Next Door Secrets (Secrets Series Book 2)

by Lenfestey, Karen

  “Of course.” How could Beth not know that? Birthdays were such a big deal to little kids. It didn’t seem right that Kaylee couldn’t have a party. “Did your dad tell you why you can’t tell anyone today’s your real birthday?”

  The girl’s mouth pulled shut and for once, she didn’t speak.

  Beth didn’t want to put Kaylee in the middle. “Never mind.” As they crossed the street, she reached for the little girl’s hand and experienced a rush of warmth when the tiny fingers wrapped around hers. “I’m touched that you felt you could trust me.”

  Once they were at the church, Kaylee zipped over to Maria. Somehow they managed to communicate and agree that they wanted to play in the toy kitchen. Beth walked around and offered all of the adults and kids granola bars. Her mom mouthed to her, “I have news.”

  While waiting for her mom to finish her English lesson, Beth sat down in the play kitchen and asked if she could have a glass of milk and a slice of apple pie. Giggling, Kaylee brought her a cup and pretended to pour milk into it. Maria served her a plastic triangle of pie on a miniature plate. Beth took a pretend bite and sip. Smiling, she said, “Delicious. Bueno.”

  The two little girls giggled some more and beamed with pride. They went to the pretend pantry and pulled out plastic cans of vegetables and poured them into a square pan. Apparently, they’d agreed to make some kind of casserole for dinner.

  As the children cooked together, Beth noticed that Kaylee didn’t seem quite as chubby as she once was. Their daily walks and playdates must’ve been making a difference. Of course, it helped that Kaylee wasn’t done growing in the height department. But still, Beth allowed herself to indulge in a little bit of self-congratulation.

  When Maria’s mother closed her book, Beth held her breath, hoping she’d stay to socialize with some of the other immigrants rather than take Maria home right away. The woman turned toward another student and struck up a conversation in Spanish.

  Beth sighed with relief as her own mother approached.

  Her mom signaled for them to step outside the door for privacy. “I found out some information.” Her voice was quiet. “I still have feelers out, but I’ll tell you what I know.”

  Happy the area outside the classroom was vacant, Beth whispered, “What?”

  “Gola Moon is alive, but maybe not so well. She’s serving an eight year sentence for vehicular homicide. She has a history of DUIs and domestic violence. She has filed several restraining orders.”

  “Against Jim?”

  “None of them involved a Jim Stein.”

  “Of course Jim Stein probably isn’t his real name.”

  “Right. I checked marriage records and Gola was married three times, to Michael Brenneman to Conner Walker and to John Tate.”

  “OK. Do we know which one is Jim?”

  “Conner Walker is listed as the father on one of Gola’s children’s birth certificates and John Tate on the other.”

  “Which one is Willow’s dad?”

  “John.”

  “Then Jim’s real name is Conner Walker.” Beth scratched her head. “So does that mean you know Kaylee’s real name?”

  “Well, Conner was the father of Skye. We still don’t know for sure that Kaylee and Jim are really Skye and Conner.”

  “It’s starting to look like it. Kaylee told me today that this is her secret birthday. Was Skye’s birthday in May?”

  “I don’t remember.”

  Beth peered around the corner to check on the girls. They stood side-by-side washing and drying the pretend dishes and chattering away. She wondered if Kaylee had started to pick up on some Spanish or if it was Maria who had learned to recognize some English. “Try to find out. I just hate that Jim has been lying not only to me, but to Kaylee, as well. If her mom’s alive, that’s a huge secret. An unforgivable one.”

  “Judge not lest ye be judged,” her mom said, sounding just like a minister’s wife.

  “Fine. Did you find out why Kaylee had been in foster care?”

  “Everything I’ve told you is in the public record. CPS is supposed to be confidential, so that’s going to take a little finagling on my part.”

  Nodding, Beth took a deep breath. “Why would Jim lie and say Gola’s dead?”

  “Only he can answer that.” Her mom’s gaze landed on the church bulletin board on the wall. She tore down a flier for a past ice cream social and moved the one for the Mother’s Day Tea to eye level. “I assume you’re planning on coming to the tea?”

