by Alison Stone
"Violet was just telling me why she was sticking around Hunters Ridge," Chad said.
"Oh." Theo lifted his eyebrows, waiting. "I thought she was here because we're not exactly organized."
"Hey, I make the sales. I do my part." Chad smiled and stepped out of the doorway and flicked his hand to say goodbye. "Let's hope that fire doesn't put us behind the eight ball."
Theo sat opposite the desk and paused a minute while Chad walked away. "My cousin's in a chatty mood."
"I'm more partial to the strong, silent type."
A twinkle lit his eyes. "Oh, yeah?"
"Yeah, so I can get some work done." She leaned back in the chair and tapped her fingers on the edge of her desk in expectation.
"Fair enough." His smile warmed her heart and she thought about how his lips had felt on her mouth, her throat…
She hoped he couldn't see the heat burning her cheeks.
"How's it going?" he asked.
She shuffled a few papers, happy to be on neutral ground. "I explained to Chad that I should be able to piece together the records." She fingered the thumb drive again. "Chad had backed up some of his records digitally."
"I didn't think he was that organized."
"Surprise!" she said in an exaggerated tone. "It'll take a little longer, but we'll make it work."
"Thank you." Their eyes locked and lingered for a moment too long, making Violet glance down at her hands. "How's Liam?" She missed him hanging out in the office after school this past week. He was still recovering at home after getting out of the hospital.
"He's good. Jenny and his aunt are with him now. He asked about you. He was worried you had been hurt in the fire."
Violet pressed her hand to her chest, touched by Liam's concern.
"Liam doesn't remember seeing you in the hospital. He must have been in shock." Theo apparently sensed her concern because he added, "Don't worry, I assured him you were fine."
Violet smiled and nodded. "That's good." She pushed a stack of receipts to the side. "Any new updates from the sheriff's department?" She found herself holding her breath waiting for the answer.
"No. A deputy talked to Elmer, but got more of the same. He's angry, but there's no evidence he's behind the attacks or the fire." He tilted his head to look into her eyes and answered the question she didn't dare ask. "And Jenny's anger has gone from a rolling boil to a slow simmer."
"Do you think she's that vengeful?"
"She's Liam's mom." That didn't really answer the question, but she didn't push it.
"I called the detective in charge of Abby's murder case. They still don't have any new leads."
“I’m here for you, okay?”
His words of comfort made her think of the other night on the sofa, and she didn’t want to think about that right now. It made her feel too vulnerable and wish for things that could never be.
"Hey," Theo said, thankfully changing the subject. "Liam asked me to invite you to dinner tonight at the house."
"Oh, I-I…" Violet stammered, suddenly feeling like a bug being examined under a microscope.
"It would mean a lot to him."
"To Liam?" A warmth coiled around her heart when she noticed the smile lines around his eyes. Theo was such a handsome man. A kind man. The type of man she could see herself with if she could see herself settling down. And she couldn’t. Certainly not in Hunters Ridge.
She studied the small space, the unfinished walls, the cement floor. This was not the type of environment she had envisioned herself working in when she was a young girl. She wanted to be like her mom. Travel the world. Be glamorous.
Make her mom proud.
She met his gaze and smiled. "You're right, I'd hate to disappoint him."
A slow smile curved the corners of his mouth on his handsome face. "I'll drive you over after work."
Violet shook her head. "I'll drive over in my mom's SUV. This way you won't have to go out at the end of the evening to drive me home."
"Are you sure? It doesn't feel right."
"I won't tell anyone."
He gave her a skeptical, lopsided smile.
Her heart kicked up a notch at the thought of getting behind the wheel, but she knew if she wanted to move forward, completely recover, she had to do things out of her comfort zone.
And tonight, driving wasn't the only thing out of her comfort zone.
Theo didn't feel like a gentleman by leaving Violet to drive over to his house for dinner on her own, but he knew better than to argue with her. Forcing herself to do things was a way for her to recover. He just wished the sheriff's department had some leads on who firebombed his office. Until then, he wouldn't feel comfortable leaving her alone.
