Shona Jackson- The Complete Trilogy

by Vicky Jones

  Shona had been in the small tool shed just behind the beach house for well over two hours when Chloe, curiosity getting the better of her finally, decided to take her an ice cold tea and to see what she was up to. As she reached the door she paused, listening in to hear the hammering of nails into what sounded like heavy boards of wood.

  “What are you making?” Chloe asked, sneaking up behind Shona who almost squashed her thumb with the hammer as it slipped away from a nail.

  “Where did you come from? You gave me a fright,” Shona scolded, her hand pressed against her chest.

  “I heard you making a racket out here so I came to see…” she paused and bit the corner of her lip when she saw Shona raise an eyebrow. “OK, you got me. I missed you, is all. That so bad?” She handed Shona the glass of tea.

  “No, course not. Come see what I made for the garage. I had this idea, y’see. I thought it might be a nice gesture, what do you think?” Shona clasped hold of Chloe’s hand and pulled her into her.

  Looking down at the sign Shona had made, Chloe read the words she’d painted on it and smiled. “It’s perfect. What a lovely thought, honey. It might even make the townsfolk a little bit more forgiving when they find out it was me who got the auction called off.”

  “Yeah, if there are any two people who understand how small towns can hold a grudge it’s us. We got a new start here, Chloe. We should do everything we can to make it as friendly a home as we can. Keep our heads down. It’s important to me to get it right this time, you know?”

  “I know. How about we go over there tomorrow, face the music? We could put the sign up and start to get ready for our grand opening,” Chloe said, clasping her hands together with excitement.

  “Sure, the paint will be dry by then. You know what?”

  “What?”

  Shona stood staring at Chloe, her hands on her hips as she gazed at her, her eyes glowing. “I just cannot believe I have my own business to run, just how I wanna run it. And this place. This beautiful beach house.” Shona stopped to wipe a tear from her eye with the back of a paint-smeared hand. “And you. The girl of my dreams, standing right there in front of me. I got everything I ever wanted. I don’t want anything ever to change how I feel right here, right now. This is perfect.”

  “I know,” Chloe said. “But after all we’ve been through, I think we deserve a little happiness.” She laughed, then added, “and a little smooth sailing would be nice too. A quiet life for once, huh?”

  Chapter 9

  Chloe pulled the blue pickup into the garage parking lot, then, after getting out, she and Shona began discussing which task to tackle first.

  “I think I’ll hammer in my sign out front over there, try and get the locals on my side from the start, huh?” Shona said.

  “Good idea.” Chloe pulled out the keys to the garage from her purse. “But first, don’t you wanna take a look inside?” She dangled the keys out to Shona.

  Shona stopped and reached out to take the keys. Holding them for a minute, she fought back tears once again. She pulled Chloe into an impromptu embrace, holding her close for just that little bit too long before realizing. “Come on then, what are we waiting for?”

  Shona almost dragged Chloe by the hand over to the huge garage doors and slipped the key into the padlock, then lifted the heavy chain through the handles. Pulling open the solid wooden door, she gasped as she took her first look inside.

  “Looks great,” Chloe commented. “Listen, I’ll let you look around. Will you be OK here for a little while? I just gotta pop back over to the doctor’s office. They said they’d have my results back by now.”

  “Oh yeah, OK. Hope they don’t find nothing. But you seemed better this last week or so. Maybe it wasn’t that flu after all,” Shona replied.

  “Yeah, better safe than sorry though. I’ll pick up some dinner on the way back if you like?”

  “Sounds good. I think I’ll go over to the next town to get some parts to get that contraption working again.” Shona cocked her head back to the car lift inside the garage which looked as if it was missing a few vital chains and rubber grips.

  “OK, well don’t be late, I’m in the mood for celebrating tonight,” Chloe replied with a wink.

  Shona’s face reddened. “Shhh…folks might hear you,” she said, looking around her. “Are you sure you don’t want me to come with you?”

