“Do they know when the funeral will be?”
“The family had already gathered tonight to grieve. The rosary will be Saturday night and a private burial will be later.”
“Good, we’ll be able to make the rosary. Our flight doesn’t leave until Sunday morning.”
Soon David stuck his head out the back door. “I hear you two ladies are ready to go.”
Donna practically leaped from her aluminum chair. “Yes, we are.”
Despite dear old Aunt Reya, I hated to once again walk out of the place that had been such a loving home to me, but I could see Donna thought it best. Though, if I could’ve had my way, I’d still be part of the family. I’d never have left this loving sanctuary in the first place. I would have raised my child here.
Donna helped me gather my purse, and soon we were saying our good-byes and walking back to David’s car.
David put his arm across my shoulders as Donna tagged behind. I looked up at my handsome son and gave him a wistful smile. “I bet you never expected our visit would turn out like this.”
“I couldn’t have imagined. To think, I lost my grandmother tonight, a grandmother I never even knew I had.”
“I’m sorry you didn’t know, and I’m sorry I didn’t tell you sooner.”
David gave my shoulders a squeeze. “I understand. I do. But still, it’s all hard to take in.”
I simply nodded.
Just as Donna climbed into the back of the car, her cell phone rang and she answered. “Hello? Goldie? Yeah, we made it okay, but it’s been a rough evening. Vonnie’s mother-in-law died while she was with her in the ICU … I know. Here, let me hand her the phone.”
She passed the phone to the front seat, and I placed it to my ear. “Goldie? It’s so good to hear from you.”
Godie’s voice sounded strained. “Oh, Vonnie, I’m so sorry to hear about Mrs. Jewel.”
“The poor dear was holding on just for me. To think I almost didn’t come.”
“But you did. It sounds like you got to say good-bye.”
“Yes. And David got to meet her.”
“How’s David holding up?”
I looked at my son as he pulled out of the parking spot. “He’s good. It’s been so nice to be with him tonight.”
“That’s wonderful, Vonnie.”
Godie paused, and I said, “Well, thanks for checking up on us.”
“That’s not the only reason I called. I’m afraid I have more bad news.”
“What happened?”
“Clay. He saw me at Apple’s.”
“Oh no!”
“I feel like such an idiot for not staying home. Do you forgive me?”
“Of course.”
“Vonnie, you are such a dear. I don’t deserve your friendship.” She sighed. “Nevertheless, I had to warn you. Your cover may have been blown. Clay’s got to know Donna and I tricked him today. That means you may have just been elevated to his number-one suspect.”
My mouth went dry. All I could think of was how mortified Fred would be to see the news that I was David’s birth mom splashed on the front page of the Gold Rush News. “Missing Jewel Is None Other Than Fred Westbrook’s Wife, Vonnie.”
Not that I was ashamed, not anymore, anyway. It was that Fred wasn’t ready to announce the news. We had a lot of healing to do before our marriage could be rocked by this kind of public scrutiny. I sighed. “Oh dear. Thanks for letting me know.”
We said good-bye, and I handed Donna the phone.
“What is it?” she asked.
“Clay. He saw Goldie.”
Donna sounded calm. “No worries, Vonnie. This calls for Plan B.”
David looked puzzled. “Plan B? What’s all this about?”
“We’ve had a press leak,” Donna explained.
“What? You’re still trying to cover up that you’re my mother?”
“Oh, David, no. It’s just Fred. He’s not ready to go public yet. I’ve got to respect that.”
David drove in silence for a while, then said, “I can’t wait to meet Fred. I guess that will have to wait till I move to town.”
“And what a time that will be,” Donna said.
21
Stranger in Town
After dinner, Clay decided to implement an exercise plan. Each day, beginning that evening, he’d walk all the way to the end of Main Street, cross over, then come back up until he reached the café. It wasn’t much, but it was a start.
He dressed appropriately, then headed down the stairs leading to his apartment. When he reached the street below, he turned right. Within no more than a few steps he eyed the café across the street. He stopped, breathing in and out frosty air, trying to decide whether or not to just cross over now or go with his original plan.
