He Loves Lucy

by Ann Yost

“But?”

  “But it isn’t just about love with Jake. It’s more important for him to find the perfect stepmom for the twins.”

  “You are the perfect stepmom, Lucy. No one could love them more than you do. Look at the way you brought Maxine and Frank into their lives. That’s pure love.”

  Lucy shook her head. “Jake thinks I’m too young and ambitious to settle down.”

  Hallie peered at her. “Is he right?”

  Lucy shrugged. “I don’t honestly know anymore. I just know that I’m tired of trying to prove myself.” She hesitated. When I turn my story into the Courier in a couple of days, I’m going to see if they have any openings.”

  Hallie clasped her hand. “We’re all behind you, Luce, whatever you decide.”

  Her cell phone rang just before she climbed into bed. She felt the familiar tingle against the back of her neck and knew it was Jake. A lump formed in her throat at the sound of his deep voice.

  “You okay?”

  “I’m fine. And you?”

  “I miss you.”

  The lump got bigger.

  “How are the kids?”

  “They miss you, too.”

  She didn’t know what to say.

  “I’m sorry, Luce. I know that everything that went wrong between us, well, it was my fault.”

  “That’s not true.”

  He went on as if she hadn’t spoken.

  “I was just like everybody else in town. Worse. The thing is it wasn’t really because I thought you were incompetent. I realize now it was a defense against the feelings I had from the first time I saw you.”

  “You tryin’ to tell me it was love at first sight?”

  He didn’t laugh.

  “I don’t know. I never really tried to understand. I felt something powerful around you and it scared the crap out of me. And then you came to stand in for Mrs. Peach and, well, you got under my skin.”

  She wanted to cry.

  “You got under my skin, too.”

  “We sound like a coupla bed bugs.”

  There was a long, awkward pause.

  “I need some time, Jake.”

  Another awkward pause.

  “I understand.”

  “Thanks.”

  “I actually called to tell you the arraignment’s scheduled for tomorrow morning. We’re gonna hold it at the hospital at eleven. Thought you might like to attend.”

  “I would. Thanks.”

  “Need a ride?”

  “I’ll come with Flynn. We’ll need photos.”

  “Right.” Another pause. “You sure you’re okay?”

  “I’m fine.”

  “Well, goodnight, then.”

  This is what happened in a disintegrating relationship. There got to be less and less to talk about until the partners were reduced to total inanity. It was beyond depressing. She fell into bed, certain she wouldn’t be able to sleep.

  Fortunately, she was wrong.

  The next morning she put on a dress she’d bought the previous spring when she was still in college and worked part-time at a boutique. It was silk, lightweight and floaty, a checkerboard of blue and turquoise with some defining black lines. She wore black boots with it, the kind that came part-way up her shin. The dress was too fancy for a hospital arraignment but Lucy knew it looked dazzling on her and she needed the boost. She met Flynn at the Excelsior office.

  “Wow,” he said, smacking the heel of his hand against his forehead. “You could give the merry widow a run for her money in that get-up.”

  Lucy wrinkled her nose. “Thanks. I think.”

  She spotted Jake the instant she stepped off the elevator. He was surrounded by a group of uniformed cops, all of them young and attractive but he was the only one she saw. He saw her, too. His green eyes widened, then narrowed when he noticed Flynn.

  One look at Claude Moore sent everything else out of Lucy’s head. Even allowing for the hospital gown, a significant comedown from one of his high-priced suits, he looked terrible, old, yellow and wrinkled. It was almost as if the bitterness that had lived inside him since his best friend’s betrayal had become visible. Lucy felt a deep pity.

  First Jake laid out the facts of his case and then a prosecutor from Penobscot County questioned Moore about the details of the murder.

  Nate Packer’s former best friend held nothing back. In a dull, quiet voice he spoke about talking with Nate at the Tribal Council meeting. He said he had something important to tell him but it had to be in private. They’d agreed to meet at the construction trailer at the casino site. Moore got there first. He parked on the old logging road, sheltered by the trees, then, bow-and-arrow at hand, waited behind the construction trailer for his prey to arrive. Lucy thought Molly and Cam must have heard Moore while they were standing on the spot where he would kill Nate a few minutes later.