  “No, it’s alright. I’ll walk back, don’t worry. You go run your errands and get home to me as quick as you can,” Chloe said, then turned on her heel to head through the green space at the center of the town square. As Chloe disappeared out of Shona’s sight, an old man wearing beige slacks and a green shirt shuffled up behind and tapped Shona on the shoulder.

  “G’mornin’ sir, how can I help you?” Shona asked looking down at him.

  The white-haired old man squinted up at her. “Am I readin’ your sign right there, young lady? The new owner o’ this place offerin’ to fix war veterans’ and police cars for free?” His face was open and friendly, his inquisitive gray eyes sharp.

  “Yes sir, that’s right. All services and repairs done at no cost for all military and lawmen,” Shona replied.

  “Oh, well, you be sure to tell the owner that that’s one of the kindest gestures ever made in this town. The last guy never did nothin’ for free. The new guy’s most definitely welcome around here. What’s his name, miss?”

  “Shona Clark, proprietor of Clark’s Autos at your service, sir,” Shona replied, holding out her hand for the old man to shake.

  “You’re the new owner?” The old man looked taken aback with surprise as Shona nodded, but his wrinkly eyes still twinkled. “It’s a pleasure to meet ya, young lady. I hope you have a lotta success with this place.” He shook Shona’s hand, his grip as tight as he could manage, then shuffled away after tipping his cap to her.

  “One down, just the rest of the town to go,” Shona muttered to herself.

  “Well, hello there, Mrs. Clark, and how are you today?” Doctor Thomas greeted, holding out his broad, tanned hand for Chloe to shake.

  “Good morning, Doctor. I was just wondering if you had my blood test results back.” Chloe asked, seating herself opposite the doctor, who in turn sat at his desk.

  “We do, yes.” He took out a brown file from his desk drawer, laid it down in front of him, then placed his elbows on the desk.

  After a lengthy pause, Chloe’s brow began to prickle with sweat. She wiped it away. “Well, come on now, don’t leave a girl in suspense.” She laughed nervously, then waited a few seconds more for the doctor to open his file. He did so, watching her.

  “Well, when we took the sample we weren’t looking for anything in particular, just a routine check for new patients, that sort of thing.” He paused.

  “And?” Chloe’s tone this time was a little more pinched. “Did you…?”

  “Yes, Mrs. Clark, we did. We found something.”

  When Shona returned home that evening, the sun was almost setting. The sky was all different shades of pinks and purples and, as she exited the truck, she picked the bunch of red roses off the back seat and stared into the horizon for a moment. The view from the beach house was truly one of the finest she had ever seen. Even the one in Gulfport back on her vacation with Dorothy hadn’t had the same effect on her. Everything was perfect, Shona thought, slamming the truck door behind her and hopping up the steps to her front door.

  Inside, the lights were off. Strange, Shona thought. The room wasn’t in total darkness just yet but it was surprising to see not even a desk lamp on. Heading off in the direction of the bedroom, she placed a rose stem between her teeth. As she reached the bedroom door on the left of her, a flicker of movement up ahead at the end of the hallway caught her eye. Leaving the bedroom door unopened, Shona carried on walking into the living room. Chloe was seated in the corner on the window seat staring out onto the ocean.

  “Hey,” Shona whispered, after taking the rose stem out of her teeth and placing the bunch
of flowers on the coffee table. Chloe remained silent. “You alright?” Shona walked over to the window and kneeled down in front of Chloe. Chloe turned to look at Shona, her face streaked with drying tears. Apart from her smudged makeup, her expression was blank. “OK, you’re scaring me now. What did the doctor say?”

  Chloe wiped her nose with the back of her hand and looked away again. “The blood tests came back. They found something…” she began, her voice cracking as she forced out each word.

  “What? Baby, are you sick?” Shona asked.

  Chloe took in a huge breath then looked deep into Shona’s questioning eyes.

  “I’m pregnant.”

  “Does Bertie know yet?” Lula asked, as she leaned forward in the booth opposite Dee and Edie.

