by Karen Cimms
“Excuse me, but isn’t that your job?” Rhiannon said.
“I’m a lawyer, Rhiannon,” Doug responded flatly, “not a magician.”
Men. So frustrating. Maybe if she tried reasoning. It worked with the twins—sometimes.
“Daddy, if Doug thinks you’d be better off making a deal with the DA, why won’t you do that?” Doug uttered a low grumble, which earned him a dirty look before she continued. “Do you really think you can win?”
He set down the water on the granite counter. “No, I don’t, but that’s the only chance I have of not going to jail. If I plead now, then I get sentenced and very likely locked up. And who knows for how long? What about your mother?” He pressed his hand against the back of his neck. “I can’t go to jail now. It’s hard enough that I’m not with her every day. What if I get sentenced for a few months or longer?”
“I’m sure you won’t have to go to jail for that long, if at all.” She turned to Doug, ready to pounce. “He didn’t even start the fight. Did you forget that? He was defending his friend.”
Doug watched her over the rim of his glass. “I know, and I’m sure we can get her to agree to assault instead of aggravated assault. You’ll likely have to pay the guy’s medical expenses, but we might be able to get the judge to split that, since you didn’t start the fight. But it’s too risky to go to trial.”
The stool scraped along the travertine-tiled floor as her father stood. “Put it off as long as you can. Hopefully by then, Katie will be doing better. Then I’ll think about a deal, but not now.”
The determined set of his jaw and the look in his eyes warned her that his mind was made up.
“Did you talk to your mother?” he asked, changing the subject.
“Yes,” she said with a sigh. “She doesn’t want to come for dinner. She says it’ll be too late.”
“Then we’ll go over there. She’ll want to see the boys in their Halloween costumes.”
Doug rolled his eyes, but Rhiannon’s look mirrored her father’s.
“That’s fine,” she answered. “We’ll take a ride after dinner.”
“I’m gonna pack a bag in case she’ll let me stay for a couple days.” He stopped in the doorway and turned to Doug. “I appreciate what you’re trying to do. I just can’t do it your way right now.”
Chapter Forty-Six
It was the part of Pride and Prejudice Kate loved most: the drawing room scene. As silly as it might be, it was an utterly romantic moment for her. She’d watched the BBC version of the movie so many times she could recite the lines by heart.
Dressed in a pair of yoga pants and one of Billy’s long-sleeved T-shirts, she was curled up on the futon in the music room with a mug of chicken noodle soup and a quilt around her shoulders. There was even a bowl of popcorn in case she was hungry later.
A loud bang on the front door made her jump. No one ever ventured up their long driveway on Halloween, not when they could stay in town and hit ten houses in the time it took to get to hers. Of course, with the house lit up like a Christmas tree, it was hard to miss even from so far away.
The clock on the VCR read seven thirty. Trick-or-treating went on until eight. She had no candy or anything to give. She should just ignore them.
Another knock. Someone seemed determined.
Unable to bear the thought of a disappointed child, Kate paused the movie and pulled the quilt tightly around her. The thought of opening the door to strangers made her more than a little uncomfortable, but when she heard a woman’s laughter and recognized the top of Doug’s head through the window, she relaxed.
“Tee-tee, Nonna!” Dayton yelled when she opened the door. Dalton mimicked his brother.
She felt a little tug around her heart. “Oh my! Who have we here?”
“Me!” Thing One and Thing Two cried in unison.
Their hair was tinted bright blue and stood up with a bad case of static. They wore red footie pajamas, and each had his particular name emblazoned within a white circle on the chest.
Kate grinned at their beaming little faces, then up at her daughter. “They’re adorable. Nonna doesn’t have any candy, but I do have some yogurt.”
“Much better.” Rhiannon gave her mother a peck on the cheek, deposited her Louis Vuitton bag on the dining room table, and shrugged off her cashmere wrap.
Kate was reaching up to hug Doug when she noticed Billy standing at the bottom of the porch steps. Damn if her heart didn’t skip a beat.