  The attorney admitted he’d taken the arrow from the Penobscot museum as a diversion for investigators. He said that he, not Nate Packer, had killed all the trophy head animals in the Packer Mansion. Nate wasn’t interested in the killing, only the reputation of great white hunter.

  After the murder Moore had driven back to Bangor. He’d considered setting Mrs. Monaghan’s clock back by twenty minutes and risk having her notice but he’d decided, instead, to trust the Bugatti. His trust had been rewarded. The speed of the sports car, combined with the luck of nearly empty roads, had gotten him back to his house by ten forty-five.

  “I understand how you killed your ex-partner,” the prosecutor said, dryly. “The question is, why?”

  “He betrayed me. He betrayed Shirley, too.”

  “How did he do that?”

  “He dissolved our partnership and formed one with his new wife. He was obsessed with the idea of creating a dynasty and it didn’t bother him at all to sacrifice a lifelong friend. Shirley understood.”

  “You were friends with the first Mrs. Packer, too?”

  “Of course.”

  “But you threatened her life the other night, along with that of Ms. Outlaw.”

  Lucy felt Jake’s eyes on her.

  “I needed Shirley for protection. It wasn’t personal,” Moore said, wearily. “I’m tired now. Are we finished?”

  Moments later Jake walked Lucy and Flynn to the elevator.

  “It’s almost like he’s proud of what he did,” the photographer said, scratching his head.

  “It was a revenge killing,” Jake said. “He felt justified in what he did. He wants everyone to understand.”

  “I would have understood if it had been the first wife,” Flynn said. “It’s kinda weird that a guy would take a bust up so hard.”

  “He’d sacrificed a lot for Nate,” Lucy said. “He hadn’t married. He’d sublimated his own hunting skills to let Nate take whatever glory is associated with slaughtering innocent animals.”

  “C’mon, Lucy,” Flynn laughed, “tell us what you really think.” They all chuckled.

  “I think it’s just a difference in personality types,” she said. “Claude probably always cared more about Nate than Shirley did. He’s just more passionate.”

  “Seems like that passion didn’t serve him very well.”

  Lucy shook her head. “It may not be the best basis for a relationship.”

  “Yeah?” Flynn looked skeptical. “What’s better?”

  “I don’t know. Belief in the other person’s integrity? Trust?”

  Flynn made a face. “Give me passion any day. Say, Luce, don’t let me forget to stop for ice cream on the way home.” There was a thoughtful look on the sheriff’s face when he lifted his hand in farewell. Lucy’s heart ached.

  Chapter Sixteen

  Wednesday the banner headline on the Excelsior topped a story about the murder case along with a first-person sidebar. Lucy did not write it from the perspective of a heroine. Instead, she gave a description of how she stumbled into the kidnapping that was already underway.

  The following morning a longer, more detailed version of
the story appeared under her byline again, this time on the front page of the Hartford Courier.

  That afternoon, Ed Stiles swung his feet down from his own desk and perched his bulky form on the corner of Lucy’s. First he praised her for her work and then he stared at her a long moment.

  “What would you say to taking over the Excelsior?”

  “You feeling the need of a vacation?”

  The older man sighed. “A permanent one. My wife and my doc are teaming up on me. Retirement looks inevitable.”

  Lucy stared at him. It was hard to imagine the Excelsior without Ed.

  “The New England Observer chain wants to buy me out. I’ve had a standing offer from them for a long while but, frankly, I’d a lot rather keep this in the family. If the chain takes over, the paper will be filled with generic stuff from all over the state.” He shrugged. “A small town paper’s the heart and soul of the community, you know that, Luce. Next best thing to the grapevine. Without a paper, there’s nothing to line the birdcages.” His voice trembled slightly. Lucy felt tears prick the backs of her eyes. Ed was talking about giving up the career he’d loved all his life.

  “How ’bout it, Luce?”

  “I can’t do it.”

  “Empty pockets?”

