How (Not) to Fall in Love(84)

“Toby, wait!” I called after him, then followed as quickly as I could, stumbling down the hill, grabbing at branches for support. Once on mostly flat ground, I ran after Toby. He hadn’t gone more than thirty yards when he stopped. We were still too far away from the stones for me to see if anyone was there.

“What is it, Tobes?” A barbed wire fence stopped our progress. It looked like miles of fence penned in the henge, keeping trespassers far away from the stones.

“Electric fence,” said a sign. “Cross if you want to be crispy.”

Clonemaniac hadn’t mentioned the fence. The pictures he’d posted online had been from right inside the circle of stones. No way could anyone get that close now, unless they risked electrocution.

Toby sniffed around the base of the fence, hackles up, tail straight out behind him.

I looked at the stones. Even from a distance, they were spectacular.

No one else was here. What exactly had I thought I’d find, anyway? A guest book with Dad’s name in it?

Now what? Should I wait? Maybe Dad hadn’t made it yet. Or maybe he had, and been dissuaded by the fence. I could sleep in the truck, keeping vigil on the side of the road, waiting for him to show up. The wind picked up as I stood there staring at the stones, waiting for a sign from the heavens, or the druids.

Footsteps snapped twigs behind me. I froze in shock when I heard the click of a gun. A voice spoke, low and threatening. “Hold it right there. Don’t move.”

Toby charged toward the owner of the voice, barking and growling.

I spun around to see Toby growling at a man dressed all in black. His beard hid most of his face. He pointed a gun at me, then at Toby, then back at me.

“Call off the dog, or I’ll shoot!”

Fear paralyzed me but I had to do something. “Just let me grab him,” I said. “He’s not dangerous. He’s just protecting me.”

“Ha.” The man kept his gun leveled at me. “Grab him, then. And get the hell off my property.”

I lunged for Toby’s collar. He pulled the other way, determined to go after the threat.

“P-p-lease. Lower the gun. It’s freaking him out.” And me.

The man glared at me, but lowered the gun halfway. “You another of those hippie nuts comin’ to howl at the moon?”

“What? No. I’m just looking for someone.”

“Yeah? Who ya looking for?”

Honesty was my only hope. “My dad. He’s…sort of a clonehenge follower.”

The man snorted. “He and a million other nuts.” He kicked at the ground. “Never woulda built this if I’d known how many idiots there were.”

My eyes widened. “You built it? You’re the owner?”

“Yep.”

I forced a quavering smile even though I was still shaking. “It’s beautiful. Amazing. I’ve never seen anything like it.”

“Thanks,” he said gruffly. He raised the gun again. “You still need to get the hell off my property.”

Toby started barking again. “Quiet, Toby!”

“Well, God tear it all. Damn dog is smart. Knows when I’m pointin’ the gun and when I ain’t.” He lowered the gun and Toby stopped barking.

“Can I please…” I took a shaky breath. “Before I go can I show you a picture of my dad? Maybe you’ve seen him.”

The man tilted his head. “What’s the matter, kid? Your dad run away from home?”

I swallowed over the growing lump in my throat. “Yes.”

The man scratched his head. “Well, I’ll be. I thought I’d heard all kinds of stories, but that’s a new one.” He rubbed his beard. “All right then. Show me the picture.”

I grabbed my cell from my pocket and pulled up Dad’s photo, one of his many glamour shots. I waited, trembling. I didn’t know what to make of this guy. Clonemaniac said he was a hermit nutcase and to run like hell if you saw him.

Too late for that.

The man pushed my phone back at me. “He looks like one of them TV preachers. And no, I ain’t seen him. So you and your dog need to pack it up and get outta here. Normally I’d call the sheriff, but you don’t seem like a troublemaker.”

I felt tears gathering in my eyes. “You haven’t seen anyone come through here lately?”

He frowned. “Just a bunch of hippies I chased off yesterday. But there was nobody like your dad with them. Just a bunch of kids. They were chasing henges, too. Probably off to the next one on their list.”

I wondered where they were headed. Maybe I could find them and show them Dad’s picture. If they were traveling around looking at henges, they might have seen him.

He gestured with his gun. “Go on, now. I’ll follow you out to where you parked. You’re in that truck, ain’t ya?”

I had no choice but to do as he said. It took forever to hike back to the truck, but Toby pranced around us happily since the gun was holstered. The man watched as Toby and I climbed into the truck.

“Don’t even think about staying, or hiding somewhere thinking you’ll sneak back later and wait for your dad. I got my security guard coming to take over for the rest of the day, and the night. And he ain’t near as nice as me.”

My shoulders slumped over the wheel. How had he guessed my plan?