“And who are you supposed to be?”
“That’s Poppy!” Dalton answered.
“That’s right.” She scooped him up and covered him with kisses. His laughter reminded her how she had once believed that such an irresistible sound could cure the worst case of the blues. Too bad it wasn’t true.
She gave Dayton an equal number of kisses, then darted into the kitchen to get the yogurt and two oatmeal raisin cookies.
Rhiannon crinkled her nose. “Store-bought?”
“Sorry. It’s my emergency stash. There’s no point in baking—or cooking, for that matter—if there’s no one here to eat it.”
She ignored Billy’s frown.
“Do you want coffee or tea, maybe?” she asked. “There’s some beer in the fridge.” She glanced at Billy. Was he still fighting to stay on the wagon, or had he fallen off again?
“We don’t want to put you out, Mom,” Rhiannon said. “We just wanted you to see the boys, and . . .” She glanced up at her father.
“I miss you,” Billy admitted. “I thought I’d stay for a day or two if it’s okay.”
The look on his face was just short of pleading, and she felt that if she told him no, he might just drop to his knees and beg her. She didn’t like being put on the spot, but she was too exhausted to argue. Besides, having Billy in the house might mean more than just a couple hours of sleep.
“Sure,” she said, wishing things were different. “That’ll be fine.”
Doug glanced in the rearview mirror. The boys were sound asleep.
“I’m worried about your mother.”
“Why?” Rhiannon didn’t look up from her phone. “She seemed okay.”
“She was okay when she saw the boys, and for a little bit she almost seemed like herself. But it’s like the light’s gone out of her eyes.”
“She’s fine. She and Daddy just need to work their shit out. They’ll both be fine.”
“I know you’d like to believe that, and so would I, but I don’t think it’s that simple.”
This was not a conversation she wanted to have, and Doug knew it. Rhiannon believed that time, and maybe a trip to the spa or a weekend in Cabo, could cure anything.
“Daddy loves her,” she pointed out. “If she’d stop being so pigheaded and let him come home, she’d see that.”
“It’s not that simple. And what your mother is going through is way more than just dealing with your dad, although that hasn’t helped.”
She looked up from her phone long enough to glare at him.
He lifted his hand in defense. “You know I care about both your parents, but your father has put her through a lot. That on its own would be enough to push someone over the edge. But given everything else she’s had to deal with in the course of just a few months? I’m worried. That’s all I’m saying. I think maybe we should try to get her to stay with us. And if she won’t stay with your father there, then he should go back to the house, and she should stay.”
The temperature in the car dropped about ten degrees. “I’m not throwing my father out, Doug.”
“I’m not asking you to. But all of this isn’t over yet, remember? I can push off his trial for a bit, but it’s very likely he’s going to have to do some jail time. What then?”
Annoyed, she tossed her phone back in her bag. “Maybe we should hire a lawyer with more confidence in his ability to defend his client.”
“I’m very confident in my abilities, sweetheart, and that of the entire firm, but we’re not miracle workers. Plus
my dad is looking to run for office next year. We can’t pull any strings or look for any favors. You know that.”
“You just do your best to get him off,” she said, “and let me worry about my mother.”
Billy turned off the outside lights and checked the locks on all the doors. Kate checked them several times a day, but he made a show of it for her sake.
“I know it’s silly to have all the lights on,” she started to say. “All I’m really doing is telling the neighbors I’m alone.”
A smile crept across his face. “What do you think they’re thinking when they see all the lights out? I bet they think you’re getting lucky.”
She chuckled. “Yeah, I’m sure that’s what they’re thinking.”
It was good to see her smile, but the rest was disturbing. She was disappearing before his eyes. She’d lost so much weight she was all sharp angles and lines. Lost in one of his old shirts, she seemed fragile and birdlike.
As if reading his mind, she pushed the too-long sleeves up over her elbows. “Are you hungry?”
