Next Door Secrets (Secrets Series Book 2)

by Lenfestey, Karen

  "What about Mr. Workaholic?” Jim asked. “Doesn't he want kids?"

  "Parker likes kids, but they're not in the cards for him, either."

  "Why don't you two get married?"

  Her shoulders rose and fell with her breath. "It's complicated. He's. . ." Did she dare tell someone about Parker's condition? It wasn't really her place, but it wasn't as if Jim even knew the guy. As long as she didn't say his last name or mention his tie to Mall Land, it should be OK. "He's sick. He has Huntington's disease."

  "Is that bad?"

  "It's terminal." Beth heard him gasp and she appreciated his acknowledgment of the grave situation. "He could live several more years, but he will progressively get worse. He doesn't think it would be fair to put me or a kid through that."

  “No, I suppose it wouldn’t.”

  “But I want to be there for him. Doesn’t what I want matter?” Grabbing her napkin from the table, she squeezed it into a ball.

  Wrapped in a pink towel with Disney princesses on it, Kaylee padded into the kitchen. “What are you two talking about?”

  Jim pushed Kaylee’s too-long bangs out of her eyes. “Somebody needs a haircut.”

  Kaylee shook her head. “I want to grow my hair as long as Ariel’s.”

  “Who’s Ariel? A girl in your class?”

  The girl rolled her eyes at him.

  Beth raised her index finger. “Oh, I think I know.” She turned Kaylee around and pointed to the red-headed mermaid with waist-long hair. “You mean Ariel, the Little Mermaid.”

  Stroking his chin, he looked at Beth. “Sometimes I think you understand her better than I do.”

  # # #

  Parker touched the bills laid out on the executive washroom’s counter to see if they were still damp. He’d forgotten about them and was pleased to see the janitor hadn’t been tempted to take even one. Since they felt dry, he piled them up according to their value and tucked them into his wallet. As he did so, he realized his credit cards had been handled by cashiers across the country. He pulled out his Visa and American Express and ran them under hot water.

  Someone knocked on the door.

  Parker unlocked it. “I’m almost done. Come in.”

  In walked Milton, the head of HR. His rectangular glasses fogged up at the sides. “Good afternoon. Am I interrupting something?”

  “Have you ever thought about how many germs must be on our currency?” Parker kept the tap running while he dried one of his credit cards with a paper towel. “One study found that 94% of dollar bills have bacteria on them.”

  Shaking his graying head, Milton watched Parker finish his cleaning. “I was going to come find you after I finished here.”

  “What about?”

  Taking a deep breath, Milton wiped his glasses on his shirt. “Perhaps you’d be more comfortable in your office.”

  “Sure. I’ll wait for you there.” Parker left and headed back to his office. Instead of jumping onto his computer to check e-mails, he stood in front of the gigantic windows that overlooked the busy city street. He’d sworn he’d take the time to enjoy this view more, but old habits were hard to break. Whenever he stepped foot in here, he felt compelled to keep busy.

  Behind him, the door opened and closed. He turned to see Milton in an olive shirt and tie walking toward him. “We need to talk. Let’s sit.” He gestured toward the small couch and chair in the corner.

  Parker hesitated before joining the man in the seating area. Why did he feel like he was about to get in trouble? “What’s on your mind?”

  “You forgot to inform me when you fired the two interns.”

  “Oh, yeah. Sorry about that. They were slackers and I’d had enough.”

  Milton blinked rapidly. “They’re saying you blew up for no reason. They’ve hired a lawyer and are threatening to go public.”

  “Go public with what? They provided alcohol to a minor. Last time I checked, that’s against the law.”

  “According to them, you’re the one with a drinking problem.”

  Parker bolted upright. “What?”

  Taking a moment, Milton seemed to be gathering his thoughts. “They say you’ve become forgetful, that your hands shake and sometimes you can’t walk a straight line.”

  He balled his fists at his sides and started pacing. “Bullshit.” As soon as he said it, he regretted it. He didn’t like to curse—especially in the work place. “We have the right to fire people for any reason as long as it’s not due to their race, religion or gender. I fired them. End of story.” Maybe if it hadn’t been his daughter they’d gotten drunk, he wouldn’t have gotten so emotional, but he wasn’t going to backtrack now.

