Lunatic Revenge (13 page)

From this day forth, Tara Luna will be known as an honorary daughter and forever member of the Rick and Ann Scott family.

—Rick, Ann, Nikki, Rachelle, Morgan.

“OMG. You guys. You have no idea what a big deal this is for me,” Tara said.

“We know what a big deal it was for us to wake up this morning and know Rachelle was safe in her bed,” Rick said.

“Thank you so much,” Tara said.

Nikki sighed. “After all this, are you still willing to be my BFF?”

Tara laughed through tears. “Yeah, I’ll still claim you, if you can handle my lunatic life.”

Rick rolled his eyes. “It can’t be much worse than me living with five females.”

Tara frowned. “Five?”

Rick grinned. “Yeah, the dog is a girl, too.”

Tara laughed out loud, which made all the Scott women groan. “Don’t encourage him,” Ann said. “He already thinks he’s a riot.”

Tara laughed again.

“Hey, Tara, do you have any plans for lunch?” Rick asked.

“No.”

“Then may we treat you? Not all the restaurants are back open for business, but Hideaway Pizza is. I checked.”

Tara grinned. “I love Hideaway Pizza. Just let me get my purse and jacket.” Then she remembered her Walmart experience and hesitated. “Uh, you might not want to be seen with me.”

“Why?” Ann asked.

Tara sighed. “That thing about me that you saw on TV
 . . .
”

“What about it?” Nikki asked.

“It’s causing problems. I couldn’t get through Walmart for the nuts wanting me to tell their futures and pick winning Lotto numbers.”

“For the love of God,” Rick muttered. “Don’t worry about all that. If anyone bugs you while you’re with us, I’ll take care of it.”

Morgan high-fived Rachelle. “Cool! Maybe we’ll get to see Dad thump someone’s head.”

“Oh, I didn’t say anything about assaulting anyone. I just said I’d take care of it, and I will. I’ll sic your Mom on them.”

All three Scott girls groaned. “No
 . . .
not the wrath of Mom. Not that.”

Ann pretended to be irked, but Tara could tell she thought it was funny.

“Go get your stuff,” Nikki said. “I’m starving and we can talk about my slumber party Saturday night while we eat.”

Within minutes Tara was out of the house and into the big Suburban with the rest of the Scotts. Her family consisted of her and Uncle Pat
 . . .
and Millicent and Henry, of course, but they didn’t require seating space. Riding with this big noisy family was a joy. She rode all the way to Hideaway with a big smile on her face, listening to Rick and Ann talking to each other in the front seat, while Rachelle and Morgan argued with Nikki in the back. It was sort of like being in the hall at Stillwater High during class break. Everyone was talking at once but hardly anyone was listening.

They got all the way
through ordering and eating salads before a diner at a nearby table recognized Tara. She was caught up in the conversation and laughing at the disgust on Rachelle’s face as Morgan kept sneaking the croutons out of her salad, when Millicent’s voice suddenly appeared in Tara’s head.

Incoming. Take cover.

Tara turned, caught movement from the corner of her eye and saw the guy at a nearby table jump up and head their way.

“Oh no,” she muttered.

Rick heard her. “What’s wrong?”

“Don’t say I didn’t warn you,” Tara said, and then the guy was at their table.

“Hey, aren’t you that girl who found the baby up in the tree?”

“No, that wasn’t me,” she said.

He frowned. “Are you—”

Rick stood up. “Back off my daughter, mister. This has been happening all day and it’s getting old. Just because she’s the right age and has long dark hair, doesn’t mean she’s that girl.”

The man blinked. “Uh
 . . .
yeah, right. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to intrude and—”

And just like that, Nikki’s mom entered the conversation without an invitation. “If you didn’t mean to intrude, then why did you ever leave your table,” Ann snapped.

“I’m out of work. I just thought the girl might know of a place that was hiring.”

Ann’s green eyes snapped. “Are you serious?
The girl,
as you called her, is not the local employment agency and you’re interrupting our meal. Are we going to have to call the manager?”

“Uh, no, no, I’m sorry.”

His eyes narrowed as he looked at Tara. She could tell he still didn’t believe them, but they’d backed him off.

“Sorry kid,” he mumbled, and then slunk back to his table.

Tara’s cheeks were burning and she was blinking back tears.

“Embarrassing,” she mumbled.

Nikki elbowed her. “No biggy,” she said, and then giggled. “But that’s what Dad meant by saying he’d sic Mom on them. She doesn’t mince words.”