A mental picture of Donna and Harris helped him to decide, and he kept going.
His brow furrowed a bit. There was something she needed to know … something he had to tell her. A stranger had come knocking earlier in the day, asking about Donna.
Clay, like all good reporters, had felt his sense of “danger” pique. It wasn’t, he surmised, his favorite way to feel.
22
Lavish Breakfast
“What is Plan B, exactly?” David asked from the front seat.
I eyed the back of his head. How could I say it without giving him the wrong idea? I managed a coy, “Patience, David. All will soon be revealed.”
David eyed me from his rearview mirror. I decided to distract him before he could protest. I pointed to a Burger King sign. “Let’s do a quick run-through,” I said. “I’m starving. I’ll tell you about it later.”
Just as I took a bite of my Double Whopper sandwich, my cell phone rang again. “Hello?”
A snide voice greeted me. “Donna, it’s Clay Whitefield. How’s your sick friend?”
I swallowed, then said, “She’s not sick anymore.”
“Oh really?”
“Yeah, she died.”
There was a long silence. “What, you and David have a fight?”
Bingo. I acted all innocent. “David?”
David spoke from the front seat. “Donna, who’s that?”
Clay sounded triumphant. “That’s Harris’s voice. You went to L.A. to be with David.”
I tried not to chuckle. Clay was making this all too easy. I feigned irritation. “Is that why you called, to check up on me?”
“Yes and no,” Clay admitted. “I wanted to warn you. Not that you deserve it, but I’m trying to do you a favor.” He cleared his throat, then spoke in hushed tones, like he was with the CIA or something. “A stranger in a suit came around looking for you today, at the café. Looked official, like, I don’t know, a detective or something.”
That got my attention. “What did he want?”
“I’m not sure, but I got bad vibes. He gave a phony story. Said he was a consultant doing an evaluation for the sheriff ’s department; didn’t even know your dad’s the top guy. He asked a lot of people a lot of questions about you.”
I felt my face grow hot. “What kind of questions?”
“Like the state of your mental health and how often you use your gun.”
“You’re kidding me.”
“Afraid he got some pretty interesting answers, especially from Wade. But mainly he got an earful about your speeding ticket exploits. You got any high-powered enemies out there?”
I was silent. “I’m in law enforcement. Sometimes it seems like the public is my enemy.”
Clay laughed. “No, Donna, that’s who you’re paid to protect. Anyway, I just wanted you to know.” Sarcasm soured his voice. “My good deed is done. Good night, Donna. Enjoy your weekend with David.”
He hung up, and I was left wondering if Clay was on the level. I leaned back in the seat and reviewed what I knew about him. Clay was smart, smart enough to try to weasel his way into my confidence. But he was honest. What he said about the stranger had to be true. I sighed and rewrapped my burger and put it and my cell phone into my tote bag. M
y appetite was ruined.
“What did Clay say?” Vonnie asked.
“Nothing. He thinks I’m with David.”
David actually chuckled. “I love that idea. If that’s Plan B, I heartily approve.”
I bristled. “Whatever. Clay can think what he wants if it will buy us some time.”
I could see Vonnie bob her head in agreement. “That’s all we really need,” she said. “A little more time.”
When Vonnie and I finally slid the plastic card key into the lock of our hotel room, I was exhausted, but not as much as Vonnie.
“What a day,” I said, collapsing into the padded chair by the desk.
Vonnie only nodded and headed for the bathroom to wash her face before smothering it with cold cream. She slipped into a faded blue gown and topped her hairdo with a pink silk nightcap. I was left wondering if she held the secret identity of a space alien. She noticed my stare and shrugged. “Keeps my look fresh.”
“Is that what Fred says?”
She nodded and climbed into her side of the bed. “Mmmhmm.”
“Aren’t you going to call him?”
She answered sleepily. “Already did, at Maria’s. Just before I went to sit on the patio.”
