Finding Peace (Love's Compass #1) (19 page)

Chelsea sat down next to her and gave her a hug.

“Look, Troy, I know that bullet wound has got to be hurting something terrible. Why don’t you put that knife down and let the nice nurse here patch you up so you can get on your way.”

Troy shifted his weight. “Nah. It’s too late for that.”

“I know there’s a lot more going on here than it looks. My partner and I spoke with Tess Canton in Dallas. We know she hired you to fake some photos and situations concerning her ex-husband. We also know she sent you to Kitner to do some investigating, hoping you could turn up evidence of her ex-husband’s whereabouts.”

The other man looked surprised, but the expression was quickly covered up by alarm. “You can’t prove any of that.”

“Not only can we prove it, but after talking to Mrs. Canton, I’m pretty sure she would be happy to throw you under the bus. She’s saying that you went rogue after she had hired you, and that she had nothing to do with any of this.”

The man let out a string of expletives, but the knife blade moved away from Lexi’ neck another inch.

Good, he was getting distracted. That’s what Tuck wanted. The less attention on his sister’s neck the better. He took a deep breath. “Troy, Mrs. Canton doesn’t care about you at all. She wants to win this war with her ex-husband. Everyone else is collateral damage. Apparently, that includes her own son. You aren’t even a blip on the radar.”

Troy released the breath in his lungs forcefully. The air tossed some of Lexi’ hair in the current. His hand holding the knife fell away a little more. Tuck could intermittently see the wall behind them in between the blade and her throat.

“If I give up, I can’t walk away.”

“You’re right, you’re going to be charged for breaking and entering, stealing, and for that stabbing. But you want to know something?” Tuck waited until the man was watching him intently. “You’re going to spend a whole lot less time in jail for that than you would for murder.”

Lexi looked at the metal tray again. Her eyes met Tuck’s and he gave the slightest shake of his head, a movement he hoped only she would detect.

“Come on, Troy. Put the knife down and let the nice lady go.”

Troy stared off in the distance, his hand relaxing even more.

When the man’s gaze darted to his, Tuck could see the wall go up. He clenched his teeth.

Knowing it was now or never, he gave a swift nod to Lexi. She grabbed the metal tray and turned, slamming it hard into the man’s injured shoulder. In that same moment, Tuck stepped forward. With his right hand, he grabbed the man’s knife wrist while elbowing him hard in the face. The combination of the pain in his shoulder and the broken nose caused the man to collapse. Without hesitating, Tuck grabbed the man’s hands and bent them behind his back. “Are you okay, Lexi?”

“Yes, I’m fine.”

“We’re clear!” Tuck’s loud announcement was followed by the sounds of swift footsteps. The curtain parted and Lance entered along with several other officers. Lance leveled his pistol on Troy and tossed his partner a pair of handcuffs.

~

Laurie was still feeling giddy when she picked up her purse. Not only were Lexi and Tuck alright, but the man who had stabbed her was in custody. She breathed a sigh of relief for the first time in weeks. They had celebrated through dinner, but it was time she and Chelsea got home again.

“I’ll walk you ladies out,” Tuck said.

The air was cold as they left the Chandler home. He grasped her hand and held it in his all the way to her car. He opened the passenger door for Chelsea. “It was nice to see you again.” He let go of Laurie’s hand. “I’m happy to hear you may be moving here. My family and I look forward to getting to know you better.”

Chelsea beamed at him. “I appreciate that. If your family is any indication, this must be the friendliest town in Texas.” She looked at Laurie. “I’ll get in and check the messages on my phone. Take your time.” She disappeared inside and shut the door behind her.

Laurie’s cheeks grew hot as Tuck took her hand again and walked her partway around the car. “I’m glad everyone’s okay.” Her words stopped them. “I don’t know what I would have done if something had happened to you.”

He drew her to himself in a hug. “I’m glad it’s all over.” He took a step back, concern etching his face. “I’m sorry you had to go through that – wondering what was happening in there.”

