“Considering the history the two of you share? That’s one hell of an imagination you’ve got there, baby.” Brock stormed out of the room. It was a good thing seven o’clock was upon them. He couldn’t wait to talk to Mitch. And he planned to give him a good piece of his mind.
* * * *
The drive from Fletcher to Asheville seemed longer than usual, and Brock didn’t act like he was in any particular hurry to speed through the evening traffic.
“Do you think she’s telling us the truth?” Rory asked.
“What do you think?” Brock fired back, gripping the steering wheel.
“I couldn’t forgive her,” Rory said, feeling betrayed. “If she’d met him out or if something had happened between the two of them without my knowledge, I couldn’t ignore that, man.”
“Me either,” Brock snapped. “I’ve just got to trust that she saw him lurking around the barn or wherever and really believed he was an illusion.”
“When did you first have an idea he was in town?”
“I’ve had a hunch for several days. I didn’t put Pete on this until yesterday morning because I didn’t have anything solid.”
So Brock had hired the Cartwells’ pocket cop to snoop around. “What made you suspicious?”
Brock took a sharp left and followed the ramp to I-26. “Subtle clues.”
“You noticed some of our toys missing?”
“Yep,” Brock replied. “And a few DVDs.”
“The movies with Mitch in the mix?” Rory asked.
“You got it.”
“So he’s been in the house?”
“Looks that way,” Brock replied.
“That annoys the fuck out of me. What if one of us had heard him? After everything we’ve been through with Trixie and her family, he’s lucky he didn’t find himself staring down the wrong end of a shotgun!”
“That’s what troubles me most. I think the Mitch Colony we once knew is long gone. Prison changed him. And if he’s been lurking nearby, watching Trixie like some crazed stalker, even entering our home at night, there’s something the matter.”
“Ya think?” Rory glared at the road before them. “This is fucked up, man.”
“Yeah, tell me about it, but I plan to get to the bottom of it.”
Chapter Two
Mitch opened the door and greeted both of them with a handshake and a half hug. Brock softened as soon as he saw his old friend. He and Mitch went way back. They’d spent endless summers working as counselors at the Colony family’s Cow Camp.
Prior to Mitch’s decision to marry Jordie Anne, Brock had believed Mitch was hopelessly devoted to Trixie. As it turned out, Brock was mistaken. Mitch had been desperate to right a wrong and save Jordie from the life he’d once introduced—an addiction to drugs.
“It’s really good to see you,” Mitch said, directing them to the wet bar. “Pour yourself a drink or help yourself to a beer. There’s a case in the fridge.”
“Apparently, you’ve been in town a while.” Rory pointed at a stack of laundry.
“About ten days,” Mitch admitted.
“Ten days,” Brock muttered, processing. “What have you been doing to pass the time?”
“Not much.”
“Not much, he says.” Rory took the opportunity to grab a beer from the refrigerator. “Anybody else want one?”
“Sure,” Brock replied, reaching for the longneck bottle.
“Not for me,” Mitch said. “I’ve drank myself drunk and silly a few nights in a row. I have a feeling the two of you aren’t here on a social call.”
“Why else would we be here?” Rory asked, twisting off the cap and sliding it in his front shirt pocket. He took a drag from his beer bottle. “We found out you were in town and rushed right over to see an old friend.”
Mitch cleared his throat. “How’d you find me?”
“Pete,” Brock replied.
“Ah, yeah,” Mitch drawled. “The Cartwell family’s eyes and ears.”
“You’ve upset Trixie,” Brock said, watching for a reaction.
“How?” Mitch asked, his skin turning an ashen color at the mention of Trixie’s name.
“She thinks she’s hallucinating,” Rory explained.
“Has she seen me?”
“You know damn well she’s seen you!” Brock’s anger rushed to the fore. Mitch had been in town for over a week and hadn’t bothered to contact them? He had no other choice except to view Mitch’s reasons for reentering their lives as highly suspect.
“What the hell were you thinking, man?” Rory asked. “Why didn’t you just act like a normal man and pay us a visit? Did it ever occur to you to knock on the door?”