Fire in the Woods (8 page)

“Sweetheart, I just don’t know when I’ll be called or have to do another overnighter. I want you safe.”

I grit my teeth. “You don’t think I’ll stay in the house.” Of course, he’d be right. I wasn’t about to admit to that, though.

His lips formed a straight line. “You know what? You’re right. I don’t trust you. You had a chill last night because you went outside. You got caught in the rain, and you were soaked.”

My mouth dropped open like a Venus fly trap. I snapped it closed.

“You’re going to Grandma’s.”

“I’m not a baby. I don’t need a sitter.”

I folded my arms and put on my defiant face. He knew I was serious because I hadn’t touched the bacon. Yep, I had willpower. Not much more, though, so I hoped he’d back down quickly.

He placed the pan in the sink. “How about you stay with Maggie?”

I shuddered. “Dad, you know I can’t stay there. You know…Bobby.” Yeah, spend the week in the house with my ex-boyfriend. Not. A. Good. Idea. I should have considered the “ex” factor before dating my best-friend’s brother.

He mashed his hands into a towel and chucked it on the counter beside him. “I need to know you are supervised. Period. Grandma either watches you here, or at her house. Which is it?”

Tally up another argument to lost. “She can come here.”

“Good. Negotiation over.”

Crud. Why couldn’t I ever win at that game?

I picked up my fork. My stomach twisted. I was pretty sure it wasn’t excited about the pending bacon.

Dad was easy to dodge. He never stayed home. Grandma rarely left the house when she visited. She’d move from room to room, buffing and waxing until the house sparkled. I’d be trapped.

Maybe I’d get lucky and this whole thing would blow over before she was able to get on that plane?

“Do you really think there’s someone dangerous out there?”

He pointed to my plate. “Eat up. I don’t want you getting sick again.”

Yikes. Complete avoidage of my question. Not good. But it couldn’t really be David, could it? Shoot, I wished Dad would spill some classified beans. Right now two plus two equaled ten. Nothing seemed right.

Something was obviously up with David. He’d admitted as much. But he seemed harmless enough. He couldn’t possibly be a threat to any sort of national security. Could he?

I poked a piece of bacon in my mouth. Salty goodness coated my tongue with each crunch, but my mind kept drifting back to David. I glanced out the window, expecting to see him slink by. I swallowed, forgetting to enjoy my favorite vice.

Where was he?

***

I pretended to watch TV while Dad farted around for hours. Plans had been made, and Grandma’s plane would land around seven a.m. the day after tomorrow. At least I had a full day and a half to find David before the Grandma lock-down.

As for today, I had to spend the day at Maggie’s. At least that’s where Dad thought I’d be. A quick call to Maggie and it was all planned out…unless dad thought to call Mrs. Baker and confirm. If he did, I was skunked.

I packed a bag with all the essentials. Namely, a blanket in case David was cold, and my camera. Yesterday had shown me how a photo op could happen at any moment, and I needed to be ready with more than a camera phone.

Dad dropped me off at Maggie’s, and I waved as I walked toward the porch.

Hyper-focused as usual, he didn’t even check to make sure I went inside. Perfect. No need to worry about Mrs. Baker. I glanced down the street.

Deserted. Where were the kids? Joggers? Exercise junkies? Weird, but at least there wasn’t anyone around who might slow me down while I looked for David.

Now, where would I hide if I was an obnoxiously cute guy with a temperature disorder? The only place I could think to look for him was back in the woods, so I followed my steps from the previous day.

Half way down the street, Mrs. Nicholson scooted her six-year-old, what’s-his-face, into the house. She furrowed her brow as I passed.

“Jessica, does Major Martinez know you’re out?” she asked, holding the screen door ajar.

“Yeah. It’s all good. I’m going to the playground.” Sounded plausible. The playground was in that general direction. Sort of, anyway.

“Today?” She tilted her head to the side.

Army housewives…they listened to their husbands, they panicked, and then worried about everybody else’s business. This wasn’t the first time the Army scrambled over nothing at all. I learned that by the time I was ten. Why adults took so long to catch up, I didn’t know. I smiled, waved, and continued on. I just hoped she didn’t call my dad.

Movement at the gates ended my cadence. An MP stood at the guard shack, looking over papers on a clipboard.

