by T. L. Haddix
“Wow. I wasn’t expecting this. Is Josie up to having her there right now for an extended period? How long are we talking, anyhow?”
“Josie is okay. Her morning sickness is pretty much a thing of the past now, and she’s back to normal for the most part. We’d keep her maybe a week? Ten days? Just long enough for you to have a break and get some things done, that’s all.”
She thought about what he was saying, trying to get past the sting. “I don’t know, David. I’d feel like I’m pawning her off on you guys. Plus, I’ll need to talk to Ava first, see if she’s okay with it. I’m sure she would be, but it’s important to give her the choice.”
“Why don’t you do that, then? Talk to Ava, and call me back. You’re not pawning her off, either, so don’t think that. If our situations were reversed, you’d do the same for us, wouldn’t you?”
“Of course I would, you know that.” Realizing his suggestion had a lot of merit, she gave in. “Okay, I guess if Ava is agreeable, then it’s fine with me. I’ll call you back in a little while, maybe an hour?”
“That’s fine. Just let me know what the two of you decide.” Changing the subject, he asked, “Have you heard anything more about Carl?”
“He’s gone. That’s all I know. I just got back from Madison, and I stopped by the house for a few minutes before I head back to Mom and Dad’s. I’ll probably know more when I get over there.” After a few more words, they ended the call.
Walking upstairs to her room, she sat down on the bed with a tired groan and flopped back. She spent a while there, staring at the ceiling. She had so many decisions to make, and she had never felt less capable of thinking. Someone had once said the worst time to make decisions was during a crisis, and Lauren believed it. She closed her eyes, wishing she could stay for days, but knowing she needed to get up.
After washing her face, she made the quick drive to her parents’ house to get Ava. Considering the coming week, she conceded that having her stay with David and Josie probably was a good idea.
Ava ran to meet her at the front door, grabbing her hand to tug her along as she chattered about the cool stuff she’d helped her grandpa and Charlie do with their planes. Lauren reached down and smoothed a hand over her hair as they walked back toward the kitchen and family room, smiling at her daughter’s enthusiasm.
“Sounds like you had fun, huh?”
“Oh, yeah! Tons of fun,” Ava answered, giggling. “Did you know Charlie has a cat, Mom?”
“No, I didn’t know that. What’s its name?”
“Rumble,” Charlie answered from his seat in the family room. “His name is Rumble, and he’s named that because he purrs so loudly things around him rumble.”
Lauren leaned against the doorjamb, eyeing him as Ava went to the couch and plopped down beside him. “I figured you for more of a dog person.”
“Nah,” he said. “Dogs are cool, but cats are more independent, a little more low-key. Plus you don’t have to walk them at three o’clock in the morning when it’s ten degrees below zero outside.”
“There is that,” Lauren agreed.
Ava patted the cushion next to her. “Come over here, Mom, and watch what Charlie’s doing.”
Lauren went to the couch and Ava scooted over to the seat she’d indicated. “You sit here, Mommy, and I’ll sit in your lap.” Raising an eyebrow, Lauren did as she was told, and Ava climbed into her lap. Wrapping her arms around her daughter, she watched Charlie tweak the internal settings on a remote control.
“Where are my parents?”
“Your mom needed help doing something upstairs, and commandeered your dad. Something about a shower curtain?”
“Oh.” Lauren snickered. “That shower curtain is going to be the death of my father. Mom just redid the upstairs bath, and she can’t find a shower curtain she likes. She comes home with a different one every week, and she always makes him help her put it up. I think she just uses it as an excuse to aggravate him a little,” she said and Ava giggled. “Revenge for his being such a bad patient.”
Charlie smiled, but Lauren thought he looked a little strained. “How many shower curtains has she gone through?”
“What’s it been now, Ava? Six or seven? That’s just in the past month.”
“I don’t know, but I caught ’em kissing up there one day,” Ava said.
