Russell's Return (12 page)

CHAPTER
10

“Oh you stupid cat. You’re lucky I
didn’t throw you out of the window at the state line,” the woman complained as
she tried to get the animal in its carrier to take him into the hotel room.

Finally at the door, she unlocked it and
they tumbled inside. She looked around the sparsely furnished room and had to
fight back tears. How far did she have to stoop? She was stuck in a flea bag
motel in the middle of fucking Harper’s Rock, Wyoming. Unfortunately, she
couldn’t risk staying anywhere nicer.

“Oh Mr. Kitty, I’m going to die living
here,” she whined, letting him out of the cage. “I don’t care if I have to
squat, I’ll have to find someplace better to live. Mommy is scared here.”

The cat struggled to get out of her arms
so she tossed him onto the bed. “Dumb ass. I might just leave you here. I never
should have brought you with me.”

The woman retrieved her bag and
unpacked. “My name is Lucy now, Mr. Kitty, and I have black hair, see?” she
said, holding out a black wig. “As soon as I change, I’m going to go out and
get something to eat. I’ll bring you back something. I’m not sure if this town
has a Big World Market or not, but I’m sure they have a grocery store.”

Lucy left the room and looked around the
town. It seemed to be small enough to manage on foot, so there was no reason to
risk having her license plate seen.

The night was starting to cool down as
she walked along the streets. A big lighted sign caught her eye at the far end
of the main street. It advertised a Mediterranean restaurant, her favorite!

The waiter seated her in a quiet corner
and she looked around the place. It was so nice. She’d never understood how a
small town like this could have such nice places.

More people walked into the room. Wait a
minute, she recognized one of them. Immediately she picked up her menu to hide
her face. No one could know she was there. Yet. The more she stayed out of
sight, the easier it would be to grab her property and get the hell out of
town.

*********

Russell paced his room, waiting for the
time to pass. He was showered and dressed for the date but still had twenty
minutes to fill. Maybe calling his cousin Abigail would take up the time. She
had agreed to keep an eye on his restaurants and the people who were running
them. Quickly dialing her number, he was relieved when she picked up on the
third ring.

“Well hello cousin.”

“Hey Abby. How are you, Sam, and the
kids?”

“We’re all doing great. How are you and
Miranda?”

Russell sat down on his bed with a sigh.
“We’re good. I don’t know if Uncle Ethan told you, but we are thinking Randi
might be autistic.”

“Oh,” Abigail murmured. “So much makes
sense now.”

“Yeah,” Russell chuckled. “Took me long
enough.”

“Don’t go there cousin,” she warned.
“Everything will turn out great.”

“I hope so,” he said softly. “So, how
are my restaurants?”

Abigail laughed. “I wondered when you
would get to that. They are doing just fine, Rusty. Everything is running
smoothly.”

What a relief. He couldn’t help but
worry. “Well that’s one thing I don’t have to stress over for now.”

“Yeah, hey Russell, could you do me a
favor?”

“Of course,” he promised.

“Take some flowers to Ben’s grave for
me.”

“Of course I will.” This time of year
was always hard on Abigail. She and his oldest brother had been inseparable
until the day he took his own life, rather than admit to everyone that he loved
another boy.

“Thank you Rusty,” she said softly. “I
don’t think we’ll make it up there this year, but I want him to know he’s
always in my thoughts.”

“I know Abby. I need to visit him soon,
so I’ll take flowers for you.”

“Thanks again, cousin. I’ll talk to you
later.”

Russell hung up the phone and grabbed
his wallet and keys off the dresser. He was tired of waiting to see Emily. He
rushed down the stairs, said goodbye to Evelyn and Miranda, and grabbed the
picnic basket and a rose from the white vase. He climbed in the SUV and drove
the short distance to the old bunk house.

Pulling up to the cottage, he suddenly
felt afraid and turned off the ignition to sit there for a few moments. He felt
like a lust filled, nervous teenager. Hell, even Vivienne hadn’t made him feel
this way. Taking a deep breath, he stepped out of the SUV, carrying the rose
with his right hand, tucked behind his back. He rang the doorbell with his
left.

When it opened, Emily stood there, fresh
faced, with her hair in a long ponytail. The green summer dress she was wearing
formed to every luscious curve and set her emerald eyes ablaze. She was
stunning.

“I know it’s kind of cliché,” he said,
his voice shaky. “But Miranda seemed to think you would like this.” He brought
the rose around to the front of him and presented it to her.

Emily smiled big and took a deep breath.
“Your daughter was absolutely right. I love it.”

Russell looked relieved as he followed
her inside to find a vase. Once she had the beautiful flower in water, she
gathered her purse and turned to him. “I’m ready when you are.” He ushered her
out of the cottage and helped her into the SUV. Once he was in the driver seat
and ready to go, he turned to her. “I was speechless when you opened the door.
Is it too late to tell you that you look beautiful tonight?”

“It’s never too late,” she assured him.
“You look pretty good yourself.” That was an understatement. His new jeans and
tight black t-shirt, which showed off every muscle, made her want to get him
back inside her cottage and lock the door to the outside world but they’d
agreed to date instead.

The drive to Vito’s went quickly and
they were lucky enough to get a great table as soon as they walked in the door.
The town was dead because bow hunting season had just started.

As they sat down, Emily noticed that
Russell looked uncomfortable and shifted in his seat. “Are you okay?” she
asked.

“Yeah,” he said as he looked around the
place. “This is one of the two things about Harper’s rock that Vivienne kind of
liked. According to her this restaurant was authentic and classy, like you
would find in the city.”

