by Devney Perry
“Huh,” I muttered.
“Yeah. Been fourteen years and she still won’t tell me what happened. Silas won’t either.”
“You lost me again. Silas?”
“Silas stayed around after we graduated. Started working on his family’s ranch. He knows what happened while I was gone but he’s as tight-lipped as Lissy. And right after she left, he up and joined the army. Did ten years. Came home right as I was running for sheriff.”
“I don’t understand why he won’t tell you what happened. Especially if it had something to do with your sister,” I said.
“Yeah. Me too. I asked him so many times I lost track. Finally stopped when he got so pissed at me one night he punched me. Not many men could get the jump on me, except Silas and maybe Beau. Broke my nose.”
“What?” I gasped. “He hit you?”
“Who hit you? It’s not nice to hit,” Rowen chimed in from the floor, my outburst taking her attention away from coloring.
“Oh. Ah, no one, sweetie. We were just, ah, talking about football,” I stuttered.
“There’s lots of hitting in football, Mommy,” Rowen said, totally buying my bold-faced lie. “But Jess said it was okay because they’re grown-ups and because it’s part of the game. He said that they get paid good money to take the hard hits. If the pussies can’t take it, they should be kicked out of the league.”
My jaw dropped wide open. My four-year-old daughter had just said “pussies.”
“Ah . . . Roe. I thought we talked about keeping our talks in the garage a secret. Just between me and you. Remember?” Jess said.
“Secrets aren’t nice, Jess,” she scolded.
“Shit,” he muttered.
I closed my eyes and shut my mouth, counting to ten. Then I had to count backward because when I hit ten, I was still really, really, really mad.
“Now, Freckles—” Jess started, but I stopped him by shoving my palm in his face.
“I’m going to let this go,” I said. “With a reminder that she is a sponge. She’ll suck up anything you say, even when you don’t think she’s paying attention. Now in order for me to let this go, I am going upstairs to take a long, hot bath. By the time I’m done, I’ll be over it and no longer mad at you. But I promise you this, Sheriff. The day that any teacher calls to discuss Rowen’s language, I’m going to give them your number. You get to deal with it.”
He grinned, clearly amused at my declaration.
He knew full well that I’d have a talk with Rowen later about using bad words and that if her teacher ever did call me, upset by her language, I’d apologize profusely and promise it would never happen again.
“Love you,” Jess said as I stood to go and take my bath.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Love you too. Whatever,” I muttered.
Christmas was in four days and Jess was driving us to Wes Drummond’s funeral. I wanted to be baking cookies. Or wrapping presents. I did not want to be going to a drug dealer’s funeral.
But it was important to Jess, so Rowen and I were going.
Noelle was with us too. She’d known Wes quite well since he had been her son’s best friend and her daughter’s boyfriend, and his murder was taking its toll on her already fragile mind.
The whole town would likely be at the funeral, so it was being held in the school’s auditorium. There weren’t any churches large enough to hold the large audience.
I’d never been in the auditorium before, and much like with the football stadium, I was impressed by its size. There were two columns of seats in the middle of the room, another off to the left of the stage and a fourth to the right.
The casket sat center stage. It was a simple design, made of gleaming wood. Large framed pictures of Wes bracketed it on either side, some of him as a child with his family, some from his teenaged years. None resembled the man in his thirties I had known.
The service started promptly at two o’clock but before the pastor walked up to the podium, he escorted an older couple to seats in the front row. The woman’s face was red and puffy. The man’s face was blank and his skin was pale.
“Poor Jack and Annie,” Noelle whispered.
Jack and Annie. Wes’s parents.
My heart instantly hurt for them, and the ache continued to get worse as the service went on. Mostly the pastor talked about the good things in Wes’s life but I appreciated his acknowledgement that Wes hadn’t been a perfect man and had lost his way.
The funeral concluded and everyone started shuffling toward the cafeteria for the reception. The bottleneck at the doors gave me a chance to people watch.
