He’d kept in touch with Ian, who assured him Lexi remained clueless of his plans and still pined for him. Yet, as he drove, he prepared himself for a chilly reception, though in reality, he had no idea how she would react. He only hoped he could win her over with his plan.
If it worked, he’d live the rest of his life a happy man. If it didn’t, the precautions Tripp put into place would protect Lexi—or he hoped they would.
The car hummed beneath Tripp as he drove onto the farmhouse’s drive. Missy had bombarded him with questions about the farmhouse, her ideas and the renovations—some he’d already approved. Others, he wanted Lexi’s input on but took secondhand answers through Ian, who promised he’d picked them up from Emma and Lexi.
At least a dozen cars and trucks and one city official parked around the yard, in the drive and near the barn. Tripp took a spot at the end of the road, grabbed the ‘For Sale’ sign that Lexi forgot to remove and threw it in the back seat. He walked the rest of the way to the house, scanning for the General Contractor, who he’d never met but hired based on a dozen recommendations and Ian’s research.
Yellow and white hats bobbed around the space,
Tripp tapped the shoulder of one worker. “Hi.”
“You need a safety helmet to be up here,” the blonde said.
Tripp shrugged.
She groaned, spun to a blue truck, threw open the door and handed him what he guessed to be an extra. “Do you need an assignment?”
Tripp smiled. “No. I’m looking for Taylor Marsh.”
“That would be me.” She brought up her clipboard, scribbling on it without looking at Tripp. “Subcontractors are handled by AJ. He’s over there.” She pointed with her pen.
Tripp’s grin grew until he couldn’t hold it back. He tapped her on the shoulder again.
“I’m sorry, but I’ve only got three weeks left to renovate a two-story, hundred year old farmhouse.” She waved him away. “You’ll need to work with your sub.”
“Would you point me to the electrical guy, then?”
She pointed again. “Red hat on the ladder.”
Tripp plopped the hat on his head and strode to the silver steps leaning against a wall. “Hello.”
“Yo. Here for the rewire?”
Tripp motioned for the man to come down.
“You look familiar.” The man scratched at the back of his neck. “You the owner?”
Tripp nodded.
“Good to meet you. I’m AJ. Have you met Taylor?” He inclined his head toward the blonde who blew him off.
“Only sort of. She didn’t give me the time of day.”
“You wouldn’t either if you had teams working twenty-four seven. You tasked us with the job of the century.”
“And I’m paying you for it, too.”
AJ’s lips curved up as he laughed in one big burst. “That you are. Let me introduce you.” He waved Tripp forward.
As they walked up to Taylor, she put her hands on her hips. “What now?”
AJ chuckled again, a louder, more sincere sound as the whine of a circular saw kicked in. “This is your boss.”
“No, you are his—” Her blue eyes grew wide. “Oh, shit.” She hung her head, shook it. “Dammit. I’m sorry, Mr. Fox. I’m very tunnel-visioned these days.”
Tripp grinned. “Actually, I’m happy about that. And on that note, I’d like an update.”
“Let’s walk and talk.”
She took him through the side door, the same one George and Marge had welcomed him and Ian through—or rather their apparitions had. Taylor’s comments ran the gamut from structural integrity to wiring and plumbing. Architectural plans pilfered from county archives laid on the center island—already built into the kitchen.
“I don’t know how or why, but for a building which has sat untouched for thirty years, it’s all in really good shape. We’re tearing out and replacing all the wiring, but it’s going smoothly, like no other project I’ve been on.”
“Good.”
“Mr. Fox?” A man with ‘Town of Rune’ emblazoned on his shirt approached. “I’m Ken Ribald, one of the residential inspectors. You’ve assembled quite the team here.” He motioned through the space as buzz saws, nail guns and hammers resounded.
“That’s what a half million dollar budget will get you.”
“Well, I just wanted to say, whoever this project is for, she must be one lucky girl.” He extended his hand and shook Tripp’s. “I’ll leave you to a survey, but so far all inspections are coming through without a problem.”
“Excellent.”
“Let’s go upstairs.” Taylor took off, leaving Tripp to follow. The first and fifth stairs creaked as she stepped on them. “We’ll get to those.”
“No.”
She stopped, turned to him. “What?”
“Don’t replace either of those steps.”
“Are you serious?”
“Completely.”
“Okay, hang on then.” She pulled out a walkie-talkie and called for the floor guys. “I’m marking stair treads one and five for non-replacement.”
“What the hell?” The radio squawked back.
She smiled, pressing the button again. “Boss says.”
“Fine, fine, whatever,” the voice said.
Taylor lead Tripp to the main bedroom. “This is the only room where we changed any structural element. Took out the closet, per your request, added that space to the master bath and added the Jacuzzi tub. Added a good solid hundred square feet, though your sister suggested we break a hole in this wall, add a peek-a-boo door.”
