90 Days (Prairie Town Book 2) (24 page)

     “Olivia?  Yeah, that’s real nice of her.  Hey,”—Jeb leaned forward—“doesn’t it bother you guys that you both have Montgomerys as kinfolk?  I mean, that is our mom’s maiden name and all.”

     “I already checked that out.” Callum smirked, glancing at him through the rearview mirror.  “After your grandmother’s funeral, I did some research and as it turns out, we’re not related, Jeb.”

     “Oh. Okay.  I was wondering.”

     “That would be pretty horrifying, wouldn’t it?” Lydia laughed, but it was shortly lived when her cellphone began ringing and she eyed the number.  “I don’t know who this is.”

     “I got it.” Callum snatched her phone from her grasp and hit the speaker button, clearing his throat.  “Hello?” He asked, his tone deep and challenging.

     “Are you all on your way to see me?”

     Chills ran down Lydia’s spine as she glanced at Callum and then moved her eyes to Jeb.  His face paled as he stared back at her, unsure of what to do.

     She laughed when no one replied.

     “Well, I was just going to be nice and save you from wasting a trip.  I’m not in Tennessee.”

     “Where are you?” Callum asked, narrowing his eyes at the phone.

     “Wouldn’t you love to know?” She cackled.

     “Where are you?” Jeb demanded angrily.  “Tell me where you are, Mia.”

     “Not in Tennessee, you dumbass!”

     And then the line went dead.

     Lydia’s heart began to pound, painfully so, and she clutched Callum’s arm.  Panic seized her and it felt like her lungs were being filled with cement.  It was becoming difficult to breathe.

     “Just calm down.” Callum said as he eased his foot down on the brake and put on his turn signal to get into the right lane.  “Deep breaths, babe.  It’s okay.”

     “It’s not okay.” Jeb snarled.  “This bitch is taking it too far.  She’s been playing us this whole time.  It’s a game for her.”

     “And that’s fine.” Callum replied.  “Because I know how to play games, too.”

     “We need to get back home.” Lydia gasped, squeezing her eyes shut.  “She’s probably in Prairie Town.  What if her threats move beyond phone calls and text messages? She knows where my parents live!”

     “Just keep calm, baby.” Callum repeated.  “She’s not going to do anything.  I won’t let her.”

     “You’re damn right about that.” Jeb leaned back and huffed, seemingly trying to keep his rage at bay.  “I won’t let her either.”

     “I need to let Laney know.” Lydia struggled to grip her phone in a trembling hand.  “God, how could I be so stupid?”

     “She’s not going to do anything to Laney, Lydia.  She’s targeting you, for fuck knows what reason.” Jeb’s hand fell against her shoulder and squeezed.  “They’ll be just fine.  We just need to find Mia and end this.”

     “You’re right.” She nodded, finally calming her racing heart.  “This is between her and us.  She has no reason to go after Mom and Dad, or Laney.  It’ll be okay.”

     But for some reason, a reason she couldn’t quite grasp, she wasn’t sure that was true.

Chapter 13

Benji

     With the store closed down for the night and a fresh, hot pizza riding shotgun in his car, Benji was on his way back to Callum’s house when his text alert sounded.

     He hoped it was from Laney because he hadn’t heard from her yet and that worried him.  Yes, she was a big girl and she could take care of herself, but he also imagined she was feeling pretty down and out thanks to Lydia’s stubbornness.

     There may have been a plan of pizza and movies if she’d just respond to him.  Aggie already had a gallon of ice cream with her name on it and he had all the hugs and kisses she could want.

    
Thank God.
He thought as he saw her name pop up on the screen.

    
Laney Doll:
  Insurance finally called. Going to get a quote on water damage in a few.

     Huh.  That was odd.  He hadn’t gotten a phone call yet.  Maybe the insurance company was working their way down a list or something.

     He pulled into the driveway and shut the car off, quickly texting her back.

    
Benji:
  Want me to come with?

