She heard the angry screaming shouts coming from outside her bedroom. She knew she was scared. Were the mean people outside after her, too? She tried to block out the noise by covering her ears, trying to muffle the sound as the shouts got louder. She huddled under the covers. But the shrill voices wouldn’t leave. There were two women yelling at her mama. Every so often she heard her mama’s voice as she yelled back at both women to get out of her house. But it only made the mean people scream louder. And the women still weren’t leaving.
Baylee thought the argument was about her daddy. But that couldn’t be right because he wasn’t even at home. She couldn’t remember where he’d gone. All she knew was that her mother was home alone and arguing with two women.
While her three-year-old mind tried to figure out what was happening outside her door, the adults continued to scream bad words at each other. When the little girl heard hitting noises, her fear for herself turned to fear for her mama. She tried to work up her courage enough to crawl out of bed.
Finally she crept toward her bedroom door. She cracked it open enough to peer outside into the hallway. There she saw two women fighting with her mama as they stood on the upstairs landing. The woman with blonde hair slapped her mama. Baylee recognized her as Kit’s mother. But she remembered that Kit’s mother scared her, that she was big and mean. She didn’t like Kit’s mother.
But she didn’t like the other woman either, the one with long black hair that was yelling mean things in her mama’s face. And then all of a sudden Kit’s mother slapped her mama again. Baylee tried to move; she wanted to run out into the hallway, to make them stop. But her throat tightened. Her stomach hurt and her feet refused to budge.
Just as she started to open the door further and creep toward the fight, the woman with black hair pushed her mama, and she watched as her mama fell in slow motion backwards down the stairs. Baylee remembered hearing the scream and her mama’s cry, which lasted all the way down to the bottom step. She heard the dull thud hit the floor. And then nothing. She saw the two women exchange looks and then calmly descend down the stairs.
The little girl watching from the wings opened her mouth to cry. But no sound came out. Instead, she ran back to the bed and dived underneath just in case they came for her, too.
The adult Baylee sat up, remembering, reliving the moment in the dream when she’d been too scared to help. Perspiring, she fought for air. Reaching for the light on the nightstand, she fumbled in the dark, knocking over several items on the table. She heard something hit the floor. When she clicked on the light, she saw Dylan standing in her doorway.
“Ohmygod, you scared the life right out of me. What are you doing up?”
“You were crying in your sleep, thrashing around. Are you okay?” He went over and sat down next to her on the bed.
She scrubbed a hand over her face. “I had the dream. I saw the whole thing replayed again. I’m sure the woman in the dream is Alana. She’s the first one who slaps my mom. The other woman looks like a young Jessica Boyd. She’s the person who pushed my mom down the stairs.”
She swept her hair back with her hand. “I don’t know what’s real anymore, Dylan. It has to be a dream. That’s all there is to it. Why would my father tell me she left if she didn’t? But if there’s the smallest chance that she might have died that night I have to know the truth. Why would those two women do such a thing to my mother? And why would my father be part of it?”
Why indeed, Dylan thought as he reached out to touch her hair. He picked up a bottle of water from the floor, twisted off the cap. “Here, drink this. You want anything else?”
“Answers. I want some answers, Dylan.”
But there would be no answers tonight, at least not until William decided to expunge the ghosts he had lived with for over two decades.
CHAPTER 13
Crandall House no longer looked like a ramshackle, boarded-up relic from the past. The stately Queen Anne Victorian with the wraparound front porch and bold columns draped with ornate ivy now looked like the showplace it had once been in its heyday back when it was a hotel, a stop on the Coast Stage Line in 1888. Actually, thanks to a team of workmen that had labored practically around the clock, the old house had been updated with all the latest and greatest gadgets.
Kit couldn’t believe they’d actually moved in. Even if it were just for today, she didn’t care. It was like a dream come true. Thanks to the team of electricians who’d worked up until eight o’clock the night before, they had electricity throughout the first floor and that included the kitchen. She looked around the room where everything gleamed brand new, from the stainless steel appliances to the new flooring.
