Pulling her hat on with an extra tug, Sadie cleared her throat. “That’s not what I said. In fact, I think it’s a grand idea. I’m just a little tired from my New York trip, so I’m going home to take a nap.” She hugged and kissed each of her daughters. “You girls lock the doors over at Peyton’s. Make sure your phones are on. And have fun.”
She held on to Truman’s arm as they walked toward their SUV. Suddenly she stopped and looked back at the group. “Betsy, don’t take chances. Watch your back and stay safe. And Cain, I hold you responsible for making sure she is.”
As Truman and Sadie got into his armored SUV and drove away, Kennett pulled his police cruiser into their vacant spot. He motioned JB and Cain to join him as he walked in their direction.
After a brief conversation with the men, Cain made a phone call. When he had finished, he walked over to her. “You stay safe today. Don’t take chances. I’ll be back later.”
“Where are you going?” Betsy asked.
“The real estate agent texted that another agent had called to show the property south of Interstate 44 later today, that's one I told you about this morning. Sounds like another buyer who'd been watching for land. Tells me they're ready to buy, also." For a moment, his tone and demeanor seemed all business. "So, seeing that I don't have to be in a meeting at the police station until three, I'm going to make a quick run over and take a look at the land."
“Oh, I didn’t realize you were going to look so soon.”
"I hadn't planned to, either, but I've missed other chances at acreage listings when they got snatched up before I could make an offer. And this one…this one sounds perfect, Betsy." He grinned and his expression looked as if he'd just won the lottery. "I talked to JB and he'll have patrols drive by Peyton's while you and your sisters are there. You okay with that?"
"Okay? Sure. It's just that…"
He pushed her hair back behind her ear and kissed her on the forehead. “I asked you to go. You said no. In fact, you ignored me after that. Thought you might be getting tired of having me around so much.”
“No… Yeah… I mean…” she stammered. What was happening? “Maybe?—”
“Don’t worry about it. Figured I should at least take a look.”
“Sure! That makes sense. It’s just that…” Betsy couldn’t blame him for going. She’d been the one to shut him down this morning. “Never mind. I’m just a little scattered today.”
“Don’t worry, I’ll be back before two. We can go shoot a game of pool at Joanie’s after my police meeting.” He pulled her close and kissed the top of her head, then tilted his head till his lips touched her ear. “Might even let you buy me dinner after I win.”
She lightly punched his bicep, then cocked her hip to the side. “You mean after I wipe you off the table without a shot?”
“You wish. Hey, seriously, if you need me just call,” he shouted as he walked away. “If you need anything ASAP then call JB or Kennett. If I don’t make it back tonight, you go stay at your parents’ house. Got it?”
“Got it.” Something seemed off to Betsy. Something in his tone, his words, his sudden need to move forward on his business property Then again, he’d been up front with her from the beginning. Suddenly, she realized that she had half expected him to give up his plans for her sake. Instead of thinking of them as we, she'd put that part out of her mind and held on to her here-and-now daily plans that never varied. “Drive careful, Cain.”
“Yeah. I will.” His expression softened for a second, then he gave her a quick thumbs-up and walked away. Not more conversation. Not another wink. Not a deeper kiss. Just a friendly thumbs-up and he was gone.
Betsy felt that was her cue to leave, so she grabbed Summer’s hand as Marcy hugged JB one more time and then caught up with her sisters and joined hands. Summer and Betsy glanced back at the men, now animated and intently discussing something with a third man.
“Who’s the policeman that joined JB and Cain?” Summer asked.
“Kennett. Officer Kennett,” Marcy said. “Why?”
“Oh, no reason.” Summer glanced back again.
Betsy smiled. So far this was the best day she’d had since she got back from Anaheim. She guided her sisters to her car.
By the time she snapped her seatbelt in place, she saw Cain do a U-turn in the middle of the street, then pull up close behind JB as he followed Kennett down the street.
“Wonder what that’s about?” Marcy asked from the passenger seat.
“Don’t know, but they sure had serious looks on their faces.” Betsy flipped on the heat, but it didn’t even have time to get warm before they pulled into Peyton’s car lot.
She parked right next to the back door of the showroom and office building. Most everyone knew that was her parking spot no matter what she was driving. If it was vacant, she wasn’t there. A few steps later they were safe inside with the door locked behind them.
Reaching to set the security alarm, she noticed the pad had been smashed, and when she walked to the other entrances to the building she found they were also smashed. She hadn’t noticed that yesterday, but she’d only set the alarm from outside when she and Cain left. Without another thought, she called her security company and told them the pads needed to be replaced ASAP.
The alarm company said they’d do a rush order and start work on it overnight or early tomorrow morning. The peace of mind she felt was palpable. One thing she knew for sure, there’d be no more forgetting to set the security alarm when she came into the office early. Any sense of safety she’d felt in the past had been completely shattered at this point.
For almost two hours, Marcy and Summer helped Betsy get a handle on cleaning and sorting in her office and the conference room. With the help of the insurance company, she’d already arranged for a crime-scene cleanup company to start their in-depth cleaning of the entire dealership. No doubt, there would be a plethora of construction contractors, dealership phone calls and equipment reps to deal with in the next few days and weeks. She’d like to start with at least her office and conference room clean and organized.
