“Angel is pretty firmly in your corner,” she said after a moment, not even offerin’ me a greetin’. Her honey-brown eyes fixed on me. “There’s got to be a reason for that. Despite her profession and looks, and what some people think of her because of them, she’s not stupid. Neither is she quick to trust, especially when it comes to people who’ve let Phoebe down. If you’ve got her onside, there must be a reason. So tell me, Beau, why is Angel convinced of your innocence?”
I was lost for words. Why did I have Angel’s trust? And her almost unshakable faith in my innocence? There was only one reason I could think of. The same reason I’d opened my house, and a small part of my heart, to her in return. “’Cause she knows I love your daughter, ma’am. She knows what Phoebe means to me, and the reason for us bein’ apart until now.”
“You mean what Max did?”
I nodded. “Yes, ma’am.”
There was a chink in her armor and her gaze cast downward for a beat.
“What is it?” I asked. I’d seen that same look on Phoebe’s face, and it never preceded anythin’ good.
“It’s nothing. Just family stuff.”
And I wasn’t family.
“You were saying?”
I ran my hands though my hair and leaned back against the sofa. “I ain’t sayin’ I’m perfect. I know I hurt Phoebe after Max’s interference. Neither of us was innocent, but we’d spoken about it and put it behind us. We were gettin’ on track.” I tipped my head back, unable to meet her eyes any longer.
“Dec told me that you said you spent the night with her before she dis-app-eared.” A shudderin’ breath broke the word into pieces.
By the time my concerned gaze found the screen, she’d gathered control of herself and the stoic mask was back in place. “Yes, ma’am.”
“Can you look me in the eye and promise me you didn’t have anything to do with this?”
I met her eye and nodded. Despite the thousands of miles between us, I had no doubt she’d be able to detect any hint of deception. “I couldn’t hurt her.”
“How can I believe that though? After everything you did to her?”
“Ya can’t. And I know ya can’t. But ain’t ya ever made a mistake? Ain’t ya ever needed to forgive anyone else for makin’ one?”
Her brows dipped as her lips twisted. Seconds later, her eyes narrowed and she stared at me as though seein’ me for the first time. “I know a thing or two about mistakes. And I know more than that about making up for them. People don’t just give you trust once it’s been lost though, you need to earn it back.”
“I ain’t askin’ for ya to trust me. I just want to be involved. I need to help. I’m goin’ stir-crazy here without bein’ able to do anything.”
She scoffed. “Add in four kids to look after, a houseguest, a stack of guilt, a ton of worry, and you might be halfway to where I am at the moment.” She stopped, as if she just realized what she’d said. “Forget I said that. I shouldn’t be complaining.”
“Ya got every right to complain, ma’am. It ain’t easy. On any of us. I can’t imagine havin’ to deal with kids on top o’ it all.”
“I’ve lost two of my strongest lifelines in such a short space of time. I have a company I need to look after that really needs its CEO back because for all the years I’ve been here I still don’t know nearly enough about the technical aspects of the cars. I’ve got kids crying every night, begging for me to tell them when they’ll be able to talk to their sister again, begging for their daddy to come home because it’s the longest he’s ever been away.” She glanced up again and frowned. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to dump this on you.”
A second later, she forced herself back into the emotionless woman who had greeted me when I first answered the call. Only now, I saw behind the veneer of calm. There was a storm ragin’ behind her mask, and only one way to fix it. The same thing that would fix us all.
“If ya don’t mind me sayin’ it, ma’am, I do understand. And I appreciate you takin’ the time today to listen to my side of the story. I’m here to answer anythin’ ya like. All I want in return is a chance to be involved with the case ag’in. To find out what the police are sayin’, and to help where I can. I don’t care if that’s litterin’ every city with notices, or door knockin’ every apartment in her buildin’. I just need to do something.”
“If you’re an open book, and really mean all the things you’ve said, then tell me just one thing you love about Phoebe.”
