Temptation Ridge (Virgin River #6)(94)

“Okay, okay,” she said tiredly, holding up her hands, caught. “What timing. He took off. Ah, it was just this morning. He said he was going to—he wanted to go see some really old aunt of his in Redding. I called there, no answer, and no answering machine—some of these people are real hicks. I was just about to call Social Services, but I’m sure he just hitched a ride to his aunt’s and she’ll make sure he gets back. I was giving him a chance to check in—I don’t want him in trouble. What are you going to do, fine me?”

Okay, lie number one, Luke thought. Art had been with Luke a couple of months. “You know what?” Luke said. “You keep trying the aunt. The less said about this, the better for Art. The better for you, huh?” And he winked at her.

“Yeah.” She smiled. “Really.”

“Why don’t you jot down that aunt’s address and phone number for me? If I find him there, I can bring him back before there’s any confusion about it.”

“You don’t have the address? She’s next of kin.”

“Save me some time, huh?” he said with a smile. “To tell the truth, I have a lot better things to do than track him down, but it’s on my sheet.” And Luke wondered how many challenged residents had run off or disappeared while Shirl and Stan pocketed the monthly stipend provided by social security or insurance or the state. What happened to their paychecks from the grocery store? Did Stan write them off and keep the money? “I’ll work it out,” Luke said. “There might be paperwork. Don’t worry about it. You’re a nice girl to take him in the first place. These folks get to be a handful,” he added with a grin.

“Tell me about it,” she said.

He didn’t know about the others, but there was no sweeter soul, nobody less trouble and more eager to please than Art. But he said, “I’ll take care of this and get back to you. You don’t have to say anything.” He raised his eyebrows. “We don’t want him in trouble.”

“Right,” she said. “Wanna come in? Have some coffee or…something?”

“Thanks, but I’m running behind. I’ll come back though—how’s that?”

Luke left Shirl and took a big truckload of supplies for the cabins back to Virgin River. He decided he wasn’t going to take any chances—he’d get help from Mike and Brie. He’d wait till after Christmas, give the Valenzuelas some time with their new baby and all the visiting family, then pay a visit, explain in detail about the group home and job Art had come from and ask what he had to do to clear things up so Art could stay with him. And if it wasn’t possible for Art to stay with Luke, his next residence would be safer—Luke would see to that. Between Mike and Brie, given their legal and law enforcement experience, they could at least help him figure out how he should proceed. And he’d like to get Stan and Shirl investigated—they were a couple of punk kids in charge of a lot of disabled adults. It smelled like they were working the system for profit.

Luke decided it would be necessary to go to Phoenix for a couple of days over Christmas. If he didn’t, there was no telling how many Riordans might show up in Virgin River, and he didn’t have the patience for that. Going to Phoenix would appease his mother and mollify his brothers.

With all that was going on over the holidays around his cabins, he needed to be sure everything was well organized, planned out. First of all, he had to be sure Jack and Mike Valenzuela could manage everything their families needed while Luke was away because Art certainly couldn’t handle guests’ needs.

As for Art—he’d be fine on his own for a couple of days, but Luke didn’t feel right leaving him alone. Luke appealed to Shelby and the general. Art should have a holiday dinner, a few presents that Luke would provide before leaving town and some sense of family. He knew before even asking they’d be more than happy to welcome Art and see that he had a memorable Christmas.

And then there was Shelby. He racked his brain for a gift idea. He wanted her to know she was very important to him, but he was nervous about what to buy her. She was the kind of woman he felt like buying something flashy and sparkly for, but he just wasn’t ready for something like that. Women saw things like jewelry as stepping stones to marriage, but things like sweaters sent the message you didn’t care at all. So Luke went all out in the only way he knew how. It was more than he’d spent on a woman in over a dozen years, including his mother—he bought Shelby very special, six-hundred-dollar ostrich boots, handcrafted and stitched. He considered buying her a saddle, but the boots were more personal. They had their Christmas-gift exchange right before he left town, and when she opened her gift and saw the boots, she wept. No one had ever given her a gift like that in her life and he enjoyed success when she kissed all over him.

He took her into his arms, laughing sentimentally. “I’ve never seen you cry,” he said, holding her close, rocking her back and forth gently.

“Oh, you’d have seen way too much of that a year ago….”

“But these are happy tears. That’s different. That means I did good.”

“You did very good,” she said. “They’re just amazing. Exactly what I would have had made for myself. Like my own skin. I could sleep in them.”

“But someone could get hurt,” he reminded her with a laugh.