15. Chapter 15
Chapter 15
Archer
After dropping Crispin off at the door of his yoga studio, I headed to meet Cort to let him look through the photos I'd been taking around town. I didn't know if he would have any luck finding his brother or not, but it couldn't hurt to let him look. Apparently, he agreed because he was waiting for me by the door.
"Sorry if I kept you waiting," I said.
"You didn't. I was early. I just have a really good feeling about this."
I really hoped he wouldn't be disappointed if he didn't find anything right away, as I told him I had a whole lot of photographs. "Well, then, let's get started. I figured I'd set you up at the main computer, and I'll use my laptop to do some editing work I have to finish."
"Sounds good to me."
I got him set up and ready to work, and I pulled out a second chair and my laptop. There was an occasional, " Hm ," as he made his way through the pictures. So far, there hadn't been anything that he said was helpful.
We continued that way for a couple of hours when I heard a gasp and looked up.
"Did you find something?"
"I can't say for sure, but I may have."
"Really? Let me see." I stood up and walked around to stand behind his chair.
"Right here, see?" I looked where he was pointing, and sure enough, there was a group of kids standing in front of a rock fence.
"I think that's him," Cort said. "Do you have any idea where that's located?"
"I do, actually. That's St. Luke's Episcopal Church. It's not too far from here. The architecture of that building is stunning. I've taken pictures there more than once. Do you want to go check it out? I can show you right where that picture was taken."
"That would be great, if you don't mind."
"I don't mind at all. Let's go."
We cut back through the lobby and out the door that led to the parking area. I loved everything about Windsor Place, but I had to admit, the covered parking was a big benefit. We got into my car, and I drove the short distance to St. Luke's and parked.
"You weren't kidding at all. That's some truly impressive architecture."
"It is a beautiful old building, and it makes for some interesting photographs."
"So where did you take that shot of Jordy?"
"Just around this way." He walked with me around the left side of the church to the beginning of a large rock fence that led to a small outbuilding. "Here's where the fence begins. I'm not one hundred percent sure exactly where the kids were standing, but it was right in here somewhere."
"I wonder what they would be doing back here?" Cort asked.
"I don't know, but there was probably some event going on that day since I happened to be here taking photographs. I should've been smart and taken the time to look at the other photos from that day. We could've figured out what was going on, but I was so excited you found something that I didn't even think about it."
"Your pictures should have a time stamp, right? We can look at that when we get back?"
"True enough."
I walked along the fence to the building I'd mentioned earlier. "This used to be the rectory, but now they use it for other things."
" Mm-hmm , and I bet I know what they were doing here." He pointed to a sign that was leaning up against the building.
Soulful Soup Saturdays: Free soup to feed your soul.
"You might be right. I know St. Luke's does a fair amount of community outreach, and if these kids are living on the street, free soup would sound pretty good."
"It would indeed." Cort clapped me on the back. "You're two for two, Archer. I haven't even been able to find a hint of his location until now, but this gives me something to really sink my teeth into. I'll call the church, find out who's in charge of the soup kitchen, and see if there's someone I can talk to. If this group of kids comes every week for soup, someone's bound to know something, and you can bet I'll be right here watching and waiting next Saturday. I can't thank you enough for your help."
"You're welcome. Want to go through more of the pictures? Who knows, there might be something even more."
"Not today. I think I have enough to go on for now, and I need to make some phone calls, but I appreciate your help. Seriously."
"Then I'll text you the time stamp when I get back to my studio," I said, happy that this worked out and my pictures were able to give Cort a new lead.
"Thank you." We shook hands and headed back to the Windsor. My boy was going to be excited about this turn of events.
Crispin
I was surprised to see Elton peek his head in the door right before Restorative Yoga. I headed toward him with an outstretched hand and a welcoming smile. "Are you joining us?"
He slipped through the door, letting it close behind him and accepting a handshake. Surprisingly, he had on gray yoga pants with a gray t-shirt that said, Sloth Yoga , with a bunch of sloths in different poses. "I wasn't sure if this would be a good one for a beginner like me, but I'd like to try."
Grinning, I grabbed his hand and dragged him toward the yoga mats. "You'll be fine." There were already a few yogis here, so I wouldn't be able to put him right in front of me, but I'd put him right behind Janelle, a young lady in her early twenties who I knew was a certified teacher as well. She'd be a perfect person for him to watch and follow along if he couldn't see me.
"I'm so happy you're here," I said as he set up his area.
