Cross Country Chaos Read online

  Paulie looked at the paper, then took it. “I don’t have a cell phone.”

  Sharon studied Paulie. “There’s a three hour time difference between here and L.A. You can’t call him right now, it’s too early. Don’t get in trouble with your teachers for calling him.”

  “I’ll try to call him before lunch. We’re supposed to go to the library during English. I can go to the bathroom and call him.”

  Sharon nodded. “Your mom will be upset we did this.”

  “She won’t be upset at you, because I won’t tell her.”

  Sharon smiled, felt a little guilty. But only a little. “You’re a smart kid.” She set her cell phone to vibrate and handed it to him. “Don’t answer it unless it’s Mart, or me calling from here.”

  He nodded and slipped it into his pocket with the paper.

  She knew Kelly would be mad, but better that than have Mart upset because he didn’t know.

  * * * *

  Mart sensed something was wrong. He’d sent Kelly an email the night before, and there was no reply this morning when he got up. And she was never up that early. That was weird. She did say she had errands to run, but something felt wrong.

  He grabbed breakfast with the staff and checked his phone before the meeting. He put it on vibrate and slipped it into his shirt pocket, afraid he wouldn’t feel it if he clipped it to his belt.

  Shortly after the meeting started, Mart was answering a question from one of the attendees when his phone vibrated. He paused, glanced at the number and didn’t recognize it even though it looked vaguely familiar. Probably someone at the Sarasota office. They could leave a message. Everyone knew if there was an important question, they had to text him if they needed an immediate reply when he was in a meeting.

  Mart slipped it into his pocket and continued. Besides, it wasn’t Kelly. And if it was urgent, they would text him.

  An hour later, Mart looked again. Another missed call from the same number, but he couldn’t stop to check his voicemail. It would have to wait for the first break.

  Mart called a five-minute break at ten and checked his voicemail. The first one from the strange number sounded like the caller was going to leave a message. There was a little background noise. Was that a school bell? Then they hung up. The second was Paulie. He sounded like he was trying to keep his voice low.

  “Mart? It’s Paulie. I have Grandma’s phone. I’m at school. Call me, okay? Don’t call Mom or tell her I called. I have to talk to you, it’s really important. But don’t call Mom, call me on this phone. I’m at lunch right now then I’m in class and can’t talk. Bye.”

  Mart hung up. What the hell? Why couldn’t he call Kelly? And why did Paulie have Sharon’s cell?

  That’s why the number looked familiar. He didn’t have it plugged into his phone yet. He’d called it from Kelly’s phone last weekend in Birmingham.

  He tried the number and got Sharon’s voicemail. “Paulie? This is Mart. What’s wrong? If you can’t call me, text me. I can’t answer my phone during the meeting.”

  The vague unease he’d awoken with returned with a vengeance. What was going on?

  He tried Kelly’s cell and got her voicemail. “Hi, hon, it’s me. Just checking in, making sure everything’s okay. Give me a call or send me a text message. Love you.”

  He hung up and looked at the phone, willing it to ring. He was going to try Kelly’s house when he realized the break was over and everyone was waiting on him.

  “Damn.” He put the phone in his pocket and rolled into the conference room.

  * * * *

  Michelle handed Kelly the finished papers. “We’ll throw everything at him, including the kitchen sink. Before we go in, I’ll offer Asswipe the chance to drop it, see if he’ll back down. If he does, I have the order to dismiss ready.”

  Kelly looked at Michelle. “You don’t honestly think he’ll do that?”

  “No, but who knows?”

  “What next?”

  “Meet me tomorrow morning at eight at the courthouse, in the snack bar. We’ll go over last-minute stuff. I wish your boyfriend could be there. The sympathy factor of having a guy in a wheelchair—”

  “No.” The edge in Kelly’s voice surprised them. “I won’t use Mart like that. He deserves better than that from me.”

  “Kelly,” Patty said, “I’m sure Mart would be more than happy to be used like that if it meant you could nail David’s balls to the wall. I don’t claim to know him nearly as well as you do, but he loves those boys and would do anything to help you keep them.”

