Beyond Hope's Ridge

by Silver McKenzie

  Nathan cleared his throat. “Okay. Do you have time to speak? I appreciate it is the weekend, but I’m in court all day tomorrow. I’m meeting with Eve on Tuesday and would like to speak with you first.”

  Buster sank onto one of the kitchen stools. “How can I help you?”

  “Eve confirmed that you are willing to support her appeal. Is that true?”

  “Yes, it is. What do you need me to do?”

  Buster assumed he might be called on to back up Eve’s diagnosis of postpartum depression. He certainly wasn’t expecting what Nathan Bromley asked of him. He listened, his stomach churning. Was he being lured into a trap?

  “Let me get this straight. You think if Eve and I reconciled, it would strengthen her appeal?”

  “Definitely. If the judge sees that you’ve accepted that her behavior following Holly’s birth was a result of postpartum depression, he’s quite likely to be more compassionate. We have the medical diagnosis already, which may be enough, but the extra weight of her ex-husband saying that he believed it to be true and it was why you’re willing to try again with Eve will probably push the verdict to a yes without question.”

  Buster was silent.

  “Cora, Eve’s mother, led me to believe you’d be okay with this. Is that the case?”

  Buster sighed. Cora was trying to control the situation. “Not exactly. I need to speak to Eve, of course, but I’m not interested in reconciling our relationship. Yes, postpartum depression is cruel and played a role in our marriage breakdown, but our relationship had problems well before Holly’s birth, and I’ve had reminders of them since visiting Eve in prison.”

  “You’ve only visited her three times.”

  “Exactly. And I’ve been reminded in only three visits of why our marriage was never going to work. That confirms we are better leading separate lives. Cora’s interference helps confirm it for me too.”

  “Okay, that puts a different spin on our approach. I’m going to have to tell Eve that that’s your decision.”

  “I would prefer to be the one to do that.”

  “I’m meeting with her on Tuesday. I’m sorry, but I can’t change that appointment. You’ll need to see her tomorrow if you want to let her down in person.”

  Buster ignored the lawyer’s blatant dig. “If there’s any other way I can help without committing myself to a relationship with Eve, I’d be happy to,” Buster said.

  Nathan thanked him in a tone of voice that conveyed his annoyance at Buster’s stance, then ended the call.

  Buster threw his phone onto the kitchen counter, swearing he’d never answer it again.

  An hour later, when the caller ID showed Cora calling, he wished he could honor what he’d sworn to himself.

  “What do you mean you’re not going to stand by your wife,” Cora demanded before Buster even had a chance to say hello.

  Buster took a deep breath. Eve’s lawyer was undoubtedly busy with his phone calls this afternoon. “Cora. Eve is my ex-wife, not my wife, and has been for three years now. And I am going to stand by her, but I’m not interested in giving our relationship a second chance. There’s too much pain from the past to cope with.”

  “You could both seek counseling,” Cora said. “Get you through your concerns. You made a promise, Buster. To love and honor Eve. You’re breaking your promise.”

  “We both made promises, Cora. Many of which were broken in the course of our marriage. Fidelity for a start.”

  Cora fell silent. Buster had never brought up that issue with her, but he knew she was aware of Eve’s affairs. From what Eve had told him, she’d taken some of the men to meet Cora. “But Eve was suffering, Buster. If she hadn’t had postpartum depression, none of this would have happened.”

  “I agree, it played a role, but I also acknowledge that there were cracks in the foundation of our relationship very early on. Things that I did my best to overlook or ignore. But they’re still there, Cora. Eve,”—and you—“can be very controlling, and that’s not what I want in my life. Also, as much as we have the shared history of Holly, the constant reminder of her that Eve brings is hard to live with.”

  “I thought you were a good man, Henry. One who would stand by the woman he openly declared his love for on their wedding day.”

  “I thought I would too, Cora. I guess neither of us knew me as well as we thought.”

  “Oh, I think I do. You’re selfish. Only thinking about yourself. You let my girls down many times.”