Kit gazed across the room. Her eyes instantly locked on the smile Gloria wore prominently on her face as she stood at the marble countertop putting the finishing touches on the potato salad. Mother and daughter had been cooking and baking for hours, eagerly waiting for their friends to arrive, hoping for just one day where they could all enjoy themselves without worrying about anyone named Boyd.
Pepper, Kit’s black-and-white Border collie, sniffed the appetizing smells in the kitchen then plopped down beside Kit’s feet at the counter. Still a little slow getting around after the car accident weeks earlier, Pepper had made a tremendous recovery from surgery.
Kit set aside the marinade she’d prepared for the steaks and hamburgers Jake would grill later and watched as he stepped inside from the newly built deck onto the sandstone kitchen floor.
“Grill’s got plenty of propane and is ready anytime you are.”
“Where are they? It’s almost ten-thirty.”
Jake shot her a grin without asking who “they” were. All morning long she’d been like the proverbial kid waiting for Santa to come down the chimney on Christmas Eve. She’d been planning for this day all week and wanted nothing more than for everyone to get here, kick back, and have a good time.
When a car horn sounded from outside, she shot out of the kitchen like a runner at the starting line, running toward the front door so fast her shoes skidded on the newly laid hardwood floor in the hallway.
Gloria saw Jake smile and declared, “She gets like this when she throws a party, better get used to it. By the way, are we working on those grandchildren yet?”
He couldn’t help but laugh. “That is none of your business, Mom. Don’t get pushy, okay?”
At the word “Mom,” Gloria’s eyes misted over. She put her hand to her mouth before trying for some composure. Reeling in her emotions, she teased, “I always knew you’d make a smart-mouthed son-in-law. What was I thinking trying to get the two of you together all those years? I should have had my head examined.”
“You love me, you know it, and you always have.” He went over and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “There’s no point in denying it. Even when I was a young upstart smartass, a pain in the ass, you loved me.”
“Maybe a little. Even though you aren’t so young anymore. That’s why you need to start working on some grandbabies, lots of grandbabies.”
Just then, Dylan came through the kitchen door hauling a Pack ‘N Play. Kit followed, carrying Sarah in the infant seat with Baylee tagging behind, an olive green diaper bag strapped over her shoulder, and pushing a stroller that squeaked on the brand new floor.
Jake walked around the kitchen island and slapped Dylan on the back. “You guys sure don’t travel light. You bring the whole house with you?”
“Laugh it up, pal. This could be you in nine months,” Dylan shot back without rancor.
A stricken look crossed Jake’s face at the realization of that statement. A hand went to his chest and stayed there as if the arrow had pierced right through his heart. “Point taken.”
“Good. Then make yourself useful and get the cooler of beer out of the car,” Dylan told him with mock contempt as he went about trying to find the best place to set up the port-a-crib so Sarah would have a place to nap later.
Jake disappeared down the hallway, considering D
ylan’s comment and realizing truer words were never spoken. In nine months, he could be hauling around a baby and all the trappings that went with one. Surprisingly, the idea didn’t freak him out. He’d wanted kids once and, now that he had Kit, the possibility he might actually become a dad was more of a reality than it ever had been before.
By the time Jake reached Dylan’s SUV, Reese was unwinding his lanky frame out of his sporty Lexus. Dressed in jeans and an ancient Nirvana T-shirt, he stretched his back. “Jesus, it’s a long way out here. Traffic was awful. If you’re planning to commute back and forth to Westlake Village every day from here you should think about getting one of these.” He tapped the hood of his sporty hybrid 600.
“Good idea,” Jake said absently. Any other time he’d like nothing more than to give the car a once-over, but at the moment, his mind conjured up the prospect of baby car seats and minivans.
Reese took a moment to look at the house for the first time and whistled. “Wow. This is some place.” His eyes took in the angles and curves of the massive Victorian, the wide wraparound porch, and the curved balcony upstairs. He took in the view. Built on the top of a cliff overlooking San Madrid’s little fishing village, he stared out into the ocean. “What did you pay for this?” Reese asked, as if being the man’s lawyer entitled him to certain specifics.
