Lumber Jacked Page 15

“Autumn said you were a guest at the hotel.”

  “That’s right. We both arrived on the same day.”

  “And what brought you there, up into the mountains, Mr. Cole? It strikes me that Destiny is the kind of place that might be very good for hiding yourself.”

  “That’s exactly what I was doing.”

  “Hiding?”

  “In a way.”

  “From who?”

  “Myself, mostly. Looking for a new beginning.”

  “Things didn’t go quite your way in life thus far?”

  “You could say that.”

  “I take it having a baby wasn’t part of the plan?”

  “Well, not exactly. Certainly not with Destiny’s mother.”

  “And what happened to her?”

  “She died in a car crash.”

  “I’m very sorry to hear that, Mr. Cole.”

  Grady smiled at her.

  “You can call me Grady.”

  Mrs. Lane poured some cream into her coffee and gave it a stir. She took a sip and a bite of the cake.

  “This is quite delicious,” she said.

  Grady took a mouthful of his own and agreed.

  “So, what was it like for my daughter at the hotel?”

  “Well, what has she told you?”

  “Not much, although I know she wasn’t happy there.”

  “They never paid her for her work.”

  “I know,” Mrs. Lane said. “But what else did they do?”

  Grady shrugged. “All I can tell you is what I saw. Autumn hasn’t confided in me or anything.”

  “And what did you see?”

  “Well, the Hildegards, they struck me as people who weren’t quite …”

  “Quite … ?”

  “Let’s just say they weren’t quite right.”

  “Did they do anything to her?”

  “I don’t know, Mrs. Lane, but they were stern. They were hard on her. They didn’t let her use the phone, or have much free time. They gave her nothing. I didn’t get the impression they would treat her kindly when she needed it.”

  Mrs. Lane sighed.

  “That’s what I was afraid of.”

  “I don’t see how she could have been happy there.”

  “I agree,” Mrs. Lane said. “And that’s why I want to turn to you for even more help.”

  “More help?”

  “I don’t want to send her back to work at that place.”

  “I don’t even think she’d go back,” Grady said.

  “Oh, you don’t know my daughter as well as I do, Mr. Cole. She’s a good girl.”

  “I’ve seen that much.”

  “She’s too good. I know that the only reason she left that place was because they didn’t send the money they promised.”

  “And she wanted to see you.”

  “Yes, and if they promise to start sending the money, if they take over the bills for this hospital, she’ll go right back to them.”

  “Even after what’s happened?”

  “No matter what they do, no matter how badly they treat her, if they uphold their part of the bargain she’ll go back.”

  “I think that would be a mistake,” Grady said.

  “So do I,” Mrs. Lane said.

  Grady took a sip of his coffee and looked at her.

  “So what are you trying to say?”

  “Well, I was thinking, you could probably use some help with your baby.”

  “You want her to be my nanny?”

  Grady was surprised. He’d thought Mrs. Lane would be suspicious of his motives for wanting to help Autumn. He’d thought she’d look at him as some player trying to get her innocent daughter into his bed. In fact, he wasn’t sure if she’d be right or wrong to look at him like that.

  “Wouldn’t that make sense?” Mrs. Lane said. “You’ve got a baby with no mother. My Autumn is better with children than any young woman you’re going to find anywhere. She’ll treat that baby as her own. She’ll give it all the love in the world, Mr. Cole.”

  “I don’t doubt it,” Grady said.

  “You’d be wise not to.”

  “I mean, I’ve seen the way Autumn is with Destiny. The truth is, Mrs. Lane, it melts my heart. She brings out a joy and a comfort in my daughter that I never would have seen if it wasn’t for her loving touch. She’s like an angel when she holds Destiny.”

  “But?” Mrs. Lane said, anticipating his objection.

  Grady sighed. “But don’t you think that’s something Autumn will have to decide for herself?”

  Mrs. Lane laughed. “Oh, I know what she’d decide, Mr. Cole. I wasn’t born yesterday.”

  “Even still. It’s Autumn’s life. It’s her decision. I wouldn’t feel right making an arrangement for her behind her back.”

  Mrs. Lane nodded, as if Grady’s answer had confirmed something she’d been hoping to see in him.

  “You’re quite right, of course, Mr. Cole. It’s wrong of me to try and make her decisions for her. I hope you can understand that I’m only doing it out of love. I’m her mother and I’m worried about her. I don’t want her to go back to the Hildegards and I don’t want her getting into an even worse situation, just because she’s determined to help me.”

  “I understand,” Grady said.

  “I just want what’s best for her. I want her to be happy.”

  Grady nodded but said nothing. He sipped his coffee and took a bite of the cake.

  “Look at it as the dying wish from a mother for her young daughter. The last thing I want for her before I die. I want to know she’s safe. I want to know she’s looked after.”

  “I can’t promise you what her future will hold, Mrs. Lane. That’s in her hands.”

  “Quite right, young man. But you can promise me this much.”

  “I’ll promise anything I can.”

  “Promise me you’ll make her the offer. Whether she accepts or rejects is up to her. But promise me you’ll offer her a job.”

  “I will,” Grady said, “on one condition.”

