Of course, I’d called my mother as soon as we got back to the cabin. The poor woman had almost been ready to hire a detective to search for us. She cried, and I cried, and we talked for an hour. When I told her I’d found Callie and mentioned that we’d also found Sky, she actually seemed happy. After her attitude toward Callie in the past years, it was a welcome relief. We’d see whether or not she’d maintain the grace she showed on the phone. It wasn’t likely. Remember, we’re talking about Thelma here.
I’d even called Detective Runyon, the feisty black cop to whom we’d fibbed back in Callie’s house when it all began. I wanted her to know that Callie was safe and that we were part of the mess that had been all over the news. She’d thanked me and promised to stop by sometime to have a drink and do a bit of fishing from our dock. Apparently she’d heard the rumors that our spot was the best on the west side, and she had a real penchant for bass.
I stretched out my legs, enjoying the feeling of the sun dancing on them. Overhead, a slight breeze stirred the balsam and pine trees. The river, with its ubiquitous soft murmurs, comforted me, and the sound of birds chirping reassured me, once again, that everything would be all right.
I reached for my tumbler of ice water flavored with lemon, grapefruit, and spearmint oils. Sky had been teaching us over the past few days about various uses for the products, including culinary applications I’d never imagined. He’d made orange almond cookies with real orange oil, some fancy French dish with lavender, and had talked about endless possibilities.
A few of his oils sat in their cute brown bottles on the arm of my chair. I had smoothed on the Purification blend to keep the mosquitoes away, the Idaho balsam fir to heal my swollen joints and muscles, and I’d even dabbed some Thieves on the corner of my mouth where I felt a cold sore coming on. Sky said it would heal it almost immediately. Yesterday, it had been burning and tingling. Today, only a soft red patch remained. I vowed the minute we got home to go online and order my own kit. But I didn’t want just the “starter” kit. Seven oils wouldn’t cut it for me. I wanted them all.
Callie woke from her snooze. She looked around suddenly, as if waking from a bad dream. “Where’s Sky?” Her hands clenched the arms of her chair.
I reached for the roll-on bottle of rutavala oil and applied it to her wrists. Sky had used it all week, touting its calming properties. “He’ll be right back. They just went to get the hemp necklace from the Jacuzzi area.” I picked up the stress away bottle and rolled it on her neck and arms for good measure. “Here you go. Just relax, hon.” The clean scent of lime and vanilla greeted me. I rolled it all over my own wrists and inhaled deeply. “Man, that’s a good one.”
Callie leaned her elbows on her knees and took a deep breath. “I still can’t believe it.”
I turned to her and smiled. We’d had way too much unbelievable stuff happen over the past weeks. “Which part?”
“Willow. My mother. I mean my…my grandmother. The fact that she lied to me; the fact that my own mother didn’t love me.” She clasped her hands behind her head and leaned back again. “It’s all so convoluted.”
I reached for her hand. “I know, hon. It’s insane. When Sky first told me, I couldn’t believe it. Then, I started to think back and it made sense. It was scary how much sense it made, actually.”
She shuddered a little. “I know. I just wish I’d been able to talk to Willow—my mother—about it.”
I figured it was probably just as well that she hadn’t. If Willow had been freed up to tell Callie how much she resented and hated her, it might have been unbearable. She would have crushed my friend, I was sure of it.
Reaching into my purse, I drew out Callie’s diary and laid it in my lap. Her eyes widened when she saw it, and then brimmed with tears. “Did you read it?”
I handed the little pink book to her. “Just to feel closer to you. I was so worried when they took you.”
“I wrote that when we were teenagers, Marcie. It wasn’t for your eyes.”
The hurt in her voice made me wince. “I’m so sorry. I shouldn’t have.”
She held the book to her chest and looked downriver. “So now you know all my secrets.”
I touched her cheek and smoothed back a wayward lock of hair. “Yes. I do. And I’m so sorry.”
Callie swung back in my direction, her eyes challenging mine. “Why are you sorry? I’m the loser.”
