Lumberjack Weekend(Divine Creek Ranch 21)(62)

“Shoot.”

She pulled into her spot and smiled at Hank when he came around and opened her door for her. He blinked a couple of times as she stepped out of the car but then grinned as if amused. “Sorry your weekend off got derailed, Violet.”

“Is everything all right?”

He nodded. “I think so. I was driving by to check on the place and spotted him back here sitting on the stoop. Do you know him?”

“Yes, I do.”

“I never could get old Tex to come out from your office,” he said apologetically. “Want me to come in with you to inspect the damage from inside?”

“I’d appreciate it,” she replied as Bodie joined them, a sheepish smile on his face as he gave her a half-hearted wave. He studied her with an odd look on his face as well. “Bodie, would you mind waiting out here?’

He shoved his hands in his pockets and nodded. “Sure.”

After unlocking the back door and disabling the alarm, she flipped on the lights, and Hank shut the door.

“Is he a friend of yours?” he asked as they walked to the front, his gaze swinging in a wide arc through the now deserted store, ever vigilant. She liked that about him.

“Yes, he’s someone from my past.”

He turned curious eyes to her. “I’ve seen him in that vehicle around town before.”

She nodded, not surprised he would be aware of the comings and goings in Divine. “He’s an ex.”

“Ah. You’d tell me if there was a reason for me to be concerned, right?”

“Of course. I’m not looking forward to talking to him, but there’s nothing for you to be worried about, Hank. It’s just a little…awkward.”

He nodded and didn’t ask any more questions as they made their way to the front of the store. The plywood looked horrendous in the windows, so raw and bare, blocking the illumination from the streetlights out front.

“Luckily, there were no customers standing at the counter. Lizzy was at the register and got cut by flying glass, needed a few stitches, but at least she didn’t get hit with one of these,” he said, offering her an object.

She took it in her hand and squinted at it. “What is this?” It was heavy, gray, and marked with faint symbols she couldn’t make out. She could imagine the way the old glass in the front windows had shattered on impact.

“It’s a ceramic insulator from a power line. Easy enough for someone to come by if they broke into the electrical cooperative’s supply yard. The same thing was used on all the other businesses that were hit.”

“Did you find the culprits?”

Hank sighed as he took off his hat and ran his fingers through his silver hair. “Yeah, we got a tip. A group of thug teenagers who are new to the area. They were boasting about it, and when one of their local buddies found out they’d hit his aunt’s business, he got pissed off…after finding out there was a reward for their arrest. Don’t worry about them. I’ll handle it and let you know what needs to be done. Looks like your crew took care of things in here for you.”

She took a closer look at the displays, counters, and nearby shelving and had to agree. Although she could tell things had been moved around a little, there was no sign of glass, broken fixtures, or disarray of any kind.

Turning back to him, she said, “I expected to come back here to clean up a big mess and deal with all the fallout. Everyone went home?”

“Yeah, at closing time. I overheard them talking while I was inspecting the damage and taking pictures for the police report. They divided up the tasks, and once they got permission from me, half of them went to work cleaning up the mess while the other half took care of business. You should be proud, Violet. You’ve got a good, dedicated crew working here.”

“No doubt about it.” She looked around and let out a sigh of relief. “This isn’t what I imagined I was coming back to at all. They had it all under control.”

“Sorry you cut your weekend short. You were out at Joseph’s place?”

She nodded. Hank could be trusted. He’d been one of the first people to welcome her to the community and was her self-defense instructor and among her group of close friends as well. “I was out there for Joseph’s fantasy weekend…with Josh and Lucas Abbott.”

A wide smile spread across his face and made his eyes twinkle as he nodded. “I wondered if there wasn’t something between the three of you.”

“Yeah, and I just found out about all this an hour ago,” she said, gesturing around the tidy interior of the Emporium. “From Josh and Lucas. They didn’t want to spoil the evening for me and decided to keep the information to themselves, as nothing was really pressing, in their estimation.”