by Jan Coffey
“You are incorrigible, Owen Dean.” Sarah turned to Léa. “This will not affect what I’ll be doing for Ted.”
“I know that.” She brushed the attorney’s arm. “And that is great news. I’m so happy for you both.”
Mick’s Volvo pulled up blocking traffic. Léa quickly made arrangements with Sarah about when they’d be talking again and rushed to the waiting car. Mick was exchanging pleasantries with the complaining drivers as they tried to maneuver around him.
“I’m getting pretty good at blocking traffic these days.” He kissed her before moving the car, to the obvious amusement of Sarah and Owen.
For an insane moment—as Léa watched him concentrating on the traffic—an image of being pregnant with Mick’s child rushed through her mind.
“So tell me, how did it go with Ted?”
“Is Heather home alone?”
“No. I dropped her off at my office. She is charging me an arm and leg to do some filing for my office manager.”
Léa had heard a brief version of what had happened to Heather last night from Mick before the teenager came down for breakfast. It was horrible to think that Dusty had threatened Heather, too.
“So what about the meeting with Ted?”
Léa filled him in about what had transpired at the prison. As she finished, she recalled the telephone discussion that she’d had with Sarah’s office manager earlier this morning, before she even met with the attorney.
“Have you made some financial arrangement for Ted’s legal fees without telling me?”
“What do you mean?”
Léa stared at Mick’s profile. “I was told not to worry about the fees. That they were all taken care of. Sarah is quickly becoming one of the top attorneys in the region, and I would never have approached her if I thought she would consider it a charity case.”
“She can afford to work on this case without emptying your pockets. Think of the publicity when she gets your brother off.”
“Mick—” She leaned toward him. “Remember our conversation about trust? I need to know what you have done.”
Frowning, he pulled the car into the nearest parking lot and turned off the engine. Léa tried to restrain her emotions until he swung around to face her.
“I called Sarah after seeing what I thought was a very suspicious case of vandalism at my job site on Sunday. The place that was wrecked used to be rented by Marilyn. I felt our police chief was brushing it off, but I had no doubt that it was connected to the murder trial.”
“What did you ask Sarah to do?”
“Nothing. I simply called and offered the information I had…including things I knew about Marilyn’s life that had not surfaced during the trial.”
“Is this why she called me on Monday? Because of your relationship with Owen and her?”
“No. I believe she called you because she thinks your brother has a valid case.”
Léa tried to keep in mind the effect of all of this on Ted’s welfare. She was having a hard time getting around her feelings about being another one of those women who took Mick for his money.
“But what about her fees?”
He turned and looked straight ahead.
“Mick, I’m not angry with you. In fact, I’m very grateful.” She placed her hand on his arm. “But I need to know what I owe you. I intend to pay it all back.”
“That’s something I’ll settle with Ted—but not before he gets out, that is.”
His answer threw her for a loop.
“That might take some time.”
“I can afford to wait.”
“Mick, be reasonable.”
“I am.” He took her hand. “You know, there is a reason why I didn’t form an opinion about the trial or get involved sooner. After my divorce, I went out with Marilyn a few times. That was enough for me. To this day, I remember very clearly what a piece of work she was. Marilyn was capable of making a perfectly normal person crazy enough to want to punch her lights out. And I’ll tell you something else. I don’t believe she was capable of a monogamous relationship. In fact, I think she met Ted on one of our last dates.”
Léa had always kept a safe distance from Ted and Marilyn’s marriage, fearful of the very things Mick was saying.
“She used people, openly, and it seemed to me that any number of men in town might have wanted to kill her. But they arrested Ted, and I thought maybe he’d really done it. What I couldn’t understand, was leaving his children in the house.”
“What changed your mind?” she asked.
His intense blue eyes met hers. “You. Your belief in him was the start. Then, when I really looked around me and saw the attitudes of some of the people involved, I thought this could have been another case of rushing to judgment.”
Léa’s fingers remained entwined with his. “I can only say that I’m blown away by all you have done. By all your generosity. The house I’m trying to sell belongs to both of us. It’s Ted’s only asset right now. Once I sell it, I want you to accept—”
“No,” he said stubbornly. “I don’t want to talk money with you. I don’t want to think how much we owe each other. What we have between us has nothing to do with sympathy or generosity.”
This close, Léa not only drowned in the deep sea blue of his eyes, but she found herself looking into his soul, reaching for his heart.
“I don’t know what to say. What to do. I’m sinking.”
“So, go with it.” He kissed her lips tenderly. “We’re sinking together.”
Chapter 26
Joanna nearly danced as she hung up the phone. Calming herself down, she did a ten-second cleanup of the workbench, put her tools in the correct drawer, and whipped off the apron she was wearing. She ran a hand down in front of her new green flowered sundress to smooth out the wrinkles.
Gwen was behind the cash register in the front of the flower shop, tallying an order when she came out. The older sister looked up in surprise as Joanna burst into the room.
“I am going out for lunch. Do you need anything while I am gone?”