“Depends what you’re offering. If it’s kale and tofu something-or-other, I had that for dinner.”
She grimaced, then went to the freezer and pulled out a small package of chicken cutlets. “You’re in luck. I just went to the store. These aren’t even frozen yet.”
She unwrapped the meat and pounded it paper thin. She seasoned it, dredged it in flour, and set it to fry in a pan with butter and olive oil. In the meantime, she sliced some mushrooms and tossed them into the pan with some beef broth and wine.
Billy sat at the island watching, his mouth watering. In less than twenty minutes, he was devouring Chicken Marsala.
He made an exaggerated show of rolling his eyes heavenward. “Oh my God,” he said, his mouth full, “please let me come home, even if it’s just for dinner.”
Kate smiled, but it was sad.
“Don’t you miss cooking for me?” He held out a piece of chicken on his fork. She hesitated and then opened her mouth.
“I miss a lot of things.”
There wasn’t a whole lot he could say to that.
Happy that he was able to get her to eat several bites, he felt even better later when she offered to share her popcorn with him as well.
“I was watching a movie,” she explained.
He climbed off the stool and stretched. It felt good to be home, even just for a night or two.
“What do you want to drink?” She took a bottle from the wine rack in the dining room. “I’m going to have some wine. Maybe it’ll help me sleep.”
“Aren’t the sleeping pills helping?”
“Not so much. Not really.” She pulled a glass from the cabinet.
When he opened the refrigerator, he found some unusual brand of India Pale Ale and water. He held up a beer, eyebrows raised.
Kate shrugged. “I don’t know what it tastes like. Tom brought it when he came for dinner last week. I made curry.”
Yes, what you made Tom for dinner was the question I most wanted to ask.
He put the beer back and pulled out a bottle of water, unscrewed the top, and took a sip. Noticing her raised eyebrows, he shrugged.
“I’m trying.”
She picked up her glass and the bottle and headed toward the stairs. “Well, I’m not.”
“Speaking of Tom, he called me this afternoon,” she tossed over her shoulder.
Was it too late to snatch a bottle of that designer beer? He didn’t. He just slogged up the stairs behind her.
“He’s been following up with the NYPD.” She settled onto the far corner of the futon.
Billy dropped down beside her, rolling his eyes at the frozen screen. Pride and Prejudice. Again?
“They had a couple of leads on Joey’s shooting, but nothing’s panned out. They’re pretty much saying it was random, and the chance of finding out whoever did it is very unlikely.”
He captured her hand. “I’m sorry, babe.”
She dragged a pillow onto her lap and picked at the threads. “They think it was probably somebody looking to score money for drugs.” She shot him a disapproving look. Yeah, he got it.
“Are they just giving up?”
“They’re not saying that, but Tom thinks that’s exactly what they’re doing.” She handed him the remote. “To be honest, I never expected them to make an arrest. It was a random robbery. He was just in the wrong place at the wrong time. It’s not like someone wanted to kill him.”
She didn’t say it, but he knew she was thinking it: Like Sedge wanted to kill me.
She settled the bowl of popcorn between them while he flipped through the channels.
“Put on whatever you like as long as it’s not scary.”
When he came to The Rocky Horror Picture Show, he waggled his eyebrows.
“Fine.” She huffed. “Although I’ll never understand what anyone sees in this movie.” When he opened his mouth to explain, she pressed her fingers to his lips. “Save your breath.”
Partway through the movie, her head began to droop. Billy lifted the glass from her hand and settled her against his shoulder. Her breathing slowed, and he could tell she was sound asleep. He turned off the TV and lifted her off the futon. As he carried her toward their bedroom, she opened her eyes.
“What’re you doing?”
“Putting you to bed.”
“Okay.” She nestled her head against his shoulder.
The state of their bedroom shocked him. The bed was unmade. The closet door stood open, and several pairs of shoes were strewn about the floor. In one corner was a pile of dirty clothes. Clean clothes were stacked on a chair near the closet. Books and magazines covered the table on Kate’s side of the bed. Several more were on his nightstand.
