Taking her hand, he said, “I’ve made many mistakes, as you’re well aware. But the one mistake I’m not going to make is to lose you and your mother. My divorce to Maggie will be finalized in a few months, and after that, I intend to convince your mother to take the whole enchilada, as you say, and marry me. I’m selling my practice to pay off any alimony I owe, and I’m going to Tennessee with your mother to live in a farmhouse—the one she said used to belong to her family before they were evicted.”
If Nadine weren’t already sitting on her bed, she would have fainted. Her head swirled hot and cold and her heart palpitated like she was having an anxiety attack. What alternate universe did she wake up in this morning?
“Mom? Is this true? Should I be happy?” She withdrew her hand from her father’s and fanned herself.
“It is true. But don’t worry. I’m not letting Gerald down easy. He’s going to have to convince me his feelings are real before I ever say ‘I do.’” She winked at him, and Nadine knew her mother’s heart was already convinced.
“I’m not that easily convinced,” Nadine snapped, still pissed about her father’s defense of Elaine. Besides, they were Woos and like Michael had said, You do what you have to do when you’re a Woo.
She didn’t trust her father further than she could blow out a candle.
“Deeny, I should have been a better father for you growing up. But to make up for everything, I’d like to give you and Connor this apartment.”
A sour taste churned from her stomach and Nadine tightened her jaw. “No, Dad. I can’t take this apartment. It’s blood money. You’re only giving it to us because deep inside, you know Elaine set the fire.”
She couldn’t stay in this sickening place one minute longer. Her mother was a lost cause—completely brainwashed, and her father would always hold Elaine and Michael above her. Ignoring her parents’ entreaties to stay, Nadine threw what little belongings she had into a duffle bag and picked up her cat. She’d rather be homeless tonight than stay in this apartment of shame—the place where she was conceived and became the love child only to be thrown out and discarded like used rags.
Her eyes blurry with unshed tears, she took her cat and marched out the door of the only home she knew.
Chapter Forty
Nadine slung her bag over her shoulder and walked up the street to Golden Gate Park. She had nowhere to go but Brian and Cait’s. It was crowded there, but she was sure they wouldn’t turn her away. Her father’s offer of the apartment was too little and too late. The way he acted, like a conquering hero, instead of a scumbag, irritated her more than dry markers on a whiteboard.
In his mind, all he had to do was sell his practice, pay alimony, buy her mother a farmhouse, and everything would be forgiven and forgotten. He wasn’t usually so generous, so he had to be covering up something—most likely Elaine’s treachery.
Why couldn’t her mother see through Dr. Gerald Woo and all his smoke and mirrors? Giving them the apartment would not undo over thirty years of disloyalty, keeping Dolly Lee Hunter as a sidepiece while he courted and married Maggie, Elaine and Michael’s mother.
“Well, little Greyheart, we’re technically strays now. Let’s hope the Harts will give us a place to stay.”
She was halfway across the park when her phone vibrated with a message.
It was from Elaine. Dad says you need a place to stay. Why don’t you come by?
Wow. The Woo grapevine was blazing fast. Even more unbelievable was that the very person who set fire to the Hart’s home with her and Connor inside was offering her an olive branch.
Nadine mulled over the message and ignored it. Her father was probably feeling guilty and had asked Elaine to reach out to her.
With Greyheart draped over one arm, Nadine continued up the hill through the park. “You wouldn’t want to live there, would you?”
Greyheart sneezed and wiggled his head, like he did whenever Cinder wanted to play.
Cinder! Elaine had taken her, and she should be rescued. If Elaine could hurt Greyheart, she was capable of abusing Cinder, too.
Nadine found a bench and sat down, pulling out her phone. She texted her sister. Is Cinder living with you?
She wasn’t sure what her sister would say, but seconds later, she answered. Cinder’s here with me. Want to come by and see her?
Nadine was about to text that she was coming by to take her, but thought better of it. Instead, she texted. Sure. I’ll come right now. Give me a few minutes.
She hurriedly saved the messages by taking screenshots, before putting her phone away. Then, she texted Cait. I’m going to Elaine’s. She says she has Cinder.
