Reflecting Love's Charms (Bellingwood Book 14) (15 page)

Polly attempted to slide off the edge of the bed and Henry dropped down across the back of her legs and caught her ankles.

"Have you lost your mind?" she asked.

He started tickling the bottom of her feet and Polly squirmed to avoid his grip.

A light knock on the door and it came open, startling both of them. Henry rolled off Polly, barely catching his breath from laughter and Polly lifted her head to see Heath standing in the doorway, looking as perplexed as any poor young man might in this situation.

"I'm sorry," he said and pulled the door shut again.

"Heath, no," Polly called out, sliding all the way to the floor. She was this far gone, she might as well humiliate herself completely. "Come on back in, we were just messing around."

He opened the door again and kept his head down.

"It's really okay, Heath," Henry said, climbing off the bed. "We just got a little bored."

Polly had gotten to her feet by this point and sat down in Henry's chair. "We're sorry we're weird. What's going on?"

"Livia's mom just went into labor and they're going to the hospital. She needs a ride home fast so she can watch her little brother."

"Do we need to take her?" Polly asked, jumping up.

"Well, I can, if that's okay. Jason said he'd hang here until I got back. Do you mind?"

Polly turned to Henry, who shrugged. "Go," she said. "Get her home and come back."

"Do you care if I stop at the convenience store on my way back and get some ice cream? We're going to make sundaes."

Henry walked to the door. "I'll go get ice cream. I need to do something."

"Okay," Heath said, looking back and forth between the two of them. "Thanks. I'll be right back."

Polly tucked her feet up underneath her in Henry's chair and patted her legs for Luke to come up. He sat down on the floor, lifted a leg and cleaned his toes instead.

"Fine," she said and switched the television back on. "Well, that was embarrassing." Leia jumped back up on the bed, looked over at Polly and without warning, leaped across the expanse, startling both of them when she landed in Polly's lap.

Buzzing in her back pocket forced her to disturb the cat as she pulled out her phone.

"Hello?"

"Polly, it's Kayla. Is Rebecca there? Can I talk to her?"

"Oh, honey," Polly said. "She's over at Jessie's tonight. Where are you?"

"I'm not supposed to tell you."

"This is another new number. I didn't recognize it."

"Stephanie bought another phone today. She said that dad would figure out a way to find us because Jeff keeps texting and calling."

"Is she there?" Polly asked. "Will she talk to me?"

Kayla must have put her hand over the phone, because Polly heard muffled sounds. "She says you'll just try to talk her into coming back and we can't."

"She's right. I will try to talk you into returning, but most of all, I want to know that you're safe. Are you?"

"Yeah. I miss school and I really miss Rebecca. I can't believe I can’t go to her birthday party. You're still having it, aren't you?"

"Absolutely. I wish you could be here, too. Please. Can I talk to Stephanie?"

There were more muffled sounds and then, "Hi Polly. It's me."

Polly breathed a sigh of relief. "Oh, Stephanie, it's so good to hear your voice. Are you two safe? Do you need anything? Do you have enough money? Are you getting enough to eat?"

"We're fine. You guys really just have to let this go. As long as my dad is out, he's not only a threat to me, but everybody else. He'll do anything he can to get what he wants. And he told me he wants ..." Stephanie paused and Polly heard a door click shut. "He told me that he wants Kayla. Polly, he told me that he dreams about having her every night. Can you believe that? Why would he say something like that to me?"

"Because he wants to scare you, honey."

"Well it worked. I'm terrified. I won't let him get near her."

"I get that. But you have a host of people here in Bellingwood that feel the same way. You don't have to do this alone."

"Yes I do. You all have your own families and your own lives to take care of. This is my family and nobody cares about Kayla like I do. I won't let him hurt her."

"Stephanie." Polly took a breath. "How long have you been part of my life?"

"I don't know exactly."

"Long enough to know that I have a tendency to take care of everyone. Remember, I'm the one who brought Heath Harvey into my house and that was after he threatened me."

"But he's your family."

"He wasn't when that happened and sweetie, you've been part of my family since that night Kayla came home with Rebecca after school. The thing is? Jeff is absolutely devastated that you're gone. Girl, he loves you to pieces."

"He's just my boss."