  “Yes. I won’t stay too long afterwards, though, because I’d like to spend some time with Kaylee. She said she hates Mother’s Day.”

  “Why don’t you bring her to the tea?”

  “I’d like to, but Jim—or whatever his name is—doesn’t like church activities.”

  “It’s just a chance for fellowship with the community.”

  “I know. I’ll ask him.” Beth looked at the picture of a sundae in her mom’s hands. “Hey, do you have any left-overs from the ice cream social? I promised Kaylee ice cream today.”

  “Probably.” She led Beth to the small kitchenette and opened the freezer to reveal a gallon of vanilla and chocolate ice cream.

  “Perfect. Thanks, Mom.” Beth gave her a hug.

  # # #

  Beth couldn’t believe what she saw out her apartment window. Kaylee was swinging on the jungle gym and appeared to be laughing with the little girl on the swing next to her. They were talking and pumping their legs vigorously. She looked like she was having so much fun.

  When the phone rang, she hoped that it was Parker. “Hello?”

  “Hi, Bethany. It’s Ivy’s mom.”

  Sitting on the living room couch, Beth’s lungs deflated. “Oh, hi.” They exchanged pleasantries.

  “I’m calling to find out if you’re coming to Ivy’s baby shower.”

  “Um. . . .”

  “You got my invitation, didn’t you?”

  “Yes. So cute. But, I’m not sure I can make it.” Beth watched as Kaylee and the little girl with pigtails jumped off the swings. Then they climbed back on.

  “What’s the problem?”

  Beth chewed on her lip. “Does Ivy know you invited me?”

  “No. It’s a surprise shower, but I’m sure she’ll want you there.”

  “Ivy and I kind of had a falling out.”

  Ivy’s mom groaned. “You’ve got to be kidding me. Ivy has had a falling out with every girlfriend she’s ever had since kindergarten. I thought you were different. You’re so easy-going, I figured you could put up with her.”

  Beth stifled a chuckle. Even Ivy’s mom knew she could be a handful. “Well, I don’t think she’ll want to see me.”

  “Please come. We need you there. Hardly anyone’s going to attend. Maybe seeing you will remind Ivy how much she misses your friendship.”

  Crossing her legs, Beth tried to figure out a way to say no. She’d never been good at saying that.

  “Bethany, please. It’ll be sad to have a baby shower with only me and her aunts. Please. I’m begging you.”

  “OK.” Why had she just caved? She was such a martyr sometimes.

  “Great. Why don’t you bring your mom, too?” After chatting a few more minutes, Ivy’s mom hung up.

  Frustrated that she was still such a people pleaser, Beth sat there watching Kaylee play for the first time in the apartment’s playground. She allowed thoughts of Kaylee to replace the dread she felt about seeing Ivy.

  Taking a breath, she went to knock on Jim’s door.

  He opened the door wearing his red apron and waved her inside. “Do you like lasagna?”

  “I like everything you make.” Her hand covered her mouth. “Not that I’m inviting myself for dinner or anything. I just wanted to talk to you while Kaylee wasn’t around.” This was a rare occasion, after all. Should she bring up the secrets she’d learned?

  He gestured for her to sit at the kitchen island while he layered the noodles, marinara and cheese. “So, Parker’s Mr
. Workaholic, I take it.”

  “Yes.”

  “He told Kaylee he’s not your boyfriend, though.”

  She shook her head. “He and I broke up.”

  “What happened?”

  Sighing, she thought about revealing her own dirty laundry. She missed how close she and Parker had been and she could use a sympathetic ear. “I told you I placed a baby for adoption when I was in college. Well, she’s pregnant and I thought Parker and I should adopt her baby. He went nuts and yelled that we’re never going to get married.” She shuddered at the painful memory.

  “You knew from the beginning that he didn’t want commitment, yet you kept thinking he’d change his mind?”

  “I guess so.”

  “Why do women do that? It’s like you look at a man and think ‘I can make him into who I want him to be.’ Why don’t you leave us alone? Take us as we are or go away. We don’t try to change you.” He slopped the marinara sauce so hard it splattered on the counter and onto his apron.