A few moments later, Cait texted back. You’re going to miss Connor being discharged from the hospital.
Pins and needles prickled Nadine’s skin. Connor never told her he was going to be discharged. But then, she and Connor didn’t do much talking when they were together. She’d thought it was what he wanted, just to be with her, touching his uninjured skin, giving him quiet companionship. Maybe she should have inquired with the Harts about Connor’s progress.
She turned down the hill toward the hospital. Elaine didn’t live far from it, so maybe she could go together with Connor to to fetch his dog.
Okay, coming by then. She texted Cait. Tell him to wait until I get there.
I’m sure he will. See you in a bit.
As she turned toward the hospital, another text chimed in from Elaine. Don’t take too long. I have to go back to the hospital. Just wanted to give you the key.
Urrrgh. Elaine was always the impatient type. Fine, she’d go to Elaine’s first, get the key, and then when Elaine was gone back to the hospital, she’d spring Cinder and drop her off at the fire station. Cait said Connor would wait for her anyway.
On my way. She texted Elaine.
Fifteen minutes later, Elaine buzzed her in and Nadine headed up the elevator to her sister’s penthouse suite.
Connor hobbled around the hospital room, impatient for his family to arrive. The swelling was down, and he was ready to go home.
Saving lives had its benefits. When the news got out that Connor’s family home had burned down and that he and his newlywed wife were homeless, the calls started coming in.
One came from the owner of a warehouse which was converted to loft apartments in the outskirts south of Golden Gate Park. A few years back, during a four alarm fire, Connor had walked through flames to save the owner’s wife who was trapped in an upstairs bathroom.
The owner had rebuilt the lofts and was renting them out as apartments. One of the units included a large garage with a corrugated metal roll-top door—perfect for an art studio.
While Connor recuperated at the hospital, his sisters, Jenna and Melisa, as well as his buddies from the fire station had taken turns cleaning and decorating the apartment, moving in used furniture and other necessities. The lot also included a rooftop patio and a small between the buildings yard for Cinder to play in.
Most of all, Connor couldn’t wait to surprise his wife. Since they were spending a lot of quiet time together, she hadn’t bugged him about where he would go after being released. She was obsessed with finding the arsonist, although neither she nor Cait were forthcoming about who they suspected. In any case, hanging around with his busybody sister kept Nadine running around like an absent-minded squirrel stashing nuts in all the wrong places.
Connor’s skin itched under the bandages, but his wounds were progressing well with pale, pink new growth covering most of the burnt areas. All he needed was to keep things clean, and he didn’t need Nadine to nurse him back to health. Since his burns were in the front of his body, he was well able to take care of them himself.
“Connor, we’re here.” His mother’s voice piped from the doorway. The door opened to Cait and his mother, the official Hart welcome wagon. Since it was the middle of the day, the other members of his family were at work and he hadn’t told Nadine anything—wanting to surprise her.
�
��I’m ready to go,” Connor said, standing straight. “Is the apartment ready? I can’t wait to surprise Nadine.”
“Actually …” Cait brushed her hair back from her shoulder. “I kind of spilled the beans and Nadine’s coming. She wants you to wait for her.”
Connor held his hand out to his mother. “I win. You said Cait wouldn’t talk, and I said she would.”
“Ugh, Cait.” Mother rolled her eyes. “I had such faith in you, especially since you kept the Cinder thing quiet.”
The hairs on the back of Connor’s neck chilled, and he narrowed his eyes at his mother and sister. “What Cinder thing?”
“Oh, nothing.” Cait danced around with that telltale head bob that told him it was anything but nothing.
“What happened to Cinder? Is she hurt? Something worse?”
“Oh, nothing like that,” his mother said in an overly casual tone. “Only a little problem. It’s just that none of us feel qualified to go speak to her.”
“Her? Her who?” Connor had an inkling he wouldn’t like the answer. “What’s Elaine done now?”
Aside from the fact that no one would mention Elaine around him, which was understandable, since they hadn’t parted on good terms, Connor was also worried that there were no credible leads for the fire.
But then, everyone treated him as if he were at death’s door and clammed up whenever he demanded to know about the arson investigation.
“Ha, ha, ha.” Mother flapped her hand. “We weren’t talking about Elaine, were we?”