When Theo arrived home, he placed the pizzas he had ordered on the counter. He looked around and found Liam watching TV with his cousin Noah. Jenny and her sister, Mandy, were out back having a smoke. He bit back his annoyance. They had arrived here early and let themselves in. He'd have preferred to meet them at the door and send them on their way after they dropped off Liam.
Liam's safe. That's all that counts, he reminded himself.
"Hey, guys," Theo called to the boys with a forced cheeriness he didn’t feel, as he took off his jacket and tossed it on the back of a chair. Jenny sucked the joy out of his life.
Liam jumped up from the couch and raced over to his dad. "You picked up pizza. This means Miss Violet is coming?"
Theo crouched down to get on his son's level and gave him a huge bear hug. "She's on her way."
A swift breeze blew in from the back porch. Theo turned to see Jenny standing in the entryway of the glass sliders, a rush of smoke escaping her lips. "Who's on her way?"
Liam dipped his head shyly, but didn't answer.
"Miss Violet is coming over to see Liam. She hasn't seen him since the day of the fire."
"She's the reason there was a fire!"
Theo straightened and patted his son on the head. "Take Noah and run upstairs and find those books you wanted to show Violet. She'll be here soon."
He waited a few counts until the boys were upstairs and out of earshot. Then he turned to Jenny. "Don't do this. Your son's fine. The fire was not Violet's fault."
"Don't treat me like I'm stupid. The sheriff's deputy came sniffing around my house." She narrowed her gaze at him. "You really think I'd do something like that? You think I'm that evil? We have a child together." She shook her head in disgust. "Someone has it in for her and it's not me."
Mandy slipped in from outside, apparently noticed the heated exchange and immediately followed the boys’ laughter to the upstairs. Theo could hear her telling Noah to come get his boots on, that they were going home.
"Please don't discuss any of this in front of Liam. He needs to be a little boy."
"And he's not because of me, right? It's all my fault."
There was no talking to Jenny when she got like this. "Jenny, you can be a good mom. Just keep on the path."
She waved her hand in dismissal. "You think you're too good for me, but you're not." She narrowed her gaze at him. "You think you're going to live happily ever after with Violet, but it's not going to happen."
Theo gritted his teeth. He wasn't going to egg her on. He glanced toward the stairs to make sure Liam wasn’t coming down. Perhaps Mandy was holding the boys upstairs, waiting for the argument to die down.
"Lower your voice," Theo said.
Jenny stepped closer and practically hissed at him. "She's going to leave, just like everyone else in your life. Me. Your dad. Your mom."
Bull’s-eye.
"Stop, Jenny. Now."
"No, I'm doing you a favor because you're too stupid to see it. Violet's never going to stay with you. You're simply a convenient place to land when the big bad world has gotten too rough for her."
"Jenny," he warned her again, but she kept ranting.
"You think I'm messed up. You weren't in the bathroom the night of the prom. She freaked out. Literally freaked." There wa
s a gleeful quality to her voice that scraped across his nerves. "She's crazy. It's easier to hide her kind of crazy behind designer clothes and an expensive haircut." She grabbed the door handle and twisted it. "Do yourself a favor. Dump her before she dumps you."
Jenny slipped outside, and as if on cue, Mandy came down the stairs followed by Liam and Noah.
Anger pulsed through Theo’s veins, but he kept it in check for the benefit of his son. "Thank you for keeping Liam today. Looks like he's doing well enough to go back to school."
"Awww, Dad."
Theo tussled his son's hair. "I'll give you another day or two, if that's okay with your Aunt Mandy." Visits with Jenny still had to be supervised.
"Of course. Drop him off on the way to work tomorrow."
"I will. Thanks again."
Mandy patted his arm in understanding as she passed. "Everything will work out fine." Then she lowered her voice. “Jenny will chill. She always does.”
