Purple Knot

by Raquel Byrnes

  “I don’t use it for washing dishes, no.”

  “We have to go…”

  Jimmy started to hurry me out the door, but I remembered the ring. Worry squeezed at my chest and I ran to the bedroom. The blue jewelry box wasn’t there. I gasped back a sob. My engagement ring was missing. “Oh, no!”

  “What is it?” Jimmy’s hand went to the small of my back and he leaned his chin over my shoulder.

  “Nothing, its…nothing.” I was afraid to admit that I no longer had the most important gift he ever gave me. My hands shook and I balled them at my sides. I pushed back tears and shook my head.

  “It’s been five minutes, Rain.” Jimmy looked at his watch. He pulled me toward the front door.

  “Hold on a second.” I jotted a note to Kyle, my cellist neighbor, and taped it to my door. Satisfied, I left with Jimmy. Back in the car I couldn’t hold it in any longer. Sobs ripped from my chest.

  “It’s all right, Rain. We’ll get things back in order in a day or two.” Jimmy reached over and hugged me, but I couldn’t stop shaking.

  He took my hand and rubbed the inner wrist with his thumb. He’d done it since we’d first held hands in high school, an absent-minded habit. I don’t think he knew how it made my heart race. Being next to Jimmy made me feel better despite my wrecked home. He drove to the airport. I let my head fall on his shoulder and closed my eyes. I needed to think.

  “Rain…wake up.” Jimmy’s voice called me back from dreams. He leaned in the passenger side window and brushed the hair from my eyes.

  We were at the airport hangar, and I climbed out of the car and stretched.

  Jimmy’s arm slipped to the small of my back and he led me toward the waiting jet a few yards away.

  “We’re all set, Mr. Corbeau.” The pilot met us at the top of the steps and shook Jimmy’s hand.

  “Thanks, Dan. I want to get in the air as soon as we can. How’s the weather look?”

  “Well, sir, I think it may be raining in Seattle.” A small smile played across Dan’s lips.

  Jimmy said a quick prayer with the pilot and then smiled. “Well, we’re in your capable hands, Dan.”

  “Yes, sir.”

  Once in the air, I settled in the huge leather armchair and fought against the grogginess still clinging.

  Jimmy sat next to me and played with the seat adjust buttons.

  The cabin lights dimmed and I looked out the small window to the city lights below. San Francisco looked peaceful and quiet from this altitude. I bit my lip and fretted over the lost ring. The stone was a family heirloom. Cut and set in platinum to Jimmy’s design, but the stone itself was…a priceless treasure. My stomach flopped. I had to tell him.

  “Jimmy?” My voice cracked.

  “Mmmhmm?”

  “I have…I have to tell you something.”

  His grey eyes searched mine. I couldn’t read his expression and it made my heart ram in my chest even more. I opened my mouth, but he put a hand up.

  “Can you grab my phone?”

  Taken aback, I blinked a few times.

  Jimmy had a strange look on his face.

  “Uh, yeah.” I got up, walked to the chair and pulled his leather briefcase open.

  “It’s in the front pocket.”

  “OK.” I reached in and my hand closed around a box. My heart fluttered and I pulled out a blue velvet ring case. Tears welled and I held my breath as I opened it. Inside was the engagement ring. I looked over at Jimmy.

  “You had it out.”

  I held the case to my chest and nodded.

  “I thought you threw it in the river.”

  “Why would you think that?”

  “I just did.” Jimmy sighed.

  All this time I assumed he wanted me to have it. He’d never asked because he thought it was gone. I felt my cheeks go hot and held the box out to him.

  “Well, it’s not at the bottom of the river. I would never do something like that.”

  “I didn’t give you that ring with conditions. It’s yours, whether you want to wear it or not.” Jimmy’s grey eyes darkened.

  “It’s a family heirloom. It deserves to be in the Corbeau family.”

  Jimmy wrapped his hand around mine, and pulled me to his lap. He kissed me softly on the lips, and then along my jaw. He buried his face in my hair.

  “It will be,” he breathed against my neck.