Small groups of three to four people huddled together in the aisles, and a larger group stood around Wes’s parents up front.
One woman stood up front alone, looking at one of the picture collages. She was in profile but she was stunning. Her honey-blond hair was pulled back into a swirling bun at the nape of her neck. Her figure was perfectly silhouetted in a black pencil skirt and silk blouse. And even though we were inside, she was wearing a pair of huge framed sunglasses.
There was something familiar about her, like I’d seen her around town before but I couldn’t quite place her.
I was just opening my mouth to ask Jess who she was when a blond flash came out of nowhere and crashed into his body.
Andrea Merkuso.
Correction. Andrea Merkuso with her arms wrapped around Jess’s waist and her blond head burrowed into his chest.
I blinked a couple of times and clamped my teeth together to keep my jaw from dropping open.
Did this woman seriously have the gall to plaster her body into his while I was standing right there?
Yes. Yes, she did.
I guess she was clueless after all.
Jess’s arms immediately flew up to the sides, like he was scared to touch her. But after the shock subsided, he unlocked her arms from his waist and picked her up, forcefully setting her down a foot away. She stumbled a little before she regained her balance.
“What the fuck?” he rumbled.
She seemed surprised. What had she been expecting? Jess to pull her into his arms and express his undying love?
“I just thought you might need me,” she cried. “We both knew Wes for a long time.”
Never in my life had I been the jealous or possessive type before. But when it came to Jess, I couldn’t help myself. I was the one who got to touch him. I was the one who got to wrap arms around him.
Me.
I pulled in another breath and closed my eyes, reminding myself that the last thing I needed was to become gossip fodder for starting a catfight at a funeral.
When I opened my eyes again, Jess was close to losing his cool too. He was leaning down into Andrea’s space with a look that was beyond frightening.
“Andrea, get this through your head. We are done. Stay away from me. I am with Georgia. The woman standing right there.”
I gave her a bitchy smirk and a little finger wave.
Her face screwed up in a scowl.
I rolled my eyes and turned away from Skankasaurus to look at Jess. “You ready, honey?”
He closed his eyes and his chest expanded with a long breath. Either he was still mad or he was trying to hold back laughter because he found the combination of my eye roll, finger wave and smirk amusing.
It was probably a little bit of both.
“Yeah. Let’s go,” he said.
And we all walked to the cafeteria, leaving a red-faced and fuming Andrea Merkuso behind.
“Do you want anything else to eat, sweetie?” I asked Rowen.
“No, I’m done.”
We were sitting at one of the long tables in the cafeteria and had just finished a quick snack from the plethora of reception food trays. Rowen and I were waiting for Jess and Noelle, who were paying their respects to Wes’s parents.
For two hours we’d been here, mostly standing around while Jess was approached time after time by various Prescott residents. Each one asking how he was coming alo
ng with his investigation. I figured there were only a handful of people in the building who hadn’t talked to him yet, meaning that with any luck, we’d be free to leave soon.
Rowen had been her usual self, a trooper. When she got tired of standing, either Jess or I would pick her up for a bit. But after hours, she was getting bored and fidgety. There was only so much staying still a four-year-old could take.
“You’re doing great, baby girl. Thanks for being my good girl. I know this isn’t much fun,” I said.
“Can we go?” she begged.
“Not quite yet, Roe. But soon.”
“Okay,” she pouted.
Deciding we needed to change the subject, I started talking to her about Christmas. Every third day she would change her mind about what she wanted Santa to bring her. Thankfully, she listed off three things that were already wrapped and hidden in my closet.
“Your kid is wrecking my coat,” a female voice behind me snapped.
Standing right behind my chair was the blond woman from the auditorium, both of her hands planted firmly on her hips.
Now that she was closer and no longer in profile, I realized she was not just stunning. She was gorgeous. She had high cheekbones, a perfectly straight nose and full lips. I couldn’t see her eyes because she was still wearing sunglasses, likely to cover them if she’d been crying.
