Operation: Endeavor (When The Mission Ends) (30 page)

Colton caught Chris’s eye and raised an eyebrow in question. Chris gave a slight shrug and subtle shake of his head, before turning back to watch the girls again. He obviously didn’t know what happened between them either.

Both men saw it coming and lunged forward yelling a warning, but it happened anyway. Julie turned away from the refrigerator with an uncooked casserole in her hands, just as Penelope swung around to take a dish to the sink. The two collided which resulted in the gooey, raw egg casserole sliding down Julie’s shirt and jeans.

For a moment, time stood still. They both stood there stunned as the raw ingredients slipped off Julie’s body to plop to the floor. Pen was the first to recover. She scrambled over to grab a towel and started wiping off Julie’s ruined clothes.

Julie forcefully grabbed hold of her hands and quietly said, “Stop. Just stop.”

From Colton’s position, he could see Penelope’s stricken face. She whispered in a broken voice, “I’m so sorry, Julie.”

Julie closed her eyes for a moment, but when they opened back up again, they were blazing in anger. “It’s too late for that, isn’t it?” She wasn’t yelling, but the recrimination coming through her low-pitched voice hit Penelope like a physical blow, as she flinched backwards.

Everyone in the room knew they weren’t talking about the casserole mess.

“I want you to leave.” Julie ground out, fists clenched.

Penelope shook her head. “I’m sorry. Please let me…”

“No!” Julie finally lost it and screamed, “I need you to leave! Now, Penelope! Leave!” She sank to the floor sobbing. “Please just leave.”

Penelope was crying just as hard as Julie, but Colton knew they needed to separate before one or both of them said something they’d really regret. He picked Pen up by her waist and walked out of the room with her, just as Chris made it to Julie’s side and pulled her sobbing form into his shoulder.

As Colton exited the kitchen, Chris said to him, “Take the truck,” and tossed his keys at him. Colton never slowed down as he caught them and carried the sobbing Penelope out the door.

* * *

The morning dawned soggy and overcast. It seemed appropriate for Aaron’s funeral.

Ever since her confrontation with Julie, Penelope had withdrawn into herself. Colton didn’t know what to do to help. She was quiet and closed-off. She’d taken to writing in her notebook, but did little else. She refused to talk to anyone on the phone. The shooter hadn’t been caught, so Colton remained vigilant and at her side.

She was hurting and he didn’t know how to fix it, besides simply be there for her and try to make sure the madman didn’t get hold of her. They continued to sleep together, but that’s all they were doing, sleeping. They hadn’t had sex since before the loft had been destroyed.

As they left for the cemetery, Penelope began to fidget. Colton laid his hand across her’s. “It’s going to be okay,” he reassured her. “Julie’s grieving right now. Just give her a little bit of time and space.”

“Do you honestly think it will make the difference? If they didn’t know me, Aaron would still be alive today. Because of me, her boyfriend is dead. She’s lost their future. How can she forgive me for that?” She looked out the truck window watching the West Texas landscape roll by, but Colton knew she wasn’t seeing any of it.

“She’ll forgive you because you haven’t done anything that needs forgiveness. Julie knows that, but she needs someone to blame right now. Until they catch this guy, you’re the only one she can focus on.”

She nodded mutely, but still wouldn’t meet his eye. Unfortunately, the police department didn’t have any more leads than they had before the shooting. Every day that went by, Colton could feel the danger to Penelope getting closer, but he didn’t know where it was coming from so they could protect her from it.

Even more worrisome, other people seemed to be disappearing without a trace from Penelope’s life. Hannah was still missing and, over the weekend, Damon never showed up in Lubbock. His associates at the dig said he’d left according to schedule and the airline showed he made the flight. But from there he disappeared without a trace. There was no way to know what happened.

No one knew whether these disappearances were related or just really strange coincidences. All of it gave Colton a really bad feeling.