     While he awaited her reply, he took the pizza inside and was greeted with a hug from his friend.  Aggie was already dressed for bed.  He wasn’t sure how she’d misinterpreted his plans for the night, but he was pretty sure he hadn’t said anything about a slumber party—at least not one involving three people.

     “Hey, Ags?”

     “Yes?” She glanced up from the open box of pizza, her eyes moving to his.

     “Did you by chance get a phone call about the apartments today?”

     “I didn’t.” She blinked.  “Why?”

     “Apparently the insurance company is surveying the damage and they’re going to compensate everybody for what they lost.”

     “Ooh, do you think I should lie and say our flat screen TV got ruined?”

     “I’m pretty sure that’s illegal.” He chuckled, shaking his head. 

     “You can’t blame a gal for trying.” She shrugged, picking up a slice of pizza.  “Oh, I don’t need this.  My hips are going to hate me and I really need to fit into that dress next month.”

     “Just eat the damn pizza, Ags.  You can go to the gym with us next week.”

     “Me? The gym?” She stared at him.  “With Jeb?”

     “Yeah.  What’s wrong with that?”

     “As if you don’t know.” She rolled her eyes.

     “Ah, you still have a crush on him?” He smirked.  “Well, after all this craziness is over with this Alisha chick, maybe you should see where things go?”

     “Have you lost your mind?  No way.” She scowled.  “He doesn’t like that.  He likes me, as in Aggie, but Agnes?  No.” Her head shook violently from side to side.  “No, Sir.  That is not Jeb’s cup of tea.”

     “And just how the hell do you know that?”

     “Because I just do.” Her voice became softer as she dropped her gaze to the counter.  “For the briefest of moments I thought he shot me down because he had a girlfriend.  You know, he was with that Mia girl at Christmas time.  Or maybe they had broken up by then…”

     “Focus, Aggie.”

     “Oh, right.  Sorry.” She blushed.  “I kissed him that night at Kelly’s house.”

     He nearly choked on the bite of pizza he’d just taken.  Staring at her with wide eyes, he quickly swallowed.  “You what?”

     “I did.” She smiled sadly.  “And it was beautiful.  He kissed me back.”

     “And you didn’t care to mention this sooner?  Holy shit, Aggie.”

     “I know.  I know. But…he said he couldn’t and I told him I understood.  I’ll always understand.  How could anyone ever want me, Benji?  I’m a package deal, but not everyone likes the other half of me.”

     “Shut up. I love the other half of you, and if Jeb is too stupid to see what I see, then he doesn’t deserve you.”

     “That’s real sweet of you, honey, but I didn’t get my hopes up.  A guy like Jeb doesn’t go for people like me.  He deserves a good southern girl with high moral values.  That’s not me.”

     “Fuck southern girls.” He pulled a beer from the fridge and opened it, turning to face her.  “You are one of the most amazing people on this Earth.  You’re good at being a girl
and
a guy, Ags.  Like I said before, if Jeb doesn’t see that then he doesn’t deserve the awesomeness that is you.  No wonder his dumb ass ended up with a psycho.  He makes poor life choices.”

     “He most certainly didn’t deserve to end up with the likes of
her
.” Aggie rested her chin against her fist and sighed.  “He’s a nice guy, Ben.  Just because he doesn’t reciprocate my feelings doesn’t make him terrible.”

     “Well, we’ll see about that.”

     His phone started going off again and he realized it was ringing.

      “I need to take this—it’s Laney.”

     “Okay, Sugar.” She beamed  “Go talk to your girl.”

     Moving into the living room and grinning from ear to ear, he answered it on the third ring.

     “Hey, beautiful girl.”

     “Hey, Benji.”

     Damn, she still sounded sad.

    
I’ll take care of that.

     “I’m heading over to the apartment complex to meet the insurance lady.  She’s going to be there around eight.”

     “Eight? That’s a little late, isn’t it?” He glanced at his watch and frowned.

