A Fresh Start (30 page)

All the way to Cheyenne, she could feel the constant glances from Justin. She looked out of the window and thought about the past few years, trying to figure out if Cole had the chance to take all the photos she’d received.

Cole didn’t take much of the night classes, and he had as many breaks as she did.

It would certainly explain why he wasn’t in any of the photos.

She shook her head. “I’m fine,” she said when she felt Justin staring at her again. “Just feeling stupid.” She smiled at him.

“You’re not stupid. You’re trusting.”

“Right now, it seems like the same thing.”

“It isn’t.” Letting go of the steering wheel, one of his hands reached over and held hers. “It might not be him.”

“You were pretty sure it was. Drew had brought it up several times, too.”

“Would it make you feel better if I say that I don’t think it’s him?”

“Nope.”

One of his shoulders twitched up. “I tried.”

She laughed softly. “Are we going to head right up and ring the bell?”

“Is there another way?”

And that was exactly what they did. Once they got to the hotel, they went up to Cole’s room. Justin covered the door’s peephole and rang the bell.

They waited for a few moments before ringing it again.

Repeating the same process, they continued doing so until the housekeeper went by.

“Sir, do you need any help?”

Paige didn’t know how to answer the question.

“We’re looking for our friend. We were supposed to meet for lunch, but he didn’t turn up. We’re worried something happened.”

Either Justin was a superb liar or the maid must have recognized him. She smiled politely and answered without any hesitation. “I just cleaned up the room not too long ago. Everything seems fine. All his things are still in the room.”

“So he’s not inside?” Justin asked with a grin. “We were afraid he’d a heart attack or something.”

“I didn’t see him just now. Would you like me to get the manager for you?”

“No, it’s all right. He probably forgot about lunch. We’ll try calling him again later. Thank you.” They left and got into the lift.

“Could he be at my house? He’s been persistent,” she mentioned when the door closed.

“And deaf,” Justin stated. “I’m sure Mrs. Seymour will call if he’s pounding down your door, but I’ll call and check.”

She nodded and listened in while Justin spoke to Mrs. Seymour.

Cole wasn’t at her house.

While she stood wondering what to do next, Justin suggested, “Let’s check the parking lot. Maybe one of you actually hit him last night and he’s gone to the hospital.”

They went back outside and scouted through the parking lot until Paige spotted the familiar black sedan that Cole had been driving. “I think this is the one. He should be here.” She scanned the area, only to find unfamiliar faces staring back at her.

Justin moved over to the car and peered inside. “I don’t think he was shot. There’s no blood in the car.”

“Do you think the housekeeper lied?” She seemed like such a nice lady.
 

“There’s no reason for her to do so. Maybe he went out to clear his mind, get some food.”

“What should we do now?”

“Let’s wait for him in the lobby. He’s to come back some time.”

Paige nodded, still looking into the car. The beige leather inside the car would’ve made any blood stand out.

“Don’t worry, you didn’t kill him. If he got shot, his hand would’ve touched the wound. It’s instinct. Look at the steering wheel, it’s clean.”

She glanced up at Justin, then back at the car. Justin’s simple and logical answers made she feel sort of dense for not thinking about it sooner.

“Besides, if he’d staggered back into the hotel with a gunshot wound, someone would’ve noticed. It would’ve been news.”

She smiled at him. “I believe you. I was just thinking that you’re really smart.”

He draped his arm over her shoulders and led her back toward the hotel. “Hungry?”

“Nope.” Her mind was focused on one thing; speaking to Cole and asking him to get the hell out of her life.
 

They sat on the large dark brown couch, doing nothing except watching the people stream through the doors.

Justin took her phone, downloaded an application, and said, “Let’s play some games while waiting.”

She took the phone and looked back at the door.

“It takes turn. I’ll go first, then you. No point having two pairs of eyes on the door at all time.”

“Yeah, why not.”
 

So they played the word game that she simply couldn’t win. She was getting better with each round, but she kept losing. Quite a few rounds, she had formed more and longer words than he had, but her points were always lower.