“Where are you going?”
“I don’t know. Maybe to the Grille. Maybe to that new Mexican restaurant near the highway.” Joanna slipped behind her sister to get her purse and her keys.
“Who are you going with?”
“Andrew.” She hadn’t paused. She hadn’t stopped and looked at Gwen to gauge her sister’s reaction. She’d just said it, and she felt great about it. “I called and asked him if I could take him out for lunch, and he said yes.”
“Joanna, I’ve had four calls in the past half hour for new orders. I have a delivery coming at twelve-thirty. I need you to stay here and take care of them.”
The subtle change in Gwen’s tone was repulsively clear. Joanna felt as if she’d been kicked in the stomach, but she was not stopping now. Her hands closed around the keys in the drawer, and she picked up her purse off the shelf under the counter. She turned to her sister.
“Sorry, my date can’t wait.”
“Joanna, I am running a business here. There are expectations—”
“I quit,” she said simply, starting around Gwen.
The older woman backed up, blocking her. “You can’t quit. This is as much your business as mine. You can’t just walk out and quit.”
“Yes I can. Just watch me.” She wasn’t going to get angry. She wasn’t going to lose her temper.
“But this is our livelihood. You can’t—”
“Your livelihood,” she corrected. “Your life might be tied to this business. But let’s not forget that this is all yours. God knows, you have reminded me of that many times in the past.”
When Gwen started to speak, Joanna raised a hand. “I’m not being critical of you over that. I think it’s great that you have something that you feel so passionately about. But your lifestyle is not for me. I’m turning thirty next year, and there are a heck of a lot more things I want to do with my life than just cutting and arranging flowers.”
; When she attempted to pass again, Gwen blocked her exit. “You’ll throw everything away just to go and have sex with…with some guy?”
“This guy has a name, Gwen. His name is Andrew. Andrew Rice. And it’s not sex. We’re not a couple of teenagers who have to run off to the barn.” She shook her head. “We’re both way past that stage.”
“So what are you trying to tell me?” she snapped. “You’re just going to go and flaunt your affair in front of everyone in Stonybrook?”
“What we do is nobody’s business, Gwen.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me!” she responded with a mirthless laugh. “You should know very well how they’ll behave. They’ll ruin you and Andrew both. They’ll ruin me. We’ve been here before, Joanna. Or have you forgotten so quickly.”
“So quickly?” she challenged. “God, Gwen! Listen to yourself. Cate is gone. Our sister is dead. But you can’t stop blaming everyone else for what happened to her. You’ve never forgotten.”
“How can I forget when I still have you to worry about?” She threw the order pad onto the floor. “Cate tried to be different. Look what they did to her. You’re trying to do the same thing and I’m going to lose you, too.”
Joanna shook her head. “Nobody did anything to Cate. She was a lesbian. That was who she was. And the choices she made where of her own. For all her life, she wanted to escape this town. But like a lot of people, she also fought with bouts of depression from the time she was a teenager. Why don’t you remember any of that?”
“Because it’s not the truth. Marilyn started everything with her lies. And then the rest of them jumped on the wagon.”
Joanna looked down at the keys in her hand and listened to her sister’s all-too-familiar rant about how everyone else was responsible for the fate of their sister. Jo had listened to this same broken record too long.
“I’m not going to let the same thing happen to you. Do you hear me? They are not going to run you down because of a fling with some black man.”
Joanna pushed her way angrily past her sister and stalked toward the door.
“I’m leaving, Gwen.”
“You can’t go.”
“You just don’t get it.” Jo paused by the shop door. “It wasn’t Marilyn or the rest of this town that pushed Cate out. It was you, Gwen. You and your ugly, narrow, prejudiced thinking. It was you and your denial of who she really was. Well, guess what? I’m not going to let you do the same thing to me.”
~~~~
“Would you please let Stephanie know that I called?” There was a pause. “Yes, Léa Hardy.”
Heather stood outside the doorway of her father’s office, waiting for Léa to finish her call. There was something very right about seeing her here in their house, sitting in her father’s chair. It seemed so completely natural, coming downstairs in the morning and seeing her puttering around the house. Last night, before going to bed, Heather had gone to the guestroom and stared at Léa while she slept. The whole time, she was thinking how wonderful it’d be if she stuck around.
They had taken the bandages off Léa’s head. Heather couldn’t wait until they arrested Dusty. It was time the creep paid up. When Léa put down the phone, the teenager burst in.
“You called the Slaters? You actually talked to them?”
“I talked to Bob.”
“Wow!” Heather sat on her father’s desk. “How come you called them? I thought all they did was go around badmouthing you and Ted.”
“I don’t know anything about that.” Léa stood up. “But Stephanie didn’t look too good yesterday when I saw her downtown, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it. Anyway, this is my new motto. Don’t waste energy worrying when there is something you can do about it.”
“I like that!” Heather said. “And on the same note, I want you to know I’ve made an appointment for us.”
“Appointment for what?”