I leaned toward her, my eyes boring into hers. “No, you’re not. I was stupid for not catching on. All I ever did was talk about myself, my love for Sky, and boys, boys, boys. I was selfish, and I’m so sorry for all the pain you went through. I’m sorry I never knew how you felt. It had to be hell.”
As if not quite believing my words, her bottom lip quivered. “I hated being so different.”
“I wish you’d told me.”
“I didn’t dare. People weren’t exactly nice to gay people back then, Marcie.”
“I know. But I would have stood up for you. I swear. You were my best friend.”
Light gradually filled her eyes. “Thank you. Even if you weren’t—that way—you were the best friend a girl could ever want.”
I squeezed her hand and sat up suddenly. “Wait! I forgot.” I fished in my purse for the mood ring I’d stored in the zippered pocket what seemed like ages ago, and held it out to her. “When I was searching your house for clues, I found this.”
She eyed it with affection. “Oh! The mood ring.”
I put it on her pointer finger. “It’s a friendship ring, now. I want you to have it.”
Her eyes clouded. “But I stole it from you. It was so wrong.”
“Don’t be silly. We were just kids then. I want you to have it. Especially for putting up with me all these years.”
Her eyes flashed. “If it wasn’t for you, I wouldn’t have made it. You were my link to sanity. My security. I needed you, and you were always there, Marcie.”
“Aw, honey, you know how much I love you.”
She smiled through tears. “I love you, too.”
Sky and Quinn wandered up from the hill. The hemp necklace swung on Sky’s bare chest, back in its rightful place. Quinn and he chatted easily, as if they’d been pals for years. I smiled at the two of them and dragged two more chairs up, one near me and one near Callie. Quinn plopped beside me, a wet towel slung over his shoulder. His bronze skin glistened with water from the river.
“Did you have a nice dip?” I asked. I smoothed back his thick wet hair, loving the way it felt between my fingers.
He grinned. “I couldn’t resist.”
Sky sat beside Callie, took her hand, and stared at the mountains over the river. “Should we tell them now?”
Quinn and I exchanged a puzzled look. He craned his head around to look at Sky. “Tell us what?”
Callie’s lips curved into a smile. “I’m selling my house.”
I stiffened. “What?”
She stood and walked to the wooden post-and-rail fence that overlooked the river. “I’m moving.”
Frozen, I couldn’t breathe. How could my best friend, who just told me how much I meant to her, just up and leave? I stared at her, looked to Sky, and then slumped down in my chair. My voice came out in a squeak. “Where are you going?”
Sky rose and joined her at the fence. Together, they turned to face us. “Callie’s moving up here with me.”
Still perplexed, I just stared.
Quinn got up, moved behind me, and massaged my shoulders. “What will you do up here, Callie?”
Sky answered for her. “She’s joining my team. She’ll be part of Project Hope.”
The expression of pride in Callie’s eyes was enough to wash away my sadness. I squeezed Quinn’s hand, then ran to her side and hugged her, tight. “I’m so happy for you.”
“We can still see each other all the time. Whenever you come to Tall Pines, you can visit me.”
Not wanting to be left out of the hug fest, Quinn joined us and slid an arm around Callie’s back
. “Where will you live?”
She bit her bottom lip. “Not sure yet. I’m going to sell the emeralds and donate it to the project. But our three houses on Honeoye Lake should bring enough to buy a good place up here. It has to be on the water. And it has to be near Tall Pines, of course.”
“The emeralds?” I exchanged a surprised look with Quinn. “I thought those thugs stole them. We never found them when we searched your house.”
My husband nodded. “And we searched everywhere.”
Callie’s eyes flitted sideways over an enigmatic smile. “I’ll bet you didn’t check my bait basket.”
I snorted a laugh. “What?”
“Yeah. I threw it over the side of the pontoon boat. Knew they’d never look there.”
Before I could loose the barrage of questions that begged to be asked, the porch door opened.
Beau pushed through and Roberta appeared after him. “Anybody hungry?”
I jumped up to greet her. “Hey! I didn’t know you were coming.”
“Wanted to surprise you. Brought some of my soup and fresh bread.”
