Anger continued to fume over Owen’s patronizing words. Cressa kept her voice even. “You’re right,” Cressa said as her fortitude galvanized her words. “This is a bad night, but please understand I can’t see you again.”
“Are you sure?”
Cressa softened. “Yeah. I’m sure. Goodbye, Owen.” She punched the button that disconnected the call before realizing she’d been holding her breath. Now, she took in a great gasp of air before collapsing onto the couch.
She was grateful to see this glimpse into Owen’s belief system, even if it did surprise her. It clarified her decision, in spite of the niggling doubt she tried to keep at arm’s length.
Sighing, she flopped back onto the sofa as relief and sadness mingled within her. With the release of Owen, her horizon dipped into a bleak and flat plain of nothingness. She would spend the rest of her life working in a small-town clinic and caring for her parents.
Guilt swirled around her chest. She loved her parents, and she wanted to be the one who cared for them, even if it meant sacrificing every other part of her life.
Tears spilled onto her cheeks, crumbling her stalwart defenses. Was there really anything to sacrifice? Owen was her last best prospect for ever having a family.
She sat up and placed her head in her hands. She couldn’t have taken Owen’s offer to further their relationship for the hope of a someday family. She didn’t love Owen. She loved Spencer, and chances were good she’d have to sit by and watch him remarry his ex-wife. Without him, her love life would fold into endless days and years that would eventually run dry with age.
Twenty-Eight
One week later, Cressa was dishing up soup from the slow cooker. Looking out the window, she noticed Spencer bringing the horses in from the pasture. Andrew was with him, and the two men were easy in each other’s company. With the warming season, the days were getting longer, and Spencer and Andrew were spending more time with the animals. Andrew had brushed out the horses’ shaggy winter hair and they gleamed like coins, while the cows were looking robust as they began nibbling the green grasses of the season.
“Why can’t Mr. Sagebrush come in for dinner?” Cressa’s mother asked for the fifth time as she watched out the window alongside Cressa.
A flare of impatience shot up in Cressa. Her mother’s earlier days of improvement had come to a screeching halt, and her mother had sunk into looping the same question.
Cressa’s emotions also took a downturn with her mother’s decline. Desperate sorrow mingled with impatience and then guilt. She steadied her voice. “We broke up, Mom,” Cressa said.
“I hope you didn’t break up with him for that Salt Lake City doctor. He’s hardly worth it.”
Cressa smiled in spite of herself. “No. I broke up with Spencer because of Kimber and her mother.”
Her mother gave her a sour look before taking her bowl of soup to the table. “It doesn’t seem right to be sitting here eating while the boys are out there working.”
Cressa had to agree, but it was for the best. Five minutes in Spencer’s company, and Cressa would want to renew their growing bond. Instead, she was forced to live with the dull ache of his absence. Swallowing hard, she called her father to the table.
Her father switched off the television and grabbed Agnes. In the onslaught of silence, Cressa heard the slamming of two truck doors. Checking outside, she noticed the men were gone, but nothing eased the constant misery that made it hard to breathe. Once her parents were settled, she tried to focus on her meal. It held little appeal. Leaving the spoon in the bowl, she stared at it while her heart retreated into the hardened shell of dull apathy. It didn’t hold the same familiar comfort. Thoughts of Spencer broke through. His essence was everywhere in the house, making it hard for her to stop her emotions.
After dinner, her parents were watching television as Cressa went to check the bathroom remodel. Tools were set in the corner near the shower. The floors were in, as was the vanity with double sinks. The fixtures needed to be placed along with the toilet. The job was coming to an end. After some cleanup, everything would be finished, and Spencer would walk out of her home for the last time.
The thought punched through the usual ache with a fist of agony. Cressa pulled in a long breath and held it.
At least with the remodel, she knew he was in her home. His texts came infrequently, but they still showed up on her screen, asking her various questions about products and informing her of the timing. His last text told her he should be finished by the end of the week. It was Tuesday, and Cressa wished to make time stop.
