The Lost and Found (28 page)

“What’s wrong?”

“I got a flat. I was getting ready to change it when Rob came by and offered to help. I told him you were on your way to do it.”

“I’m leaving now. Stay in your car. Keep the door locked. Where are you?” I heard the sound of his engine revving as he took off.

“Oh, about five miles outside Salmon proper. I can see the old windmill off to my right.”

“I’m staying on the phone with you. Was Rob by himself?”

“No, he was with another guy and a girl. The guy looked about your age. I didn’t recognize him. He had a ball cap of some kind on. The girl was between them. She was younger, my age maybe. She had dark brown hair.”

“What were they driving?”

“An older pickup. It was black with black rims.”

“Sounds like Mace. They come back? You see anything?”

I looked in the mirrors and around me, but saw nothing but empty road. “No, nothing.”

“I’m almost there.”

Josiah arrived a couple minutes later; I got out of the car and hugged him tightly. “You’re shaking,” he said. “Are you all right?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. I’m just keyed up and glad you’re here.”

“I’m always here. Let’s get this changed and get you home.”

It only took us — well more him than me, but I did help — about twenty minutes to get it changed. Then Josiah followed me home. He thought we ought to say something about it to Billy, but I asked him if Rob had broken any rules by being with who he was with. Josiah said no.

“Then there’s no need to say anything. All he did was offer to help.”

“That’s not what he was offering, and you know it.”

“I do, but that’s what he
said
. And he has witnesses. There’s no point in his knowing he got to me, right?”

“I guess, just be careful. I don’t trust him.”

“I know. I don’t either. I’ll be careful. Promise.”

“You did the right thing in calling me. I’m going to be keeping a closer eye on you for a while.”

“What does that mean?” I wondered.

“It means I’ll be following you to work and back.”

“I hardly think that’s necessary.”

“All the same. Humor me in this.”

“Oh, all right,” I sighed reluctantly.

“Good, now come here.” Josiah pulled me closer to him. I saw the look in his eyes and felt my pulse pick up. My breath caught in my throat as he lifted his hands to my face. He rubbed his thumb across my bottom lip and then leaned in to taste it. Goodness, I could spend forever just kissing him.

Josiah was true to his word. For three weeks he followed me to and from work. When nothing else had happened he began to relax his vigil. But he made sure I called or texted him to let him know where I was and when I was leaving.

I didn’t find it overbearing, though. He wasn’t being a control freak. I knew he was just concerned for my safety. To make up for it, Josiah took me swimming several more times, and then we’d either go get our milkshake or he’d take me out to the diner. On one such occasion I noticed Josiah was receiving some attention from another patron at the diner.

I’d never seen her before. She had bright green eyes framed in thick lashes giving her a sultry sort of look and she had silky mink brown hair, cropped to her chin. On her neck, just below her right ear I saw a butterfly tattooed in shades of green and black. Her ears were pierced multiple times and her clothes seemed rather street-savvy to me. She looked like someone Josiah might know, someone more his type, someone completely different from me.

I first noticed the green-eyed girl as Betz, our waitress, led us to our table. As we passed the girl I watched as she did a double take and her bright green eyes lit in pleased recognition when they landed on Josiah. Those same eyes traveled over to me, taking me in, and somehow I got the feeling she found me lacking. It made me a little uncomfortable. If Josiah noticed her, he gave no indication. We sat down and looked the menu over, more out of habit than anything else. We pretty much always got the same thing when we came here.

Feeling eyes on me, I looked up and found the green-eyed girl was staring at me. She glanced at Josiah and back again, clearly trying to figure us out. Josiah noticed my gaze and looked in her direction. After a brief glance at her he turned back to me and asked if anything looked good.

“I think I’ll stick with the guacamole burger,” I replied a little absently.

“Me too,” he said. “It’s pretty good.”

“Do you know her?” I asked him.

“Who?”

“The girl with the green butterfly who can’t take her eyes off you.”

“She’s been around, though not for a while.”

“So, you know her?”

“We went to the same school. And it’s a small town.”

Just then Betz came with our milkshakes; and no sooner had she walked away, than that green-eyed girl got up from her table and made her way over to ours. Her eyes were focused solely on Josiah. She reminded me of a cat, the way she moved; I could almost imagine the sound of her purring. Josiah took note of the look on my face, which I’m sure was showing something along the lines of confused and concerned, and looked up.

“
Hello
, Josiah. Long time… no see,” she said as she reached our table. Her fingernails were painted a deep, shimmering green color; I watched as they lightly trailed along Josiah’s forearm.

He moved his arm, his eyes on mine. “Charlene.” His tone and attitude didn’t seem very welcoming, but I was getting the impression that he and Charlene were very well acquainted and I wondered why he hadn’t been more open with me.

“What’ve you been up to?” she asked him, cocking her hip against the side of our booth.

“Charlene, I’d like you to meet my girlfriend, Crimson. Crimson, this is Charlene.”

“Girlfriend?” she chuckled, her green eyes flicking to mine and away. “I didn’t think you did girlfriends, Josiah.”

“Things change.”

“
Have
you changed, really?”

Josiah broke eye contact with me and looked up at her, for the first time looking her right in the eye. “I’ve changed.” His tone was definitive and dismissive. Final.