  “For the most part, yes. But they’re threatening to go public. To tell the press that the founder of Mall Land is a drunk. We can’t take that kind of negative publicity.”

  “Then we can sue them for libel. Because I assure you, I’m not an alcoholic.”

  Milton crossed his arms. “Parker, with all due respect, you have been acting strange lately. I just found you in the restroom washing out the contents of your wallet. Who does that?” He let his question hang in the air.

  Parker stopped pacing. “I’m not a drunk. Period.”

  “OK. But something’s wrong. Maybe you have obsessive-compulsive disorder. Is that possible? People with OCD obsess about germs sometimes. If that’s the case, there are medications that can help you.”

  OCD. That sure would be better than what he really had. But with the Peace Corps requiring another medical exam, he didn’t want to go on any medications. “If I see my doctor, will you get off my case?”

  A look of relief eased the creases on Milton’s face. “Sure.” He rose and wiped his hands on his slacks as if they’d been sweating. “But we’re also going to need to give those college kids their internships back. Otherwise, our stocks could take a hit from the negative publicity.”

  Parker felt his blood boil. He started pacing again.

  “There are only a few weeks left in the semester and then they’ll be gone.”

  He sighed with resignation. “Fine.”

  Milton shook his hand before he left the room. Once the door clicked shut, Parker reached in his desk drawer for a bottle of anti-bacterial gel.

  His computer pinged with a new message. He sat down and read Beth’s Facebook update: Went to see the new Star Trek movie. It was the best yet! Thanks, Jim.

  Thanks, Jim? What the hell did that mean?

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  Since Jim was home with Kaylee and Parker was busy with work or Ivy or who knew what, Beth perused her friends’ Facebook updates. She saw pictures of new puppies, kids’ drawings and families on beach vacations. She tried to push down the envy that took root inside of her.

  She was proud of herself for going to the movies by herself, but now what? Her free time was usually spent with Parker. Just last weekend, she’d had the pleasure of hanging out not only with him, but with Hannah, as well. Now Hannah was mad at her and she didn’t know what to do about it. Shouldn’t she be happy that Beth hadn’t ratted her out to Connie about her drinking? Shaking her head, she felt as if there were no pleasing her daughter. Hannah didn’t want her to act like her mother, but Beth couldn’t help but worry like one.

  She scrolled through more Facebook posts until she saw one written in all capitals: PLEASE HELP ME FIND MY DAUGHTER. SHE WAS STOLEN FROM ME WHILE I WAS IN THE HOSPITAL. SHE’S 7 YEARS OLD WITH BLUE EYES AND BLACK HAIR.

  Something clenched inside Beth’s chest. What a nightmare for someone to kidnap your child. She saw that the post had 2608 shares and 203 comments. There was also a link to read the full story. She felt compelled to follow it.

  At the top of the webpage were the words: Bring Skye Home!

  Below, a montage of grainy home photos showed a toddler riding a tricycle, playing with a black and white bunny and watching TV. None of them were close-ups. Obviously, the photos hadn’t been taken with the intention of identifying a lost child.
<
br />   Something about the girl looked familiar. Yes. She kind of looked like Kaylee’s little sister. Beth squinted as if to assure herself that she was imagining things, which, of course, she was.

  Could it be? No. Kaylee’s mom and sister were both dead. This must be some other little girl. There must be millions of dark-haired, blue-eyed girls in the world. Some of them, unfortunately, had been kidnapped.

  Even though she couldn’t help this poor woman, Beth read her story.

  Please help me find my Skye. I named her that because of her beautiful blue eyes. Have you ever seen anything like them? It’s a daily hell for me to not know where my daughter is or to know if she’s alive. Although in my heart, I feel sure that she is alive. A mother would know, wouldn’t she? While I was in the ICU following a car accident, someone stole Skye from the hospital. Fortunately, they tell me, that her injuries were only minor. Please. Skye is all I have left. I pray that you will pass this along to everyone you know so that I can bring my baby home safe.

