Losing Faith (11 page)

“Listen, I’m not suggesting that we just ditch them. I was thinking that maybe we should see if they could call someone. You know, someone who could better handle their type of situation.”

Frank smiled. “Their situation?”

“Yeah. Crazy mom and crazier daughter. Runaway problems. Crazy dudes out looking for them problems. Stuff that guys like you and I aren’t capable of handling.”

Frank shook his head. “You really have a problem getting involved, don’t you?”

“Don’t get me wrong,” Seth said, shifting his weight to his other leg. “I don’t mind helping people. But we have to get up north. At this rate, it’s going to take a week to make that happen, and I don’t have a week.”

“I understand how you feel about this. I do. But they aren’t the reason why we’re here now.” Frank opened his arms, motioning to the entire place. “We nearly crashed into a snowplow truck. Then we got a flat tire. It’s late, and nobody anywhere would even be open right now to change it. That’s not their fault. In fact, I believe you were the one driving then.” His eyebrows arched, slightly accenting his accusation.

“Okay. Okay. Okay. But can we please get out of here in the morning?”

Frank drew in a deep breath, and Seth had a feeling that he was trying his patience at this point. “All right. I’m sorry. What did you want to talk about?”

“I’m worried about the girls. We don’t know anything about this Tuck guy.”

“Well, he has a cool name. Do you think his buddies call him Tuck the Truck?” Frank just stared at him. “Sorry,” Seth apologized again. “Just ignore me. What exactly are you saying?”

“We need to find out more information about this guy. We need to figure out what we might be in for and if we need to get the police involved.”

Seth leaned against the counter and looked down. Getting the cops involved would mean another time delay. And they’d already had enough of that. He had to get to Faith. And he wasn’t about to let some redneck psycho get in his way. “Don’t get ahead of yourself. We don’t even know if this guy is following them. I’ll tell you what. I’ll find out what I can about this
Tuck
guy and let you know what I come up with.”

Before Frank had a chance to respond, a door opened. A woman carrying a plate stacked with cookies walked through. “Be right with you,” she said with a smile and wink to Frank and Seth.

“There they are.” The man on the couch set his newspaper down and rubbed his hands together. “They smell so good.”

“And they are every bit as good as they smell. I can tell you that much, Mr. Brown.” The woman lowered the tray, motioning for him and his wife to take a cookie. “Don’t be shy. I spent way too much time baking these goodies for you to be worried about your diet or whatever it is you young people do these day. Take two. I insist.”

“You are too kind,” Mrs. Brown said, taking another.

“My house is your house, Mrs. Brown.” The woman covered the side of her mouth and feigned a whisper. “And I have some delicious sugar cookies rising in the oven now.”

“You are definitely bad for my diet, Deana. But it’s Valentine’s Day, or close enough anyway.” She took another cookie and stacked it on top of the two already in her hand. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome, dear.”

Deana sashayed over to Frank and Seth. “How about you, gentlemen? A fresh-baked cookie to warm you up?”

“How can I say no to those?” Frank grabbed a cookie and made room for Seth to take one. There was no way he was going to pass up one of these. It had been forever since he’d had a cookie that smelled as good.

Deana walked over to the other side of the counter and set down the tray. “Now what can I do for you? You don’t look like you’re here for the wedding.”

“Wedding?” Seth asked.

She pointed to a picture of a smiling young couple with the words DEEBLES WEDDING below. “This place is known for its Valentine’s Day weddings.”

“Really?” Frank asked. “That’s wonderful.”

“And the,” Seth turned to the photograph, “the Deebles haven’t called it off due to the weather?”

Deana had lines of age on her face, but she wore the smile of a beautiful young woman. Her short brown hair held streaks of red and gray. She had the posture of a dancer, and Seth got the feeling that she had been a real head-turner back in her day. “You can’t stop love, my boy. There’s not a storm in the world that can stop something as powerful as love.”

Her words fell on his heart, warming him like the chocolate-chip cookies to his stomach. Despite all that he had been through over the past year, including the loss of Lexi, he knew Deana was right. A storm, not even one as bad as this, could’ve stopped him from marrying her.