  “Your girls?”

  “Eve and Holly.”

  The hairs prickled on Buster’s arms. “I never let Holly down.”

  “What about the kinder-concert? The one you were late to? Her little heart broke. You promised you’d be there for her song, and you weren’t. I, for one, did not believe the story of you stopping to help someone whose car broke down. It’s no different from what you did to Eve. Promised her your love and then walked away. You’re doing it again now and are giving her false hope that you’ll get back together. Her appeal will most likely be rejected as a result. You let people down and should be ashamed of yourself. I suggest you keep well away from women, Henry. No one deserves to be put through the pain you’re capable of inflicting.”

  Buster ended the call before Cora said anything else. His hand trembled as he put the phone on the kitchen counter, this time turning it off. He knew that her outburst came from a place of love for her daughter, but it didn’t change the fact that it was brutal, and it hurt.

  12

  Steph felt reenergized after teaching her morning yoga classes. She’d spent most of the previous evening meditating and trying to center herself. She’d realized that her reactions to Buster and Matt were more extreme than she’d usually be. She rarely felt anger to the degree she had the day before, and it was likely the negative energy surrounding her had put her chakras out of balance. An evening of meditation, relaxing music, and essential oils had helped. She would need to make sure she did that more often and took good care of herself. The difference in how she felt today was incredible.

  She was practically bouncing when she reached the food truck for a mid-morning tea break. She wanted to thank Asha for listening to her the previous day. Charlie and Asha were standing in front of the food truck, deep in conversation, when Steph arrived.

  Charlie smiled broadly. “Good morning, Steph.”

  “Morning, Charlie, Ash.”

  “You’re looking happier today,” Asha said. “Has something happened?”

  “No, just me getting back to the things that make me happiest. Meditation and yoga mainly.”

  Asha smiled. “Good. Charlie and I were discussing some additional ideas for the pavilion. What do you think about having a bar-style counter running around the three walls of the structure?”

  “I thought it was just going to be a floor with a roof and then tables and chairs,” Steph said.

  Charlie nodded. “It is. But the roof has to be held up with pillars, so we can attach a long counter that connects the back and side pillars. Leave the front open for people to walk in and out easily. It means we can have stools all along the counter areas, and a lot more people can be seated.”

  “Sounds great,” Steph said. “Will the food truck be able to cater for that many at once?”

  “That’s a good point,” Asha said. “The tables and chairs were going to seat sixteen. That’s a lot to be serving at any one time.”

  Charlie tapped his nose. “Ah, but what if there is only one person at a table for four? Suddenly you do not have sixteen people.”

  “I guess you can always remove some of the stools from the counter if it’s getting too busy,” Steph said.

  “Part of the reason Charlie wants to do this is Zane has some beautiful pieces of old-growth redwood at the Mill. He showed me a counter he made for someone in Tall Oaks. The wood’s been thinned, and the edges are exactly as the tree was. They call it a live edge countertop. It’s coated with an oil to give it a beautiful finish. He says he
can get the right length pieces for here so that the counters are one long piece instead of pieces joined together.”

  “Enough talk of counters,” Charlie said. “Steph came for tea, not to talk business.”

  Asha laughed. “That’s Charlie’s signal that his stomach’s rumbling. Come on. I’ll get some tea and a muffin for you, Charlie.” As she went back into the food truck, she said, “So Charlie called Matt last night.”

  Steph turned to Charlie. “I hope I haven’t caused problems for you.”

  Charlie tutted. “No. I should have known better. I quit as his foreman. I will never be involved with that man again.”

  “Don’t speak too soon,” Asha said, nodding toward the road.

  Steph and Charlie turned to find Matt walking toward them. His face was pale, his cheeks drawn. Steph immediately worried his father had relapsed or died.

  “Matt, is everything okay? Your dad?”

  He stopped, his eyes narrowing. “My dad’s fine. But no, everything’s not okay. I need to speak to both of you.” He turned to Charlie first. “I have no idea why you quit your job. I thought we had come to an understanding and moved on from our old problems.”