I couldn’t help smilin’ as I ran my fingers over the scruff on my chin. “’Sides her eyes, it’d have to be her heart. Even though I thought different for a while, I know she’s got the biggest heart o’ anyone I know. She always wants to make sure everyone is taken care of, even if that means she’s missin’ out. My . . . friend is pregnant, and Phoebe offered to help out as much as possible despite everythin’ that happened between them. She’s a good person, inside and out. She doesn’t like seein’ people hurt or sufferin’.” My smile grew into laughter as I said, “And she’s passionate about women’s rights.”
Phoebe’s mama chuckled along with me. “She grew up in a misogynistic environment and always vowed she’d make it better when she was older.”
“If anyone could revolutionize racing, it’d be Phoebe.” The voice came from behind me, and I saw Angel had come back in. “So are you two friends?”
“I don’t know about friends,” I murmured. “But Mrs. Reede hasn’t disconnected the call yet, so I guess that’s a positive.”
When I glanced back, I saw Phoebe’s mama attemptin’ to hide a smirk.
“How is everyone there?” Angel asked, roundin’ the sofa to sit beside me.
Her question gave me a moment to take stock and not have to worry about what was happening.
Mrs. Reede shrugged. “As good as you could expect really.”
“Have you told Max what his little stunt did?” Angel asked, her arms crossed over her chest. “Mr. Reede won’t tell me that.”
“I’d rather not talk about it.”
“Why not, Mrs. R.?” The confusion in Angel’s voice was evident. “You have told him, haven’t you? Someone needs to straighten him out.”
“Of course we’ve spoken to him about it, but lumping more guilt onto a child isn’t going to do anyone any good.” Her tone was no-nonsense.
“Did he at least say why he did it?” Angel asked. She wasn’t backin’ down, and I wanted to leave the room before things got any worse. I didn’t wanna be involved in an argument so soon after meetin’, and perhaps even startin’ to win over, Phoebe’s mama.
“Apparently he thought it would stop Phoebe from leaving the country. When it didn’t, he started to wish that something would happen to frighten her home. Now he’s convinced everything that’s happening is his fault.”
“Good.” Angel crossed her arms over her chest. “He should feel bad.”
Although my reflex action was much the same as Angel’s, I could also see it from his side. I’d been a youngun with a crush before. There wasn’t much I wouldn’ta done to win the heart of Abby back when we were kids. Teenage boys were hardly known for their ability to think things through or make rational choices.
“No,” I said. The moment the word was free, I felt the weight of the gaze of both women. “There ain’t no way anyone coulda seen this happenin’.”
“I’ve tried telling him that, but he doesn’t want to listen. He won’t eat. Won’t talk to anyone. He’s gotten into at least a dozen bust-ups with Brock over it and I’ve had to separate them each time. Parker got in the middle the other day, and—” Once more Mrs. Reede cut off as if she only realized what she was sayin’ partway through. “Never mind.”
“Does he live with you?” I asked. The way Phoebe spoke about him, I figured they were close, but I didn’t realize he lived with them.
“Only when his parents are jet setting around,” Angel murmured to me. “Or when they’re fighting.” She frowned at her hands for a moment. “Are the
y fighting again?”
The question was directed squarely at Phoebe’s mama. I thought the question was a li’l rude. After all, the goin’s-on behind closed doors of adults were not generally discussed with children. So I was a little surprised when Mrs. Reede nodded.
“Morgan’s moved out again. Max . . . well, he had some trouble and ended up in the hospital. Eden and Morgan blamed each other for being too hard on him.” The way she spoke made it clear there were no secrets in their house. It actually made a few things about Phoebe that much clearer. Why she was such a straight shooter, and why she knew so much of the history of her parents, including all their dirty laundry.
Angel nodded and stared at her lap. “Phoebe won’t be happy. She hates it when they fight. And for it to be about her in a roundabout way . . .”
My mind was still buzzin’ with the hospital comment. Had he tried to hurt himself? “Can I speak to him?”
“What?” Both the women spoke in almost perfect unison.