"Stephanie Armstrong, you know better than that. You should be ashamed of yourself."

"I know. You're right. He and I are friends."

"And he needs you. I mean, how many stalking texts have you gotten from him?"

Stephanie laughed. "I lost count."

"Don't you think the two of you would be safe at his apartment?"

"But I don't want to put him in any danger, either. Polly, you don't know how bad my father is. Nobody does."

"It's enough to know that you are scared of what he'll do. That's all any of us really need to know. Stephanie, this isn't about him. I don't give a hoot in hell about that man. I care about you and Kayla. He can be as scary as he wants, but we won't let him hurt you."

"You won't be able to stop him."

The conversation wasn't going to resolve. "Can you tell me where you are?" Polly asked. "Are you staying in a nice place at least? Eating at some nice restaurants?"

"We're doing fine," Stephanie said. "I'm not ready to tell you where we are or where we're going."

"Honey, you have to stop going. Bellingwood is your home and Jeff and I are your family. We might be a weird little family, but we are family. And you know I don't take that word lightly. Think about Kayla. She needs to finish the school year. Taking a week off is one thing, but it will be really difficult for her to make up the time she's gone if you don't come back."

"I know," Stephanie said softly. "I've been thinking about that."

"Look, you can stay at Sycamore House in the addition or you can stay at Jeff's apartment in Ames. Who would think to look for you there? We can figure out how to keep Kayla safe when she's at school. I'll pick them up after school and get them back here safely. We can do this. And who knows, your father might not even be in the neighborhood."

"Oh he's there," Stephanie said. "I checked my messages on my old phone. He's left me a bunch, telling me what he's going to do to Kayla because I kept her away from him."

"You know he's in town?"

"Yeah. Somewhere around there. He said he found our trailer and he went in and lay down on our beds so he could smell us."

"Oh, Stephanie, I'm so sorry." Polly wanted to be sick. She couldn't imagine what Stephanie was feeling. "I have a difficult question. Have you saved those messages?"

"Damn straight," Stephanie said. "Once he's caught, I want to have all the evidence I can to put him away for life."

"Good for you. I'm proud of you for taking charge, you know. But remember, you don't have to do this alone."

"I have to go now. Kayla's in the other room."

"Can we talk again?"

"Okay."

"Promise?"

"Yeah. I promise."

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Drifting in and out of sleep the next morning, Polly finally pulled herself fully awake. They'd been up much too late last night chatting with Heath, who was wired higher than a kite. It made her smile to realize how far he'd come this last year.

He and Henry were already gone this morning and since Jessie was going to make sure that Rebecca got to Beryl's house for her art lesson, Polly had nowhere to be until Sal's shower this afternoon. Then her heart lurched. She also had dinner tonight with Henry's grandparents. There was no reason for that to make her nervous, but it did. All she knew about them was that they traveled the world and met extraordinary people. Somehow it made her feel so commonplace. She understood what made Bill so uncomfortable around them.

Did they like a good McDonald's hamburger or were they above that, only eating foie gras and duck confit? The thought of either of those items turned Polly's stomach. Maybe living the international high life wasn't all that special.

But it was. They'd seen things she would never get an opportunity to see. They'd climbed the Eiffel Tower and had even met the Pope in Vatican City. They'd gone to Rio for Carnival and ridden on elephants in India. Marie had hated that life, but it was surprising to Polly that Henry was so willing to stay at home. He told her that he'd never had anyone to travel with, but he seemed to be as content as she was with living in Bellingwood.

Rebecca's heart was more attuned to travel. While they weren't traveling as a family this summer with all that was going on, next summer had to be different. However, Polly could hardly wait to give Rebecca her birthday present. She'd been planning it for months and it was killing her to wait.

Henry and Heath were at the shop finishing their gift for Rebecca. They wouldn't let Polly in on that secret either. She wasn't sure who was more ready to burst for tomorrow's fun: her or Rebecca.

As for the shower, Polly and Sal had long since managed that gift. Polly had hired Bill Sturtz to build a crib for the nursery and then she helped Sal refinish a few pieces they found at Simon Gardner's antique shop earlier this spring. Polly did all of the work, since Sal was afraid of getting too near the chemicals, but between the two of them, they'd started an absolutely adorable room for the baby. The pieces Sal had purchased this week would finish it. Since Sal and Mark didn't want to know the gender before the birth, Sal was using bright primary colors against the dark walnut furniture. Rainbows and balloons made it one of the happiest rooms Polly had ever seen.

