Worth The Wait (Small-Town Secrets-Fairview Series Book 1)

by Sophia Sinclair

  “Sweetie. Fire him tomorrow.”

  “I can’t very well fire him just for having sex with somebody else. In fact, if anybody knew I’d kissed him, I might lose my job. He’s an employee, technically.”

  “Look, you know I’m a terrible gossip, but not about you. And I could be wrong about Tina. There are any number of reasons why she might have been in his room half the night. They could have been just … talking.”

  “Sure. Talking. Makes sense. It’s not like he could be talking to her in the bar,” Molly said sarcastically.

  “Oh, who cares? You deserve better than some pirate dude anyway.”

  Molly stood up. “I’m sorry, but I’m bushed. I just really need to go to bed early tonight. And I have some work calls to make.”

  “Like hell you do. You work too many hours for the shit wages they pay you anyway. Let’s finish off the wine and talk about something else. I haven’t told you about the new cardiologist who just started. I was chatting him up today. He’s divorced. I had him in mind for myself but he’s pretty cute. I could introduce you.”

  “No, thanks, I don’t need any fixing up. Keep the cardiologist for yourself. I’m good. But I do need to say goodnight. I’m sorry I fell apart there. I’m just … tired. And really, please don’t tell anyone.” They made their goodbyes and Molly retreated to her bedroom. Her dress was still draped across the foot of the bed, but the magic it had carried was gone. It looked plain and frumpy to her again. She picked up her phone and David’s employment letter, cleared her throat, and called the first reference. No answer, so she left a message. She called the second and had a surprisingly upbeat conversation. The guy seemed surprised that David was working as a small-town librarian but couldn’t say enough good things about him. Right after she hung up, the second reference called back. It was an older-sounding woman who also gushed over David’s reliability and work ethic. Maybe she had a crush on him, too. Well, at least she could defend, if questioned, her reasons for hiring David. He really did have a solid library background.

  She passed an uncomfortable night full of dreams of David kissing her, then dreams of him kissing Tina. She woke up feeling dreadful and unrested. No sexy underwear today. She pushed the sexy ensemble to the back of the drawer. She took a haphazard shower, her hair pushed into a very unsexy shower cap, and put on the practical sports underwear she wore running, the rare times she actually exercised. Over it went another sensible plain dress. It didn’t matter. Nobody was going to care what she had on underneath anyway.

  Her day just got worse. Matt had already seen Johnny’s plumbing bill and was questioning every charge. She had no patience for his penny-pinching ways and spoke much more sharply than she ever had before, telling him he knew darned well that if the restrooms at the bank were in as bad of shape as the ones in the library, he’d make sure to do something about it before they ended up flooding. “You aren’t the one who had to mop up toilet water last night, Matt. Pretty sure if you had, you wouldn’t question Johnny’s bill.” She had the satisfaction of hearing Matt suck in his breath in shock, told him she had to go because a patron was approaching, and hung up. No patron was approaching, but Matt didn’t have to know that. Nor did he need to know that she hadn’t had to mop up the toilet water.

  She let Lindsay do the story hour in her usual half-hearted manner. She could swear half the moms were disappointed that it wasn’t David today. Well, they could just deal with their disappointment. She was. Closing time couldn’t come fast enough. The hours dragged. Finally, Lindsay finished her shift. Hardly anyone was in the library except a couple of kids and a retiree using the public computers. Molly kept watching the clock and waiting for closing time to hurry up and arrive. She just wanted to get home, make something with the hamburger that was going to go over if she didn’t cook it tonight, and spend a quiet evening with her kids. She’d have the whole weekend off; the library was closed on Sundays and she typically scheduled part-timers to operate the library on Saturdays.

  Five minutes before closing time, just as the last few patrons straggled out and she’d picked up her purse, the door opened. Before she could call out that it was closing time, David walked in. Her heart did a flip-flop but she pushed that feeling down.

  He looked happy. Maybe he’d spent the day with Tina. That would account for that big of a smile.