“What did he say?” I waited for the answer, but got none. “Hello? Vonnie?”
I turned to discover she had already drifted into dreamland. I watched her chest rise and fall before climbing into my old black sweats, which, come to think of it, weren’t so different from my black tee and jeans I’d worn all day. When I finally crawled into bed, my mind was spinning. I’d never expected the day to be so emotional. What a list of troubles—first Clay, then Wade, then Vonnie, then David, then Maria’s death, and now this … a stranger nosing into my business, asking my neighbors about my so-called mental health.
I laid my head on my pillow and squeezed my eyes shut, determined to sleep. Yet, every time I peeked at the clock, the red digital numbers had advanced only ten more minutes. Great.
Finally, dreams swirled into dark, yellowed images that made my heart pound. It was the dream, all so familiar—the rainstorm, lavish Breakfast the canyon, the man who flagged me down, the woman in the submerged car … the baby.
I was once again beneath the roaring river, trying to hold the baby tight. I opened my eyes in the eerie underwater light. Before me were the wide eyes of the child staring back. The baby’s eyes held my own. This time, she spoke. “Mommy, please don’t kill me. Mommy?”
My baby!
“Donna, dear, wake up. You’re having a nightmare,” Vonnie said as she gently shook me. “David will be here soon to take us to breakfast.”
I blinked, then ran to the bathroom to wash the salty tracks from my face, hoping Vonnie hadn’t noticed. No sooner had I slipped into my blue jeans and peach tee than there was a knock on the door.
Vonnie, all dressed in her khaki slacks and pale green sweater, opened the door. “David, right on time.”
I was staring in the mirror, giving my blond curls a run-through with my fingers. “Where are you taking us for breakfast?”
I looked up, and David was grinning at me. “Donna, you’re letting your hair grow out. It looks good.”
So help me if I didn’t blush. “Ah, thanks.”
“To answer your question, we’re heading for the Hills, to 21st Place.”
“Sounds swanky,” I said. “But you’re in jeans, so it can’t be too over the top. Right?”
David merely grinned.
After a forty-minute car ride, I began to understand what David meant by “Hills” as he drove us into the heart of some fine old mansions in Beverly Hills.
“David, where are you taking us?” Vonnie asked.
“I hope you don’t mind, but we’re going to my house. I’ve prepared quite the spread.”
“So you do cook,” I said.
“You can be the judge of that.”
Donna David parked his Mazda in the driveway of what could only be described as his glorious mansion, complete with lovely grounds blooming with flowers. The manor had beveled glass windows and marble columns at the front door. It reminded me of Jed Clampett’s old place.
Vonnie sat stunned while I said, “Oo-la-la, David.”
I believe the man blushed as he helped Vonnie out of the car. He said, “I know. It is over the top, but it’s my inheritance from Harmony. In fact, I just moved out of my apartment downtown so I could take care of it. But it’s such a hassle. That’s one of the reasons I’m selling—I’m discovering I don’t own this place, it owns me.”
Vonnie nodded mutely as she followed him into the house.
When he pushed open the door, Vonnie and I entered a totally new dimension, at least new to a couple of high-country Colorado girls. The entryway came complete with a spiral staircase made of mahogany, brass, and marble.
But the thing that impressed me most and the very thing that made poor Vonnie mute was Harmony Harris’s framed movie posters surrounding us on the main living room walls. Of course, since Harmony was the musical movie queen of the late fifties and early sixties, there she was, dressed as a slave girl in Song of Solomon, then again dressed as a gypsy in Gypsy Wedding Dance, then again as a Victorian princess in The Runaway Courtship. She was displayed in all her glory, with all that long, golden hair. Her great figure poured into her incredible and very sexy costumes. It was all terribly impressive.
After viewing the posters then walking through several luxurious rooms, David finally guided us to the patio overlooking the pool. There, on a beautifully set table, were three crystal goblets filled with layered fruit and yogurt parfaits topped with granola and raisins.
Vonnie sat down woodenly. As I saw she was almost catatonic, I spoke for us both. “These look great, David. Did you make them yourself?”
