Better Than This: A Nine Minutes Spin-Off Novel

by Beth Flynn

  I leaned back into him, the heat from his mouth spreading fire over my skin and burning its way down my spine. I repressed the urge to moan because I knew he had other things to get off his chest and didn’t have much time to do it. There was so much I wanted to ask him, but it could all wait until his return from Cleveland.

  “Barbie, I need to tell you what I came here to tell you,” he whispered against my neck. A moan did escape my lips, but it wasn’t one that inspired passion, but rather dread.

  Fancy had just pulled into my driveway.

  Chapter 41

  I Should’ve Figured It Out Sooner

  I asked Jake to wait inside while I handled my sister. I let him know I had no intention of inviting her in and would get rid of her as quickly as possible so we could finish talking before he had to leave. I opened the door and walked out to meet her. She got out of her white BMW and was looking much better than the last time I saw her.

  Before I could ask her why she was here, she held up a hand to stop me. “Please don’t say anything, Barbie. I don’t deserve one second of your time, but please hear me out.”

  This surprised me. “I’m not sure there’s anything left for us to say to each other, Fancy.”

  “Barbara Jean, at least let me get the words out. You don’t have to say a thing.” Her tone held a note of sincerity that was foreign to me. I noticed she was holding a note or piece of paper of some sort. Probably something from an attorney, I silently mused. “Please, just let me talk so I can clear my conscience and I’ll leave and you’ll never have to hear from me again.”

  I was standing with my arms crossed over my chest. I lifted my right hand and waved it in the air. “Fine, but please make it quick. I have company.”

  “Is it Jake?” I was caught off guard by the question and her smile. It was one I’d never seen before. It was a smile that said she was happy for me. Nah, you’re imagining it.

  I approached her and paused on the top step of my porch, maintaining a stance that made sure she understood she wasn’t welcome here.

  She brushed a dyed blonde lock off her cheek and said, “I have no right to ask that after the way I treated you in front of him in the parking lot that day. I’ve come to apologize for that.” She paused and pressed her lips together. After clearing her throat, she continued. “And so much more. The things I’ve done to you, the way I’ve treated you…it’s unforgivable, Barbie.”

  I half-believed her. She must’ve been taking acting classes the past few months. I refused to ask where she was living. I didn’t even want to know how she was doing. She sensed my reluctance to give her the benefit of the doubt. She wobbled toward me on her clunky heels. She had the piece of paper pressed firmly between her perfectly manicured nails. You found a new man.

  Holding the piece of paper out to me, she said, “This doesn’t even begin to come close to what I owe you, but I hope you’ll accept it as the first of many payments and as an offer to repair the bridge I’ve burned. I hope you’ll forgive me, Barbie.”

  I was hesitant to accept the proffered white flag, but my curiosity got the better of me. I unceremoniously took the piece of paper and unfolding it, realized it was a check made out to me.

  She rubbed her hands together and looked around, deliberately avoiding my gaze. “Like I said, Barbara Jean, it’s not close to what I owe you for what I did at the condo or the doctor’s office, but I hope you’ll see it as my genuine effort to repair things between us.” Her eyes circled back to my feet. She slowly looked up to meet my shocked gaze. “If you ever have an occasion to come to Greenville, please call me. My new number is on the check.” Her eyes glistened with unshed tears. “And Richard was never going to have his vasectomy reversed for me, Barbie. Not only did I never want children, but what would the chances be at my age that I’d be able to conceive?”

  I could’ve rattled off the statistics but was still too stunned to respond to what appeared to be a sincere and heartfelt apology.

  Seeking the comfort of escape from my possible rejection, she turned around and hastily walked to her car. I wasn’t sure if she was for real, and therefore didn’t know how to respond. I would have to wait this out to see if and where it might go. She was right about one thing. The check didn’t come close to covering the items she’d sold from the condominium. But I had to admit, it was the first time I’d ever known her to not only offer what appeared to be a sincere request for forgiveness, but monetary compensation as well. Would I get another check next month? Only time would tell.