Frank cleared his throat, breaking the silence. “We were hoping you still had a few rooms available. We’re heading north and have had some car troubles. And we were told that the nearest place was about fifty miles from here.”

The woman opened her book and flipped through the pages. “You’re right about that, Mr…”

“Goodman. But you can call me Frank.”

She looked up from her book and smiled. “Goodman. That’s a good name.” Then she turned to Seth.

“Seth.”

Her eyes lingered on Seth for a moment. He waited for the look of recognition, but she turned back to her book and started flipping through the pages again. “I assume you’re wanting two rooms.”

“Actually, we need three. If it’s not too much trouble.”

Lines formed on her forehead. “Three?”

“Oh, yes, sorry. We’re traveling with a woman and her daughter. They were stranded on the road, so we…”

“You
are
a good man, Mr. Goodman.” She turned another page. “Well, the storm has brought you this bit of luck. We happen to have three rooms available. Some of the guests couldn’t make it due to the snow.”

“Unfortunate and fortunate,” Frank said. “We’ll take them.”

Seth pulled out his wallet, knowing that cash wouldn’t be an option. He only had about a hundred bucks left to his name, and his last credit card would be needed in Fort Wayne. He stared at his wallet without a clue as to what to say.

Frank placed a hand on Seth’s shoulder. “I got this one.”

“No, I can’t let you do this.”

Frank smiled, looked Seth in the eyes, and said, “It’s all right. I want to.”

Seth didn’t want him to pay, but he didn’t know what other choice he had right then, other than sleeping in the car. “Thank you.”

Deana took Frank’s credit card and put it in one of those old carbon copy credit card machines. “No computer?”

“Nope. Don’t trust ’em. Don’t need ’em. Harvey and I have done well enough without one of those machines. Besides,” she said, looking around, “can you imagine putting one of those contraptions in a place like this? It would make about as much sense as putting an outhouse at the top of a tree. Doesn’t belong there.”

She had a point. Time seemed to stand still in this place. A slower pace of life.

Deana ran the paperwork and had Frank sign for everything. Then she pulled out three brass keys. “Here are your keys. You’re on the third floor. The stairs are down that hall. They’ll take you to your floor, and then you’ll want to make a right. This place is bigger than it looks. So if you need any help, just give us a call using the phone in your room, and we’ll pick up.”

“Thank you,” Frank said. “Do you know of someplace close that might still be open where we could get a bite to eat? It’s been a long day.”

Deana smiled. “There’s a restaurant right through those doors.” She pointed at the double doors where she had come walking through with the cookies. “Kitchen’s open until about 2 AM. We keep late hours when we have a full house.”

“Sounds wonderful. Thank you.”

“You’re so welcome, Mr. Goodman.” She turned to Seth. “You really should try smilin’ more. It suits you.”

Seth had been used to girls hitting on him, especially when he was on tour, but there was something about the way Deana looked at Seth. She had an honesty and charm to her that he hadn’t experienced in a long time, and he felt his cheeks warm. He flashed a smile and watched as she sashayed beyond the double doors.

He turned to Frank. “I really do appreciate you doing this.”

“Don’t mention it. It’s my pleasure. It’s not every day that I get to hang out with a celebrity.”

Seth gave Frank a look but couldn’t stop himself from laughing. Until that moment, Seth had forgotten about the life he had been desperate to escape. The lights, the fame, never being able to go anywhere without being recognized. He took a look around as they headed toward the front doors. “This place is—”

He was interrupted by someone slamming into his shoulder. A man walking past him turned around. “Sorry,” Seth said. “I should really watch where I’m going. I keep running into people.” The scowl written on the man’s hardened face told Seth that he wasn’t looking for an apology. Seth noticed the logo on the man’s cap. It looked familiar, but he couldn’t place it. T & T. Seth had no idea what it stood for, and he thought best not to ask. The man turned back around and headed toward the counter.

“Definitely not Mr. Deeble,” Seth said.

Frank let out a laugh. “I certainly hope not.”