  “I have news,” he said.

  “I just bet you do,” she said.

  “What?”

  “Nothing. Hey, I’m just locking up. You’re scheduled for Monday. I’ll see you then.” She noted with satisfaction that the smile had left his face.

  “I actually thought you might be happy to see me,” he said. “And I had something I wanted to tell you.”

  “I suppose it’s about Tina,” she said, bitterly, knowing even as she said it she sounded like a jealous shrew.

  “How did you know that?” he said, surprised.

  “Word gets around fast in Fairview,” she said. “I’ve already heard all about Tina.”

  “You’re kidding me. I didn’t think she’d be eager to have everyone know all about it.”

  “Oh, Tina is used to everyone talking about her. She’s not exactly known for her discretion.” She was mostly known for her giant breasts, which got a lot bigger suddenly a couple of years after graduation when she was dating a much older man who had bought them for her.

  “Look, is something wrong?”

  “Nope, not at all. But it’s closing time. I’ll see you Monday.” She picked up her purse and stood expectantly by the door. “So if you don’t mind?”

  “OK. I’ll see you Monday,” he said. He still looked hurt and puzzled. But he left.

  Chapter 5

  Molly had always loved to read. Everything. The classics. Romances. Anthropology. Murder mysteries. Biographies. She just loved the escape of reading. Especially when things in real life weren’t going great, slipping into the world of a book meant taking her mind off her own problems. She had often thought that without her virtually unlimited world of books to turn to she probably would have needed to see a shrink or take an antidepressant or both. Books had always helped her get through tough times. Of course, raising three children by herself meant she didn’t always have as much time to read as she would have liked. She usually got a bit of reading in at work during the slow times, and she usually read at least for a little while every night before bed.

  She had a murder mystery on her bedside table she’d been working her way through, and when she woke up Saturday morning she reached for her book as soon as she was awake. She didn’t want to think about David. She’d been stupid to fall for a man she really didn’t know at all, who obviously couldn’t be trusted, just because he was charming, funny and interesting. And good-looking. And a great kisser. She groaned and tried to become engrossed in her book. But, of course, she found herself thinking not of the whodunit in her hands but of the whodunit in Fairview history. David seemed to think he knew who had committed the murders, despite the authorities and every amateur sleuth in town having failed to come up with the answer. She willed herself to be interested in the book, but it was no use.

  Her children would sleep in whenever they could and wouldn’t thank her for waking them early on a Saturday morning. She decided to go running instead. She hadn’t been for a while. Maybe it would clear her head. She rolled out of bed, dressed in an old T-shirt and shorts, and tucked her long hair into a cap before scrawling a note and leaving it on the kitchen table, just in case of a miracle occurring and one of her kids waking up to wonder where she was. Then she hit the road.

  It was early. The sun was coming up so it was still chilly at first, but after a few minutes of running she warmed right up. She followed her usual route that led her out to the edge of town. In the distance was the old Conrad house. She guessed people would continue to call it the the “old” Conrad house for years, even if David did settle down there. There was no obvious sign of a transformation so far; if he’d been doing
any work, it wasn’t readily apparent to her. She heard the sound of an approaching vehicle and moved onto the shoulder just in case the driver hadn’t seen her. As it passed her, she realized it was David; he was heading to the old family homestead. Maybe he was doing the restoration work himself. He either hadn’t recognized her in her running gear or didn’t care that it was her or figured she didn’t want to talk to him, she wasn’t sure which. But she suddenly decided she’d had enough exercise, even though she’d only run a little more than a mile. She didn’t want to run by the Conrad house and risk another encounter with David. It would be just like him to think she was looking for him. She turned around and headed back toward her house.

  She decided to bake a batch of scones, her children’s favorite weekend splurge. Why not? She’d earned a sugary breakfast, she decided. She could get her shower while they baked. She worked the butter into the flour with a pastry blender, added the rest of the ingredients, and divided the dough into two lumps. One would be chocolate chip, for Tommy. The other would be dried cranberry and slivered almonds, for Beth. She topped each disc of dough with a sprinkling of sugar, cut them into wedges, popped them into the oven and took a quick shower.