Quinn and Callie went ahead, and I scooped up the oils from my chair. “Don’t want to forget these.” I held them out to Sky.
He shook his head. “Keep them. If it wasn’t for you, Callie and I would be dead. I’m sure of it.”
“Yeah, but these are yours. They’re worth a lot.”
His lips firmed. “Not anymore. They’ve always been essentially yours, Marcella. I want you to have all of them.”
With a tearful sob, I pressed them to my breast. “Really?”
“Of course. And there will be more where those came from. Wait’ll you try the new sacred frankincense.” His grin broadened. “It’s almost a religious experience.”
I carefully tucked the bottles into my purse and slung it over my shoulder. “I can’t wait.” With no sense of guilt, I linked arms with him.
The river murmured its approval. My feelings had tamed to pure friendship, and I’d come to full terms with old feelings that belonged in the past. Way in the past.
I squeezed his arm and dragged him forward. “Come on. Let’s go in before Quinn eats all the bread.”
Epilogue
Honeoye Lake, Labor Day Weekend
“I don’t like this sofa, Marcella. It’s not comfortable.” My mother bounced on the couch I’d spent hours picking out. “And it’s too purple.”
Sighing, I pushed back a stray lock of hair with my forearm and kept chopping tomatoes. “It’s not purple, Thelma, it’s burgundy. You know, like the wine?”
My mother had stayed with her bridge buddy, Fran, until we got the house back in order. It had taken the rest of August. This was her first day back with us. And it had gone exactly like I’d expected.
She got up and walked into the sunroom. “Quinn forgot to take the stickers off.”
With long orange nails, she picked at the stickers on the sliding glass door we’d replaced just yesterday.
“I know, Thelma. We just didn’t get to it yet.”
She stood up and repositioned the new lamp. “What’s for lunch?” Her nose wrinkled. “I smell onions. You know I don’t like onions.”
I wanted to slap her. “Turkey sausage on the grill, potato salad, green beans. And you don’t have to eat the onions. I’m making homemade salsa. Like I told you this morning, Sky and Callie are coming over for the cookout. Callie loves my homemade salsa.”
She nodded noncommittally and craned her head toward the lake. “Oh my God. There’s a black woman on our dock!”
I wiped my hands on a dishtowel. “Oh good, she’s here.”
My mother’s jaw dropped. “Who’s here?”
“I invited Officer Runyon, too. You remember her, right? She helped us when the house was broken into?”
She craned her neck to watch Claire Runyon tie her skiff to the dock. “She looks different.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. “That’s because she’s not in her uniform.” I covered the fresh salsa with saran wrap and stuffed it in the fridge, then ran outside in my bare feet. The cement walk was still warm. The first few days of September had been very hot. I trotted to her side and looked up. My new friend was a little over six feet tall.
“Hey, Copper.” I threw my arms around her shoulders and kissed her cheek. I’m five foot nine, but I still had to reach up to kiss her.
She encircled me with her beautiful arms and chuckled. “I kind of like my new nickname, Marcie.” She picked up her fishing pole and looked with interest across the lake toward Callie’s cottage. “When are they coming?”
“Soon. Sky said he was almost done with the last coat of paint on the porch.”
Callie and Sky had worked tirelessly on their properties. Sky’s dilapidated cottage was bulldozed to the ground, and he’d started to build a garage to go with Willow’s house. The fresh yellow paint on Callie’s cottage felt like a symbolic facelift, a brand new start on life.
“You’ve got time for a few casts if you want to catch us a nice side dish.”
Copper’s smile lit up the shore. I noticed she was wearing the matching coral necklace and earrings Callie had given her last week as a present for helping her with all the police rigmarole that was required for the report dealing with Willow. They’d spent hours together when Callie returned, and had already gone fishing twice.
Outside.
In a boat.
Under the wide-open skies.
The sun danced on Copper’s smooth skin, and her orange sherbet-colored blouse and khaki shorts set off her lovely dark color.
I stepped back and admired her outfit. “Wow. You look gorgeous.”