  “Oh, Barbie, about calling you a snob.” She had her car door open and was getting ready to slide behind the wheel. “I’m sorry for that.” She gave a little laugh and said, “If you were a snob you wouldn’t be dating Jake. That is his truck, isn’t it?” She motioned toward Jake’s pickup.

  I re-crossed my arms, immediately on the defensive. “What is that supposed to mean?”

  Her expression changed to instant regret as she held up one hand and said, “No! No, please don’t take it that way. It came out wrong. It’s just that I assumed when I saw him that day that he was a doctor. He was wearing scrubs and driving a Jaguar. And I did a little snooping, you know? Because I was curious about him. And it wasn’t easy, but I found a Jake Chambers. And when I dug a little deeper, I found. Well, you know what I found.”

  I gritted my teeth, aggravated that she’d found it necessary to Google my man, my future husband. I hadn’t even done that. I despised the lack of privacy the internet ushered into this age. “Yeah, I’m pretty sure I know what you found, Fancy.”

  “What I’m saying is, I admire you, Barbie. To think a bigwig surgeon like you would even consider dating a man who’s spent almost half his life in prison says a lot about the person you are. And I’m sorry for never having seen that in you.”

  She gave me a halfhearted smile before closing her door and driving away.

  “Barbie?”

  I didn’t turn around when I asked him, “How much did you hear?”

  “The door was cracked. I heard it all.” His voice was even, no hint of trepidation.

  I swung around and offered a lopsided grin.

  His expression was reserved. “You don’t seem upset. How long have you known?”

  I made my way across the porch and he held the door as I walked inside. “I figured it out at The Lonesome Keg. I should’ve detected it sooner, but I missed so many signs.” We were now standing in my living room, the brilliant sun illuminating dust motes that danced between us. “It all started to come together when I saw the respect the bikers had for you that night. Especially after I noticed a prison tattoo on the back of one of their necks. I’ve seen plenty of them in the operating room. Were you in prison with them?”

  My revelation didn’t seem to put him at ease. He wasn’t upset, but something was still on his mind. “No, I didn’t know those guys in prison, and before you ask me, I wasn’t part of the motorcycle gang that Mike mentioned before. But I worked for their leader. I eventually got caught and went to prison.”

  “Where you met Kenny Pritchard.” It wasn’t a question.

  He didn’t answer immediately. “Yes, where I met Kenny Pritchard.”

  “I don’t know what kind of relationship you had with Kenny, but you were close enough that he told you about Pumpkin Rest. And a lot about his life here. About his mother leaving him. About his little brother, who is neurodiverse.” I tucked a hair behind my ear. “About me. It wasn’t a coincidence the night we watched Tootsie at your place that you pulled out my favorite candy, Peppermint Patties.”

  He inclined his head.

  “Was your original plan to come here and pretend to be the long-dead Kenny Pritchard? Let’s face it, I wasn’t crazy. You looked like him, didn’t you?”

  “Honestly? I thought about it.” He scrubbed his hands down his face and ran them back through his hair. “And yes, we looked almost identical in prison. Same build, same hair, same eyes.” He motioned to his neck. “He even got a tattoo
in prison that matched mine. We were always messing with the guards, even the other prisoners. They couldn’t tell us apart after he got the tattoo.”

  “I’ve seen prison tattoos. I never realized you could get one as elaborate and detailed as yours.”

  He grabbed the back of his neck with his right hand. “You’d be surprised what you can get in prison, sweetheart.”

  I walked toward him. “There is so much I want to ask you.”

  He brought his arm down and gave me a curious look. “You’re not mad?”

  “No. I’m relieved. I don’t blame you for not blazing into town and telling everybody you were in prison with Kenny. If we’re being honest now, I’ll tell you that it wouldn’t have sat right with me. I would’ve avoided you like the plague.” I made a rolling motion with my right hand. “You know, avoiding you would’ve been avoiding the reason behind Kenny’s humiliating abandonment. I wouldn’t have been prepared to face it, especially after what happened with Fancy and Richard. I probably would’ve run as far away as possible so I didn’t have to.”