  Purple Knot

  15

  We landed a couple of hours later at SeaTac and taxied to the private terminal. I tried to make an argument for a hotel, but Jimmy wouldn’t hear of it. We walked to the pick-up curb where I’d met with Jimmy when I’d flown in for Summer, when I’d been here last.

  “You’re not still thinking of running off to a hotel.” He carried my suitcase in one hand and held my hand in his other. “I won’t make you stay with Mona up at Hill House.”

  I looked up at him confused. Hill House was the home Jimmy’s family had in Seattle. It was usually where he stayed when he came into town.

  “I’m not staying at a hotel, and I’m not checked in at the haunted mansion. What do you suggest, then?”

  “That’s nice, Rain.” He tried to scowl but he couldn’t hide the smile.

  “Where do you have in mind?”

  “Your place.”

  “What are you talking about, Jimmy?” I didn’t have a place here.

  He raised his eyebrows, but didn’t answer. Instead he pulled me into one of the black cars waiting by the curb and we drove off.

  Recognizing the scratchy jazz station I leaned forward, tapped on the glass divider between us and the driver, and when it came down I waved at Stern through the rear view mirror.

  “Good to see you again, Ms. Cruz.” He grinned.

  “Where are we going?”

  Stern gave me a, ‘yeah, right,’ look and the divider went back up.

  “You didn’t think he’d spill the beans, did you?”

  My heart ached when we drove past Pike Place Market and headed toward the marina. Jimmy and I got out, and he walked us to the ferry. I started to get curious. He bought tickets to Bainbridge and my stomach started to get queasy. We’d just made the last run to the island. The ferry was almost empty, and we got the good seats in the back by the huge windows.

  “Where are we going?”

  “You know, you’d be a lot less anxious if you didn’t sit around imagining all kinds of disastrous outcomes to our little trip.” Jimmy handed me a hot chocolate from the snack bar. He sat down in a vinyl chair that looked out at the receding Seattle lights.

  “I don’t know what that means, Jimmy.” I was starting to panic now. “You know I hate surprises.”

  “You just don’t have experience with good ones.” He took a sip of his cocoa and looked out of the big cold window. A shadow of sadness crossed his face.

  We disembarked, and the cool night mist floated as we walked up the winding path from the ferry docks to the main village. Jimmy slipped his arm around my waist. His face lit up with the vapor lights every few yards and I could see there was trouble brewing. My whole body quivered with anxiety. I didn’t know what I was doing here.

  Jimmy talked about what Mona had said about Autumn. He showed me the picture on his phone and a pang of sadness rang through me because I would probably never see this beautiful baby in real life. I was so caught up in the details of Parker’s family and Mona’s attempt to ingratiate herself with them that I didn’t notice we had walked to the island’s private marina.

  “Jimmy…” My heart raced. His family’s boat was here. He knew what I had done. “I’m so sorry! I don’t know why…”

  “I had it fixed, Rain. This isn’t about your, uh, renovations to the boat.” Jimmy put his finger to my mouth.

  “What are we doing here, Jimmy?” I stood there shaking. I didn’t understand.

  “Just trust me, Rain. Can you do that for just a few minutes?” His arm slipped around my waist again and he led me toward the slip.

 
; I could hardly breathe. “I’ll pay.” I squeaked. “I’ll make it right, I promise.”

  “Do you see the name of this boat?” Jimmy spoke softly.

  The letters swept across the stern in a beautiful silver script.

  My One and Only.

  “This is your place, Rain. This is your boat.”

  “What?”

  “This boat was supposed to be a wedding present,” he said quietly. His gaze searched mine intently. “From me.”

  “That…magnificent craft…was for me?”

  “Is for you.” Jimmy put a silver key chain with a single key in the palm of my hand. He closed my fingers around the key and kissed my knuckles.

  I couldn’t breathe. I couldn’t think. I didn’t deserve this man, at all. He’d had this made four years ago and still believing in us, had kept it pristine until he could give it to me.

  I would have set it on fire and dumped the remains on his lawn were our roles reversed. I didn’t have the caliber of heart that Jimmy had.