The embarrassed smile I’d grown so fond of over the last few weeks crept over her lips. This no-nonsense cop we’d met in July could be quite soft and womanly when she was out of her uniform.
“Thanks. You look pretty nice yourself, Mrs. Hollister.”
I laughed. After weeks of dutiful runs up Cratsley Hill, I’d finally dropped the last stubborn seven pounds.
As a lark, I’d chosen a white sundress I used to wear when I was eighteen. With a white embroidered bodice and a flared skirt, it felt summery. And I sure couldn’t wear it after Labor Day.
I turned in a circle, flouncing my skirt. “It doesn’t look too young for me?”
She wagged a finger at me. “Hell, no. Quinn’s gonna flip out when he sees you in that frock.”
She was so good for my ego. I practically skipped back to the kitchen, just in time to catch Quinn coming in the side door.
What I didn’t expect was the wiggling little furball in his arms. I stopped dead, speechless for the first time in years.
My husband grinned like a goof and set the puppy on the floor. “Go find your mommy.”
I dropped to the floor and let the little mini-Beau climb onto my lap. He wiggled all over, kissing my hands and face. I picked him up and hugged him to me, feeling as if life was finally complete. “You bought me a puppy!”
“Yep. He’s a Bernese Mountain Dog.”
“I know.”
“You like?”
“I love!”
“Good.” He still grinned with that goofy smile.
Thelma trotted out of the bathroom. To my surprise, she smiled at Quinn. “I didn’t give your secret away.”
He linked arms with her. “Thanks, Mother.”
Mother?
She laid her head against his arm. “You’re welcome, dearie.”
Dearie?
I stared at them, and they both shrugged and smiled. There’s a first time for everything.
Ruby squawked from her perch. “Gimme cookies!”
The spell was broken. My new puppy ran toward the cage and barked, running in circles and leaping onto the table that held Ruby’s cage. Ruby jumped off her perch and copied him, sounding more like a barking seasick sailor than a dog. Quinn ran to the cage, soothing his sweet bird, and I picked up my little guy just after he squatted on the new carpet an
d peed.
To my surprise, Quinn laughed. “Hold on. I’ll clean it with my Thieves blend. No biggie.” He ran into the kitchen for one of his six bottles mixed with various oils. He’d thrown out every chemical in the house, and even made me brush my teeth with a Thieves blend toothpaste now.
I laughed, picked up my puppy, and snuggled him to me. “It’s okay, honey. We’ve got lots of time for toilet training.”
Quinn pointed to a new blue leash he’d brought in and tossed onto the couch. “Why don’t you take him for a walk around the lawn, babe.”
Thrilled, I clipped on the new leash and carried him outside to show off to Copper. I hadn’t noticed, but Callie’s pontoon boat had already docked. Sky, Callie, and Copper stood together, laughing in the late afternoon sunshine. Beau sat quietly at Callie’s feet. They waved when they saw me and walked to meet me on the lawn.
Callie’s eyes grew huge. “Oh. My. God.” She dropped to the ground and let the puppy climb all over her. “He’s beautiful, Marcie.”
Beau lay down next to the puppy, sniffed him, and began to lap him all over with his heavy tail thumping the ground.
Sky grinned. “I knew about it all along.”
Callie shot him a frown. “And you didn’t tell me?”
Copper reached down and gently pulled Callie’s ponytail. “You know you can’t keep a secret.”
With a laugh, Callie beamed at Copper, then stuck out her tongue at Sky. “You two. Always conspiring against me.” She looked up at me, totally at ease in the wide-open space of my lawn. “What will you call him?”
I plopped down onto the grass beside her and reached over to pat my new baby. “He’s so soft. Maybe I’ll call him Velvet.”
She laughed. “No, that’s a girl’s name. You’ve got to give him a good strong name. He’ll be huge before you know it, just like Beau.”
I thought for a few minutes while he licked us both. “How ‘bout Adirondack? We could call him Dak for short.”
Sky reached down to pat my puppy. His blond hair had grown even longer over the past month, and his tan had deepened from working on the cottages. “I like it.”
Tall Pines Mysteries: A Mystery/Suspense Boxed Set Page 48
