Josh's Challenge Read online

  Missy rolled her eyes and slammed the door. It was early and the July sun was burning down on them like a blast furnace. She squinted her eyes through her cheap sunglasses and followed Ms. Bubbly Britches into the Timbisha Zoo, aka Super Walmart.

  Missy found the last cart available, which needed a front-end alignment, and shoved it through the front doors. If they purchased any soda, they’d have to carry it out themselves so it wouldn’t blow up from the jostling. At least the cart wasn’t squeaking.

  They zigzagged their way through the crowd without running anyone over until they reached the health and beauty department. “Maybe I should just hang out here with the cart while you get what you need,” Missy suggested. There was no way she could push a cart down the aisle, not with everyone jammed in there.

  Angelica agreed, but she took her time with her selections, mostly because she had to fight her way to what she wanted. Meanwhile, Missy was jarred, bumped, and almost run over by a large woman in an electric scooter.

  An anxiety that Missy hadn’t experienced in over a week crept up her spine as person after person strolled by—some smiling and some frowning, some mumbling social pleasantries, and some even baldly telling her to get the hell out of their way.

  By the time Angelica had placed her items in the cart, Missy was sweating and needed to get some air.

  “Let’s head over to the ice cream department,” Angelica said as she grabbed the front edge of the cart and shimmied Missy along the crowded aisles to the other side of the superstore.

  The wider aisles of the dairy department only meant more people could crowd around the glass cases. Missy parked the cart at the department’s edge, near the yogurt, while Angelica perused the ice cream selections. Missy wiped sweat off her brow and tried to work past the haze of the panic attack that threatened to bring her to her knees. When a small hand slid into hers, she immediately calmed down and looked into the familiar blue eyes of Jessica King.

  “Missy!” the little girl said excitedly. “Are ya gettin’ popsicles, too?”

  “Hello Jessica. My friend is getting ice cream,” Missy said, trying to remain calm.

  “Oh, jeez, don’t tell her that. She’ll want some too,” Lauren King said as she pushed her cart up next to Missy’s. “Hey, are you all right? You look pale, Missy.”

  Lauren’s concern nearly had her in tears. “I…I’m fine. The store is just really crowded.”

  Lauren dug in her purse for a baby wipe. “Here, this should help.”

  “Thank you,” Missy mumbled as she used it to wipe the sweat from her brow.

  “Maybe we should find someplace to sit,” Lauren said, grabbing Jessica’s hand and beginning to search for a bench through the crowded store.

  “Oh, she’s fine,” Angelica said with an armload of ice cream containers.

  Missy noticed Lauren’s scrunched-up brow before she reached out a hand. “You must be Melissa’s roommate. I’m Lauren King, Josh’s sister-in-law.”

  “Sorry, I should’ve introduced you,” Missy mumbled, feeling more and more inept.

  Concerned now, Lauren insisted, “I really think you should sit down, Missy.”

  “Oh, no need. We’re about done here anyway,” Angelica said happily. “I’m a nurse and I’ve known her for years. She’s fine. Aren’t you, Missy?”

  She wasn’t, really, but she didn’t want to embarrass herself even more. “Yeah, I’m good. Nice to see you Lauren.”

  As Angelica pulled the cart away, she saw Lauren fish her cell phone out of her purse. Maybe she was texting Josh. The thought rubbed her the wrong way. Maybe the sheriff’s wife knew exactly where Josh was and had no qualms about texting him. Missy inhaled deep breaths as she wormed her way through the masses to the checkout stands. Angelica babbled nonstop about God knew what. The stress of being in such a mob left Missy hard of hearing, and all she wanted to do was go home. Unfortunately, they still needed to pick up Angelica’s car before visiting Missy’s mother.

  She focused on her mom in an effort to help calm herself. She reached into the cart once Angelica had paid and grabbed a bottle of water. She drank the whole thing before they’d made it back to the car, and even though she was feeling better, all she could think about was Josh and wonder why the hell she’d opted to stay in town without him.

  JOSH TRIED TO call Melissa’s phone several times throughout the road trip to Reno, but he got the same message over and over again: “The number you have dialed is not available . . .”