Crap. Why were they still monitoring the gate?

I kept walking. He looked up and held his hand out.

“Just a minute, miss,” he said. “Would you mind opening the bag?”

Sweat crept over my brow. “Why?”

“We’ve been asked to check all baggage.”

No use fighting it. “What are you supposed to be looking for?”

“Classified.”

Classified my rear-end. His security clearance probably wasn’t much higher than mine.

I opened my camera case and showed him the contents. I wouldn’t even let Dad fiddle with my camera. I wasn’t about to let this guy’s pudgy fingers grease up the lens. I snuggled it safely back in its compartment as the MP unzipped my bag and removed the blanket. He raised a questioning eyebrow.

It’s none of your business, jerk.
I looked away, hoping to avoid questions.

I had to stop fidgeting though. I probably looked as guilty as sin.

The MP handed the duffle back to me. I started squishing the blanket back in.

“So, is that it?”

He made a note on this clipboard, glancing at me. “You’re Jessica Martinez, right?”

I straightened. “Yeah, why?”

“We met at Bobby Baker’s graduation party.”

Ouch. The night Bobby and I broke up. Not a good time.

I threw my bag over my shoulder. “Sorry, I don’t really remember. Can I go now?”

He nodded. “Sorry for the inconvenience, Miss.”

I marched past the gates, my hands frozen into fists until I stepped onto the sidewalks near the civilian housing. I didn’t stop until I stood before the open grassy area where I’d first seen the deer.

“Okay, David,” I whispered. “Where are you?”

I treaded over yesterday’s muddy footprints, and pushed aside the broken bramble I’d dragged him through last night. Instant cool embraced me the second I passed under the forest’s welcoming limbs. I searched for him for hours. Well, I was lost for a few of those hours, but I was looking while trying to find my way out.

The air grew cooler, and I fingered the blanket in my bag. David was going to be cold. I couldn’t leave him out there alone. Then again, maybe he decided to go home, or maybe he got caught by whoever he was hiding from. I could very well have been looking for someone who wasn’t even out there anymore.

Evening’s coolness seeped into the forest. I glanced over my shoulder, unease stabbing me. He could be anywhere. Staying out there was stupid, and the sun was going down. If I didn’t get home before Dad…Well, let’s just say dad getting home before me was just not an option. I’d end up in reform school or something.

Still—turning down the trail that led out of the woods was the hardest thing I’d ever done.

Score! No dad to be seen. I skipped into the kitchen, plucked some chop meat out of the fridge and threw it onto a frying pan. While it sizzled, I grabbed a box of taco shells from the cabinet. I could manage a little Mexican food, and it would look like I’d been cooking for a least an hour.

I chopped up some lettuce and tomatoes and stirred the seasoning package into the meat. I’d made a typical ‘Jess is cooking’ mess before Dad came in.

A day’s stubble marred Dad’s square jaw. He rubbed his swollen eyes and looked up at me. “How’d you get home?”

Oops.

“Oh, umm, Mrs. Baker dropped me off.” Score one point for Jess. I was turning in to a half-decent liar. Felt like crap about it, though.

He slumped down on a kitchen chair and held his forehead.

“Dad, are you okay?”

“I’ve had better days. Thanks for cooking,
pequeña
.”

I scooped together a taco for each of us and sat down. “So, what’s going on?”

He chewed and swallowed. “I talked to Grandma. She’s still going to be here Thursday morning, but she’s going to pick you up and the two of you will be on the next plane to Florida.”

“But…”

He raised his hand up. Why did that always stop me dead in my tracks? “They’re not dropping this investigation. They’re making evacuation plans for all the neighboring towns.”

“What? Why?”

“For the worst case scenario.”

I set my tortilla shell on my plate. “And what are the chances of having a worst case scenario?”

“Slim, but not impossible.”

He stared at the bitten end of his taco. His mind seemed far away.

David was a freaking kid for goodness sake. What were they making such a big deal about? Unless it wasn’t David at all. Maybe they were afraid of the same person David was hiding from. I wiped my hands on a napkin. There were just too many possibilities. Too many maybes to try to wiggle around. I wanted answers, and the guy sitting beside me had them.

“Okay, cryptic-talk time. If there was something wrong, which there probably isn’t, would it have to do with the plane crash?”