  He watched my face expectantly.

  I crumbled and cried and couldn’t get a word out.

  “You don’t have to keep it. It doesn’t mean I expect that everything…”

  “No,” I gasped through my tears and pulled on his sleeve. “I love it, Jimmy. I absolutely love it.”

  He relaxed, but he still looked worried.

  “You like it?”

  “Oh, Jimmy. I’ve never seen anything so beautiful in my life.”

  “There isn’t anything like it in the world, Rain. Like you, its one of a kind.”

  “What?”

  “I designed it for you. You were always talking about growing up around all these boats that your dad worked on and how you weren’t allowed…”

  I didn’t let him finish. I leapt at him and wrapped my arms around his neck. He met my kiss with all the fire and fury and feeling that we’d almost lost forever.

  ****

  When I was able to speak again, we climbed aboard. The broken lamps and picture frames were replaced with new ones. The pillow I’d cried on was gone. A new set of blue silk pillows nestled against the back of the couch.

  This was too much to take in, too much to think about. The boat, a wedding present, was not rightfully mine. We were slipping back to years ago, without fixing what had gone wrong.

  There was one bedroom, one bed.

  His hand slid over mine and I looked at him. Jimmy’s face was calm, assured. His gray eyes held mine. “We won’t make the same mistakes this time, Rain.” He knelt in front of me and kissed the tip of my nose. A heartrending look flitted across his face. “I won’t make the same mistakes. I won’t lead us wrong again.”

  I believed him.

  Purple Knot

  16

  I woke up in the strange bed and momentarily panicked. Morning light streamed through the window. Through the bedroom door, I saw Jimmy stretched out in the main cabin, legs draped over the arm of the too small couch. A soft snore rumbled from his big chest.

  My stomach growled. I climbed out of bed and tiptoed out the bedroom door. I held my breath as I passed Jimmy, and then climbed out onto the deck. Warm salty air breezed past and ruffled my tangled hair. I grabbed my purse and headed out.

  I combed fingers through my hair. Stores with quaint blue awnings and white clapboard facades lined the sidewalk. The glorious scent of fresh-from-the-oven bagels pulled me to Dinah’s. The only bakery on the island, Dinah’s homemade breads and pastries held its own against the bigger chain bakeries in Seattle. Locals and tourists made the trek at least once a week for the onion and poppy seed bagels Dinah made every morning. She always sold out.

  I turned the corner, and the green and white umbrellas on the patio brought back memories of breakfasts with Summer and Jimmy our senior year. Hands in pockets, I looked up at the same weathered sign and marveled how little things changed here. My stomach growled and I left the memories behind for some bagels and coffee.

  I walked down the dock to the slip and stopped to look at My One and Only in the sunlight. It was more beautiful than I remembered. Movement in the boat across the way caught my eye and I saw someone duck back into their cabin. I looked for a few seconds more, but no one came back out.

  “I wondered where you were off too,” Jimmy called from the deck. Hair mussed from sleeping, he looked rested. He looked happy. He reached down and took the take-out bags, and then helped me onto the deck.

  “I got Dinah’s.”

  Jimmy put the bags down, wrapped his arms around my waist, lifted me off my feet, and gave me slow, sweet, kiss.

  “Wow,” I managed. “I wasn’t gone that long.”

  “You have no idea, ma chér,” he answered.

  I smiled at the term of endearment. Ma Chér meant, ‘My Darling’, in French. It was a throwback to Jimmy’s roots in Louisiana. I missed hearing it.

  We ate the bagels and drank our coffee on the deck while the sun warmed our faces. I saw the movement again on the boat in the slip opposite. Maybe there was some sort of quirky boat neighbor protocol I wasn’t aware of. Still, it was weird. Whoever lived on that boat is curious enough to stare, but didn’t want to be seen doing so. I wondered if it was possible to switch slips. I didn’t think I’d ever get used to being watched. Not wanting to ruin the perfect morning, I let it go.

  “Did you talk to Bennet yet?” Jimmy’s voice pulled me back to the breakfast.

  “I’m sorry?”

