A Soldier's Promise (Crystal Lake Series Book 2) (15 page)

Lexi must have been tired because she didn’t say much as Derek drove the ten miles to Hope County Hospital. When Derek finally pulled up to the front doors of the ER, she glanced over. “I should be finished by seven-thirty, but I’ll call if I’m running late.”

“Sounds good. See you then.”

She climbed out of the car and waved goodbye. As she walked inside, she told herself there was no reason to worry about Derek and Lexi leaving town. Not today and certainly not on the Fourth of July holiday. After all, Derek was planning on taking Lexi to the parade.

So why did she have this nagging sense of impending doom?

She shrugged off the feeling and did her best to concentrate on the patients that were located on her team for the day. The hospital census was high, which unfortunately meant long wait times for patients who needed to be admitted. One thing she liked about working in the ER was that there was always a wide variety of patients—from minor injuries from burns, heatstroke, and alcohol intoxication to more serious injuries from a four-car motor vehicle crash on the interstate.

Her brother called several more times without leaving a message, so she called him back on her lunch break. He didn’t answer, so she left him a message, explaining she was at work and she’d try to call him when she was finished. Guiltily, she remembered she hadn’t called him last night, either.

She hoped Zack was doing all right and found herself worrying about her brother as her afternoon wore on. Zack had been in a rough place for a long time, but no matter how much she begged him, he’d refused to return to Crystal Lake.

Or to church.

Despite the high level of activity, her shift dragged on for what seemed like forever. There was a brief lull around dinnertime, which gave her hope that she’d actually get out on time.

She called Derek’s mobile phone, relieved when he answered on the first ring. “Hi, how was the parade?”

“Great.” His voice sounded strained. “What time do you want me to pick you up?”

“I should get out of here on time, so seven-thirty is fine. Is something wrong?”

“No, nothing’s wrong. I cooked the pork chops you had in the freezer for dinner. Hope that’s okay.”

“Sure, that’s fine.” All her instincts were on alert. She couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad had rattled Derek. Since she didn’t really have time to talk, she didn’t push the issue. “See you soon.”

“Sounds good.” Derek hung up before she could say anything more.

She punched out at seven-thirty, and as she walked outside to meet Derek, her brother called again. “Where have you been?” Zack demanded. “I’ve been trying to get a hold of you for the past two days.”

“I was working. Why? What’s going on?”

“We need to talk. Is that Ryerson guy still staying with you?”

“Yes, Zack, I already told you he was planning to stay through the holiday. Why?”

“I was running a search on him and discovered St. Louis has a court order out against him. He’s bad news, Jules. You need to kick him out right away.”

Derek drove up in her car, his expression looking grim. And she knew that her brother had interfered in Derek’s personal business. “Where are you, Zack? Did you drive up here to talk to Derek?”

“Maybe I did drive up to serve the court order. So what? Just because he plans to slap up some drywall doesn’t mean he can use you as a shield against a custody suit. He has seventy-two hours to bring his daughter back to St. Louis or they’ll put out a warrant for his arrest.”

“Look, I’ll talk to Derek, okay? I have to go. I’ll call you back in a little while.” Her mind was racing as she disconnected from the call.

Derek’s car accident was on Friday evening, and it must have been sometime after the weekend that Lexi’s grandparents had gone to court to file the order demanding Derek bring Lexi back to St. Louis.

Yesterday was Monday, and frankly, she was surprised the court order had gone in so quickly. And equally shocked that the Hope County Sheriff’s Department hadn’t known about it yesterday when Derek had applied for the dispatch job.

Although maybe they wouldn’t know until the seventy-two-hour timeframe had passed and the arrest warrant was issued. Her brother’s butting into her business gave them the advance notice they needed.

She walked over to the car. “There’s something you need to know,” he said.

“I already heard from Zack,” she interrupted. “I’m sorry he stuck his nose into your business, but don’t you see? This is actually good news.”

Derek’s scowl deepened. “You’re kidding, right?”

“No, just listen to me for a minute,” she said. “At least you were given the court order right away, so there’s plenty of time for us to take action.”

“Take action?” he glanced over at her as he navigated the traffic around town. “Look, Julie, I appreciate everything you did for me and Lexi, but we need to hit the road. The sooner the better.”

Hit the road? Was he crazy? “Derek, there’s no point in running again. Don’t you see? It’s just a matter of time before the police find you. And by then, your reputation will be shot, which will only give Lexi’s grandparents the upper hand.”

“What choice do I have?” he asked.

She gave him an exasperated look. “You can go back to St. Louis and face Claire’s parents. You can convince them to drop this ridiculous notion of fighting for custody.”

Chapter Twelve

 
“Going back to St. Louis is not an option,” Derek said harshly. He gripped the steering wheel so hard his knuckles went white, and he had to bite back a flash of anger. Julie had no idea what she was talking about. Why had he thought she would take his side? Hadn’t he known all along that her Christian conscience would force her into turning him over to the authorities?

If he was hurt by her unwillingness to go along with his plan, he had no one to blame but himself.

“Why is running away a better option?” she demanded.

“Keeping Lexi safe is the only option.” He wasn’t going to waste time arguing. Besides, he’d already heard all this and more from her brother, Zack, when he’d slapped the court order into his hand. He’d immediately jumped into action. His and Lexi’s suitcases were packed and ready to go. He’d have already left town except for the fact that he hadn’t been able to get in touch with Henry to snag one of his cheap rental cars. For some reason, he hadn’t expected the old guy to close up on the holiday.

“Derek,” she started, but he cut her off with a stern look.

“Not now.” They’d already said far too much in front of Lexi. Glancing in the rearview mirror, he wasn’t surprised to see Lexi rocking back and forth in her booster seat, a sure sign of distress. “How are you doing back there, baby-doll? Are you okay?” he asked in a cheerful tone.