She was surprised by the intensity in his eyes, the serious creases in his brow, as he struggled to find the words to express himself.

“Look, I know we talked about this before. But it’s different actually going through it. This is my job. In a lot of ways, it’s my life. I can’t promise you this won’t happen again – or that it’ll end well every time.” She quickly placed a hand on his chest to reassure him, but he took it in his and held it against his heart before continuing. “I don’t want my job to stress our relationship. I don’t want it to hurt you.”

Laurie looked into his eyes and smiled. “Tuck, that job is part of who you are. You’re an amazing man who wants to help people, protect people. If it weren’t for you, that guy might still be out there trying to hurt someone else. You saved me. You saved Lexi. They may not know it, but you might have saved Chester and Brian Canton, too.” She smiled at him with all the love she had for the tall man who looked down at her with such vulnerability. “I love you, Tuck. That includes what you do. I was scared for you, but I also felt a lot of peace. You knew what you were doing and God was there with you.”

The look of relief on Tuck’s face was immense as his eyes lovingly caressed her face. “You are one in a million, you realize that, don’t you?” Laurie shrugged innocently and he tipped his head back to laugh. “I love you.”

Still smiling, he kissed her, and she melted into his embrace. 

~

Laurie leaned back in her chair and marveled at the changes that had taken place in her life in the last two weeks. Chelsea was still sleeping on her futon, but she was attending a third interview for a local business and had some leads on an apartment not far away. Laurie had enjoyed having her sister nearby – more than she ever thought possible.

Even their parents had been both surprised and thrilled to learn of their developing friendship. They had even made a passing comment about how they may have to sell their home in New York and buy a little place in Kitner instead. An idea that appealed to Laurie, though she would believe it when she saw it. 

As far as the case went, once Troy Privet had been taken into custody, he had quickly proceeded to testify against Tess Canton. According to him, she had hired him to fake photos and evidence in order to get full custody of her son. After the boy had disappeared, she had blackmailed him to track down their location and, if all else failed, bring her son back with force.

Following those accusations, the Dallas PD had located Tess Canton at a local bar and taken her into custody as well. The story she was telling was different, claiming that Troy Privet had been acting independently and she had no knowledge of the faked evidence nor the havoc that he had wrecked while in Kitner.

Through all of this, two truths had come to light: Tess Canton was a roaring drunk and bank account records had tied her to Troy Privet. As a result, all evidence against Chester Canton had been dismissed. 

The studio door opened and Laurie smiled as Daisy Belle stepped into the room. With a start, she realized with satisfaction that she hadn’t jumped at the sound. It was about time she had put that fear behind her.

Daisy waved and bustled towards her, sitting herself in a nearby chair without waiting for an invitation. “I’m glad that the whole thing is over.”  She slid a small Styrofoam box towards her. “I brought you a slice of apple pie.”

Laurie took the box happily. “Thank you. You know I’m addicted to this stuff.”

Daisy laughed and produced a plastic fork. “I’m happy to know that one of my nearest neighbors is feeling well and open for business again.”

“So am I.”

“I was wondering if you might be available to do a photo shoot for me. I was thinking about changing the interior of my diner. New tables and chairs, new paint. Give it a fresh feel for the new year.”

“I think that’s a great idea!” Laurie liked the diner a lot, but it did have an older feel to it. “How can I help?”

“I thought I could purchase a few photos from some favorite spots around town. That way I could frame and display them. You know, make it feel friendly and familiar to the local crowds.”

Laurie’s mind was already racing with ideas and locations. “Oh, I like that! Depending on how many photos you want, we could even do a couple of themes. Town pride with our school sports, historical buildings, the duck pond, and even some photos here from the diner before the changes you are going to make. Any of those would work well.”

Daisy nodded thoughtfully. “I knew you would have some good ideas,” she said, clapping her hands together. “I can’t wait to work all of this out. Let me go take a look at the diner and decide how many photos I want. Then we can go over the specifics.”