Meandering out of the bathroom, she found herself in the hall bath. Everything looked in order, but something drew her to the last cabinet. Getting on her knees, she opened the door and sorted through her mother’s cotton balls, Q-tips, and other sundries to find her jewelry box. Opening it wide, she checked all the boxes. The diamond earrings were nestled safely in their black velvet, and she considered asking her mother to wear them once the remodel was finished. Maybe they would all go to dinner at Marilyn’s or make the trip into Missoula, and her mother could dress up and wear some of her jewelry. The thought gave Cressa something to look for on her horizon.
Picking up the white velvet box, she opened the lid to find the sapphire ring was missing. A jolting shock pierced her as her mouth went dry. Squinting hard, she expected it to materialize out of thin air. When it didn’t, she began searching through the rest of her mother’s jewelry. She opened each of the small containers. It was nowhere to be found.
Frantically, Cressa began looking through all of the bathroom drawers and cabinets, pulling apart every possible hiding place, including the bag of cotton balls and Q-tips. After ransacking the whole bathroom, she took a shaky breath, and then another, trying to steady herself.
Walking out to the family room, she sat down on the ottoman in front of her mother, checking her hands. No ring. “Mom? Have you seen your wedding ring?”
“The sapphire?”
Cressa nodded. At least her mother knew what she was talking about.
“Heavens no. I depend on you to keep it safe. I haven’t looked at it for a while now.” She focused her attention back to the television.
Cressa glanced at her father, who shook his head. “I know better than to mess with a woman’s jewelry. I’m sure it’s around here somewhere.”
Cressa nodded and hurried out of the family room. She didn’t want to cause any alarm for her parents. With quiet but growing despair, she began searching through her mother and father’s nightstands and dresser. She looked in between each article of clothing and even in their shoes, before moving into the kitchen, where she checked all the cabinets and drawers. Nothing.
Panic clawed at her when a new thought erupted. Perhaps it had been stolen. Did Spencer take the ring? Every cell in Cressa’s body fought against that possibility. Spencer was no thief. A new thought arrived, carried on the wave of her panic. But Andrew was a known criminal.
Her heart became as still as the tomb. Would Andrew really steal from family? She recalled the undertow of irritation that always accompanied their conversations. He was never really angry, just sometimes annoyed, as if he expected people to think the worst of him. And maybe they did.
Cressa’s choices at including Andrew inside her home had been made out of need, not a trusting desire to become close to her cousin. When he’d asked her to vouch for him in court, she hadn’t quite been able to bring herself to agree.
Irritation chafed inside of Cressa. She should’ve seen this coming. Of course he would wait until everyone became comfortable with his presence. Would he take the diamond earrings next?
Hurrying to the hall bath, Cressa pulled out the jewelry box. She would keep it locked in the trunk of her car for now.
She sat on the lid of the toilet. Was she being unreasonable? How she wished to talk to Spencer. Pulling out her phone, she sent a quick text, asking if he could come to work a little early. The reply was immediate. He would arrive at
eight.
Cressa blew out a long breath. She wouldn’t be alone in this concern. She would share it with Spencer, and he would help her shoulder the burden.
Twenty-Nine
Fifteen minutes before Spencer arrived, Cressa made sure her parents were ready for the day. She was also dressed, and in spite of the chiding she gave herself, she left her hair down. She would pin it up when she got to work.
When the doorbell rang, Cressa’s heart jumped into her throat as she opened the door. It had been three weeks since she’d last seen Spencer, and she was unprepared for the impact of his presence. Staring into his sweet brown eyes, her stomach felt as if it were melting into her weak knees. She grabbed the door for support, trying to put her heart in its proper place. “Thanks for coming.” Her voice was barely above a whisper.
Spencer’s eyes continued to look steadily into hers, as if he was looking straight into her soul. She glanced away in spite of her desire to drink in the sight of him.
“What can I do for you?” Spencer asked.
