by SUE FINEMAN
Kayla left the packages piled in the living room. She could take them all back tomorrow, if that was what Billy wanted. Always careful with her own money, she’d been careful about what she’d bought for the house today. With a deep sigh, she went into the kitchen and started dinner.
The phone rang once, and Kayla ignored it. Billy was home. He could answer it.
Minutes later, Billy came out to the kitchen. “That was my father on the phone. Benton went to court today and pled guilty to the charges against him.”
She stopped stirring the gravy. “He did?”
“Yeah. The judge gave him a suspended sentence and sent him to Atlanta to face charges there, only he didn’t make it.”
“He’s free?”
“In a manner of speaking. He had another heart attack in the courtroom. This time the paramedics couldn’t save him. Benton Ainsworth the Third is dead.”
Kayla dropped the gravy spoon on the floor.
After the shock wore off, she called Donovan and asked if he knew where Benton’s mother was staying. Then she called Benton’s grief-stricken mother and offered her deepest sympathy. She glanced at Billy, who sat at the kitchen counter watching and listening to her.
“Billy and I are both so sorry this happened, Mrs. Banks. We didn’t want him in the house again, but we didn’t want this to happen.”
“I know, dear.” She sobbed and sniffled. “He must have been desperate to invade the house like he did. He sold his Maserati, and he loved that car so much.”
Benton wouldn’t have come back unless he thought he could find something of value here, and he wouldn’t have been driving that old station wagon unless he was desperate. He’d done it to himself, with his gambling, but she had a feeling William contributed to his first heart attack. Going directly from the hospital to the courtroom probably caused the second one.
Billy took the phone and offered his condolences to Benton’s mother while Kayla put dinner on the table.
They had a quiet dinner. Billy didn’t say much, and she didn’t know what to say. Neither of them had expected this to happen.
At least her cousin didn’t have to die in a prison cell.
Chapter Twelve
After dinner, Billy hung the new curtain rods and helped Kayla get the drapes up. They unrolled the rugs and put them in place, then Kayla draped a dark red throw over the chaise by the window and another over the end of one of the sofas.
She unpacked a beautiful silver-framed mirror, and Billy helped her prop it on the mantel. Silver candlesticks of various heights held red candles. Then she opened the last bags, which were filled with throw pillows in reds and grays. After she put those in place, they stood back by the foyer and scanned the room.
“What do you think, Billy?”
“It looks great, except there are a couple of blank walls. Don’t we need pictures or something?”
“Hannah and I bought some today, but we couldn’t get them in the car. We left them at the pickup counter at the store. They’re just prints, not real paintings. Two go on the dark gray wall in the dining room and the other goes here.” She pointed to a wall in the living room.
Billy glanced at his watch. The store was still open. “Let’s go get them now.”
An hour later, they had the pictures home. It took several minutes to get them hung where she wanted them. Kayla put a red runner on the dining room table with a silver bowl in the middle and a silver candlestick with a red candle on each side. “When buyers come to see the house, we’ll put flowers in the bowl, maybe roses to match the flowers in the pictures.”
“Is this table smaller than it was?”
“I took the leaves out. It was way too big the way it was. They’re in the pantry.”
As he looked around at the changes Kayla had made, Billy remembered what it looked like before, with the Elvis furniture and white walls. With all Maggie’s pictures, it looked like a funeral parlor, a shrine to Eleanor’s perfect child. Not a welcoming room.
Kayla tapped her lip. “I wonder if Maggie likes it.”
Billy didn’t care what Maggie thought, and he didn’t care what Eleanor thought. Eleanor didn’t have to leave the house in such sad shape. She might not have been able to keep it up herself, but she could have hired people to help her. If anyone would work for her.
“What room is next?”
“I’m going to start painting Maggie’s suite tomorrow, and the blinds should be installed next week. And I still have to work in the basement.”
Billy couldn’t get the image of that cold little room with the mattress on the floor out of his mind. John’s room. His prison cell. Dad arrested people who did that to their kids. Judges sent them to prison for neglecting their children or treating them with cruelty, but instead of Eleanor going to prison, William took John away and provided her with another child to ruin.
In some ways, she treated Maggie worse than she’d treated John. She taught her she deserved everything she wanted. In exchange, Eleanor expected Maggie’s undying love and gratitude.
He began to understand Kayla’s point about forgiving Maggie. Eleanor trained Maggie to be the way she was. She brainwashed her into thinking she was the only person on the planet who mattered. That no one else deserved love. That she didn’t ever have to get her hands dirty changing diapers or cooking or cleaning. Maggie wasn’t born vain and selfish. A lifetime of Eleanor’s coaching made her that way.
If Eleanor had been out of the picture, Maggie might have gone to the doctor when she found the first lump in her breast instead of waiting until the cancer spread. She might still be alive today. Without Eleanor, Maggie might have bonded with Billy when he was an infant, and she might have been a good mother. She never really had a chance to become a good wife and mother, not with Eleanor hovering around, pulling her away from her husband and son and planting stupid ideas in her head.
Who was Maggie’s natural mother? Had William given up on Eleanor and found himself another woman? Why would any woman give her child to Eleanor? Even then everyone must have known Eleanor was unstable.