They pulled up to the cemetery and before they got out of the car, Colton tugged Penelope’s hand up to his mouth and kissed it. “It’s going to be fine.”

She gave him a soft smile. “I’m so glad you’re with me today. I know why Julie is so upset. I think about what she’s going through.” Her eyes filled with tears. “If anything happened to you, I don’t know how I’d be able to go on.”

He reached across and pulled her to him so he could kiss her. “Nothing’s going to happen to me, sweetheart. Nothing.”

She wanted to be able to believe him.

They made their way over to the chairs set up around the gravesite. The family decided to thumb their nose at the shooter by doing a graveside service out in the wide open rather than a more protected church service. The Lubbock PD was there in full-force to keep the media, unwanted guests, and random shooters away.

It wasn’t enough for Colton to feel safe having Penelope there. But there’d been no dissuading her from coming to support their friend and say goodbye to Aaron. He hovered over her protectively, sharing his warmth in the cold air and  hoping the bulk of his body would shield her in case anyone tried to shoot at her.

Julie sat two rows back from the family with Chris close to her side. The rest of their friends stood in the back of the gathering. As they walked up, Cassie enveloped Penelope into a big hug. Colton couldn’t hear what she said, but Penelope nodded and then turned back toward him.

It wasn’t raining, but there was a definite heaviness to the air that wasn’t caused only by the grief. It seemed at any moment the heavens were going to open up, mourning the loss of Aaron too. During the middle of the ceremony, Colton heard Penelope gasp. He followed her gaze, his defenses immediately up and poised to drag her to the truck if need be.

A huge white butterfly had landed on Julie’s shoulder. It was springtime in West Texas. It was damp and cold. There shouldn’t have been butterflies out, but there was most definitely a huge snow white one on Julie’s shoulder. It stood in contrast to her black suit jacket. She must have seen something from the corner of her eye because she looked over her shoulder at it. It simply sat there slowly moving its wings back and forth. By this point, almost everyone at the funeral had seen it.

It was beautiful and eerie. It sat there a full three to four minutes before it flew off. As it did, Julie watched it fly away, her eyes filling with tears. She looked to the crowd standing around the chairs. Colton could see her searching. Finally her gaze found Penelope’s and she gave her a soft smile. They were going to be okay.

Afterwards, it was Julie who approached Penelope. After giving her a long, tight hug, she smiled up at Penelope with watery eyes. “Come back to Cassie’s house. We’re celebrating Aaron’s life with margaritas and beer tonight.”

Penelope searched Julie’s eyes. “Are you sure you want me there?”

Julie nodded. “Absolutely.”

* * *

After the damp and dreary morning, the afternoon turned out warm and sunny, so when the group got back to Cassie’s house, they quickly retreated out to her backyard oasis, drinks in hand. It had been a while since the six of them had gotten to hang out and despite the somberness of the day, the gathering quickly dissolved into more of a party atmosphere. The drinking definitely helped with that development.

As they sat there, Colton looked around the group. Jake and Cassie were snuggled up into one of the outdoor lounge chairs. Chris and Julie sat at the little bistro table under the umbrella. Penelope leaned up against him and they both had their feet in the warm water of the hot tub. Everyone had been drinking and relaxing together for a couple of hours so most of their group was feeling no pain.

Julie lifted her margarita glass to Jake and Cassie. “So, put us out of our misery. Let’s have some fun news today. Please tell us you’ve set your wedding date.”

Cassie was sitting in front of Jake in between his legs on the lounger and she leaned back to share a private smile with him. He could see the mischievous sparkle in his little sister’s eye as she asked Jake, “Should we tell them?”

“I think we probably should, especially since it’s not very far away.”