  Beth was up, sleepy-eyed and still in her nightgown, when Molly emerged, dressed in a clean and slightly nicer shorts and t-shirt than what she’d worn for her run.

  “Mmm, scones. I woke up just from the delicious smell,” Beth said.

  “Go wake up your lazy-bones brother,” Molly replied. “These are ready.” Beth disappeared upstairs and Molly got out juice and butter and began setting the table when Beth returned.

  “He isn’t there,” she said.

  “What do you mean? He has to be,” Molly said. She placed the fresh scones on the counter, turned off the oven, and headed upstairs to check on her son.

  He clearly wasn’t there. She felt his bedding. No body warmth. He’d been gone a while. He wasn’t in the bathroom or in the backyard. Molly felt panic rising through her body. He had to be here, yet he wasn’t. She called her ex-husband; maybe Tommy had gone there for some reason. Maybe he’d wanted to talk to his dad about girl trouble. Tommy wasn’t in the habit of spending extra time with his dad, but Molly hoped that was what he was doing today.

  She couldn’t reach Hank by phone but she left a message, merely asking him if he’d seen Tommy but trying to keep the worry out of her voice.

  “Beth, do you have any idea where he might have gone?”

  “No.”

  “Really, it’s important. You’re not going to get into trouble. Just tell me if you know something.”

  “I don’t, Mom. Honestly.”

  “OK.” Molly tried to think logically. Where would a 16-year-old boy end up going early on a Saturday morning? A boy who hated to get up early? The answer was nowhere. He hadn’t gotten up early; he had probably sneaked out last night and just hadn’t returned home. Molly could think of a million reasons why he hadn’t come back; not one of them good.

  “You stay here in case he comes back. I’ve got my phone with me. Call me if he comes back. I’m going to go looking for him.”

  The trouble was, where to look? The first answer that came to her was down by the creek. Lord knew Molly herself had done a bit of underage drinking with her friends down by the creek when she was young. She didn’t think her children had been up to such shenanigans, but she had to admit her mother wouldn’t have thought it of her, either.

  She got in her car and drove down to the creek, hoping she’d find him there. She would decide once she’d found him whether to beat the living daylights out of him or hug him. Maybe both. But there was nobody there. Plenty of signs of past parties were there; old campfires, empty beer cans and the like were scattered around, but those could have been from any time in the past. The area had looked much the same back when Molly was a teenager. Where could he be? She checked her phone for messages. Nothing. Perhaps some older kids had gotten a room at The Clipper. It wouldn’t be the first time. She decided to check there. Of course, Tommy didn’t have a car, so it wasn’t as easy as simply checking the parking lot. Maybe she should call the sheriff. She’d look like a bad mother, not knowing where her 16-year-old kid was, but that didn’t matter in the grand scheme of things. Anything could have happened to him. It wasn’t a time to worry about pride, she thought, as she drove slowly through the lot. Maybe she’d spy one of his friend’s cars. Her heart was pounding as she drove around to the edge of the lot, toward the back. Toward David’s room, but she had no time to think about that. She didn’t see any cars she recognized as belonging to any of Tommy’s friends, so she pulled into the last space to pull around, just as David pulled up and parked in front of his room. He hopped out and came around to her car, a questioning look on his face. She rolled down her window.

  “Looking for me?” He looked so hopeful as he said it. “I thought I saw you about an hour ago jogging toward the house. Was that you?”

  “I can’t talk right now,” she said, feeling panicked and anxious to get back to the search.

  “Something is wrong,” he said. “What happened?”

  “It’s Tommy. My son. I think he stayed out all night. I can’t find him.”

  “He’s how old, you said?”

  “Sixteen. Look, I can’t talk. I was just checking the lot to see if any of his friends’ cars were here.”

  “He isn’t here, Molly, but I know where he is.”

  “How could you possibly know that?”