  He’d spent most of his waking hours with Melissa for the past week, and now he hated being without her even for a second, let alone for three and a half hours on the road to Reno. It was becoming increasingly difficult to keep his annoyance in check. Marco and Charlie had been horsing around the entire trip. He was stuck between them in the back seat while his parents rode up front. He should have ridden with Jason and Julie, who were caravanning behind them in their newly purchased Suburban.

  By the time they reached the hotel, Josh was ready to pummel both boys, and so, to blow off steam, he did.

  Of course, that started a wrestling match in the grass next to their parking spot, followed by his father yelling at all three of them to “knock that shit off.”

  Josh was losing his mind.

  “Have you gone crazy?” Apparently Jason thought so too.

  “Almost,” he muttered as he stood up and dusted the bits of grass and dirt off his jeans.

  “He can’t get a hold of Missy,” Charlie explained.

  “Why not?”

  Charlie shrugged before Marco put him in another headlock. Camille rolled her eyes and skirted past them to get to one of her grandbabies. “Did you try calling Marguerite, honey? Missy might’ve gone over to Darla’s.”

  Josh put his hand on his head and sighed. Yeah, that was probably where she was, but it didn’t explain why he couldn’t leave her a message or send a text.

  “If everyone is finished playing patty-cake, I’ll go get our rooms and meet you in the restaurant,” his father said with irritation before he stormed into the hotel lobby.

  “Which restaurant?” Marco asked. “This hotel has, like, a bunch.” The comment made Josh groan again. He was not in the mood for this, and now he wished he’d just stayed home.

  “She’s fine, Josh,” Charlie said, putting a hand on Josh’s shoulder. “Maybe her inbox is full, or maybe you’ve kept her so busy that she forgot to pay her cell bill?” Charlie winked at him before pretending to sucker punch him in the stomach.

  Julie rubbed a fussy twin’s back. “I’ll call Lauren when we get settled and see if I can find out anything. I’m sure she’s fine, Josh.” She leaned over to kiss his cheek before settling the baby in a stroller.

  “Maybe she’s in the middle of a pillow fight with her hot roommate and decided she doesn’t like you anymore.” This from Marco, who wore an arrogant smirk that needed removing. Josh moved closer and both boys took off down the parking lot, Josh hot on their tails.

  BY SUNDAY EVENING, Josh was in the foulest mood of his life. Not only had he not been able to reach Melissa, but he’d been dragged to every part of the university, toured each dorm room, and looked at no fewer than thirty apartments. Charlie and Marco had been excited, and normally their antics would have had him laughing along with them, but his head had not been in the right place.

  The conversation he’d had with Lauren had worried him even more. She’d witnessed Melissa having a bad anxiety attack at Walmart. She’d been with Angelica, whom Lauren didn’t approve of. Lauren didn’t approve of a lot of people when it concerned the family, so this was nothing new. However, she’d also found out that Darla wasn’t feeling well and that Melissa had spent most of the weekend working on call for the clinic.

  It would explain why Melissa hadn’t called him but didn’t explain the continued bad connection. It was almost like he’d been blocked from her phone. Why would she do that?

  In order to save Charlie and Marco’s lives, Josh rode home sitt
ing between the twins instead of those dorks. It was a much more pleasant trip, even if they had to stop more often so the babies could be fed. It gave him a chance to stretch his legs and calm his rage before he got home and busted down Melissa’s door to find out what the hell the problem was. He wasn’t used to feeling this impatient, and he was usually fighting other people’s anger instead of his own.

  At one point, he’d actually called Jarod to find out if she’d been reported missing. His brother had laughed and patched him through to Marguerite, who’d assured him that she was just fine.

  Why hadn’t she called?

  When they finally reached the estate, Josh hugged his family, punched Marco in the shoulder, and put Charlie in a headlock and noogied some hair off his scalp before he hightailed it to his pickup and sped down the driveway. He needed to know if she was all right.

  He needed her.

