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And there it is. “Your wife?”
What would possess him to even ask that after all of the conversations we have had today?
He shifts his weight from one leg to the other. “I’m getting up there in age. I’d like to have someone take care of me when I can no longer look after myself.”
Typical Gavin. Always puts himself first.
I’m not that surprised that he would say that. “What a selfish thing to say.”
He doesn’t seem fazed at all. “Well, it’s the truth. Why else have little spawns running around? They are there to take care of you when you become old and frail.”
I turn around and grab my wallet and keys off the counter. “Just stop talking. Please.”
Footsteps click on the hardwood floor behind me; a few seconds later I see Gavin out of the corner of my eye.
His voice is low and grating. “You will be my bride and my family will make sure of it. My family practically owns the entire city. They are rich and arrogant and they will give me what I want. You can either do this the easy way and let me court you or you can continue to ignore me and be miserable the rest of your life. Your choice.”
“First off, I don’t care how rich your family is. They will not and cannot force me to marry you. Second, I have no desire to be your bride and take care of you and pop out however many kids you have in your tiny brain. Not happening. Not now, not ever. Third, you need to leave. You are no longer welcome here.”
“You will be sorry.” He turns around and walks out the front door, slamming it closed behind him.
I look towards Ed who has a tiny smile on his face. “I’m proud of you for sticking up for yourself.”
“Thank you.” I look at the clock that is hanging in the kitchen. “I’ve changed my mind. You are coming with me. I need to get to where Dad is fast and like you said you are the only one that knows exactly where he is.”
Ed and I climb into my car and head towards where Dad is. I drive past the town's old wooden sign that indicates we have four hundred and twenty-three residents.
Four hundred and twenty-two now that Mom has been missing.
The silence drones on. I drum my thumbs on the steering wheel to keep my mind from imagining the worst.
“Did you and Dad stop to get one of the pretty roses?”
I don’t know where the roses come from, but if he didn’t get to the market to get another rose then we can head to the customer’s house and start tracking from there. Although, I highly doubt the kidnappers would stay in the same spot.
We probably should have filed a police report before leaving the house.
“Ed?” I ask when he doesn’t respond.
“We didn’t get a rose. Like I said we were ambushed.”
Obviously, they didn’t get a rose, or else it would be in my hands right now and Dad would be home.
“But did you stop at the market to try to get a rose?” Why won’t he answer the question? Is he deliberately hiding something from me?
A frustrated sigh escapes through his thin lips. “We didn’t get one.”
He’s being mysterious. Are the kidnappers the owners of the roses or are they completely unrelated to the roses? Did the kidnappers find them trying to get a rose from the market and attacked them?
Glancing at Ed’s clothes, it is hard to imagine what kind of person or animal could shred a shirt like that.
He doesn’t speak. Instead, he turns his head away from me to look out the window.
When we come to a fork in the road, he instructs me to take the right route. It is odd to go this way considering the town is to the left.
The gravel road is hard to maneuver in my car. I have to slow down to almost a stop to avoid potholes and ruts.
It looks like it’s been raining for days here, but the last time we got rain was a week ago. The deeper we go down this gravel road, the foggier it gets.
