by HELEN HARDT
“Well, something’s going on. You must be doing some research into the situation with Talon, since you were pounding on my door at midnight last night.”
He had me there. “Talon and I are working on it, but we haven’t found much.”
“What about Ryan? I haven’t seen him around town in a while.”
I swallowed the sip of coffee I had just taken. “This is Ryan’s busy time of the year. He’s harvesting the grapes and having a great time making new batches of wine. Pretty soon it’ll be bottling time for the wines that are ready.” I shook my head. “Don’t ask me to explain it to you. I have no idea what he does. Ryan’s freaking brilliant.”
“He does make a good wine,” Bryce agreed.
“Yeah, neither Tal nor I know where he got that artistic streak. We sure didn’t get any of it.”
“Maybe from your mother?”
“Maybe.”
Sadness hit me. I had been around fifteen years old when my mother committed suicide, and even though I had lots of memories of her, I still didn’t know much about her. Talon, Ryan, and I had spent most of our time with our father on the ranch when we weren’t at school. My father was a man’s man and would have been considered a sexist by today’s standards. He felt that outdoor work was men’s work, and my mom seemed fine with that. I smiled. Once Marj hit eight or nine years old, she would have none of that. She helped with the “men’s work.” Of course, Mom was gone by then.
“And speaking of moms,” Bryce said, giving me a shit-eating grin. “How’s Brooke Bailey?”
I chuckled. Sometimes I still couldn’t believe Brooke Bailey was living at the main ranch house.
Bryce continued, “Do you still have that poster? You know, the one in the blue spandex one-piece?” He grinned again. “I believe you built an altar around it.”
While I was happy Bryce was in a better mood after Henry and the virus, I didn’t really want to talk about Jade’s mother. Yeah, I had nursed a massive crush on her when I was a horny teen, but I was hardly the only one. That had been decades ago.
“You know, she’s not that much older than you, Joe.”
Okay, this had to stop. “Bryce, shut the fuck up, will you?”
He laughed. “Did you ever in your life think, while you were jacking off to that poster, that she’d be living in your house someday?”
I hadn’t given Brooke Bailey a thought in twenty years. This conversation had to end. “Bryce, that was years ago. I have no interest in Brooke Bailey.”
“Well, a forty-three-year-old supermodel probably doesn’t look the way you remember her.”
Actually, she still looked great. “The long blond hair is now cut in a pixie, and one of her eyes is a little misshapen from the accident. She has a few scars on her face, but she’s still a great-looking woman.”
“And the body?” Bryce said.
“Yeah, she still has the body. She’s not quite as tall as I expected. I thought she would be taller.”
“Well, you know, people shrink with age.”
“Not everything shrinks.”
Bryce let out another guffaw of laughter.
“Well, where do you think Jade got them from? Certainly not her dad.”
“So what’s stopping you? She’s living in one of your houses, and her boyfriend has flown the coop. Why not give it a shot?”
Because she wasn’t Melanie. But of course I couldn’t say that. Melanie Carmichael had me twisted up in so many knots, I wasn’t sure where anything began.
“Because she’s Jade’s mom, for God’s sake. And also, she’s five years older than I am, and I’m not interested.”
“Then maybe I’ll have to come by and say hi.”
“You’re welcome to come by anytime, but I wouldn’t get involved with Brooke Bailey.”
“Why the hell not?”
“Because something isn’t right there. To hear Jade talk, she was a terrible mother. Basically abandoned her kid. And I would think you wouldn’t want to get involved with another woman who abandons her kid.” I glanced at Henry, now sleeping soundly in his crib.
“Oh, hitting below the belt.” Bryce held up his hand in mock surrender. “I’m not looking for a relationship, man. But I wouldn’t mind a roll in the hay with Brooke Bailey.”
“Why?”
“Why else? So I could say I had a roll in the hay with Brooke Bailey.” He laughed.
I picked up one of Henry’s stuffed animals sitting next to me and threw it at Bryce.
“Oh, you’re such a girl. Pillow fight?” Bryce laughed.
I stood. I knew he was joking, but Bryce calling me a girl rubbed me the wrong way, and I suddenly wanted to escape this house. “Listen, I’m really glad Henry is okay. I’ll check in with you tonight or tomorrow. Right now I’ve got to get back to the ranch.”
“Hey, I didn’t mean to freak you out. Stay. Stay for dinner, even. My mom’s making meat loaf.”
Meat loaf? When I could stop by the main house and eat whatever Felicia and Marj had cooked up? Not a chance. “I would, but I can’t.”
“Why?”
Oh, because I don’t want to be in the same house as your father, who I think might be a child molester and murderer. “Just got things to do. Thanks for the invite. Stop by anytime if you want to meet Brooke. Bring Henry along.”
“I will. And I was just kidding about the roll in the hay. I wouldn’t do that to you or to Jade.”
I nodded. “I know. See you around.”
I walked out of the nursery and past the kitchen. Tom was still sitting at the table. This time he had a laptop open in front of him. Evidently he’d decided to do his work from home.
I walked briskly past the entry to the kitchen, not saying a word.
“Joe?”
Shit. Now I had to talk to him. I poked my head in the kitchen. “Yeah?”
“Leaving so soon?”
