Page 62 of Valor

Rod sent one last text asking when and where he should bring a secure computer to have a look at the drive? Allen glanced down at his watch. It was already past midnight. He wouldn’t get much sleep, if any. While he might trust Ben to keep people out of his park, he wouldn’t bet Heather’s life on the security of one fence.

He typed out a reply, giving directions to Heather’s house, and said that they could only meet there in the afternoon. After a minute, Rob gave a thumbs up to let him know he’d be there.

Just as he’d settled in to listen to the sounds around the cabin to learn what was concerning, and what was not, his father called. Allen answered on the first ring, hoping the noise didn’t wake up Heather.

“Hello?” he muttered, keeping his voice low.

“Hey, I’m really sorry for interrupting you with your gal. I boarded up the window and I’ll catch a ride into town tomorrow to get a new one.”

Allen massaged the bridge of his nose. He couldn’t push his dad, not now, when there was no one else who could look after Jasper. “Thank you, and she’s not a girlfriend.”

His father chuckled. “Doesn’t matter. She was here, and I interrupted. Your dog is mighty put out that you left.”

While he didn’t want to continue talking, he felt a pull, like Dad needed him. He kept his voice low when he answered, “Is that so? Did you give him a carrot?”

Dad’s hoarse laughter filled his ears. “I did. Made him settle right down. I don’t think I’ve ever met a dog before that liked carrots.” The line went quiet for a minute. “Your cop friend told me I needed to straighten up. If I hadn’t stopped by, you might have caught that intruder.”

Allen flinched. His guys were only doing what they felt was the right thing, but every time Dad got pushback, he just turned to the bottle more. Now, he had to either tell Dad it was okay—which it wasn’t—or he had to alienate him all over again. “Dad, you know how I feel. Let’s not get into this right now. I’m not there to pester you. Please, just take care of my dog until I can return home.”

“I can do that,” his father answered. “And you know I can put that window in. You don’t have to pay someone.”

His father had been an excellent carpenter and handyman years ago. He could remember in his younger years when his father had his own business. So much of his life had been drowned away in the bottle. “Thanks. I’ll let you know how things are going.”

His dad never said goodbye, instead he’d always said, “Okay...” which was his signal that he was hanging up the phone. “Good night, Dad.”

His father waited for a second, as if he wasn’t sure how to proceed. “Okay, goodnight.” He hung up the phone.

“Is he alright?” Heather’s voice startled him.

“Yeah, he just wanted to apologize for interrupting my evening with a pretty girl.”

Heather snorted. “He couldn’t be more wrong about why I was there.”

While she was right, the words stung his pride. Why shouldn’t his father think Heather was there to see him? He wasn’t unattractive, was he? “He had no way of knowing that. He doesn’t listen to gossip, and he’s not one of those people who listen to radio scanners.” Allen tucked his phone under his leg. “I thought you were asleep?”

She hid a yawn behind her hand. “I couldn’t. Every time I close my eyes, I think about what I could’ve or should’ve done. I’m no hero, but I just hid. He would’ve done something to help me if the roles had been reversed.”

“Well, he is your father. Most of them are wired that way. They want to protect their children.” He hoped she didn’t delve into his own family. If she tested his words against the life he’d lived, she could call his bluff.

“I suppose you’re right. Were you able to get a picture of that threatening message?”

So, they were back to talking about her case. He was kind of enjoying getting to know her. “Yes, here it is.” He drew his phone out again and opened the images, then zoomed in on the part she wanted to see.

“Is there a way to look up what these coordinates mean? If we knew where it was, maybe that would give us a clue who might be after me.” She bit her lower lip, turning both of them bright red.

Allen refused to continue looking at her mouth and instead took back his phone. “I think I can put them into Google Earth, and we can find out where they are.”

“Oh? I’ve never used it that way. I haven’t touched that program in years.”

He suddenly felt uncomfortable sitting on the bed he’d be sleeping on with her standing in his doorway. “Let’s go out into the living room where we can be more comfortable.”

He stood and realized how much taller he was than her. She was petite, but not small. If there was a word to describe her, it would be athletic. She looked like the kind of woman who could keep up with him while hiking.

As he walked past her room, he noticed the flashlight was still on, standing on her bedside table. He doubted she was afraid of the dark, but in this cabin in the woods, any noise was startling. He couldn’t blame her for wanting a light.

She pulled out a chair and sat down heavily. He laid his phone in front of her and went to the cupboard to see if Ben stored any glasses in the cabins. While he looked, he turned the water on in the sink, allowing it to get as cold as possible.

Heather scrunched her nose as soon as he pulled out two glasses. One of them had a cobweb in it. “I’ll wash them if you want to keep an eye on what my phone is doing. It will take a minute to zoom all the way down to street level.”

---