Until The Ride Stops

The dump truck driver got out and slammed his door. Caroline watched as he walked back and inspected the front fender of the yellow traffic pickup. He pulled the hem of his work shirt loose and rubbed the paint on the fender. Looked around. Looked over his shoulder.

And got back in his truck as if nothing had happened.

Caroline took in a sharp breath and grabbed the shorts and shirt she’d worn last evening after she got off work. Slid her feet into sneakers without slowing down for socks. She grabbed her phone and raced down the stairs. The truck was making a careful three-point turn and it was obvious what the driver’s plan was.

He was fleeing the scene.

She dashed across the road and held up her hand, traffic-cop style, in front of the dump truck. The sun was just up, but she had no doubt the driver could see her. His window was down and he had one thick arm resting on the open frame. He stuck his head out the window.

“Problem, lady?”

“Yes, there is. You backed into that truck,” she said, pointing at the yellow pickup without taking her eyes off the driver.

He cocked his head and Caroline could see him thinking about a way out of it.

“Is it your truck?”

What kind of stupid question was that?

“No, it belongs to Starlight Point,” she said, trying to keep her voice cool.

“Then it’s none of your business.”

“It’s everyone’s business, especially those of us who work here.”

“Did you actually see me back into it?”

Rage bubbled up in her throat. She wanted to lie. Desperately. Wanted to say that she had seen it with her own eyes. But it wasn’t the truth. Not exactly the truth. And she was an officer of the law. She risked a glance at the damaged truck. The morning sun glinted off the yellow fender’s large dent. The bumper was crinkled and the headlight broken.

“I heard it,” she said. “And when I looked out my window, I saw you rubbing your truck’s paint off the fender. Trying to destroy evidence.”

“Maybe I was just cleaning it,” he said. “Construction zones are dirty. There wasn’t nobody in the truck, and nobody actually saw anything. You should go back to bed and let me do my job.”

Caroline put her fisted hands on her hips and shook her head. “You know what you did. I’m Officer Bennett of the Starlight Point Police Department. Step out of the truck.”

She had no badge, no gun, no uniform and no radio. All she had was tangled hair, a college T-shirt, good posture and the cop face she’d practiced in her mirror. She had no backup, but she had justice on her side. If she did nothing, some seasonal employee would be blamed for the damage to that traffic truck. Starlight Point’s insurance company would be stuck with the bill. She wasn’t standing by and letting it go.

The burly dump truck driver sat back in his seat and stared at her through his windshield. I’ve got him. He’s going to give up without a fight.

And then he laughed at her. Crossed his arms over his belly and laughed. Caroline stood her ground in the middle of the road, snapped a picture of his license plate with her phone and hit the speed dial number for Starlight Point’s police dispatcher. She relayed a quick report of a noninjury accident and gave her location so a uniformed officer could come out and write a report.

The driver stared defiantly while she called it in, and Caroline realized she was in for a long two-minute wait for someone to come over from the station. If she could arrest the driver for mocking her, she’d do it. But she would settle for busting him on leaving the scene of an accident if he tried to drive away before backup arrived.

Her indignation churned into adrenaline when the driver swung open his door and stepped out. He was twice her size and moved toward her with an ugly expression. Even if she called dispatch again and asked for emergency backup, it would still take a few minutes for anyone to arrive. Caroline had self-defense down to a science, but the truck driver had size and anger in his arsenal.

The last thing she wanted to do was back down, but she was almost considering it when she heard a loud truck right behind her on the outer loop road. Given the time of day and location, it was almost certainly a construction vehicle.

Great. Construction workers probably stick together.

The driver turned off the engine. She heard the squeaking of a window being rolled down.

“Is there a problem?” a voice behind her asked.

A familiar voice.

She looked over her shoulder and saw Matt Dunbar at the wheel of a blue pickup, his yellow hard hat in place as always, but his usual smile replaced with a look of worry. His eyes met hers for a moment as if he was assessing her.

The driver had stopped his advance, but his menacing expression and tense body language remained obvious and reminded Caroline how lucky she was Matt had come along at the right moment.

“There is a problem,” she said clearly, her words reverberating off the fence in the silent morning air. “One of your trucks backed into that parked vehicle. And the driver is trying to deny it.”

Matt’s attention swung from the pickup to Caroline and his look of concern deepened. “Anybody hurt?”

