Page 18 of Refuge for Cherilyn

Maya was still sitting in the living room with Shaw when Cherilyn came back from tucking Lara in for an afternoon nap. She’d no more than sat down when Maya crossed the room and bent down to her ear. “Mom, can I take a nap with Lara?”

“Of course, honey,” Cherilyn answered, her voice low. “That’s just fine. Go cuddle up with her and get some sleep.” She watched as Maya made her way down the hallway, and then she turned to Shaw. “She wanted to know if she could nap with Lara. Honestly, I think they’re excited about having an actual bed to sleep in.”

“It ain’t much, but it’s not a cave,” Shaw said with a grin.

“It’s nice. It’s very nice. So thank you.”

“You’re very welcome. Want something to drink?”

“Uh, yeah, sure. Like what?”

He wandered into the kitchen, but she could still hear him. “Well, let’s see… I’ve got all kinds of soda, and tea, and milk, and… Okay, there’s some beer in here too, and I’ve also got bourbon in the dining room.”

“I don’t usually care for bourbon, but if you don’t care how much company I am, I think that’s what I want.” What she really wanted was to get plastered long enough to not worry, and it helped that she was in his house. For reasons she couldn’t understand, she felt completely safe with Shaw.

“Bourbon it is. I think that’s a great choice.” She watched as he crossed to the dining room, took out a couple of glasses?she thought they were called on-the-rocks glasses, but she wasn’t sure?and poured bourbon in both of them. “Here ya go. Two fingers, and a generous two fingers at that.”

“Thanks.” As he sat and took a sip, she watched him. Even though she wasn’t a fan of beards, his suited him. It was just right, not too long and not the scruff most of the guys wore. It was a real beard, but not messy or bushy. It was classy.I guess I’ve never actually been around a classy guy, she thought. Her dad was a wonderful man, but classy he was not.

“Is there anything else you can tell me that’ll help us find this guy?” he asked out of the blue, and she was a little taken aback.

“I didn’t know what he’d done when I saw him. It wasn’t until the next morning that I found out.”

“Exactly what happened?”

“I heard a lot of commotion, so I opened the door and looked down the hallway. There was a cop there with Grace?she’s the lady who lives in the apartment on the other side. She said she heard the woman’s little girls crying, and she went over and knocked on the door. One of the kids let her in, so she asked what was wrong, and they said their mommy was in the tub and wouldn’t wake up. That’s when she found the woman. Her name was Lynne, I believe.”

“Did the police come to talk to you?”

“Yeah, and I wasn’t about to tell them what I’d seen. I figured that would be my death sentence, so I decided to mind my own business and stay to myself. It wasn’t until after they were gone that I realized what had happened, what part Rodney had played, and I had to get out of there. I knew he’d come back looking for me.”

“Do you know if he’s been back there?”

“No. I wasn’t close enough to any of the other residents to call them and ask.”

“Gotcha.”

His time in the kitchen had afforded Cherilyn a chance to look around without his notice, and she pointed to a picture on the mantel of the big fireplace. “Who’s the girl?”

“My daughter, Candace.”

“Oh! Where’s your wife?”

“With her new, rich husband, Austin.”

“Oh. Sorry.”

“Yeah.”

“And Candace?”

“Since Morgan and Austin got together, she’s paid zero attention to Candace, and the girl runs wild. She can do whatever she pleases.”

“Do you see her?”

“No. Not much. Not that I don’t want to. She doesn’t care about seeing me. Morgan and Austin’s lifestyle appeals to her. Lots of money, no supervision, doing whatever she wants to do.”

“I’m sorry.”

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