What Sal didn't know was that Sylvie, Camille and Elise had asked Bill to make a bassinet for the baby. When Sal was trying to think of everything she might need, that never occurred to her and Polly was under strict orders to keep her in the dark about it.

So many fun things were happening this weekend; it broke Polly's heart that Stephanie and Kayla weren’t here to participate.

Han came bounding into the bedroom and leaped on top of Polly.

"What?" she whined, rolling over so he'd slide off.

He licked her face and put his paws out, his butt in the air; sure signs that he was ready to play.

"Why didn't Henry take you?"

The dog wagged his tail and bounced his front paws at her, growling in play. This silly thing wasn't giving up. She had Obiwan trained. Yes, Han was quite well trained when you gave him orders, but the rest of the time, he was a big, dumb goofy dog.

He bounced his paws again and spun around on the bed, then nosed at her face.

"Fine. I'm up." Polly tossed the blankets off and then grabbed them again and snuggled back in. May's weather was all over the place. Two weeks ago it had been cold and rainy and in the fifties, last week the temperatures were in the seventies and they had sunshine. But this morning it was back in the fifties and the sky was gray and threatening. Spring in Iowa was always entertaining.

Han refused to let her settle back in. He draped himself across her waist and stuck his nose in her face again. She could feel his bottom wagging with excitement.

"I don't do this very often, do I?" she asked. "Okay, okay. I'll suffer in the cold. Now get off me."

She pushed him aside, threw the blankets back again, shivered and sat up.

After a shower, Polly pulled on a pair of shorts and a sweatshirt, thankful again for radiant heat coming up from the floor. She chuckled. That was one thing she'd miss when they moved to the new house. There was no way she'd be able to talk Henry into redoing all of the floors. Maybe he'd just do their bedroom. But then she'd feel guilty that the kids didn't have it in their rooms and they'd miss it in the kitchen and living room. Yeah. She was just going to have to go without.

Henry had left the coffee pot on in the kitchen and there was enough left for a mug while she brewed a second pot. As she filled the pot with water from the sink, she looked out at the sycamore trees lining the drive. Leaves had started popping and after three years, the trees were branching out. They weren't nearly as big as her dreams told her they would be someday, but they were still beautiful. Polly looked across the street at the swimming pool's parking lot. If there was one thing she hated, it was that there was a public parking lot across from her house. Two cars were there this morning and with all the talk about Stephanie's father being in town, Polly worried. She'd been staked out before by people parking in that lot.

Parking spaces at Sycamore House were filling with people preparing for a wedding reception this evening. Sylvie would already have the cake here and Rachel would arrive later this morning to begin preparations for the meal. She and Jeff had an amazing staff.

With her coffee mug in one hand, Polly opened the refrigerator to look for something interesting to eat for breakfast. She opened the freezer and chuckled at the amount of ice cream. The sundaes had been a hit, but Henry had bought way too much. However, he'd managed to slide a box of ice cream sandwiches in as well. She looked around, chuckling at herself. There was no one here to see her, so she took one out, peeled the wrapping back and went out to the living room to eat her ice cream on the sofa. It was good to be alone on a Saturday morning.

Polly had no more gotten her feet up on the coffee table when a knock came at her front door.

"Who is it?" she called out.

"It's me. Jeff."

She looked around guiltily for a place to hide the ice cream and then decided to just own it. Unlocking the door, she frowned at him. "What are you doing?"

"I need to talk to you."

"Okay. Come on in." Polly brandished her ice cream sandwich. "Want one?"

He laughed and patted his stomach. "No. Get thee behind me. I'm doing good."

"Yes you are." She locked the door behind him and said, "Sit. What's up?"

"I know where Stephanie is."

"Okay. Where is Stephanie and how do you know this?"

"I'm a bad stalker boy," he said, dropping his head. "I should be ashamed."

"What did you do?"

"I went through the search history on her computer."

Polly sat down and nodded. "That's a great idea. What did you find?"

"Well, she was looking at hotels and I think I know where she went."

