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“Expecting trouble?” I pointed to the shotgun sitting in his lap.
“Wasn’t expecting anybody, but you can never be too careful,” he moved the gun and propped it up against the wooden railing. He pulled a beer out of a cooler next to him and offered it to me. Sitting in the other rocking chair, I popped the cap on my beer and took a long drink of the cold liquid.
We sat there for a while rocking, the groaning of the chairs and the crickets chirping the only sounds. I could understand why he wanted to live out here. The quiet was peaceful and there wasn’t anyone around for miles to bother him. I wondered if Winnie would like a place like this or if she preferred being in town.
My father had spent most of his career investigating the worst crimes imaginable. Little Falls was too small to have a real police force and the sheriff covered any issues that needed law enforcement. After Mom was gone, Dad was hired on to be a homicide detective for the county. He was called out to crime scenes day or night, leaving me home alone a lot of the time.
Even though we never talked about it, I had a feeling his nightmares rivaled my own. There were times when I would find him in the den sitting in complete darkness, staring at nothing. The haunted looks on his face spoke of the horrors he was forced to encounter on a daily basis.
“I fucked up,” I said, dropping my head down and staring at my boots.
“How so?” he asked calmly. Dad was never one to yell or scream. He didn’t need to, his sheer presence could make you confess your sins. When I was a kid, he would sit and wait until the pressure made me blurt out whatever I had done wrong. That’s what made him such a good investigator and I was counting on that intuition now.
“I’m in love with Winnie James,” his foot stopped rocking and that was the only indication that my father was surprised at my statement. “I guess that isn’t where I fucked up, that part is perfect. She’s perfect.”
“Not seeing the problem here, son,” he resumed rocking.
I ran my hand through my hair, “We didn’t tell Gray. We had plans to, but before we could tell him, he found out on his own and he’s pissed at us both.”
“That’s understandable, but if you are really serious about her, he’ll find a way to get over it. Probably just needs some time.”
“Yeah, that’s what I’m hoping. She’s it for me, I’m not letting her go,” I took a long pull of my beer.Although, I’m probably going to have to spend a lot of time begging when I see her again.I spent the next few minutes filling him in on the robberies and how I had been guarding the diner.
“I can’t protect her, Pops. At least not that way. The only means I can see to keep her safe is to find these fuckers and get them locked up. I could use the help of someone who has a little more experience in this area,” I finished, getting to the reason I had come to him. He was the best investigator I knew and he still had a lot of contacts from his detective days that would hopefully help us.
He stayed quiet for a while, just rocking and tapping his finger against his bottle. “It’s not just about the money, at least for one of them,” he broke his silence. “Most robbers don’t get violent, the threat’s enough to make the victims do what you want most of the time. They could be even more dangerous than you think, the likelihood of them stopping without being caught or killed probably isn’t good.”
This is what I needed, access to a career’s worth of knowledge that could help me shut down the threat to Winnie permanently. I was going to keep her safe, even if I had to be away from her to do it. I just hoped that she would be able to forgive me when it was all over.
27
Winnie
Islowly peeled my eyes open, wondering what had awoken me from such a deep sleep. Mister was curled up against my side, purring soothingly. We were lying on my small couch because that was as far as I could make it inside before I collapsed. Working on my feet all day at the diner was brutal on a normal day. But now that I was pregnant? All I wanted to do in the afternoons was nap.
The sound interrupted me closing my eyes again and I realized it was someone knocking on my front door. Slowly bringing myself to a seated position, I took stock of how I was feeling. I had learned the hard way that if I sat up to quickly, I would be throwing up my toenails. Walking to the door and checking the peephole, I almost threw up anyway when I saw who was standing on my front porch. I opened the door and waited for him to say something.
“Hey, Winnie, can I come in?” my brother asked quietly. I stepped back and gestured him inside before I closed the door and returned to my position on the couch.
I watched Gray pace back and forth in front on me as I scratched Mister’s head. Eventually he stopped and took a deep breath, “I’m sorry I overreacted. I know you wouldn’t ever put Daisy in danger, it was a shitty thing to say and I didn’t mean it,” he said, holding his palms toward me. Deep down I had known that he didn’t mean the harsh words he threw at me that day. I had hated being estranged from him this past week. Daisy and Gray were such a huge part of my life, I didn’t know what to do without them.
Brushing the tears from my cheeks, I stood up and walked toward him, hugging him tight, “I’m sorry, too, Gray. It wasn’t right to not tell you, no matter the reason.”
“So, you forgive me?”
I sniffed and wiped my nose on his t-shirt before looking up at him, “Of course I forgive you, you big idiot. Your niece or nephew is going to need their uncle.”
Pure astonishment showed on Gray’s face, “You’re pregnant?”
Taking a deep breath, I stepped back and placed my hand on my stomach just beneath my belly button, “I am, and I’m absolutely terrified so please don’t freak out.”
“Okay, okay, just…sit down. I think. Pregnant women shouldn’t stand, right? Fuck.” He held his hands in the air like I might break if he touched me again.
Laughing, I grabbed his hand and walked us both to the couch. Mister jumped off when Gray dropped to the cushions and flicked his tail angrily at us as he walked out of the room. “I think I’m all right to stand, Gray. Nine months would be a long time to sit.”
“What do I know, I’ve never been around a pregnant woman. I missed out on all of that with Daisy,” a tinge of sadness was in his words.
“Yeah, same here, buddy, I have no idea what I’m doing.” I flopped back onto the couch with him and we sat for a few minutes in silence before he asked the question I knew was coming.
