All In (14 page)

The events of the afternoon had her suddenly feeling
homesick. She really needed to talk to Val. She and Lacy had been friends also,
but Cara had a much closer relationship with Val. They’d worked together for
three years. Cara did have Val’s phone number. Val was famous for using one of
those pay-by-the-minute cell phone plans. Cara just hoped Val had enough
minutes left so they could catch up.

Cara grabbed her jacket and headed out, locking the
door behind her. As she walked to Conway Reality she began to plot her excuse,
hoping Todd would let her use one of his phones.

Cara ate a bag of trail mix on her way to the
office. When she arrived she was relieved that Peggy was the only one there.
She arranged her thoughts before entering.

“Cara, I didn’t think I’d be seeing you today,”
Peggy smiled, closing the filing cabinet adjacent to her desk.

She couldn’t falter. If she looked like she was full
of drama it would only warrant Todd asking questions later. He trusted her and
saw her as a stable person. Cara wanted to keep it that way.

“I was wondering if it would be possible for me to
use the
phone?
” Cara asked. She bit down hard on her
lip.

“Sure, why don’t you go into the break
room.
You’ll have privacy there. I need to type two more
invoices and then I’m heading home,” Peggy smiled, pleased with herself.

“Thank you so much.” Cara directed her steps down
the hall and closed the door slightly. She grabbed the phone and quickly
punched in Val’s number.

Cara leaned against the wall, mumbling under breath.
“Val, please pick up.”

Chapter
Twenty-Seven

r. If she looked like she
was full of drama it would only warrant Todd to ask qusetions ggy was the only
one there. She a

“Hello?” Val’s voice carried through the line,
tugging Cara back to an old world, one that seemed so distant. So much had
changed.

“Val, it’s me, Cara,” her tone straining. The
silence expanded. Cara sat down at the small table.

“Cara, oh my God!
Where
are you? What happened? Everyone’s been so worried.” Her words flowed together,
squeezed into one, long breath.

“Well,” Cara laughed nervously.

Val cut her off. “Are you with
Mick
Terrel
?”

“Yes. He wanted to leave, and relocate. He asked me
to go with him.” As soon as the words left her mouth Cara realized how bizarre
it all sounded.

“He’s always had a thing for you, you know,” Val
giggled. “I’m not surprised. He’s been itching to get out of here for years.
“Oh Cara.”
Her sigh gusted over the line. “I was just so
worried.”

Cara filled her in on all the events as well as the
ups and downs of their journey. “I’m sorry,” she paused. “I didn’t mean to
freak you out, I just, I don’t know. It seemed like a good idea,” Cara told
her, pinching her eyes closed. Her emotions gripped her for a moment.

“I give him a lot of credit. What he did, what you
both did, isn’t easy,” Val said. “How’re things going? Can I tell people I’ve
heard from you?” She asked.

“Yeah, I don’t care. Things are a
bit weird at the moment,” Cara confessed.

Cara ran through the progression of what her
relationship with Mick had become and her current concerns, leaving out the
incident involving Cara’s choice of reading material.

“He’s under a lot of pressure. He’s been striving to
be successful his entire life. Like I said, that guy loves you, always has,”
Val conveyed. “It sounds like you’ve both been through so much. Don’t turn away
from it all now.”

“I won’t. I just needed to call you. Hearing your
voice makes it all better,” she said, swallowing hard. “How’s my mom?” Cara
asked, gnawing on the tip of her finger. Her mother was probably furious,
missing her weekly paycheck.

“She’s okay. I was at your place twice. Once she was
there, the other time she wasn’t,” Val said. “Should I tell her that you’re
okay? I take it that you’re not coming back?”

“Tell her I’ll contact her soon.
No,” Cara shook her head. “I’m not coming back. I can’t.”

“Yeah, one thing Mick
Terrel
doesn’t want to be known for is a failure,” Val
chuckled.

“When we settle permanently I’ll get back in touch,”
Cara told her. “It’d be great if you could come and visit.”

“Exactly where are you?”

“We’re in southern New Jersey,
near the shore points,” Cara said. “Just don’t tell anyone where I’m at.”

“That sounds fantastic,” Val’s
voice rose with optimism.
“I’d like that. I miss you, but I wish
you all the best, and Cara?” Val paused, taking a breath. “You did the right
thing. Stay strong. Once you get through the muck of this transition it’ll all
work
out.
The hardest part is already done, taking the
risk and making a change. Don’t give up now. Running back to what’s familiar is
a mistake so many make.”

“Thanks,” Cara
said,
her tone tight. “I’ll call again soon.”

On her way out she thanked Peggy
profusely.

****

During
her walk back to The Sandpiper Cara ruminated over what had transpired,
dissecting the sting of Mick’s betrayal. Cara looked at the reasons why Mick
might have been driven to do what he did. Was he afraid to ask her why she
engaged in reading romance erotica? If he’d asked, would she have been honest?

Did Mick read the book prior to their first encounter
or after? Did he really want her or just the idea of what he’d read?

Cara shook her head, dragged down with the heaviness
of doubt and indecision.

After a hot shower, she slipped between the crisp
sheets, staring into a darkness that almost felt as lonely as being back at The
Hollow. Cara reviewed Val’s counsel, knowing it would be foolish to run back
home.

****

“I’m sorry to hear that,” John said softly, his mouth
a flat line. “Give her space. While you do that, it’ll give you time to think
of how you’re going to approach it so you can repair the rift.”

Mick shook his head, lifting the skimmer out of the
pool.

