Page 94 of Two Wrongs

“Make the kid help you. Since Liam doesn’t seem interested in coming back to work we’re going to need Julio to step up. He’s going to classes to get certified, so he’s serious about staying,” I say.

This makes Charlie stop. “Would you let him come back?”

“If he agrees to random drug screenings and he’s never allowed near the invoices, computer, or money,” I say.

Charlie bobs his head. “Interesting. I’ll see what I can do. Lord knows with a kid on the way he’s going to need to start earning money.”

I walk him to the door and go back to Dolores. “You know that Bess moved into the guest house, don’t you?” she asks me.

“I heard that,” I reply, trying to drag her to her point.

“I’m going to go home and see if she’s heard from our girl. I’ll let you know if she has.”

Dolores holds up my key and sets it on the table by the door. “Get one of those electronic door knobs with the codes. Hiding a key isn’t safe anymore.” Having issued her final lecture, she’s out the door.

* * *

Stayingin my house feeling sorry for myself isn’t getting me anywhere. I want to believe Dolores, and that I’m going to convince Wren to come back, and if I do, she can’t come home to find a sad sack mountain man sitting and waiting for her. I force myself to get off my ass, and trim back my beard to the stubble Wren prefers.

I need action, something to do. Waiting around for her to choose to come back hasn’t worked in almost three weeks, and I don’t have the patience to let her come to me. After the way I ran off after Liam, she might not ever do that. Right now she’s probably somewhere believing that she isn’t the most important person in my life. I need to correct that misunderstanding, then I need to spank her ass for thinking she was allowed to run away from me.

First I need to get her back, which means I need to find out where she’s run off to. I’m not a cop, so I can’t run some kind of trace on her finances or her phone. Unfortunately, there aren’t many people in her life, and all the ones who are live in this town.

Until I think of how to find her, I need to get other parts of my life back in order. Starting with my business. Hiding from the things I need to take care of isn’t helping, but it will ruin all the hard work Wren put in to save my shop.

I enter the shop, and mentally prepare myself to go into my office. Charlie is seated at my desk, gaping at something on the computer. Worried that he might have crashed the accounting software Wren installed, I hurry around the desk to see what he’s done.

“This is that parts supplier in Oakville down by the state line.” He points at the screen. “I found the parts I need, but look at the picture.”

I get closer, and look over his shoulder. “Fuck yeah,” I shout.

“Is that her car? Are you sure?” Charlie asks.

“How often did I take it so she’d be forced to ride home with me during those few weeks?” I ask him. It’s a rhetorical question, because I had done it nearly every day. “Trust me, I memorized her plate number, not to mention it has our oil change reminder stuck in the top corner of the windshield.”

I grab the phone, and start dialing the number listed on the website. “Gerald’s Autobody, Gerald speaking.”

“Hey, I’m calling from Hale Automotive in Harriston. You’ve got a gold sedan listed on your website. It looks like my daughter-in-law’s car, and I was wondering if you can tell me if you saw her,” I say.

“Uhm, I’m not sure I’m comfortable with that,” he hesitates.

“So you did see her. Listen, I know she was upset when she left here. My son said some horrible things to her, but seeing her car come up while I’m looking for parts is worrying me,” I try and settle his apprehension.

“I guess, I don’t really know much. Wren, right?” he asks.

My heart pounds, and I try and control the hope that I might figure out where she went.

“I met her at the Travel Center when I stopped her from screwing off her radiator cap with her bare hands.”

I groan. “That sounds like her. Did she happen to mention where she was going?”

“Shouldn’t you know that?” I can hear the suspicion in his question.

“I should, but—“ I take a deep breath. “Look, I’m going to level with you. My son has a drug problem, and he said some really hurtful things. I went off after him, when I should have stayed and made sure she was okay. When I came back she’d left. I really need to make sure she’s okay.”

He sighs. “Florida. She said she was heading there. I suggested she take a bus and there was one that left that night for Tampa.”

“You’ve been an enormous help,” I tell him and hang up the phone.

---