Cressa stepped outside and closed the door behind her. Spencer made room for her, but just barely, and the warmth of him emanated to her on some unseen frequency along with the scent of rain-scrubbed pine. It was a heady combination, and she longed to touch him and draw him into a loving and comforting embrace. Instead, she grabbed her own hands and squeezed. “I’m not sure how to say this,” she said, leaning forward. “Have you seen my mother’s sapphire ring?”
Spencer shook his head. “I didn’t even know your mother had a sapphire ring. What does it look like?”
Cressa tried not to breathe in Spencer’s scent of pine. “It looks like a Princess Diana ring.”
Spencer blinked. “You mean Princess Diana of England?”
A hint of impatience clouded Cressa’s earlier feelings, making it easier to focus. She wanted to be finished with this conversation before Andrew arrived. “Yes, Spencer. What other Princess Diana is there?”
“I’m not sure,” Spencer said. “I don’t keep up on royalty.”
Cressa studied Spencer closely. Everything about his manner told her he wasn’t responsible for the missing ring. She took courage and pulled out her phone, punching in a Google search. She showed him the picture. “It looks like this. My mother’s wedding ring was a replica of Princess Diana’s wedding ring. Princess Kate wears it now.”
“It’s gorgeous,” Spencer said.
Cressa nodded. “My mother promised it to me when I got marr—I mean, it’s supposed to be mine someday. But it’s missing.”
“Is anything else gone?” Spencer asked.
Cressa relaxed further as she took in the sweet relief that came from sharing her burden. “No. Just the ring.”
“Maybe your mom has it, or maybe she put it someplace she thought would be safer than the jewelry box.”
“No, I checked. She isn’t wearing it, and she said she hasn’t seen it. I’ve checked everywhere in the house. You should’ve seen me last night. I was like a crazy person going through Mom and Dad’s drawers and closet before I hit the kitchen. It isn’t in the house.” She swallowed and looked into Spencer’s brown eyes. “I think Andrew took it,” she whispered.
Spencer shook his head. “That’s a pretty heavy accusation, Cressa.”
A tight flower of desperation began to bud within Cressa. “I know, but what else could’ve happened? If it’s nowhere in the house, then it’s out of the house, and the two of you are the only ones who have full access, and I can tell you don’t have it. So, I’m left with Andrew through a process of elimination.”
Spencer was silent, and Cressa could tell he had something on his mind.
“What is it?” she asked.
He let out a sigh. “Maybe your physician friend took it.”
Cress stared at Spencer’s tight face and pursed lips. “Owen didn’t set foot in the house without me, and he was only here for a few days.” Her shoulders slumped. “Besides, that was a one-time visit. I asked him not to come back.”
The silence hung between them for a moment before Spencer turned the conversation back to the ring. “Look, Cressa, I know you don’t want to hear this, but your folks aren’t always doing as well as you’d like to think. Sometimes, I wonder if you even really see what’s going on.”
Cressa’s mouth dropped open as the earlier desperation burned into annoyance. “What’s that supposed to mean? And if that’s the case, why didn’t you call me? I’ve asked you to let me know if something is amiss.”
Spencer shook his head. “I can’t put my finger on it, and it’s more about you than them.” He looked away for a moment, then returned his gaze back to Cressa. “It’s as if you’re not always connected. Sometimes your mom does something and your eyes glaze over. You handle the task, but you don’t deal with the emotion of it. Sometimes your dad looks at you like he needs a friend more than his food cut up. I don’t think you see the roller coaster they’re riding.”
The annoyance exploded into a full-blown tornado of fury. “How dare you,” she hissed. “You think because you’ve been in my house for a few weeks, you know my parents better than I do?”
“No. I think maybe in this moment, I know you better than you know yourself.”
Self-righteous indignation rose up in Cressa’s chest. “That’s presumptuous of you, Spencer.”
“Maybe so,” Spencer said. “But I can’t help but tell you what I see. I know your parents need physical care, Cressa, but they also need you to stop being checked out.”