  Her spine stiffened. “Why do you hate women so much?”

  Wiping up the splatter with a paper towel, he didn’t answer.

  She shifted in her seat. “Is that why you told Kaylee her mom was dead? Because you hate her?”

  “What?” His body froze as he studied her.

  “Your real name is Conner Walker, right?”

  His eyes blinked rapidly and the paper towel in his hand crumpled. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Kaylee’s mom is named Gola, right? She posted on Facebook that she’s searching for her missing daughter. She said someone took her from the hospital after a car accident.”

  He backed up and leaned against the sink. “Has she been released?”

  “So you know she’s in prison.” Her chest felt tight. She didn’t want Kaylee’s father to have kidnapped her. Kaylee deserved a lifetime of happiness after her rough beginning. “How could you lie about something like that? Kaylee’s broken-hearted. She hates Mother’s Day because of you.”

  “She has plenty of reasons to hate Mother’s Day.” His voice sounded sharp. “How much do you know?”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  That was a good question. How much more was there to know? Beth took a breath before spilling it. “I know her mother killed a man while driving drunk. I know she probably was an alcoholic and wasn’t a great mother, just like you said. But why don’t you tell me the whole story?”

  He turned to throw away the paper towel. Perhaps he was trying to decide whether he could trust her or not. “I thought Gola was gonna die. That’s what the doctors said.” He faced her but remained with his back against the counter. “She was in a coma and so messed up, they said she probably wouldn’t make it. My friend called and told me Kaylee had been in a terrible accident and if I didn’t take her, social services would. So I rushed to the hospital. By some miracle, Kaylee only had a few scratches. I realized I’d almost lost my daughter. It’s my duty as a father to protect her.” He stared into the distance. “And I’d left Kaylee in the care of a mad woman.”

  “So you took Kaylee and never told anyone.”

  “I’m her father. I have every right to take her.”

  “Then why did you change your names? Why did you lie about what happened?”

  His Adam’s apple dipped on his unshaven throat. “I couldn’t risk losing Kaylee again. They’d taken Kaylee away from Gola before and returned her. I couldn’t risk Gola ever touching a hair on Kaylee’s head again.”

  “But she’s in jail.”

  “She’ll get out eventually. And the courts favor the mother.”

  Cringing, she hated how sexist he could be. “Not if she’s a convicted criminal. I’m sure you’d receive custody if you went through the proper channels.”

  He shook his head. “Too big of a risk.” He paused. “There’s stuff you don’t know.” His voice grew quiet.

  “Like what?” She crossed her arms.

  “When Gola and I split up, she said she’d make sure I never saw Kaylee again. She locked me out of our apartment and put a chair under the door knob the day I came to get my stuff. I could hear her laughing on the other side. I was so mad, I broke down the door. I mean, I paid the rent so she had no right to lock me out of my own apartment.” His hands started to shake with anger. “It was all a set-up. She called the cops and accused me of hitting her. She even banged her own head against the doorframe to make a bruise.”

  Beth couldn’t believe any woman would intentionally hurt herself like that. Was he lying to her once again?

  Wavy lines formed across his forehead. “See? Even you don’t believe me. If a woman cries and says her husband hit her, everyone assumes it’s true. I didn’t have a chance. So I left. I figured she could have Kaylee if she wanted her that bad.”

  “You just walked away from your daughter.”

  “I was drinking in those days and I told myself Kaylee was better off without me. When my friends told me Kaylee was in the hospital, I decided it was time to pull myself together. I went to save my little girl.” He ran his fingers through his shaggy hair. “I can’t believe I left Kaylee with Gola. I found out later about how Kaylee and her sister would eat ketchup on saltines for dinner because there wasn’t any food in the house.”

  All of this information swirled inside Beth’s brain. Yes, Gola was a terrible mother, but Jim had been an alcoholic, too. “It still doesn’t justify your kidnapping Kaylee and saying her mom’s dead.”

  “Is it better that her mom’s in jail?”

  Beth shrugged. “It’s the truth.”

