16
She knew she should have picked up the call from Charles, but after seeing the photos of them together, she couldn’t speak to him. The media had been all over the place, and she didn’t want to give them anything else to talk about. When she found out the FBI wasn’t there because they thought Max had done something illegal, but believed he might be dead, she knew she needed to be with her parents.
Even though they weren’t close to Max and Laura, they were still family. Someone had to mourn their loss if in fact they were gone. Goodness knows that none of the employees were going to. They were only going to miss the paycheck.
She felt bad because part of her felt the same way. It was scary thinking of how you would feed your family, provide a roof over their heads, and keep them safe when the source of doing that was ripped out from under you.
She would like to think Max had made provisions for his employees, but he barely cared about their lives before, why would he think about what would happen to them after he was dead? Yet even with all his faults, and they were numerous, she still hoped the media was wrong.
The bus pulled into the station and she got out. She went around the back and grabbed her suitcase. This wasn’t going to be an overnight stay. If Max was gone, there was no reason to be in the city any longer. And since Miss Snuggles’s owners came home early, she didn’t have a place to stay either. It seemed the timing of everything was aligned in a way she couldn’t have planned. Right down to saying goodbye to Charles last night, even before she knew it was destined to end.
Being back home wasn’t going to be easy. Although she hadn’t been gone long, it was the weekends she’d returned that were going to haunt her. She had joked with Charles, saying she couldn’t return because the people in town would all be talking. The truth was, being there was going to be salt in her wound.
Would telling her parents about Max be easier with Charles by her side? Of course. She could’ve leaned on him for emotional strength. Would it also bring a new level of issues without him? Yes again. She was going to be hounded with questions she really wasn’t ready to answer.
That was the problem with bringing someone home to meet the family. Her dad thought Charles was a nice guy. She couldn’t tell him what happened, but she needed to say something. Walking home from the bus station gave her plenty of time to think about it.
Did she have to tell her parents she broke it off? Not right away. If they asked, she could truthfully say Charles worked during the week. After a few days, she could tell them dating long distance wasn’t for her, and she had decided to focus on herself and her future right now. That might actually work.
It was close to being true, except for the fact it wasn’t. Rosslyn was in love with Charles. She even forgave him for his stupid suggestion. But after the FBI called her back in for questioning, she wasn’t sure she knew Charles at all. The FBI never said he was a suspect in her uncle’s disappearance, but their line of questioning suggested it. Has he ever talked to you about Mr. Grayson? Did he ever make any threats toward him? Did you know he was investigating Mr. Grayson?
Rosslyn had known they were rivals, but never suspected at this level. Charles had gone to the FBI on her uncle. What on earth would make him do such a thing? And even worse, not tell her anything about it. And the pictures of her and Charles together weren’t because of her. Her uncle was watching Charles, and she just happened to be caught in the middle of two adversaries out to take each other down.
She had to hear all about it from some agent who only wanted to see her reaction to that news. And he got it too, because she had run over to the trash can, vomited, and almost passed out. It was as though everything had been pulled out from beneath her, every ounce of joy and happiness within her crushed in only twenty-four hours.
The truth of why she was home was simple. She was hiding. Her emotions were all over the place. She had wanted to storm to Charles’s place and demand he explain himself. Then again, she didn’t want to ever see him again. But that thought only caused her to cry more. She really did love him. The only thing she could do was run. The only place she could go was home.
At least she could deliver the news in person to her parents. It could’ve been done on the phone easily. Sadly, any tears for Uncle Max or Aunt Laura were because of how they had wasted their lives. They had all the money and power, but they never did one damn good thing with it. If they were gone, what would they be remembered for? Nothing of any true value, unless your name on a building was what you sought in life. Yes, she was sad, sad that some people loved money more than anything else. And if they weren’t dead, she highly doubted either of them would change.
But Charles didn’t seem like that at all. He had truly seemed to enjoy his visit with her parents. Max never would’ve stepped foot in their house, never mind wash the dishes. If it hadn’t been for her seeing his car and apartment, Rosslyn never would’ve known Charles was as wealthy as Uncle Max. He didn’t flaunt it. Even their dates, whether planned by her or him, were what ordinary people would do. Why couldn’t he be as poor as me? That would’ve changed everything, and they would probably still be together. But that wasn’t the case, and she highly doubted Charles was going to walk away from all his money just to prove he loved her.
She shook her head. He never said he loved her. Then again, she hadn’t told him either. With everything that was going on, she thought for sure he’d have tried harder to reach her again. One missed call surely wasn’t all the effort he was willing to put in. If he did love her, he’d have rushed right over to be with her. Then again, with all the FBI agents around, he might have been trying to avoid them. Nope. I don’t care. If he loves me, he’d have come.
Her phone rang and she pulled it out of her pocket. Damn it. Once again it was another unknown number. She shut it off. How did the media get access to her personal phone number? They could call all they wanted. She wasn’t talking to any of them. All they got was her voice mail.
She turned the bend and saw her house. The truck was parked in the driveway, which wasn’t surprising. Her parents were always home. She walked up the path and dropped her suitcase on the porch. She’d take it inside later and unpack. Right now she just wanted a huge hug, no questions asked. Rosslyn knew one of the two was guaranteed.
Opening the door she called out, “Mom. Dad.” There was no answer, so she went into the kitchen, but no one was there. That was odd. She searched the entire house, but her parents weren’t home. That made no sense. The truck was there.
Her heart skipped a beat. Something must’ve happened to her mother. If an ambulance had taken her, surely Dad would’ve ridden with them. As she pulled out her phone, she heard a vehicle pull into the driveway. She rushed to the porch and was speechless. She knew that car all too well. What the hell is he doing here?
Rosslyn wanted to tell him to go back to the city; she didn’t want to see him. That was the furthest from the truth. She wanted to see him, hold him, and ask a hell of a lot of questions. But before she could say anything, the passenger doors opened. He wasn’t alone.
Mom? Dad?She rushed down the stairs and over to them. “Where have you been? I was worried something might have happened.”
“Charles showed up a few hours ago, and after all the talking we did about the old days, he offered to take us for a drive so he could see some of those places.”
She looked at Charles who wasn’t saying a word. You will by the time I’m done with you. Turning back to her father she said, “Let me help you get Mom inside.”
“Don’t worry, Charles will bring her.”
Charles walked around the car and scooped her mother into his arms. “I’ve got you, Mrs. Clark.” Her mother giggled as he carried her inside and placed her in the wheelchair.
She took hold of her father’s sleeve and pulled him out onto the porch. “Dad, what’s going on?”
“I guess I should be asking you that. Your young man showed up here looking for you. If it weren’t for the fact we’d seen the news early, we’d have been worried. But once we knew about Uncle Max, we knew you were coming home.”
“I wanted to tell you in person.”