Mending Fences

by Sherryl Woods

  “Then what’s the big deal?” Dani asked, sitting down at the table, which was set just for the two of them. “Where’s Josh?”

  “He’s eating on campus, then going to the library.”

  “Yeah, right,” Dani scoffed.

  Her mother frowned at her. “At least he called.”

  “I said I was sorry,” Dani reminded her.

  “So you did,” her mother agreed. “But so far you’ve neglected to mention why you weren’t in your last three classes today.”

  Dani winced. She’d known her mom would find out, though she’d hoped it wouldn’t happen quite this fast. The teachers might not report Dani to the principal for skipping, but they would tell her mom. She’d rather take whatever punishment the principal dished out any day over seeing the look of disappointment that was in her mom’s eyes right now.

  “I didn’t feel good,” she said, improvising.

  “Yet you didn’t see the school nurse. I checked.”

  “It wasn’t that bad. Just a headache. I needed to get out and get some air.”

  “And it never occurred to you to simply get a pass and come to my classroom, so I could give you an excuse? It was easier to play hooky?”

  Dani flushed guiltily. “I didn’t want the aggravation.”

  “No, what you didn’t want was to take a chance I’d say no and send you back to class,” her mother said, her expression unrelenting.

  “I suppose.”

  Instead of looking furious, her mom looked worried, which made Dani feel even worse.

  “Sweetie, can’t you talk to me? I know this has something to do with Evan and everything that’s going on with him. It must be really hard on you to hear what’s being said about him.”

  It was, but not for the reason her mom thought. Dani merely nodded. “It basically sucks.”

  “The talk will die down,” her mother said. “Things will get back to normal soon.”

  Dani stared at her. “How can they?” she asked incredulously. “He did a terrible thing. He could go to jail.”

  Her mother gave her an odd look. “If he’s convicted, yes. But he might not be.”

  “How can you say that? The girl accused him. The police have evidence or they wouldn’t have arrested him.”

  “Maybe their case isn’t as solid as they’ve led everyone to believe,” her mother said.

  “What makes you say that?”

  “The detectives were here today.”

  Dani’s heart began to pound so hard her chest hurt. “They were here? Why?”

  “Seemed like a fishing expedition. They were asking if I’d ever noticed anything in Evan’s behavior suggesting he would be capable of something like this.”

  “And that’s all?” Dani asked, the pressure inside her easing slightly. For a minute she’d been terrified they’d figured out the truth about her and Evan. Caitlyn was the only one who knew, but she might have slipped up. Then, again, why would the police even be talking to her?

  Her mom regarded her curiously. “What else could they want?”

  Dani forced herself to calm down. “Nothing, I guess. They aren’t coming back, are they?”

  “They might.”

  “Why?”

  “I honestly don’t know,” her mother said, sounding annoyed. “I told them that I’d given them everything I knew, but I’m not sure they believed me.”

  “What was it like?” Dani asked. “You know, being grilled by the cops?”

  Her mother’s lips twitched. “I wouldn’t say they grilled me. They asked a lot of questions about Evan and about how often we spent time with him, stuff like that. They were fairly nice about it—at least the woman was. The man was a little intense.”

  “Good cop, bad cop,” Dani concluded.

  “What?”

  “Like on TV. One cop is all sweet and tries to be your friend, and the other one gets in your face, so you get all rattled and spill stuff.”

  Her mom laughed. “Well, I didn’t know anything to spill, and he annoyed me, so he’d be the last person I’d ever tell anything, even if I did know something.”

  Dani thought she saw a faint blush on her mom’s cheeks. That was interesting. “Was he cute?”

  “Who?”

  “The detective.”

  Her mom looked more flustered than ever. “I didn’t notice,” she said.

  Dani grinned. “He was cute. I can tell. And he was into you.”

  “Oh, for Pete’s sake, he was not.”

  “Was, too. You’re blushing.”

  “I think we’ve gotten way off track here,” her mother said. “You’re grounded for a month. School and home, that’s it. You’ll go with me in the morning and ride home with me in the afternoon.”