  “The truth is, I thought Gola was dead for a long time. Then my friends said she pulled out of the coma and stood trial. By then, we’d started a new life and Kaylee was doing well.” His hands fisted. “You don’t understand that I’ll do whatever it takes to make sure that Kaylee’s safe and happy.”

  “I want that, too.” Something inside of her told her that Jim believed he was doing what was best for his daughter.

  “Are you going to tell Kaylee?”

  Her head started to throb. “It’s not my place to tell.” Beth would always have to defer to someone else: to Jim and to Connie. She didn’t have the right to interfere with someone else’s child.

  “Damn!” He raked his fingers through his hair again. “You have a way of making people open up even when they don’t want to.”

  “Are you going to tell Kaylee the truth?”

  His chest rose and fell. “I’ll have to think about it.”

  She nodded.

  At that moment, Kaylee skipped through the front door. “Hi, Beth! Are you staying for dinner?”

  Jim and Beth answered at the same time. “No.”

  # # #

  “Thanks again for coming with me,” Beth said to her mother as she exited the highway.

  Her mom, sitting in the passenger’s seat, looked beautiful with her silver bob and lilac dress. “Baby showers are always such happy occasions.”

  “Even when it’s for a single mom?”

  “Well, that’s all the more reason to rally around Ivy.” She adjusted the blue ribbon on the gift sitting on her lap.

  Not anxious to arrive, Beth continued driving under the speed limit. “Her mom said hardly anyone was coming and I felt bad. You know it’s hard for me to say no, but I’m afraid seeing me might upset Ivy.”

  “Having a baby changes everything. It makes you less self-centered and it makes you realize that you need other people.”

  “So you’re saying having a baby could have totally altered Ivy’s personality?”

  Her mom laughed. “I wouldn’t go that far. Just give her a chance.” She twirled her simple gold wedding band. “I found out some more information about your neighbor.”

  Beth’s focus left the curvy road for a second so she could take in her mother’s face. “Did you find out what Kaylee’s mom did to land the girls in foster care?”

  “It’s just what you thought. The mother went
on a bender and left the kids alone without any food to eat. The mailman called the police, who found the girls in a cockroach-infested house. They hadn’t bathed or washed their hair in weeks and they’d been trying to open cans of soup, but couldn’t figure out how to use the can opener. Nobody knows how long their mother had been gone.”

  “That’s terrible. Why did they give the girls back to that woman?”

  “Because she went through a treatment program. She said she’d turned her life around and at the time, according to the case worker, it looked promising.”

  Gripping the steering wheel, Beth shook her head. “Right. And now Kaylee’s sister is dead.”

  “Actually, that’s the interesting part. There’s a Willow Moon living in foster care.”

  “What?” Beth’s breathing accelerated. “But the paper said Gola had killed a four-year-old girl while she was driving under the influence.”

  “She did kill a girl. But not hers. The girl that died was in the other vehicle. The newspaper must’ve made a mistake.”

  “Kaylee’s mother and sister are alive? Do you think Jim knows that?”

  Her mother shrugged and fiddled with the gift’s ribbon some more. “If he left the state right after the accident, he might not. Apparently, Willow was hurt pretty badly.”

  “But she’s alive. Kaylee will be so happy!” Beth couldn’t wait to share the news with them. She turned onto a narrow road lined by mature trees. Glimpses of Lake Michigan could be seen between the houses on the north side. “But why is she in foster care? Why isn’t she living with her dad?”

  “He’s in prison serving fifteen years. He and a friend broke into someone’s house to rob them and the homeowner was killed.”

  “Poor Willow. Both of her parents are in jail. At least Kaylee has Jim.” As she’d been instructed, Beth parked in the driveway past the glass house that belonged to Ivy. That way Ivy wouldn’t wonder why there were a bunch of vehicles in her drive. Boy, was she in for a surprise.

  They climbed out and walked across the sand-covered road to the front door.

  Almost as soon as they rang the bell, the door flew open and an unfamiliar fifty-something woman with a big nose greeted them. “Hi, I’m Ivy’s Aunt Fran. Hurry. My sister took Ivy to lunch and they should be home any minute.” She ushered them past a grand piano into the living room with cathedral ceilings and white carpet.