Mandy and Noah slipped out the door. Liam ran over to the pizza on the island and lifted the lid. "Yum, it smells good." Theo watched his son for a minute. He didn't seem to be any worse for the wear. Maybe he hadn't heard him and Jenny arguing.
How many times did I pretend everything was okay in my house as a kid when my parents fought? He didn't want to be a problem, too, but his mom had left anyway.
"Hey, buddy, you know I'm not going anywhere, right? I'll always be here for you no matter what."
"Sure, Dad." Liam seemed indifferent as he hopped down from the stool with a thud of feet on the hardwood floor. He opened the pantry and tugged on a package of paper plates until he freed it from between the shelf and the rarely-used crockpot.
Then he said a quick prayer that he and Jenny didn't ruin this awesome kid.
Chapter 17
Violet slowed and turned on her directional, squinting to see the number on the mailbox at the end of the driveway. This was the address Theo had given her. She should have known by the magnificent play set in the backyard visible from the road. She imagined a kid could spend hours on it, even in the snow. Her excitement at seeing the play set shifted to dread when she saw Jenny reaching for the door handle of the car parked in the driveway.
"Oh, no.” For a split second, Violet considered driving past the house to avoid a confrontation. Then inwardly she laughed. What happened to the woman who handled multi-million dollar business deals on a regular basis without backing down? Ever. She missed her fearless self. "Here goes nothing," she muttered and turned into the driveway.
She wiped her sweaty hand on her thigh, knowing she couldn't keep running from stressful situations. She had to face them head-on and learn to walk through her anxiety, no matter how uncomfortable it got. Besides, nothing bad would happen. Theo was close by. His truck was parked in the driveway.
Violet pulled up alongside the car and gathered the handles of the grocery bag sitting in the seat next to her. Politeness wouldn't allow her to show up for dinner empty-handed.
Violet waited a minute before opening the car door, hoping Jenny would get into the car and leave, solving the issue of making small talk. She made like she was checking something in the bag.
Out of the corner of her eye, she sensed Jenny hovering outside the window.
Feeling like a fish in a tank, Violet realized she couldn't sit in the car indefinitely. Taking a deep breath, she pushed open the door and Jenny moved swiftly toward her. Jenny's hip bumped Violet's door. A dull pain shot through Violet's leg where the door made contact.
What in the world?
"Oh, I'm sorry," Jenny said as she backed up and pressed her hand to her chest in mock apology.
Violet pushed the door all the way open and climbed out. They had gone to high school together, graduated together, but their lives had taken such different paths. Yet here they both stood in Theo Cooper's driveway, all these years later.
Oh, what twists and turns lives took. It was like Violet couldn't move beyond her past unless she looked it square in the eye.
"What are you doing here?" Jenny asked. Violet thought she heard a woman behind the wheel telling her to hurry up and get into the car. She must be Mandy, Jenny’s older sister, and the little boy in the back seat must be Liam’s cousin.
"Having dinner." Violet kept her answer short, baffled that Jenny would act this way in front of an audience. She thought she should explain to Jenny that her relationship with Theo was strictly professional. But a quiet voice told her if she tried to explain that to Jenny, it would come off as protesting too much. And really, was that the truth?
She dipped her head, afraid Jenny would read the truth in her eyes.
"How nice," Jenny said drolly. "Did Theo invite you?"
The dome light on the other car popped on as the driver climbed out. "Come on, Jenny. Let's go."
"One minute. We're talking here."
"Don't cause a scene. Liam's right inside," Mandy said.
"One minute," Jenny insisted, then turned back to Violet. "Are you and Theo dating?"
The car door closed, Jenny’s sister obviously growing impatient.
Violet studied Jenny carefully, then said, "Liam invited me for dinner."
Liam's mother jerked her head back and Violet immediately realized her mistake. Violet should have said yes and not offered the whole truth. "My son invited you for dinner?" A deep line marred her forehead. Jenny had been a striking woman before drugs got their claws into her. Now, she was still pretty, but dark bags lined her eyes and her skin had aged. Violet hoped for Liam's sake that she maintained her sobriety.
