Page 30 of Always Be My Baby

“No. It’s not. But it is what it is…” I gave my head a shake while sucking in a slow, cleansing breath. Once I had myself together, I let it out and continued. “Anyway, to finish, I didn’t know any of this until last week. Lachlan, that’s what he introduced himself as—Lachlan Bell—showed up at my restaurant. He asked if I had this Bible. He told me our father wanted him to have it. I told him that I didn’t have the Bible. That everything from our childhood had been gotten rid of when we got rid of the house.”

“Apparently, he didn’t believe you,” Girard said.

“Apparently, he didn’t believe me.”

“Do you have a contact number for him?” Officer Dombrowski asked.

“No. I didn’t even know where he was staying while he was in town. Like I said, I didn’t even know I had a half-brother named Lachlan until he showed up at my bistro. I can tell you he’s around six feet tall and has blue eyes and red hair. He’s handsome, one of those pretty boy types. The kind that like to spend their free time at the gym.”

Officer Dombrowski laughed at my assessment. But I was telling the truth.

“But seeing as I haven’t seen or heard from my father since I was ten years old, I have no idea what state they live in. I have no idea about anything.”

“I’m calling this in then,” said Officer Dombrowski. “We will keep you updated on your case as we get more information in. I’m sorry this happened to you. Stay safe.” Then he turned to leave.

And that was it. Now we were left with the enormous task of putting our home back together.

While Girard worked diligently in the kitchen, I tackled the bedroom. At least we’d have a place to sleep tonight. Tears rolled down over my cheeks the entire time. I felt so guilty bringing this into Girard’s life. Lena and Sawyer had been more than happy to continue with taking charge of the restaurant while we dealt with the mess at home which would take up a few more days. Though, me being me, I couldn’t stay away completely while I was in town, and just had to pop in a few times to check in. Lena and Sawyer were the most patient people and I foresaw extra nice bonuses for those two at Christmas time.

By the end of the night, probably about 12:30 in the morning actually, we put everything back in place that could be put back in place and for the things that had gotten broken in the melee, they were bagged and put out into the garage next to the trash, awaiting trash day.

We hardly took time to eat, or even drink anything. But I wasn’t sure my stomach could handle food today. Maybe ever again.

“Come on, Lee,” Girard picked me up from the floor, where I’d been slumped, feeling sorry for myself, and for him. I wrapped my legs around his waist, my arms around his shoulders, and I cried. Again. Guilt was a bitch.

He carried me over to our freshly made bed and sat me down on the edge, where he began pulling up my clothes from my body. He then walked over to the dresser and pulled out one of his V-neck T-shirts. I lifted my arms and he slid the T-shirt down over my arms and head, letting the fabric fall at my waist. Girard reached around back to unclasp my bra, sliding that off one arm, then the other, pulling it out through the armhole of the T-shirt. He tossed it in the hamper. Then he got himself ready for bed.

Once we were under the covers, he held me again and kissed my forehead. After getting the okay from our neighbor, we let Floyd have a sleepover with Sasha because having him around would’ve made cleanup that much more difficult.

“Yeah, it sucks.” Girard let loose a long breath. “But you’re safe, I’m safe, and Floyd is safe. It could’ve been so much worse.”

“I know, but—”

“Nobuts, Lee. That’s it. We are safe, the house is coming around, and the police are looking to question Lachlan. Now, let’s get some sleep. I’m wiped.”

“So bossy,” I sniped, but I found my comfortable sleeping position.

And it didn’t seem possible that the night could end this way, but Girard threw his head back and laughed.

We had more cleaning to jump back into tomorrow, and I had some digging around to get done. I only hoped I’d end up with some answers.

Girard

Lee had been acting extra accommodating since the incident with Lachlan and the house. I knew she felt terrible about the state he’d left it in. I told her time and again, “Lee, sweetheart. It’s not your fault.” Maybe one of these days, I’d get her to believe it.

We went through all the things that were broken during the home invasion, including my laptop which had somehow ended up on the floor, and the TV ended up face down, screen cracked among other things. But I’d bought really good homeowners’ insurance. The adjuster walked us through the process; no hiccups, thankfully. Now we were waiting for the check to come. I’d already gone out and repurchased the items that had been destroyed. Well, most of them anyway.

That was an argument. “At least let me pay for the stuff that got ruined,” Marilee begged.

“You’re not paying for the stuff. And, sweetheart, you’ve got to get this. It wasstuff. You, me, Floyd—we’re all safe. That’s what's important.”

She certainly didn’t like it, but she didn’t push the issue any further. Later on that day, Lee and I were in the kitchen fixing a late dinner when I decided to ask her about something that’d been weighing on my mind since the other day. She’d just been so upset that I didn’t want to bring it up. Now I needed to, even if for my own peace of mind.

“Why do you think he wanted that Bible so badly?” I asked.

“I found some things tucked inside it. They’re locked in my office at work. I wasn’t sure what they were, but I thought they might be valuable and I wanted to research.”

The way she said it so matter-of-factly... the same way she might have said, ‘I took the meat out of the freezer to thaw...’ it struck me as so funny that instead of answering her I threw my head back, barking out a loud laugh. How could I help myself? Picturing Lachlan opening that Bible, if those were, in fact, the things he was after—which it seemed like a pretty safe bet he was—and finding them missing. My diabolically clever girlfriend. Proud didn’t begin to cover it. It served him right.

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