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Laying back on the comforter, she trailed her hands across the fabric and closed her eyes. She focused on her breathing and before she knew it, she’d fallen asleep.
The next thing she knew, the light was coming in through the window. She stretched and sat up, feeling far more refreshed than she had any right to be.
Her head was clear. All her concerns from the night before seemed so far away and so… insignificant. She loved Zeke. They would be able to work out whatever life threw at them. She’d let things get away from her, and it was time to have a good old-fashioned conversation about expectations moving forward.
On that same note, she’d be having a discussion with her son. It was time to really take control of her life the way she always had.
Agatha retrieved her things and headed for the door, but the second she opened it, she froze. A man in a sheriff’s hat and uniform stood right outside, his back to her. He turned to face her and stuck his thumbs into his belt loops. “Ms. Birch?”
“Yes? Is everything okay?” Immediately her concerns went to her son. “Is Thomas hurt? Did something happen?”
He waved a hand at her. “No, no. Everything’s fine. Well… except…” He glanced over his shoulder toward Zeke’s truck. “Did you come here using that truck?”
She shot a look toward the vehicle. “Yes. Is there a problem?”
“Seems Mr. Callahan has reported it missing.”
Her mouth fell open. “He wouldn’t.”
“Sorry?”
Agatha cleared her throat and shook her head. “I was borrowing his truck for errands yesterday. I had his permission…”
“Did you notify him of your plans to stay at the Sleep Inn Motel?”
“Well, no… but—”
“I’m sorry, ma’am. But I’m going to have to ask you to hand over the keys.”
She shook her head. “This has to be a mistake. He wouldn’t… we are…” When the sheriff lifted his radio to his mouth and glanced in her direction, she stopped. If Zeke reported the truck missing, he was either really mad at her, or he had assumed the truck had really been stolen.
“Were you saying something?” he asked.
Shaking her head, she jerked her purse around and dug through it. “This is all just a misunderstanding. I can call him, or I’m certain you have his phone number. Just tell him I have the truck.” She pulled out her phone, finding there were several missed calls.
Her stomach dropped to the floor and her legs went weak. The device had been on silent all night. From the looks of it, not only had Zeke called her, but so had Thomas and Shane, as well as some unknown numbers.
She blinked rapidly, forcing herself to stay present. When she met the sheriff’s gaze, she stammered, “Like I said, this is a misunderstanding. I needed to get away for the night and I didn’t have my phone on. But if you must take the keys—”
He held up his hand as the radio crackled some nonsense she couldn’t understand. But that could have been due to the ringing in her ears. Zeke was furious. She already knew it without even seeing him. Her son was likely in the same boat. Coming to the motel on a whim wasn’t as great of an idea as she originally thought.
The sheriff offered her a polite smile. “I’m sorry, ma’am. I’m going to ask that you follow us in the vehicle to the sheriff’s station.”
“Am I under arrest?” Her voice squeaked and her palms went clammy.
“No, of course not. But we will have to take a statement, and it sounds like Mr. Callahan is there already in the process of filing a missing person’s report.”
“He’s what? Oh, for heaven’s sake. This can’t be happening. I was gone one night. That was it.” Agatha brushed past the officer and took a few steps toward the motel office before stopping. “I assume it will be okay if I check out before we leave?”
He nodded, seemingly confused, but over what, she couldn’t figure out.
This was ridiculous. The whole situation was. Once upon a time she would have thought she was in complete control of her life, and somehow that truth had changed. Was it possible that this whole time she’d been fooling herself?
The whole way to the sheriff’s station, she had to fight the temptation to turn the truck around and head back to the hunting cabin. No one was going to arrest her, and she could just drop off the truck and be done with it. She could let Zeke come to her and explain himself.
But instead, she played the well-behaved middle-aged woman who apparently had a great deal more sense than all of the men in her life.
The sheriff’s station was mostly empty. The only vehicle she recognized was her son’s. Great. He was here, too. Well, that just meant the conversations she’d been steeling herself for were going to happen sooner rather than later.
