The next morning Eloise was still rattled by her father's sudden appearance. She even skipped out on shopping with my sister, claiming she had a headache. But I knew it was because of her father. I wanted to hurt him for making Eloise feel this way. She didn't deserve a father like him.
"Are you sure you are okay to go out today?" I asked Eloise as we sat on the couch. We were waiting for my sister, Lexi to pick her up for their shopping spree. "Yes. I'll be okay, don't worry. It will be a nice distraction." She gave me a small smile. I laid my hand on her knee.
As I drew circles on her knee with my thumb we heard a knock at the door. "I'll get it." I said to Eloise as I stood up. I wanted to open it just in case it was her father.
I opened the door and was met with a much-needed familiar face. "Hey, Lexi." I greeted my sister. I opened the door wider letting her in. "Hey, Drew." Lexi hugged me. She stepped back and her eyes landed on Eloise. She took a seat next to her on the couch.
"You okay?" She asked softly. "Yes, I will be." She smiled at Lexi. Her smile seemed a bit strained which made my heart break. Lexi engulfed her in a hug. "Now I think it's about time we get going. I saw these super cute boots that just screamed my name." She said as she grabbed Eloise's hand. "See you later." Lexi yelled as she walked out of the house dragging Eloise with her.
If there was one thing Lexi was good at it was finding distractions. My smile dropped a bit. Lexi had thrown herself into opening her own coffee shop after her best friend broke her heart and abruptly left town. If she wasn't working on her coffee shop she was doing other things to keep herself busy. He really left a number on her, but to this day she has never told any of us what happened between them.
***
Even though Eloise took the day off didn't mean that I had the day off. One of the perks of being the boss was that I could come and go to work as I liked. So I showed up at work a bit later than usual.
As I walked into the winery I saw Kipp pushing in a load of boxes. Kipp was one of my youngest workers at the winery. He may only be 22 but he is one of my most hardworking and trustworthy workers.
"New batch?" I asked him as a way of greeting. "Yeah, it just came in." Kipp replied. His brows were furrowed as he stared at me. "Something wrong?" I asked him.
He had a conflicted look on his face as if he wasn't sure if he should open his mouth. "You're late." He blurted.
Oh that was what it was then. "Yeah, I spent the morning with Eloise." I replied and walked to my office before he could say something. I didn't need the whole town in my and Eloise's business. They'd drive us crazy.
A pile of paperwork awaited me on my desk as I stepped into my office. I suppose that's what I get for leaving the paperwork for another day. The white papers were in stark contrast to the dark brown interior of my office. One thing I didn't like about running a winery was the paperwork, but I suppose it's part of the job.
I sat down on my black leather chair begrudgingly. I sighed as I picked up the first of many papers and started to work. I combed through them at I pace which was too slow for my liking. Some papers were filled with orders others with bills.
I was about halfway through the pile when I heard a knock on my door. A headache clung to me. Too many words and too many numbers. I welcomed the distraction as I saw my older raven-haired brother walking into my office. "So you and Eloise?" Blake asked me with a smirk.
I realised that I hadn't spoken to him at dinner the other night. Everyone was too busy in their own conversations. And I was stuck on Eloise. Now that we were together and our relationship was out in the open I couldn't stay away. I don't think that I'd ever be able to stay away ever again.
"Yeah." I said as I grinned like an idiot. Blake stepped closer to me and clapped me on the back. "Congrats man. You deserve happiness." He said with a smile. "Thanks." I smiled. And for the first time in a long time, I felt truly happy.
Blake stayed the rest of the day as we caught up. We didn't see each other that often anymore since I spent most of my time with Eloise. It was probably about time for a boy's night. I loved my brothers even if they got on my nerves most of the time. No matter what happened we were always there for each other.
We were still catching up when Blake was abruptly cut off by my phone ringing. I picked up my phone and saw that it was Eloise calling. I smiled as I answered the call.
As soon as I answered the phone Eloise's panicked voice filled my ears.
"Drew-" She gulped as if she had been crying.
I straightened, my one hand gripping the edge of the table. "What's wrong? Are you okay?"
"Someone broke into the house." She said with a strained voice.
"What do you mean?" I frowned as I immediately stood up and grabbed my car keys off the table.
"The whole house is trashed." She whimpered.
I couldn't think about anything else than getting to Eloise. "I'm on my way." I said as I rushed out of my office.
I saw the red and blue lights flashing from the direction of our house as I drove closer to the house. Eloise was talking to someone in a uniform as I pulled up into the gravel driveway. It was too dark to see the deputy's face from this distance. Her eyes were puffy from crying. I quickly stepped out of the car and rushed to her side.
I gently grabbed her cheeks with both hands. "You okay?" I asked as I surveyed her for any injuries.