Violet shifted the grocery bag to her other hand, then slipped her free hand into her pocket to warm her fingers. "He was worried about me." Jenny stared at her, slack-jawed, so Violet quickly added, "After the fire."
"That you're responsible for."
The venom in Jenny's tone sent icy dread pulsing through Violet's veins. She clamped her mouth shut, fighting the urge to defend herself.
"You had no business leaving Liam alone in the trailer that day.”
"I'm grateful your son wasn't hurt more seriously." Violet wasn't looking to make any excuses.
Jenny's angry facade seemed to crack for a second before she braced herself again. "You might be used to getting what you want with your fancy clothes and money, but remember my son is flesh and blood. He's going to be destroyed when you leave him."
Violet's mouth grew dry. "I have no plans to hurt Liam."
"Are you planning to stay in Hunters Ridge?" Jenny shot her an accusatory glare.
"Hello, Violet," Theo called from the front porch. "Everything okay out there?"
"I'll be right in." Violet smiled tightly at Jenny, eager to make her escape.
"You're not going to move in on my family. This is my family," Jenny said under her breath so no one other than Violet could hear. “I’ve told you that.”
"It's just dinner." Violet took a few steps toward the door.
"Cut your losses now. Save everyone a lot of trouble."
"Have a nice evening." The light reflecting on the windshield made it impossible to see Mandy behind the wheel. "I'm going in. It's too cold out here." Violet didn't breathe a sigh of relief until she was inside and Theo was helping her off with her coat.
"Everything okay?" Theo asked. He glanced into the other room to make sure Liam wasn't within earshot. "I'm sorry you had to deal with her."
"I guess as long as I'm in Hunters Ridge I'll have to get used to it." Jenny's caution about hurting Liam rang in her ears.
"No, you shouldn't have to deal with that. There's no excuse." He kept his voice low.
Violet heard footsteps pounding across the hardwood floor. Liam flung himself toward her and wrapped his arms around her waist. Feeling totally out of her element, she smoothed his hair, then crouched down and returned his embrace. Her gaze traveled to the window and she considered Jenny's warning that this was her family.
Pushing aside her feelings of uneasiness—Violet had been under so mu
ch stress lately, she wasn't thinking clearly—she straightened and tugged down the hem of her sweater. "Smells wonderful in here."
"We ordered pizza!"
Theo smiled apologetically. "I didn’t have time to cook."
"That makes two of us. Well, technically, I don’t really cook." She lifted her hand. "But I’m perfectly capable of picking up a prepackaged salad."
"My dad mostly cooks for the two of us because he says it's healthier than pizza and burgers from the takeout place."
"You guys do better than I do. When I'm traveling for work, I eat out all the time. I love to try new restaurants. Food from all different cultures."
"My dad says eating out is expensive. That we need to watch our money."
She pulled her sleeves down over her hands. In her eagerness to engage Liam, she had forgotten how ridiculously indulgent her lifestyle had been. She hadn't meant to appear that way.
Apparently sensing her unease, Theo said, "Liam and I would love to try different restaurants, but there's only so much variety at the Hunters Ridge Diner."
"I love their clam chowder and pies," Liam said.
Violet's eyes widened. "Oh, I haven't had one of their pies in a while. Maybe one day after school you and I can run there for a snack. If I remember correctly, I owe you a hot chocolate and cookies." A chill made her shudder as the memory of black smoke pumping out of the trailer came to mind.
"Can we, Dad?" Liam asked with his usual exuberance.
"Why don't we enjoy this meal first? Then we can plan our next one." Theo reached out and ran the back of his knuckles across his son's cheek.
Violet had a hard time reconciling this man, the warm, compassionate father, with the troublemaker of their youth. People did change. Find their place in the world.
Was that what she was doing, finding her way in this new world? Or was she biding her time, destined to break a little boy's heart—and her own?
Theo looked up and her cheeks heated when she found him studying her. He winked at her in his easygoing manner. "Hungry?"
