Grave Risk

by Hannah Alexander

  “This is all supposition, though. Nothing concrete. I’ve already tried to talk to Greg—”

  “You stay out of this.” Austin pushed his chair back and stood. “I’ll have a little talk with Greg, and maybe give him a little more to think about. You’ll be at the funeral?”

  “Yes, then I have the afternoon off. Cheyenne’s still worried about my stress level.”

  Austin sighed, and once again that shroud of heaviness seemed to descend on his shoulders. “I guess I’ll see you at the funeral, then.”

  As he walked from the bakery, Jill watched him go. Time had been quite a proving ground for their graduating class. Her friends Doris, Sherry and Peggy had blossomed after graduation. But Austin, Junior, Jed and Mary all had issues that seemed to weigh their lives down.

  Jill hadn’t exactly had a chance to bloom, though most people would say she’d made a good life for herself. She was surrounded by family and friends, she had a job she loved. Still, she’d always thought blooming was connected to romance.

  She thought about Rex as she cleared the table and placed the mugs on a tray. All this time, she’d believed their chance had come and gone long ago.

  But was it truly gone?

  Chapter Thirty-Three

  Rex straightened his tie, checked his teeth in the bathroom mirror. He was attending the funeral of a man he barely knew, and yet he felt the need to be there, to mourn with the community. How quickly he had bonded to these people.

  He should probably be back at the clinic, researching the sparse amount of information on Austin Barlow. But Austin was very unforthcoming when he wanted to be. That chart didn’t give up squat. It was worthless. It was almost as if the man was being intentionally vague.

  Why did Rex get the impression that Jill Cooper would know more about this particular case than anyone else?

  That was easy. It was because she had returned to the clinic with a haunted look in her eyes. When asked what she’d found out from Austin, she’d told Cheyenne that Austin would have to reveal that himself.

  She definitely knew something.

  Rex was reaching for the handle of the door to his suite when there was a knock. It was probably Bertie or Fawn, reminding him that the funeral would begin in thirty minutes. Of course, since it was being held in the Methodist Church, just down the road from the bed and breakfast, he had plenty of time to get there.

  But when he opened the door, it wasn’t Fawn or Bertie or even Karah Lee before him. A scruffy-looking, blond-haired sixteen-year-old with honey-brown eyes and an acne problem stood there, looking awkward and nervous.

  “Tyler!”

  “Hi, Dad.”

  Rex grabbed his stepson in a joyous bear hug, noting the stuffed backpack slung over the bony shoulders. “What are you doing here? Did your mother and Jason come with you?” He released the boy and glanced down the stairwell. Had Margret had a change of heart, after all?

  “They didn’t come,” Tyler said. “And before you say anything, Mom won’t know I’m gone until she gets home from work today, then the feathers are gonna fly.”

  The joy suddenly dissipated, to be replaced with dread. “Oh, son, you didn’t.”

  “Sure did.”

  “How did you get here? I wish you’d called me before you left home. I’d have told you not to do it.”

  Those vulnerable eyes widened with impending hurt.

  “Ty, I always want to see you, and you know it, but rebelling against your mother like this is the wrong way to go about making a protest.”

  “How else should I have done it? She doesn’t listen to anything I say.”

  Oh, Lord, give me the words I need. “Something besides this, because it’s got the potential to hurt everyone concerned.”

  “You mean because Mom’s going to be so mad she’ll ground me forever?”

  Rex sighed and led the boy inside. Sometimes his oldest stepson had his head so far into the clouds he couldn’t see what was happening on the ground. “Tyler, you’re sixteen. You’ll be considered a runaway.” And if he thought his mother was unreasonable now, he hadn’t seen anything yet.

  Tyler peeled his backpack from his shoulders and tossed it onto the sofa in the sitting room. “Nice place, Dad. I can sleep on a sofa.”

  In spite of himself, Rex chuckled. “It’s so good to see you.” He caught the kid in another hug, then set him back and gave him a stern look. “You’re not going to play your mother and me against each other.”

