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“There you are.” Toby smiled at Ginger, the cook and chief of her home. “I thought you’d been hurt. Where have you been, young lady? Getting laid, I hope.”
“Yes, by six men. It wasn’t as fun as I thought it would be.” She tsked at her. Then told her what had happened. “I’m having breakfast with Caleb Anderson in the morning. I’m not going to bother going to sleep now, but I’ll take a nap when I get home. Have you been waiting up for me? I asked you not to do that.”
“I have to keep an eye on you. It was a promise I made, and you know it.” Ginger told her that she was sorry. “I shouldn’t have said that. But I did make a promise, and I intend to keep it. How much do they know about you, honey?”
“I guess they’ll do a background check. They won’t find anything, but they’ll do it. Other than what I want them to find anyway.” Ginger told her that she’d make her some juice. “No, don’t do that. I’m going to go and work in my office for a little while. You go back to bed. Since I won’t be here, you should sleep in. Maybe have a little fun with Herman when you guys wake up.”
“You little turd.” She was still laughing when she made her way to her office. Toby was wide awake now and didn’t think that she’d even shut her eyes. She was so hyped up right now. As she turned on her computer, she thought of what the Andersons would find.
They’d find that her parents were dead, as well as her grandma. Grandda was still around, but he wasn’t ready to face the world. He told her since the love of his life was gone. She also knew that they’d find that she was wealthy, but not anything about amounts. It cost her a great deal of money and time to make sure that no one other than her attorney knew her net worth.
There were little things, too, that they’d find out. Like she’d been a child prodigy. But nothing to the extent of how smart she was. Nor would they find out that she had several doctorates, all of them that had served her well over her young life. At only twenty-seven, she was about as educated as anyone could ever be.
Finishing up on her computer, she closed things down and went to her room, the one that she’d been in since she’d been a child, and took a shower. After getting dressed, she was out the door at a little after seven. There was a limo in her drive that she didn’t recognize but didn’t draw her gun, waiting to see who might pop out.
“You were right.” She told Harlin that she normally was. “Good to know. But we didn’t find out much about you. But Tabby, Caleb’s wife, is making another call now, so who knows. Caleb has been making notes since we left you. I have a feeling that you didn’t sleep either.”
“I don’t sleep much.” When she got into the car with him, he told her that he had checked in on the man; the name on his driver’s license said he was Richard Weed. She laughed. “So his name is Dick Weed, is it?” It took Harlin a few seconds to get what she said, and he laughed as well.
“I guess I’m too sleep-deprived, or I might have gotten that sooner.” The drive to the house was smooth. She had a limo as well but rarely rode in it anymore. She much preferred to drive herself. Unless it was something important that she had to attend. “This is what we were able to find on you.”
Toby didn’t bother taking the sheet of paper. “I know what you were able to find. The rest is personal.” He nodded and put the paper on the seat between them. “What’s the big deal about knowing anything about me? It’s not like we’re going to be besties, is it? I mean, I’ve lived in this town all my life and have never once run into any of you.”
“I don’t know. Honestly, I have no idea. I think that Caleb wants it because he feels like he owes you. And he did mention and discarded that you could have been with Dick Weed in some way. Like I said, he discarded that idea right away.” She didn’t bother saying anything because there was nothing to say to him about it. “You have money. And pardon me for saying it, but I’d say that you have a great deal of it.”
“I do.” Nothing more from either of them on that. “That man, the stranger that is related to the three of you, he’s a hard man. Just by the little bit that I saw of him, I’d say that he’s got nightmares that even nightmares would have bad dreams about.”
“I didn’t catch that. But then I was so happy that he’d made it to us.” She looked out the window when the limo stopped. “This is Caleb’s house. The entire family is here, including my wife, to meet you. Like I said, they’re thrilled that you were able to save our brother.”
She didn’t want to meet the family and didn’t think that she had anything to say to a bunch of strangers. But she was here now and was going to make the best of it. It wasn’t until she was being introduced to Tabby Anderson that she saw someone that she knew.
“Gracie?” she was engulfed in strong arms in that second. While she was babbling about how long it had been since she’d seen her, Toby just let her. One thing that she remembered about Gracie was that she would wind down soon. “You’re married now? That’s wonderful.”
“I can’t believe you’re here. I mean, I heard that your parents were gone. And your grandma. My goodness, you look so much like her. But I think that the last I heard, you were still—” She cut her off. “I’m sorry. I do tend to forget that part.”
Toby could tell that everyone was curious, but she nor Gracie would say anything. As they were headed to the big living room—breakfast was still a bit away yet—they talked about the bar incident. She told them the same thing that she’d told the police last night and waited for the questions. There were plenty of those as well.
When they were told that breakfast was ready, they stopped all talk about anything to do with the bar and any business that might have come up. They simply enjoyed the meal and the light conversation. Just as she was finishing up, a little boy came and crawled up on her lap. She was told his name was George. They stared at each other for several seconds before he finally laid his head on her chest and closed his eyes.
“I’m not all that good with kids.” Yazzie, his mother, said that he wasn’t all that good with adults other than family. “I’m not family. Why did he pick me?”
“I’m sure that he saw something in you that he wanted to help you with. I’ve noticed that about him. He is quick to come to someone when they need a hug.” She didn’t think that she needed a hug but didn’t say anything. “If you’re ready, we can tell you what we’ve been able to find out about Dick Weed.”
~*~
Sebastian watched the woman as she spoke to the others. He’d noticed when he’d seen her last night that she was comfortable with herself. In her own skin, he’d heard people say. Not only that, but he was also able to tell that she’d not felt any remorse about killing Dick either. He had died last night from blood loss.
“You said that you lived here all your life. How come we never crossed paths before this?” She asked Caleb if he meant because they were in the same social circles. “No. I didn’t mean that at all. I’ve lived here for less than a year now, and I doubt very much there has been an occasion for us to be at anything that would have social standards. You need to get the chip off your shoulder and let us be friends.”
“No offense, Caleb, but I’m not good around people either. That’s why I have the bar. My therapist told me that I needed to get better at socializing. I’m not any better after four years.” It was he who asked her if she’d had a lot of therapy. “More than most. I’ve had a—I guess you could call it a tragic life. Not only have I had a lot of death and mayhem in my life, but it’s something that I don’t share either.”
“Toby saw her parents killed. Her grannie, too.” She looked at Gracie when she spoke. “You’re not a terrible person, Toby. But they should know that there is a reason for you being the way that you are. I promise you that no one here will judge you.”
“Perhaps not, Gracie, but it was my story to tell if I wanted it.” When she stood up, so did Gracie. Sebastian did as well. “What are you going to do? Hurt me?”
“No. I think that you’ve been hurt more than anyone I know. No, I don’t want to hurt you, but I do believe that you need a good friend.” She said she wasn’t good with people. “You used to be. You used to be as lively as anyone that we knew. Then, you witnessed horrific murders, and it changed you. Come back to me.”
“I can’t.” She turned to leave, and he stepped in front of her. He had no idea what possessed him to do that. He’d seen her in action before. “What do you want?”
