But Roger didn't want the new toys. He wanted fifty additional game controllers. Which they didn't have.
“Cypress and old Highway Six. Nine o’clock. I'll be in a 1998 blue Chevy. You pull up, we’ll load them into the back with the rest, and I'll take off. And you won't see me again until next December.”
“I'll be there,” Drew promised, his voice low with a dark edge to it. “And I'm going to hold you to that. Because I'm going to be here every day, and if I see so much as a text from you come through on her phone, I will find you and I will make you sorry.”
“Geez, and everybody here thinks you're such a good guy. Wholesome, noble farm boy from Iowa, right?” Roger taunted.
“I am all of those things. But something we do in Iowa that is very much like what people do here in Louisiana…we take care of the people we love no matter what.”
With that, Drew gave Roger a final shove, then turned and walked away from him.
Fortunately, in the opposite direction from where Rory was ducked behind the truck listening.
She scooted around to the front of the truck as Roger stepped out and started down the line of trucks toward the one he’d driven into town. It was not a 1998 blue Chevy, but she wasn’t surprised that he had a second vehicle lined up to make this mysterious delivery to whoever was buying these controllers. She assumed it was someone in New Orleans. That was where most of his connections were. It was probably the guy that he was going to be working with at the casino. Or a friend of a friend. She really didn’t care.
She was still sitting on the front bumper of the truck, chewing her bottom lip, when the owner came out with his two little kids.
“Hi, Rory!” Olivia, the little girl, greeted.
Rory stood and forced a smile. “Oh, hey, guys. I was just taking a little break.”
Brad, the father, gave her a grin. “I can see why you would need one. This is amazing.” He tipped his head toward the petting zoo and Santa’s village.
“We had such a good time,” Olivia said.
“I'm really so glad,” Rory said, meaning it with everything in her. Santa's Village had come together and she was really proud of it. The guests all raved about it. And, even more importantly, all of the Landrys were very pleased.
She watched the little family drive away and with them, her sense of satisfaction disappeared. Yes, Santa’s Village was awesome. But because of it, Drew Ryan had come to Autre, made her fall in love with him, and was planning to meet her con man father on a dark backroad tonight. With a bunch of empty boxes. If Roger figured that out, he’d be so pissed. Who knew what he’d do?
She had to do something. Of course, she didn't want to, because it would mean confessing to someone what she knew and how, but she couldn't let Drew go out there to meet Roger alone. Roger was a wildcard. She didn't think that he would kill Drew or anything crazy like that, but he could hurt him. Or Roger could force Drew to go to New Orleans with him and who knew what those people might do.
A shudder went through her. This was all her fault. Drew was involved in all of this because of her. She had to do something to make sure he was protected. Even if it meant exposing herself.
She turned and surveyed the petting zoo. It was full of people who would know what to do. Who would definitely have Drew’s back. Who could easily handle Roger. Zander was the only one missing. He was the town cop and, of course, couldn't take off duties to hang out with reindeer and elves, but he was probably her best bet.
The only problem was that he was a Landry too.
She just had a real allergy to disappointing Landrys.
But she didn't have a choice. Drew had to be safe and if that meant she had to confess about her dad and her background and the fact that she’d brought this problem to their doorstep, then so be it.
She really did want to take care of her own shit. She’d wanted to clean up this mess herself. But she was out of options. She wanted the Landrys to trust her and admitting that she was the cause of all this trouble was going to be tough, but Drew’s safety was more important than her pride. If she lost the Landrys’ respect, well, at least she’d have Drew.
Zander just needed to get out to Cypress and old Highway Six tonight at 9 o'clock. If he was there, nothing terrible would happen to Drew. He’d see what Roger and Drew were doing and he’d check the truck and find the stolen controllers. It would not only keep Drew safe, but it might end up with Roger in handcuffs.
Rory pulled out her phone, ready to make the call but…she didn’t have Zander’s number. She couldn’t call 911 for this. To get a hold of him would mean asking someone else and making them wonder why she needed to know.
Drew is worth it. Drew is worth it.
She was just going to have to suck it up and take whatever consequences came. Drew loved her. That was really the bottom line. He loved her and knew all of her secrets and even if no one else did, Drew loving her was enough.
She crossed the barnyard to where Charlie was standing just inside of the barn chatting with guests and handing out alligator-shaped Christmas cookies. Rory waited until the little family moved off to step forward and say, “Hey Charlie?”
Charlie gave her a huge grin. “Hey. How's it going?”
“Everything here is great. Everything is perfect, actually,” she was very happy to report. “But I was wondering…can I get Zander's phone number from you?”
Charlie lifted a brow. “Zander's?”
Rory just nodded and didn't offer any additional information.
After just a second, Charlie nodded. “Of course.” She shifted the tray of cookies to one hand and pulled her phone from her pocket with the other. She swiped her finger over the screen a few times before turning the phone so that Rory could see it.
Rory put the number into her phone and then gave Charlie a smile. “Thank you.”
“Absolutely.”
Rory started to turn away, but Charlie said, “And Rory—”
She looked back. “Yeah?”
“For what it's worth, you've got a lot of other phone numbers in your phone that you can use anytime, you know.”
Rory swallowed hard. She had Charlie's phone number, Paige’s, Mitch’s, Jordan's, Sawyer’s, Kennedy's, and Donovan's. She nodded. “I know.”
At least, she wanted to know that.
Knock it off. Why do you just assume no one will help you? Drew helped you the very first day he showed up.
Yeah, but that’s Drew. He’s just a good guy.
But it wasn’t only Drew and Rory knew that. Charlie had just given her Zander's number without asking any other questions.
Before she could lose her courage, she walked behind the barn and dialed Zander’s number. It was his personal number, so she halfway expected it to go to voicemail, assuming that he was at work. But he picked up on the third ring. “Landry.”
Rory swallowed. “Hey Zander. It's Rory Robins.”
“Hey, Rory,” Zander sounded understandably surprised to hear from her. “What's up?”
“I need some help with something.”
“Cop help or friend help?”
She sucked in a little breath. Wow. That was a really nice question. He’d used the word friend. That was…yeah, nice. And he’d asked without judgement. Like he was up for whatever, but he needed to know what shoes to wear to the occasion.