“I don’t believe it,” Lauren said, pretending shock. “Kissing? Your grandparents? Never. I’ll make you confess the truth.” Tickling her daughter’s ribs, Lauren smiled as Ava shrieked with laughter. Turning the tickles into a hug, she planted a smacking kiss on top of her daughter’s head.
“How long have they been up there?” she asked Charlie.
He glanced at the clock on the wall. “Probably ten minutes? Maybe a little longer.” He shot Lauren a wicked look, and she elbowed him gently.
“Cut that out,” she told him with a smile. “Ava Bear, I need to ask you a question. How would you feel about going to your dad’s and Josie’s for a few days?”
“Really?” Ava asked, excited. “But I just got back from there. I can go again?”
“Really, you can go again, but only if you want to.”
Ava jumped up and did a little dance. “I’d like that, Mom.”
“Good,” Lauren said. “Why don’t you run upstairs and tell your grandparents?” Ava grabbed her in a hug and shot off toward the hall, hollering for her grandparents the whole way.
“That’s mean,” Charlie told her. “Using your daughter that way.” He tsked. “What if they’re in a compromising position up there? You keep doing things like that, you won’t get anything but coal in your Christmas stocking.”
Lauren smiled. “My parents get a ton of alone time. They’ll have plenty opportunities to finish anything they start this afternoon, trust me.” She cleared her throat. “Speaking of compromising positions… I owe you a big thanks.”
He scowled, obviously not pleased to hear that. “Why? For yesterday?”
“Yes. For stopping. You were right. If we ever—I don’t want it to be because of grief. So thank you.”
Very carefully, he sat the remote control down and wiped his hands on a rag that he’d draped over his knee. A flush highlighted his cheekbones. “It wasn’t easy, you know. Stopping.”
Lauren swallowed, feeling her own face flush. “Oh.”
“I almost came over here half a dozen times last night, but I knew you needed some space. And I probably shouldn’t have told you that.” He stood and moved to look out over the back yard. “So why are you sending half-pint to her dad’s? Is everything okay?”
She rolled her shoulders, feeling the tension building in her neck and shoulders. “David called and asked if they could keep her for a week or so, just until we get through the funeral and I can get things sorted out with the shop. I guess it’s probably the best thing for Ava, and it will help me, too.” She put a hand up to her neck and rubbed, wincing as she hit a sore muscle.
Charlie moved back to the couch and held out his hand. “Come here.” When she took his hand and stood, he turned her to face away from him. Setting his hands on her shoulders, he started rubbing the tense muscles. Lauren almost whimpered as the stiffness started melting away.
“The last thing you want or need to do is to end up snapping at Ava right now, or risk someone else saying something to her that she’s not ready to hear,” he told her quietly. “I imagine you guys are going to be crazy the next few days with memorial services and the like, and Ava’s too young to be obligated to attend. Even in the best of circumstances, she’s a little young for that,” he said. “Sending her to her dad’s is a good idea.”
Hearing her parents and Ava coming back downstairs, he pulled her into him briefly for a hug. “I probably should head out.” He started gathering the remote and tools he had been using to work on it. “You all will have a lot to talk about.”
Lauren stopped him with her hand on his arm. “Thanks for being here,” she told him, squeezing his arm a l
ittle bit.
“Any time,” he said, his voice a little husky.
Ava bounded into the room ahead of her grandparents, disappointment crossing her face when she saw that Charlie was leaving.
“Do you have to go?” she asked as he picked her up for a hug.
“Yeah, but I’ll be around.” Twirling her around a few times first, he sat her down gently, and as he was saying his goodbyes, Lauren remembered their date. “I’ll walk you out. Be right back,” she told her grinning parents. Following him through the door, she walked with Charlie toward his house.
“About dinner tomorrow night. We’re probably going to have to cancel that for now.”
“I figured as much,” he told her. “Can I get a rain check?”
“Yes, absolutely.”
“Good.” He smiled. “I’d hate to have to break down crying in your parents’ backyard.”
