Page 70 of Ambush

The man stepped out of the shadows, and Blake recognized him instantly. “It’s Clark Reynolds.” Had he followed them to continue his vendetta against Blake?

Chapter 33

No threat lurked in Clark’s brown eyes, and his smile was stiff but not threatening. It was like watching an angry turtle attempting to smile but failing. He stood with his hands thrust in the pockets of his jeans. Dogs barked off to Paradise’s right, and she caught a glimpse of his two German shepherds trying to escape his truck’s interior, but the windows were only open six inches.

“Hey, Clark.” Paradise kept her tone even and friendly.

“You didn’t expect to see me on a college campus, huh? I graduated high school by the skin of my teeth, but I’m no dummy.”

“I know you’re not,” Blake said. “Kent always bragged about how you could fix anything with your welder but a broken heart and the crack of dawn.”

A genuine smile tugged Clark’s lips higher. “I forgot he used to say that.”

“How’d you find us here?”

“I was coming to The Sanctuary and saw you turn out and head this way. I followed.” He yanked his hands from his pockets and stared at Paradise. “Why’d you do it?”

“I’ve been in a tough spot where I didn’t know where to turn myself, and God told me to do it.” Would he receive the truth? Even if it made him mad, it had to be said.

“God, huh? God hasn’t bothered with me in a long time.”

“God is never the one who moves,” Blake said.

Paradise shot him a glance of thanks. “Blake knows more than me. I’m new at this God thing myself, and all I know is I felt a nudge telling me to help you out, so I did. I hear this new walk is one step at a time.”

Clark’s gaze went from her to Blake and back again. “This wasn’t a trick to get me to ‘forgive’”—he made air quotes with his fingers—“the guy who killed my brother?”

“I didn’t even think about that.”

“Weird.” He turned toward his truck and yelled at the dogs to be quiet, and they quit barking. “I’ll pay you back.”

“I don’t want to be paid back. It was a gift.”

“I don’t take charity.”

“You ever get a gift from someone before?”

“Only from family, and you aren’t family.”

“Maybe not, but it was still a gift. Help out someone else if you like.”

“How’s the old truck running?” Blake asked.

“Like a spring chicken hunting for bugs. It hasn’t purred like that in forever. I went to town and got welding supplies and happened to acquire a new customer. She wants her Victorian iron fencing repaired. It’s a big job that needs to be done on-site, and I couldn’t have taken it without wheels. No way to bring my equipment there without the pickup.” He shuffled his feet. “So thank you. I appreciate it more than you know.”

But Paradise did know, and her fingers went to the ache in her shoulder. “You’re welcome.” She’d come here as a last resortto find her life again. Jenna and Blake had been there for her, and she finally saw a way through the maze of pain her life had been.

Clark gave a final nod before plodding toward his truck. His shoulders were squared now as if having his truck lifted the weight from his shoulders. Paradise watched him get in the truck and drive off. He waggled his fingers through the open window one last time.

Blake draped his arm around her. “When you wanted to do that, I thought you were crazy. You did a good thing, Paradise. He seems like a different guy. I don’t know that he’s able to move past Kent’s death yet, but he’s one step closer.”

She nestled against his side and lifted her face to the morning sunshine. “To be honest, I thought it was crazy too. I hope it makes a difference in his life. So now what do we do?”

“We wait for Hez to find Nicole’s address, and then we’ll follow up with that. And I think I should find someone to come and see what we’ve got underground. I need to talk to Mom about it, but I haven’t had a chance yet. I mean, she knows about Nicole and that there might be oil or natural gas on the property, but I need to find out what she wants to do if there’s a valuable deposit under there. I hate seeing her work so hard.”

“She loves the place though.”

“She does, and it’s been her dream for a long time. But it was Hank’s dream first, and maybe she’ll decide she wants something different for her life without him. We haven’t talked about things of the heart like that.” He pressed his lips against her hair. “Maybe she’ll open up to you. Girl talk, you know. I’m her son and sometimes I think she doesn’t want to worry me.”

---