“Hmm… well, I guess I’ll see you around then.” Charlene’s eyes flashed in my direction again before she walked back to her own table.

Silently I let out a breath I hadn’t even been aware I was holding.

“You all right?” Josiah asked me.

“Yeah.”

“Don’t let her get to you. That’s who Charlene is. She likes to stir things up. If she knows she got to you, it’ll just egg her on.”

“
Who
is she again?”

“She’s nobody. Nobody you need to worry about and nobody I care about.”

“What did she mean about, ‘you don’t do girlfriends’?”

“It means you’re special.”

Betz came then with our orders and I tried to let it go. To release my anxiety and not let it get to me, not let
her
get to me, but I couldn’t help but wonder… just who was Charlene? And how well did Josiah really know her?

We finished our meal and headed home. Conversation, after Charlene walked away, had been stilted and not as easy as it usually was between us. I told Josiah I was tired and had a headache, and that I wasn’t feeling up for coming over tonight. His deep blue eyes frowned a little in concern; he placed a gentle kiss on my forehead and said goodnight. I hadn’t been lying. By the time we’d reached the ranch house, my head was fairly pounding. I told Billy and Ethan goodnight and headed up to my room.

A hot shower sounded good, so I quickly ran the water, letting it heat up. I told myself I should trust him. That Josiah wouldn’t lie to me. But something just wasn’t sitting right. Charlene knew him well enough to make the claim that she was shocked he had a girlfriend. So that told me that Josiah did know her. And most likely knew her well. That thought made me sick to my stomach.

Of course he’d had other girlfriends before me. Of course he had. But then why would Charlene say what she had? Had they dated? I could understand that. She did seem more his type — more so than me. She would have known how to handle Rob; she wouldn’t have needed to call Josiah. If they had dated, why hadn’t he just said that? Did he think I wouldn’t understand? Suddenly a thought struck my mind, sending cold shivers down my spine.
What if he still has feelings for her and just didn’t know how to say it
? Maybe he thought he’d never see her again and seeing her tonight brought back those feelings?

Thinking like this was going to make me vomit; I needed a distraction. Just then my cellphone rang. Hesitantly I picked it up, assuming it would be Josiah. It was Gracie. Relieved, I answered it. “Hey, Beautiful.”

“Hey, Beautiful, yourself. How are you?”

“I’m good.” I nodded at the phone, trying to sound like it.

“That’s weird — you don’t sound good.”

I had no desire to discuss my fears with Gracie, so I quickly tried to bring the conversation back to her and just play it cool. “No, I am. Just have a headache tonight is all. How’re you?”

“I’m
good
. Great, in fact. Super, even.”

“You don’t say… What’s going on?” I chuckled.

“What are you doing in August?”

“Hmm, I’m not sure. I’ll have to check my massive schedule and see if I’m open then. Are you planning another visit?”

“Um, no. Well, maybe. At some point, but not right now.”

Laughing, I said, “Okay, that makes so much sense.”

“I’m not coming out there because I need
you
to come here and help me get married!”

“
What
? You’re engaged?
Oh my gosh
! Tanner proposed!! Whoop, whoop! Congratulations! I’m so happy for you.”

“Well, I’m glad you’re excited. I need a maid-of-honor, and you’re it.”

“Yay! Have you picked out colors yet? August what?”

“August 7
th
. It’s a Friday. And, I’m doing coral and nautical blue.”

“Nice. Yeah, I’ll be there. Of course I will.”

“Awesome, because I couldn’t do this without you. “

“When did Tanner propose? And, how’d he do it?”

“Sometimes he just surprises the crap out of me. And this was one of those times. He took me out to dinner last night to make up for a fight we’d had last week. He did the champagne and everything….”

“Wait,” I cut her off. “You guys had champagne? You’re only nineteen. He’s twenty-one, but still.”

“All right, it was only sparkling cider. Don’t ruin this for me. He toasted me, and apologized for not being perfect and as I drained my glass, I saw the ring. He cried, Crimson. When he asked me to marry him — Tanner cried. I love him so much.”

“What did your parents say? They’re okay with this? You’re a little young… are you sure this is what you want?”

“I know it’s crazy. I know it is, but I’m crazy about
him
. We’ve been together since 6
th
grade. There’s never been anyone else for either of us. He’s my other half. I love him. And Mom and Dad are happy for us. Tanner is like a son. He’s basically a part of the family now, already.”

“I knew they loved him. Tell him I said congratulations. I love you guys.”

“Thanks, I gotta go. I love you, too.”

Josiah

DANG CHARLENE ANYWAY
. What was she doing back in Salmon? Josiah thought he’d seen the last of her four years ago.

Charlene — tough, street-wise, and manipulative — she was from a chapter of his life that Josiah was determined to keep shut. He was a different man now, no longer haunted by those demons, and he didn’t want any of that ugliness touching Crimson.

Crimson was like a clear mountain stream, and Charlene was the muck and mud of a stagnant mill pond.

Josiah could tell that Charlene had rattled Crimson. He could see the worry and the uncertainty on Crimson’s face. The doubt. He’d told her the truth: Charlene was nobody to him — Crimson was everything. He wanted Crimson to trust him, but he could feel her emotional withdrawal last night — he felt it physically. He thought maybe she just needed time, time to realize and remember that he’d never hurt her. That he’d always take care of her, keep her safe.