  Beth couldn’t deny the uneasy feeling pulsing through her body. Hadn’t Kaylee said her middle name was Skye? And she’d broken her arm before, but it hadn’t healed properly. Perhaps it’d been broken in a car accident. Could Jim be a kidnapper?

  Her heart thudded inside her chest. No. He was obviously Kaylee’s dad. Kaylee was old enough to let someone know that this man wasn’t her father. She could’ve screamed as he’d tried to take her from the hospital. She could’ve told a teacher, a police officer, me.

  Chewing on her lip, Beth looked at the blurry candids again. Didn’t everyone have a twin? She’d been approached before on the street and been told she looked just like someone’s best friend from junior high. The strangers had laughed and parted ways.

  Her jagged breathing wouldn’t stop. She stared at the child, but none of the pictures showed the color of the eyes. What struck Beth as odd was the fact that this woman didn’t have any pictures posted of herself together with Skye. Who was to say this woman was really the girl’s mother? Maybe it was all a hoax.

  She saw a link labeled “Reward.” Beth clicked it and read: I’d like to offer a reward for the safe return of Skye. If you’d like to contribute, please use PayPal or send a check to Gola Moon.

  Her heart rate slowed back to almost normal. It was a scam.

  # # #

  Sitting in Beth’s living room Sunday morning, Parker looked at the baby shower invitation that Beth had received. “I can't believe she named the kid after me.” On the outside was a mama lion and her cub. Inside it said "Help us welcome Parker Jr." with a photo of a sleeping baby with a knit cap covering most of his blond hair. His arms splayed to the sides as if he were making the letter “Y” with his body.

  Beth took back the invitation and stared at the infant with longing. “He’s adorable.”

  “All babies are adorable. That’s not the point.”

  “Don’t you think it’s just a little bit cool?”

  Shaking his head, he cracked his knuckles. “I told her not to, but she did it anyway.”

  “Well, you should’ve known Ivy would do the exact opposite of whatever you said.” She smirked at him.

  “It’s not funny. The birth announcement will probably be in the newspaper. People will think the kid’s mine. They’ll think I divorced my wife as soon as she gave birth to my baby. I’ll look like a prick.”

  That shut Beth up. He could see her trying to regroup, trying to figure out how to cheer him up. “I hadn’t thought about that. Sorry.”

  “As if that’s not bad enough, HR forced me to re-hire those loser interns that got Hannah drunk.”

  Her forehead wrinkled. “Why?”

  “They don’t want the bad PR. Apparently, you’re not allowed to fire people who deserve it anymore. All someone has to do is threaten to smear Mall Land in the press and we cave.” He suddenly felt the urge to wash his hands. “Excuse me.” He went to the restroom and turned on the hot water. Scrubbing between each finger helped calm him down a little. He didn’t know why.

  Someone knocked on the apartment door. As he exited the restroom, he saw Beth open the door to a girl with beautiful blue eyes. Even bluer than Beth’s.

  The girl waved at Beth. “Look! I got my cast off! Dad’s making omelets to celebrate.”

  Beth crouched down to her level and examined her arm. “How does it feel?”

  “Good.” The girl wiggled her fingers and bent her elbow as if to prove it. “Come on over.” Her gaze landed on him and her face froze. “Oh. Is that your boyfriend?”

  “Yes,” Beth answered at the same time that he said, “No.”

  Beth’s head whipped around and she scowled at him. A moment later, she composed herself. “Parker, this is Kaylee.”

  Chewing a piece of gum with her mouth open, Kaylee shuffled her feet.

  He felt bad for ruining her mood. “Hey, I can take off. You two have fun.” The more time Beth spent with the neighbors, the easier it would be for him to leave her. He’d been selfish to come over this morning, wanting a sympathetic ear.

  Again, Beth gave him a disapproving look. “We haven’t seen each other all week.”

  Kaylee twirled a lock of her black hair. “I guess he could come, too. My dad says he makes enough food to feed an army. Whatever that means.”

  “No,” Beth said. “I think we’ll pass this time.”

  It occurred to him that he’d never met Kaylee’s father, the man Beth thanked on Facebook for taking her to the movies. If Parker was going to leave Beth in this man’s care, he’d like to know he was a stand-up guy and not some jerk. “Actually, I’d love an omelet.” He tried not to let Beth’s glare bother him.

