Oberon Boxed Set (Books 1-3) Welcome to Oberon

by P. G. Forte

  “Are you kidding me? After you’ve been bitching for months about how you deserve a break once in a while? Come on, Luce. You know if you change your mind and come with us, you’ll only end up complaining about how you should have stayed home,” Dan had said. And she knew he was right. It was just that things were so unsettled right now, and it was so comforting to be with him.

  “Mom!” Seth called from the porch. “Dad asked if you know where the extra air mattress is? Oh, and to tell you Uncle Joe is here.”

  “I’ll be right there!” Lucy called back. A small thrill of pleasure ran through her as she contemplated her tall and handsome son. He looked more like his father every day.

  Out on the driveway, Dan had stopped loading the car and was going over the maps with Joey. Her nephews, Jason and Zach, were checking out the fishing gear, and Stephanie, her niece, was showing Mandy her CDs. Lucy sighed as nostalgia tugged on her heartstrings. She’d always loved these trips the families took together. Especially when the kids were younger.

  Back then, of course, Nick and Lauren were still together, and they had always gone, too. As had Joey’s wife, Janice – back before she decided that her quality of life would be radically improved if she never saw the inside of another tent.

  Things just weren’t the same anymore. The last few years, Lucy had ended up playing Mommy – to everyone from the big boys right on down the line. And Dan was right; she resented the hell out of it.

  The truth was, they really didn’t need her along. She should stay home and enjoy having some time to herself. But being selfish like that really went against the grain. Besides which, she missed Dan already.

  “Hey, Joey,” Lucy greeted her brother as she came up behind her husband and slipped her arms around his waist.

  “Morning, Lucy.” Joey looked up from the maps in front of him and then quickly rolled his eyes away again.

  “Hey, babe, I had a question for you,” Dan said as he hauled her around for a kiss.

  His lips tasted of coffee; spicy and just a little sweet. It was all she could do to resist the urge to explore the flavor further. But Joey and the kids were there, so when Dan pulled away from her she contented herself with licking her own lips clean of every trace of the taste he’d left there.

  “Lucy, I... uh... uhh,” Dan started to speak, but then seemed to lose his train of thought. He frowned slightly, and stared rather fixedly at her mouth. “I wanted to...”

  “The air mattress?” Joey prompted with a heavy sigh.

  “Oh, right. Babe, do you know where our other air mattress is? I can’t find it anywhere.”

  Lucy smiled fondly as she shook her head at him. “Don’t you remember, Dan? You got rid of it last year, after the kids got it snagged on those thorn bushes.” Maybe staying home was a mistake. How would they get along without her, if they couldn’t remember simple things like that?

  Dan flashed her a grin, as though he knew just what she was thinking. “Oh, yeah. I forgot about that. Good thing one of us can still think straight.”

  “Hmm.”

  “Five days, huh?” He reached out and hauled her back against him for another kiss. “I guess we’ll just have to manage without it... somehow.”

  “Hmm,” Lucy murmured again. She recognized that gleam in his eyes. She didn’t think he was talking about air mattresses anymore.

  “That’s okay,” Dan whispered, hugging her very, very tightly. “I’ll let you owe me for it later.”

  This time she was sure he wasn’t talking about the air mattress. She snorted quietly. “Get real, Cavanaugh.”

  A short time later, she watched the cars pull out of her drive. The quiet luxury of five free days, five days all to herself, settled around her. Five days to do whatever she wanted, whenever she wanted to. Maybe she’d start with a long, hot shower. Or, better yet, a bath.

  She was just getting ready to turn on the water when the phone rang.

  She should have known it was too good to be true.

  Lucy was seething when she hung up the phone three minutes later. She should have known something like this would come up. The call had been from her brother-in-law, Kenny, at the nursery. Robyn hadn’t shown up for work and they were shorthanded dealing with a big landscaping order. Would she come in and give them a hand? Well, of course she would.

  So much for selfishness.