They both looked back at the group and then they zeroed in on at the table where Chris and Julie sat. Jake said, “This past year has been tough and it started out with the worst thing we ever could imagine experiencing, Chris’s death. Thankfully, the news of his death was greatly exaggerated.” He lifted his beer to Chris who smiled and rolled his hand to keep Jake talking. “As awful as that was, it was the beginning of what brought us together. We want to be able to move through May without revisiting the sadness of that day. Soooo, we plan to get married on May 10th, the day Chris died. We want to make it into a day of celebration instead.”

“Wait a minute.” Julie eyes widened and her hands started flying through the air. Her OCD was showing. “Are we talking about the May 10th that’s happening in just a little bit over six weeks?” She looked mortified at simply the idea of it.

“It’s okay, Julie. We’re going to do a very small wedding so it will be easily done.”

She still looked disbelieving. “While you’re finishing up the semester at Tech?” Cassie taught military history for Texas Tech University and the end of the semester was notoriously crazy, for both staff and students alike.

Cassie just nodded. “We can do it. You’ll help keep me organized.”

Julie was in full-blown panic mode. She stood up suddenly. “I need a paper and pen.” She looked around the group as if one of them might have them handy. They all looked at her blankly.

Cassie chuckled as she waved her inside. “There’s a notepad and pen in the kitchen drawer by the phone. Knock yourself out.”

As Julie went into the house to gather her organizing supplies, it was Chris who commented. “That was good of you guys.”

Cassie’s face fell as she looked worriedly back at the back door. “It gives her something else to focus on for the near future. At least to get her through the next few weeks and maybe that will make it easier for her in the long run.”

“You’re a good woman, Cassie.” Penelope was close to tears again.

“It’s what friends do. We stand by each other when one of us is hurting. Besides, she will have me way more organized than I could ever be on my own.”

By Thursday, Colton, Penelope and everyone around them settled into an uneasy pattern. They were all on pins and needles waiting for the other shoe to drop but, so far, there’d been no word from whoever was terrorizing her.

Colton drove her to work every day and then hung out at the bookstore during her shifts, scowling ferociously at any customer who he felt might pose a threat. It had only been two days so far and Penelope was already at the end of her patience with his hovering.

Today was worse because she was conducting interviews for Hannah’s replacement. They needed the extra help in the store for the signing scheduled on Saturday. Unfortunately, a minimum wage retail job brought in lots of people who Colton felt were untrustworthy at first sight. As she exited her office with her latest interviewee, a flighty sixteen year old who didn’t even realize they still made print books anymore, Penelope felt old and just about at the end of her rope.

So when she found Colton with her next candidate cornered demanding he show him his driver’s license, she lost it. The balding man looked small and terrified with Colton towering over him. The poor man’s eyes were darting about as he tried to find an escape around Colton’s mammoth size.

Colton ignored her arrival and continued to glare at his prey.

“Colton!” She said forcefully as she pinched his arm and dragged him behind her.

He turned his glare on her. “Ow! What?”

“Don’t you use that tone with me. Stop terrorizing my customers and wannabe employees.” She turned to the bald man, who still looked pale. She laid a soothing hand on his arm and gave him her most disarming smile. “I’m sorry about that. Are you Mr. Krazinski, my 2:00 interviewee?”

“Yes,” he mumbled quietly, “but I’ve reconsidered and don’t think I want to apply anymore.” He scooted out around her and darted out the door.

She watched him go in disbelief before turning to glare at Colton. “Dammit, Colton. What the hell am I supposed to do now? He was the last person I had to interview.”

He shrugged, but looked a little chagrined when he said, “What about the girl? She seemed nice.”

Penelope rolled her eyes at him. “Sure, if my business was selling lip gloss, she would have been perfect. Unfortunately, I sell books and she doesn’t even know what those are.”

“Oh come on, it couldn’t have been that bad.”

“Seriously, Colt. She straight out asked me how old all these books are because and I quote here, ‘they aren’t even making books anymore, right?’ He was my last hope and you just sent him scurrying out of here, peeing his pants in fright.” She waved her hand at the now shut door. “You’ve been terrifying my customers all day and you have to stop it.”