Chapter 161
Victor’s POV
“Have you heard from Daisy?” I asked Benson when he answered his phone. “Is she home?”
I hated to wake him in the middle of the night. But after hearing nothing from her all evening, I texted Daisy at midnight and still got no reply.
I thought perhaps she wasn’t answering my phone calls or texts on purpose. My meek and mild fiancée had a temper.
Still, it had been a surprise when Daisy canceled going to the party with me last night. I knew she was angry with me over Trina, but ever since this afternoon, I couldn’t shake the feeling she was frightened and in danger.
“No, Mr. Klein,” Benson replied. “I’ve been waiting for her to return. She was expected hours ago. Mr. Wilson is concerned there was an accident.”
Have you tried calling her?” I asked. Surely, Daisy would answer her phone for Alex or Benson. She wouldn’t worry them like this.
“We can’t reach her or Mr. James by phone,” Benson said. I heard the concern in his voice. “We’re thinking about calling the state police.”
“Tell Alex I’ll be right there,” I said and climbed out of bed. “Call the James’s home and ask their servants if they have heard from them.
I disconnected and pulled on jeans, a t-shirt, and sneakers before grabbing my keys and running down to my garage.
I passed by the Lamborghini and climbed into my pickup truck. I may need to go to Lake Pocono tonight.
I arrived at Alex’s mansion in record time and rushed in the door. Benson and Alex were waiting for me in the living room.
“What do you know?” I asked.
“The James’s butler said he hasn’t heard from them,” Benson told me. “He expected them for dinner. Mrs. James was very firm about not wanting to spend the night at the lake house.”
“Maybe they changed their minds,” Alex suggested. He looked pale and drawn. Worrying over Daisy wasn’t good for him.
This wasn’t like Daisy at all. She wouldn’t be this inconsiderate. She would have called Alex if she could. Fear for her safety began to gnaw at me.
“I’m calling the police,” I declared and dialed my phone.
I explained the situation, and the officer in charge said he would call the local police near Lake Pocono and have them check the James’s lake house.
They promised to get back to me within the hour.
Alex and I sat quietly, waiting for news while Benson hovered nearby.
I no longer felt Daisy was afraid, but I didn’t know if that was good or bad. Maybe she wasn’t afraid anymore because ….
No, she was alright. Nothing could have happened to her.
I remembered the way she approached me when I was sitting at the restaurant table next to Trina Cabot.
Trina was a sensual woman who was confident of her sexuality. I found her amusing, but she was married. I won’t bed another man’s wife.
Daisy was plainly jealous of me speaking to her, but she wouldn’t admit it. For some reason, it made me feel great to know she felt that way. I smiled constantly for the rest of the evening.
Maybe Daisy was right about us spending too much time together. The lines between friendship and something more were blurring lately.
That couldn’t happen.
My phone rang, and I quickly answered. It was the state police. They failed to get in touch with anyone at Lake Pocono. The phone lines were out of order.
I told Alex what the police said and knew what his answer would be.
“Victor,” he pleaded. “Please, go find her. Bring my daughter home to me.” Alex covered his face with his hands. He was crying.
“I’m going right now,” I declared. “I’ll be in touch as soon as I know anything.”
The two-hour drive seemed even longer as I drove through the early morning darkness. I almost missed the turn off the highway because the sign was hanging crookedly from its post.
The sun was rising over the treetops when I turned onto the secondary road that would take me to the town, and I looked with awe at the tree limbs, mud, and other debris that covered the streets.
What happened here? I pulled next to a yellow work truck and asked a crew working on downed power lines what caused the mess.
“The storm of the century came through the area yesterday afternoon,” a worker replied.
“My fiancée was visiting the lake with friends,” I said. “Can I make it back to their cabin?”
“You should make it with your truck as long as no big trees are lying in your way,” the man said. “Watch for downed wires.”
“It was just a bad storm. She must be okay,” I told myself. “But why didn’t she or William answer their phone?”
I continued down the street to the other side of the little town and began looking for the blue mailbox, and turned onto the dirt lane that led to the cabin.
A creek partially washed out part of the lane, but it wasn’t deep, and my pickup crossed it easily. It also drove over various-sized branches and tree limbs that littered the lane.
But I reached the front of the cabin and parked behind a van.
Except for some leaves and branches everywhere, the cabin appeared unharmed.
I got out of my truck and climbed the stairs to the porch, and peered through the front window.
The sight that greeted my eyes made me swear. Daisy and William were asleep on the couch together.
I marched to the front door and let myself in.
“Daisy,” I said loud enough to wake the house.
“Huh,” she murmured. “Victor, what are you doing here?”
“When your father couldn’t get ahold of you or William, he sent me to find you and take you home.”
She sat up and rubbed her eyes. “There was a bad storm. The power went out, and my phone was dead.” She stood up in a panic. “Alex must be worried sick.”
I nodded. “That’s why I’m here.” I handed Daisy my cell phone. “Call him now.”
Daisy took my phone and dialed Alex’s number. She went outside on the porch to speak to him as William got up from the couch.
“Victor, I’m sorry you had to come all the way here.”
“Why didn’t you answer your phone?” I asked.
“It fell in the lake,” he replied.
I threw up my hands. “I’m just glad everyone is okay. Why were you sleeping with Daisy?”
“I lit the fire when the power went off to keep her warm,” he said. “We fell asleep on the couch, waiting for the power to come back on.”
William’s parents stumbled down the stairs. It was apparent they had slept in their clothes.
“Victor, what are you doing here?”
William explained as Daisy returned from the porch and handed me my phone.
“Well then, you can ride home with Victor,” Lily told Daisy.
Daisy looked at William.
“She can ride with us, Mom,” William said.
“She’s riding with her fiancé, who came all the way here to find her,” Lily insisted.
“I’ll be ready in a few minutes,” Daisy told me and hurried upstairs.
She returned quickly and said goodbye to the Jameses.
William followed us outside and helped Daisy into my truck. “I’ll see you tomorrow at school,” he said.
“Thanks for having me here,” she said.
“Sorry it got messed up,” William said.
It wasn’t your fault,” Daisy laughed. “And it was kind of an adventure.”
I started the truck. “See you, William.”
William waved as we drove off.
Daisy looked around at the storm damage. “It looks like a bomb went off around here.”
“I talked to some locals who called it the storm of the century,” I said. “I didn’t mean to ruin your good time with William.”
“I understand why you came for me,” she said. “Alex can’t take being worried like that. Thanks for helping.”
She gave me a warm smile and a wave of affection for her washed over me.
I wanted to stop the truck, pull her close, and hold her. I had been worried about her too, but I didn’t understand why I felt a sudden strong urge to hold her in my arms.
But the urge faded at her next words.
“I’m going to William’s football game Friday afternoon, but I’ll be ready for the party at the Foster’s on time. This party is important for both of us.”
“Yeah, okay,” I said. “I’ll pick you up at seven. Have a good time at the game.” Or maybe I would show up at the game too.
To be continued......
17 chaps of this week have been released, more chaps are coming. Happy reading : )
