Chapter 22

A cloud had settledover us as we ate breakfast Monday morning. Max had called to confirm a 9:00 a.m. appointment at the courthouse, and he would be by the house at 8:10 a.m. to escort us. I could tell Bodhi was on edge as he moved food around his plate, not really eating.

“It’ll be okay.” I tried to reassure him. “Max will be with us. We’ll get this filed, and hopefully, it will stop Derek in his tracks.”

“Hmm,” he said, not really listening to me.

The rest of the morning passed the same way as I tried to drag Bodhi out of his mood but to no avail. When Max arrived early, we decided to just get on the road and stop by Jolt on the way for coffee—or better coffee. I also thought it would be good for Bodhi to see Kay, since they’d formed a nice friendship, and he could use all the support he could get today.

It was prime breakfast time, so the café was busy with the whole Beck family working. Kay came out of the kitchen with plates of steaming food and noticed Bodhi. He sent him a small smile. Kay was compassionate and I’m sure he knew Bodhi would be struggling, knowing what he was up against today. Once he dropped off the food at its table, he quickly pulled Bodhi off to the side where they began to talk in soft whispers. Max and I stayed in line to order coffee. Kay’s Dad, Rick, was serving today. It was odd to see him behind the counter because he’d all but retired, leaving the place to Kathleen and Kaydence.

“Hey, Rick, long time no see. Aren’t you supposed to be taking it easy?” I asked with a raised eyebrow.

“Hey, Atty, my boy. You know me. I like to fill in every now and then to keep these young ones on their toes.” He waggled his eyebrows as he took our order. “Your usual? You too, Max?”

“Thanks, Rick.” Max pushed up the brim of his uniform hat. “When are you going to join me for a hike again? We miss you out there.”

Rick was a kind man. Kaydence took after him, right down to the blond hair and glasses. Yep, he was the spitting image of his father. Rick was younger than my Pa had been, but he knew all of us Papadakises from our younger years running around the town causing mayhem.

Max and Rick continued to talk while I went over to check on Bodhi as we waited for our coffees. Kay gave Bodhi a big hug before getting back to work as I approached.

“You okay?”

“Yeah, just filling Kay in,” Bodhi reassured me, his body still tense and on edge. “He wanted to come but couldn’t, so he told me to call him on our way home to check in after... everything.”

“We can do that. I’ll need to stop by the garage, too. Maybe you can hang with Kay while I check in with Seb.”

“Yeah. . . maybe.”

Kathleen popped up with our coffees. Max was standing behind her with his cup in hand, ready to go.

“Shall we?” Max gestured to the door.

Sending our thanks to Kathleen, and with a wave to Kay and Rick over my shoulder, we headed out.

The drive took just under an hour, and we arrived as a clerk was opening the doors for the day. We quickly followed them inside, and Max let the admin person know we had arrived. We had the paperwork filled out and Max had gone over it, so all we needed to do was go before a judge and present our case. Max assured me we had enough proof that there shouldn’t be an issue.

We were only waiting for about ten minutes before we were brought before the judge. Bodhi was still in a haze as we went through everything, letting Max speak on Bodhi’s behalf. We were given a temporary order of protection, which, thankfully, would come into effect immediately. We had twenty days of protection while Max and the courts notified Derek, and we could move to a restraining order after a court hearing. Max took everything and made us multiple copies as per the filing requirements, while I took Bodhi over to a seat to wait.

Architecturally the outside of this building was stunning, a work of art, but inside it was drab—it bordered on depressing. The off-white walls and cheap linoleum with scuffed patches all over the place added to the heavy nature of what we were here to do.

Taking Bodhi’s hand, I gave it a squeeze. “We’ll be out of here soon. Can you tell me what you’re thinking?” His stoic attitude was worrying me.

“I’m okay,” he said, still not looking at me. “Is a piece of paper really going to stop Derek?” he mumbled like he was thinking out loud.