  Charlie turned to Asha, who held a paper bag out to him. He took his muffin and turned back to Matt. “I had hoped that too. But then I learned that you are more underhanded than I would have ever thought. You are a disgrace, Matthew. An absolute disgrace.” He didn’t let Matt respond, he just walked away from the food truck with his muffin.

  Matt laughed, an awkward kind of laugh. “Okay, well, that went well.” He turned to Asha. “Any idea where that came from or why I’m back in his bad books?”

  Asha shook her head in disbelief. “Are you for real? Just leave, Matt. Go and take care of your dad, and don’t come back.” She turned her back on him and opened one of the ovens in the food truck.

  “Well, Steph, that’s two conversations that haven’t gone well,” Matt said. “Are you able to explain any of this to me?”

  “I think you can probably work it out.”

  “Um, okay. Look, I know I said I didn’t need an answer on Heat Wave until Wednesday, but I have a buyer, which means a quick deal can be struck, unless you’ve decided you’d like to be partners and get the retreat project moving?”

  Steph stared at him. Why couldn’t he just be honest? She decided to call his bluff. “I was leaning toward a yes, I’d like to join you in a partnership.”

  “Really?”

  The surprise on Matt’s face almost made Steph laugh. He was probably now trying to work out how he was going to backtrack out of this. It was tempting to see how far she could take it, but if she did, she’d be as bad as he was.

  “That’s…”

  Steph cut him off before he had a chance to tell her what she already knew, that it wasn’t possible. “No, of course not really.” She shook her head. “I want nothing to do with you, Matt, or your business. I’ll run Heat Wave for the rest of the week, and then you can work out what you’re going to do with it.”

  The color drained from Matt’s face. “What? Hold on, what just happened?”

  “What happened is I found out the truth,” Steph said. “Once again, I fall for a man’s lies. After what you did to Asha, and now this, I suggest you stay away from my family. You’re not welcome anywhere near us.”

  “I second that,” Asha called from the van. “You’re a jerk, Matt.” She stepped down from the food truck and picked up a rock the size of her palm. She held it up. “You might recall what a good throwing arm I have?”

  Matt flinched.

  “I’ll use this on you if you don’t leave now.”

  Matt opened his mouth but closed it again when Asha raised her arm with the rock. He shook his head and turned on his heel. “I have no idea why you’re acting like this, Steph. If you want to explain to me or change your mind, give me a call. I will pursue the potential buyer, but contracts won’t be exchanged until later in the week at the earliest.”

  Was he for real? Was he still trying to play the good guy? Steph didn’t respond; just watched as he walked back to his pickup.

  She turned to Asha. “I think I prefer him when he’s yelling at us, telling us how stupid we are. You know where you stand with him when he’s like that. That you’ve called him on whatever awful thing he’s done, and he’s reacting. Being quiet and leaving with his tail between his legs isn’t his style.”

  “I’m not sure we’ll ever work out what Matt’s style is,” Asha said. “Other than unscrupulous, I don’t think there are many words that I’d repeat in public that describe him.”

  Steph shook her head. “Unfortunately, when it comes to describing Matt, the majority of words are, like his behavior, unacceptable.”

  ❖

  The first thing Buster did on Monday morning was call the prison to schedule a visit with Eve. He wanted to see her before her lawyer or Cora did. Regardless of anything that had happened between them, he felt he owed it to her to be the one to tell her that he didn’t want to try again. Her mother had gone on so many times about him letting Eve down. While he didn’t necessarily agree with everything she had to say, this was one occasion when he could do his best to handle the situation delicately. He would still be letting Eve down on the one hand, but having someone else deliver the blow for him seemed extra cruel.

  He called Travis on the drive to Tall Oaks. “I’ll be back in tomorrow,” he told him. “Can we meet first thing? I’d like to discuss something with you.”