  “You ought to talk with him before you give a deposition,” Jimmy said in between sips of coffee.

  “The deposition!” I rubbed my eyes. I had to give a deposition in Parker’s wrongful death case against me tomorrow. I’d never met with the lawyer Salem suggested. There’d been no time. I brought my thumbnail to my mouth and started to chew on it.

  “He’ll meet with you today, Rain, or you can pick someone else.” Jimmy reached across the table, moved my mangled thumb away, and held my hand in his.

  “I never called Bennet, or met with a lawyer about this. I completely avoided it.” The urge to bite my nail made my hand jerk but Jimmy wouldn’t let it go.

  “What do you want to do?” He brushed his lips across my knuckles.

  “I guess I can talk to Bennet. There’s no need to fly in a stranger I’ve never met.” I made a face. The idea of voluntarily walking into a hostile interrogation made no sense. I didn’t even want to think about sitting across the table from Parker. “Can I meet with Bennet later today, maybe around three or four in the afternoon?”

  “We can get him whenever. Do you have something you need to do?”

  “I have to call Salem and then dig through the files I made on Parker. I want to see if I can shake anything loose while I’m here in Seattle.”

  His eyes narrowed.

  “Shake something loose?”

  “Now that I’m here, I can go do some digging at the courthouse in person. I can get better information in person than online, anyway.”

  “He knows you, Rain. How are you going to check up on him without him knowing?”

  “Well the courthouse isn’t obliged to let anyone know that their public records have been accessed.”

  “I don’t see you stopping at his public records.”

  “Well, I’m not. I have to find out where he really was the night Summer was attacked, and to do that I’ll need more personal information.”

  “Wait a second…”

  “Just, give me a second to explain.” I put my hand up to stop him.

  Jimmy looked worried, but was quiet.

  “I want to wait until the reading of Summer’s will on Wednesday to do anything up close. For now, I want to get a hold of his financial information and see if anything pops.”

  “How are you going to do that?” Jimmy drawled.

  “Well, I kind of already did.”

  “Uh, oh,” Jimmy said quietly. “What do you mean already?”

  “Well, I need to talk to Salem first, but I’m hoping my guy c
ame through on what I need to get started.”

  Jimmy frowned.

  “I put in an order for some proprietary financial information through an information broker. He was supposed to email the results of his search. Last night was so crazy with the attack that I never checked. And then my laptop was stolen, so…”

  “So you need access to your email.”

  I nodded.

  “Salem sometimes checks our office email early and calls if we get anything important. Maybe he left a message on my voicemail.”

  “We can get you to a computer, that’s not a problem. I have one at Hill House or my office at the law firm.”

  “Actually, I want to use a computer that can’t be traced to you. I’ll need to go to a library, or a cyber café. And you don’t need to escort me around. I can grab a cab, or take the train.”

  “You’re not going to be stubborn about this, right? No risks until we figure out who is after you.” Jimmy suddenly looked annoyed.

  “It’s Parker, Jimmy, it has to be.”

  “You can’t be positive about it, I mean, did you see him?”

  “Who else would it be?” My jaw worked, and I tried not to let the anger bubble back up in my voice.

  “He could have hired someone, we don’t know, that’s the point of being cautious. Please don’t be difficult about this, Rain.”

  “Jimmy, I don’t want to be a burden, that’s all. I have some business things I need to take care of, so I was going into Seattle to find a cyber café to check my email and stuff, that’s all. I won’t go anywhere near Parker or the rest of the Evans family. At least, not yet.”

  Jimmy grimaced.

  “What?” I asked.

  “That reminds me. I do have to go to the Hill House.”

  Jimmy was talking about his family’s home, the one where Mona lived. He had his own place on the Corbeau animal sanctuary. It was a cabin. According to Summer it was really more like a lodge because of its size. But when he came into the city, or when he needed to go to the courthouse as James Corbeau, the lawyer…he stayed at Hill House.

  “Just for a second, Rain, I need to get a suit and grab some papers before the deposition tomorrow. You can stay in the cab. Besides, she takes a watercolor class on Monday mornings. She’ll probably be gone.”