“Not yet. Just property damage,” Caroline said. She liked that his first question was about potential injuries. It was a definite mark in his favor. Arriving just in time to save her from a fight was also a giant red check in the plus column.

“Good,” he said. “Let me pull off the road and we’ll do the paperwork.”

“Didn’t you hear what I said? Your driver is denying it.”

Matt laughed, his tense expression replaced by something closer to his usual smile. “That man behind you is not my driver, but he is delivering stone for my project so I feel responsible for his actions. If he worked for me, I’d fire him.”

“For an accident?”

Matt shoved his hard hat back on his forehead. “I’d fire him for trying to lie his way out of it. And whatever else he was about to do. That’s not how I operate.”

“Come on,” the dump truck driver said. “That damage could have been there already. I can’t stick around all day and fill out reports. I’m supposed to be back at the quarry for another load of stone right now.”

Although it was technically her jurisdiction and she was the one standing in the middle of the road stopping traffic, Caroline waited, curious about how Matt would handle the situation.

He took off his seat belt. Got out of his truck. Stalked over so he was nose-to-nose with the driver. “You will pull off the road. You will cooperate with this police officer. Or your company will never do business with mine again.”

The hard steel in Matt’s voice made Caroline glad she wasn’t in the other man’s shoes.

“You don’t really think that girl’s a cop, do you?” the burly driver asked.

And that’s the end of my sympathy for that guy.

Caroline dialed on her phone and gave the dispatcher an update as she watched Matt reach in and take the keys out of the dump truck’s ignition.

* * *

MATT INSPECTED THE back of the dump truck. A minor dent and some yellow paint would probably not be noticed by the truck’s owner. But the yellow Starlight Point traffic pickup was not so lucky. It needed serious attention to its front corner, bumper and headlight.

Despite the relatively small section of damage, Matt knew the cost could run into the thousands. When his mother had backed into his stepfather’s car in the driveway last year, it was a similar toll.

A Starlight Point police cruiser pulled up and the chief got out. Matt waited while Caroline approached her boss and gave him a quick explanation. His day would be going a lot more smoothly right now if he were inside the gate supervising his crew as they used the stone to pack the newly poured footers for the ride. But there was no way he was going to make an enemy of anyone at Starlight Point—especially Caroline—by glossing over a serious infraction.

She was gesturing with her hands as she talked with her boss. No doubt she’d already exchanged words with the dump truck driver before he’d pulled up. What would have happened if Matt hadn’t shown up when he did? Would the other guy have continued to give Caroline a hard time? Left the scene of the accident? Or worse?

Matt had an odd sensation in his chest when he thought of Caroline facing down big burly jerks like the guy driving the dump truck. Smart and tenacious, she could take care of herself as well as anyone. But life wasn’t always fair. He’d learned that the hard way watching his father make the mistake of flouting the law.

He would never forget the day his biological father was led off in handcuffs, despite his assurances it would never happen.

Caroline usually wore her long brown hair in a tight ponytail, but her clothing and the time of day made it clear she’d just gotten out of bed. Matt pictured her flying from her bunk in the dorms to stomp out injustice. He smiled just imagining it.

Caroline glanced in his direction and he felt as if a searchlight had caught him making a prison break. He hoped she wouldn’t ask him why he was staring at her and grinning. What if she thought he was mocking her or not taking the accident seriously?

He sobered his expression. She was waving him over to talk with her and her boss. Matt crossed the road, the keys from the dump truck jingling in his shirt pocket.

“Dunbar,” the chief said. “Heard you happened along at the right time.”

Matt wondered what Caroline had told her boss about the driver’s apparent refusal to cooperate. He didn’t want to imply Caroline couldn’t have handled it herself.

“Or the wrong one,” Matt said, shaking the chief’s hand. “If I’d been here a little earlier, I might have prevented the dump truck from backing into your pickup. Wish I had.”

“That would have ruined Caroline’s fun. She hasn’t gotten to arrest anyone this season.”

Caroline narrowed her eyes at her boss. “Hey, it’s only June. Give me time.”

“If it’s okay with you,” Matt said, addressing Caroline, “I’d like to get that truck off the road. Can I pull it inside the construction fence while you write up the charming driver? It seems like a hazard on this narrow road.”

“Fine by me,” she said.