“It should make him think twice before trying something.” I wrapped my arm around his slim shoulders and pulled him close. “It’s good to do because if something does happen or he breaks the order in any way, he can be arrested on the spot. You’ve done the right thing. It’s a good step to take.”

I kissed the top of his head and waited in stagnant silence.

Once Max returned, we each had copies and the temporary order was in effect. We had a court date set for twenty days later to establish a permanent order. We’d need Derek present for that one, which was something none of us were looking forward to, but it was the next legal step.

The drive back to Hope’s Ridge was done in silence. I hoped Kay would be able to help Bodhi out of his funk because I was at a loss for what else I could do. I hated feeling helpless. I wanted nothing more than to take Bodhi’s pain and worry away.

When we arrived, I had Max drop us off at Jolt so Bodhi could see Kay while I stopped by the garage. I led Bodhi inside, and thankfully the rush had passed, with only a few customers left. Kay came straight up to us and wrapped Bodhi in a hug.

“You sure you guys will be okay?” I glanced at Kay and raised my eyebrows at him to ensure he knew what I was really asking. You’ll watch out for Bodhi, right?

“Yeah, we’ll be fine.” He gave me a nod in return. He knew the gravity of the situation. “Unless it gets insanely busy, I’m free for the rest of the day.”

Taking Bodhi’s hand and kissing the back of it finally got him to look at me. His eyes filled with sadness. “I’ll be just down the street and no more than an hour. You okay here?”

“Yeah, we’ll be fine.” He sent me a small smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “Can you take these with you and put them in the safe?” He handed me a copy of the paperwork.

“Sure thing. I’ll see you soon.” Kissing his cheek, I left him in Kay’s safe hands, and then I headed down the street to the garage.

Walking through the wide-open doors, I was greeted by Seb’s back leaning over the Cadillac he’d been working on the other day when he’d found the bullet.

“Haven’t you already finished her?” I came to stand next to him. “Is there something else wrong?”

Seb jumped, nearly hitting his head on the car’s hood. “Jeez man, don’t sneak up on me!” He turned to me. “No, nothing’s wrong, just wanted to do a last double-check to be sure before sending her home.”

Seb had always been a fan of the older cars and made sure to take extra care whenever one came into the shop. He and Pa had been in the process of restoring a 1964 Pontiac Tempest Convertible when Pa had died. Seb hadn’t touched the car since.

“I just wanted to check in and see how things were going. Maybe do a final check on Sidney’s Ford F-150, so he can pick her up. I need him to stop asking me for updates.” I chuckled a little thinking of Sidney’s persistence. “He’s so excited for his cross-country road trip that he’s been messaging me almost every day.”

“Sidney always was a little high maintenance. Even in school, he needed to know what was going on and when.”

“Oh, I remember. He had such a crush on you and wouldn’t stop asking me about you until it was clear you weren’t interested.” I gently nudged Seb with my elbow.

Groaning, he shook his head. “Oh my God, I’d forgotten about that.” He ran his hand down his face. “Sidney would turn up at our games and always wait around for me. It got weird. Maybe I shouldn’t be here when he comes to get his truck.”

Laughing for the first time today, I shrugged. “He has a girlfriend now, so you’re fine. That’s who he’s road-tripping to visit. She lives in Dallas or goes to college there.”

“Still...” Seb rubbed the back of his neck anxiously. Shaking off our Sidney conversation, Seb changed topics. “How was Bodhi this morning? Everything go okay?”

“He’s been in a funk and almost completely shut down. I don’t know how to help him. I hate feeling helpless.” My hands clenched involuntarily in frustration.

“All you can do is be there for him. Listen to him and show him you’re there no matter what,” Seb said.

“Believe me, I’m trying. He’s with Kay now. I think it’s good for Bodhi to know he has friends and a life here. Remind him that he’s no longer trapped.”

“You’re doing all you can.” Seb clasped my shoulder reassuringly. “I can tell he cares about you. I’m sure today was hard. Just give him some time to get his head around it all.”