  She sighed. “I guess we’ll come over. But just for a quick bite. Parker and I have a lot of catching up to do.”

  Kaylee jumped for joy and he couldn’t help but smile. Before they went next door, though, he decided to wash his hands one more time.

  The first thing he noticed when they entered the Steins’ place was that it looked just like Beth’s except it didn’t have any artwork or photos on the walls. The apartment was bare-bones as if they hadn’t quite settled in yet. A turquoise kid’s bike leaned against one wall and shoes were piled by the front door.

  A man wearing a silly red apron walked toward him. He was about Parker’s height and in need of a haircut, but he had a firm handshake.

  “Thanks for letting me crash your party,” Parker said. "I was at Beth's and Kaylee said you always have plenty of food."

  Jim stood there eye-to-eye with him as they sized each other up. “Beth was the one who took care of Kaylee the day she broke her arm. It seemed only right that she be here to celebrate.” He turned his attention to the object of his affection. “Thanks for recommending Dr. Peterson. He was wonderful. I can’t believe he has weekend office hours.”

  Beth accidentally kicked a child’s sandal as she crossed the foyer. “Glad to hear it.”

  Kaylee nodded. “He gave me a piece of gum and a toy.” She tugged on Beth’s hand. “Come in my bedroom and I’ll show you. It’s a yo-yo. Do you know how to work one of those?”

  Beth raised her eyebrows toward Parker as if asking if it was OK to leave him alone. “Of course I know how to use a yo-yo.”

  Parker waved her on. “I’ll see if Jim needs any help with breakfast. You go do girl stuff or whatever.” As soon as the females walked away, the two men headed to the small kitchen.

  Jim stood at the stovetop. “Damn. This one burned.” Using a spatula, he lifted the brown egg mass out of the pan and onto a plate. “What do you like in your omelet? I have ham, onions, mushrooms, green peppers and cheddar.” He poured some egg batter into the sizzling pan and swirled it around.

  “Wow. This is better than a restaurant. I’ll take everything.”

  Without responding, Jim tossed a little of each ingredient into the pan.

  Time to get to know his replacement. Parker leaned against the center island. “So, how long have you lived here?�
��

  “A few months.”

  “Where were you living before?”

  “A small town you probably never heard of.” After he checked his watch, Jim pulled a loaf of bread out of the pantry and stuck four slices into his toaster.

  “Try me.”

  He opened the fridge and busied himself finding the butter and jelly. “It was in Ohio. Seriously. Even people from Ohio didn’t know it.”

  Parker shifted his weight. This guy seemed kind of cagey. “How long did you live in Ohio?”

  “We spent some time in a couple different towns. I don’t like to stay in one place too long.”

  “That can’t be easy for Kaylee.”

  Jim’s shoulders pulled back and his spine went rigid. He made eye contact. “Everything I do, I do for Kaylee.”

  Not wanting to create an adversarial relationship, Parker took a breath. He remembered how aloof Beth said Jim had been with her at first. Was he a man with secrets? Or was he simply a man filled with wanderlust? On both counts, Parker could relate. He didn’t like people prying into his personal life and he enjoyed traveling with his business.

  Giggles came from down the hall and Parker decided to lighten up. “Beth and Kaylee sure hit it off, didn’t they?”

  Jim focused his attention on the pan in front of him. “I never asked for her help, but she kind of inserted herself into our lives.”

  “Beth is the kindest person I know.” That was one of the things he admired about her. That, and how she always had the time to listen. Even though he’d been dodging her all week, she’d spent their short time together this morning listening to him talk about his frustrations with Ivy and HR.

  “I didn’t realize how much Kaylee needed a female influence until Beth showed up, painting her fingernails and teaching her how to jump rope.”

  Parker nodded. “Beth loves kids.”

  “Too bad you two can’t have any.”

  A perfect example of someone getting too personal. Parker ground his molars. It wasn’t as if he was impotent. How much did Jim know about him anyway? But then Parker remembered his mission. He wanted to see if Jim would take care of Beth when he left town. “Yeah. It’s too bad.” And it was.