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The next day, after breakfast, James left for work, forgetting his thermos. “Hey, we’ll run it to him, so he has it for his morning coffee break.”
“Thank you, dear. You know he loves his coffee.”
“I do. Hey, what are you up to today?”
“Me? Same old stuff, but I have some errands in town this afternoon. I’m meeting a friend for lunch, but don’t you worry, I’ll be home in plenty of time to cook dinner.”
“Mrs. Carrington are you sure you don’t want me to grab something for us in town?” asked Carter.
“What? Absolutely not. We cook dinner around here.”
“Yes, ma’am. How about our last night here? We will go out to dinner, my treat.”
“Well, I’m not sure... If you can’t afford it...”
“Mom, of course he can afford it. Would you quit? Now, dinner. You love that little Mexican place. Is it still open?”
“Mamacita’s? It is. I love it; we haven’t been there in almost a year. Carter, I think that would be very nice. Thank you.”
“Okay. Great! It’s a date. Do I need to make reservations?”
Candace blushed. “No. It’s not fancy. Don’t forget your father’s thermos, Becky. I’m going to get ready. See you all later.”
“Right. See you later, Mom.” Candace went upstairs, and they headed out to the pet supply store. “She seemed preoccupied but maybe it’s just me seeing things that aren’t there.”
“We don’t brush off any feelings. We add it to the intel,” said Carter.
After talking to her father’s clerk, she left the thermos at his store and searched for her uncle with no luck. Then they headed to look for Karl at his house, but he and her aunt had separated. So, if his car was gone, there would be no one home. Becky tried to call him, but it went to voicemail.
“Where could they be?” asked a stumped Becky.
“Call Monty at the warehouse,” said Callie.
“I have, but so far, no luck.” “Okay, well, let me call to see if we can go to the accountant’s office now.” Becky ended the call and shook her head. “No luck. He is out of the office until tomorrow. I don’t know that there is anything to do. Has Sharlee or Kaden found anything?”
“I’ll check,” said Callie. Soon she put her cell back in her pocket and shook her head. “They are waiting on some follow up information and will call us with it as soon as they can.”
“Well, it’s twelve-thirty, and even if I haven’t done much, I’m hungry,” said Carter.
“Of course, you are, big guy. Let’s go to a little hole-in-the-wall place with great lunch specials.” Callie and Becky laughed.
The trio walked into the cute diner and looked at the well-worn fifties café décor. Becky and Carter grabbed a table as Callie headed to the ladies’ room. When Callie exited, she scanned the room to get reoriented to where Becky and Carter were seated. Callie saw a woman that looked very much like Mrs. Carrington leave behind a man that seemed familiar but not James.
“Becky, was that your mom walking out of here a second ago?”
Becky stood and looked out the front window. “It is. And who is that with her? Monty? Monty is her lunch date?” She watched the two hug and have a quick kiss before Candace looked around and quickly slid into her car. Monty strode to his pickup and drove off in a different direction from Candace.
“I bet they went to school together,” offered Carter.
“He didn’t grow up here. He took the job with Dad right after he moved here about five years ago.”
Callie said, “Don’t jump to conclusions. It’s the worst. Remember what Garrett and I went through? Don’t repeat that mistake to any degree. Get proof first.”
Carter nodded. “I agree, Bec. Either leave it alone or ask her directly.”
“Carter, I can’t leave it alone.”
He sighed. “Then Callie is right. Go to her and ask. Don’t guess because there are huge implications in other people’s lives if you aren’t careful.”
