North Dakota Weddings (12 page)

Guilt throbbed inside. Could Andi be forcing her own dreams on Elisa? Or was she punishing her? Lost in thought, Andi rose from the kitchen chair, then prepared for bed, though she knew she wouldn’t sleep. Instead, she laid her head on her pillow, wide awake.

Vance had spoken of the Creator of the universe, caring for people and all the details of their lives. But she didn’t feel like He cared. At least not about her. Without any help from God, she took care of herself and Elisa. She protected them from people who had the ability to destroy their lives.

People like Jorgen who’d given her up for superficial reasons. People like Vance. Elisa’s words filtered through her thoughts.
“Vance has eyes for you.”

She thought she’d kept the door to her heart—a blast door—tightly sealed. But somehow Vance Young had shaken it loose. She’d have to slam it shut again—the thought bringing an ache to her heart.

How did Vance feel? Was he lonely, too, shut up in the darkness of the underground capsule? If she closed the door on possibilities, all she’d have would be the chilling prospect of a lonely future.

But Vance wasn’t lonely—he had God. She sensed that for Vance, looking at the stars brought him closer to God.

“God of the universe, if You really do care about the little things in my life, show me. Help me get over this pain.”

And please help me find the treasure my grandfather hid
.

Vance spent the next week amid the distant sounds of construction and renovation, hammering on his keyboard and testing a program to render the rogue algorithm he’d discovered ineffective. It would take them—whoever they were—time to discover what had happened, then even more time to fix things. In turn, Vance would have time to learn what exactly was going on, and hopefully he’d have concrete evidence to present to the authorities—evidence that didn’t lead to him as the principal architect and instigator.

The quandary he’d yet to resolve was how and where to install the new algorithm.

Thankfully, his concentration on the problem took his mind off Andi. She’d come and gone every day without much interaction with him—a simple hello if he saw her in the morning and, if he were lucky, a good-bye at the end of the day.

She’d distanced herself even further from him the night they’d looked at the stars. Any hopes she’d have an interest in him beyond their business relationship had disappeared like a Mars space probe. Should he give up altogether? A more important question loomed. Their paths had crossed, but their lives were largely perpendicular—why would he allow himself feelings for her when he planned to sell Ground Zero? Planned to leave? It was part of their agreement. Not like he could back out of that.

He had to admit—he had second thoughts about leaving. He credited Andi with that. A somber realization struck him. Could he stop his growing feelings for her even if he tried?

His thoughts went back to the contentment he’d felt the night they’d looked at the stars together. The night sky sans light pollution on the lonesome prairie had given way to an extraordinary stargazing experience like nothing he’d known before. He’d been able to share that with Andi and Elisa. Though they seemed as enamored with the stars as Vance, neither of them had spoken to him about that night.

Probably for the best.

He forced his attention back to his computer screen. The landline phone rang, the interruption annoying him as he glanced at the clock. Four o’clock already? No one ever called on the thing.

“Vance here.”

“Can you please give my sister a message?” Elisa’s voice sounded shaky.

“What, no ‘hello, Vance’?”

“She forgot to pick me up from school. She insisted on doing that today so she can keep me in her own private prison. Just tell her not to worry about me, I got a ride.” She hung up.

Vance whistled. Where did Elisa find the energy to be so livid? He scratched his chin, then headed for the fridge, grabbing a soda to fuel his thoughts as he considered Andi. She’d find out soon enough, of course, that Elisa had found a ride home. Still, that wasn’t like Andi. She tried way too hard to prove herself a responsible guardian for Elisa. Too bad Elisa couldn’t see how much Andi loved her.

Vance blew out a long breath. The sound of construction stopped awhile ago. Why hadn’t he noticed? He decided to go above ground to see if she was there along with the crew who usually quit for the day about now. Just to be sure.

Taking the stairs like he’d done every day that week, he noticed a great improvement in his stamina. He wasn’t nearly as breathless as he stepped into the sunlight. He shielded his eyes, though the sun had long passed its blinding zenith by this time of day. Karl, Lars, and a new man Vance hadn’t noticed before were loading items into the back of their trucks.

“Hey, why do you bother taking that stuff home every night only to bring it back the next day?” Vance asked.

Chuckling, Lars exchanged a look with his brother. “There’s plenty that remains underground, in case you haven’t noticed.”

“Yeah, besides that, my wife’s got me reworking the kitchen cabinets,” Karl said.

“So, you finish up here only to have to work at home.”

“If it makes the missus happy, it’s worth it.” Karl winked.

The new sub backed up and drove away onto the main road.

Vance noticed Andi’s truck was still there. “Say, have you seen the boss today?”

Karl raised an eyebrow. “Haven’t seen her in a couple of hours. Frankly, I thought she was talking to you.”

Lars laughed and stared at Vance, with one of those knowing smiles—a subtle insinuation. Apparently the brothers thought Vance and Andi had something romantic in the works. Maybe they knew something he didn’t, though not likely.

“I haven’t seen her all day,” Vance said.

The brothers grew serious and shared a glance.

“We’d better go check on her,” Lars said.

“So, are you really worried about her?” Vance hurried after them. “You don’t think something could have happened, do you? Her sister called. She was supposed to pick her up.”

Vance joined them on the elevator.

“There are a couple of places that a person wouldn’t want to fall into.”

“What?” Vance’s gut tightened as he looked from one brother to the other. “What places?”

“No point in borrowing trouble.” Karl shrugged.