Why would William allow Eleanor to treat Maggie the way she did?
Kayla asked, “Billy, do you want me to clean that secret room tomorrow?”
“No, you have enough to do. I’ll do it when I sort through those video tapes. Maybe I can find out what happened to John.”
“What do you want to do about Benton? Do you want to send a card or flowers to his mother?”
“Kayla, that man broke into the house. He scared you half to death, and you want to send flowers to his mother?”
“He’s dead, Billy. It’s time to forgive him and move on. It’s not him I’m thinking of anyway. It’s his mother. She loved him.”
“Fine, send her a card.”
He walked away. Cornelia Banks was probably the only person in this world who’d miss Benton.
Nobody missed Eleanor.
<>
While Billy watched videos in William’s secret room, Kayla called Norma to check on the mail and her apartment.
“You got an official looking envelope in the mail today, Kayla. It could be your divorce papers.”
“Open it and see, would you?”
Seconds later, she heard paper ripping, and then Norma said, “Yes, that’s what it is all right. Your divorce is final. You’re a free woman, Kayla Ainsworth.”
Kayla blew out a big breath. She’d been waiting for this. She felt a little sad not because her marriage ended, but because she’d married him in the first place. Loneliness made her do it, but she wouldn’t make the same mistake again. “Anything else in the mail?”
“Mostly junk. I’ve been paying the cable bill and utilities. Oh, Leonard came by last week wanting his gun cabinet and guns. I told him he’d have to check with you before he took anything.”
“Tell him he can have it if he’ll give half my savings back.” He wouldn’t likely give over anything, but she had to ask. She didn’t want his guns anyway. When she found
out he was cheating on her, she almost shot him. She didn’t need that kind of temptation in her life, not with her temper. She didn’t get that angry very often, but when she did, look out! That was one reason for wanting to stay away from Memphis and that crooked cop. She was pissed enough to do some damage, and she didn’t want to go to jail for assaulting an officer of the law.
“How are you doing in Ohio?”
“Fine. I’m still staying in my cousin’s house, and I’m working for Billy Kane until I get my inheritance.”
“Are you coming back then?”
“I don’t know. I guess so. Once Billy sells this house, he won’t need me anymore.” Saying the words tore at her heart. She wanted so much for him to need her for more than cleaning and decorating.
“Are you working, Norma?”
“I’m working behind the counter in Duffy’s Diner. It don’t pay much, but it’s better than working in the club. Nobody gropes me there, and since I’m getting so big, people give me bigger tips. I don’t know what I’m gonna do when the baby comes. Ted left town, and he won’t help me anyway. I don’t want to go on welfare like my mother, but I might not have a choice. Did I tell you I’m having a girl?”
“No. Is everything okay?”
“The baby is fine.”
“I envy you. I’d give anything to have a baby myself.”
“You want this one?” Norma was joking, but she wasn’t. She had enough trouble taking care of herself. What would she do with a baby? She’d had at least three abortions. Why hadn’t she had one this time? Nothing had changed. She was the same irresponsible person she’d always been.
Norma and her family lived down the road from Kayla when they were kids. Norma’s mother used to go on drinking binges, leaving the kids alone for days at a time. Norma was the youngest, but the older kids didn’t take care of her. Her brother ran away from home when he was fourteen, never to be seen again, and her sister was turning tricks by the time she became a teenager. Granny fed Norma, mended her clothes, gave her a bath when she needed it, and made sure Norma did her homework. When her mother was off on a binge, Norma was afraid to stay home alone, so she often shared Kayla’s bed.
When she was fourteen, Norma started having guys stay overnight with her. It didn’t seem to matter whether her mother was home or not; she had guys in her room with the door closed, something Granny wouldn’t think of letting Kayla do. Norma had her first abortion at fifteen and dropped out of high school at sixteen to live with a forty-year-old man. Since then, she’d had a series of boyfriends. She’d worked at various low-paying jobs, but she’d never lived alone or supported herself until now. But she was living in Kayla’s apartment.
She owned no furniture, had never rented an apartment, and didn’t know the first thing about budgeting her money. Granny taught her to cook enough so she wouldn’t starve, but Norma was the most insecure person Kayla had ever met.
If she went home now, Kayla would end up supporting Norma and her baby. Poor baby would probably be neglected the same way Norma was, but Kayla couldn’t take care of her forever. She had her own problems to worry about.
“Norma, do you have any baby clothes?”
“I have a couple of those little one-piece things, a couple bibs, and a blanket. What else do I need?”
Kayla sighed deeply. Maggie had everything a baby girl could possibly need, and Norma didn’t have enough to last through one day. “I’ll ask Billy if I can send you some of these baby clothes. There must be a half-dozen boxes of stuff here.” She paused for a few seconds and then asked, “You are keeping her, aren’t you? Or are you putting her up for adoption?”
“I don’t want my baby living with strangers, but… I don’t know the first thing about taking care of a baby, except you feed one end and change the other.”
Kayla smiled. “That’s a good start, but you forgot the most important part.”
“What’s that?”
“Love.”