Chapter 14

Trista

Trista couldn’t get over how beautiful this place was from the outside wintry landscape to the entrance of the bed and breakfast to the restaurant with the sign A SLICE OF PIE above the door. When they walked through the set of doors, she had expected a tiny kitchen with a few tables pushed to the sides. What she found was nothing less than spectacular. After walking down a few stairs and through a tiny hall, they found themselves in a room with a ceiling at least twenty feet high. A large wooden beam spanned the distance of the entire room. An arrangement of tables and booths gave it a cozy feel. At the end was a small bar where an older-looking gentleman wearing a blue and green flannel shirt served drinks to the patrons. “How does a place like this exist so close to Nashville and I haven’t heard of it?”

“Apparently it’s a place where couples go to get married on Valentine’s Day.” Frank pulled out a chair for Savannah.

“Thank you,” she said, taking a seat.

Seth must’ve taken note because he pulled out Trista’s chair before she had a chance to get it. “Thanks, Seth,” she said, flashing a smile.

“You’re welcome.”

“So, is anyone getting married tomorrow?” she asked.

“The Deebles,” Seth replied.

“The Deebles? How do you know that?”

“I think everyone here knows that,” he said, looking around.

Although it was after eleven, many of the tables were filled. Most of the guests seemed to be enjoying a nightcap or a cup of coffee. They wore the same types of smiles that Trista used to see when she was a kid during family reunions when everyone spent time together catching up. And the best part was that there hadn’t been another sign of Tuck. She had scanned the parking lot for any signs of him while she and Savannah had been waiting in the car, but there was no sign of Tuck’s white truck. Maybe he had figured they’d be back on the highway and had headed that way. After all, that’s what she had expected they would do. But how long would it take for him to circle back? And would he find her here? He obviously knew what kind of car they were traveling in. But would he try something with Frank and Seth around? She doubted it, but then again, she had something she knew he wanted. And he’d probably do just about anything to get it back. Trista noticed a few men setting up what looked like a stage in the corner of the room. “I wonder what’s going on over there.”

“They’re putting together a stage for the band,” said a waitress who had come up next to Trista.

She turned to face the beautiful young woman. Her smile radiated, and Trista immediately liked her. “What band?”

“Lightning Strikes. They’ve been playing here for the past few years. They’re from around here.”

“Lightning Strikes is playing here tomorrow?” Seth asked. “I’ve heard about them. They’ve developed a pretty solid following. I think they’ve even opened for a few big acts.”

The waitress nodded, sending her ponytail bobbing up and down. “They have. Can I get you guys something to drink?” Trista ordered an iced tea, Savannah a Diet Mountain Dew, Frank a water, and Seth a Coke. “I’ll be back with your drinks and to get your order.” She pointed to the tiny jukebox on the table. “Menus are there next to the salt and pepper.”

“That’s cool,” Savannah said, turning the jukebox around. She flipped through each song, reading off the names of bands and musicians from the forties, fifties, and sixties. “I’ve never heard of these people.”

“That’s because you’re young,” Seth said, looking at the list. “See that guy,” he asked, pointing at a name. “This guy is one of the greats who started it all.”

“Frank Sinatra? Never heard of him.” Seth shook his head, and Trista laughed. Her poor, naïve little girl.

“Are you serious?” Seth asked. “You’ve never heard of Old Blue Eyes?”

She shook her head. Seth turned to Trista, clearly disappointed in her. She held up her hands. “In my defense, I only listen to music from the past three decades. This is a bit before my time.”

“That’s why it’s called a
classic
. They stand up against time.”

Savannah flipped through the charts. “I don’t see any from you.”

Seth sat back in his chair, his smile gone. “How old do you think I am? And anyway, I’m not of the caliber of those guys on that list.”

“I disagree,” Savannah said. “I think your music is awesome.”

Seth nodded. “Thank you. That’s…awesome.”

Trista wondered what could’ve possibly happened to the man in front of her. How did someone accomplish so much and then act like it was nothing at all? “You have to have some good hits. They played you on the radio, right?”

Seth leaned forward, setting his elbows on the table and crossing his arms. “Have you
really
never heard of me?”

“Sorry. I’m not a country fan, remember?”

“She stopped listening to music when The New Kids on the Block stopped singing about a hundred years ago.”

Trista gave her daughter a playful slap on the hand. “Hey, that’s not fair. They were great.”