Cressa blanched wordlessly.
Spencer continued softly, “And you’re wrong about Andrew. You’re not there to see how he cares for your parents and the animals. I know he’s done some things in his past, but I believe he’s trying to make good on all of that.”
Cressa didn’t know which front to fight. She chose to focus on Andrew. “Or maybe he’s just trying to make us all believe that.”
Spencer put his hands out, inviting Cressa to slow down. “Don’t do anything quite yet. Cressa. Maybe if you wait a few days, the ring will turn up.”
“Yeah. On eBay.”
“Cressa—”
Cressa turned her face away from him while holding up her hand for him to stop. Bottled up hurt and anger crowded into her heart, and she thought it might burst with rage and anguish. She needed Spencer to be her friend! And just when she thought he’d be able to offer her support and comfort in the moment she needed it most, he chose to accuse her of not seeing to her parents’ most basic need for love while believing in Andrew.
She clenched her teeth to keep the tears from spilling until she could swallow the distress. She faced him once again. Falling into her professional tone, she said, “I appreciate your opinion, Spencer. I just don’t share it. And I’m going to have to address this with Andrew sometime today. I only ask that you not to say anything to him. I don’t want him tipped off.”
“Of course,” Spencer said. “This doesn’t involve me anyway.”
Cressa’s heart turned to iron as she hardened her gaze. “Well, at least you’ve got that part right.” Shouldering her purse, she moved from him for the final time and walked to her car. By the time she was out of the drive, she had decided she would come home at lunch and ask Andrew if he knew the whereabouts of the sapphire ring.
* * *
Cressa’s morning was full of patients. She treated babies with earaches and one adult who had a mild heart attack, sending him to Missoula via ambulance for continued medical care. She comforted the patient’s wife and offered her opinion that he would be fine after treatment.
Now, she was on her way back home to confront Andrew, suffering from doubts that made her heart gallop like a race horse. She wasn’t looking forward to this confrontation, but it couldn’t wait.
Walking through the front door, she stashed her keys in her purse and hung it on the coat rack.
“Well, hi, honey,” her mother called from the family room. “I’m glad you caught us. Andrew’s goin
g to take us to the park on Sunrise Lake. Isn’t it a beautiful day?”
Cressa’s mouth went dry as doubts about her conclusion around Andrew marched forward from behind her heart. The sound of Spencer’s saw shocked her, and she tried to focus past the distraction. “Andrew, can I speak with you privately?” she asked.
“Sure.”
Andrew grabbed his hat and followed her outside.
Facing him, she looked into his dark brown eyes. Her heart almost failed. There wasn’t any real evidence that he’d taken the ring, but who could dispute the fact that it wasn’t in the house?
“My mom is missing her wedding ring,” she said.
Andrew’s face turned from openly taking in the information to closing down with the accusation that hung in the air. He looked down for a moment before once again meeting Cressa’s gaze. “And you think I took it.”
Doubt crowded out her early belief, mingling with Spencer’s support of Andrew. But she forged ahead. “I’ve looked everywhere, but it’s just gone, and you and Spencer are the only two people who have access to the house.”
Andrew’s voice became hard as his eyes sparked anger. “Let me ask you something. If I didn’t have this attempted theft charge hanging over my head, would we be having this conversation?”
Shame colored Cressa’s cheeks, but she tried to convince herself that this was just one more ploy in Andrew’s thieving. “No.”
He shifted his weight. “I’ve done nothing but serve you and your family since your parents became ill. Your mom and dad are my aunt and uncle, and I’ve loved them since I was a kid. But I wouldn’t steal from them if they were strangers.” His voice became bitter. “I’ve made some mistakes, and I’m sorry about all of that, but I will not let it dog me for the rest of my life.” He placed his hat on his head. “I’ll take your parents to the park, because I promised. But I’m not going back into your home, and I won’t be back tomorrow. I’ll leave you to explain that to them.”
Sapphires And Sagebrush (Country Brides & Cowboy Boots) Page 17