Matt started the engine while the dump truck driver leaned sullenly against the fence. The police chief inspected the yellow traffic truck while Matt drove through the gate. He stepped down from the driver’s seat and found Caroline waiting by his door.

“Thanks,” she said. “For what you did.”

“I didn’t do much,” he replied. “Just encouraged him to own up to his mistake.”

Matt held out the keys to the dump truck but Caroline shook her head.

“We’ll release him in a few minutes after we get a copy of his license and write him a ticket. He can make his trip to the quarry for more stone.”

“I’m sure he’ll appreciate that. But he might want to trade jobs with someone and send a different truck back here,” Matt said.

“Do you have a lot more stone trucks coming in?”

Matt nodded. “Shoring up the footers for the top secret ride you probably don’t know anything about.”

Caroline smiled. “I heard they were building an office supply store here.”

“A thrilling one.”

Caroline glanced over at her boss who was writing on a clipboard while the truck driver stood there, arms crossed over his chest.

“So you already poured the concrete footers,” she said. “Are you on track with the project?”

“Almost,” Matt admitted. “There are always surprises.”

“Like remains from a previous construction on this site?”

Matt took a deep breath. Why was she asking him about that? “I’d rather not think about the past when I’m trying to make darn sure the future ride is a success.”

Caroline’s expression reminded him of cop shows on television where someone was getting interrogated in the police tank.

“You’ve seen the...uh...evidence of the old ride, the Loose Cannon,” she continued. “Was there anything that would explain the accident back in 1985?”

Did Caroline know that the company that had built the ride belonged to his stepfather’s brother? Was that why she was asking him these questions? If she didn’t know already, it wouldn’t take her very long to discover the connection. For the sake of honesty and keeping his relationship with her friendly, he should probably just tell her right now.

But he couldn’t. The story of that ride had been forbidden in his family for so long it felt strange to talk about it, especially with someone he hardly knew. Someone who seemed to have a dogged sense of justice and a love of investigation.

Might she turn up something he didn’t want to know? Not that he believed his family was covering something up, but the failure and subsequent sale of the company made him wonder. He didn’t want it dredged up, especially with his stepfather’s poor health.

“That was before I was born,” Matt said. “I’m afraid you’re asking the wrong guy.”

Caroline blew out a breath. “I keep trying to find the right person to ask, but—”

The police chief walked up and started taking pictures of the back bumper of the dump truck.

“We’ll have him out of here in a few minutes,” the chief said, “and then the insurance companies can fight about it.”

Matt handed the chief the keys to the dump truck, nodded at Caroline and walked to the open gate to wave in another truck full of stone that had just arrived. Dwelling on an old story wasn’t going to help him meet his deadlines, and Caroline’s questions made him wonder if he should try to keep his distance from her or keep her close by.

CHAPTER SIX

STARLIGHT POINT TOOK its role as the flagship business of the local community seriously, Matt thought as he ran through the park in the early morning hours. Already this summer, he had endured the Campout for Charity, purchased advance tickets for the Beer and Barbeque for Bikes event on the July Fourth weekend, and today he was running with his brother in the Starlight for Shelters 5K, a race benefiting the local homeless shelter.

The running part was easy. Turning off his brain was the challenge. Everywhere he went, Matt Dunbar saw structures that ignited his engineering imagination. The roof of the Starlight Saloon’s porch that probably didn’t slope enough for rain runoff. The authentic copper rain gutters on the train station’s passenger depot. The emergency staircase spiraling down from the ride platform on a roller coaster.

Although he was no architect, he appreciated the thought and science behind every construction decision. Loved the smell of blueprints and the feel of the paper rolled out under his fingers—even though laptops were replacing paper blueprints on construction sites.

Matt remembered the home he’d grown up in. The wide sandstone steps where his mother had taken his picture on the first day of kindergarten. He should go back there sometime, just to see the Craftsman-style house with an engineer’s eye. An adult’s eye.

When his mother had remarried, he and his brother had a much larger and finer home. His stepfather’s construction company had built it, and Matt and his brother, Lucas, had reveled in having their own rooms joined by a walk-through closet and bathroom. It was a nicer home in every way, but someday nostalgia might take him back to the place where he’d taken his first steps.

Someday. Maybe running with his brother was making him nostalgic.

“Walk break,” Lucas said, holding his side and slowing down.