  “As well as an empty head. I’ve got less than fifty bucks in my savings account and less than two weeks of actual newspaper experience.”

  The editor shrugged his beefy shoulders.

  “Let me hang onto the paper and I’ll pay you to manage it. If you decide you like it, you can buy me out gradually. I’ll give you a fair price. And as far as the rest, well, that’s all in your head, you know. You never were flakey. Just impulsive. You’ve shown you’ve got talent and guts and drive. Everything you need. Besides, you’ll need a job in town now that you’re gonna get hitched to the sheriff.”

  Lucy swallowed. “That getting hitched thing, that’s on hold. And, anyway, I’ve got an offer from the Courier.”

  “Oh? They sending you to Kabul?”

  “Just the copy desk. But it’s a start.”

  Ed looked at her for a long minute. “Wedding’s off?”

  “I’m ashamed to say it but it was never really on. The engagement was fake. Jake needed to impress his in-laws. Now that everything’s okay between them there’s no hurry for him to marry. And, I’m too young.”

  Ed scratched his head but he didn’t offer an opinion.

  “All right, Luce. The offer’s open. Think about it. There’s a lot worse places to spend your life than in a newsroom, just like there’s a lot worse places than Eden. For my money, this is where you belong.”

  Lucy felt the exasperating lump in her throat again. Good grief. She’d been on the verge of tears more in the last couple of weeks than in the first twenty-two years of her life.

  ****

  Jake figured if he didn’t think about Lucy he wouldn’t miss her as much. He tried not to think about her while he was in his office. Then he tried not to think of her while he was in his Blazer making traffic stops or when he was on the phone with the Penobscot County prosecutor. He tried not to think about her when he was with his kids and their grandparents.

  None of these efforts were successful. He couldn’t stop thinking about her. He couldn’t stop missing her. He wracked his brain for something he could say that would change her mind but even if he’d thought of one, he wouldn’t have been able to use it. Maybe she did want a career. Lucy wasn’t a liar.

  Maybe she’d been telling him the truth.

  The night before the presentation of Parade of Presidents, he was tucking his daughter into bed when her small mouth straightened into a grim line and her green eyes flashed.

  “Sam and me has come to a decision, Daddy,” she said. “We want Lucy to come back.”

  Jake’s gut clenched.

  “She’s busy.”

  “Not in the night. She gots to sleep someplace. Why can’t she sleep here?”

  “We miss her,” Sam said, from the doorway.

  “And she misses us,” Lillie said.

  “How do you know that?” It was an absurd question. He had no doubt that Lucy missed the children.

  “She told us so,” Sam explained. “At the rehearsal.”

  “You’ve seen her?” He couldn’t believe he was jealous of his own kids.

  “She tole Grandma she’s moving away.” Sam’s lower lip started to tremble.

  “Moving away?”

  “To Hartford. Lucy got another job cause she’s famous.”

  She hadn’t told Jake. She hadn’t asked him if he’d mind. She’d meant what she’d said. It was over.

  He re-tucked the children in their beds then he stepped out onto the porch. It was nearly the end of May and the evening air was pleasant and mild. Jake stared at the apple tree remembering the night Lucy had rescued Wiggles and he had rescued her. The night he’d kissed her for the first time. His chest tightened, painfully.

  She belonged with him. With them. It had been clear from their first encounter. She was more mother to the twins than their own mother had ever been. She belonged to them and they to her. And she belonged to Jake. If she didn’t understand that, he was just going to have to make her understand. He was going to have to do something drastic, a game-changer. But what?

  In the still of the May night, inspiration dropped into his lap, like a ripe apple from the tree.

  Suddenly, Jake knew what he was going to do.

  ****

  Lucy was all packed. Now that she’d decided her future there was no reason to procrastinate. It was time to start her new career, her new life. She planned to take off Sunday, right after the Saturday night production of Parade of Presidents.

  There was still an hour until the performance so, even though she’d said her goodbyes at a family dinner the night before, she wandered back toward the house. Hallie was working in the garden with Daisy. Wilbur sprawled on a blanket in the shade next to Robert in his baby seat. It was such a sweet, domestic picture, it brought tears to Lucy’s eyes.

