Mayes, Casey - A Deadly Row

“You didn’t move back there, did you? I love your place in Parson’s Valley. It suits you, Savannah.”

“Don’t worry, we’re just visiting. Actually, Zach’s working on a case.”

“He’s still freelancing, is he? They just can’t seem to let him go.”

“What can I say, my husband’s good at what he does.” I glanced at the clock. It was just after seven, and though the shower had helped some, I was still tired from my mental exercises all day, but I couldn’t let that stop me. “Let me get dressed, and I can be there in an hour and a half.”

“Hang on, I didn’t mean you had to come tonight.”

“I don’t mind. Honestly. You’re not going to bed anytime soon, are you?”

He chuckled. “I don’t sleep much more than six or seven hours a night. I put it off as long as I can, usually.”

“Then I’m coming right now,” I said.

“Take it easy. There’s no hurry.”

“It will be fun,” I said when there was a knock on the door. I’d forgotten all about my dinner. “Hang on one second.”

I opened the door without quizzing the hotel employee as Zach had done, and I was certain he would have disapproved, but I found it awkward to do. The same man who’d delivered food to us the night before smiled briefly as I let him in, and after he was gone, I returned to the phone. “Sorry about that.”

“Is Zach there? Do you need to go?”

“No, it was just room service,” I admitted.

“Then eat your dinner, and get some rest. It would be foolish to drive up here at night.”

“It’s summer; the sun won’t go down until after I get there.”

“But then you’d have to drive back in the dark, wouldn’t you?”

I laughed. “Okay, you got me. But I’m coming up first thing in the morning. I’ll leave early enough so we can have breakfast together.”

Uncle Thomas laughed. “Then you’d better head out by four thirty, because I always eat at six.”

That was too early for my tastes, by at least an hour. “Why don’t we make it lunch, then?”

“I eat at eleven,” he said. “But I can push it back an hour for you.”

“Don’t be silly, eleven sounds fine. I’ll try to get there earlier so we can hang out a little. And Uncle Thomas?”

“Yes, Savannah?”

“Are you sure nothing’s wrong?”

“Not a thing that can’t be fixed. I’ll see you tomorrow, child.”

“Bye.”

As I ate my dinner—a chicken taco salad this time—I wondered what had brought on the need for Uncle Thomas to see me. He was normally a loner, quite content to be left alone, even by those of us who loved him. For him to make a concerted effort to see me had me more than a little worried. I knew there was no use fretting over it tonight, so I tried to get my mind off it. I briefly considered getting back to the puzzle of the number and letter sequences that I was working on for Zach, but the futility of that was too depressing. If I weren’t so tired after I finished eating, I could jump on tomorrow’s submission, but puzzles were the last thing on my mind at the moment.

Zach came in half an hour after I’d finished my meal.

“You look wiped out,” I said.

“I’m not used to this grind,” he admitted. “Sometimes I forget just how hard I used to work.”

As he rubbed his chest, I asked, “Is your scar hurting?”

“Truthfully, I think it’s all in my head.”

I hugged him. “Zach, I saw you on that hospital bed with bandages on your chest and tubes coming out of you. It wasn’t your imagination.”

“You know what I mean.” He looked over at the cart I’d been too tired to shove out the door. “What did you eat?”

“Chicken taco salad,” I answered. “Would you like me to order you something for dinner?”

“I’m too beat to care about eating right now. I think I’ll just grab a shower and go to bed.”

“I’m going to see Uncle Thomas tomorrow,” I blurted out.

“I know I’m not paying enough attention to you, but you don’t have to take off on me.”

“He’s been trying to call me for two days. He wants to see me, and for him, it sounds urgent.”

“Is there anything wrong?” Zach and Uncle Thomas got along incredibly well, and there were times when the three of us were together that I felt like the third wheel.

“He went to the doctor, but he swears there’s nothing wrong with him.”

“Then why the sudden urge for company? Should we go right now? I’m game if you are.”

I kissed him, and then I said, “Thanks for offering, but we’re both exhausted. I’m going to see him at lunch tomorrow, if you can spare me.”

Zach frowned, and then he said, “I could probably get away, too.”

“That’s crazy, and we both know it. I don’t need to stay here, but you do. You’ve got a case you have to work on.”

“Family comes first,” Zach said resolutely.

“I love you for saying it, but we both know what our priorities are. I won’t be gone long. You won’t even have a chance to miss me.”

“There you’re wrong,” he said as he hugged me tightly. “Now, if you’re sure you don’t want to go tonight, I’m going to hit the shower.”

“Go,” I said.

After I heard the water running, I ordered him a dinner of stir-fried beef tips, despite his earlier protest that he was too tired to eat. Once Zach smelled the food, I knew he wouldn’t be able to resist it any more than I could say no to a chocolate cupcake.

When the food arrived, he was still in the shower, and I was about to go get him when he came out wearing a robe.

“What smells so good?”

“Room service,” I answered.

“Savannah, I told you that I wasn’t hungry.”

“Then don’t eat it. I might peck at it a little myself, if you’re sure you aren’t going to have any.” I was full from my salad, so at least for the moment, I was bluffing.

Zach walked over and lifted off the lid. “Stir fry. That looks great. Maybe I’ll have a bite or two after all.”

He took the plate, along with a bottled water on ice, and moved to the window. “Care to join me?”

“Sure thing,” I said as I took a seat.

As Zach ate, he nodded a few times, but conversation was kept at a minimum. When he finished, I saw him looking longingly back at the cart. “Wasn’t there enough for you?” I asked.

“I was just thinking some dessert might be nice.”

I laughed. “I thought you were too tired to eat.”

“What can I say; I just got my second wind.”

“If you’re serious, we could always order something else.”

He clearly thought about it for a few seconds, then said, “No, I’d better not. You can if you want to, though.”

“Maybe later. Were you able to make any more progress after I left?”

“Nothing worth talking about. I need to let things percolate a little right now.”

“In other words, you don’t want to discuss it.”

“If you don’t mind,” Zach said a little apologetically. “You know how I get.”

“Better than anyone else in the world. We could watch a movie, or some television, if you’d like.”

“To be honest with you, I’d rather just sit here and watch night fall on Charlotte. We’re never going to get a view like this again, and I want to memorize it as much as I can.”

“I think that sounds perfect.”

As we sat there in relative silence, I marveled at how lucky I’d been to find someone who matched me so well. There were no awkward silences between us, or words spoken just to fill the emptiness. Zach and I were in sync enough to let those quiet times envelop us, and to enjoy the lack of chatter like the gift that it was. When we went to sleep later that night, I felt as though my center was calm again, just as it had been in Parson’s Valley. It was my new home, and I loved it, but wherever Zach was, that was truly where I belonged, and everything else was just a matter of geography.