  But jeez. Robyn? Lucy pushed away a vague uneasiness. Of course there was no reason to worry. People didn’t show up for work all the time, and for all sorts of reasons. She shouldn’t be worried. What she should be was mad. Wasn’t it just her bad luck to get stuck filling in for the girl during what was supposed to be her vacation?

  Dan was going to owe her big for this, she thought, already considering a variety of ways in which he might be induced to pay her back.

  Still, she remembered the fear in Robyn’s eyes yesterday. And a cold dread rose inside her when she remembered having warned Marsha to expect a disaster. As far as potential disasters went, this one had Scout’s fingerprints all over it.

  But there was no sense jumping to conclusions, she decided, as she went to get ready for work. In all likelihood, it would turn out there was nothing to worry about. Nothing at all.

  * * *

  Nothing. That’s what Scout heard when she woke. Absolutely nothing.

  No doors slamming, no water running in the shower or the sink, no can opener whirring, no coffee-maker gurgling, no dishes hitting the floor or being banged together in the sink. It was like a miracle, she thought for one grateful moment.

  But the moment passed quickly, and she felt herself grow tense.

  It was too quiet. Why was that?

  The entire house was wrapped in stillness. Six of the cats paced silently through the halls. They followed her downstairs and into the deserted kitchen and waited while she put food in their bowls.

  Where the heck was Robyn? Scout wondered uneasily, and what had she done with the dog?

  For once, she would have welcomed the noise and confusion she had almost come to expect of mornings here. Shreds of last night’s dreams still clung to her thoughts, and they hadn’t been pleasant.

  She’d dreamt of the woods again. Of the woods and the pond she’d passed by just yesterday. Only in her dream, she had to cut through the pond, instead of around it, in order to get to the house. She’d become trapped in the weeds and the soft mud of the bottom.

  What good did it do her to sleep through the night if her sleep was so disturbed it left her feeling more exhausted than staying awake would have? She really should talk to Marsha about borrowing her van if this kept up much longer.

  By the time she’d finished her second cup of coffee, Scout had almost convinced herself that Robyn must have spent the night out somewhere. She’d probably gone straight from there to work. Which meant she wouldn’t be bringing the dog back until much later today.

  The thought was surprisingly unsettling. She had told Robyn often enough that she could take the dog wherever and whenever she wanted, hadn’t she? But that was before Scout had gotten used to having it around.

  She briefly contemplated driving out to the nursery. Lucy had said it was in Abraxas Canyon; it shouldn’t be too hard to find. But the car was such a mess, she wasn’t sure she should even have driven it home the other day.

  Also, she had neglected to report the accident to her insurance company. She really needed to do that. And then she’d need to see about getting it repaired.

  So, good. She had a plan now. Something to occupy her time, and keep her from thinking too much about other things. But that sense of satisfaction didn’t last beyond the time it took her to phone her insurance agent and locate a mechanic.

  Glenn’s news had really thrown her last night, so much so that she’d forgotten to ask any of the obvious questions. Like whether the existence of a grandchild would make a difference within Caroline’s will. Or whether he’d thought to check birth records from nineteen years ago. She’d bet anything Glenn h
adn’t thought of anything so obvious. The idiot. It was only his child they were talking about, after all!

  But had there ever really been a baby? A secondhand report of a possible pregnancy was not the same as an actual child, after all. Maybe Lisa had died in childbirth. Or maybe she hadn’t even lived that long.

  Tears stung her eyes, almost blinding her. The questions she’d been struggling with for a week seemed twice as urgent now, and she was more determined than ever to find the answers. She finished her coffee, double-checked to make sure that this time the gas was definitely off, and then very carefully drove her damaged car downtown.

  * * *

  Glenn was driving blind, so wrapped up in thoughts and memories that the scenery around him barely registered at all. Last night had been a mistake. How could he have been so wrong? He was sure now that Scout’s claim about having to walk the dog had been a bluff to get away from him.

  Enough was enough. He’d go back to her house – right now – and they would finish this, once and for all.