Tara glanced up. Ann’s indignation on Tara’s behalf was still evident, but Rick was grinning. He winked at Tara and then pointed at the end of the table. “Someone pass me the red pepper flakes. Here comes our pizza.”

It was a simple request, but it shifted the conversation back to food, and just like that, the moment was over. It took Tara a few minutes to let it go, but that first bite of pepperoni pizza was seriously good medicine for what ailed her.

By the time the meal was over, the man had already left the restaurant. If there were any others who’d had a similar notion of approaching her, Rick and Ann’s intercession had changed their minds.

“I’m so glad you’re okay,” Flynn said, then pulled back just enough to meet Tara’s gaze.

Incoming kiss.

Shut up, Millicent. I’m not blind.

“Watching that tornado heading straight for town and not knowing who would survive and who would not was scary. I kept thinking how empty my life would be without you, Moon Girl, and I didn’t like how that felt.”

And then he kissed her. Not a quick hello/goodbye kiss, but a serious, I-heart-you kiss that made Tara’s pulse race. Even after they stopped, Flynn didn’t immediately turn her loose.

“Are we good now? I mean, no more hard feelings between us about anything?”

“We’re better than good,” she said softly.

Flynn grinned. “Yeah, we are, aren’t we?”

She blushed, but smiled back, and just like that, her world was on course again.

“So, I heard there’s no school the rest of the week.”

“Yep. The school wasn’t hit, but a lot of students’ homes were. Is your place okay?”

“Yeah, except for some downed limbs and missing shingles. Mom called the landlord but he was already on it.”

Tara tugged his hand. “Come sit and talk to me.”

Flynn followed her to the sofa.

“I’m really, really sad for you about your dad. Are you okay?”

His smile shifted. “I will be. It’s a process, you know.”

She watched the sadness come and go on his face. “The police still don’t know who killed Floy Nettles.”

Flynn frowned. “I know. It doesn’t really make any sense, you know? Sam and Floy were close. I can’t wrap my head around Sam being responsible for killing his brother.”

“I don’t know who did it, but I do know it wasn’t Sam,” Tara said. “And you know that means there’s someone still out there who wants that money your father hid.”

“Yeah, I get that. Mom and I talked. We’re paying attention.”

“You know what you said about being scared something would happen to me when the tornado was coming? Well that’s how I felt when I found out you were missing. That’s why I freaked out on you the other day. I don’t ever want to feel that again, okay?”

Flynn threaded his fingers through hers. “Deal,” he said softly, then gave her hand a quick squeeze. “I promised Mom I wouldn’t stay long. We need to get groceries and run a bunch of errands, but I just had to see for myself that you’re still in one perfect piece.”

Tara stifled a sigh. Flynn sure did know how to make a girl feel special.

“I’m still in one piece,” she said.

“And perfect. Don’t forget the perfect,” Flynn said, and then leaned over and kissed her one more time, but with an emphasis on goodbye. “Gotta run. I’m still off work until next week. Wanna do something tomorrow?”

“Sure, but what? The tornado messed up a lot of the city, and not many businesses have reopened.”

“Can we drive through the area where the path of the storm went?”

“We were all over the place yesterday, although now that I think about it, most of the vehicles were rescue-related so I’m not sure. Why?”

“A woman who works the same shift as Mom lost her house. I just wanted to see the neighborhood.”

“All we can do is drive that way and see what happens.”

He nodded. “How about I pick you up around 11:00 a.m.? As soon as we scope out the storm damage, we can grab some lunch.”

“Okay.”

Tara walked him to the door, then stood on the threshold waving until he disappeared from view. From the corner of her eye she caught movement across the street, but when she looked, there was no one there. Still, she locked the door behind her as she went back inside. Thanks to that news crew, there was no telling what kind of crazy people were looking for the Stillwater psychic.

French Langdon held
his breath, certain that she’d spotted him, but when she went back inside, he relaxed. He was going to have to be more careful. This was no time to blow his cover, and now that the boyfriend was back in town, things were bound to amp up fast. He stayed around until her uncle came home and then left to check in with his boss.

Detectives Rutherford and Allen
had just ended another frustrating interrogation with Sam Nettles. The devastation he appeared to be suffering over his brother’s murder seemed sincere, and he continued to swear that the only other people who knew about the money had been with him the entire day that Floy had been killed. He told Rutherford and Allen he knew of no one else who might have had a grudge against his brother big enough to want him dead, and that’s where the Stillwater P.D. investigation was stalled.