“Max. Can I speak to him?”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea. He’s already suffering with his own guilt, he doesn’t need any more piled on top.” I could see the mama bear in Mrs. Reede teasin’ at the surface, and it reminded me so much of Phoebe.
“I ain’t gonna give him any guilt. I swear.” I put my hand over my heart and held up my fingers in a Boy Scout salute.
She seemed a little stunned and reluctant. I wasn’t gonna push, but if I could help on this small issue, I’d feel like I’d done somethin’.
“I—I can ask him, I guess. He’s home from school today. I don’t think he’ll want to though.”
“I understand. How about I leave Angel’s Skype connected for the next half hour. If he agrees to talk with me, all he has to do is call.”
Her mouth twisted into shapes that reminded me of Phoebe when she concentrated. No doubt Mrs. Reede was wonderin’ why I wanted to speak to him.
She mightn’ta asked the question, but I decided to answer it anyways. “When I was a kid, I did some stupid things. Ten times worse than what he did with his lies. I had someone put me right. I ain’t sayin’ I can do that for him, but maybe I can make him see he ain’t alone.”
“I’ll ask him, I guess. Don’t be surprised if he says no. The same for my husband. Dec can be very . . . stubborn when he’s got his mind set on something. So he may not ever willingly involve you in things.”
“I understand. I appreciate ya takin’ the time to speak to me.”
“You should probably thank Angel for that. She’s never one to shy away from pushing when it comes to decisions people need to make.”
Angel blushed and ducked her head. “Someone’s gotta push through the politeness that stalls the action.”
We said our good-byes before Mrs. Reede disconnected. As promised, I left my Skype connected to Angel’s log-in just in case Max wanted to face me. Considerin’ the circumstances, it’d take a pretty strong nerve, but so did the lies he’d told, so I couldn’t be sure one way or the other.
“So you were a bad boy when you were younger, were you?”
“Why doesn’t it surprise me that of everythin’, that caught your attention?”
“Because I know the rest of what you were talking about. But outside of what Phoebe’s told me, I still don’t know you all that well. It seems to me that it’s part of my duty as the best friend to dig up all the gossip and make sure there’s no skeletons buried in your closet.”
Despite the words bein’ well intentioned, they were a reminder of Phoebe’s absence. I was about to say somethin’ more, when Skype alerted me to an incomin’ call. It was from Phoebe’s mama. Either it was her callin’ back to ask somethin’ more, or she’d convinced Max to call.
I scooped up the laptop and disappeared into my study. If it was Max, I didn’t want Angel interferrin’ and gettin’ involved in the conversation. If it was Mrs. Reede, I could always move the computer again if she wanted Angel. I kicked the door closed behind me as I moved before placin’ the laptop on the desk.
Even as I sank into the office chair, I pushed the Answer button.
A young man filled the screen. His blonde hair was wavy and hung long around his face. Blue eyes peeked out from behind the coverin’. Underneath, his skin was pale and sunken. His shoulders were almost unnaturally slim, as though he’d always been a little reedy, but had stopped eatin’ altogether. I understood what Angel had said about showin’ me a photo of him one day to show me how crazy it was that I’d ever believed him.
Truth was, for his age he was probably right on track, except the li’l stumbling block he was facin’ ’cause of his guilt. But to imagine him bein’ with Phoebe—with her grown-up curves and usually mature traits—just seemed impossible.
“Howdy.” I nodded. Although I’d wanted to speak to him, to see if I could get through to him to alleviate some of the stress, now that I was in front o’ him, I wasn’t sure exactly what I wanted to say.
“Mrs. R. said you wanted to speak to me.” His tone was flat and lifeless.
“Yeah. I thought maybe we should have a little chat about what happened.”
He sat back, rolled his eyes, and shoved his arms across his chest. “Go on then.”
“Go on and what, exactly?”
“Go on and rant and yell. I know you wanna. Tell me how shitty it was. Tell me it makes me the worst person in the world. You wouldn’t be the first.”
“I don’t think there’s a single thing I can say that ya ain’t already thought.”
“Don’t you wanna know why I did it?”