  His vision cleared just before he came to the turn for the wide curved driveway. Nostalgia hit him fast and hard. How many times had he pulled in here? Always coming to see Lisa, and once – just once – finding Scout instead. All warm and friendly, where she was usually so cool, so indifferent.

  Her eyes had glittered with need that afternoon. Her need for him! What a surprise that had been. Just that one time, which he still didn’t understand. Why hadn’t there been more days like that?

  Lisa, probably. Wasn’t all of this Lisa’s fault? But Lisa was gone now.

  There was no reason why he and Scout shouldn’t have gotten together again. It couldn’t have been because she didn’t want to.

  She had been almost giddy with her delight, laughing – a deep, sexy, groan of a laugh – as he whispered in her ear. Telling her all the things he was going to do to her, how he was going to make her feel.

  He had felt the way she shivered as his hands slid up her thighs, and she had opened for him so willingly. When he had entered her, her body had pulsed with passion and heat. Even her voice had vibrated with it, as she urged him to hurry, to do it now—

  It was like nothing he had ever experienced before.

  Why couldn’t he have that again? His hands tightened on the wheel. And why couldn’t he make her understand that she had to let Lisa go? Just as he had.

  Her car wasn’t in the drive, but someone else’s was. Someone was standing on the porch, peering into the hall windows. A stranger. No, wait – Not a stranger! A thrill of fear shot through him, and instead of turning into the drive, he put his foot down hard and sped away.

  With the distance, the fear he felt was quickly replaced by anger.

  That cop. Lucy’s cousin. What was he doing there? Always sticking his nose in other people’s business. Always coming after people. Threatening them. Frightening them.

  Well, not this time, Glenn thought angrily. Not now. He had waited too long for this. It was his turn now.

  This time, he was way ahead of the bastard.

  * * *

  Nick peered through the window and rang the doorbell again. But no one appeared in answer to the bell, except for a phalanx of cats, who sat in the hallway and stared back at him through the window, their gold eyes inscrutable and cold. The irrational fear that had propelled him out of his car and onto her porch at last – the fear that had come when he’d seen her car was missing, the fear that she was gone again, that he had waited too long – was mildly assuaged by the sight of all those cats.

  Surely she wouldn’t have left them behind if she left town? Of course, they could belong to the roommate. Or she could have arranged for someone else to care for them. But he refused to let himself dwell on those ideas.

  Better to focus on the car. He was pretty sure she couldn’t drive it any great distance, not the way it looked yesterday. Which meant she would have to get it fixed before she tried to run away again.

  So, he was probably still okay.

  Okay? Well, that was certainly one way of looking at it.

  He sighed as he headed back down the stairs. Might as well get used to it. He was obviously bound and determined to make a jackass of himself. Nothing new there. He supposed he could live with that. He’d have to live with it, wouldn’t he?

  Not certain which emotion predominated – relief or frustration – he got back into his car.

  Later. He would come back later and... well, he wasn’t sure what he would do, but chances were good that it would be something stupid.

  * * *

  Stupid, stupid, stupid. Scout walked away from the lawyer’s office in a state of angry frustration. God, I’m so tired of stupid people. Glenn hadn’t been in – not that she was sure she was ready to talk to him again yet anyway. And Donahue had been at his irritating best. She was just so tired of people warning her off Lisa’s trail.

  They all had good reasons for it. But she didn’t care about any of their damn reasons. Why didn’t anyone understand that?

  And why did everyone assume she even cared about Caroline’s estate? None of that stuff belonged to her, much as she would have loved to claim some of it for herself. The house, perhaps. Maybe a few pieces of furniture. And certainly her father’s paintings. But the reality was, she’d lost whatever rights she’d had when she had chased Lisa away from home.

  Pregnant, homeless, teenaged Lisa, whose heart she and Glenn had broken.

  Oh, hell. How could Glenn think she’d stop searching for answers now? All he’d done was compound the guilt she’d already been feeling. God, what a bitch she’d been. How could she have been so stupid, so cruel. So young.