  “Because I’m pretty sure he was at my house all night.”

  “What the fuck were you doing with my son! And where is he now?”

  David held up his hand. “Easy, now. Calm down. I was just out there. Bunch of kids thought it would be a good time to check out the house while they still could. Apparently some dares were involved. They also did a fair amount of damage, and I called the sheriff this morning when I went out there and found them. There was probably some drinking involved. I just came back here to get some paperwork the sheriff wanted. He’s still out there now, getting statements.”

  “Oh God.”

  “You look shaken up. Let me drive you out there. I can’t say for sure Tommy was in the group, but it sounds like a fairly safe bet.”

  “I can drive,” Molly said. No way did she want the awkwardness of talking to him any more than she had to.

  “No, I don’t think you can. Your hands are shaking. Get into my car. You don’t need to have an accident.”

  She knew he was right, and got in, waiting just a moment while he quickly retrieved a folder from his room. It wasn’t a long drive, but it felt like forever. She hoped Tommy was there, even though she knew if he was, that was trouble of another sort. “He’s always been a good kid!” she blurted out.

  “I’m not saying he isn’t. I did crap when I was a kid. Didn’t you?”

  “A bit, maybe,” she said. A lot, actually, if truth be told, but she didn’t feel like confessing anything right now. David pulled up into the long driveway and Molly could see several cars behind the house. She recognized one of them, at least, as belonging to Cody, one of Tommy’s best friends. It was recognizable for its green body and red driver’s side door; it apparently hadn’t been worth it to some previous owner to paint the thing after an accident. Sheriff Watkins was there, and one of his deputies. She felt a mixture of relief, anger and shame when she saw Tommy among a group of boys there. She didn’t try to talk to him; it looked like the deputy was taking statements. Tommy quickly glanced at her and looked down, refusing to meet her eyes.

  “Is Tommy in the group?” David whispered. She nodded. David walked up to the sheriff.

  “I have the paperwork, but I’ve changed my mind. I don’t think I want to press any charges,” David said.

  “You sure? Lots of broken windows and graffiti, and they’ve had a bonfire out here in your backyard.”

  “I’m sure. I was going to replace all those windows anyway. I’d appreciate it if you could see your way clea
r to just letting these boys go. I hate to see good kids get in trouble for pulling stupid stunts.”

  “Well, I don’t know,” the sheriff said. He glanced at Molly, at David, and then at Tommy, and the puzzled look left his face. “Well, I think I get the picture. It’s your call, David. If you want to let these kids go with a warning, it’s your choice.”

  “I do. No sense in ruining all their futures.”

  “Well, OK then,” the sheriff said, and turned and loudly addressed the group of half-dozen boys. Molly recognized all of them except one.

  “OK, boys, it appears Mr. Conrad has decided some leniency is in order. Seems he doesn’t want an arrest to mar the no doubt sterling futures you all have in front of you. Myself, I’d prefer to haul you all in, take your fingerprints and mugshots and shuttle you all off to juvie, where I can assure you you’d have occasion to regret your absolutely appalling stupidity. However, we are going to take you all back to town and hold you for your parents to come pick you up. You, Tommy, your mother is here. You can go with her. The rest of you will ride with me and Deputy Thompson, and we’ll all have a nice chat with your parents when they arrive.”

  Tommy shuffled over to his mother, who couldn’t decide whether she was relieved he was all right or angry that he’d been so stupid. She was also embarrassed that her son had shamed her, and that he’d been saved from an arrest by a man who sent her emotions onto a roller coaster every time she looked at him. Her thoughts seemed to be in a loop: He sure is handsome. But he fooled around with Tina! But he kisses divinely. He’s a rat! You bragged to this man about what a good mother you are, and now your kid has vandalized his house. But he isn’t pressing charges! But maybe that’s just because he wants to get into your pants. But he’s already been in Tina’s so I don’t want him. Except he is a very fine man. Except for being a rat. Where did I go wrong with Tommy? Is Tommy a bad kid? Am I bad mother?