“I’m sure you’re right.” I turned and hugged my brother. “Thanks for everything. Are you okay for me to do a final check of Sid’s Ford and then leave for the day? I would like to get Bodhi home.”

“Sure thing.” He stepped out of the hug. “Oh, Theo said he would be back this afternoon and can help where needed. How come you never called to fill him in by the way? Poor guy didn’t even know you had a boyfriend. Sorry, I spilled the beans.” Seb sent me a disapproving look.

“Shit! It’s fine, I figured someone would have told him. I know Lyric and Mama love to tell anyone and everyone how I met Bodhi, so it was bound to happen.” I shrugged. I really should have been the one to tell him, but it’s not surprising someone else got there first. “Originally, I didn’t want to bother him, and then I kind of forgot with everything else going on.” I couldn’t believe I’d forgotten to keep Theo in the loop, even via text. I’d been so caught up in Bodhi. I couldn’t even remember the last time I’d spoken to him. I would need to give him a call and check in. “Stop looking at me like that. I’ll call him. Will he be at Mama’s tonight?”

“I would say so and you better. You know he hates feeling left out.” He pointed at me. “Now get to work so you can get back to that boy of yours.”

I held up my hands in surrender. “I will, I will. Promise.” Rolling my eyes, I went into the office to grab a spare pair of coveralls and got to work. I’d done all the requested modifications and a general service, so all I needed to do now was take it on a test drive to ensure the shock absorbers would cover all terrains like Sid wanted. I guess I was going somewhere out of the way for this test drive.

I had a quick look at the engine and did an external safety check before heading out. I waved to Seb as I turned onto the main road and headed out of town.

I wanted to check the general handling of the newly raised vehicle, the suspension, and the new premium thirty-five-inch wheels. Sidney wanted all the extra bells and whistles and had splurged on the pricey new wheels. They made the truck handle like a dream. I could barely feel the road beneath me as I cruised out of town.

The true test would be changing to all terrain and going off road. We usually used the abandoned tractor business next door, but this truck was too big to maneuver there, so I had asked Mitch, one of the local farmers, if I could use one of his fallow fields for the testing. It so happened that he’d just cleared one of his roadside fields. Mitch’s farm was about twenty minutes out of town so I could test all the other parts of the vehicle before I made it to Mitch’s place.

About ten minutes into my drive down the empty country road, I noticed a black Jeep pulled off to the side. I slowed down as I approached to see if anyone needed help. There were no homes or businesses nearby, and it would get cold at night if they were stranded or had broken down. I couldn’t see anyone in or near the Jeep, so maybe it had been there a while and was abandoned. I made a note to tell Max in case it was important, if for no other reason than so he could get it towed away and returned to its owner.

When I arrived at Mitch’s, the field was the first one on the left and had plenty of divots and valleys from crops and machinery. He also mentioned he was teaching his son to use the large fertilizing tractor and it wasn’t going well—that’s why the field was so messy. His son was only sixteen and couldn’t drive a normal vehicle yet, let alone heavy machinery, so I could understand the mess. It was, however, perfect for my purposes.

Switching the vehicle to four-wheel drive, I did all the necessary tests, and the truck was in perfect condition. Once I was happy with everything, I shot a quick text to Mitch to thank him and let him know I was done, and then I headed home. I wanted nothing more than to finish up for the day and go cuddle Bodhi on the couch. Smiling to myself, I sent Bodhi a quick text saying I would be by for him soon and that he should think of a movie to watch in our date fort. We hadn’t taken the tent down yet. Every time I thought of our first date, I couldn’t help but smile.

My phone had just pinged with a response when a loud crack pierced the air. Suddenly, the truck jerked to the side with such force my head hit the driver’s side window. I gripped the steering wheel, trying to regain control of the vehicle as the back wheels fishtailed out until it was facing the wrong way. The world tilted on its axis and I was upside down. I tried to gauge my surroundings and make sense of what was happening.

My vision became hazy, darkening at the edges. I could feel my heartbeat in my ears and could smell something metallic mixed with smoke, then everything went black....