  Scout was so lost in her thoughts, she didn’t hear the voice that hailed her, and didn’t stop until she felt the hand on her arm and looked up into a pair of shrewd blue eyes.

  “Oh. Uh, h-hello,” she stammered. She felt her face coloring. “It’s Heather, isn’t it? I’m sorry, I didn’t see you.”

  “You got that right.” Heather chuckled, her short blond hair gleaming in the sunlight. “You were in a daze, girl. Nearly walked right into us.”

  Us? Scout noticed the other woman for the first time. Registering her height – barely five feet, a short mop of curly brown hair and a bright pair of chocolate brown eyes – before anything else.

  “It’s so good to finally meet you,” the woman positively gushed, grasping her hand warmly. “I’ve heard so much about you from Marsha and Lucy. You weren’t just coming in for a book by any chance now, were you?”

  “Book?” Scout asked stupidly.

  “Yes, of course. See?” The woman waved one hand gracefully, and Scout realized they were standing right in front of a bookstore. “Our store. Digressions. New and used books. Hartman and Finch, proprietors. I’m Hartman, by the way. But please, call me Ginny. And really, you must stop in sometime. But not right now, I’m afraid.” Ginny sparkled at her. “Because we’re just going out to lunch. But perhaps you’d like to join us?”

  * * *

  “So, where’s your dog today?” Heather asked, after they had been seated at one of the small outdoor tables provided by the Red Rooster Grill, a sidewalk cafe in what Scout considered to be the true Oberon style... vegetarian with French pretensions.

  Good question. Scout laughed ruefully. “Your guess is as good as mine. My housemate went off with her last night and they haven’t come back yet. I guess she just went straight to work, although—”

  Scout’s mouth went suddenly dry as an unwelcome new thought occurred to her. “I can’t quite see her going to work at the nursery without stopping home to change out of last night’s clothes first. I guess she could have taken a change with her, though.”

  “Oh, Robyn’s a dear, but she is a little impulse driven. I doubt she’d plan anything that far ahead.” Ginny smiled sunnily as she dug into her soy cheese and spinach crepes. “We were so glad when we heard that you were coming to live here, you know. It was much too lonely for her, rattlin
g around in that big house all by herself. You do realize that she works out at the nursery with Lucy, don’t you?”

  Was there no end to the overabundance of coincidence and connections with which Oberon was infected? Scout sighed. “Yeah, I know.”

  “Well, why don’t you drive out and see if she’s there? If you’re worried about the dog, I mean.”

  “I’m not worried. Exactly.” Scout picked moodily at her startlingly verdant pate faux gras. She wondered if the final ‘s’ had inadvertently been dropped on the menu.

  Not that it mattered. She didn’t know why she’d even bothered to order anything at all – she had no appetite today. “Besides, I just dropped my car off to be repaired. I won’t have it back for a few days.”

  Heather’s eyes sparkled. “Well, there’s always the phone.”

  “Oh, no. That’s okay.” Scout sighed again. “I’d just as soon not call Lucy, either.”

  Over lunch, she told the women a little about her trip to the lawyer’s office, omitting any mention of Lisa’s pregnancy. It would be interesting to find out if anyone else had known about that.

  “Well,” Ginny said. “I see your point, of course. But what makes you think she’s even alive?” She put a hand solicitously on Scout’s arm. “Forgive me if this pains you, but she hadn’t had a falling out with her mother, had she? Surely in all this time she would have gotten in touch with her. If she could have.”

  “I know that,” Scout answered sadly. “And I realize it’s a long shot. But I just feel like I owe it to Caroline to try and find out. Besides,” she added. “Caroline must have thought of the same things, and she hadn’t given up.”

  “Well, but she was her mother, after all.”

  “Plus, there’s the small matter of... I don’t know, I guess it’s just pride. Caroline and I hadn’t seen one another, or even spoken more than a few times in twenty years. I have to know why she did this. What she wanted from me. It’s not like she just flat out left everything to me, either. I’m pretty sure she would have wanted me to continue searching.”