Matt instantly adjusted his pace to match his younger brother’s. Their first mile had been strong and they almost kept up with the lead pack, but they had gradually slowed somewhere around the Wonderful West railroad station.

The early morning run had drawn a sizable crowd. Possibly because the entrance price for the race also included a ticket to Starlight Point for the whole day. And a very cool neon orange T-shirt with a roller coaster motif.

“Sorry,” Matt said. “I’ve been running a lot in the past year, but you’ve probably been too busy at college to run.”

“Busy,” Lucas said. “Out. Of. Shape.” He took breaths between each word and wiped his forehead with the edge of his race T-shirt. “Sorry to...slow you...down.”

“Heck, I don’t care,” Matt said, putting a hand on his brother’s shoulder. “I’m here because it’s a good cause. They’ll get my donation whether I win or not.”

They walked along the Western Trail, shade trees blocking the morning sun. Some runners passed them, but there were other walkers around them. The race had started three hours before the park opened, and even the slowest runners would be off the course before the day’s crowds arrived.

“Thanks for paying my entrance fee,” Lucas said. “I’m thinking of volunteering at the shelter in Bayside. Maybe they need some art on their walls.”

“That would be nice. Maybe you could do a mural.”

“That’s what I was thinking,” Lucas said. “I remember the white walls in that shelter where we ended up when the police locked our house and seized everything.”

Matt’s chest constricted and he risked a look at his younger brother. The brother he’d always tried to protect. “You were only five,” he said. Matt had been eleven—too old to be protected from the truth but too young to understand it. “Long time ago. And things have improved considerably for us since then.”

“No thanks to dear old Dad,” Lucas said. “If he was going to steal all that money, I wish he would’ve put some away to pay my tuition.”

“You can’t go to college on embezzled money. Besides, Bruce is covering your tuition. Just like he did mine.”

“Two years to go,” Lucas said. He cleared his throat and kept his eyes on the trail ahead of him. “I’m sure you’re worried about Bruce, too.”

Matt thought about the doctor’s prognosis that had Bruce making plans for the company’s future. His stepfather obviously believed his time was short, but Matt hoped the doctor was wrong, overly solicitous.

“It was a hard winter for him,” Matt said. “When Uncle John died, it seemed as if... I don’t know.” He almost said it seemed as if his stepfather had lost the will to live, but Matt didn’t want to think that. Not with the well-being of his mother, his brother and Bayside Construction on the line. Bruce was not a selfish man. He wouldn’t want to leave the people he cared about.

Unless he knew they were provided for.

“If things go bad with him,” Lucas asked, “what do you think will happen to the family business?”

“We talked about it, Bruce and I,” Matt admitted. “He’s worried about the future. Wants to make sure you get to finish school and Mom is set.”

“How’d we get so lucky to end up with a stepdad like him?”

“Believe me, I’ve wondered the same thing,” Matt said. “But we’ve earned his love. And his trust.”

“Does that trust include letting you take over the business?”

Matt did not want to talk about this. Not now when so much was on the line. But his brother deserved to know. They’d never held secrets from each other, each of them somehow knowing that their father’s legacy of lies ended the day he was sentenced to jail and permanently out of their lives.

“Bruce believes he has two options. Sell the business soon and invest the money for our family. Or take a chance on leaving it to me.”

Lucas sucked in a breath. “That’s a lot of pressure. But if I were him, I’d take a chance on you.”

Matt’s throat was tight. The stress of building a major project combined with wondering what the future would bring made his shoulders feel like ropes holding a wild horse. And hearing his brother’s confidence in him only made the stakes seem higher.

“I think he’d be taking a chance on us. The company will be yours, too, when you’re ready.”

Neither of them said anything for a few minutes, and their breath returned to an easy rhythm.

“I could run again,” Lucas offered.

They jogged past the midway train station, the Sea Devil and along the fence at the construction zone. The five-kilometer course had started in the parking lot, wound all the way down the Starlight Point peninsula and back, and would end under a balloon arch near the marina. Bagels, bananas and a live band awaited them at the finish, but there were water stations staffed by off-duty employees along the way.

With only a half mile to go as they ran past the scrambler ride, Matt wouldn’t usually have stopped at a water station. He didn’t need a drink, but he couldn’t resist taking a cup from Caroline Bennett’s outstretched hand.

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