  “But you go in too early and you never leave on time after school,” Dani protested. “What am I supposed to do while you go to your meetings or grade papers or whatever?”

  “I know it may seem like a novel idea, but you could study,” her mother suggested. “No phone privileges, either, by the way. You’ll turn over your cell phone when you walk in the door every afternoon.”

  “Mom!”

  “Skipping school is serious, kiddo. We don’t do that in this house. You know that.”

  Dani opened her mouth to argue, then clamped it shut again. If she was grounded, there was less chance she’d slip up and say something she didn’t mean to. And she would have a legitimate reason to avoid Caitlyn. Seeing her right now was too uncomfortable. Maybe this was a good thing, after all.

  “Whatever,” she mumbled, because she knew her mom expected some sort of reaction. “I’m going upstairs to study.”

  Despite the tension between them, her mom grinned. “Now you’re just trying to get back in my good graces.”

  Dani grinned back. “No, I’m just trying to avoid whatever it is that’s burning in the oven.”

  Her mom dashed across the room and yanked open the oven door. Smoke poured into the kitchen as she pulled what had once been an actual chunk of meat from the oven. She dumped the disaster into the sink, then faced Dani.

  “Pizza or Chinese?”

  “Kung po chicken,” Dani said at once. “Call me when it’s here.”

  “You sure you don’t want to stay here and talk to me till it gets here?” her mom asked.

  Dani shook her head. “I really do have homework. I’ll probably just eat in my room when the food comes.”

  Her mom frowned at that. “I don’t think so.”

  Dani shrugged. “Whatever.”

  Before she could make her getaway, her mom suddenly pulled her into a hug.

  “I love you. You know that, don’t you?”

  “Sure.”

  “No matter what,” her mom said, giving her a look that rattled her.

  Dani shuddered as she walked away. What if her mom had found out somehow?

  No way, she told herself staunchly. If her mom knew what had happened with Evan, she’d confront her. No, she might suspect, but she didn’t know anything. Only Caitlyn knew and she’d never tell, especially not now when it might land her brother in even more hot water than he was already in.

  So, her secret was safe for the moment. She should have been relieved, but oddly, she felt more scared and alone than ever.

  9

  Marcie had had a pounding headache for two straight days. She’d never been under siege like this before in her life. Ken knew how to handle the media, but she didn’t, so she ignored the phone and the doorbell, both of which rang constantly.

  Meals, once her favorite time of day, had turned into torture. Evan refused to come to the table or even to look her in the eyes, when he was home at all. Ken was out of the house more than he was home. She and Caitlyn sat in the kitchen making an effort at small talk and trying to avoid the one subject that actually mattered.

  Marcie wanted to reassure her daughter, tell her that this would all be over soon and things would get back to normal, but she couldn’t. Unless this girl—this bimb
o, according to Ken—recanted her story, the media attention would go on until there was a trial and Evan was exonerated.

  He had to be exonerated, she thought, a panicky feeling sweeping through her. Her sweet, handsome boy couldn’t possibly have done what they were accusing him of doing. She simply couldn’t accept even the possibility that he had. She’d read a graphic description of the girl’s injuries, which had left her feeling queasy and disgusted. Whoever had done that to her deserved to go to jail, but it hadn’t been Evan, she told herself.

  As bad as having the media camped on her doorstep was, as awkward as meals with Caitlyn had become, the worst part of this was the isolation. She hadn’t seen Emily for a few days now and their conversations on the phone had been rushed and unsatisfying. She’d returned calls to the handful of friends who’d called to offer support, but those conversations had become awkward once they’d gotten past the pleasantries. She needed to sit down with her best friend and pour out all of the confusing emotions she was dealing with right now.

  Across from her at the antique oak kitchen table where they’d started eating to avoid the emptiness of the big, formal dining room, Caitlyn was pushing food around on her plate. Marcie studied her, wondering whether she was really as okay as she claimed to be. She’d been abnormally quiet since this whole mess had started, but she’d refused to discuss her brother or her own emotions.