“That sounds perfect.” Laurie beamed at her fellow businesswoman. “I have some images already that we could probably use and then I can always take some more.”

Daisy stood, a smile on her face. “I look forward to this! Alright, I had better get back. It’s not too busy over there right now.” She put a hand to the side of her mouth as though she were sharing a secret. “I have one gal who tends to get pretty lazy if I’m not right there to crack the whip.” Shaking her head to show how much she disagreed with the behavior, Daisy headed for the door. “I’ll swing back by later this week or early next. We can talk about it.”

Laurie watched the woman leave. Working with Daisy Belle would be an interesting business endeavor – not to mention entertaining.

Instead of returning to the session, she was processing, she made a list of some ideas she wanted to present to Daisy the next time they talked. She could picture what she would like to do with the wall space in the diner and hoped they would have similar preferences.

It was afternoon and Laurie was looking forward to Chelsea’s return. She wanted to hear about her interview. Hearing the studio door open again, she glanced up and grinned when she saw Tuck in the doorway. “Hey, you!”

“Hi!” Tuck smiled warmly. “I have a surprise for you.”

She was about to ask what it was when he stood to the side and allowed a boy and another man to pass him into the studio. As soon as she saw the boy’s face, she felt her heart jump. “Brian Canton!” Her gaze traveled from him to the man who stood with one hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Are you Chester?”

“Yes, Ma’am, I am.” The man swept his baseball cap from his head and extended his right hand.

Unable to contain the grin on her face, she shook his hand. “I’m Laurie Blake. I can’t begin to tell you how happy I am to meet you.” 

Tuck walked forward and put an arm around her shoulders. “Someone managed to get word to Chester about the change of circumstances in the custody case,” he said, intentionally keeping the details vague for the little boy’s sake. “After insuring that Brian would be left in Chester’s care, they were free to return to the area.”

“That’s fantastic!” She could feel tears building and she blinked them away. “I’m happy for you both.”

Chester gave her a nod. “I am incredibly sorry that my problems led trouble to your doorstep. Officer Chandler tells me that you’re healing well and I hope you know that I will help with any medical expenses that you might have had to deal with.”

“Oh, I appreciate that. But I’m pretty much back to normal and it’s not your fault. Things happen in life and I’m glad that you and your son have a second chance.” She couldn’t stop the tear that slipped down her cheek. She swiped it away absently. “I’ll be praying that, by the time this whole thing is over, you and your son feel like you’re free to be the family you deserve to be.”

Tuck’s arm tightened around her shoulders.

Brian looked up at her and Chester drew the boy to him in a hug. He cleared his throat. “I appreciate that. It’s been a long road, but we finally feel like we’re reaching the end of this particular journey.” He looked down at his son, who tipped his head back and smiled at him. “When we left, I had to believe that God would have a plan for us. We didn’t know what it would be, but this goes to show He knows what He’s doing.” Chester nodded at them. “Thank you both for fighting like you did. Brian and I wouldn’t be standing here if you hadn’t.”

Laurie couldn’t explain the sense of awe that she felt as she thought back on the chain of events that led to that moment.

“We’re glad we could be a part of this,” Tuck said. He glanced at Laurie, who nodded her agreement. “We appreciate you letting us know you were in town. We hoped you would hear about the arrests, but of course, no one knew how to get a hold of you.”

Chester shook his head in wonder. “I’m telling you, the whole thing is a string of miracles.” He stuck his hand out again to shake each of theirs. “I hate to run, but we need to be in Dallas for a meeting first thing in the morning. We should get going. I’m thankful to both of you.”

They said their goodbyes. Laurie watched as the duo left her studio. “That was amazing.” She leaned into Tuck as he slipped an arm around her waist. “Everything we went through was a small part of a puzzle that God was putting together to help a man and his son. It goes to show He can take what seems like a small thing and use it in a big way.”