After she ended the call, Kayla went into the ballroom and sat down at the piano. Her fingers moved effortlessly over the keys, remembering songs she’d played on the keyboard when she was with Leonard’s band. Songs she’d sung with him when she thought he loved her, when she thought she loved him. She sang backup for him for several months before they started singing duets together. But when people in the audience started asking for her to sing solos, Leonard bristled. He reminded her it was his band, and he was the lead singer.
Her voice wasn’t anything special, and unlike Leonard, she didn’t dream of a career in the Nashville music scene. She made more money working as a waitress than she did singing with the band, and somebody had to pay the bills. After Leonard paid the band, he didn’t have much left. Or so he said.
Without telling Leonard, she took half her tips and put them in the savings account. She had almost enough saved to buy herself a new car when she threw Leonard out. A few days later, she discovered he’d taken all the money she’d saved. Forget the new car, and since she was out of a job, she couldn’t pay the rent. If she hadn’t gotten the letter from the attorney about her inheritance, she’d probably be working for next to nothing in a diner, like Norma.
That baby deserved a mother who loved her, someone who would take good care of her. If Norma intended to keep her baby, she’d better learn how to take care of the little tyke herself, because Kayla wouldn’t do it for her.
Kayla took care of Granny when she got old and sick, but she wouldn’t have any children or grandchildren to take care of her when she got old and sick.
Like Eleanor, she’d probably live the last years of her life alone.
<>
The week sped by. Kayla painted Maggie’s rooms, dressed the bed with new sheets, dust ruffle, and comforter, and put fresh towels in the bathroom. New rugs and accessories completed the suite. She was quite pleased with the way it looked when she finished.
She found the doors for the upper kitchen cabinets in the basement, collecting dust. Billy called Trevor, who agreed to cut the middle panel out of the doors and take them to a glass shop to have frosted glass put in them.
Billy went with her to the hardware store Friday evening, where they picked out dark red paint to put in the kitchen, breakfast room, and on one wall in the adjoining family room. She got two estimates on replacing the stainless kitchen countertops with black granite.
When they returned home, she said, “Billy, what would you think about selling some of the furniture upstairs? Or do you think you’ll need it all when you move out?”
“I don’t want any of it.” He cocked his head. “Won’t the house show better with furniture in it?”
“Yes and no. Those blue sofas don’t go with anything, and there’s no mattress on the bed in the master. The white furniture in the little girl’s room is so outdated, the room would show better empty. Same with the nursery. I’d keep the furniture in Maggie’s room and everything in the guest room except that awful blue furniture from the living room. Maybe we can find a desk for that room, and I’ll move the rocking chair from the nursery down there. The attic looks a whole bunch better without that junk up there, and the master will look bigger without that oversized monstrosity of a bed. I doubt you could even find a mattress that big.”
He grinned. “You don’t like Eleanor’s bed?”
“Lord, no. It looks like something out of a vampire movie.”
With a gleam in his eye, Billy asked, “Did you find any coffins in the basement?”
She shivered and rubbed her arms. “That’s not funny!”
He snatched her to him and leaned down to bite her neck. She giggled and tried to push him away, but he wouldn’t let go. “Knock it off, Igor.”
“But my pretty, you taste so good.” He nibbled. “Mmm, like lemons.”
“That’s furniture polish.” She shoved him back.
“Every guy’s dream girl, one who smells like furniture polish.”
She smacked his arm, and he dipped his head to kiss her. The m
inute his lips touched hers, her body responded with a need so strong she couldn’t keep her hands off him. “Come, Igor, let’s christen the new living room.”
Billy scooped her up and carried her into the living room. She pointed to the big rug in front of the fireplace, and he put her down there. He undressed her and kicked off his own clothes. Moonlight streamed through the windows, giving him just enough light to see the creamy smoothness of her soft skin. “This is more comfortable than your bed.”
“That’s because you’re on top.”
He chuckled and rolled them over, so she was on top. “Better?”
She grinned and brushed her hair to one side. “You’re right, this is more comfortable than my bed.”
He gazed into her laughing brown eyes. They were filled with love, and he knew just how she felt, because he was falling in love with her. It was foolish to feel this way about a woman he’d met just days ago, but it was as if a higher power was pulling the strings. Maybe they were meant to be together. But her home was in Memphis, and he lived in River Valley. She couldn’t have children, and he wanted several. And he wasn’t sure he was capable of the kind of love necessary to hold a marriage together.
She sang softly and slid down over his erection, swallowing him entirely. He wanted to tell her he loved her, but that was a sure way to lose her. Kayla didn’t want a long-term relationship with a man who didn’t know how to forgive.
He grabbed her behind and drove himself in faster and harder, until they came together in a magnificent explosion. He buried his face in her neck and sucked on her ear lobe.
“Oh, Billy,” she said on a sigh.
The sound of her soft voice tugged at his heart. Losing her would kill him, but he couldn’t expect her to stay after she got her share of Eleanor’s estate. She had a life in Tennessee.
She stood and walked away, and he smelled smoke. Was it inside or outside? He yanked on his pants and opened the front door. Definitely outside, and coming from the direction of the river.