“I don’t think that’s possible,” Mick told him. His stomach
clenched into a tight ball, like a curled fist ready trying to fight. John’s
voice changed pitch, emphasizing his point.

“Do you love her?” he asked, sitting down on the
edge of the diving board.

Mick leaned on the skimming pole. Bright sunrays glared
off the calm surface of the water, making his head ache even more. John spoke
again.

“The answer I’m looking for shouldn’t require that
much thought,” John said, adding a smile into what was a serious discussion.

Mick had never really spoken to John about things of
this nature, but when John had seen him this
morning,
the
man knew right away that something was wrong. Mick was honest, telling John
Cara had left. He and Stella had been very good to them both. Mick wouldn’t
screw up another relationship.

“I’ve loved her forever. Ever since I was a kid … a
crush that took me through adolescence and grew into something more as we
became adults,” Mick
said,
his admission now out in
the open. His chest released a huff of air, riding the coattails of his
confession.

“Then you need to declare that.” John stood, closing
the distance between them. He removed the skimmer from Mick’s hands. “Sometimes
it’s hard for us to speak from the heart. We have this crazy notion that it
makes us less of a man.” John nodded knowingly. “What we tend to overlook is
that it makes us so much more of a man.” John’s eyes stared down into him,
conveying years of wisdom.

“I have to tell her why I did what I did.” Mick
hadn’t shared that part with John about Cara’s reading material, and John
hadn’t pried. “I did it because I was afraid to talk to her about certain
things.”

“Your affections toward her,” John added, smiling.

Mick nodded in reply. “I needed help and used
something else instead of approaching her.” Mick’s words jumbled and joined together.

John rested a hand on his shoulder.

“Then that’s what needs to be said. The love … if
it’s there, will guide her back,” John’s tone softened, his face lined with a
compassionate smile. John’s soft-natured demeanor had Mick’s chest going tight
with a flood of emotions he wasn’t accustomed to feeling. John’s hand fell
away.

“Thanks, John.” Mick extended his hand. John’s blue eyes
lowered. Gray, wiry brows furrowed over his steady gaze.

“I’ve been married for forty-three years. That’s got
to account for something,” John told him, chuckling.

Chapter
Twenty-Eight

“Do you have a cell number? That way when I need
your services between tenants, I can contact you,” Todd Conway explained,
tipping back in his chair. He laced his fingers behind his neck, his stare a
bit intrusive.

“No, I’m afraid I don’t have a cell phone,” Cara
said, feeling inept.

“Really?”
Todd’s
eyes widened. “Well...” he sighed. “Why don’t you check in with me once a week
then, and we’ll see what’s what.”

“Could you just give me a calendar of your rental schedule?
I can still call in weekly, but if nothing changes,
then
I can clean the residences immediately once they’re vacated,” Cara suggested,
holding her breath. She really needed to hang onto this job. She’d lost
everything else.

Is
Mick everything else?

“That works,” Todd said, rising from behind his
desk. “Let me get a copy from Peggy.”

Cara followed him out into the front office and
waited for Peggy to scan the rental schedule for the summer.

Once back at her The Sandpiper, Cara fished out her
books. She fanned the pages of
Down
and Dirty.
Her
desire to read had fled like a teenage runaway.

The books she held in her hands had caused a lot of
upheaval. What was once a pleasurable escape had now turned her world upside
down, reality and fiction colliding.

She did miss Mick. Cara found her thoughts drifting
to him, wondering what he was thinking and doing. She traced the scar on the
inside of her forearm. It reflected all that they’d been through together, how
far they’d come. Was she overreacting? She’d felt foolish, seeing him sitting
there reading her novels with a hard-on. Cara shook her head. Flaming heat
rushed to her face. Hadn’t the books done the same for her? She was no prude.
Maybe this whole thing was just plain stupid. It was that he’d done it in
secret, but then so had she. It wasn’t the reading of the material. It was how
Mick had acquired it, rummaging through her things. As tough as it was to sift through
it all, one conclusion kept pressing to the front of her mind. The night they’d
fled from the grimy streets of their inner city, Mick
Terrel
had chosen her.

****

If Mick couldn’t be with her, he’d stalk her
instead. He reviewed John’s words of advice over and over. Mick attempted to
plan his approach. As much as he hated to admit it, his ego was severely
bruised, and that was hampering his progress. Instead of looking to another’s
creation for help, he should’ve gone with his own feelings, creating his own
presentation. The fact that he now had Cara doubting everything he’d tried to
convey only had Mick doubting himself.

She was staying at The Sandpiper. Mick wasn’t sure
for how long.
Will she move on without
me?
This was the third time he’d spied on her, hanging back in the hedgerow
behind the motor inn, watching her hike down the road, on her way to work, he
assumed.

How long would she stay apart from him? Was she considering
going back home? That thought rotted in his stomach, prompting a hunger strike
that was paired with a raging headache that’d already lasted for days.

Her ponytail swung behind her, grazing across her
back as it kept in tempo with her strides.

He needed to get his shit together and fast. He
thought he knew her better than anyone, but she was angry. Anger caused people
to do rash things. If Cara left, Mick would have to chase after her. He would
not let her slip away.

If Cara went back home, he’d have to return to a
place he vowed to never see again.

****

Later that afternoon, after loitering around town
like a stray dog, Mick returned to his post in the thickets, watching and
waiting. He was going to put an end to this problem, and it was going to happen
today.

When an older model Saab pulled into The Sandpiper
with Cara in the front seat, all bets were off.

Who
the hell is that?

An attack of emotions scurried through him,
frustration, pain, and defeat. Mick’s stomach swirled with them all. This lethal
cocktail could alter everything.