  “Yeah. She was watching out the window this morning as that blonde girl was hammering in signs and setting up business. How in the hell did those two even have the dough to buy that place, let alone convince ol’ man Perkins to call off the auction?” Edie replied, shaking her head. “They must have a rich uncle who’s croaked it, maybe? Or they robbed a bank and they’re on the run,” she chuckled, her eyes wide with mischief. “Poor Bert, though, she had her heart set on that place. I wouldn’t wanna be blondie when she catches up with her.”

  “Did you see who the blonde girl was with?” Dee asked. “The dolly with the brown hair and figure to die for? I wonder if she’s single?”

  “You just keep your peepers off the blonde one, she’s mine. I reckon from the looks of her, I got a chance with her,” Lula grinned. “Where is Bert tonight anyway?”

  “Over at Sheriff Everett’s place asking about legalities over the auction being cancelled. She ain’t happy,” said Edie.

  “Neither is Nurse Marion. She had big plans for that old garage too. Hope blondie knows what trouble’s coming her way,” Dee warned.

  “Pregnant?”

  Chloe leaned back against the window frame. “Doctor Thomas reckons about six weeks gone,” she replied, chewing on a fingernail.

  Shona stood up straight and took a step back. “Six weeks?” she repeated, her head spinning, the bottom falling out of her newly pieced together world. “Kyle. That night.”

  Chloe pressed her eyes together, squeezing a tear out of each one. They rolled down her trembling cheeks as she nodded.

  Backing away from Chloe until she felt the living room doorframe press into her back, Shona turned and slowly, almost ghost-like, disappeared from Chloe’s sight.

  “Shona, please. Don’t go out. Stay. We need to talk about this. Shona?” But Chloe’s pleas went unheeded. All she heard next was the click of the door as it closed behind Shona, then the rumble of the truck’s engine as it pulled away.

  “Janice, get me another beer, will ya? This one is as flat as a pancake,” Lula shouted across the bar. Behind her the door swung open and there stood the young blonde girl she’d been talking about only half an hour earlier.

  “Well, hello there. It’s Shona, isn’t it? You’re new in town, ain’t ya?” Lula’s eyes glowed.

  Shona walked straight past her and to the other end of the bar. “Whiskey. Neat,” she barked. Receiving her shot, she downed it in one, then demanded another.

  Lula sauntered over and slouched on a bar stool next to her. “We’ve been wonderin’ when you and your,” she paused and looked over to the booth where Edie and Dee were staring over open-mouthed, “friend…er…sister were gonna come in here and introduce yourselves. I’m Lula, that over there in the stripy cardigan is Edie and that black girl in the white shirt next to her is called Dee.”

  Shona stared down at her shot, then drank it.

  “We see you’ve bought the garage. I’ll be honest, that’s ruffled a few feathers around here. Not least the owner of this bar so I’d keep an eye on that door if I were you. She’s wantin’ to have a little chat with you about it.” Lula chuckled at her mock threat.

  Shona looked up and gave Lula a look that could have killed her on the spot. “I don’t want any trouble. I don’t want no chat. I’m just here for the whiskey.”

  “Hey, cool it. I dig you,” Lula replied. “Next one’s on me, OK?”

  “No thanks.” Shona slammed her glass down.

  Lula nodded and went back over to the booth, slumping down into her seat. Dee put her arm around her. “Shame. That’s the first time I’ve seen you smile in weeks, Lula.”

  “Yeah, well, I shouldn’t have bothered. That girl’s got issues. And attitude.”

  “Two peas in a pod there then, ain’t ya?” Dee joked, squeezing Lula in close to her to which Lula couldn’t help but smile.

  “Very funny.” Lula slapped Dee on her arm, then looked back over to Shona who seemed to be lost completely in her thoughts. “Damn, though, that new girl is fine.”

  Edie laughed. “Yeah, you got that right.” She pulled her glasses to the end of her nose and peeked over the frames. “She’s cute, but she’s got some kinda story to her. She must, to wanna get loaded like that.” Edie nodded over to the bar where Janice was serving Shona yet another shot.

  “I’d like to know more about her story,” Lula said, winking.

  “Well, I tell you one thing, girls. I hope our new piece o’ fresh meat ain’t still here when Bertie gets back or you’re gonna see a whole different kinda attitude around this place,” Edie warned.