“I’m sorry, your coat?” I asked.
“It’s under the kid’s seat,” she said, jerking her chin in Rowen’s direction as her lip curled.
I frowned. There were many other ways she could have announced there was a problem with her coat. Many better and nicer ways.
Bending to peer under Rowen’s chair, I saw there was a black wool coat under her feet but I wouldn’t say that Rowen was wrecking it. She wasn’t even touching it.
And it wasn’t like the floors were wet or covered in dirt. The whole place was spotless. The janitorial staff had likely cleaned less than three hours ago, when the last group of children had left after their lunch hour.
Pulling the coat from underneath the table, I gave it a quick inspection. There was nothing wrong with it and it wasn’t dirty. But before I could hand it to the woman, she snatched it away.
“She’s destroyed it.”
“Uh . . . no, she hasn’t. And she didn’t knock it on the floor. It wasn’t on either of our chairs when we sat down and I didn’t notice it under the table. Otherwise, I would have picked it up.”
I stood from my chair. Having her tower over me wasn’t going to work. I wanted a more equal footing, though even standing, she was a couple of inches taller than me.
Rowen stood too and hid behind one of my legs. I reached back and put my hand on her shoulder, pulling her tight against me.
“You obviously have no clue how much this coat is worth. If you did, you and your kid wouldn’t be treating it like trash.”
Bitch.
I was going to tell her that we didn’t give a damn about her coat and as far as I was concerned, she could shove it up her ass. But I didn’t get that chance because right as I was opening my mouth, my eyes caught movement over her shoulder.
Silas walked right into the middle of our conversation.
“Gigi,” he said.
“Hi, Silas.”
Here I was again: at a funeral dealing with a bitchy blond and trying to calm myself down.
The woman huffed and turned to Silas, her mouth screwed up tight, and even though I couldn’t see her eyes, I imagined they were shooting lasers at him.
“Is she yours?” the woman asked him.
Silas’s glare was fierce. The only time I’d seen him look scarier was when he’d faced off against Wes during the football game. This time wasn’t quite as scary, but it was a close second.
“She’s mine.” Jess’s body heat was at my back.
“Felicity?” Noelle gasped.
No effing way. Had I almost gotten into a verbal smackdown with Jess’s sister?
“Hi, Mom,” Felicity said.
Eff.
Noelle let out a strangled noise and embraced her daughter. For the first time, Felicity’s bitch face softened and she seemed genuinely glad to hug her mother.
They held each other for a minute until Noelle stepped away, wiping tears from both eyes, the smile on her face stretched wide.
I was happy for Noelle. After waiting years, she was finally able to hug her daughter.
I reached back and gave Rowen a little squeeze with my hand.
Silas didn’t say another word. He just spun around and walked away. Obviously he was not a fan of Jess’s sister. But I had a feeling there was a story there. Something had happened between those two and I suspected that whatever it was, it involved Wes.
“There a reason why you didn’t tell us you were coming today? Why we haven’t seen you in fourteen fucking years and you don’t let us know you’re in town? Then when we do see you, you’re being a bitch to my girls?” Jess asked.
He must have heard way more than I’d initially thought because he was not happy.
“Well, hello to you too, big brother.”
“Lissy,” Jess warned in his menacing tone.
If he had spoken to me with that voice, I would have told him anything he wanted to know. But not Felicity. She just stood there, her face blank as his warning rolled by, leaving her completely unaffected. Maybe she wasn’t scared because she had grown up with him. Maybe I’d get used to that tone too and one day I’d be immune.
Felicity turned back to Noelle, taking her mother’s hands in her own, again softening her features before speaking.
“I’ll be here through New Year’s, Mom. I flew in last minute this morning but I arranged for a couple of weeks off work,” she said.
“Are you going to stay at home with me?” Noelle asked hopefully.
