Page 38 of Traitor
So there goes the whole ride home. Not that I mind, really. It keeps me from being inside my own head too much. And Lexie isn’t all that bad. In fact, she’s a pretty good kid when she isn’t being a brat, which isn’t often. I guess if I’d been raised with a mother like Mercy, I’d be a brat, too. She and I are gonna have to have a long talk someday. This poor girl doesn’t deserve to be shoved off on any willing family member so her mom can gallivant around with every available douchebag.
In fact, I think as I pull back up to the lodge, that’s the first thing I’m gonna do before I check in with Nell. The lodge can wait. I glance over at Lexie who, I’ll be damned, does look a little like me if I squint just right. Mercy has a lot of shaping up to do.
“You go inside and head to the main kitchen and snag something to eat for lunch. I’m gonna go find your mom and have a little chat.”
Lexie pauses before opening her door, her eyes wide. “You aren’t gonna tell her I cussed are you?”
I laugh. “No, honey, I won’t tell her, I promise. Now go on.”
The furor from the police search has died down and operations have gotten back to normal. I’m grateful as I stride through the front door that we haven’t had anyone questioning about what happened. If I’m ever going to finish the upstairs renovations, so I can release the rooms I’m using for myself to be booked, then I’ve got to keep booking percentages high. Even though I believe Peyton about what happened, part of me hopes the woman is never found for my own selfish reasons.
Nell looks up from the front desk. “Welcome back,” she says.
“Everything good?”
“Quiet as a church,” she replies.
“Have you seen my sister?” I ask.
“Not a peep. She must be busy.”
Oh, I’ll bet she is, I think as I head to my rooms. I can only hope she hasn’t snuck in whatever loser she’s currently seeing. But the living room is empty when I open the door.
“Mercy?” I call out. God knows, I don’t want to find her twisted up somewhere half naked with some dude going at her. I’d rather dig my eyes out with a spoon. “Mercedes!”
She isn’t in her room or the bathroom either. I curse and dig out my phone. She answers on the third ring.
“I was just about to call you,” Mercy shouts over roaring wind.
“Where are you?” A motorcycle revs through the line, and I have to count to three to keep from shouting. My headache kicks up a notch as foreboding causes my stomach to clamp down around the sandwich I’d had for lunch. “Mercy, where the fuck are you?”
“Don’t be mad,” she says.
“You only say that when you’ve done some shit that you know is gonna make me mad. Now, your daughter is worried that you don’t care about her. You’renot here,and I want you to tell me where you are.”
Murmured conversation sounds over the phone line, and I pace back and forth through the living room to keep from going off on her.
The revving motorcycle quiets, followed by static, and then Mercy saying, “I’m with a new friend of mine, we’re goin’ out of town for a couple days. I need you to watch Lexie for me, but don’t worry, she’s a good kid and she can take care of herself. Since that whole thing with the woman on the boat is over with, she’ll be safe there with you. I promise it’ll only be a couple days, a week at the most.” I’ve been through a lot, but my mind goes perfectly blank at the thought of taking care of a teenage girl by myself for an entire week. At a loss for words, I can only rub at my eyes as Mercy continues, “She goes to school online, so all you have to do is make sure she does her assignments on time, and don’t let her watch too much TV.”
“You can’t seriously be leaving her here with me to run off with some guy,” I say very quietly, very calmly into the phone.
“C’mon, Ford, don’t be a wet blanket. It’s only for a couple of days and she can practically take care of herself. Look, I’ve gotta go. I’ll call you when I’m heading back that way!”
She disconnects the call before I can say anything else.
“Uncle Ford? Is something wrong?”
I turn to the entryway and find Lexie standing there with two plates full of stuffed bell peppers and rice. She’d gotten me a plate and I hadn’t even asked for it. For some reason, the gesture touches me. I put my phone back into my pocket and help her with the plate. She takes the seat next to me at the little counter bar.
“No, everything’s fine. Thanks for bringing me a plate, kiddo, I’m starving. It smells good.”
Lexie nods, her face solemn. “Was that Mom on the phone?”
The flavorful rice turns to chalk in my mouth. “Yeah, sweetheart, it was.”
She sighs. “What did she say?”
Damn you, Mercy. “I told her to take off for a couple days and stay out of our hair. She’s been driving me crazy, and I figured she hasn’t been much better with you.” The lies roll off my tongue with practiced ease. The poor kid thought her mom didn’t want her. I couldn’t let her know Mercy’d left without a second thought.