  When he reached their row of townhouses, his disappointment became acute. No one was home. It was late Sunday evening and he hadn’t eaten since Reno, but he didn’t care. Where the hell was she?

  He got back in his pickup and drove to Darla’s house. Marguerite’s sporty convertible was parked in the driveway, but there was no sign of Melissa’s CRV. He went to the door anyway.

  “Well hello, handsome,” Marguerite said as she opened the screen door for him. When she got a good look at him, her demeanor changed from flirtatious to concerned. “What’s wrong?”

  “You tell me.”

  Her eyebrows raised to her hairline, and that’s when he realized he’d shouted. “Sorry,” he said, clearing his throat. “I haven’t talked to Melissa all weekend.”

  “I see,” Marguerite said. “Have a seat and I’ll get us something to drink. You look like you need it.”

  “No, please, I just need to know what’s going on.”

  “Josh, have a seat.” She brooked no argument, and so, having no other choice, he sat on the couch.

  She returned with two bottles of beer, handed him one, and sat down next to him. “I can assure you that she’s fine. I have no idea why you can’t get through to her, but I talked to her this afternoon. The Ferreros’ mare is having its baby, but there are complications, so she’s been out there all day.”

  He took a deep breath through his nose before he took a swig from the bottle. “Lauren said as much.”

  “Lauren?”

  “Yeah, she said she’d run into Melissa at Walmart yesterday. She was with Angelica.”

  Marguerite hummed under her breath and took a swig of her own drink. “Josh, my sister loves animals. She always has and she always will. She also isn’t as shy as everyone assumes. She just gets tongue-tied a lot and has issues expressing her feelings.”

  “She communicates fine with me.” When we’re alone, he thought to himself. Marguerite didn’t need to know all the details.

  “She communicates with you the only way she knows how, and, believe me, I love that you two have that.” She smiled. “She loves you, Josh. She just has to deal with her own feelings right now. It’s new to her.”

  “You’re right,” he said sheepishly. “I’m sorry I bothered you so late.”

  “Oh, Josh,” she said, “you’re not bothering me, especially if you’re concerned about my baby sister. You love her and I couldn’t be happier for you.” She leaned in and hugged him like a sister would and it made him smile.

  Happy that she accepted him as a brother, he kissed her cheek and hugged her back. “Thank you, Marguerite.” He leaned back against the couch. “Now, tell me how your mom is doing. I’ve been incredibly rude tonight.”

  Marguerite’s face went from happy to sad in a flash. “The cancer is progressing, Josh. There’s nothing anyone can do.”

  “Does Melissa know?”

  “Nope, and Mom wants to keep it that way. So you’d better not say anything or I’ll have you beat up.” She was a good actress, but Josh could see her pain through the smart aleck remark.

  “I won’t. That’s something you and your mother need to come clean about, though.”

  “Thank you. When the time is right, we’ll fill her in. But even Uncle Dane thinks we should keep it under wraps, and we trust him.”

  They sat in companionable silence, sipping on their beers. The TV was set on a twenty-four-hour news channel, and Josh tuned out the droning arguments.

  Maybe he should just let Melissa come to him when she needed to. Marguerite was correct about her little sister being stronger than she appeared to be, but she’d been dealing with a stalker, a new career, and a very sick mother in a very short time frame. Throw in a new relationship with him and you had a recipe for a breakdown…or a breakup, and that just wasn’t going to work for him. She needed his support, not his pressure.

  Silence.

  Missy hadn’t heard a peep out of Josh in a week. She didn’t understand it. She’d been overly busy with work and had put in long hours driving around the countryside tending to foaling mares, sick cows, and even an arthritic African lion living in a private zoo ten miles out in the desert. That had been interesting. After verifying that the lion had its proper papers, she treated the big cat with a steroid and instructed the owner to keep the cat warm, which was not a problem in Nevada summers, but the high desert could get below freezing in winter. He assured her that the lion’s enclosure was heated. Other than that, she left instructions for a proper diet, exercise, and massage if the owner was feeling adventurous. The owner laughed and said, “This ol’ boy is my buddy. We get along just fine.”