  Kelly glared at her friend. “He’s my fiancé. He’s not a puppet I can flash around to get sympathy. ‘Oh, look at the poor woman with the kid and the boyfriend in wheelchairs, isn’t she pitiful?’ I will not do that to them!”

  Michelle and Patty exchanged puzzled glances. Patty spoke first. “Kelly, you’re taking this independence stuff a little too far. Mart would be the first to offer to testify. He doesn’t need sympathy to come off looking a hell of a lot better than David right out of the chute.”

  Kelly signed the papers and threw the pen on Michelle’s desk. “I have to go to the bathroom.” She held her tears until she locked the door behind her, then turned the sink on, hiding the sound of her sobs.

  She wanted to be strong, wanted to do this on her own. It was bad enough she’d taken money from her mother and sister for the trip. Mart had already done so much for her, spent so much money on the kids.

  Yes, he loved her and the boys. Yes, she was going to be his wife. Until then, she hated feeling indebted to others, even him.

  Every disparaging remark David had ever said roared through her head.

  You can’t get along without me. What the hell are you going to do—a woman with two kids, one of them in a wheelchair?

  Who will want you besides me? You’ll regret leaving me. No one will love you like I do.

  You’ll come crawling back to me one of these days. The boys will want to be with me, and you’ll be alone.

  I’ll take away everything you love.

  She knew they were all lies. But at times like this—and this was the worst in a long time—they flowed through her as loud and harsh as when David first uttered them. She felt helpless to purge herself.

  Patty was right. She needed help, from a shrink. Having Mart at the hospital was the only thing that kept her sane last weekend, kept the flashbacks that usually accompanied the worst stress at bay. After this was over, she’d have to bite the bullet and see someone and pray David never found out and tried to use it against her.

  Ten minutes later, Kelly washed and dried her face, took a few deep breaths, and returned to Michelle’s office.

  Patty and Michelle stared at her. Patty spoke first. “I hope you flushed the stick that’s up your ass?”

  Kelly’s face went blank, but then she laughed and burst into tears.

  Patty hugged her. “It’s going to be okay, girlfriend. David won’t win.”

  Michelle handed Kelly a box of tissues, her voice kind. “I wish you’d reconsider calling your fiancé.”

  Kelly looked at them, but Patty spoke first. “Kelly, we’ve talked about this. It’s the PTSD. And you have to talk to someone.”

  “Asswipe cannot use it against you, Kelly,” Michelle chimed in. “I’ve told you that. Hell, we have enough proof that he’s the cause. Lots of women I’ve represented in divorces against guys like Asswipe, or worse, end up with it in some form or another. Yours is in the low-range of the scale, but stress like this triggers you.”

  Michelle walked around the desk to stand in front of Kelly. “Please, as your attorney, I’m advising you to call your fiancé. I’m not saying ask him to fly a redeye home. I’m saying talk to him and get this off your chest. The extra stress is not helping.”

  Kelly nodded. “Okay. But not now. I can’t anyway. He’s in meetings all day.”

  “Call him tonight and talk to him.”

  Patty hugged Kelly again. “It’s the right t
hing to do. He loves you.”

  * * * *

  Paulie slipped the vibrating phone out of his pocket under the desk so the teacher couldn’t see. If she saw it, she’d confiscate it. Mrs. No-Cell Sawyer must have a drawer full of them.

  It was Mart.

  Paulie hid the phone in his pocket and held up his hand.

  “Yes, Paulie?”

  He walked to her desk, his hand on his stomach. He kept his voice low. “Mrs. Sawyer, can I go to the bathroom? I don’t feel good.”

  “What’s wrong?”

  “I think it’s something I ate at lunch.”

  “Do you want to see the nurse?”

  “Can I go to the bathroom first? I had the chili mac.”

  She frowned and quickly wrote him a hall pass. “I had that, too. Frankly, I don’t feel so good either. If you need to see the nurse, try to come back here first.”

  Paulie nodded and hurried out the door to the bathroom. He went to the last stall and locked himself in, grabbed the phone, and played the message.

  Did Grandma even have text messaging?

  He looked at the time and took a chance calling the house.

  Sharon answered. “Paulie?”