When Jake threw out a ridiculously low figure, Reese whistled again. “You got a helluva deal. How much have you sunk into the place remodeling it though?” When Jake threw out another figure, this one not so low, Reese chuckled. “Well, let’s see what that kind of money gets you.”
They retrieved the cooler with the beer out of the back of Dylan’s SUV, reminiscent of their college days at Cal-Berkeley, and started walking toward the house. They met Dylan on the wraparound front porch. He had a serious look on his face. “I know we agreed not to talk about this today, but before Quinn gets here maybe we should talk while the women are out of earshot.”
Jake shook his head. “I don’t think Quinn’s going to be able to make it. Last I heard she had to work. But yeah, I think we need to talk, there’s something I need to tell you guys and I don’t want Kit to know about it yet.”
“Actually, Quinn’s coming, after she gets a little shuteye. But she’s one of the reasons I wanted to talk to you. Cade showed up at the hospital yesterday morning after her shift ended. I thought Donovan was supposed to be keeping an eye on these guys. If that’s true, I’d say he’s doing a damn lousy job of it.”
Reese stopped short and stared at Dylan, but it was Jake who offered, “I already chewed on Donovan some over what happened. He has a guy tailing after Kit and one on Baylee. As of yesterday afternoon, one’s following Quinn now, too.”
“That can’t be. There’s been no one around Baylee except me.”
“Donovan says the guy’s been there. If he’s any good, don’t you think it’s better if you don’t see him?”
“I don’t like this. Baylee might’ve had the right idea after all. I should just get her out of L.A. and take her some place safe where Connor can’t find her.”
“And where would that be exactly?” Jake asked in mock irritation.
Knowing he’d been left out of the loop, Reese finally interjected, “Wait, back up here a minute, Dylan. What the hell happened yesterday between Cade and Quinn?”
Dylan went into a lengthy explanation about Cade’s face-to-face threat, about his breaking into her locker, Connor’s three a.m. phone call, and about the fact that Connor had heard Sarah over the phone. But before they could get into more specifics, Kit opened the front door and the conversation came to a screeching halt.
Assuming they’d probably been discussing the Boyds, she went on the offensive. “I thought we agreed to put this aside for today, just one damn day. Can we agree no more talk about them? Besides, it’s time to get the meat on the grill. Quinn’s about twenty minutes out.”
Reese couldn’t help it, at the mention of Quinn showing up, his pulse picked up. “I thought she was going to get some sleep.”
“She said she got four hours. For Quinn that’s a lot. I hope she’s okay, though; she sounded a little strange. It’s probably all those hours.” At least Kit hoped that was the reason and not because Cade had threatened Quinn again. She turned accusingly to Jake, reminding him, “I want all of us to have fun today, not sit around discussing them, okay?”
Jake shot Dylan a reproachful look. “We got it. We’ll get the grill going.”
As they made their way inside, Reese turned to Kit. “How’d Quinn manage to get the day off?”
“She got off work Sunday morning around seven but got called back in around six in the evening to work another twelve hours for some guy who had more seniority and had a family emergency. Due to the hours she put in over the past forty-eight, she had downtime coming.”
After stopping at the kitchen for a beer, the men collectively went outside to fire up the grill and do any talking away from the house.
But the festive mood had changed.
Thirty minutes later, Kit and Quinn stood on top of the well-worn path from the beach watching a relaxed Baylee walk side by side with Dylan. “I don’t think she’s looked this stress-free in all the months she’s been back in L.A. And have you noticed, she’s acting like her old self again.” It did Kit’s heart good to see Baylee enjoying herself.
“It must be the hair,” Quinn said, as she watched a blonde Baylee, dressed in a pair of low rise shorts and a cropped sleeveless top, head up the well-worn path from the beach back up to the house, deep in conversation with surfer dude, who was toting the baby. “Can you believe how incredible she looks? She sure doesn’t look like she’s ever had a baby. She looks like she weighs the same as she did when she was about fifteen.”