  “What’s that?”

  “No matter what happens with me or Autumn, you allow me to take care of your medical bills from now on.”

  “I can’t ask that of you.”

  “You didn’t ask. I offered. I know you now, our paths have crossed, and I insist on this.”

  Mrs. Lane reached across the table and took Grady’s hand.

  “You’re a very special young man, Mr. Cole.”

  Chapter Twenty-Eight

  Autumn

  Autumn felt so relieved to be back home with her mother and aunt. Her mother’s condition wasn’t as bad as her aunt had made it sound and now that she was back in the right hospital, she was sure things would only get better.

  In fact, she was so happy with the state of things back home, that her concerns started to shift back to herself and what she would do when she got back to Montana. She’d decided long ago that she would do anything, anything, to get her mother this treatment, and if that meant going back to work for the Hildegards, assuming they could be persuaded to make up the pay they’d stolen, she would do it.

  She would do it for her mother. She would do it to thank her mother for all the things she’d done for her. Living with Mr. and Mrs. Hildegard wasn’t a good idea, she knew that, they were perverted and controlling and seemed intent on turning her into their dead daughter Betsy, or alternatively, toying with her sexually. Neither was something she wanted for her life.

  But when she thought of all the sacrifices her mother had made for her, there was no question. She’d die for her mother. Working for the Hildegards was a good deal more tolerable than death, she told herself.

  She was with her aunt, walking through the neonatal ward, looking at the newborn babies and showing them to Destiny. Destiny was fascinated by them, as if she understood they were her people, and kept bursting into fits of laughter.

  It was the cutest thing Autumn had ever seen.

  “So, I suppose you’re pretty p
leased with yourself,” Aunt Shirley said in a tone Autumn recognized all too well.

  Autumn and her aunt went through periods when they got along great, and then for some reason, her aunt would get jealous and their relationship would go down the tube. It looked like they were about to enter one of the jealousy ridden periods.

  “What do you mean?” Autumn said.

  “Riding in to save the day with your knight in shining armor.”

  Autumn wanted to laugh. She could see how it must look from her aunt’s perspective, her and Grady coming into town the way they had, but he was anything but her knight in shining armor. Although she wouldn’t have minded if he was.

  “I thought you’d be glad I came back to fix things, Aunt Shirley. You were so upset with me on the phone when the pay didn’t arrive.”

  “Of course I was upset. You practically killed your mother with your selfishness.”

  That hurt. She knew her aunt was just trying to get under her skin, but it still cut like a knife.

  “Well, now she’s back in the right place,” Autumn said.

  “Only because your fancy man paid for everything.”

  “My fancy man?”

  “You know what I mean.”

  “Aunt Shirley!”

  “What Autumn? Don’t pretend you don’t know what this is. Don’t pretend you don’t know how you look.”

  “And how do I look?”

  Aunt Shirley fixed Autumn in her gaze and took a deep breath. Autumn knew something big was coming.

  “You look like a cheap whore, that’s what.”

  “A whore?”

  “Don’t think you can pull the wool over our eyes. We might not be as well travelled as you, now that you’re spreading your legs across the country.”

  “Aunt Shirley!”

  “A man like that doesn’t just walk into a girl’s life and start picking up the tab for medical bills. No sir. Especially not a girl like you.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Oh, come on, Autumn. We all know how you are.”

  “And how’s that?”

  “You’re a little slut. To be honest, that’s what I told Mr. Hildegard to get you the job at the hotel in the first place.”

  “You did what?” Autumn said, her emotions beginning to get the better of her.

  “That’s right. That’s how I got you the job. You didn’t think it was your exceptional housekeeping skills did you?”

  There was a meanness in her aunt’s voice that scared Autumn.

  “What did you tell him?”

  “I told him you’d give it up if he was patient. I told him he’d be the one to get your cherry. I didn’t count on you throwing it at the first customer to walk into the hotel before he got a chance to collect. That’s the reason he never paid your wages by the way.”

  “That’s also probably the reason his wife treated me so badly.”

  “That’s your problem, whore. If you spread your legs for married man, what can you expect?”

  “But I didn’t spread my legs, not for anyone.”

  Aunt Shirley laughed, a spiteful cackle that made Autumn’s skin crawl.

  “You tell yourself that if you want, missy. We all know what you’re up to.”

  “I’m not up to anything.”

  “And I suppose you’re just with that man for the company.”

  Autumn felt her cheeks turn red. It was true she’d had thoughts of taking things further with Grady, but what was wrong with that? She was a single woman. He was a single man. They were both clearly attracted to each other. She certainly wasn’t trying to use him to pay the medical bills, if that’s what her aunt was insinuating. And she doubly wasn’t going to have sex with him just to get herself out of the Raven’s Nest.

  “I can’t believe you told Mr. Hildegard he’d get his way with me,” Autumn said, trying to change the subject. “If anyone was trying to whore me out, it was you.”

  “Oh, you little brat. I was just trying to help you and your mother. Stop you from being a burden on the rest of the family.”

  “We’ve never been a burden on anyone, Aunt Shirley, and we aren’t going to be now either.”