“For haircuts,” Heather said, hopping off the desk. “Actually, I’m hoping that Sheila will do a little more than just give me a haircut. I am getting a little sick of this purple hair.”
“What’s the next color?” Léa asked.
“I was thinking about something of a checkered design, with red and green on top.” She struck a pose. “And maybe some neon striping down the back.”
“You are a fashion statement, babe.”
“Not just a statement. I am a goddess!”
“Okay, goddess.” Léa pushed Heather out of Mick’s office and into the kitchen. “So, do I have time to get some work done next door before the appointment?”
“Sorry, but I’m afraid you don’t. Dad said he’ll be back about five, so I had to make the appointment early enough for us to have time to get really adventurous.”
“This is sort of like a ‘girl’s afternoon out.’ You know, I don’t think I’ve ever had one of those.”
It was impulsive and mushy, but Heather didn’t care. She gave Léa a hug.
“Me either.” She pulled back and reached for the fridge door, taking a can of soda out.
There was a long silence behind her. She didn’t want to turn around, thinking that maybe she’d choked Léa up again. She somehow managed to do that to her a lot.
“I think I’ll get my hair done however you have yours done,” Léa said finally. “And maybe if we have time after Sheila’s, we can go to one of those places in the mall where I can get a couple more holes in my ear, too. I don’t know about this navel ring…but heck, I’ll try it. Eyebrow rings. A stud for the nose. The whole nine yards.”
“Now why would you want to do all that?”
“To look like you, of course.”
“But why?”
“Because you are my idol.”
Heather couldn’t hold back her smile. “Yeah, right.”
“I am proud of you,” Léa said softly. “And I’m so impressed. I have to tell you that you got it together much faster and a lot better than I ever did. I could do a lot worse than imitating you.”
Heather leaned against the sink and felt herself filling up with emotion.
“You’re strong and brave and good…aside from being a goddess.”
Léa walked over to the kitchen table and fished around in her pocketbook for a couple of seconds before taking a bottle of pills out. Heather knew what it was before she handed it to her.
“I found this in the carriage house yesterday afternoon. I think they’re yours.”
Heather stared down at the full bottle of sleeping pills. Neither of them spoke for a long moment.
“You know, when I was a teenager—a little younger than you—I tried to commit suicide, too.”
Léa stretched out her arms and turned her palms face up. Faint white slash marks were still visible on her wrists.
“I was lonely and very depressed. Ted had just gone to college. I loved my aunt, but I decided she would be better off without me.” She dropped her hands. “I was very lucky that she found me. But it took a long time—and therapy, when we could afford it—for me to recover. Even so, you were the one who was able to help me face that kitchen, and the memory of my parents’ deaths. ” Tears were glistening in her hazel eyes. “I admire you, Heather. Now, is it asking too much if I want to be just like you?”
Heather hugged her fiercely, dashing away her own tears.
“I don’t need these anymore,” she finally managed to say. “I was so sure I wanted to die. I gave away all these favorite things I had. I even wrote everyone a letter. I walked into your carriage house ready to end it all. But now, I…I don’t know what I could have been thinking. The problems I thought I had…well, they just seem to be nothing now.”
“No, the problems I think you have been dealing with are real, but you somehow gotten yourself to a place where you are working your way through them. This is what life is all about. Challenges and changes. We have to face them. We have to make ourselves survive the tough times so that we can enjoy the good moments around the corner.”
Heat
her wiped the tears and uncapped the bottle of pills. She dumped them into the sink and ran the water. Watching them dissolve and disappear, she decided to tell Léa about last night.
“You say I’m a good person, but that’s not the feeling I got when I met Chris’s mom.”
“What happened?”
Heather told Léa about Patricia Webster’s rudeness. She even went on and described Chris’s attitude and how he’d been ready to take advantage of her in more ways than one. She didn’t hold anything back, as she had when she’d talked to her father.
“You didn’t tell your father about Chris trying to take a picture of you?”
Heather shook her head. “Dad would have really hurt him. As calm and as collected as he is, I have no doubt that he would have lost his head and maybe done some damage.”
“But that’s maybe what Chris needs to learn a lesson.”
Heather looked up in surprise. Léa looked upset. “What happened to your compassionate understanding of teenagers?”
“Hey, this is different. Chris is messing around with my idol.” She took Heather’s hands. “But seriously, I have very little compassion when it comes to anyone who tries to abuse and manipulate others.”
“I think I took care of it,” she said finally.
“Listen, if he comes near you again…”
“I’ll tell Dad everything. I promise.” She didn’t want to see Léa this upset. “Hey, we’re going to be late for our appointment.”
It took Léa a minute to compose herself. Then she grabbed her purse.
“So what color did we finally decide on?” she asked Heather.
“I’ve changed my mind again. I want to have the same color hair as you have. Being an idol has its responsibilities.”
~~~~
“How are you boys doing this afternoon?”
Sheila didn’t wait for the answers from the half-dozen police officers and office staff, but marched right past the Official Business Only sign and down the hallway to the office of the chief of police.
