Page 77 of 7 Miles High
Chapter 23
Parker
“I’ll be back by Sunday night,” I say, pulling the zipper of my duffle shut.
“Good luck, brother,” James says.
I can hear the giggles of Elizabeth in the background. He’s distracted. Can’t blame the guy. Those two haven’t had a bump in their road. Yet. That’s my new mindset. I thought Natalie and I were solid. I thought we might be unbreakable, in fact. Now that sounds naïve.
“You still there? Or am I interrupting your love-in?”
It takes him a few beats to answer and he leads with a chuckle only he and Elizabeth understand.
“No, no. I’m listening to every word.”
There’s the laugh again, and it’s accompanied by a whispered message for his woman who must be fucking around with him. “Stop that!”
“Okay. I’m out of here. Call you on my way back.”
“You’re really in love with her, huh? I mean any man who is willing to drive four hours, spend a couple of hours there, then turn around and drive right back must be in love.”
“I’ve got to be back for work tomorrow. But yeah, it’s love on my part. We’ll see about the rest.”
“Hey, I know it’s going to work out. No shit, Parker. I think it’s just a giant misunderstanding and you two will figure it out.”
“Thanks. I’ll call you.”
* * *
Highway One stretches along the sapphire Pacific Ocean and is the perfect companion for a man who needs to do some thinking. I’ve never been in this frame of mind before. One minute I’m pissed, the next understanding, and it’s always accompanied by worry. What if this doesn’t get fixed?
What I know about Natalie’s past both calms and concerns me. I get why she’d question if a man could ever be faithful. At the same time it bothers me that she doesn’t see clearly that I’m not that man. Hasn’t she felt what I feel? The truth for me is that I trust her. I can’t see any situation or circumstances that would make me doubt her. And I want that for myself.
What if this is how it would be going forward? What if she was always looking over her shoulder when it came to other women? When a man is innocent of that kind of behavior, that kind of woman would drive him crazy. He would be receiving less than what he’s giving.
The hours pass pretty quickly, because I’m lost in my thoughts. All of a sudden I’m a mile from the turnoff. She blocked me, so calling her won’t work. I really don’t want to give her a heads-up anyway. It’s not a workday for her per se, so my best bet is to see if she’s home. I check the time. Two fifteen. Yeah, I’ll try the condo.
I steer the car to the off ramp and head west. I’m feeling kind of nervous.No shit, Sherlock!Yeah, of course I am. Somehow I have to make her see the truth. The traffic is light in the city, and it only takes five minutes to reach my destination. Pulling up right outside the condos, I take it as an omen. The luck may be with me.
Putting it into Park, I grab my cell and head for the front doors. I take two steps at a time and as a man is entering, I follow him inside.
“Afternoon,” he says as we get into the elevator.
“Hi.”
I’m not in the mood for any kind of inane small talk about the weather, so I pretend I’m scanning my messages. Obviously he feels the same way because he closes his eyes. Ha! Good one. I’m going to use that in the future.
He gets off two floors before mine, and doesn’t bother to say ‘Have a nice day’. That one surprises me. As the door closes and the elevator rises, my nervous stomach reappears. I squash down any more thoughts or acknowledgement it’s happening.Fuck a queasy stomach, you pussy.
I almost laugh at myself. That’s what I used to do when I was a teenager. Whenever I got afraid of something, I’d talk to myself like I was a drill sergeant. The elevator settles on Natalie’s floor and the door slides open.
Walking toward her condo feels like a slow moving dream. I take the steps, but it seems like I’m not getting there fast enough. Finally, I’m standing at her door. I don’t hesitate, giving it three loud knocks and a bell ring. I’m here, woman! Go big or go home.
Nothing. I try again. When there’s no response I lean my ear to the door and listen. She’s not here. There’s not a sound. Now what? I could talk with that girlfriend who lives here. What was her friend’s name? Shit. I’m so fucking bad at remembering names.
Hers was different. Kind of old fashioned, I think. What letter did it start with? Crap, I can’t get it. Was it something with a V or a W? I think it was a V. Vera? Velma? Think it was two syllables like that. Violet. That was it!
I have no idea which condo she lives in, but Natalie said she’s on this floor. What the hell. I’m just going to start knocking. I’ll either be arrested for stalking a stranger or rewarded by finding what I’m looking for. Otherwise, I have no idea where Natalie would be. I’d have to sit outside until it was time for me to get back in the car and drive back to San Juan Capistrano. That’s a shitty plan, but it’s all I got.
