What could I do? This whole feeling helpless crap didn't sit well in my stomach. I'd never relied on other people, and I'd done what I needed to do to keep going for as long as I could remember.
It may have only been a few minutes that I sat there, staring at the table while I tried to figure out what I could do, when it hit me. Where this all stemmed from. What could fix the biggest issue. What I could do after doing nothing. If Dad wasn't where he'd lived for the past fourteen years, then why wouldn't he be where he'd lived before then?
Florida.
God. I'd been so stuck in my own world I hadn't even thought of it.
The clock on the wall said it was only a little after seven. If I got my work done fast, I could probably squeeze in a few phone calls to motels that were by where we used to live, or even by yia-yia's old house. It sounded a little too easy but then again, Curt Taylor had done a ton of dumb crap in his life. He wasn't exactly the brightest guy.
I went back up front and finished off a supply order, added the newest figures to Quickbooks, and made exactly two calls to motels that came up within ten miles of Tamarac when Dex pulled his bike into his usual parking spot.
The chances of my plan working were pretty slim but I figured it was worth the effort.
"I'm trying to get in contact with my dad," I told the employee. Liar! "He's staying at your hotel and isn't answering his cell phone. He's a diabetic and I'm really worried." I was going to hell for this. "Is there any way you can patch me through to his room?" I asked the lady on the other end of the line.
Luckily for me, the woman didn't hesitate as much as the man at the other motel had. "Sure. What's his room number, sweetie?"
I watched Dex through the door. Good lord, he was hot. "I don't remember what room he mentioned. I'm sorry. The reservation is under Curt Taylor."
There was no pause. No hesitation. She made a humming noise before making a squeaky noise that almost took away from Dex pulling the door to the shop open and coming in, giving me a tired but somehow beautiful smile. "Sorry honey. I don't have anything under that name. Is your mom with him?"
Ha. I wished. "That's weird. He might be with his friend. Let me try calling his cell again. I appreciate your help."
The lady bid me a good day, and I set the phone down on the cradle. Dex made his way around the desk, settling both palms on my shoulders
I tipped my head back and smiled. "Hi."
This slow, small smile crept across Dex's square jaw. God, he was so good-looking it sucked. "Hey babe. What are you doin'?"
"Calling motels around where I used to live to see if I can find my dad," I explained to him. "I don't know why I didn't think about it earlier. He doesn't seem to be where Sonny's at, so maybe he went back there."
A small line creased his eyebrows as he wound my ponytail around his fist. "Good thinkin'. Might take a while to call a bunch of places, Ritz." He tugged on my hair just enough so that I felt it at the roots. "Lemme talk to Lu and see if he knows anybody in Florida that might help us out."
Us. The us didn't escape me for a second. My heart relished it and might have even tap-danced.
Focus! "You don't need to bother him. I don't mind calling."
Those dark blue eyes rolled back. "Babe, if I thought I'd be botherin' him—"
"You wouldn't ask?" I offered.
He snickered. "No, I'd still ask but I wouldn't have told ya in case he said no. For you and Son, he'd do it."
"Well, remind me to thank him even if he doesn't know anyone."
Dex nodded. His other hand left my shoulder to palm the back of my neck as he ducked low. "You feelin' okay?"
Oh my. How stupid was it that his question made me blush from my belly button all the way up? The worst part was that he could see it. I'd taken a painkiller earlier, and besides just a little bit of soreness that was way less bothersome than my period cramps, I was good. Real good.
"I'm okay." Real, real okay. "Is everything fine with the Reapers?"
His expression didn't flicker or cloud over with worry, which was a good thing. He settled for a confident nod that was only distracted by what seemed like an intense thought. "Got it all sorted out, babe. Don't need to worry about 'em anymore."
My eyes narrowed on their own, suspiciously. "What did you do?"
"You don't need to worry about 'em anymore. We dealt with 'em," he answered with complete seriousness.
"Please tell me you didn't do anything to get in trouble, Dex." I wrapped my hand around his wrist. "Please, please, please tell me that you didn't do anything stupid." A certain amount of dread settled on my shoulders. If he'd done something that would land him back in jail, I couldn't forgive myself. I definitely wouldn't be able to ever forgive my dad for it either.