  She hunkered down by the little girl. “What are you planting, Daze?”

  “Ladies slippers, bachelor buddons and forget-me-dots.”

  “Great. I remember planting flowers with Asia. It was always lots of fun.”

  “Didn’t you got a mommy, neither, Aunt Lucy?”

  Daisy was not a deprived child. She was much loved and cherished and yet the question cut Lucy to the heart. Maybe it was guilt about abandoning Sam and Lillie. Maybe it was grief.

  “No. But I had a daddy and brothers and now I have a darling little niece.” She found she couldn’t leave Robert out. “And nephew.”

  “And pig,” Daisy said.

  “Maxine told me she and Frank are thinking of renting a house in Eden for part of the year,” Hallie said. “That should be nice for Sam and Lillie. And Jake.” Lucy nodded.

  “I don’t got a grandma, neither,” Daisy pointed out.

  “Why don’t you run in the house and get a cookie for you and Wilbur,” Hallie said. The idea appealed to the little girl, as Hallie had known it would. She turned to her sister-in-law.

  “Is this really what you want? This job in Hartford?”

  Lucy couldn’t seem to speak. She couldn’t even nod. She hated being so emotional all the time.

  “I know you love Jake.”

  “It’s not enough.”

  “I think it is, sweetie. I think love is always enough. When you get down to it, love is everything.”

  “It wasn’t everything for Baz. Not at first.”

  Baz had been afraid of his feelings, too, just like Jake, but eventually he’d come around.

  “Baz never had any reason to doubt your feelings for him,” Lucy pointed out. “I’m sure Jake thinks he’s being noble now that I have the Courier job. He’s not going to ask me to stay, Hallie. Not again.”

  “Couldn’t you tell him what you want?”

  Lucy shook her head. “I don’t know how to explain i
t. I need him to understand me well enough to just know how I feel. Anyway, I’ve accepted the job. It’s too late.”

  “Oh, honey.” This time the tears were in Hallie’s hazel eyes. “I just want you to be happy.”

  Lucy hugged the shorter woman.

  “I’m happy that Baz came to his senses. I’m happy to have a sister.”

  ****

  A live stage play, even a first grade effort, was a big event in Eden and The Parade of Presidents was well attended. Audience members mixed and mingled in the corridor outside the Eden Consolidated High auditorium, their spirits high as they anticipated the performance. Jake heard Lucy’s name murmured by several theatergoers. Naturally. It was the first such gathering since Miss Violet’s Ode to the Seasons. Would there be unruly bells? Flying feathers? Explosions of any kind?

  Everyone in Eden knew the sky was the limit when Lucy Outlaw was involved.

  Sam and Lillie were backstage with Frank and Maxine but Jake, hoping to avoid the inevitable questions about his engagement, slipped through the crowd at the last minute. He had one last shot at this and he had to make it count but there were no guarantees. Lucy was softhearted but she was no pushover. She’d begun to understand her own power. She’d become a woman, not a girl. The change made her even more interesting. It also made her more unpredictable. Would she buy what he was selling?

  Jake’s palms were moist and his throat was dry. This was like the most important job interview of his life. He figured he’d get about three minutes of her time before she cut him off. He had to make it count. He would make it count.

  The future of his family depended upon it.

  Outside the auditorium he accepted a program from a solemn-eyed girl who came up to his knee. He nodded and grunted at people as he found a seat and dropped into it. He couldn’t feel Lucy’s presence and the packed auditorium felt empty. What if she didn’t come? What if she’d decided to ditch the play and she was already on the road to Hartford? Jake forced down a feeling of panic. If she was on the road, he’d catch up to her. If she was already there, he’d go to her apartment or her office.

  The houselights went down and a diminutive narrator stepped out from the curtains to introduce the play. When she’d finished speaking the audience clapped. At the same time, Jake felt a shiver rumble up his spine. She was here. She’d just come in. He turned to catch her eye, to motion her to sit by him. Somewhat to his surprise, she did.