     “I don’t mind.  Not really.  It’s better than sitting at the table and pouring my feelings out to my mom.  I could use the distraction.”

     “I have a better option of a distraction.” He chuckled.  “But I get it.  You need to get that taken care of.  Do you want me to come with you?”

     “It wouldn’t be interrupting anything, would it?”

     Didn’t she know?  He could be having dinner with the president of the United States and he’d walk out if it meant having five minutes with her.

     “I’ll be there.” He promised, sliding his tongue over his lip ring. 

     “Oh, that’s great.  That’s really great, Benji.  The door will be open so you can just come on in, okay?”

     “Okay, gorgeous.” He smiled.  “I’ll see you in about half an hour then.”

     “Half an hour it is.  Bye, Benji.”

     “Bye, Laney.”

     He hung up and sighed, grinning stupidly to himself as he headed back into the kitchen.

----------

Laney

     It was five minutes ‘til eight when she stepped out of the elevator and headed down the hallway to her apartment.  Fishing the keys from her pocket and finding the right one, she stopped in front of the door and muttered in disgust when her shoes began to sink into the wet carpet.

     “They are going to have to pay a hell of a lot to get this fixed.” She said, shaking her head.

     But the good news was she could soon move back in, despite her mother’s wishes of her returning home, and life could finally get back to what it had been only a short while before; happy.

    
And non-chaotic.

     She sincerely hoped that Lydia and Jeb were having fun on their little adventure.  Maybe they would get it out of their system and after all was said and done, they would come back home and realize what idiots they had been by leaving her behind.

     “Ah, well.” She sighed, unlocking the door and pushing it open.  The sight awaiting her was the stuff nightmares were made of.

     Everything was beyond repair.  There was water everywhere.  It was like a scene straight out of
Titanic.

    
“Holy hell.”

     Carefully stepping over a pile of wet, moldy clothes, she made her way down the hallway and peered into her bedroom.

     “Oh, thank God.”

     At least her room didn’t seem to have suffered much damage.  Hurrying to Lydia’s bedroom, she gave a double sigh of relief.

     It seemed that only the hallway, bathroom, living room, and kitchen would need to be repaired. Surely the insurance company could handle that?

     Returning to the living room, she picked up a saturated book from her bookshelf and her heart wept for it when a knock sounded on the door and a petite blonde with glasses stepped inside.

     “Hello?” She called out.  “Miss McIntosh?”

     “Hi.  Come on in.” Laney put the book back and approached her, thrusting her hand out.  “It’s nice to meet you, Miss…?”

     “Miss Hart.” The woman smiled, maneuvering her clipboard and grasping her hand gently.  “Fiona Hart.  It’s so nice to meet you.”

     “Likewise.” Laney nodded, dropping her hand back to her side.  “So, where do we start?”

     “Oh, my.” Fiona peered around the living room and scrunched up her nose, frowning.  “This is quite a mess, isn’t it?”

     “Yep.”

     “Any idea what caused the leak? It seems quite a few apartments were affected.”

     “I have no idea, honestly. The landlord never said.  I’m really surprised you even called so soon.  He said it could take up to two months, if not longer.”

     “Well, business has been slow for us.” Fiona giggled.  “It wasn’t hard to sift through the paperwork.  I was anxious to get started on the claims filed by everyone.  Now, I understand you live here with your sister.  Her name is, um…”—she lifted the top page and then nodded—“Lydia McIntosh?”

     “Yes, ma’am.” Laney nodded.  It felt weird calling her ‘ma’am’ though.  Fiona seemed to be around the same age as Lydia, if not younger.

     “It must be so much fun being roomies with your sister, hm?”

     “It has its moments.”

     “I always wanted a sister.” Fiona admitted with a heavy sigh.  “But I suppose the Lord had other plans for me, so here I am.” She pushed her thin-framed glasses up on her nose and moved into the kitchen, looking around.  “You must like baking a lot, hm?”