  Tyler gave him a blink of bewilderment. “But that’s not—”

  “It’s exactly what you’re doing, and it’s got to stop right now. I know you don’t intend to cause trouble for anyone—”

  “Yes, I do. I want her to see what she’s doing to us. You’re our dad, and she doesn’t have any right to cut us off like that. This whole thing is all her fault.”

  “That isn’t true. It takes two people to ruin a marriage.”

  “Not just a marriage, a family. We were a family. Jason and I still feel you are our family.”

  “As do I. That’s never changed, and it never will, son. I love you both very much. And that’s why I can’t help panicking just a little over what you feel you’re trying to do here.”

  “Aren’t you even curious about how I got here this time of morning without Mom knowing?”

  Rex had to admit the question had crossed his mind. “Let me guess. You left early this morning for football practice before she woke up, and then…then what? Did you catch a bus?”

  “Nope. My friend Brian is auditioning for a guest spot on the Star Notes show this morning. His parents brought him down here, and I faked a permission slip to come with him.”

  “That’s lying, Tyler. You know better than that.”

  Tyler hung his head as he sank into the soft cushions of the sofa. “I’m sorry. I don’t like to lie, but I couldn’t think of another way to see you. Mom said—”

  “I know what she said. But the thing is, if you had treated her with respect, allowed her some authority, she would have been much more likely to be lenient with visiting hours for us.”

  “You’re saying I should have faked it so I maybe would get what I wanted?”

  “No, I’m saying that if you’d been obedient to a higher authority, then you might well have regained our visiting hours without upsetting your mother. What you’re doing will not make for peaceful family relations.”

  “Don’t you even want to know what I told Mom in the note I left her on the kitchen table?”

  “You left her a note?”

  “Of course. Can’t let her think I just disappeared. Then she’d be worried.”

  “You don’t think she’ll be worried about this, Tyler?”

  “No, she won’t be worried, because I told her I’d be with you. She’ll be mad, and feel threatened and jealous, but not worried.”

  With a sigh, Rex sank onto the sofa beside his stepson. “Look, I have a funeral to attend in a few moments, but meanwhile, why don’t you call your mother, tell her where you are, and tell her you will be back home tonight with—”

  “No! How can you ask me to sell out like that? She’ll just start screaming at me to come home, and she won’t listen to a word I say. Dad, she needs to see what she’s doing to Jason and me.”

  “Does Jason know you’re here?”

  “Yes. He wanted to come with me, but since he’s only thirteen I’d have been in even worse trouble. Mom would have blamed me for influencing my brother, especially since she wouldn’t be able to blame you for it.”

  That was where Tyler was wrong. She would find a way. She always did.

  “If you don’t call her, I will,” Rex said. “And then I want you to call your friend and tell him to wait for you at the theater, because I’m taking you to Branson, and you’re going back home today.”

  Tyler gave Rex a mutinous scowl. “They aren’t going home today. They’re being lodged at a condo at the Branson Landing. I can’t believe you’re taking Mom’s side aft
er all she’s done to you.”

  “I’m not taking sides, I’m doing what’s right. Now, are you going to call her, or am I?”

  Tyler continued to glare at him for a few more seconds, then crossed his arms. “If you don’t want me here, I’ll just leave. I’ve saved some money—”

  “Stop that.”

  There was another knock at the door, and Rex glanced at his watch. If he was going to attend the funeral, he would have to leave now. But he couldn’t, not with Tyler in this condition.

  He opened the door to find Fawn standing there in denim cut-offs and a T-shirt.

  “Hi, Rex. Bertie and Karah Lee want to know if you want to walk to the church with them.” She glanced past his shoulder and her eyes widened at Tyler. “Hi.”

  “Fawn Morrison, meet my son, Tyler Stanphill.”

  Her face scrunched. “Stanphill?”

