Her Enemy Protector Bear by Cynthia Wilde

Chapter 19

The next morning, Zoe drove the truck onto the site and parked in front of the booth. Zelda was waiting for them. Her silver hair shone in the morning light. The cat jumped out of the truck and circled Zelda's legs. She bent down and petted him companionably.

"Have any trouble last night?" she asked him as if Zoe wasn't there. Zelda paused as if she were listening to the cat talk without words. "I see," she said. "Good thing you were there to keep them safe."

Zoe had it up to here with this whole thing, but she tried to be polite as she greeted the older woman. She really liked Zelda, but she didn’t really have time for this whole pretend thing. She was totally over it in fact. "You're here early," she said as she walked to the back room to unlock the door. "I didn't expect you for an hour."

Zelda shrugged. "I'm an early bird; figured I could use my time wisely by helping you out this morning. Besides, it looks like Pasqual here needs a break."

"Pasqual?" asked Zoe. "Is that his name?"

"Oh my, yes," said Zelda. "I'm surprised he didn't tell you already."

"Who? Devon? The cat?" Zoe felt puzzled and even more frustrated.

"No, Nick," said Zelda, laughing and shaking her head. "Didn't he tell you about everything yesterday? I know it must’ve been a doozy of a day. How’re you doing with it?"

Zoe had had enough. "Zelda," she said, trying to sound as in control as possible. "I'm not sure what's going on around here, but I think I'll be okay on my own today. I hope you don't mind. I just need to focus on the shop today." She didn’t have the energy to call her out on the talking cat thing.

Zelda looked at Zoe for a moment, then something flashed in her eyes as if she'd made a decision. "Not a problem at all," she said sweetly. "Should you need me, just send a text off to Nick. He knows where to find me."

"Of course," said Zoe, though at this point it seemed likely she wouldn’t be speaking to Nick again. Apparently, he had everyone in on the ‘crazy faire’ joke. "Thank you, Zelda. Sorry for the inconvenience."

Zelda waved Zoe's comment away. "I am sure you are dealing with a lot, but I'm positive, with time, you will see things differently. Have a good day."

She walked off as Zoe let out her breath. She didn't even realize she'd been holding it in. Looking into the backroom, she wondered if maybe by lowering prices a bit, she could sell her entire stock today. If that was possible, they could make a clean break tomorrow and not have much to load in her truck. She set a goal for herself as she started hanging up the clothing.

"Devon," she called to her son. "Come help me with this." Devon was sulking as he helped her pull bins from the back room and hang items. Zoe felt bad that today would be his last day with his friends. "As soon as we are set up, you can go find those kids you like to hang out with. Just be back before lunchtime. I need you back directly at noon for some packing. Ok?" Someday he’ll understand. Maybe when he has his own kids. Hopefully it won’t take that long though.

Devon smiled weakly. "Thanks, Mom," he said as he handed her the last skirt in the bin. Relieved that he didn't argue with her, she smiled back and placed her hand on his arm.

"Everything is going to work out the way it's supposed to," she said.

"Yeah, okay." he replied morosely.

She hugged him as her heart was breaking for him. She pushed the feelings done. She could deal with all that later. Right now she had a lot to take care of.

Just then, the three kids that Devon always played with showed up at the booth; Devon looked at Zoe hopefully. "Go ahead," she said. "But be back by lunchtime, okay?"

"Okay," he said, running out the door.

Zoe watched him go, happy he could at least hang out with his friends one last time. Maybe they would email each other. She guessed they were the ones that Devon claimed 'changed into bears.' One more day with them wouldn't make a difference in Zoe's mind. It’s not the kids’ influence on him that I’m worried about anyhow.

Around noon, Zoe had accomplished half of her goal of selling all her stock. She made some deals and offered a few sales here and there while selling many of her items to several regulars. By the time she looked at her phone again, it was one, and she was getting annoyed with Devon. It was past lunchtime, and he wasn't back yet. Usually, he'd want his food by now. He was just starting to hit a growth spurt and he was always hungry. It also wasn't like him to not check in at all. She was very lucky he was such a mama’s boy, and she knew it. Maybe he’s just acting up cause he’s mad at me.

The shop was slow at the moment. The joust was going on, and most people didn't want to miss it, so shopping was at a minimum. Zoe walked out to the lane and looked down the one-way street. She didn't see Devon or his friends anywhere close by.

She caught sight of a little head going around the corner and called out “Devon!”, but it wasn’t him. The disappointment compounded the worry. The thought of texting Nick crossed her mind, but she wasn’t about to entertain that option. It had taken all she’d had to turn him away in the first place. She was proud of herself. She wasn’t about to crumble. Besides she was being silly. Devon would be back any minute; she was sure of it.

However, as two o'clock rolled around, and the streets started picking up, Zoe's intuition kicked into high drive, that something was really wrong.

At this point she decided screw her schedule. She quickly folded down the plywood sheets that secured her booth and locked up temporarily. She was going to go look for him. She began just walking the lanes. By three she had done a circuit of the entire faire and she was starting to get really nervous. She had left a note for him on the booth but he wasn’t there when she returned. I am not calling Nick. Her pride and her panic were beginning to fight it out at this point. She decided she would give it one more try before caving to panic. Or is it common sense? This is your son! This time she decided to search some of the back alley ways behind the shops and back near the bleachers of the jousting areas. That’s when she saw it. She was lucky actually to see it at all. Right there in the grass near the joust bleachers was his little red wallet. It was sort of a Velcro kid’s wallet thing. She hastily looked inside. It was his alright.

Now there was no hesitation. Dialing Nick's number, Zoe prayed that he would pick up. Come on come on come on! She felt herself slipping into full panic mode. When she heard his voice over the phone, she felt relieved, despite herself. He might be a little crazy, but he had a good heart. And in truth, she would’ve called Jack the Ripper if she thought he could help find Devon. She didn’t care. She had to find Devon.

"Nick," she said hurriedly into the phone. "Devon is missing. I found his shoe. Something is wrong! He went with his friends this morning, and when he wasn’t back I went looking for him. I found his wallet a few lanes over, in the back. Sorry to bother you, but have you seen him?"

There was a brief pause while Nick cleared his throat. "I saw him this morning with the Parker kids. They were headed off into the woods behind the joust. I think they have some kind of secret hideout over there. I'm about to do a show, but I will send Zelda to check if he's there and bring him back. Try and stay calm. It’s just his wallet. He could easily have dropped it. I’m sorry if there weren’t a thousand patons that would riot if I didn’t go on I would be there now. I have to go, but I will call you as soon as I’m done, okay? I will rush the show."

"Okay," said Zoe, trying not to sound as distraught as she felt. "And Nick, thank you."

"You're welcome," he said. "Try not to get too worked up. He's probably just hanging out and forgot about the time. Or you know maybe he is upset. See you soon." Nick hung up.

Zoe didn't know where exactly where the kids’ hideout was; otherwise, she would have closed her shop and run over there. Since she had no idea where they could be, it was best to wait and see what Zelda found out.