  “Dorothy, it’s me. Shona.”

  Shona, standing outside Bertie’s bar, held the payphone receiver away from her ear as Dorothy let out her familiar shriek of pleasure at hearing her voice. But after a few minutes of stunted silences and one-word replies to her questions, Dorothy finally asked Shona what was wrong.

  “Oh Dorothy, I don’t know what to do. We were just getting settled here.” She took a huge breath and leaned one hand on the cubicle wall in front of her. “Chloe’s having a baby.” The line went quiet. “Dorothy please. Tell me what I should do. I feel so bad. I just walked out when she told me. I just left her on her own.”

  “You listen to me, Shona. Sober up and go home. She’s gon’ need you now more than ever.”

  Chloe was fast asleep on the couch by the time Shona had walked the half a mile back to the beach house, thinking better of driving with half a bottle of whiskey in her system. Her head felt a little clearer after her conversation with Dorothy. Shona leaned down and lifted Chloe’s head up so she could sit down and lay it in her lap. Chloe stirred as Shona started to stroke her hair. “I’m here, baby. I’ll always be here, no matter what. We’ll get through this. Together.” She pulled a blanket from the back of the couch over to both of them and watched Chloe sleep.

  A few hours later, Chloe stirred and opened her eyes. Looking up, she saw Shona’s sleeping face and smiled. “You came home to me,” she whispered, relieved more than anything. Sitting up, she replaced the blanket over Shona’s body and headed into the kitchen to switch on the coffee pot.

  “I didn’t mean to run out on you last night,” Shona’s voice piped up from the kitchen doorway, startling Chloe into almost dropping the pot.

  “I know. It was a shock to me too, when I found out about…” She placed her free hand over her stomach. “I can’t even imagine what you must be thinking. Especially given who the father is.”

  Shona felt her guts twist.

  “But that’s in the past now. We got to look forward,” Chloe said.

  “I know. It’s just…” Shona stared down at her boots. For a moment she looked lost. “I was worried you wouldn’t want me anymore. That you’d think I’d be no good at raising a kid. That I wasn’t enough.”

  Chloe put the pot down on the counter and rushed over to Shona, wrapping her arms around her. “Don’t you say dumb things like that, y’hear?” she said, her grip tight around Shona’s back. “I need you more now than ever. I don’t wanna run away from this and I don’t want you thinking you gotta run either. We are done running.” She peeled Shona’s body away from her and held her face in her hands. “I want us to be a family. All
three of us. I wanna be with you always, Shona. You’re my heart, you understand? I love you.”

  “I love you too.” Shona placed her hand on Chloe’s stomach and looked down at it, as if she were trying to picture what was going on inside. Her face was one of puzzled amazement.

  Chapter 10

  “Morning, Blanche,” Doctor Thomas said with a smile as his receptionist handed him the files for his first three patients of the day. “Thank you.”

  “No problem, Doctor Thomas, I’ll send your nine o’clock in just as soon as she’s here,” Blanche gushed. She was in her mid-fifties, widowed, with blue rinsed hair and a plump body, but she still thought the young, dashing doctor would look twice at her. Even though she was married, Nurse Marion also thought the same.

  “Good morning, Doctor Thomas. How are you today?” Marion asked, leaning over the edge of Blanche’s desk.

  Appearing not to hear her, Doctor Thomas continued to read through the patient files. Marion grunted, then leaned into Blanche. “As I was saying, I definitely think there’s something going on with that Clark girl. Didn’t you notice how she left here the other day? Like she’d seen a ghost, she was that pale.”

  “For God’s sake, Marion, please. Just do your job and get ready for my nine o’clock,” Doctor Thomas said. He left the two women behind him gobsmacked at his outburst and closed his office door.

  “Well…” Marion spluttered, her hands on her hips, her mouth hanging open like a guppy fish.

  “Touched a nerve, I think there, talking about Mrs. Clark.” Blanche noticed. “I think the good doctor might have a bit of a crush. Let’s find out what her story is, shall we? I’ll pull her file,” she added with a wink.