It took us both a while to finally feel like we were safe. Amy and I moved into my mother’s old room and started working on the nursery. We picked a neutral set that would be fine for a girl or a boy.
Colt ordered double the amount of cattle since he had an extra hand. It meant double the work, but the pay would be worth it. Since we were able to live rent free, I was banking every paycheck. I had to put the construction of the North Carolina house on hold and seriously considered backing out of the whole plan. Amy seemed content where we were. She loved to sit outside at night and take walks out to the old willow tree.
All the ladies had their own card night and they even started reading the same books just to have things to talk about. I loved seeing her smile most of all. When I came home at night, my dinner was on the table, but unlike her past relationship, I paid her with passionate kisses and even washed the dishes.
We were living like a real couple would and everything felt so right about it. Being with Amy made my life make sense.
One night, after a long day, I came in and washed my hands for dinner. Amy was just setting the table and I could smell meatloaf through the whole house. I’d no sooner sat down at the table when my phone started ringing. I ignored the first call, but after the third, I had no choice but to see what could be that important.
The number was unlisted, but I picked it up anyway.
Hello?
Conner, it’s Heather.
What do you want?
We need to talk.
I’m listenin’.
I can’t tell you over the phone. Listen I am in West Virginia. I think there is something here you might want to see.
Like what?
More like a who. I found Rick’s ex-wife. I have a feeling that she didn’t leave him like he said.
Why?
Can you get here or not?
I guess. I’m going to need to get Amy on board. Can we come in the mornin’?
Yeah. I will text you the address of where we can meet.
Amy came in and sat the meat down on the table. She stood up straight and looked right at me. “What was that about?”
I took off my hat and sat it down on the floor. My mother never let me eat a meal with a hat on my head. “That was Heather.”
Amy sat down and looked right at me. “What did she want? Did something happen?”
I held up my hands. “I don’t really know. She said she found Rick’s second wife and asked if we could get to West Virginia.”
“Well what did you say?”
I passed her my plate and watched as she filled it with hot food. “I told her we couldn’t get there until tomorrow.”
“So, now you want to trust her?” She handed me back my plate and gave me a weird look.
“I don’t trust her, but if she knows somethin’, I think it is important for us to find out. She wouldn’t call unless it was somethin’ crazy.”
“What if it’s a setup?”
“You want me to go alone, Blaze?” I knew she didn’t. Just thinking about me being with Heather made her cringe.
“No. Look, Heather is running from Rick too. I know she wants to get back to her life. It isn’t like she had a big old ranch to go live at.”
She had a point, but after not hearing from Heather on the night she literally disappeared, she wasn’t exactly earning our trust the old fashion way. “Here is how I see it. For the past month everything has been great for us. We can either stay here and not go out to meet Heather and never find out or take the chance of figuring out exactly what has this dude so fucking crazy. Wouldn’t you like to never have to deal with him again? I know I would. I don’t want to have to watch my kids back the whole time they are growing up, Amy.”
“Then I guess we can leave after dinner. The sooner we get this over with, the better.”
We got on the road about an hour later. We could have just waited until morning, but the anticipation of knowing was killing the both of us. I think Amy just wanted a way out. By law she had to be legally separated for at least a year before filing for divorce. I wasn’t beggin’ her to jump into another marriage, but it would be nice for her to have the same name as me and our child.
Halfway there, I could tell she was nervous. “I should have left you home.”
“I wouldn’t have let you. This is too important!” She was going to argue with me every day for the rest of our lives. It was something that I was totally prepared for.
“We have another two hours to go. Do you need to get out and rest your legs, darlin’?” Amy was always holding her belly. She said the baby moved around all the time and it always made her have to go to the bathroom.
“Yeah, that would be good. Your child does not like car rides.”