“The motel had a room. I’ll get checked in and stay there. It’s not that I don’t want to see you. I just didn’t want to intrude on you over the holidays and cause extra work for you to have a guest. But I’m planning to be over every day. Okay?”
“Oh . . . okay,” Noelle said. She dropped her head and stared at the floor for a few moments, still holding Felicity’s hands. Then she looked up to me with worried eyes. “Oh, ah, Gigi, about Christmas . . .” Noelle started but trailed off.
We were having a big Christmas dinner at the farmhouse in three days. Much like Thanksgiving, it was going to be me, Jess, Rowen and Noelle.
“You’re both welcome to come over for the day,” I said. “I’ve already done the shopping and we’ll have enough food for an army.”
I stepped away from Jess, moving toward Noelle and Felicity. Sticking out my hand, I introduced myself to Jess’s sister.
“Hi, I’m Gigi. I think we got off on the wrong foot. Maybe we should start over?” I hoped that she would be pleasant, if not for me or Jess, at least for her mother.
She tipped her head down toward my hand with a small grimace on her lips. I thought for a second she was going to dismiss my peace offering, but then her perfectly manicured fingers touched mine for a light shake.
“Felicity. Pleasure.” It wasn’t said nicely but it was certainly an improvement.
“This is my daughter, Rowen,” I said, introducing Roe, who was now attached to Jess’s leg.
“Hmm,” Felicity said, tipping her head in Rowen’s direction.
“Lissy,” Jess said. “Fuck. Can you take off those fucking glasses? In case you hadn’t noticed, we’re inside.”
“Jess! Watch it with the language,” I said.
“Relax, Georgia. Roe knows that there are words she can’t say. ‘Fuck’ being one of them. Right, little bit?” he asked her.
“Right,” she confirmed with a single nod.
I threw my hands in the air, muttering, “Whatever”.
“Lissy—” Jess started but she interrupted him by shaking her head and tipping her chin to the floor.
“Not today, Jess. Please,” she pleaded quietly.
She lifted her head back up and slid her sunglasses off her face and into her hair.
I’d been right, the sunglasses were to hide her eyes. They were bright red and ringed with deep purple circles underneath. Felicity hadn’t shed a few tears for Wes, she had cried him a river.
Jess tensed and backed off from grilling his sister.
“Okay. Not today. But we’ll expect you for Christmas. You want to get together before then, give me a call,” he said.
She slid her glasses back onto her face. “Okay. I was going to do some shopping tomorrow. Walk around downtown and see what’s new. Maybe we could meet for lunch?”
“Noon. Meet you at the café.”
“Fine. Now if you’ll excuse me, I need to go and pay my respects to Jack and Annie.”
She hugged Noelle one last time and walked out of our huddle, directly toward Wes’s parents.
As Felicity approached, Annie burst into tears and rushed to embrace her. Felicity stood there stiffly while Annie sobbed into her black silk shirt. Jack approached the women and threw his arms around them both. His affection seemed to relax Felicity a bit and she wrapped a hand around his waist and leaned her head into his shoulder.
A lump formed at the back of my throat. Watching them together was heartbreaking.
Jess watched them for a minute and then reached down to hoist Rowen up on his hip. Grabbing my hand, he said, “Time to get my girls home,” and guided us out.
“Let’s do something fun,” I suggested on the drive home after we’d dropped off Noelle.
“Today?” Jess asked.
“Yep. Today. After Mom’s funeral, I took Rowen to a carousel and we rode it for hours. And after Ben died, we drove to an amusement park and spent the day on roller coasters.”
“Okay. Like what?” Jess asked.
“How about sledding?”
“Sledding!” Rowen shrieked.
I started laughing. Sledding it was.
An hour later, we were bundled up and having a blast, the sadness from earlier all but gone.
“Can you go with me this time, Mommy?” Rowen asked.
“Yeah!” I said.