“That would indeed be horrible,” Lauren told him. “My dad doesn’t handle tears very well, especially when they’re from another man.” They both laughed as they pictured Winston upset over a tearful Charlie.
“When are you going to take Ava to her dad’s?”
“Probably tomorrow,” she told him. “I have an appointment with Charity’s attorney at ten o’clock, so I’ll probably just go a little early and drop her off. There’s no need to make an extra trip.”
He hesitated for a minute and then spoke. “Tell you what. Why don’t I give you guys a ride? After you meet with the attorney, we can grab a bite to eat or something. You can save the energy you’d use driving over there, and you’ll have a shoulder to cry on if you need it.”
“I can’t let you do that,” she protested. “It’s going to take up most of the day, and I’m sure you have things you need to do.”
“Nothing that can’t be pushed back. Besides, I’m a night owl. I can play catch up tomorrow evening, now that my date’s backed out on me,” he said with a teasing smile. The smile faded as he turned serious. “I don’t want to overstep, Lauren, but I’d like to be there for you.”
“Are you sure? We’d need to leave by eight-fifteen at the latest. Are you okay with that, you being a night owl and all?”
“Absolutely,” he told her, “as long as I have coffee. I’ll pick you guys up at your house around eight, then?”
“It’s a date.”
Stepping back toward her, he bent down and stole a kiss, letting his lips linger over hers.
“See you in the morning,” he said.
Lauren stood watching until he disappeared around the other side of the tall fence that separated the properties behind her parents’ garage. When her mother opened the kitchen door and asked her if she was coming in, she snapped out of her reverie. “On my way,” she said. As she hurried inside, she realized that her hand was still touching her lips, and she smiled.
Chapter Forty-One
The next morning, Lauren and Charlie dropped Ava off with Josie in New Salem on their way downtown for her meeting with Sam Davis.
“I don’t believe I’ve ever seen a woman glow like that,” Charlie said as they waved to Ava and Josie and settled in his truck. “It’s true, what they say about pregnant women, isn’t it?”
“It certainly is. All those hormones,” she told him wryly, propping her arm on the door. She rested her head on her hand. “And Josie just looks good pregnant.”
“Does it bother you?”
“What? The fact that she’s pregnant or that she’s with David?”
“Both, I guess,” he clarified, glancing at her.
“No, it really doesn’t. I’m glad to see him happy, and I’m glad he’s with someone Ava really likes. It’s a comfort to know that if something happened to me, she’d still have a good stepmother. I envy them sometimes, I guess, having what they have, but it doesn’t bother me. I certainly don’t wish he had that relationship with me instead of her.”
Charlie shook his head. “I should just kidnap you now while I have you in my clutches, and head for the border. Pretty much every divorced couple I’ve ever encountered has hated each other’s guts. That includes my parents.”
“One of these days we’re going to have to talk about that,” she told him quietly.
He gave her a tense smile. “But not right now. We’re here.” Pulling up in front of the attorney’s office, he put the truck in neutral and set the emergency brake.
“I can see that,” Lauren said, raising her eyebrow. “Saved by the bell, hmm?”
Charlie hesitated. “You know, I’ve noticed you do that a lot.” He gestured toward her brow. “Raise your eyebrow. How far you raise it depends on how angry or upset you are.”
She just shook her head at him. “Don’t think this discussion is over. This is just a temporary reprieve.” Gathering her purse, she started to get out of the car. Charlie didn’t move. “Aren’t you coming in?”
“I don’t want to intrude. Some of the things you discuss will probably be private.”
“Charlie, I’ve told you most of my deepest, darkest secrets. You wouldn’t be intruding. I’d like to have you there, as long as you don’t mind.”
“Only most of your secrets, huh?” he said with a smile.
“I knew you’d pick up on that and not the other,” she said, getting out and closing the door, a little exasperated, but smiling.