  He ended the call, glad that if nothing else, he was beginning to make decisions and put things in order.

  When he reached the prison and completed the security clearance, Buster dug his fingernails into his palms to stop his hands from shaking. He hated that he’d let her get her hopes up.

  Eve adopted a guarded look as they sat down opposite each other. He knew that she was waiting for an answer from him but didn’t want to launch straight into disappointing her. Instead, he asked her how she was.

  Eve laughed. “We both know why you’re here. And I get it, I do.”

  Buster frowned. It wasn’t possible for Cora to have visited with Eve since their phone call the day before. Eve was only allowed one visitor a day, and Buster was the allocated visitor today. “Did you speak with your lawyer or your mom?”

  Eve’s smile slipped. “No, why?”

  “Nothing, I just…I don’t understand when you say you get it. What do you get?”

  “I get that you don’t want to try again. Last time you were here, you were apprehensive and then mentioned you’d met someone. I know I put you on the spot, and I’ve done a lot of thinking too. Mom’s voice was playing in my head when you visited. That we could get back together and be happy, but I don’t think it would work.”

  Buster let out a deep breath, causing Eve’s mouth to twitch at the edges. Was she trying not to laugh?

  “You don’t have to look so relieved,” she said. “You could look a little crestfallen just to make me feel better.”

  Buster pushed a hand through his hair. “Sorry. I’m not very good at this. You are right, though, in that it wouldn’t work. I think we’re too different now, Eve.”

  “I do too. I wasn’t sure how I felt when Mom suggested the idea. I’m not even sure she had my wellbeing or her own in mind when she spoke to me. My guess is she’s dreading me getting out and needing to move in with her. She enjoys her independence too much. If you and I were back together, that wouldn’t be an issue.”

  Buster shook his head. “I can’t believe she’d be so manipulative. Not after everything that’s happened and with you in here.”

  “Manipulation is her specialty.” She smiled. “Why do you think I’m such an expert at it?”

  Buster decided it would be safer not to comment. “I’m still happy to support your appeal any way I can. Your lawyer called me yesterday, and I told him that too.”

  “He won’t be happy,” Eve said. “He thinks Mom’s idea of us getting ba
ck together is an excellent move.”

  Buster was surprised when Eve rolled her eyes. “You don’t?”

  “I think if the judge decides I should be released early, then I’m very lucky. If he or she doesn’t, then I serve out the rest of my time knowing that I’m paying for what happened. Our child died, Henry, and it doesn’t matter how my lawyer presents it, at the end of the day, it was completely avoidable. It doesn’t matter what the circumstances were leading to that day; on that day, I did many things I shouldn’t have done. I am responsible, and I will live with that for the rest of my life.” She held up a hand to stop him from interrupting. “Don’t worry, I know that postpartum depression played a role in what happened, but I knew better than to drink and then go and get Holly. That’s something someone who doesn’t care does.” She wiped a tear that rolled down her cheek. “And I did care. She was my little love. The best gift I’ve ever received, and I had no idea how to accept it and enjoy it.”

  “Hormones played a big part in that, Eve.”

  She nodded, wiping away more tears. “They did, but I want you to know that I do take responsibility too. I’m not passing the blame to something else. Not you, not circumstances, not anything. I loved Holly with all of my heart, and I need you to know that.”

  Tears slipped down Buster’s cheeks. “I do know that, Eve. I do.” And he did.

  “Can we play the memory game?” Eve asked. “Like we did the first time you came to visit?”

  “I haven’t come up with any for today,” Buster said.

  “I have. Do you remember that day that we took Holly to the carnival? The day when she insisted on the strawberry milkshake before going on the small roller coaster they had for kids?”

  Buster rolled his eyes. “I will never forget that. I had to throw my shoes out after that night. There was so much milk in them and all over my clothes, I couldn’t get it all out.”

  “She was so sick,” Eve said. “But once it was all out of her, she insisted on going on the carousel.”

  “Nothing was going to keep our Holly from enjoying herself.”