I gave him a halfhearted smile. “I know Phoebe. I know why ya did it. I wouldn’t wanna lose her either. I’d be scared a lettin’ someone else get close to her, ’specially in another country. Twelve months could easily stretch into more.”
He wriggled up in his seat and his back straightened. “But you broke up with her because of what I said. Didn’t you?”
“I ain’t gonna lie to ya. Course it caused some issues, and things woulda been easier for Phoebe if ya hadn’t made a silly choice. But I think ya know that, and I don’t think me sayin’ more about it is gonna help none.”
He stared at me with open contempt. Buried beneath that, though, was somethin’ else. Somethin’ darker.
“Ya don’t have to blame yourself for what’s happened. No one else blames ya.”
“Like you’d have any fucking clue what anyone thinks. Or any idea what I’m going through.”
“You’re right. I don’t. I know what I’m goin’ through. I know what Mr. and Mrs. Reede are goin’ through. I know that they don’t need no more stress, but that they worry about you like you’re their own son. And I know that they don’t want ya to be hurtin’ over this.”
“Even my parents think this is my fault. They split up again because of me.”
“It ain’t that simple. People don’t split up just ’cause a one thing. Even Phoebe and me, if we hadn’t been separated by distance, barely able to speak to each other, and if I hadn’t heard her talkin’ to other guys about dates—if she hadn’t tol’ me she was goin’ out with friends—I probably woulda laughed off what ya tol’ me. But there were just too many li’l things that added up to a whole lotta trouble for us. What ya said is part of it, but that don’t make it all your fault.”
“Brock blames me.” Tears swam in his eyes, and his scowl deepened. I recognized it from my own experience. Before Mabel and Abby, anyone who tried to reach me got a servin’ of attitude. “He called me a cunt and told me to rot in hell.”
“He shouldn’ta said that. It ain’t gonna help no one to be blamin’ each other. There’s only one person who is the cause of this, and that’s the one who stole Phoebe away.”
“I just want Phoebe to be safe. I don’t want to be the cause of all of this. I-I love her. And I know you’ll probably laugh at me and call me stupid for saying that, just like everyone else does, but she’s always been so nice to me. And she’s so pretty.”
Despite what I’d thought, and what he’d done, he wasn’t a threat to me. He was a kid with an unrequited crush—one that he’d likely get over before the year was out. He didn’t deserve my anger. “I know, kid. You’re preachin’ to the choir.”
“Why’d you wanna talk to me anyway?”
“’Cause I thought ya needed to know it wasn’t your fault. That maybe you needed to hear it from someone ya don’t know so well. When I was a kid, not much older than you, I did stupid things too. I only ended up hurtin’ myself, but it coulda easily a gone differently. ’Sides, even though you shouldn’ta said what you said, I shouldn’ta believed it so easily either. None of that means we wanted anythin’ bad to happen to Phoebe though. No one is to blame but the person who stole Phoebe away.”
“Whatever.” Although the word sounded dismissive, and it was accompanied by the typical eye roll of a sassy teenager, he sat a tiny bit straighter in his seat after my words. I could only hope I’d done him some good. Not long after that, we disconnected the call, and I signed out of Angel’s Skype account. I’d had about all the communication I could stand for one night.
I didn’t even say good night to Angel, just headed into my bedroom where I lay, starin’ at the ceilin’ and tryin’—failin’—to convince myself that Phoebe disappearin’ wasn’t my fault.
I TOOK ANGEL to breakfast in the restaurant as an apology for headin’ off without a good-bye the way I had. After breakfast, we wandered around some of the places she’d visited with Phoebe when they were both here.
Angel was safe on my property, logically I knew that, but that didn’t stop me trailin’ along behind her and not lettin’ her outta my sight. Once more, I felt that her safety was my primary concern until I could get her back to Mr. Reede.
As we walked, she asked questions about me. Everythin’ from why I was in foster homes to why I left each one. In return, she told me very little about herself. Instead, she gave me old stories of mischief she got into with Phoebe.
Beastly (Phoebe Reede: The Untold Story #3) Page 19
