to call you back?
Randy sighed when the phone stopped ringing. She removed the pillow and stared at the ceiling. She was more tired than she’d ever been in her life. A little part of her wondered how that could be since she’d been in bed for twelve hours. She pushed the question aside, reached for her phone, turned it off, and closed her eyes. Maybe if she slept a little longer, she’d wake up with some energy, or answers, or whatever she needed to face the long days ahead.
* * *
ELI PACED HARRISON Lake’s waiting area at the end of his workday Monday afternoon. An impatient hand bounced against his thigh as he walked. He had forty-five minutes before the day care center closed. He didn’t want to be late. He’d imposed on the owner enough already. Thankfully, Tiny Tikes was less than a mile away.
The receptionist behind the desk watched him from under her lashes. His pacing obviously made her nervous, but he couldn’t bring himself to care. Eli didn’t imagine he was the first frazzled client her boss had kept waiting. The phone on the secretary’s desk rang, and she snatched it up. She listened and nodded with what Eli was sure was a look of relief. She replaced the phone and looked at Eli.
“Mr. Lake will see you now.”
“’Bout time,” Eli muttered as he strode down the hall, opened the door to the lawyer’s office, and pulled up short. The man was still on the phone. Unbelievable. He closed the door, crossed the room, and settled in a chair, doing his best not to look at his watch.
This whole day had been a bust. Late for work despite all his efforts. A week’s worth of work on his desk that he’d been unable to get to because the computers were down. Randy hadn’t answered a single phone call, now...
“Absolutely, Your Honor. Thanks for getting back to me so quickly.” Lake disconnected the call and held up a finger. He pressed a couple of buttons. “Stephanie, can you please let Mr. Cramer know he’s good to go? Thanks.” He cradled the phone and looked at Eli. “I’m sorry for the wait. I’ve got a case scheduled to go before a jury tomorrow. My client’s mother suffered a heart attack a few hours ago. She lives in Maine, and her prognosis isn’t encouraging. We’ve been trying to arrange a continuance. The judge called just as I had Stephanie send you back.”
A bit of Eli’s aggravation drained. Some things transcended his inconvenience.
Harrison sat back in his seat and gave Eli his full attention. “What can I do for you?”
“I need to move forward with the private investigator.”
Harrison propped his elbows on his desk and steepled his fingers. “I thought we’d located her.”
“We did.” He related the details of his futile trip to Florida and shared the single piece of information he’d managed to bring home. “A trip of this sort leaves a trail. I need someone to find it.”
The lawyer studied him from across the desk. “Of course. I’ll get that information for you.” He drummed his fingers on the desk. “May I offer you a word of advice?”
Eli stared at him.
The lawyer took the stare for consent. “Despite her actions, your daughter is an adult. You can’t force her into obedience. You’ve talked to her. You know she’s not in any danger. Maybe if you take a step back, have a little patience, she’ll come to her senses—”
“I don’t have time for patience!” Harrison’s calm words were kerosene on Eli’s temper. He surged from his seat and leaned across the front edge of the lawyer’s desk. “I need her home yesterday.”
Harrison met his angry outburst with nothing more than raised eyebrows. Embarrassment replaced Eli’s anger. The hand he ran though his hair shook as he stepped back. “Sorry.”
“You want to talk about it?”
Eli looked at the floor. “I don’t know what to do.” He looked up and met the sympathetic eyes of the lawyer. “I’m angry, and I’m hurt, and I’m confused. I’m disappointed in Celeste...and myself.”
“Disappointed in yourself?”
“I had to have messed up somewhere for my daughter to have so little regard for her responsibilities. I could have sworn I taught her better than that.” Eli continued when Harrison remained silent. “Ten days ago, I had the next phase of my life mapped out. I was getting married to a woman I love, and we were going to do all the things other couples our age only talk about. Travel, maybe even early retirement in a few years. We both have good jobs, we’ve both made decent investments. Neither of us is rich, but we were in a position to make those dreams come true.”
He looked up. “And the kicker? We prayed about our plans every step of the way. We both want God’s will for our lives. Neither of us ever felt God directing us to something different.”
“And you think that’s gone if you can’t get Celeste to come home?”
“I don’t think it, I know it,” Eli said. “Randy gave my ring back yesterday.”
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
Eli ignored the sympathy and frowned into space. “I love Randy so much, but I love Astor too. Randy’s an adult and able to take care of herself. I’m all Astor has. If I’m forced to make a choice...there is no choice.”
He finally brought his gaze back to Harrison. “But I can’t let this happen without a fight. If I can find Celeste and confront her...” He shrugged, running down. “If she still refuses to come home...if I lose Randy over this... at least I’ll know that I did everything I could do.”