“You were talking about Cinder and I want to know what’s up? What happened to our family being open and honest? I feel like I’m in a mushroom farm here, kept in the dark and fed horse dung.” Connor’s voice lowered to a menacing growl. “Spit it out.”
“I have to see if the nurse is around.” Mother hastily craned her neck out the door.
“Okay, Cait, Blabbermouth. What’s up with Cinder and Elaine?”
“You shouldn’t worry about a thing.” Cait twirled her hair around her finger. “Nadine’s taking care of everything. She was going to go see Elaine about Cinder when I told her you were being discharged, so she’s coming here first and then you two can go together. I’m sure Elaine is sick and tired of the puppy.”
“Sick and tired of the puppy? But why? I left Cinder at the fire station.” His sister’s guilty expression clued him in. “Oh, no. Don’t tell me. Elaine went to the station and laid claim to Cinder.”
“Yes, exactly. On the night of the fire, too.” Cait lowered her voice as she glanced around the hospital room. “We think Elaine was the one who planted Greyheart in the garage and made it look like Nadine left the rags out. Elaine was the arsonist who started the fire.”
“Elaine?” Connor’s heart lurched along with a shot of bile from his stomach. “I don’t believe it. She called me about a week before the fire and was cool about everything. She was sorry for lying about Nadine and wished us a happy marriage.”
“That was fake,” Cait retorted. “Just to put you off guard. Think about it, Connor, no one else had the opportunity to take Greyheart and set the fire.”
Connor stepped back, shaking his head and holding up his damaged hands as if warding off demons. “I can’t believe this, but if Elaine’s so dangerous, why haven’t they arrested her?”
“They don’t have any evidence. Ask Dad. He had the police investigate, and they claim Elaine had an alibi. Her father said—”
“And we believe her father?” Connor threw his hands up in exasperation. “Where is Nadine anyway? Can you text her?”
“Sure.” Cait whipped out her phone and held it so Connor could see the exchange between them.
Cait added another text asking Nadine if she was on the way to the hospital.
There was no reply.
“Give me the phone,” Connor said, but when Cait gave him the phone, his bandaged fingers weren’t able to work the touch screen. “Oh, heck, can you call her?”
“Sure.” Cait called Nadine, but she didn’t pick up. “I don’t know what to tell you.”
“We have to go to Elaine’s,” Connor said. “I have a bad feeling about this. Why would Elaine invite Nadine over to her place to pick up Cinder? Why not drop Cinder back at the fire station?”
“But we have to wait for her. She said she was coming here first,” Cait said.
“I don’t care what she said,” Connor shouted. “I’m leaving now.”
“Connor, calm down,” his mother cut in. “Here comes the nurse to wheel you out of the hospital.”
“Time to get you in your wheelchair,” a nurse said cheerily. “Looks like you’ll have a wonderful homecoming.”
“I don’t need to sit in a wheelchair.” Connor strode toward the door. Of course, everything still hurt, but he was on the mend, and with luck, he would be completely healed in another week. Scarring was the least of his concerns. He had to find his wife before anything happened to her.
“Mr. Hart, you must sit in the wheelchair,” the nurse called after him. “Hospital regulations.”
Brushing everyone aside, Connor ran out of the hospital, pushing through the pain of the bandages chafing against his burns.
Chapter Forty-One
Nadine exited the elevator and knocked on her sister’s apartment door. Cinder barked sharply through the door and scratched at it. Great. Maybe she wouldn’t even have to go in. She could grab Cinder and make a run for it.
The door opened and Nadine leaned over to grab the puppy. Something hard hit her head and she stumbled forward, crashing into an expensive Ming vase.
Greyheart yowled and escaped from her arms, while a large booted foot kicked Cinder. She yelped and cowered beneath Nadine, writhing with pain.
Before Nadine could swipe the hair from her face, a pair of strong hands grabbed her wrists and she heard the clicking of handcuffs.
She was thrown onto the sofa, landing next to another warm body. Nadine shook the hair from her face and her heart almost stopped.
Elaine was gagged and bound on the couch next to her, and her brother Michael and Emmeline stood over them.
