BREAKTHROUGH (Love's Not Easy Series Book 2) (11 page)

I started to black totally out, when I heard the voice of a male, who shoved MAL away from me. I caught a glimpse of three men taking MAL down before everything went black.

Aiden laid the diary down and wrapped his arms around Aimee.  She was pale.  “Aimee, I wish I could change things.”

“You can’t.  I can’t believe my mom went through so much before going to America.  Where was RGA?  He was supposed to be protecting my mom.”

“I know.  I know, sweetie.”  He took the hair out of her eyes.

“We have time for you to finish this entry.  I can’t leave until I know what else happened.”  Aimee handed the diary to him

I woke up in the emergency room.  RGA and mom were at my side. RGA was kicking himself for going to work today and saying how he was already failing me as my husband and protector.  I took his hand and explained he had to work.  Mom stood with her arms folded.  RGA and mom started discussing him working on the plantation, that way he could be home more.  He also told mom she was moving in with us at Orchid Bay Orchard.

That was when I remembered MAL’s threats.  I told them to mom and RGA and he flipped out.  He called his dad and immediately my mom and I had bodyguards.  Then, mom started crying, HAL checked out today.  She went home.

Mom called her that night and she was fine.  MAL did not come home.  She refused the guards.  She said she could handle him herself.  RGA stayed with me until I was released from the hospital that night.  He took me home and held me in his arms all night.

On the 17
th
, we woke early in the morning.  Mom had coffee and homemade biscuits with orange marmalade.  We ate breakfast and started making plans on how to protect ourselves from MAL.  That was when the phone rang.  Mom started screaming.  RGA took the phone and then led me and my mom out of the house.  Mom was crazy, screaming HAL’s name over and over again.

RGA turned to me with tears in his eyes.  He could barely speak as he helped us in the car.  HAL was shot.

“Oh.  Aiden, no.”

“I am sorry.  Maybe she is ok.”  Aimee shook her head and pointed at the diary for him to read.

The house was surrounded by cops. Police tape was everywhere.  I just looked around and wondered how things got this out of control.  All because I wouldn’t marry who he chose for me. I looked at RGA and took his hand, as we followed the officer into the house.  When we walked in the door, the view took our breath away..  The house had been ransacked.  You could totally see that a fight happened her.  I looked to my right and noticed gun shots in the wall.  I covered my mouth, when I looked in the living area.

You could see the spot were HAL had been laying.  Blood was everywhere.  The floor was covered in glass.  Every picture in the house was broken.  I looked around the room and seen my graduation picture, it had blood smeared on it.  Every picture of me had blood on them. It was his sick way of telling me HAL’s blood was on my hands.

RGA took my hand. He noticed them too.  He kissed me. “He will not get to you, I promise.”  Mom turned and hugged me.  “We are going to be ok.”  One of the detectives came and told us that HAL was flown to Ancaster General Hospital.  She was in very critical condition.  He told mom she had been shot twice in the chest and once in the head.

He added that not all the blood was hers. He directed us to a trail of blood leading to the garage. The car was gone.  Then, he questioned us on why MAL would do this.  We told him everything that had happened over the past year.

When I told him about the attack I had yesterday, he realized why my pictures were covered in blood.  He tried to tell me this was not my fault.  But, I knew better.  This was all my fault.

We went straight to Ancaster when the cops were done questioning us.  HAL had been placed on life support.  The next twenty four hours would be crucial.  Mom stayed by her bedside all night.

This morning, when RGA and I went to the hospital, the doctors came in and told mom they needed to do surgery to attempt to remove the bullets and the pressure on her brain.  The two shots in the chest missed her organs.  It was the shot in the head that was critical.

Surgery will be in one hour.

The doctors came to the waiting area and said that they were able to remove the bullet and relieve some of the pressure from her brain.  She was nowhere near being out of the woods.  The detective came to the hospital and said they found MAL’s car abandoned beside the road.  There was no blood trails.  It appeared as if he met someone there.

I feel I may never sleep again.

Aiden took Aimee by the hand and helped her up.  He then hugged her for a long time.  “I am sorry.  I can only imagine how you feel.   I wish I could take the pain away.”

Aimee looked up.  “You are so sweet.  I just keep telling myself that mom and Gran survived or I wouldn’t be here.”

“I am telling myself the same thing.”

Aiden helped Aimee up the rocks.  When they came in the kitchen, everyone seen the tears in her eyes.  Aiden told Aimee he would fill them in for her, while she went and took a shower.

When she got out of the shower and walked into her room, she found Piper and Lexi sitting on the bed.  “We have decided we don’t want you reading anymore of those diaries alone.”  Piper stood.

“What if Aiden had not been there?” Lexi stood.

“I know, guys. I just hate to keep bothering you guys with this stuff.”

Piper and Lexi hugged Aimee.  “You are not bothering us.  In away, your mom’s history affects us all.  She is showing us what the ladies of Neahovia went through.”