"Thanks. I got one of these"—he gestured down at the mat—"for my house, and I tried to follow a video online, but I felt goofy, and I gave up."
"Once you get the hang of it, you'll probably be fine to do it at home, but I'm glad you're here."
Janelle spun around. "There's also something magical about being in a class. The energy of being in the same room with other people doing the same thing is unmatchable."
Elton smiled tentatively at her. "I really enjoyed the last class." He snorted. "Well, the only time I've been here. Everyone was so nice."
Since Janelle hopped in and out and attended whatever classes she could based on the day and what she was doing, I said, "The trio got a hold of him during Easy Flow."
Janelle's pleasant expression softened even more. "Aren't they lovely? I hate when I can't make that session because they bring such beautiful energy with them."
"Energy," he mumbled. He side-eyed me. "That's what you have, right? Your good vibes kind of wrap around me like a hug."
"Wow." That was the highest kind of praise. "I'm happy you had a pleasant experience last time. It really is the collective—"
I cut off at Janelle's tsking. "The people gathered does matter, but he's not wrong. There's something about you personally, Crispin. I used to hop around between a few different studios depending on where I was during the day, but you're the reason I only come here now."
Flustered, my gaze darted around the room. "Oh, thank you. I better get everyone else settled in."
As I hurried away, I heard Janelle say to Elton, "He sells himself short."
I didn't catch his response from my fleeing, but when I glanced back over at the two of them, they were chatting quietly with each other, both laser-focused on me. My face warmed under their scrutiny, so I whipped back around, speaking to the closest student.
It was so nice, like pretty freaking fantastic, what they said about me, but I didn't really know what to do with it. The thoughts played out in the back of my mind as I ran the class, and as that peaceful stillness that centered me descended in my core, it struck me. I'd been so focused on wanting to share what yoga and singing bowls and everything else had done for me that it never occurred to me that anyone might feel about me like I did about Aziza. It was humbling. It made me more determined than ever to buy the Harmony and Joy brand from my mentor and turn the studio into my everything.
After class, I hugged all my students who were open to it goodbye as they went back into the world to face the rest of the day. I hoped they'd carry the inner stillness they'd found in the last hour with them through the rest of their day. Janelle and Elton stayed behind and helped me finish cleaning and setting things to rights.
"What do you do?" Elton asked Janelle while we worked.
A huff of laughter fell from her mouth. "What don't I do? I'm like Crispin. I went to college and got a degree to work in corporate America, then discovered I hated it. After that, I started collecting certifications like some people collect Pokémon cards. I'm a massage therapist, I run errands for the elderly, I help my mom with her at-home childcare center, but I'm also certified to teach yoga, life coach, and personal training at the gym."
Elton and I both stared at her wide-eyed. "Wow," he said. "You're kind of a jack-of-all-trades."
Her laughter filled the air, much like Aziza's always had. "It never gets boring. I'm able to live my life in a way I enjoy, make money helping people, and…" She shrugged. "I don't know. A lot of my friends and family think I'm all over the place, but it works for me."
I nodded. I knew exactly what she meant. My father had the same feelings about my decisions. He didn't understand trying to make a living with a job that didn't have firmly structured hours with guaranteed money. "I feel you."
She gave me a small smile. "I know you do. You've inspired me a lot. You already had a good-paying job that you left to pursue what was in your heart. I'd just gotten started, but I realized quickly that life wasn't going to work for me. Watching you and all the changes you've made, and now your dedication to this beautiful place…" She lifted her arms and gestured around, then let them drop. "It inspires me, Crispin. You're like my idol."
I felt my cheeks warming again. I'd never heard anyone speak about me quite like that. Hopefully one day, I'd have the funding to ask Janelle to teach a class or two. She was the exact kind of instructor I wanted here.
As soon as she left, Elton asked, "Do you have time for a lunch break?"
I thought of the laundry I wanted to do, and I'd been planning to sage the whole space, but I'd made a promise to Archer to eat three times a day. Plus, it really felt like Elton and I were becoming friends, and I didn't want to miss out on that. It was nice having someone my age to hang out with. And I was dying to tell him that Archer was my official Daddy. "Sure. You want to go to Luxe?"
He shrugged. "That works for me."
After I closed the studio, we went over and put in our order at Luxe and then settled at a table. "So how did you like this class?"
A wide smile spread across his face. "I think I liked this one even better. I plan on trying them all out, though, so I can plan to attend regularly."
"I'm so happy you came back today, but I love that plan so hard."
His head bobbed up and down as he nodded happily. "Me, too. I know I need to. When I get distracted…" He trailed off.