  “Is Mom home yet?”

  “No. Did you talk to Mart?”

  “I left him a message but didn’t tell him what’s going on. He called me back, but I was in class and missed it.”

  “Where are you now?”

  “I’m in the bathroom. I told Mrs. Sawyer I had an upset stomach.”

  “I don’t know when your mom will be back, but I don’t want Mart calling here if she’s home. I won’t be able to talk to him.”

  “Can I text message with your phone?”

  “I don’t know. How do I tell?”

  “Do you have text messaging on your phone? Do you pay for it?”

  “Honey, I don’t know. I just talk on it. Why?”

  “He said to text message him if it’s important.”

  “Oh. Call him and leave him a message. Tell him you have to talk to him. Oh no, your mom’s home. Tell Mart not to call the house. He has to try the cell phone. I have to go. Get back to class. Love you.” She hung up.

  Paulie looked at the phone and found the text message feature. He tried a test message to Mart’s phone to see if it would go through or bounce back. Within five seconds, the phone buzzed, and a message appeared.

  This account is not equipped with text messaging…

  “Urgh!”

  Paulie dialed Mart’s number, tapping his fingers on the phone, waiting for Mart’s voicemail.

  He talked fast. “Mart, it’s Paulie. I’m still at school. Grandma’s phone can’t do text messages. Dad filed papers, I think he wants custody. There’s a hearing tomorrow at ten, but Mom won’t tell you because she’s afraid you’ll get in trouble with your job, and you can’t tell her I told you or she’ll be mad. I have to go back to cl—” BEEP!

  Paulie dialed the number again and waited. “I have to go back to class. Grandma said Mom’s home now, it’s nearly one-thirty. Don’t call the house, because Grandma can’t talk with Mom home, and I have Grandma’s cell phone. Please call me right now. I’m in the bathroom and I’ll have to go back to class in a few minutes. Mom doesn’t want to tell you about the hearing because she doesn’t want you to miss more work—” BEEP!

  Paulie stared at the phone and watched the minutes tick off. After five minutes, he knew Mart probably wasn’t calling back. He put the phone in his pocket and returned to class.

  “Are you feeling better?” Mrs. Sawyer asked.

  He shook his head. “Not really.” That was the truth.

  “Do you want to see the nurse?”

  “Not yet.”

  “Keep that pass. If you need to go again, raise your hand and go, okay?”

  He nodded and returned to his seat.

  * * * *

  Mart’s phone vibrated twice, then again a few minutes later as the voicemails came through. He excused himself to look at it, saw it was Paulie. “I’m sorry, I need to step out and take this. My fiancée’s son had emergency surgery last weekend, and I’m worried there’s a problem.”

  He went into the corridor. When he played the messages, his blood ran cold. Mart tried dialing the number. It went straight to voicemail. He tried Kelly, and her phone went straight to voicemail, too.

  Mart rolled into the conference room. “I’m sorry, I have to go.” He packed his laptop and papers and grabbed one of the L.A. team members. “The stuff you need is on here.” He handed him a flash drive. “I might be able to come back next week, but I have to get home right now.”

  Mart caught a cab to the hotel and worried the whole way, impatient with every red light. Why hadn’t Kelly called him? He looked at his phone, ready to call her again. The battery was low, almost dead. He’d forgotten to charge it the night before when he left it on the bedside table. And it was roaming, which drained it even faster.

  “Crap!”

  He got her voicemail. “Kelly? It’s Mart. Give me a call when you get this, okay? I need to talk to you. Love you.”

  His phone beeped. Low battery.

  Mart didn’t bother changing out of his suit. He quickly packed, checked out, and caught a cab. It was almost noon, and he knew it would take close to an hour to get to LAX with lunchtime traffic.

  The ticket agent was sympathetic but less than helpful. “I don’t have anything available to Tampa this afternoon. The soonest direct flight is late tonight, arriving tomorrow at eight local time.”

  He shook his head. “I have to be on the ground in Tampa no later than six tomorrow morning.” He’d calculated the drive time from Tampa International to the courthouse with morning rush hour traffic, and even then that might be pushing it close. He probably wouldn’t have time to go home and change before the hearing.

