Harvest Moon - By Robyn Carr Page 0,89
he turned and banged on the wall to bring Preacher out. “Have you eaten?” he asked Kelly.
“Yes, thanks. I just thought I’d drop in for a little bit of brandy on a cold December night. Brandy and company. Courtney’s puppy and I have totally bonded, but he hasn’t learned to talk yet.”
“That’s right, you’re on your own,” Jack said. Preacher came from the back, wiping his hands on his apron. He wore his usual frown until he saw her, then grinned happily. Jack went on, “The Riordans are in D.C. with Sean and Franci, and Lief is out of town. You know you have a standing invitation at the Sheridan household. Don’t worry—I can cook even if Mel can’t.”
“And you’re always welcome at our house,” Preacher said.
She chuckled. “Thanks, boys. Just a little brandy will do it for now. I also have an invitation from General Booth.”
“Then let’s just have a drink,” Jack said. “No one around to make us work.” He brought down a snifter for her brandy, which he poured first, and a couple of shot glasses for himself and Preacher. Before anyone drank, he asked, “You doing okay, Kelly?”
“I’m getting by fine. It’s quiet, but I haven’t lived with anyone in my entire adult life and Jill and I could barely scratch together a holiday meal before she came to Virgin River. This is nothing new. It’s just that I…” She cleared her throat. “I miss Lief.”
“Have you heard from him?”
“I have,” she said, taking a sip. She needed to see a friendly face after Lief’s alarming call. “Remy,” she said appreciatively. “Thanks, Jack. Very nice. Yes, I’ve heard from him several times. He ran into some trouble. He got all the travel information from Courtney’s dad but when he got to the airport, none of them were on the flight they were supposed to be on. He’d booked himself on it, as well. Of course the hotel in Orlando wouldn’t tell him if Stu’s family had reservations there, but they hadn’t registered yet as of this morning. Lief doesn’t know where they went. He doesn’t know if it’s just a different flight and different hotel or a whole different place. Courtney’s not answering her phone. He can’t find them.”
“Jesus,” Preacher said. “That’s horrible. What kind of bastard does something like that?”
“Well, in this case, the kind of bastard who’s the custodial parent and doesn’t want anyone in his business. Lief texted Courtney’s phone immediately asking where she was and got no reply. He’s called Stu’s phone repeatedly, even trying the ‘unknown caller’ option—he’s not taking calls. She’s either having a wonderful time or he’s not letting her use her own phone.”
“Lief must be half-crazy,” Jack said. “Is he still in L.A. or did he go to Orlando?”
“He’s not budging till he figures out where to go.”
“He’s not coming back?”
“Are you kidding?” she said with an unamused laugh. “Not without Courtney. I think he’s living between a rental car and the airport. He’s been to talk to their neighbors, called the police, asked for help from a detective, tried to bribe airline personnel… That almost got him arrested. And it’s Christmas week—no one wants to get involved now. It’s not exactly kidnapping. It would be hard to even argue custodial interference since he gave Stu permission to take her on vacation. Everyone he talks to tells him to relax, it’s her father, she’ll be back soon. Etcetera.” Kelly put down her snifter and rubbed her temples. “I feel for him. Feel for them both. But this is seriously bigger than I am.”
“Been there,” Preacher said, lifting his glass.
“You have?” she asked him.
“When I met Paige, she was married and already had Chris. She came in here one night on the run from a bad husband. Took a lot of doing before all that could be left in the past and we could start a life.”
“A lot of doing,” Jack confirmed.
“I thought the kids were both yours,” she said.
Preacher shook his head. “Really, I didn’t think I’d ever marry and have kids. It’s a pure miracle.”
“So let me ask you something,” Kelly said. “How old was Chris? Did you have trouble getting on his good side?”
“He was only four. We got along fine from the start, but not because I had any idea what I was doing. It was Paige I had to win over. She’d been in a real bad abusive relationship and was pretty worried about making another mistake like that. Takes a lot of patience,