  “Honey, you’re not eating. Would you like me to fix you something else?” Marcie had been obsessing about meals, trying to fix Caitlyn’s favorites, but nothing seemed to tempt her.

  “I’m not hungry,” Caitlyn responded.

  The words were stunning from a girl who, until recently, had grabbed a handful of cookies the instant she walked in the door after school, then followed that with a full meal only a couple of hours later. She especially loved the old-fashioned comfort foods Marcie prepared from time to time—mac and cheese, meat loaf and mashed potatoes, roasted chicken with dressing—though she had never turned her nose up at the gourmet fare that Ken preferred.

  “Don’t you feel well?” Marcie asked, regarding her with concern.

  Caitlyn gave her an incredulous look. “How can you even ask me that? No, I don’t feel well. I’m never going to feel okay again.” Her voice rose. “Do you have any idea what the kids at school are saying about Evan? Do you have any idea what kind of stuff they say to me? And you know the worst part? I can’t even defend him. I can’t even say they’re liars, because the cops think he did it and they must know or they wouldn’t have arrested him. Besides…” She clamped her mouth shut, biting off whatever she’d been about to add.

  “The police make mistakes,” Marcie insisted. “The girl could be lying. She has to be. Evan would never do something so…” She searched for the right word. “He would never do anything so degrading, so wrong.”

  Caitlyn sniffed, her eyes shimmering with unshed tears. She regarded Marcie with an almost pleading expression. “Do you really believe that, Mom?”

  “Of course, I do. I have to.”

  “Why do you have to?” Caitlyn demanded, her voice rising in a sudden burst of anger. “Because you’re his mother? Shouldn’t moms and dads have to admit the truth, too?”

  Marcie stared at her in shock. “Do you believe your brother did this?”

  Caitlyn swiped at her tears, her expression defiant.

  “Do you?” Marcie persisted.

  Caitlyn’s expression finally faltered. “He could have,” she whispered.

  “Why would you say such a thing? He’s your brother, Caitlyn.”

  “That doesn’t make him a saint.”

  “You’re just starting to listen to all the gossip,” Marcie said. “No wonder your faith in him has been shaken. Maybe I should keep you out of school for a while. I could get your assignments and teach you here. Under the circumstances, I’m sure the school would allow it.”

  “No!” Caitlyn stared at her with dismay. “That would make me more of a freak than ever.”

  Marcie backed down at once. “Okay, fine, but can’t you at least try to tune out all the talk?” She held up a hand when Caitlyn was about to protest. “I know that’s easier said than done, but try. If the subject comes up, just walk away.”

  “And by the end of the year, I won’t have any friends left,” Caitlyn said with weary resignation. “What Evan did is all they want to talk about.”

  “You’ll still have Dani,” Marcie responded, and thanked God for that.

  Caitlyn muttered a response Marcie couldn’t hear.

  “What was that?” she asked.

  “I said she’s grounded,” Caitlyn replied, though it was evident to Marcie that she was lying about the earlier comment. “She can’t even talk on the phone.”

  “Why on earth is she grounded?” Marcie asked, deciding to focus on that, rather than the sarcasm she’d heard in Caitlyn’s tone even when she couldn’t decipher the words. Next to Caitlyn, Dani was the most responsible, best-behaved kid she’d ever known.

  “She skipped school,” Caitlyn said, then cast a defiant look at Marcie. “Who can blame her with everything that’s going on, but Mrs. D was really, really ticked.”

  “Yes, I imagine she was,” Marcie said, then gave her daughter a pointed look. “I would be, too, so don’t get any ideas.”

  Caitlyn just stared at her. “Can I go to my room now?”

  Marcie wanted to insist that she stay here, that they talk some more about how Caitlyn was feeling and what Marcie could do to make things better, but she knew she wouldn’t really have any answers for Caitlyn anyway. “Sure,” she said at last. “If you get hungry later, come down and I’ll fix you a snack.”

  Caitlyn rolled her eyes. “Mom, I can fix my own snack.”