“I’ll be happy to go in with you, as long as you want me there,” he told her, getting out of the truck. He followed her up the walk, admiring the garden. “This is neat. Kind of reminds me of your mom’s house. I’d like to do something like this at mine. My yard’s a disaster.”
“I’m sure my mother would love to get her hands on your yard. All you’d have to do is ask. She’s probably already got a plan for it, anyhow.”
They went in the open front door and were greeted by a coolly professional blonde. “Can I help you?” she asked.
“I’m Lauren Grant. I have an appointment with Mr. Davis.”
The woman’s face warmed considerably. “Of course, Ms. Grant. Please have a seat and I’ll let him know you’re here. ” She lifted her phone’s receiver.
Almost before she had put the receiver of the phone down, a slim, gray-haired man came down the hall toward them. He held his hand out to Lauren as she and Charlie stood.
“Ms. Grant. It’s so good to finally meet you. I’ve heard a lot about you over the years from Charity.”
“Mr. Davis. I brought along a friend of mine, Charlie Clark. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Not at all. Connie, please hold all my calls until we’re finished.” He led them back to his office and ushered them toward the couch, closing the door behind them.
“You have a charming office,” Lauren told him, taking a seat on the couch with Charlie beside her.
The attorney gathered a few files from his desk and came over to where they sat. “Thank you. Please call me Sam.” He sat down across from them, pulling his reading glasses out of his pocket. “Before we get started, let me just express how very sorry I am for your loss. Charity was one of my favorite clients, and this whole ordeal has just been shocking. I know it must be worse for you, learning who she was after she was gone.”
Lauren clasped her hands in her lap. “It hasn’t been easy. I’ll admit I’m a little angry.”
He sighed. “I tried to convince her to talk to you, but she wouldn’t hear it. She made it very clear that the subject was closed. Although, the day before she died, she was here. She was very upset about the vandalism at your shop. I think she was considering coming clean, telling you everything.”
She wasn’t expecting that, and felt her composure slip. “Really?”
Charlie, who seemed to sense how close she was to losing it, reached out and clasped her hand. His touch gave her the strength she needed to pull herself together.
“Yes. I’m sorry she didn’t get the opportunity.” It was obvious that Davis was distressed, but he pulled himself together. “I imagine you must have a number of questions. Why
don’t we start there? Ask me anything you like.”
“I don’t know where to start,” she said. “There’s so much I don’t know. Why did she do this, all of it? Why did she come back? Where was she all these years? Why didn’t she come to me?” As she uttered the last question, Lauren felt herself tearing up. Davis held out a box of tissues and she took it, thanking him as she dabbed at her eyes. As she fought to regain her composure, Charlie rubbed her back, and spoke quietly.
“Maybe we should start at the beginning. Why don’t you tell us how you met Charity?” he asked Sam.
As the attorney went over his relationship with Charity, Lauren listened quietly, letting Charlie ask most of the questions. He was a skilled interrogator, smoothly leading the conversation to the questions she wanted answered. After most of the questions about Charity’s past had been addressed, she spoke up.
“You mentioned that Charity made arrangements for her funeral. Wasn’t that unusual, especially for someone as young as she was?”
Davis hesitated before answering. “Something you need to understand about Charity. She was paranoid. Not the kind of paranoid that builds conspiracy theories around tin foil,” he said, seeing their expressions. “But ever since I first met her, she was very security conscious. Her lifestyle was high-risk, and she knew that. I’ve wondered if she didn’t have some sort of premonition about how things would end, given the precautions she took. To answer your question, though, it was very unusual for someone her age, especially since she didn’t have children.”
“How did she want things handled?” Charlie asked.
“She wanted to be an organ donor if that was possible, and then she wanted to be cremated. She didn’t want any funeral service, wake, or anything of the like. Charity was very specific. She hated funerals,” he told them. “She’d had a bad experience when she was young, apparently, and it scarred her. Just one of a long line of bad experiences, as it turned out,” he said, his face sad.