His lips hinted at a grin. “Yes.”

I jumped, surprised by the swiftness of his response. Good. He was willing to play. “And they are afraid of what…fuel leakage? Radiation? What?”

“None of the above.”

“So they really are looking for someone?”

The sudden flex of his neck muscles told me ‘yes’.

“You’re kidding. How dangerous could one kid be?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Kid?”

Oops.
“Well, you know. Maggie and the rumor mill. Are they really going to evacuate everyone?”

His face remained blank. “Not everyone. Just the civilians.”

“That’s crazy.”

The set of his jaw told me he didn’t agree. “I just don’t want you anywhere near here.”

“Dad, you just said the chances of them evacuating us are slim.”

He shook his head. “Jess, I wish I could tell you more, but I need you as far away from here as you can get. Do you understand?”

Wow. He used the ‘Daddy loves you’ voice. That’s pulling out the big guns. Something in his eyes told me not to argue, like this was bigger than both of us. “Okay. I’ll pack a bag. But you need to get some sleep or you’re gonna die of sleep deportation or something.”

“Sleep deportation?” He grinned.

Hell hast frozen over…the man actually grinned!

“You know what I mean.”

“I will, sweetie. I promise.”

***

I rolled over in my bed, my face sinking into a soft pocket in my pillow.

Grandma’s. Ugh.
Maybe I could talk her into taking me to the everglades or something so I could take pictures. That’s one day covered. I supposed Universal Studios was out of the question. She wasn’t even close enough to a beach to enjoy the weather. What a lousy way to end the Summer.

A cool tremor ran through my veins as the hair on my arms stood up. My stomach lurched and I started to sweat. Every sense I had sprung into hyper drive. My ears heard the smallest of noises—the clock ticking downstairs, the light hum of the refrigerator in the kitchen, the crickets outside my window, and someone—breathing. Yes. I definitely heard someone breathing, and—a presence. My skin crawled as I imagined beady eyes watching, leering.

Mustering all of my courage, I rolled over, ready to laugh at myself. Instead, I screamed as a silhouette of a man moved toward me and covered my mouth. I struggled, thrashing wildly, slamming my fists against his chest.

“Jess, it’s me.”

My heart bounced against my ribcage like a dribbling basketball until my vision cleared and big, sparkling turquoise eyes caught what little light illuminated the room.

“David?”

Relief swept over me. The pressure against my lips receded.

I shoved him away. “David, you scared the crap out of me again. What are you doing here?”

Heavy footsteps thumped on the wood floors.

“My dad! Get under the bed.”

David dropped to the floor and slid his long, lean form beneath my bedframe. I hoped there wasn’t anything embarrassing under there. My door banged open, and the sudden light burned my eyes.

“Jess!” Dad called. “What’s wrong?”

I squinted, my eyes struggling to focus in the bright light. “Huh?”

He opened the closet and checked behind the door. “Why is the window open?” He walked over and closed the panes, clicking the locks. “I want the windows and doors closed and secured at all times, do you understand?”

“Yeah, Dad. I’m sorry. I was, well…hot.”
Did I leave the window open?
“Why are you freaking out?”

“You screamed. What happened?” Demanding, hyper-focused eyes scanned the room. This maniac was not my father.

“I dunno. I guess it was a dream. I’m sorry.”

Dad’s eyes relaxed and he eased himself down on the edge of my bed. “I guess I’m a little jumpy. I’m sorry, too.” He fiddled with his thumbs. “I just got off the phone with General Baker. I’ve been called to full active duty.”

My heart stopped. “What? When?”

“In the morning. I’ve talked to Mrs. Miller, and you can stay with her until Grandma picks you up.”

“Wait. What? Dad, no!” I was seventeen, for goodness sake. I was not about to get baby-sat by my next-door neighbor. “I’ll stay inside. I promise.”

His eyes told me I’d been caught too many times.

“Or, I can go to Maggie’s.” Screw Bobby. I’d rather deal with the ex than a babysitter.

“This isn’t a game, Jess.” He looked toward the window. “I didn’t think there was a chance in Hell the pilot survived that crash, but…”

Say what? Was I just let in on a little intel? I closed my gaping jaw and waited, leaving the door open for him to keep spilling his guts.