“Why?”
Taylor shrugged. “Not my job to ask why.”
“Do it then.”
“Okay.” She jotted notes on her pad.
“So, you think you’ll be done by October thirtieth?”
“There is no question.”
“Good.” They walked back out into the sunshine, where three ladders leaned against the house. “Heard you were the best.”
Taylor smiled. “You could say that.”
As they reached her truck door, someone yelled ‘four!’ and she spun as Tripp did. One of the three ladders tilted backward with its climber still attached.
“Oh, good grief,” she said.
The men at the bottom worked to push it back in place, called out to the one on top to stop flailing.
“Dammit. I keep telling them to set the bases out farther. Do they listen?” She shook her head.
“That’s going to be one hell of a bump when he lands.”
She turned back to the truck. “That should teach ’em a lesson.”
Tripp started toward the ladder in the hopes that he might help.
“Tripp.” Taylor motioned him back with the crook of her finger before she waved once in the direction of the ladder. “They’re fine.”
He spun around as the ladder fell against the house and the man at the top climbed back down. The guys at the bottom resettled the ladder farther out.
Taylor leaned on her truck, elbows up on the bed rail. “You just gotta know when to wait and when to help.”
“Clearly, this is your domain.”
She snorted. “Hands on is me. Computers are not.”
Tripp chuckled. “I gotcha. From this point until the thirtieth—don’t take any calls from a Lexi Shepherd, please. And if she happens to show up here, push her away. Show her nothing and tell her there’s six months worth of effort to go.”
Taylor nodded, though a small smile eked out. “Alrighty.”
26
Tripp made the trek to Wise Women at a slow pace, taking time to breathe in the scent of clean air—a blend of nature and life. His meeting with Taylor and review of the renovations gave him a solid picture of the life he intended to lead in a matter of weeks. He only needed to find and convince Lexi to play a part in it.
He noted Ian’s car as well as Emma’s in the parking lot but not Lexi’s. A quick check of his dashboard clock suggested she’d be there, but then again, with the short leash Ian kept them on, Tripp figured they’d carpooled.
Parked between the two vehicles, he sauntered toward the door as Ian stepped out.
“Hi,” Tripp said.
Ian blocked his entry. “The man finally arrives.”
“I got almost everything I needed. Now I just need Lexi.”
“All of it? So Jill’s getting married?”
“Yes, though I need Lexi’s help with the last piece.”
“Yeah, well …” Ian turned toward the parking lot.
Tripp narrowed his eyes. “What’s going on?” He pushed at Ian to get by but stopped when Ian shifted into his way.
They eyed each other without words until Ian hung his head.
“Where is she?” Tripp asked.
“Don’t know,” Ian said.
Tripp grabbed Ian by the front of the shirt. The fact he didn’t fight worried Tripp more. He let go as the outer door swung open and Emma flanked Ian.
“Where is she, Emma?” Tripp asked, anger in his tone.
Emma dropped her gaze. “I don’t know. We were here, eating lunch about two hours ago, and she went into her office to work. I didn’t even hear her leave or get in her Mini, but it’s gone, so we’re assuming she left—”
“Damn silent cars,” Ian said.
Emma rolled her eyes, adding a dramatic sigh. “I called our Mom. She says she doesn’t know. I checked with Missy—”
Tripp thumped his palm against his forehead. “Why’d she leave? Where does she go?”
“The old farmhouse?” Emma asked. “She used to go and sit at the roadside, stare at it. Or she’d go in, spend time with George and Marge if they were there, which of course is totally weird now.”
Tripp shook his head. “I was just there. Nowhere else?”
Emma shook her head. “I’ve wracked my brain trying to figure it out. She always tells me what’s going on, but she’s been living inside her head for days, if not longer. You should have called her and not waited a whole damn week.”
Tripp spun to the cars, turned back to Emma and Ian. “I know. Time got away from me. What do I do now?”
Ian pursed his lips. “You’re not going back to Jill, are you?”
“What the hell? Where did you get that idea? Shit. Does Lexi think that?”
Emma shrugged.
“Why don’t you tell us what your plans are then—in detail?” Ian laid a hand on Tripp’s shoulder. “I mean, you ask me for an update every day. You tell me to keep her in my sight, but you still haven’t told me everything.”
“I didn’t tell you because I didn’t want you to accidentally tell her.” Tripp pinched the bridge of his nose. “No matter what happens, how Lexi responds to me, I’m not going back to Jill.”
“Pinky swear?” Emma held up her finger.
Tripp laughed. “Are you kidding?”
She stared at him.
“No, you’re not. Can we do this with a hand shake?”
She remained silent, cocking her head at him.
“How does a pinky swear ritual make it real?”
Ian snorted a laugh. “We ought to run out back, slice our palms and shake, man to man, too.”