  Missy rolled her eyes at the ancient hippy and wished him luck. Then she called Marguerite to let her know that they might need to check on the man periodically to make sure he didn’t become lion food.

  Angelica, on the other hand, had been a constant presence. She fixed breakfast every morning and had dinner waiting when Missy got home at night. The sudden change in her hospital schedule seemed odd, but Missy had been too busy to question it, not to mention fighting the horrible realization that Josh had been using her all along.

  “A tiger doesn’t change its stripes,” Angelica said in a singsong voice as she served Missy a bowl of cereal that morning.

  “No, I guess they don’t,” she mumbled as she pushed the colorful marshmallow charms around in her milk.

  She left for work soon after and noted that Josh’s pickup was sitting prettily in his driveway. He hadn’t called or texted.

  Maybe he’s found a new girlfriend.

  Josh kissing another woman filled her mind and pierced her heart so badly that tears rolled down her cheeks. She wiped them viciously and grabbed the next chart.

  Though the clinic was busy, the day dragged on. When the sky began to darken and the last patient had been seen, she packed up Ginger and headed to her mother’s house. She didn’t want to know if Josh was home or not. Her mother had been tired lately, causing Missy to worry.

  Arriving at her mom’s house, she found Darla home alone on a Friday night. Frowning, Missy grabbed Ginger’s carrier and headed for the front door, which was unlocked. Her mother was sitting up on the couch. A good sign, she thought to herself.

  “Hey there,” Darla said weakly. “What are you doing here?”

  “Ginger wanted to check on you,” Missy said, using her childhood excuse to help her cope with unpleasant things.

  “Ginger, huh?” her mother smiled. She reached a bony hand out to pet the kitten, who immediately started purring and hobbled onto the sick woman’s lap.

  “She likes you, Mom.”

  “Yeah, I like this sweet baby, too.” Darla studied her daughter and frowned. “Oh, my darling girl, what’s wrong?”

  Missy let the tears flow as Darla held out her hand. “Josh isn’t speaking to me anymore.”

  “Whatever do you mean?”

  Missy explained what had happened and Darla frowned. “Melissa Ann Theroux. You find that boy right this second and talk to him in person. He’s been coming to see me all week, and he talks about you nonstop. Hav
e you even bothered to call him?”

  Missy sat back at her mother’s censure. “No,” she admitted. “I didn’t want to smother him.”

  Darla tsked and shook her head. “Calling is not smothering. It’s common courtesy to let the people we care about know that we’re all right. Now give that boy a call. I know he’s worried sick about you.”

  “He is?” Hope bloomed in her chest. She took out her phone and dialed his number, but it was immediately disconnected. “He hung up.”

  Darla shook her head. “I don’t think so, honey. Something’s going on, and you need to see him face to face. You don’t need to keep your sick mama company on a Friday night. Go on home and put Josh’s heart at ease, will you?”

  Missy sniffled. “I will, Mom.” She smiled a watery smile, hugged her mother, grabbed the cat, and headed home. Suddenly she couldn’t wait to see him.

  As she drove through the back roads to the townhouse, she racked her brain to figure out why he’d ignored her all week and came up with nothing. When she got home, her bubble burst. Josh’s truck was nowhere in sight. Angelica’s car was gone too, but with all the time off she’d had Missy guessed that she was finally at work.

  Ginger wandered over to her bowls and batted them around until Missy changed out the water and poured in some fresh kibble. The cat purred her content and dug in.

  There was leftover pizza in the refrigerator, so Missy grabbed a slice and a can of soda and then tromped up the stairs to her room. Too tired for a shower, Missy shrugged into her jammies and flopped herself on her bed to pig out. After taking a big bite of pizza and washing it down with pop, she grabbed her iPad and hit the Facebook icon.

  It wasn’t long before the same photo kept showing up in her newsfeed. It was of Josh and Marguerite kissing on her mother’s sofa!

  What the . . . ?

  Missy continued to scroll and found that someone else had posted the same picture plus another. These pictures had to have been taken well past Darla’s bedtime because the ill woman had spent most of her waking hours on the sofa.