Eli glanced at his watch and came to his feet a second time. “I have five minutes to get over to the day care center.” He scrubbed his hands over his face. “That’s another thing. It’s been a long time since I was on such a strict schedule. I’m not doing very well so far.” He held his hand across the desk. “Thanks for the ear. Sorry I spewed all over you.”
Harrison shrugged away the apology and gripped his hand. “I’ll survive. Go pick up that baby. I’ll have the name and number of the agency for you tomorrow.”
* * *
EXCEPT FOR BRIEF TRIPS to the restroom, Randy hadn’t moved from her bed all day. The three or four times her bladder forced her feet to the floor, she moved with the speed of a diver inching along the bottom of the ocean.
She’d called the bank from beneath her blankets. Mr. Snelling had been predictably unenthusiastic about her request, but he’d given her two weeks to figure out her life. She’d lobby for more if and when she needed it. A cold certainty grew that it would be when, not if.
Father, I sure could use some answers down here.
A stack of books, the TV, a tablet, and an iPod all lay close and untouched. Entertainment held no appeal in the lackadaisical place she inhabited. As afternoon bled into evening, she lay on her back, staring at a plate sized, discolored patch on the ceiling above the bed, absently counting the nubs on that portion of the textured sheetrock. She’d always wondered why the landlord never found time to paint over it. Now she knew. It was her only link to sanity in a world that no longer made any sense.
She reached two hundred and fifty-eight before the tears in her eyes blurred her vision enough to make her lose count. She sighed and started over. That was thirty more than she got to last time. If she lay there long enough, she’d either get the job done or be too numb to cry anymore.
The doorbell intruded on her lethargy. Randy lost count again and closed her eyes. Did it count as a failed attempt if it wasn’t tears that interrupted? Didn’t matter. She started over. If I ignore them, whoever it is will go away.
Wrong again. Whoever stood on her porch was now leaning on the bell, and hammering had been added to the noise. Self-defense finally drove her to her feet. She’d see who it was, tell them to go away, then detour to her computer long enough to print a big DO NOT DISTURB sign to tape to the door. Then she could go back to bed. Randy groaned. Her whole body ached with the effort required to move. She’d add I HAVE THE FLU to the bottom of the sign. That should keep people away.
She reached the living room and peeked around the edge of the shade. Alex stood in front of her door, finger working the button while the other hand used the heel of her shoe on the door. She wore her best I-might-be-little-but-don’t-mess-with-me look. Randy leaned her head on the wall. At least it wasn’t all of them, and if they’d sent Alex...and Randy had no doubt she’d been sent...she wasn’t going away till she got what she came for.
Randy opened the door and frowned. “Emissary?”
“Yep,” Alex confirmed. “I won the toss.”
Randy leaned in the opening and crossed her arms, her energy spent. “Toss?”
“They all wanted to come, but we finally narrowed it down to me or Charley. Me since I’m your pastor’s wife, or Charley because we figured she could use her cop superpowers to get in the house if you didn’t open the door.” Alex looked Randy up and down. “I love you, but I gotta tell you, you look like crap. Are you going to invite me in?”
“No.”
“Good.” Alex took one step forward. “Wait...no?”
Randy shook her head.
Alex crossed her own arms and raised her eyebrows.
Randy drew in a deep breath. If she cried now, she’d never get rid of Alex. “Look, I know you love me and I know you want to help. But right now, I just need to be alone.”
“But—”
“Please? I’ve got so much to think about right now. I need some space to do that.”
Alex’s brows came together. Her gaze started at Randy’s uncombed hair and descended in a slow slide. She gasped about halfway down.
Randy whipped her bare hand behind her back but knew it was too late.
Alex looked up, pity etched on her face. “Oh, sweetheart. What happened?”
“I promise.” Randy’s voice broke, and she swallowed the waterworks. “I’ll give you all the explanations you want. Just not today, OK?”
Alex chewed her lip. “A week.”
“What?”
“I’ll go back to the girls and tell them what I know. They’re going to be as frustrated as I am and worried about you floundering through this alone, but I think I can sell it on two conditions.”
“What conditions?”
“One, that you allow one of us to check on you once a day. Two, that you’ll promise to call us sooner if you need us.”
Randy nodded and counted herself lucky to get off so easily. “Will you do me a favor?”
“Of course.”
“You know Sydney, my assistant at the bank?”
“Yes.”
“Will you let her know that we’ve talked? Include her in your conditions if need be, but tell her that I’m OK. I don’t want anyone to worry. I just...” The tears broke through, and Randy stepped back to close the door.
“Honey.”
“I’ve got to go.” She paused. “Can I add something to your conditions? Will you pray?”
“You know we will,” Alex answered, her voice thick with sympathetic tears.
“Good.” She closed the door between them. “Cause I’m not having any luck with that right now either.”