  She looked again. “I’m sorry, Mr. Rawlings, I don’t have anything.”

  Mart fought his growing frustration. He’d shut his phone off to save the battery and couldn’t call Kelly. “What about St. Pete/Clearwater? It’s right across the bay.”

  “Let me check.” She shook her head. “No, sorry. Not until tomorrow afternoon.”

  He took a deep breath. “Orlando. Sarasota/Bradenton. Hell, I’ll even take Jacksonville or Miami or Ft.Myers, if you can get me on the ground by two a.m. local. Tallahassee by midnight. Gainesville? Anything.”

  She checked. “The only thing I have is Miami, but it will put you there at five.”

  That wouldn’t work. He knew he could make it home from Miami in four hours, but rush hour traffic and one accident on I-75 could make him late. Plus he’d have to rent a car, and that would add at least an extra half-hour or more, if they even had hand controls available. He’d left his at home because he used cabs in L.A. “What about connecting flights? Out of Atlanta or Charlotte? Anything? Please, it’s a family emergency.”

  “Let me check.” She tapped a little more, then picked up the phone and made a call. She talked with someone for a moment and said, “Hold on.” To Mart, “I can get you on a flight leaving here in two hours, to DFW. Then a connecting flight to Tampa from there, but it’s a tight connection, not much of a window for error. You’ll get to Tampa around three tomorrow morning local time.” She glanced at his chair. “If you’re more than twenty minutes late getting in to Dallas, you might not—”

  “I’ll take it.”

  She talked to the person on the phone, tapped some more. “How will you be paying?”

  He handed over his AmEx and impatiently tapped his fingers against his leg.

  Chapter Thirty-Seven

  Kelly emerged from the bathroom and found she’d missed Mart’s calls because her phone was still on silent from Michelle’s office. She played his voicemail. He sounded worried. She called, got his voicemail and left a message. He was probably in a meeting, so she typed a text message.

  Give me a call when you’re out of your meetings. Everything’s ok. Love you. />
  She hesitated. Everything wasn’t okay, but why worry him?

  She sent it.

  * * * *

  Mart checked his suitcase and kept his laptop and carry-on. He made it through security without too much hassle. Once he was at the gate, he mentally kicked himself.

  His cell charger was in his suitcase.

  He risked turning on the phone, saw Kelly’s voicemail and text message but tried Sharon’s phone first.

  * * * *

  Paulie and Denny sat at the kitchen table and did their homework. The phone vibrated, and Paulie nudged his grandmother under the table with his foot and passed her the phone so Denny couldn’t see. She took it, quickly checked the screen, and answered.

  “Hello?” She moved to the living room. Patty and Kelly talked on the couch.

  “Sharon? It’s Mart.”

  “Oh, hi, Mary.” Kelly looked at her. Sharon whispered to her, “It’s my friend, Mary. I need to talk to her.”

  “Sharon? What’s going on? It’s Mart—”

  “Yes, Mary, it’s good to talk to you, too. I’m glad you got my message.”

  “Paulie said something about a hearing tomorrow?”

  “I’m at my daughter’s house.” Sharon walked onto the porch so the boys couldn’t hear, but she was afraid Kelly could. “Her ex-husband filed some sort of bogus emergency motion seeking full custody, a bunch of false allegations.”

  “Oh, crap.”

  “Yes, the hearing’s at ten tomorrow at the courthouse in Sarasota.”

  She heard a beep from his end. “Sharon, I forgot to charge my cell last night, and my phone’s almost dead. I wanted to tell you—”

  “She’s okay, but between you and me, she’s very upset. She won’t call her fiancé, doesn’t want to worry him. Patty thinks Kelly has PTSD, and stuff like this really upsets her. She won’t get help, wants to try to do this on her own.”

  * * * *

  There was another beep, louder, persistent. Mart knew his phone would die any second. “Look, Sharon, I’m trying to—”

  “That’s right,” Sharon said, still playing the part, “I know and you know, but try telling her that.”

  “You can’t talk, obviously, but I wanted to—” BEEP! He looked at his phone. Dead.