“What’s going on here?” Nadine’s brain was a scrambled mess of confusion. “Why’s Elaine tied up?”
Her sister’s eyes were wide and stricken with fear. She kept shaking her head and straining against the cuffs, but her feet were tied.
Nadine jumped toward the door, but Michael tackled her and Emmeline shut the door.
“Why are you doing this?” Nadine asked. Her brother had never ever been mean to her before, but now, he was tying her feet up.
“Got her cell phone?” Michael asked Emmeline who rummaged in Nadine’s duffle bag.
“Got it,” Emmeline said. “Time to text the suicide message.”
“Suicide message?” Nadine’s head whipped from Michael to Elaine, who nodded slowly as a tear dribbled down her face.
“That’s right. Both of my lovely sisters are committing suicide today. Elaine feels guilty because she set fire to the Harts’ house, and you are pissed off that your mother has gone back to my father.”
“But why? Why are you doing this?” Nadine kicked and struggled against the bonds.
“Her passcode is the numbers spelling H. A. R. T.” Michael told Emmeline.
“Great. Let me start texting.” Emmeline consulted a piece of paper as entered the message.
“Wait, who are you texting?” Nadine asked right before Michael tied a gag over her mouth.
“Your mother, of course,” Michael said. “After you commit suicide, she’ll feel so guilty, she’ll dump my father, and my father will have no choice but to take my mother back.”
Nadine could only stare wide-eyed at her insane brother. Was all this done solely to maneuver her father into his wife’s arms for good? But then, what about Dr. Emmeline Lu Su?
She snorted and narrowed her eyes at the proctologist.
“Oh, I see you’re wondering about Emmeline,” Michael said. “She’s actually my f
iancée.”
At that, Nadine’s eyes bulged even wider. She stared at Elaine who shook her head without energy. It seemed as if her older sister already knew the plot. No doubt the two connivers had already filled her in, but knowing criminals, they needed their moment of glory.
If she could delay them from whatever suicide they were going to stage, she might have a chance. Hopefully it wasn’t going to be a gunshot to the head. Nadine used her eyes to question Michael. She also shrugged her shoulders as if this was entirely too puzzling.
“Oh, I see, you think I’m gay. I am, but I owe my mother a son. Emmeline’s agreed to marry me so she can inherit your father’s lucrative practice.”
Nadine felt like shouting, But she’s a butt doctor!
Emmeline looked up from her texting. “I know that look. You underestimate me, don’t you? You won’t be laughing if you ever get anal cancer. But then, too bad you’re going to die so young. You’ll never know how much pain management people with bowel cancer need. Don’t think I don’t know what you called me.”
“That’s right, you both think you’re so great,” Michael said. “Trying to get Dad to dump Emmeline by worrying him. You fell right into my trap. Dad thinks both of you are unstable. Elaine has her Connor obsession. Oh, so sad that she lost the love of her life. She went off the deep end. And you? You can’t stand to see your mother under Dad’s boot, or should I say, underneath Dad, taking their little naps. When I heard you didn’t want the apartment he offered, I knew it was time to move ahead with the plan.”
Nadine strained at the bonds and tried to wipe the gag from her face against the sofa. She couldn’t believe her father had called so quickly to let everyone know about her refusal of the apartment.
“You still don’t know, do you?” Michael laughed so easily, and his usually charming eyes lit with a maniacal glint. “I planted a listening device in your mother’s apartment. I knew everything that went on in those four walls. I heard Connor’s entire lecture to you about linseed oil fire danger and how a pile of rags could ignite. I also heard you tell Dad that Elaine was the one who set fire to Connor’s parents’ house and that she put the cat in the garage. I thought it was a nice touch, and it worked. Fireman Connor had to make sure no other living creature was alive in the house, so he opened the door. Too bad, in my haste to escape, I left the door ajar and that cat got away. It was also smart of me to help Connor move some furniture so the neighbors wouldn’t wonder if they saw me, and of course, getting the extra key from the hook was a piece of cake. But then, everyone would think Elaine did it because obviously, she’d have a key to the Hart’s house.”
Spring Fling Kitty: The Hart Family (Have A Hart Book 3) Page 23