  “But mine are better,” Marcie teased, trying to lighten the mood. It killed her to see her daughter this upset and to be unable to do anything to fix it.

  Caitlyn’s lips twitched in response. “Mine don’t involve sugar and chocolate.”

  Marcie grinned. “Like I said, mine are better.”

  Her daughter paused in the doorway. “Mom, maybe you should fix a plate of those brownies you baked today and take them over to Mrs. D. You haven’t been out of the house in days. Aren’t you going stir-crazy?”

  Marcie wanted to seize on the suggestion, but she hesitated. “You’ll be okay?”

  “Mom!”

  “Okay, I’ll go, but don’t answer the door or the phone. Understood?”

  “As if,” Caitlyn said. “Tell Mrs. D I said hi. And if you see Dani…” She hesitated. “Well, tell her I miss her.”

  “Will do,” Marcie said, though again she had the uneasy feeling that Dani’s punishment wasn’t the real issue keeping them apart, that there was some sort of rift between the girls.

  Five minutes later, she was slipping through the hedge and rapping on Emily’s kitchen door. When Emily slid it open, she immediately enveloped Marcie in a hug, almost squishing the plate of brownies.

  “I’ve been thinking about you so much,” Emily said. “You doing okay?”

  “I’m okay as long as I don’t read the papers or turn on the TV or talk to another living soul,” Marcie said. “I brought brownies. Do you have any coffee made?”

  “Of course. Sit down and I’ll pour it.” She studied Marcie critically. “Or would you rather have a glass of wine?”

  “The chocolate will have the same feel-good effect,” Marcie assured her. “Coffee’s fine. Will you promise me one thing?”

  “Anything.”

  “For the next hour can we talk about anything and everything except my son?”

  “If that’s the way you want it, of course we can,” Emily said at once. “You know what I’ve been thinking?”

  “What?”

  “Maybe this would be the right time to take the girls away somewhere for a couple of days. It would be a good break for all of us.”

  Marcie immediately brightened. “Really? You could get away?”

&
nbsp; “Of course.”

  “Have you thought about where we could go?”

  Emily’s expression turned thoughtful. “Disney? Key West? Sanibel? Wherever we want to go.”

  “Let’s go to Sanibel,” Marcie said eagerly. “I would kill for a couple of days doing absolutely nothing but walking on the beach and sitting on a balcony at night and listening to the waves crashing on the shore.”

  As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she frowned. “Is that terribly selfish of me? The girls would probably rather go to Disney where there are things to do every second.”

  “Let’s ask them now,” Emily suggested. “Unless you want to talk it over with Ken first.”

  “He won’t care. His entire focus is on Evan these days. He’ll be glad to have Caitlyn and me out from underfoot.” She regarded Emily curiously. “Is this a good time to go away? I thought Dani was grounded. Caitlyn mentioned it.”

  Emily shot her a rueful look. “I think I can make an exception for something like this and it’s not as if she’ll be without supervision. Of course, she might view a weekend on Sanibel with nothing to do as extreme punishment.” A glint appeared in her eyes. “In fact, let’s just plan that. This trip is about us as much as it is about the girls, right? We deserve some real R & R.”

  “Will Josh be okay here?”

  “He’s in college. I’m just an annoying nuisance who forces him to check in from time to time and keeps the refrigerator stocked so snacks are readily available. He’ll be ecstatic to have the house to himself.” She grinned. “And I’ll remind Derek to check on him about a million times. That ought to keep him from doing anything too outrageous.”

  “You really do have a diabolical streak, don’t you?”

  Emily looked surprisingly pleased by the comment. “I never thought about it. Maybe I do.”

  “So we’re definitely on for this weekend?” Marcie asked.

  “If we can get reservations, yes.”

  “I’ll get on it as soon as I get home,” Marcie promised.

  “Or we could go on the Internet right now.”

  “No, please, let me handle it. It’ll give me a project for tonight while I’m waiting for Ken to get home.” She checked her watch. “I’d better get back over there. I left Caitlyn alone. She promised not to answer the phone or the door, but the reporters can be awfully persistent.”