“Thanks.  Let’s get ready to go to Mystic Paradise Beach.”

Chapter Thirteen

They had to take two cars for the trip. In James car was Piper, him, Lexi, and Jaxson.  In Aimee’s car was Colin, Kelli, Aiden, and Aimee.  Aiden and Colin decided they could divide the driving.  Aiden took the first turn, so he and Aimee sat up front. About thirty minutes on the road, her phone rang it was LJ.

“Hello.”

“Where are you?”

“I am fine, by the way.  I am in my car.”

“You know what I mean.  I have called you all day and your phone goes to voicemail.  I went to your flat and everyone is gone. Where are you?”

“We are taking a road trip for the weekend.”

“Aimee, I am getting tired of this.  This is the third weekend you have blown me off.”

“I did not blow you off last week.  I invited you and you said no.”

“What about the trip you are taking now?”

“You said you did not want to do any Christian things with me.  So, I assumed you’d say no.”

“When are you coming back?”

“Don’t know yet.  Before classes begin.”

“Call me when you get back.”  He hung up.

Colin leaned his head forward. “I would like to know what is going on.”

“Your friend is a jerk.”  Aiden called back.

Aimee hit his shoulder, then told Colin about her dates with LJ. To which, Colin replied. “Dump the dude.”

Aimee grinned.  “Easy to say.”

Colin grinned.  “We need to have a talk later.”

“If you are giving me break up tips, I agree.”

They stopped at the same little diner in Wattsburg as they did on their last trip to Mystic Paradise.  They sat at the booth and laughed about things they did over summer break.  Aimee had her eye on the guy in the corner, he was about forty.  He looked very rough.  He kept looking toward the group.  He was very spooky.

Aiden noticed Aimee looking toward the guy.  He was definitely staring, but not at the entire group, just Aimee.  His eyes looked evil.  When they left, Aiden held Aimee close to him.  He made sure the guy was not following them.

~ ~  ~   ~  ~  ~  ~

The group of college kids are back at Katie’s.  The one girl looks really familiar.  He could almost be certain she belonged to… it was impossible, the boss said he took care of all of them years ago.  He needed to talk to Harry.  He said he noticed her too.  One way or another, they needed to find out who she is and why she is in Neahovia.

~  ~  ~  ~ ~  ~  ~

Aiden and Aimee sat in the back seat of the car.  She wanted to read more of the diary, but it was in the trunk.  She couldn’t focus right now anyway.  She was worried about the guy at the diner.  His stare was scary.

“You ok?”  Aiden laid his hand on her knee, causing her heart to go crazy.

“Yeah.  That guy was scary.”

“Yeah.  I didn’t like how he looked at you.”

“That makes two of us.  I don’t know if reading the diary today has just got us jumpy or what?”

“No, he was creepy.  So, what are your plans while we are down here?”

“Tomorrow we have our private tour.  I just hope you guys don’t get too bored.”

“Us, never.  We can make anything fun, isn’t that right, Colin?”

“Sure is.  This will be the most entertaining day at work you have ever seen.”

“Thanks, guys.”

The next morning, the group arrived at Orchid Orchards at 8:45.  Mr. Ward was waiting by the main gate.  He showed them were to park the cars and then took them to the main office.  They went into the break room, where they found a full breakfast bar.  Mr. Ward explained that every Friday, the employees make a breakfast bar using ingredients from the Orchard and the nearby company farm.

“We have a farm near here?”  Aimee took her place in line.

“Yes, we do.  It is called Amelia’s Farm.”

“When we are done here can we visit the farm?”

“Of course.”

The group sat at an antique table.  Mr. Ward explained the table was in storage when Roseednay bought the property.

After the delicious breakfast, they started the tour. Aimee had asked Piper to bring her camera so she could take phots.  Aimee, and the others had their cells and notepads to take notes on what they felt was important info.

They started in the citrus groves first. Aimee was full of questions about the trees.  She was checking on things, like what type of soil was in the orchard, what irrigation system was being used, what they do to help prevent damage to trees from frost.

She looked for signs of damage to the trees.  The others had no clue what she was looking for, so if she seen something not right, she would motion for Piper to take a picture. She walked the entire grove, documenting what was working and what wasn’t.

For lunch, they ordered from a local diner.  Aimee looked at some of the pictures she took with her camera on her cell.  The groves were producing fruit now, but some things looked off to her.  She sent the photos to Opal and asked her to have Charles look at them and call her back later.

The apple orchards looked a lot better.  Aimee asked a lot of the same questions, only with the apples, she wanted to know about pollination.  The farm was using beehives to pollinate the apples. When she asked how many hives to an acre, he told her two.  She was ninety-nine percent sure that there needed to be three hives per acre for dwarf trees.  She wanted to check for sure with Charles on that as well.