Tripp linked his finger with hers. “Yes, I swear it.”
Emma let go first. “Now what?”
“I need to find her,” Tripp said.
At the trill of the phone, Emma left their group.
“You take care of Sloan?” Ian asked.
Tripp smiled. “Jill’s going to deal with him.”
Ian’s eyes grew wide. “Yet another revelation you didn’t share. That go along with your little plan, here?”
Tripp slapped him on the shoulder. “Not only that, I switched the paintings and submitted an anonymous tip to the liaison about Sloan. He’ll work his way through it and come out unscathed, but his reputation will take a hit, at least in the private sector.”
“What about Isabelle Reed?”
“As long as I get Jill what she wants, I’m free and clear. I don’t get it to her? She’ll rake me over the coals by my balls.”
“Ouch,” Ian said.
Emma re-emerged, Tripp and Ian both turning to her. “Well,” she said.
“That sounded like an I-know-something statement,” Tripp said.
Emma nodded.
“Well?” Ian held his hands out at his waist.
“That was Janine.” Emma waved a hand in the air. “Lexi is too safe to be a complete fool. I figured she’d tell someone something. Janine even said she was sworn to secrecy, but given she’s in on this scheme you’ve got—” Emma put her hands on her hips.
“Keep going.” Ian rolled his hands around one another.
“Janine said Lexi stopped by, told her she was heading to the beach for a while and took some food with her.”
Tripp sped off to his rental.
“Where are you going?” Emma’s smile reflected in her happy tone.
“I’ll be back with or without her, though not today and not tomorrow.” He slipped into the driver’s seat, shoved the car in reverse and rolled down the window. “Make sure you’re here, free, and available on the thirtieth.”
“Why?”
He yelled, “I’ll be in touch!” and hoped they heard him.
The car’s wheels kicked up pebbles as he sped onto the road, toward the ocean. What he needed to ask Lexi worked even better where it all started.
• • •
Lexi picked up her phone, speed dialed and waited for the call to go through. Outside, the ocean’s waves crested and retreated in a soothing rhythm that never failed to relax her.
On the fifth ring, the other end connected.
“Well, hi, sweetie. Where are you? Emma’s all frantic back home. Why didn’t—”
“I’m at the beach, Mom.”
“You sound down, Lex. Everything okay?”
“I’m conflicted.” She traced lines in the sand with her toes.
“Why?”
A man.
“You and Dad always taught me to stick to my guns, right?”
“We did, certainly, though I admit you’ve stuck to them more than anyone I’ve ever met. What’s edging into your morals or philosophy?”
Her toe followed a path around a circle and back. “A guy.”
“Oh, honey. In love, it’s never a right or wrong. What did he do?”
“He pushes me to the edge of my limits.”
“Is this the guy Emma told me about? I was wondering when I’d get to meet him.” She must have smiled while she said it; the words came through with a touch of humor.
“I’m not sure you ever will.”
“Oh.” The little sigh reflected Lexi’s entire week. “Tell me why, Lexi. Get it off your chest.”
“He’s got …”
the ability to lie, cheat or steal, and I’d never know it …
“some baggage that he can’t let go of.”
“Lexi.” The mother-knows-all tone reached her with clarity.
Dammit for good cell phone signals.
“We aren’t here to live our lives based on what people
might
do. I’ve told you about the struggles your dad and I went through. He’s not like his father, but in some moments, he is. I live with knowing I can influence him but not change him. I chose him because I loved him, and he’s the right man for me.”
“But what if—”
“Lexi.”
“Mom.” Lexi’s shoulders drooped like they used to do when her mother called her out on a subject.
“Do you love him?”
“I thought I did.”
“Is he good to you?”
Lexi knew that answer. “He was.”
“Does he love you?”
“He said he does.” Lexi kicked up sand.
“Then let him prove it to you.”
“Shouldn’t I already know this stuff, Mom? I’m twenty-nine.”
Her mom laughed like a little girl. “Love affects us at all ages. It doesn’t matter how old you are, how many times you’ve been in love, or how long you’ve been married. You work through it together, but the more you’re apart, the more your mind will conceive of stories which aren’t true.”
“He bought my farmhouse, Mom.”
“I know. Emma told me. You should call more often. I hear from your sister all the time. On that note, I’m glad you headed to the beach. Let her run the office for a bit; take some time to yourself. But not too much time alone, because like I said, your mind will play tricks on you.”
“But, I thought absence made the heart grow fonder?” Lexi let out a sigh mixed with a chuckle.
“Yes and no, Lex. At some point, you need to define where you begin and end, what’s you versus him. And you will. Trust me, my girl. You will.”
“Thanks, Mom.”
“You’re welcome, honey. Call me again soon.”
“I will.”