  Tyler was suddenly standing at Rex’s side. “Nice to meet you, Fawn. That’s a great name. Rex is legally my stepdad, but to me he’s the real dad and my blood father just sends the child-support checks.”

  Rex slanted his son a look. All charm and grace now that a pretty young woman had shown up. “You’re not going to the funeral?” he asked Fawn.

  “Cecil told me not to.” At their confused looks, she shrugged. “Before he died. So, Rex, what should I tell Bertie and Karah Lee?”

  Again, Rex glanced at Tyler. “Tell them something has come up, and my plans have changed.”

  “No, Dad,” Tyler said, not taking his eyes off Fawn. “You go ahead. I’m not going anywhere. I’ll just wait here, and we can talk about everything when you get back.”

  Rex shot him a warning look.

  “I’ll call Mom,” Tyler said. “But I’m not going home. You did your job. You told me to call her and go home, so you’re off the hook.”

  “That isn’t going to make things better.”

  Tyler grinned at him, and Rex realized, for the first time, that the kid was as tall as Rex himself. “It can’t get any worse than it’s already been, can it?”

  “Runaway, huh?” Fawn said.

  Tyler grimaced. “I prefer to think of it as exploring my options.”

  “How old are you?”

  Tyler glanced at Rex, his face taking on a slightly rosy hue. “Sixteen.”

  “You’re a runaway,” she said.

  “Not if I’m with my dad.”

  “You are if your legal guardian didn’t want you to come and see your dad. Trust me, I know. I was a runaway last year.”

  “You were sixteen last year? So that means you’re seventeen now?”

  “Eighteen. I just had a birthday. You’re just lucky you had a place to come, and you’d better hope your mom doesn’t call the police on your dad.”

  Tyler glanced at Rex, and the rosy hue deepened.

  Rex found himself wondering if there was any possible way he could get Tyler back to KC and destroy that note so Margret wouldn’t know he’d been gone and everything would blow over.

  “Go on to the funeral, Dad,” Tyler said. “Don’t worry, I’ll still be here when you get back.”

  Rex hesitated. He had the opportunity to spend some much-needed, precious time with this kid he loved so much.

  However, it appeared there would still be time after the funeral, and there was someone else Rex needed to talk with. Besides, Tyler didn’t seem to mind Fawn’s company.

  Chapter Thirty-Four

  Jill stood in the cemetery at the edge of the crowd that had gathered for Cecil’s interment. The funeral had been so well-attended that the ushers had brought extra chairs from the funeral home. Cecil had been much-loved and admired by his many students over the years.

  She scanned the crowd around the tent. Was there a killer present? Had that killer entered her house? Too many things were happening for everything to be coincidences.

  After the final prayer, the crowd dispersed slowly.

  Jill experienced a sense of déjà vu; the ceremony for Cecil was almost an identical replay of the rituals the town had observed for Edith. She turned to find Rex standing a few feet away from her. She nodded to him.

  “If you’re going back to the clinic, I’ll walk you,” he said.

  “Thanks, but Blaze and Cheyenne think I’m going to shatter under the pressure,” Jill said dryly. “I have the rest of the day off.”

  “Then I’ll walk you to wherever you’re going.”

  “Why?”

  He raised a brow at her. “Can’t a man take a pretty woman for a walk without having to explain his motives?”

  She gave him a suspicious look. This was a new approach for him. “Don’t you have work at the clinic?”

  “It can wait. Cheyenne and her staff have made this the easiest job I’ve ever had.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Besides, I have others to attend to before I get back to work today. I have a teenager in my suite who needs some parental attention.”

  “A teenager?”

  His sudden grin melted her. She had always loved that grin, which involved his whole face, unselfconscious and filled with warmth.

  “My oldest stepson, Tyler,” Rex said. “He’s sixteen. He showed up on my doorstep just before the funeral today.”

  “You weren’t expecting him?”

  “Nope, and there’s going to be a huge blowup when his mother finds out.”