Whenever it was Justin’s turn, she could hear the melody ringing incessantly each time he formed a word. She couldn’t help leaning over and peering at his phone.

“Watch the door.”

She pouted her lips and turned to the door.

When it was her turn, Justin peered over. “You don’t play many games, do you?”

“Watch the door.”

“Form words with the letters that have bonus points. That’s why you’re losing even when you have more words.”

Honestly, she hadn’t even noticed there were letters with bonus points.

They continued playing until both their phones were completely drained of batteries. She looked at her watch, then back at the door. “Did we miss him?”

“Let’s go up and knock on his door again.”

They headed up and tried Cole’s room again. And again, no one answered the door.

Paige looked over her shoulder and down the corridor, then pressed her ear against the door. She listened out for any sound from within, as she and Andrew had done so many times when they were trying to find out what their parents were getting them for Christmas.

“Anything?”

She straightened and shook her head. “I don’t think he’s inside. Could he have seen us at the lobby?”

“If he did, he wouldn’t be coming back anytime soon.”

Paige leaned back on the door. “We can’t loiter outside his room or in the lobby for the whole night.”

“Let’s go back, then. We’ll come back tomorrow.”

“Do you think we can book this room?” She pointed to the room she was facing; the room right across Cole’s.

“We probably can, but with the things he’d said to the police, I don’t think we should. We don’t know what else he’d said and how he would twist the situation.”

Her head fell to the side, and she sighed. He was right, of course. “I was hoping we could settle things once and for all.”

“We will, soon.” He gave her a peck on her head. “Let’s go.”

They went to the restaurant in the hotel and bought their dinner before returning to Justin’s house. He’d told her to rest while he reheated the dinner.

She went to her room and collapsed onto the bed. Staring up at the ceiling, she told herself to get her butt off the bed, charge her phone, and call Andrew. But she lay, motionless, thinking about the letters and the photos she had received.

And she thought about what she would do when all the dust settled.

She could go back to New York; her house was still there. She could go back to teach; the pay would be much better than what she’d get from teaching in Pine Bluffs.

Andrew hadn’t told her what his future plan was, but she could definitely pitch in to help if she continued drawing the salary she received in New York.

Then there was Justin.
 

He’d stayed in town for her, she couldn’t leave like that. She didn’t want to either.

She could always sell the house in New York. She wasn’t sure the price her house could fetch in the current market, but it’d still be a tidy sum of money that she could give to Andrew.

“Paige?”

She pushed away those thoughts and got herself off the bed, stepping out of her room just as Justin was coming up the stairs.

“Dinner’s ready,” he said.

She followed him down the stairs and grinned.

All the lights in the living room had been turned down from the white light into a low yellow hue. Two tea candles stood in the middle of the dining table while the food and wine sat ready before two chairs.

“You didn’t have to do this.”

He shrugged, pulling her over to the dining table. “We’ve been so caught up with everything that we hadn’t had time for a real date. I thought you could use some cheering up today.”

“That’s very sweet and thoughtful.” She tiptoed and gave him a peck on his lips. “Thanks.”

They had a long dinner. Justin told her all the places he’d traveled to and all the ridiculous moments he had with the Seymours while on holidays.

It felt as if they returned to things before Cole turned up along with all his debacles.

“You’ve an interesting life.”

Leaning forward, Justin reached over and ran his finger down her cheek. “You’re interesting to me.”

She chuckled, shaking her head. “Really?” she asked. “You find accounting interesting.”

“I didn’t say I found your job interesting,” he corrected. “You are a paradox.”

“That doesn’t sound good.”

He grinned. “You’ve been surprising me at every turn since we’ve met. For one, I still can’t believe you were in the track team.”

“Actually, I was kind of forced into it. The track teacher saw me run during gym class and made me join. I didn’t even know I was fast,” she said, shrugging her shoulders. “You? Did you join anything in school?”