They were walking back to the store.  Jaxson was going to start checking out the IT issues in the store and the main office.  Aimee ask Mr. Ward if they could meet in private for a few minutes before they went to the farm.

“How long have you been in charge of the Orchard and Grove?”

“I only started in this position two years ago.”

“Ok. Who had your job before you?”

“Mr. Asher.  He died from Lung Cancer.”

“Sorry to hear that.  I hope his family is ok.”

“Yes.  His wife works in the store.  She is off today.”

“I don’t mean to sound rude when I ask this.  What training did you receive to get the job?”

“I have worked here since I was a teenager.”

“Ok.  Does the company ever send you to training?”

“No. May I ask why you are asking me this?”

“I just noticed a few minor problems in the orchard and the grove has some that could cause us problems later.”

“If you don’t mind me saying, Miss Pittman, you are a nineteen year old kid. 

What makes you an expert on raising fruit trees?”

“I was raised on the Plantation that the corporation that owns Roseednay Fruits owns.  The head of our orchards is Charles, he is like a father to me.  I worked the fields with him every day I was on the plantation until last year.  I always ask questions.”

“I see, so what do you suggest we do?”

“I am sending the photos and notes to Charles.  He is calling tonight.  I need to talk to Mr. Myers.”

“Miss Pittman, we heard you had one guy fired already.  I have a child starting college this year.”

“Mr. Ward, I am afraid your staff has been misinformed.  I can’t go into details, but no one has been fired. You are not in any danger of losing your job.  I only want to ensure that we are providing you and your staff with the resources you need to do your job.”

“Thank you, mam.  I do have to say, it is nice to see someone from management come and walk the Orchards and Groves.”

“If it was not for the men and women working here and on the farm, we would not have a business. I am well aware of that.  That is why I want to ensure you receive all the resources and the training you need to run this Orchard and keep it competitive with our competitors.”

When they went to the farm, Aimee felt a cold chill go over her body.  She felt like something was not right here.  The house was smaller than the one on the plantation.  Aimee walked around the yard.  She spotted a brick sticking out of the flower garden.  She bent down and wiped it off.  It had the initials H. L. engraved in it.  She went pale and grabbed Aiden’s arm.

He looked at the brick.  “Aimee, we don’t know for sure.”

“Aiden, I have had a cold chill from the second we walked through the gate.”

He took her hand.  “Let’s check out the farm, ok?”

Aimee held to Aiden the entire tour of the farm.  He told Piper to take lots of pictures.  James took notes, while Colin and Kelli asked questions.  Aimee was in shock.  Her eyes were wide.  He wanted to pick her up and run away from this farm.

When the tour was complete, Aimee came to herself.  “Does anyone live in the house?”

“No.”  Mr. Ward looked confused.

“Do you have a key to the house?”

David, the guy giving the tour, said he did.  Aimee asked if she could have the key.  He handed it to her.  “We have a housekeeper who comes by every two months to clean.  She hasn’t been here this month.”

“That’s ok.” She turned to Aiden and then she went to walk up the steps.

Aiden ran up beside her. “Are you crazy?”

“No.  I have to know, Aiden.”

“Let us go in first.”  Colin was beside her now.

Piper and Kelli each placed a hand on her shoulder.  “We can follow the guys, Aimee.”

Aimee turned to Piper and noticed the fear in her eyes, then she handed Aiden the key.  The foyer was dark.  Colin flipped on the light, revealing the white bare walls.  Aiden took Aimee’s hand as they walked into the living room.  The floor was wooden and had been stripped and refinished.  Aimee looked at the walls, they were all bare as well.

She looked down at the floor.  There was a spot on the floor, near the fireplace, that looked darker to her.  She walked over and stood by it and turned herself around.  That is when she noticed the front wall had an abnormality in the drywall.  She went and took her hand over it.  She walked the room.  Then, went to the kitchen.  It had been stripped and cleaned as well.  The garage stunk.  But the concrete floor had dark spots on them too.

Aiden took her hand. “Aimee, you need to get out of here.  Come on; you need fresh air.”

Aimee collapsed in his arms.  “This is HAL’s home.  This is where MAL shot her.”

“I know, but we need to leave.  You don’t want them staring at you.  Colin is taking the key back.  I will drive you to the orchard.”

Aimee and Aiden rode back alone.  He was having her doing deep breathing techniques.  She could not believe what just happened.  To see the house, brought a new light on the diaries.  Now she can better visualize what her mom is saying.

When they returned to the plantation, Jaxson and Lexi were still working on the IT stuff, so she asked to tour the main house.  Mr. Ward gave her a key and told her she could keep it.  The main house had a full time maid and she could use it whenever she comes down to Mystic Paradise in the future.

Aimee didn’t have that weary feeling, like she did at the farm, when she entered the house.  The foyer looked a lot like the way her mom described.  She placed her hand over her chest.  She was actually standing in a house her mom lived in as a child.