Chapter Twenty-Four
Sterling woke surrounded by large packing boxes. He thought maybe he’d been dumped in a warehouse until he noticed the yellow walls and white trim. “Paige?”
Austin squatted beside him, holding what looked like a gun. “She’s not here, Benedict Arnold. You promised you wouldn’t hurt her.”
Sitting up, Sterling tried to scoot away and put as much distance between them as possible. “I didn’t mean to. Elaine fooled me as much as she did you.”
The intern seemed to be weighing whether he believed him. “I want you out of here before she gets back.”
“Are you sure she’s okay?” Sterling asked, rubbing his jaw.
Suddenly looking worried, Austin stood and began to pace. “I think so. She said something about going to the meadow, but I don’t know where that is. She’s been gone a long time.”
Sterling could now see what he thought was a gun was more like a toy pistol. “Should I go look for her?”
An open box sat on the counter, half unpacked with spatulas, measuring cups and muffin tins. Austin looked at it and at Sterling. “I can’t go. They could be here any minute to pick up the last of these boxes. They must be dotted.” Austin’s computer was on the counter, too.
Sterling saw the familiar spreadsheet with blinking icons for each item and suddenly realized the weapon Austin held probably had to do with his microdots. Sterling would have liked to stay and watch the process, but he was worried about Paige. “May I go find her now?” he asked.
Austin narrowed his eyes. “I guess, but then you have to leave.”
Squeezing out the front door, Sterling remembered his jaunt into the back meadow to catch that escaping goat and headed up the little path. He didn’t even make it to the clearing.
Paige’s call sounded frantic. “Austin, is that you?”
“Not exactly,” Sterling answered.
Suddenly she was there. She came up to him, standing close. He could see the echo of shed tears on her cheeks, but her tone sounded downright chipper. “Wow, it didn’t take you long to get here.”
He was expecting vengeance, wrath or righteous indignation. “Are you okay?”
“Let’s talk about that at the house.” She took his hand in hers with a gentle smile.
This was weird. Normally, he’d follow Paige anywhere, but as she tugged on his hand to go the way he’d come, he knew something was back there in the meadow, and he just couldn’t let it go. “What don’t you want me to see?”
“Why would you think that?” Her voice was too high.
He’d told enough doozies in his day that he knew a bold face lie when he heard it. “Mind if I have a look at the daffodils?”
She was about to come up with another excuse, but the bleat of a goat was unmistakable.
“You got them back?” He strode to the meadow to find the escaper, Petunia, pregnant as ever and happily munching on flowers.
Paige rushed over to the nanny, knelt in the thick grass and placed her forehead against the goat’s. Her voice carried the sort of hopelessness that no person ever should feel. “Now that you found us, I’ll have to return her.”
“Why?” Sterling sat on the ground beside her. “She’s yours, isn’t she?”
“I don’t know anymore.” Paige sunk to the ground and pulled her knees to her chest, looking up to the Northwest sky threatening rain. “Did you know what they were doing?”
“Elaine blindsided me too. I swear it.” Sterling said. “I’m done with her.”
“I wish I could believe you, but I’m so tired of being disappointed.” She half turned his direction. “What Elaine did is more than stealing. It feels like kidnapping.”
Sterling caught her gaze. “I’m here to help. Whatever you say, I’ll do it.”
“But there’s nothing to do. I don’t even know where they are.”
He could see the muscles in her neck constrict a few times, and he realized she was fighting back tears. “We’ll figure this out together. It will be alright.”
“How can you know that?” One stray tear broke free from her lashes.
Brushing the tear away with his thumb, he knew he’d do anything to help her. It didn’t matter what it cost him. “You’re not alone.”
She hugged him with both arms. It shocked him at first. Her face buried in the crook of his neck, his hand resting in her silken curls. As she pulled away, he didn’t want to let her go.
“I’d do anything to make it up to you. Do you know that?”
She was silent for a long time. Then she looked towards Petunia who was happily chewing on fresh blossoms, stems hanging from the corners of her mouth. “You know, she’s my favorite. She shouldn’t be, but I admire her drive to get what she wants. Still, I can’t trust her. Every time I do, we both end up in trouble.” She looked at him. “You’re the same way. I can’t trust you, Sterling.”
“You’re right.” He’d come clean. “I was selfish and wanted to spend time with you in Dallas. I figured I could fix whatever mess Elaine made later. You’ve got to let me try.”
She let out a huff of air as she got to her feet, and Sterling was worried he’d lost her.
“This is my proposal.” Her voice sounded firm. “From here on out, we’ll be a team. Mostly because I don’t see anyone else volunteering for the position, but there are provisions. First, you can never lie to me. Not even about the small stuff. Is there anything you have to confess before we continue?”
“Nothing that comes to mind.” It was a bold-face lie, and he knew it. He wanted to confess that he was crazy about her, but he was not going to blow this relationship by taking it too fast. This was the kind of girl you took home to your family, that you raised a family with.
She seemed satisfied but wasn’t finished. “Second, I’m not like you. I see you making snap decisions and convincing others to go along like you did with Austin when we first met and what you taught me in Dallas. If we’re going to work together, I can’t have you pushing me into things before I’m ready. My no means no. You have to respect that.”
“I do. I mean, I will.” He stood and noticed the knees of his dress slacks were wet. As he brushed them off, he said, “Shall we shake on it? But if you don’t want to, I respect that.”
When he lifted his chin, she was smiling at him. “I can agree to that.”
As he took her hand, a rustling sound came from the meadow’s entrance.
Austin was panting as he burst through the opening, his open laptop cradled in his arms. “They’re here!” His whisper was as loud as most people’s full voice. “I ran when I heard the truck pull up because I didn’t want them to see me or guess what I did.”
Paige cocked her head. “What did you do?”
“I micro-dotted the boxes. Sterling saw me.” Austin pointed at him as though it was his fault.
Sterling had an idea. “How far do those dots transmit?”
“About two miles,” Austin said. “One of the first companies I prototyped had multiple facilities three miles apart. I could never get them to transmit that far on an independent ionic power source.”
In the distance, Sterling heard the rumble of a diesel engine and the grinding of gears. “Well, then we’d better be on our way.”
He headed toward the path, but she didn’t move. “What do you have planned, Sterling?”
Austin grinned. “He’s going to follow them, aren’t you?”
“We are,” Sterling said.
“No, I can’t leave Petunia.” Paige folded her arms.
Sterling peered over his shoulder at the grazing goat. “She doesn’t look like she’s going anywhere.”
“But she could.” Paige knelt by the nanny and ran her hand down her side. “I can’t put her in the barn. They’d find her, and I can’t call someone to help because I don’t want to involve anyone else.”
“Fine.” Sterling envisioned their window of opportunity shrinking. If they didn’t get going, there may not be another chance. “You stay with her. We’
ll find your herd. Trust us.”
The two trotted off. Paige watched them until they were out of sight. “If only I could.”
***