"And you're just going to taunt me with this information? Spit it out. Is she far away?"

He bent over and lowered her voice to a whisper. "I think she's only in Omaha."

"Why are we whispering?" Polly bent close to him.

"Because I don't want anyone else to hear."

She sat back up. "I'm all alone this morning. So, you found where she's staying in Omaha?"

"I think so. She did searches in Minneapolis and Sioux Falls and then she checked out Kansas City and Omaha. She hit a hotel's site in Omaha three times just before she took off."

"I talked to her last night," Polly said quietly. "She isn't ready to come home." Polly grinned. "And we both think you're a stalker."

Jeff sat straight up. "What did you talk about? Are they okay?"

"They're fine and I offered to wire her money if she needs it. They've gotten another cell phone. Jeff, her father absolutely terrifies her. He threatened Kayla."

"That makes sense," Jeff said.

"He left really terrible messages on her old cell phone. I can't imagine where he found her number, but she's saving them for the police."

"Did you tell her that they could stay with me?"

"More than you've told her?" Polly asked. "Of course I did. And I told her that they could stay here at Sycamore House or anywhere they felt safe."

"You know that it kills me she won't let me help her through this. We've been through just about everything else together."

"Stephanie believes that she is keeping us all safe by leaving town," Polly said. "I hope that she got to Omaha and stayed there, rather than moving on somewhere else."

"Ach," Jeff said, looking down at the floor. "I didn't even think about that. I was just so excited to find something ... anything that might help us find her."

~~~

Polly checked herself in the mirror one last time, then stopped at the dining room table to pick up the package Rebecca had wrapped for the shower. Beryl had taken the girl out for lunch after their lesson and the two would come to the coffee shop together.

"See you later," she said to the animals as she headed out the front door. It might be Rebecca's birthday weekend, but so far Polly felt like she'd had a fantastic treat with all of those hours by herself. She’d spent time reading and sprawled out on the sofa in the living room and the other sofa in the media room; she'd watched television and spent way too much time with her computer. So far it was a great day.

Enough cars would be parked around the coffee shop that Polly decided to just walk up. It was only two blocks and though it was cool, the rain had stopped, clouds had passed and the sun was out in full force.

There was no reason to arrive early. Camille and Elise were decorating. And at that, it wasn't very extravagant. Sal insisted that there were to be no silly baby shower games. She was not measuring her waist for anyone, and she'd made Camille promise that any decorations had to go home with people today; she didn't want anything to end up at her house. Sylvie was in charge of the goodies, Polly was footing the bill for any drinks people wanted from the coffee shop and other than that, it was simply an opportunity for people to get together to celebrate Sal's baby.

Sal and her mother were already at the Sweet Beans when Polly walked in.

"Hello, Polly," Lila Kahane said. "It's good to see you again."

"Are you having a nice weekend in Iowa?" Polly asked.

"It's very quaint."

"Mom, stop it."

"What?" Lila asked. "I didn't say anything negative. I just said that it's quaint."

"But we all know what you mean." Sal hooked her arm through her mother's and gave Polly a quick shake of her head. "Have you met Mark's mother yet, Polly?"

"No I haven't." Polly nodded toward a voluptuous, gorgeous woman talking to Lydia Merritt. "Is that her?"

"Yes. Isn't she amazing? Come on." Drawing her mother along with them, Sal led Polly over and said, "Kathryn? I'd like you to meet my friend, Polly Giller. Polly, this is Kathryn Ogden."

Mark's mother turned to Polly with a radiant smile and put her hand out to take Polly's. "I've heard so much about you, it's nice to finally meet you face to face."

"It's nice to meet you, too, Mrs. Ogden," Polly said.

It was easy to tell that the woman was a dancer. She held herself upright with grace and strength; every movement seemed to glide into the next. She wore a simple, deep blue wrap dress and her dark hair, sprinkled with hints of gray, was pulled into a loose pony tail.

"Your friend, Lydia, was just telling me about the house you are renovating. You found a still this week?"

Polly laughed. "We did. It's been fun to re-learn the history of Prohibition while I tried to figure out what it was we had there. Those were exciting times in this country and to think my house had a small part in it. Next thing you know, someone will tell me that Al Capone slept in one of the bedrooms."