He grinned. “Nothing’s too good for my ladies.”
I decided to let the comment slide. Vonnie and I ate in silence as David talked about delightful meals served here at 21st Place, with lavish Breakfast the likes of leading men and women like Dick Van Dyke, Marlon Brando, and Julie Andrews. Finally, he said, “I’ve got breakfast enchiladas too. I’ll slip into the kitchen and bring them out.”
As soon as he turned his back, I turned to Vonnie. “You going to be okay?”
She looked up. “What? Oh. Yes, I think.”
“Then what’s wrong?”
She looked around like a little girl lost on a field trip. “All of this, how can I ever compete?”
“Vonnie, it’s not a competition. Harmony is gone. David wants to get to know you, his birth mother.”
She shook her head. “But what do I have to offer him?”
“Look, he didn’t follow Harmony’s footsteps to become an actor. He’s a paramedic. That should tell you something.”
Before we could say more, David rounded the corner with a lovely silver serving dish filled with his breakfast enchiladas.
Vonnie looked a little more like herself. “That looks great, David. You’ll have to give me your recipe.”
Later when I was helping him with the coffee in his state-of-theart kitchen, he asked me, “Is Vonnie okay?”
“She will be. This Harmony Harris thing has got her a bit intimidated.”
David set the coffeepot down and took a step toward me. “Donna, I have to tell you, you’ve really impressed me this weekend, the way you’ve looked after my mom.”
I put my hand on my hip. “It’s hard for me to hear you call her that. In many ways, Vonnie is my mom. We’ve adopted one another.”
David looked amused, but he leaned back against a counter and crossed his arms. “Your mom?”
“You’ve grown up with Harmony. Why do you need Vonnie?”
“Vonnie is my roots. Harmony just played at motherhood. Actually, it was more of a photo op with her.”
That caught my attention. “Really?”
“Yeah, all the stars were adopting in those days, so as not to ruin their figures. Really, I was raised by a prof
essional nanny, not to Donna mention the groundskeeper, a good man who spent a lot of time talking to me. Other than that, it was pretty lonely around here.”
I studied him. “For real?”
“’Fraid so. I’m a lot like you, I guess. I’ve never really had a mom either. And to see that fine woman out there, to see her character and her quality, it makes me wonder. What did I miss? And then I know—I missed Vonnie. I missed my mother.”
“She’s a great lady. You have no idea.”
“Maybe not. But I’d like to find out. And I hope there’s room in your heart for me to share her with you.”
I turned away and picked up the sugar bowl. “I don’t come with the Vonnie package, you know.”
“Well, I—”
“I’m not available.”
“Are you seeing someone?”
“That’s none of your business,” I said, turning back to the patio. “I’ll consider sharing Vonnie, but I’m off limits. I’m just not interested.”
The rest of our visit, through Maria’s rosary and our Sunday morning good-bye, I kept my distance from David. I wouldn’t get involved with him. I couldn’t. I just didn’t deserve a wonderful man like him.
When David dropped Vonnie and me off at LAX, he pulled our luggage from the trunk of his car, then gave Vonnie a hug. “I can’t tell you how much I enjoyed getting to know you and the Jewel family.”
“Are you still planning to move to Summit View?” she asked.
He reached for her hands and held them but directed his comments to me. “Wild horses nor feisty chicks couldn’t keep me away.” He winked in my direction. “Besides, I love a challenge.”
Vonnie turned my way and said with a chuckle, “Well, son, if you’ve set your cap for Donna, you’ve got more than a challenge in store for you.”
He turned back to her and gave her a kiss on the cheek. “Well, you’re a woman of prayer. Put in a word for me.”
I hit David in the arm with my balled fist. “All the prayer in the world won’t help you when it comes to me, I’m afraid. I’m never getting married.”
David raised his eyebrows at my involuntary revelation, then suddenly wrapped his arms around me, sliding his rough cheek next to mine. He whispered in my ear, “Never say never, Donna.”
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