"Distracted?" I prompted
"Yeah." He leaned his elbows on the table. "You know I'm a writer, right?"
"Of course."
"Well, sometimes I can't decide which way the storyline is going, and other times I can't sit still enough to write, so I end up wandering my apartment, or the hotel, or just sitting in one of the restaurants, staring off into space. It's hard to get my mind to settle. But after your last class, I went into this headspace. It wasn't like anything I'd experienced exercising before."
Understanding what he meant completely, I asked, "Were you feeling very Zen-like?"
He nodded his head again. "Yeah, that's it. Then I had so much clarity on my next couple of chapters that I couldn't wait to sit at my desk and bang them out. It was a relief since I'd been stuck, and it was making me anxious."
"But I notice you didn't rush out of there today. Was it not as helpful?" I found it interesting how yoga affected people in different ways depending on the class, the time, or their own mindset.
"Ha, today was exactly what I needed. I have some decisions to make for the end of the book, but I have to start weaving details in now. Sometimes I'm excited about that, and other times it feels so overwhelming."
"That makes sense."
"Yeah, so close to the end of class, things started to click into place like puzzle pieces. I'm not quite there yet, but I feel like it'll come now without me struggling so hard that I check out and lose focus."
"That's cool. Thanks for sharing that with me." Archer had a spot on the website for testimonials. I wondered if Elton would mind giving me one. How did you ask for that exactly?
"My doctor's been urging me to try yoga for years. If I'd realized it would help like this, I would've listened to her. In my mind, it was another thing that would keep me from working."
I'd heard that before, more than once. I knew I'd hear it again about a million times, too. "Yeah, I get that. You're not the first person to figure out that making yoga a routine part of your life actually accomplishes more than exerting extra energy you don't have."
His grin spread across his face. "That's exactly what I'm thinking. So give me the good stuff. Tell me about you and your smoking hot Daddy."
I bit back a squeal. "He asked me to be his boy. Like, officially."
"No way," Elton said in a high screeching voice, then smacked his own hand over his mouth. We both snickered, then leaned in toward each other. "You said yes, of course, right?"
"Do I look like an idiot? I hopped on that"—and him—"so fast your head would spin."
He sighed. "You're so lucky. I'd kill to have a Daddy, but I can't even keep a boyfriend. I drive them crazy."
I frowned. Had men really told him that in the past? How rude. "I'm sure that's not true."
"I don't even want to talk about it." He waved it off. "Tell me everything."
So I did. I gabbed all the way through our meal. I didn't say more about the sex than it was as smoking hot as you'd expect with a smoking hot Daddy like Archer, but I told him about all the time we'd spent together and how kind and attentive he'd been to me.
"I'm so completely jealous. You had dinner with all of them?" Elton asked. "I didn't realize the new guy was a private investigator. I've seen him skulking around outside the hotel a lot so that makes more sense now."
I'd planned to shut my face and let him talk, but now I realized he had to hear about Cort and Jordy. "Let me tell you why he's here." I told him about the cop-turned-private investigator in search of his little brother.
By the time I was done, Elton's mouth hung open. "It's like we have our very own mystery here at the Windsor."
Staring out into the hallway, I said, "You've got to admit, it's the perfect setting."
Elton nodded his head. "I'm telling you. I swear there's a ghost or something in my place. I hear things moving around all the time."
"No way." Instead of feeling scared, excitement thrummed through me. Hopefully I'd be spending more nights at Archer's place now. I wondered if I'd hear bumps in the night.
"You know, I'm always wandering around this place. I wish I could help Cort search for his little brother. I see more than a lot of people do." He giggled. "Or than they give me credit for noticing."
Fumbling for my phone, I pulled up the text Archer had forwarded me from Cort. "I have a picture of Jordy."
Elton studied the photo. "Can you send it to me? Now that we have a mystery afoot, I'll pay more attention to the people I see around the hotel or right outside who don't work here or aren't tenants."
"That's what I've been doing. I've been taking the long way from my car and walking around the outside of the hotel to the back entrance. I really want to help Cort find his little brother." A thought hit me. "Why don't we search together?"
Elton's eyes gleamed as he rubbed his hands together. "I'm in. This'll be so much fun. I bet we'll find him first."
"Hell ya." We spent the rest of our time together strategizing before I headed back to the studio. Archer had been right. After eating breakfast and lunch today, I had more energy than normal for this time of day. Instead of feeling like I lost time, I returned to Harmony and Joy with renewed extra focus. Who'd of thunk it?