  Aunt Shirley stormed off, leaving Autumn alone with Destiny. She looked down at the baby. She was still looking through the window at the other babies, utterly fascinated by them.

  Autumn took a deep breath. She knew her aunt was bitter, she knew she could lash out in jealousy from time to time, but that never made it any easier to take when it happened. She closed her eyes, took deep breaths and calmed herself. She didn’t want to distress Destiny by panicking.

  Besides, she knew in her heart that what Aunt Shirley had been trying to say wasn’t true. She liked Grady, yes, but she wasn’t a gold digger. She wasn’t using him to get the bills paid. And what’s more, Grady wouldn’t allow that to happen either. If he’d wanted, he could have slept with her already. She knew that much was true. She’d never been with a man before, she didn’t know exactly how those things unfolded, but she was smart enough to know that if Grady had made a move on her in the motel, she’d have allowed it. She’d have been like putty in his hands. She’d have shut her eyes, opened her legs, and given herself to him.

  She still would, if he wanted her to.

  Chapter Twenty-Nine

  Autumn

  Autumn spent the rest of the visit staying out of her aunt’s way. She knew where it came from. Aunt Shirley was her mother’s younger sister, and for some reason, had always been jealous of Autumn in the way a sister might be. It was something Autumn had learned to get used to, and she still knew she was leaving her mother in good hands by leaving her with Aunt Shirley watching over her. She could be spiteful when it came to Autumn, but she could be trusted to do the right thing when it came to her mother.

  She noticed that Grady seemed to instinctively stay close to her, as if he sensed she needed his protection. She appreciated having him there more than words could express. And not just because he’d gone into the office with the doctors and arranged to settle her mother’s billing. It was more than that. It really did feel like she was there with Grady. He wasn’t just some stranger who’d taken her home as a favor, he was there because he wanted to be there, with her.

  It was an emotional farewell saying goodbye to her mother. She hugged her the way a daughter hugs her mother when she knows there’s a chance she might never see her again. She didn’t want to think like that, in fact she refused to admit the truth to herself, but subconsciously she knew her mother was getting close to the end, even with the best doctors money could buy.

  “I love you, sweet girl,” her mother whispered in her ear as they hugged, and she sensed there was more to it than the usual goodbye.

  It was like her mother knew it might be the last time she said goodbye.

  “You don’t have to leave,” her mother said, but Autumn knew differently.

  “Mom,” she said, “we can’t rely on Mr. Cole to pay the bills forever. I have to go back to the hotel.”

  “I don’t want you there,” her mother said, but there wasn’t much resistance in her voice.

  It was as if she knew that things wouldn’t be as bad for Autumn when she got back to Montana. Maybe she, or even Aunt Shirley, had spoken to the Hildegards. Or maybe it was just hope, or the knowledge that if things got too bad, Autumn would take matters into her own hands. Autumn wasn’t sure why, but for some reason, her mother seemed to have greater confidence in her return.

  Whereas the day before, she’d been determined never to let her daughter go back to that hotel, she now just smiled knowingly as she said goodbye.

  Autumn looked at Grady, wondering if maybe it was his presence that gave her mother such newfound confidence. Did she think Grady was going to look out for her?

  “Goodbye, Mr. Cole,” her mother said, and when Grady told her to call him by his first name, she smiled knowingly and said, “not yet.”

  Autumn got into the car next to Grady and
had to admit, his presence did make her feel like things were going to be better from now on. It felt like there was no way she could end up in a bad place, least of all the clutches of the Hildegards, when she had a friend like Grady Cole by her side.

  The more she thought about it, the more she came to the conclusion he was the reason her mother had been so calm about sending her back.

  “Your mother is a good woman,” Grady said as they drove out of the town and back onto the interstate. “You sure you’re okay leaving her here with your aunt.”

  Autumn nodded. “I have to. I can’t stay tied to her apron strings forever.”

  “That’s true,” Grady said.

  “Besides, despite your generosity, I’ve got to go back to my job. We can’t just let you foot the bill for everything. I’ve got to at least try to contribute.”

  “You think there’s still a job waiting for you?”

  Autumn had been worrying about that, but she hadn’t allowed it to stop her getting back in the car with Grady. Perhaps, just like her mother, it was because of Grady that she assumed things would go better for her on this second attempt to start a life in Montana.

  “I don’t know,” she said. “They’ll still need someone to help them.”

  “And you want to be that person?”

  Autumn shrugged.

  Grady smiled kindly.

  “They’re kind of mean,” he said.

  She nodded.

  “I guess there are other jobs you could do.”

  “Like what? The grocery store?”

  “Yeah, the grocery store for one.”

  “Or the diner,” Autumn said.

  “I was thinking maybe something more in the field of childcare.”

  Autumn looked at him. Grady took his eyes off the road briefly to smile at her, then looked away. She felt her cheeks flush. She wasn’t sure what he was offering, but something told her it had the potential to change the entire direction of her life.

  “What do you mean?”

  He said nothing for a minute and when he spoke he sounded strangely vulnerable.

  “Just something to think about,” he said. “I’d appreciate having you around. I know you can bring happiness into mine and Destiny’s life.”