  “You don’t sound too concerned.”

  “I’ve learned that worry doesn’t do anyone any good.” He turned, and they circled a tombstone and walked across the grass in silence for a moment.

  She glanced at his profile. The years had refined and mellowed him. Laugh lines around his eyes made him look much more approachable than he had seemed when she’d first met him. Now his face better reflected his heart.

  He held the white wooden gate open for her. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I’m touched that he would go to that much trouble. It’s silly and selfish of me.”

  “How is that?”

  “I should be concerned about his act of rebellion. Instead I’m afraid I’m enjoying it a little too much, especially after Margret banned me from seeing them. I had begun to feel I was truly losing those boys.”

  Jill glanced up at him. “Was that why you tried to call me Saturday night?”

  He looked at her, holding her gaze. “That, and I was lonely.”

  “I know where you could get a cute puppy.”

  Rex shook his head, chuckled, rolled his eyes at her. “You’re not the most romantic woman in the world.”

  “Sorry, but you should already know that.”

  “Why is that?”

  Her steps slowed. “You can’t be serious. We tried that romance once, remember? I think we clash too much.”

  “Maybe romance is the wrong word, then. How about dating? You know, as in a good friendship in which two people spend time together and actually talk and get to know one another. In our case, get reacquainted.”

  “I’m suspicious of dating,” she said. “It increases everyone’s expectations. If you date even a few weeks, people start hearing wedding bells, and then what do you do when you break it off? That just makes you look and feel like a loser. Why bother? We’ve been there, done that, moved on.”

  “Better to have a broken dating relationship than a broken marriage.”

  “Couldn’t tell it by me,” Jill said as they strolled toward the town square. “The first thing I see in someone’s eyes when I mention I’ve never been married? They wonder what’s wrong with me. Like being single is a disease.”

  “I get the same kind of response when people find out I’m divorced,” Rex said. “They wonder what I did to mess up my marriage.”

  “So I guess that means we’re just a couple of romance rejects,” Jill said.

  He frowned, then stopped and turned to her. Before she realized what was happening, he gently placed his hands on her shoulders and kissed her. Right there in daylight and everything.

  S
he didn’t have time to respond before he stepped back.

  “I don’t think we’re romance rejects at all,” he said softly.

  She didn’t reply. She couldn’t. Her blood seemed to be singing through her body, in perfect rhythm to her heartbeat.

  When he took her by the arm and led her forward, she automatically fell into step with him once again. But now even the touch of his hand felt like a tender caress, almost as powerful as the kiss.

  “Don’t you ever get lonely?” he asked.

  Lonely. Hmm. The truth? Right now she couldn’t even think straight. What was lonely? “Probably not as much as you do,” she said at last.

  He waited for her to explain.

  She wasn’t sure she could. But she wasn’t ready for him to know how much his kiss had affected her. How long had it been? Wow. It seemed like just yesterday…and yet it seemed as if the last time they’d kissed had been in another lifetime.

  “Isn’t it some kind of well-researched fact that most women—who are much more overtly social than most men—have no trouble filling their lonely hours with friendships?” she asked.

  “Friendship is a wonderful thing to have. We were friends once,” he said. “I’ve always missed that. Probably more than anything else.”

  She looked up at him, her lips still vibrating from the kiss. Actually, her whole body seemed to be vibrating, and her mind was having considerable difficulty focusing.

  “Have you?” he asked.

  She nodded. “I’ve realized lately that I have. A lot.”

  He sighed and shook his head. “So why were we so foolish as to break up the engagement?”

  “Excuse me, but you sat right there in the hospital cafeteria and told me you didn’t think things were working out between us.”

  “And you shoved your engagement ring into my hand so quickly I didn’t have a chance to explain what I meant by that statement. I certainly wasn’t expecting a breakup.”

  “You didn’t even try to explain,” she said.

  “You caught me off guard, and of course our tempers were flaring all over the place that afternoon.”