  Jake stood stone still, his expression closed up.

  “You know the reason he left, don’t you? Just like you knew he’d left the lunchbox beneath the floor. It’s why you suggested I put in a whirlpool tub. It was the only way I’d ever take up those boards.”

  “Yes,” came his tight-lipped reply.

  I smiled. “Jake, I don’t understand why you seem so tense. I’m telling you it’s okay. I understand why you hid it from everyone. From me.” A thought occurred to me. “How did you keep it from Sheila? She knew about your stint in Texas, but how did you hide your Florida prison record?”

  He gave a slight shrug of his shoulders. “I didn’t. She knew about it, because I told her up front. It helped that I wasn’t applying for a certified position and came highly recommended from two other facilities. She ran it by the board and I was given a probationary period. The reason for my incarceration wasn’t violent, and Jonathan had taken to me immediately. That also helped my cause. She told me she had her back to you when she pulled out my file to show you the day you fainted. She slipped it out without you noticing. She didn’t want you to see it because she knew you disapproved of me and would’ve made a stink.”

  “I had no right to ask to see your file. It was a breach of ethics on my part.” I swallowed my guilt and added, “Like sewing you up without reporting it.” It was difficult for me, the rule follower, to admit that I’d had more than one lapse in judgment when it came to Jake. “And Sheila was right. I would’ve had you run off in a heartbeat.” I looked up at him, embarrassed by my admission. “I’m not the same person I was when I first moved back here.”

  “I’m not the same person I used to be either.”

  “I know, Jake. That’s why, when I figured it out, I didn’t care.” I looked up at the ceiling. “So much makes sense now. How you hadn’t seen or even known about certain movies or pop culture. You missed out on so much.”

  He scratched at his jaw. “Yeah, that’s for sure. I have a lot to make up for.”

  I reached for his hands and squeezed them tightly. “This isn’t for today, but I hope you’ll tell me about Kenny. Not for any other reason than to put some things to rest. Did you know Kenny well? I mean, you must have if he told you why he ran away and where he put the note he’d left me.”

  “Yes, Barbie. I knew Kenny well. I shared a cell with him for nineteen of the twenty-three years I spent in prison.”

  I stepped back and tilted my head to one side. “Something is wrong, Jake. You don’t seem relieved at all to know that I don’t care about any of this. I thought you would’ve been happy to know that there’s nothing you can tell me that will come between us. I understand why you hid it from me. I’m telling you that from my heart.” I let go of his hands and clasped mine together tightly. “The secret that you’ve been keeping is out. And it’s okay.”

  He looked crestfallen. Not the expression I was expecting.

  “Being in prison with Kenny is part of it, but what I need to tell you is much worse, Barbie.” I watched him swallow and look away before bringing his eyes back to meet mine.

  I tried to make light of the moment for his sake, knowing that no matter what he told me, it wouldn’t matter. The corners of my mouth tugged upward forming a smile to let him know everything would be okay. “What is it then? What do you need to tell me, Jake?”

  “Kenny was killed in a yard riot.”

  I laughed. “I already knew that! See, that wasn’t so bad.”

  I’m sure the color drained out of my face when I heard his next words. “Yeah, but what you don’t know is that I’m the one who killed him.”

  Chapter 42

  Did You Or Did You Not Kill Kenny?

  To say my world, my entire universe, tilted to one side would’ve been an understatement. I wasn’t sure I’d heard Jake right, but the pained expression on his face told me I had. I took a few steps back from him, pressing my shoulders against the front door. I closed my eyes and shook my head in denial. “No. Please tell me you’re lying. Why you’d be lying, I can’t imagine, but you have to be.”

  He walked toward me and softly grabbed me by my forearms. I opened my eyes and violently shook him off as I stepped away from the door, away from him. “Don’t, Jake. Please don’t. I need some space.”

  He took a few steps back and said, “Now that you know, I can explain.”