“I hope I look that good six months after childbirth.”
Quinn almost tripped on a rock. “Is there something you want to tell me?”
Kit laughed. “I’m not pregnant—yet. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t want it to happen. I’ve got the nursery all picked out upstairs. When I give you guys the grand tour, I want you to tell me what you think.”
“Right away? Don’t you want to give it some time, see if this thing works out?”
“Oh, Quinn. I’ve been in love with Jake Boston my whole life. And he loves me. I’m so happy it’s—scary. I can’t ever remember being this happy before.”
“You deserve it.”
“Did you hear what he did?” Kit cocked her head in the direction of Dylan.
After the kind of shift she’d had that morning, Quinn was more than ready for some gossip, some down time, eager to spend time just hanging with her friends. “If you tell me the guy’s into kinky shit, then I’m going to have to run up this hill, bitch-slap him upside the head, and then find her another place to crash.”
Kit laughed. “Nothing kinky that I know of, Mom. No, he had Reese amend Sarah’s birth certificate so he’s listed as her father.”
“Aww, that’s sweet. Okay, so he isn’t the pervert I thought he was. But that doesn’t change his major player status. Who knew the guy would be such a boy scout with a heart of gold when it came to Sarah. All I know is he better not hurt Baylee. She has enough to deal with without having another guy take advantage of her.”
At Quinn’s tone, Kit turned to give her friend a long look. “Cade scared the shit out of you, didn’t he?” She saw Quinn swallow hard and recognized the second the veneer dropped away. After all, they’d been friends since third grade, not as long as Kit had known Baylee, but long enough to know each other’s moods and familiar with each other’s temperament.
“Yeah. He got to me. He always does. But there’s something I need to tell you, something I didn’t mention to Baylee or Dylan.”
Kit’s radar went off. “What?”
“I got the impression—and maybe it’s just that—but I got a sense that Connor’s sort of hung up on Baylee, kind of like the same sick way Collin is hung up on you.”
/> “What makes you say that?”
“The way Cade said Connor was looking for her, the way he said that Connor would eventually find her. The way he reminded me that Connor always gets what he wants. It was just—creepy. It reminded me of the weird way Collin always acted when he was around you, like that time he cornered you in the cabana house at the Enclave.”
Kit remembered all right. If she hadn’t screamed the house down, Quinn and Baylee would never have known where she was and come to her rescue. “I caught Connor once trying to get Baylee to leave with him. We were about fifteen at the time. It was during Collin’s birthday party. He’d spent a considerable amount of time trying to get her to dance with him. He’d been drinking. He had to be in his twenties when it happened.” She paused before adding, “And you know as well as I do that Cade hasn’t gotten over you, not by a long shot.”
“It’s been four damn years.”
“Yeah, but Collin and I were never together. You guys were actually a couple, you…”
“Go ahead, say it, we slept together. What can I say? It lasted for six weeks and I’ve regretted it so many times since. How was I supposed to know he’d beat the crap out of me?”
Kit cocked her head and gave her a disbelieving look.
“Okay, okay. You and Baylee tried to warn me. I was young and stupid. I admit it. But why can’t he just leave me the hell alone?”
As they followed Baylee and Dylan from a distance back up to the house, Kit wondered that too. Why couldn’t the Boyds somehow drop off the planet?
“You don’t have to hold her, you know. You can put her down as soon as we get back to the house. That’s why we brought the Pack ‘N Play,” Baylee pointed out as they made their way up the steep hill back to the house.
He knew that. Hadn’t he been the one to load the thing into the car? But for now Dylan was content to hold Sarah as she slept and give her mother a little break from doing everything she usually did. He noted she looked so much more relaxed today than she had over the last forty-eight hours. And Dylan realized then and there that keeping Baylee happy was something he very much wanted to do, one way or another.
Deeper Evil (The Evil Secrets Trilogy Book 2) Page 19