“Nope. I went to school and came home. I didn’t fail my classes or anything; Mrs. Seymour would give me a really hard time if I didn’t do well. But besides attending all the compulsory stuff, I didn’t bother with anything else in school.”

If she were him, she probably wouldn’t either.

He had enough things to worry about at home.

“And you? Besides the track team, I’m sure you were in tons of other stuff.”

She was. Her academics years were considered accomplished by board reviewers who were combing through applications for scholarships, but compared with what Justin had actually gone through in life, her so called ‘accomplishments’ seemed so childish.

Every one of her mother’s friend had always stated how blessed her mom was to have two children who were so close to each other, who didn’t need her to worry.

Truth was, Andrew and her were blessed to grow up in a family with the best parents in the world. Parents who didn’t waste time on the TV and truly spent time with them. Parents who put them above all else.

“None worth mentioning.”

The doorbell interrupted their dinner. Paige turned to the door, wondering how did Cole find out where Justin was staying.

“It’s probably your brother.”

“What?” she asked, confused. “Drew?”

She placed her hand into Justin’s and followed him over to the door.

“Drew!” She hugged her brother with the widest grin. “What are you doing here?”

Justin was over six feet, but Andrew was still half a head taller than he was.

He sported a short crew cut, slightly longer than what most soldiers had. Unlike Paige, Andrew’s hair was a much lighter golden blond.
 

“You seem happy. Your boyfriend called,” Andrew answered, his arm wrapping over Paige’s shoulders. He probably wasn’t using any strength, but his muscles bulged, and Justin was actually worried Andrew might accidentally break Paige.

“Nice house, easy to find.” Andrew stepped in, looking around, and dropped his black duffle bag onto the floor. “Did I interrupt something?”

“No, we’re done with dinner. Have you eaten? How’s your leg? How are you feeling?”

Andrew patted her head twice and went over to the dining table. “I’m starving, besides that, I’m good. Any food left?” he asked Justin.

It was weird seeing how comfortable Andrew was with Justin. Andrew never liked Cole, he always gave Cole the cold shoulders or had some snide remarks ready to put him down. She’d thought it was just Andrew being his protective-big-brother self. Guessed he simply didn’t like Cole.

“We finished everything, but I’m sure Paige still has some microwavable food in her fridge.”

She nodded and sat across the table from Andrew.

“Pizza?”

“Yup.”

Andrew stretched out his hand. “Keys.”

“It’s upstairs.” She got up and ran up the steps.

She could hear some muffled conversation downstairs and heard something about Cole and hotel while coming down the stairs. She threw the keys over to Andrew.

“Since you’re staying here, I’ll take your bed.”

So he already knew. And he wasn’t going to insist that she return home since he was here.

“Okay. All my toiletries are here, though. Did you bring your own?”

“It’s all right, I’ll call the Seymours. I’m sure they don’t mind you going over for a shower,” Justin said.

“Mr. Seymour will like you. He served in the Vietnam war, which I’m sure you already know.”

Andrew gave her a hug. “All right, I’ll make sure to mess up everything in your house before getting some sleep.”

Paige narrowed her eyes at him.

“We have breakfast at the Seymours,” Justin said.

“All right. See you guys in the morning.”

“Do you want us to accompany you over?”

“Losing a leg doesn’t make me useless.”

“I didn’t say that you are.”

“Then stop worrying.” He gently pushed her head to the side. “Goodnight.”

Justin went around the car and took Paige’s hand as they walked over to her house. He watched her scanned the area and cracked a smile when her eyes stopped on him. “Maybe he’s finally gone home.”

She shrugged it off. “For his own sake, I hope he has. I rather Drew not meet him.”

Paige rang the doorbell and they waited, but nobody answered the door.

Justin tried peered into the house. “Maybe he’s already at the Seymours.”

They trotted over, but Mr. Seymour told them that Andrew wasn’t there.

Paige immediately pulled out her phone. “Where could he have gone?”

Justin glanced out through the door and saw Andrew running up the street.