  “Explain? Explain what?” I was trying to keep my voice from rising. “That you shared a cell with Kenny Pritchard for nineteen years, sucked up every detail of his life, killed him, and then came rolling into town like you owned the place?”

  He started to say something, but I interrupted. “Did cozying up to Jonathan lessen the guilt for killing his brother?” Another thought occurred to me as my anger increased. “The secret Pritchard recipe.” I looked at the ceiling and threw up my hands in frustration. “How could I have been so stupid?” My eyes cut to his and I narrowed them. “That’s the one thing he never told you. How to make the moonshine. But I told you. That’s why you came here, isn’t it? For a stupid recipe!”

  “Barbie, no. You don’t underst—”

  I held up a hand and interrupted him. “Did you or did you not kill Kenny?”

  There was a moment of hesitation before he lowered his eyes and confessed, “Yes. I did, Barbie. But—”

  “You don’t get a but, Jake. You’ve told me everything I need to hear.” I crossed my arms and turned my back to him. “You should leave.” There was an immediate and intense roaring in my ears as black dots bounced around the edges of my vision. I had to get rid of them and Jake before I could digest anymore. Before he could object, a loud banging on my door startled us both.

  I hadn’t heard a car pull up. I was shocked to see a local man, Travis Webb, standing on my porch. He was nervously rocking from side to side.

  “I’m sorry to bother you at home, Doc, but you gotta come quick,” he anxiously announced as I stepped out onto the porch.

  In a haze of intense panic, he explained that there was a horrific accident at Pumpkin Rest’s only intersection. I was closer than an ambulance and they needed me while they waited for help to arrive. They’d tried calling my phone but I hadn’t picked up. I was still reeling from Jake’s confession and couldn’t remember where I’d left it. Thankfully, medical emergencies were my specialty and I was able to segue into trauma mode smoothly. I was grateful for the distraction of having something to do, but not the reason for it. An accident that couldn’t wait for an ambulance was bad.

  “I need to get my bag,” I told Travis. “And I’ll ride with you.” He responded with a relieved sigh. I turned to go inside and practically bumped into Jake. He’d already retrieved my bag and handed it to me. I took it from him without comment, ran down the porch steps, jumped into the passenger side of Travis’s truck, and didn’t look back.

  It was a nightmarish crash, and would sadly become the first one in Pumpkin Rest’s
crossroads history remembered for having two fatalities. It involved a semi-tractor trailer hauling heavy farm equipment that lost its brakes and t-boned an out-of-state SUV carrying a family of five. The mother and oldest son were killed immediately, while the rest of the family suffered life-threatening injuries. The youngest child’s wounds were so serious, I offered to ride in the ambulance with him. Hours later, I found myself stranded at the hospital in the city with no way to get home. Grateful that I’d memorized her number, I used a landline at the nurses’ station to call Darlene’s cell phone and got her voicemail. I borrowed a computer to look up her house number and spoke to her husband. Darlene had been planning to fly out to Arkansas to be with their youngest when she had her first baby. The new grandbaby decided to come three weeks early. Darlene’s son-in-law had called her right before the accident, prompting her to leave work early and get a ride to the airport. Her husband told me she’d left me a message on my cell phone while they were on their way. He offered to come get me, but knowing he’d already driven down to Greenville and back, I politely refused.

  I could’ve put a down payment on another car with what I ended up paying a taxi to drive me home. I was just grateful to get a driver that didn’t mind going so far off the beaten path. Even if I’d had my phone to request an Uber, I doubted they would’ve driven me all the way out to Pumpkin Rest. I compensated my driver well and dragged myself up to the front door. It was a good thing I kept an emergency credit card and a house key in my medical bag because I’d left my purse and keys at home. Jake must’ve anticipated how long I’d be gone because I found my porch lights and a few house lights on. I couldn’t bring myself to appreciate the gesture.

  Like a heavy cloud pregnant with rain, exhaustion like I’d never felt before descended, the weight of it threatening to topple me. After letting myself in, both dogs greeted me, in desperate need to go out. They followed me to the kitchen, where I opened the back door and told them, “You two come right back, okay?”