“Yeah, she’s probably looking around by herself like she always does after we leave.”

“Looking around? For what?” How did they know she looked around after they left if they were gone? Odd.

Neither brother answered, but Vance didn’t miss their shared glance.

While they waited for the doors to open, the thought that Andi could be hurt somewhere on the missile launch center crept over Vance. He shoved it away. Like Karl said, no point in borrowing trouble. But if something had happened to her…

His concerns over his job and the tricky game he played with the algorithm meant nothing to him. He had to find Andi, make sure she was all right. She already meant way too much to him. Never mind that she’d built a barrier he couldn’t seem to scale and that it was obvious she and God weren’t on good terms.

At the moment, he cared about nothing except finding her.

A
ndi wanted to say a few distasteful words she’d heard from construction crews but bit her lip instead. After the guys had gone up, she’d climbed into an air plenum, looking for her grandfather’s hidden prize. The air plenum had been secured with screws, which she’d heartily dismantled to allow herself entry. Then she’d heard a slow scraping followed by a heavy thud. At the time, intent on her search, she’d thought nothing of it. But later, when she’d tried to back out of the space, it suddenly dawned on her. Something had fallen—probably sheetrock—blocking her escape.

After several unsuccessful attempts at pushing away the object that held her captive, she gave up. If they found her—no,
when
they found her—she’d never live this down.

Though embarrassment crashed against her, there was no way around it—she’d have to call for help.

Andi yelled, feeling as though her cries didn’t go much beyond the walls imprisoning her. Unfortunately, the only chance she had of being heard would be if someone were in the equipment building capsule.

“Oh no.” Andi pressed her forehead against the wall. She’d missed picking up Elisa. Hope lay in that disruption—that is, if Elisa cared that Andi hadn’t shown up to get her.

Andi wished she could at least sit or lie down. Even though it was an air plenum, the space was too small for her to do much but stand. The air became stuffy, her body sticky with sweat. She didn’t want to stay here all night.

After minutes ticked into an hour, her humiliation gave way to panic.

A nervous laugh escaped, precluding a whimper. She thought of Vance’s reaction if he were stuck in this small space. But she couldn’t imagine him wedging himself into such a precarious position.

“Andi…Andi?” Vance’s voice echoed from somewhere nearby.

“In here! Vance, I’m in here!”

A few seconds later, she heard Vance groan, then heave. Again, then several times more she heard his efforts accompanied with panting. Andi pushed the wall plate she’d dismantled as relief flowed through her. The plate gave way. Vance’s face appeared in her line of vision, as he tugged the wall out of her path.

She smiled, defying the torrent of embarrassment and relief entwining her, and stepped out of the compartment. “Oh, thank—” Shaky legs gave way as her knees buckled under her.

“Andi!” Vance swept her against him, steadying her. “Are you all right?” His words were breathy, laced with concern.

She allowed herself a moment, relishing his embrace. All comfort and strength, his heart beat rapidly. He felt so good.

Breathing a sigh, she became aware she’d stayed too long and stepped free.

“Yes, I think so.” She stood as tall as she could and faced her humiliation. She’d shown herself weak, practically collapsing into his arms. What sort of ninny was she?

“Looks like all that sheetrock fell over and wedged you into that space.” Vance peered into where she’d been trapped. “What on earth were you doing in there?”

This was the part where Andi should tell him she was searching for something her grandfather supposedly hid. But sharing that information on the heels of what just happened might give Vance all the reason he needed to shut her down, keeping her from searching.

“Well, what do you think? I need to know what is behind every cavity, every nook and cranny, every hidden space in order to make this an efficient living area.” There. Her answer had been confident because it was true. Under most circumstances. She stared back, looking into his searching gaze, glad he knew nothing about construction.

Or did he?

He smiled, but wariness lurked in his eyes. “I’m just glad you’re all right. But let your crew do that sort of thing for you next time, will you?”

Funny. He hadn’t made her feel like an idiot for getting stuck. On the contrary, he appeared concerned. Very concerned. And she’d worked hard this past week to avoid him and his God talk. Now she wondered why. Being with him made her feel good inside. Though he was brilliant, he never made her feel ignorant, or less than him. Never spoke to her in a condescending way.

Holding out his hand, he said, “If you’re ready, I’ll escort you up top.”

She laughed as she took it. “Is that to make sure I leave?”

His gaze lingered before he replied. “I never like to see you leave.”

What did he mean?

“Well, if you don’t mind, I want to use your restroom and wash my hands. I feel grimy. Oh, and I need to call Elisa.”

“You can thank her. She called to say she’d found a way home, but she wasn’t happy that you weren’t there to pick her up.”

“And that’s when you became concerned?”

Vance nodded.

Andi’s heart warmed. She realized they were still holding hands.

“So you found her!” Karl and Lars stepped into the room, beaming with relieved smiles. Their gaze flitted to Andi and Vance, holding hands. She quickly released his, but not fast enough.

Lars chuckled. “Well, looks like everything is under control down here. We’d better head home.”

After Andi refreshed herself she headed up top, leaving Vance to his computer. From there, she called Elisa.

She got no answer and huffed. Climbing into her truck, she noticed Vance standing there, watching. “Are you checking on me again?”

“I thought I might.”

How she loved his Texas accent and wished she had an excuse to stay longer. But Elisa was waiting.

Once at home, Andi walked into the house. “Elisa?”

A quiet and empty house greeted her.