Lexi didn’t answer, and he battled another wave of helpless frustration. Why couldn’t Claire’s parents leave him alone? Lexi had been doing so well over the past few days. She’d even brought up her mother to Julie. He didn’t like the thought of Lexi regressing back to her protective wall of silence, which he knew would happen once they left town.

He glanced over at Julie, who was staring straight ahead, her lips pressed together in a firm line. She wouldn’t talk any more in front of Lexi, but he knew she didn’t consider their discussion finished.

But it didn’t matter what arguments she was likely formulating in her mind. She didn’t know Claire’s parents. Didn’t have any idea what he was up against. What chance did an unemployed soldier have against a wealthy couple?

None whatsoever.

When he pulled into Julie’s driveway, he was relieved to see that Zack’s squad car was gone. Not that it really mattered, since the damage was done.

“Derek, be reasonable,” Julie pleaded in a low tone after Lexi ran inside.

He raised his eyebrows in disbelief. “Me? You want me to be reasonable? Didn’t you hear a word I told you last night about Claire’s parents? They have judges on their side. What do I have? Nothing. Claire wasn’t even my wife.” He could barely hold back his frustration. The situation couldn’t get much worse. He didn’t even have enough money for a decent lawyer.

“We have God on our side, Derek,” Julie said softly.

“We? You’re not involved in this mess; it’s just me and Lexi. I don’t need your help or God’s help, either. Excuse me,” he muttered as he brushed past her to head inside.

He didn’t see Lexi inside and knew she was probably hiding in the bedroom. For a moment, he stood there and stared at the packed suitcases he’d left standing in the center of the room. He really needed Henry to call him back because he wasn’t going to get very far without a ride. And considering their recent argument, he didn’t think Julie would be willing to drive him to the bus station in Madison.

He let out a heavy sigh as he scrubbed his hands over his face. Just a few hours ago, he’d been so full of hope that things were finally going in the right direction. He’d finished tearing down the drywall off the ceiling, leaving the bare studs ready to be covered with new Sheetrock. He felt a stab of remorse that he wouldn’t be able to finish the job.

Small payment for everything Julie had done for him. He suspected she’d keep on giving if he let her, but enough was enough. He and Lexi would figure something out. They’d be fine.

But he couldn’t deny he’d miss Crystal Lake once he was gone. And Julie.

Especially Julie.

___________

 
“Lexi?” Derek called as he walked down the hall toward the bedroom. He looked in the bathroom and both bedrooms, but Lexi was nowhere to be found.

Panic tightened his chest. Where was she? With Julie? Derek strode outside and rapped lightly on the wood frame of Julie’s patio door. “Julie? Is Lexi with you?”

Julie came over to meet him, a tiny frown furrowed in her brow. “No, Lexi isn’t with me. I thought she was with you. She went into your side of the townhouse, didn’t she?”

“Yes, but I can’t find her. She might be hiding. Can we look around your place?”

“Of course.” She opened the screen door and let him in.

Between the two of them, it didn’t take long to validate the townhouse was empty. His stomach knotted with anxiety as he went back outside onto the patio. “Lexi!” he shouted. “Come home right now!”

“You don’t think she went down to the lake by herself, do you?” Julie asked. She came outside still wearing her scrubs from work. “Maybe we should check the boat.”

Derek was already jogging down toward the lakefront. “Lexi!” Sheer desperation laced his tone. “She’s never done anything like this,” he muttered.

Julie swallowed hard. “We shouldn’t have said anything in front of her,” she said softly.

“She was upset before I picked you up,” he said, knowing full well this mess was his fault. “Your brother and I argued a bit, and then when I packed our suitcases, I could tell Lexi was distressed.” Derek jumped onto the boat. “Lexi?” He looked around at all the places a six-year-old might use to hide, not that there were many.

But the boat was empty.

An overwhelming sense of helplessness hit hard. Where was his daughter?

Dear Lord, help me! Please help me find Lexi! Please keep her safe from harm!

___________

Julie followed Derek down to the boat, raking her gaze over the lake to be sure the little girl hadn’t fallen in the water. “Lexi!” she shouted, adding her voice to Derek’s.

“Dear Lord, help me find her,” Derek murmured as he jumped off the boat back on land.

She grasped his hand and held on tightly. “God will help us find her, Derek. She couldn’t have gone far.”

He squeezed her hand. “Let’s split up. You check the front, and I’ll keep looking here in the back.”

“All right.” She hurried back up to the house, making a sweep around Derek’s side in case the little girl was crouched somewhere over there. But there was no sign of Lexi, even when she went around to the front. “Lexi!” she yelled, heading out to the street. The sun was low on the horizon, and it wouldn’t take long for darkness to fall. They needed to find Lexi and fast.

Could she have walked down the road? Julie debated taking the car and driving around the area but didn’t want to leave without telling Derek.

She darted inside the house to grab her car keys but then remembered Derek had been the one to drive home. She went back outside to find him. “Do you have my keys? I thought I’d take the car and look for her.”

“Sure.” He tugged the keys from his pocket. “Wait a minute, did you check the garden?”

“No.” She followed Derek over to the far right side of the townhouse where her small garden was located. Relief whooshed out when she saw Lexi huddled between the house and the garden, rocking back and forth.

“Lexi, honey, you scared me,” Derek said as he walked over to crouch down beside his daughter. “Didn’t you hear me calling you?”

“Don’t want to go, don’t want to go, don’t want to go,” Lexi repeated over and over again.

Julie’s heart went out to the little girl as Derek gathered her into his arms and rose to his feet. She couldn’t hear what he murmured, but the way he clutched her close, she knew he was trying to reassure her.