"They left before we got here." Eloise said, understanding that I was checking if she was hurt. I pulled her into my chest and wrapped my arms around her. She gave a small sigh of relief. I held her for a moment and pressed a kiss into her hair. "I'm glad you're okay."
"Me too." She pulled back slightly to look me in the eyes.
I heard a cough from behind me. I turned around to face the man in the uniform. Only it wasn't just any man in a uniform. I took in his short blond hair, his short stubble and sharp blue eyes. Suddenly something changed in me. First, the shock set in and then the anger took over. Bits of anger bristled just under my skin as I clenched my firsts.
"What are you doing here?" I snapped.
"Nice to see you again too, Drew." Easton said dryly.
I stepped closer to him and pulled him by his beige shirt collar, which was part of his deputy uniform. "You have some nerve coming back here after what you did to my sister." I breathed.
He was the cause for my sister closing herself from anyone for a long time and I wouldn't forget it anytime soon.
"I'm only trying to help." There were flecks of sadness in his eyes. Almost as if he was sorry. I pushed the thought away. He didn't get to be sorry.
"Well go help somewhere else. Anywhere else, just not in Evermount Springs." I released him from my grip and he stumbled back. I walked away from him without giving him a second glance.
Eloise was still standing at the same spot as before as her brows scrunched in confusion. I'd tell her everything later. Well, the some bits that I knew of at least. Lexi has always been a private person, something we had in common. As I reached her I touched her upper arm. "Do you know where my sister is?" I asked her gently. The sight of her seemed to calm my anger down.
"She left when the deputy arrived. She just said that she had to go." Eloise uttered as she looked behind me at Easton.
She then looked up at me with a frown. I could see the question on her face. "Later." I took her hand as we walked up to the Sheriff who was standing on our porch. Joyce's golden blond hair was tied in a tight ponytail. She's been the town Sheriff for more than a decade. Even at 50 years old she was still as smart and quick as a whip. Her blue eyes pierced into mine and moved to Eloise.
"I don't believe we have met. Joyce." She introduced herself as she held out her hand to Eloise. Eloise took her hand and shook it. "Eloise."
"You've got a good grip I can give you that." Joyce said with approval as she let go of Eloise's hand. Eloise blushed and gave Joyce a small smile.
"What's he doing here?" I kept my voice even and nodded to Easton who stood by the sheriff's car. "We've had a few robberies all over town this past week. Three sets of footprints at each scene. Expensive things missing from all of the sites. Jewellery, money and such." Her eyes flicked to Easton.
"As for him, he was sent over to help us figure out what is going on. This past week the robbers have had us chase our own tails with leads that lead to dead ends. I know you may not want him here, but we need all the help we can get to catch these bastards. We need to solve it as soon as possible and we don't want these robberies to cause a panic."
I nodded. She had a point even though I didn't like it. I changed the subject. "Any suspects?" I asked her.
"No, they're good. They don't leave anything behind. Well except for their muddy footprints. Guess the rain did us lots of good, because their footprints are the only way we've been able to tie the robberies together."
I cursed silently. We had to get them.
"There isn't anything more I can do at the moment. I'm sorry." Joyce said as she said goodbye and left.
Eloise squeezed my hand. "We'll fix this. Everything is going to work out, you just watch."
I squeezed her hand in return. For some reason, I believed her. I believed that we would be okay. Together Eloise and I could face anything.
My eyes shifted to the front door. My heart pained when I took in the broken door. My house was destroyed and I hadn't even seen the mess inside yet. Eloise stepped around the house surveying the mess. Some of the floorboards were pulled off, and papers and household items were scattered all over the house.
Eloise suddenly stopped in her tracks deep in thought. She looked at the open drawers and thorn-away floorboards.
"What do you see?" I looked at the drawers and floorboards and then at her.
"They weren't just trashing the place. They were looking for something." She lifted up the papers in the drawers. "What could they be looking for?" Eloise faced me with furrowed brows.
"I don't know but whatever it is I hope they find it soon." I said as I looked at my trashed house. This place was a mess. There was no way that we were staying here tonight. A thought occurred to me.
"We can't stay here." I took Eloise's hand in my own.
"Where are we supposed to go?" She asked me.
"My family's cabin."
"The one you told me about?"
"Yes. I figured we wanted to go one day so why not now?"
Eloise sighed as she looked around the room. "When do we leave?"
"Is half an hour enough time for you to pack? We'll just be staying there for the weekend."
Eloise nodded. "Yes. I'll go start packing." She squeezed my hand and went upstairs.
I took one last look at the trashed kitchen and living room before I made my way upstairs to pack.
I rubbed my hand over my face in annoyance. Damn it. This was a mess.