He pulled the covers over her just as Charlie jumped onto the bed and began his nightly ritual of looking for a comfortable spot.
“Lucky dog,” he muttered, scratching Charlie behind the ear before turning out the light. He left the bathroom and hall lights on in case Kate woke.
Settling back onto the futon, he watched Leno while the half-empty bottle of wine taunted him. He drained his bottle of water, but it was no use. He poured the wine into Kate’s empty glass and drank until he’d finished the bottle.
But if he thought the wine had beckoned, it was no match for the pull of Kate asleep down the hall. He stood outside the door, watching her, which only made it more difficult.
“Beat it,” he said, shooing Charlie off the bed.
Then he stepped out of his clothes and climbed into his bed next to his wife.
The moon was still nearly full, and the light shining through the windows illuminated her face. Long, dark lashes curled against her pale skin. Her sweet, full lips were parted slightly.
He wanted to kiss her. Kate had always believed in happily ever after, yet she was living a nightmare. What he wouldn’t give to be a real prince, able to free her with a kiss. He wanted to reach inside and pull out all the pain and heartache. He didn’t know how to help her. She was slipping away, turning into herself. He didn’t know where she was going or how to reach her if she traveled too far.
As he drew her up against his chest, her body remembered its place. Her head nestled into the hollow beneath his neck. Her breath warmed his chest. She was asleep and comfortable for now. Hopefully she would sleep through the night. But if not, at least he would be there when she woke.
Chapter Forty-Seven
The bullets fired from Sedge Stevens’s gun and the ones that ended Joey’s life never touched Kate, yet they tore a hole in her so wide she couldn’t fill it no matter how hard she tried. As the holidays approached, she couldn’t stop thinking of the empty chairs too many families would face because of her. Yet here she was, still breathing.
It didn’t seem fair.
Each day was a struggle. Each sleepless night, endless. And when she did fall asleep, she woke sweating and panting, the screams caught in her throat. The nightmares had become so real t
hat she fought sleep rather than fall prey to its terrifying secrets.
Moving with zombie-like enthusiasm, Kate threw herself into Thanksgiving preparations with as much zeal as she could muster, further wearing out her already frayed edges. But it needed to be perfect. Her family deserved that. And if Thanksgiving was going to be perfect, that meant a fresh turkey right from the farm.
She drove all the way to Flanders to pick up the bird. On the way, she stopped at a farm stand and bought a giant Cinderella pumpkin for the centerpiece and a dozen tiny white ones to use as place cards. She’d first counted out eight. When she realized she had included Joey, she couldn’t bear to put the extra pumpkin back, so she threw in a few more for no reason at all.
It was almost dark by the time she got home and found Devin waiting for her.
He came bounding into the kitchen to greet her. “Hey!”
Worry clouded his face as soon as he saw her, but to his credit, he shook it off quickly. Anyone who hadn’t seen her in a while wore that same expression. She was getting used to it.
“Hey, yourself!” She reached up to give him a hug. “Did you just get here?”
“Actually, I got in this afternoon, but I have a date. Can I borrow Dad’s truck?”
She tried to hide her disappointment as she handed him the keys. “Oh? With who?”
“Her name’s Danielle. I know her from Lyco. Were you expecting me for dinner?”
“No.” She could always freeze the pan of lasagna with homemade noodles she’d made that morning. “I know you’re too popular to spend the evening with me.”
He gave her a quick peck on the cheek and grabbed his jacket. “Don’t wait up!”
“Nice try,” she called after him.
After he’d gone, she turned on all the outside lights. Then she boiled an egg for supper, took out a couple of blocks of cream cheese to soften, and began measuring flour for a pie crust.
By the time Devin returned several hours later, she was trying to make room in the refrigerator for the pumpkin cheesecake. Recalling the nights they’d sit at the dining room table when he first started dating, she asked if he’d like some cocoa.