Lexi meandered father onto the beach as night fell, chewing on the last bite of her sandwich from Dulces. The only sounds came from the constant crash of waves and the wind that hit her ears. She dropped to the base of a dune, dug her heels into the sand and breathed in the salt air.
She’d left her hair loose, wet from a long soak in the tub. It would curl on its own with the ever-present humidity and the breeze the ocean created.
A whisper of wind against her neck sent a chill along her back. With the promise of darkness, the heat dissipated, giving way to the cooler season. She smiled at the idea of a life on the beach despite the pull of her very favorite place—a place she could no longer claim with a man she should never have met. Yet, with the wind across her face and the ocean in front of her, the only person she wanted failed to find her.
“Need some help?”
Lexi whirled. So lost in her thoughts, she hadn’t heard Tripp approach. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to find you.” Tripp aimed a finger toward the spot next to her. “May I?”
“Sure.”
He sat beside her, bent his knees up and dug his shoeless toes into the sand.
“How did you find me?” The wind blew her hair across her face.
Tripp moved it behind her ear, a gesture Lexi recognized from their very first introduction. “Wasn’t hard, what with my secret ability to find stuff.” He chuckled.
“You don’t find stuff, you just don’t get caught.” She turned back to the ocean.
“Janine was worried.”
Lexi huffed a laugh. “I should have picked someone with a stronger spine. You all probably scared her.” Lexi hid the smile with a quick turn into the wind.
“Nah. She called Emma. I happened to be there, took my newfound information and headed straight here. Took longer to get here than I figured it would, but then again, I don’t think I ever got to make that drive before.”
“Why would you have? Didn’t you fly into a local airport in your Gulfstream with Jill … your fiancée?”
Tripp booted up sand with his toes. “But the night I was shot, I’d planned to come here, get you and drive with you somewhere remote so we could just sit and talk for … oh … days.”
“Talk?” Lexi snuck a peek at him. With nothing but the light from her beach house, his grin should have been obscured.
“Okay, not just talk. We could have eaten, too.”
She laughed, bumping his shoulder with hers. “Not sure what we would have said to each other. For that matter, what do we say now? I mean, you’ve got your thing, I’ve got mine. I thought you were getting married. Janine mentioned something about a wedding she gets to cater in New York.”
He shivered but didn’t disappear. “Jill and I are
not
getting married. You and I, Lexi, we’re connected by a powerful force.”
“You don’t know the half of it.”
“I do, actually.”
She raised one eyebrow. “What do you know?”
“Pretty much everything.”
Lexi tucked her hair back over her shoulder. “The journal?”
“Ian made a copy, emailed it to me. I’ve read it in its entirety.”
She shifted toward him. “George and Marge’s real identity?”
“Missy told me the whole story.” He flicked up another clump of sand.
“The guy that came after me in the farmhouse?”
The muscle in his cheek worked overtime as he clenched and relaxed his jaw. “One of Jack Sloan’s guys from Savannah.”
“How—”
“Long story that’s part of the reason it took me so long to get back here.”
“Why’d he want the pendant?”
Tripp stopped. “Well, shit. I forgot to ask. I’ll have Jill find out. I’m sure—”
Lexi stood, wiping sand from her jeans. “I’m not going to be in the middle of you two … ever again.” She started back down the pier.
Tripp caught her wrist, drawing her into him. “Stop and listen for one damn minute.”
Lexi blinked at his commanding tone. “I—”
“It’s my turn now.”
She stepped away. “No, it’s not. I was attacked, and you didn’t come. You didn’t even call. If you know all the rest, then you know that.” Tears welled at the corners of her eyes. “I thought I heard you in my head.” She thumped her temple. “But it was my own imagination playing mind games with me. I even convinced myself it was you, that we’re connected by more than just the star—”
Tripp tugged her against him and crushed his lips to hers.
Lexi’s arms remained straight at her sides. She wanted to refuse the emotion he poured into the kiss. An internal plea, a scream to respond grew within her, yet she continued to stand limp until he pulled away.
“My turn,” he said.
She didn’t move.
“I was in Paris, in my bed at nearly midnight when that went down. I’d already slipped the proper Renoir into its owner’s home and returned to my hotel so I could come back to North Carolina. My heart felt like it was going to burst, and then all of a sudden, I could see what you were seeing, and I said—”
“Close your eyes, Lexi. I’ll keep you safe,” she said.
Tripp laid his lips against hers. “You didn’t make it up. I was with you. After that, I had no doubt what I needed to do, but it all took so damn long to get done.”
“Why didn’t you just call? Why did you sic the dogs on me and leave me to nothing but my thoughts?”
“I’ll show you why once a few more pieces and parts are settled.”
“Like?”
He shushed her with the touch of a finger to her lips. “Do you trust me, Lexi? Will you, just for a moment, or a few days, even a week, set aside the moral compass against which you measure me day in and day out and just trust me?”