Page 58 of Clued in to Love
THIRTY-THREE
HILARY
As soon as the Santa breakfast had wrapped up, Hilary called Ben. He didn’t answer. She left a voicemail and texted to let him know they needed to talk—immediately. She had gone from being worried about him to being pissed.
Why had he involved the twins? It wasn’t like Ben.
When the kids were little, they had made a pact always to have a united front. They backed each other up, even if they disagreed with how the other had handled an argument over who got to pick the bedtime story or whose cookie was bigger. They agreed early in the toddler years that they would discuss any disagreements later, but not in front of the kids. Their job was to provide a stable foundation for the twins, not try to undermine each other’s parenting strategy.
Hilary felt like that was one area where she and Ben had excelled.
It was entirely out of character for him to turn to Bella and Jack at this moment.
Since he wasn’t responding to her messages, she decided to go to the gym and see if she could track him down.
The gym was only a couple of blocks away, within walking distance. Hilary made sure the leftover food from the breakfastbuffet was boxed up for donation and that all their Chamber banners, materials, and supplies were accounted for. She would get them after she’d had a chance to talk to her husband.
Outside, Bend’s downtown district was already booming with holiday activity. Shoppers loaded with armfuls of colorful totes went from storefront to storefront. Sandwich boards propped on the snowy sidewalk lured people inside with the promise of free hot chocolate, cookies, wine, and more. TheHappy Holidaysbanners her team had designed hung from the lampposts and fluttered in the wind like they were waving a happy hello.
Hilary smiled. She was pleased to see that their efforts were paying off. The Chamber members had been working with her since early August to ensure that Passport to the Holidays was a fun promotional event and brought locals and tourists downtown. With the expansion of the Old Mill District and new shopping centers on the outskirts of town, some of the original downtown businesses had taken a hit in recent years.
The Chamber of Commerce’s goal was to promote Bend as a whole, which she wholeheartedly embraced. However, it was also good to see tourists discovering the city’s roots and sending them to new hot spots. She waved to familiar faces as she passed storefronts with maps of Passport to the Holidays in their elaborately decorated windows. Later, she needed to check on the progress of the Starlight Parade, and she was probably due to give the mayor another update.
But she didn’t want to think about that.
Once she had a chance to figure out what was going on with Ben, she could focus on work again, but for the moment, she couldn’t concentrate on anything other than wanting to shake some sense into her husband.
The athletic club was half sports and fitness and half social club. Many members used the gym’s pool, weight room, racquetball courts, and fitness classes, but another portion of themembership used the facilities for luncheons and cocktail hours. Like everything else in town, the club had been decked out in the holiday spirit with evergreen boughs sweeping across the member reception desk and three large trees in the lobby. The chlorine scent greeted her as Hilary checked in at the front desk.
“Welcome in, Mrs. Baldwin.” A young receptionist greeted her with a smile. “Did you bring your membership card, or should I check you in?”
“I was wondering if Ben’s around. Is he with a client?” Hilary peered over the reception desk, trying to get a peek of the gym.
“Let me check the schedule.” The receptionist pulled up the training schedule on her computer screen. She swiveled it for Hilary to see. “It doesn’t look like Ben has any clients today. Unless someone got added in late. Do you want me to see if he swiped in?”
“That would be great.” Hilary waited. She laced her fingers together and shifted her feet. Why was she nervous?
“Nope. He hasn’t clocked in or swiped his employee card, so I don’t think he’s here unless he’s stealthy.”
“Okay, thanks for checking,” Hilary said with a forced cheerfulness.
“Do you want me to message you if he does come in?”
“No, that’s fine. I was in the area, so I thought I would stop by.”
“Sounds good. Happy holidays.”
“You too.”
Hilary felt anything other than happy. She stopped in the foyer and rechecked her phone. Nothing. Ben was ghosting her, as Bella would say.
She tried tracking his location, but he was either out of range of service or had turned his phone off.
Now what?
Where would Ben go?
Bella had mentioned that he was staying in a hotel. Bend might be a relatively small town, but because it was a vacation destination, there were hundreds of resorts, hotels, bed and breakfasts, and private rentals. It would take hours to call each one and see if anyone had checked in under Ben Baldwin.