“Do you want to go somewhere else?” she
asked. “I don’t want you to be uncomfortable.”

Russell breathed deep and let it out
slowly. “No. I’m okay now. When I first walked in, it was like I could feel her
presence. It must be because we ate here every night the one time we visited.”

“Okay, if you’re sure. Do you mind if I
ask what the other thing was that she liked?”

Russell opened the menu and started to
read the choices. “The lake house on the ranch. She said the view was ‘rich’.”

“Strange woman,” Emily murmured as she
opened her menu to decide what to order.

“You can say that again,” he chuckled.
“I think I’m going to have iced tea and eggplant parmesan.” His menu was closed
and laid to the side.

“Same for me,” Emily decided, setting
her menu on top of his. “It’s my favorite and I don’t get to have it very
often.”

“That’s one of the specialties at my
restaurants,” Russell claimed with a smile. “I probably eat it way too often,
but I really like it.”

Emily was about to ask him a question
when the waiter appeared. They ordered their drinks and their food then he
turned back to her. “You were saying?”

“I wanted to ask you about your
restaurants. Are they specialty or family, or fast food?”

“I like to say they are fine family
dining. They aren’t a mom and pop diner, but they aren’t upscale either.”

“Sounds like my kind of place,” Emily
said with a smile. “You never have told me the name of your restaurants.”

“
Harper’s
,
of course,” he said with a grin. “Three locations to serve you. One just off
the strip, one in
Summerlin
, and one in Green
Valley.”

“You’re very proud of them,” she stated.

“I am,” he acknowledged. “I’ve worked my
butt off to make them successful. It’s been hard but they are everything I
dreamed they would be.”

“It must have been hard to leave them.”

“Very hard. One of the hardest things
I’ve ever done,” he admitted.

The waiter showed up with their drinks
and assured them that their food would soon follow.

“I think you can have the best of both
worlds. And Miranda too.”

“I hope you’re right.”

They sat in companionable silence until
their food arrived. “This looks so good,” Emily sighed. “I haven’t had eggplant
in months.”

“Were you in Seattle then?”

“Yeah. I went to my favorite restaurant
the night I decided to move home, and this is what I had.”

Russell took a bite of his food and
watched Emily. His mention of Seattle hadn’t seemed to bother her as much as he
thought it would. “Do you miss it?” he asked.

Emily looked up at him. “Not really.
Certain things might cause me to pause but nothing big enough to make me ever
want to go back.”

Russell nodded and continued to eat.
Between bites he finally built up the courage to ask her the burning question.
“Did you leave someone special in Seattle?” He said it so fast he almost
wondered if she’d understood.

Emily took a drink and looked at him.
“There had been someone before…but it was…I’m definitely single,” she finally
managed to get out.

“I’m…sorry.” He didn’t know quite what
to make of what she’d just said. There was something she was hiding but she
obviously wasn’t willing to talk about it. He would set it aside for another
time.

Emily smiled and raised her eyes to him.
“Things happen and if the whole mess in Seattle hadn’t happened, I never would
have run into you again.”

He smiled big. “Yeah, I guess
good
can come from bad.”

The waiter walked up, interrupting them.
“Would you like refills on your iced tea?” he asked.

“No thank you,” they both said. Russell
turned to the young man. “I think we’ll just take the check. The lady and I are
headed to the concert in the park.”

“Yes sir, I’ll be right back.”

When the man returned with the bill,
Russell handed over his credit card then smiled at Emily. “I have dessert for
us in the picnic basket in the car. I hope you like it.”

She reached out and touched his hand. “Is
it full of sugar and horribly bad for you?”

Russell chuckled. “Yeah. I’m pretty sure
it is.”

“Then I’m pretty sure I’ll love it,” she
laughed.

The waiter returned with the credit card
and slip for Russell to sign, then left them alone again. Emily’s hand was
resting on the table so he reached for it. “Are you ready?”

She took his offered hand and rose from
the table. “I am. I can’t wait to get to the park.” They walked out of the
restaurant, their arms around each other.

**********

The park wasn’t busy yet when they
arrived, so they snagged a prime spot not too far from the stage. Russell
spread the blanket out while Emily tried to sneak a peek inside the picnic
basket.

“No peeking,” he warned, sitting down
and reaching for the basket.

“You’re no fun,” she teased, sitting
next to him.

“You’ll see it soon enough.”

“I know,” she sighed, taking a hold of
his arm and leaning into him. “I’ve always loved this park. There is something
so peaceful about the river and the big old rock off in the distance. I don’t
think Josiah was as crazy as everyone thought he was.”

Russell looked off toward the landmark.
“That’s what my dad used to say,” he murmured.

“My mom told me about your dad when I
got home. I’m so sorry.”

“I let Vivienne keep me from coming to
the funeral,” he said out of the blue, his voice choked up. “I was so damn
stupid.”

Emily gasped. “That was really your
second biggest mistake. I knew the whole walking in on Dylan thing was just a
cover up.”

“Yeah,” he admitted quietly. “That kind
of goes along with the one about marrying Vivienne in the first place. I’ll
never forgive myself for that. I miss him so much, still.”

“I’m sorry,” she said, reaching out to
caress the side of his face.

“Unless you want me to kiss you, here
and now, I suggest you stop doing that,” he muttered through gritted teeth.

Emily left her hand where it was and
Russell reached out to pull her close, his lips crushing hers in a deep but
brief kiss.

“I warned you,” he panted.

“I know,” she smiled. “I think the music
is about to start. Shall we have dessert?”