Yeah, I have a ranch to run. Why did people seem to forget that? Steel money didn’t grow on trees. Well, it did, and also in pastures and vineyards. But a hell of a lot of work went into it too.
“Yeah. Lots of work at the ranch.”
“Understood. It was good to see you. Stop by more often. Evelyn and I miss seeing you around here.”
I turned and lifted my foot to walk toward the front door, when something made me hesitate.
“Tom?”
“Yeah?”
“Could I bother you for another cup of coffee?”
“Sure, no problem. Help yourself. Sit on down here with me. We can talk.”
Talk.
And I had just the person to talk about.
Chapter Eighteen
Melanie
My five o’clock session rescheduled earlier in the afternoon, so after my four o’clock, I was left with an hour to kill before Oliver met me at the office.
I didn’t have long to wait, though, because I had a visitor. Rodney Cates. At least he hadn’t barged in on a session this time. Randi had left for the day, so he knocked on the open door to my office.
“Dr. Cates?” I cleared my throat, my nerves jumping. “What can I do for you?”
“I just wanted to let you know that Erica seems to be doing a little bit better.”
A heavy sigh of relief left me before I could stop it. “Thank you. You don’t know how glad I am to hear you say that.”
“I don’t know how glad you are? I lost my daughter, and then I almost lost my wife. And you think I don’t know how glad you are that my wife is doing better?”
I hadn’t meant to hit a nerve. He was right. My remark had been selfish and unfeeling. This man was hurting, so I resolved to deal with him as I would with anyone else who was hurting. “I didn’t mean to upset you. I am absolutely sure you’re glad that your wife is doing better.”
“May I come in?”
I couldn’t very well say no, no matter how much I wanted to. “Of course.” I was sitting at my desk, but I stood and walked over to my session area and sat down in my chair. I ge
stured to the couch and the other recliner. “Please, have a seat.”
He plopped down on the couch and turned to face me. Yet he said nothing.
“What can I help you with, Dr. Cates?”
“There’s something I wanted to ask you. About Gina.”
I wasn’t about to reveal anything from my session notes, but I didn’t need to tell him that. “Of course. What do you want to know?”
“Did Gina say anything to you about falling in love?”
My throat thickened. She hadn’t, at least not until the letter I got after she died.
So I shook my head. “Not during our sessions, no.” Technically, that wasn’t a lie. “Is there a reason why you’re asking me this?”
“Yes.” He cleared his throat. “One of her friends told Erica and me that Gina had been in love.”
“I see.”
“Wouldn’t this be something she would discuss with her therapist?”
I fidgeted with my hands in my lap. “Not necessarily.”
“This friend of hers, Marie, swears that she told her she was in love. Why would someone who was in love want to kill herself?”
“Dr. Cates, I wish I could help you. But honestly, there was nothing in my sessions that indicated Gina was suicidal.”
“Marie said Gina knew the person she was in love with would never love her back.”
“Like I said, it wasn’t anything we discussed.”
Dr. Cates stood and paced around my small session area. “I don’t understand it. If she was in love and upset that her love might be unrequited, why wouldn’t she discuss that with you?”
Because I was the one she was in love with. But I couldn’t say that. I hadn’t yet dealt with the fallout from Gina’s feelings myself.
“Who wouldn’t have wanted Gina? She was brilliant and beautiful.”
“And she was also very troubled, obviously,” I said.
Dr. Cates’s face twisted into…not rage, exactly, but not anything good. Clearly those words had not been the right ones.
“How did you not see this? What kind of a therapist are you?”
How did you not see that her uncle—your brother-in-law—was abusing your daughter all those years? I desperately wanted to say the words, but that would only make things worse. I stood. “Dr. Cates, I think it would be best if you left now.”
“No. You tell me.” He inched toward me.
Chills ran up my neck.
“How could you not have seen this happening? How could you not know she was in love?”
My blood ran cold. He was between me and the door. Randi was gone. It was after five o’clock, so unless a security guard was walking down the hallway, no one would hear me if I screamed.
I didn’t think Dr. Cates would actually hurt me, but I knew enough to see that he wasn’t completely in his right mind.
I gritted my teeth. “Dr. Cates, I will tell you one more time. You need to leave. Now.”
He took one more step toward me. “Not until I get some answers.”
“I don’t have any answers.”
“If you don’t have them, who does? You’re the only one. You’ve got to have answers. Where’s your goddamned file?”
My file was locked up, thank God. After the other day when the letter from Gina had slipped out, I realized how stupid I had been leaving it on my desk. How was I supposed to move on if that file stared at me from my desk like a vulture? It was safely locked in my file cabinet at home with my other files of patients who were no longer active.
I wasn’t an attorney, but I knew better than to give my files to this man anyway. After Gina died, I had spoken with an attorney and with another therapist who was a respected colleague, both of whom went through my files. They both concluded that I had not committed any malpractice and that there had been no reason to believe Gina Cates was suicidal.
Of course, I hadn’t told them about the letter.
That letter was between Gina and me.
And damn it, I was taking it to the grave.
Chapter Nineteen
Jonah
I tried to read Tom Simpson’s eyes. They were blue, and looking into them felt oddly like looking at my best friend. Bryce did resemble his father, and so did Henry. My nerves raced and I felt uneasy, seeing the resemblance. His mother, Evelyn, was mostly gray now, but she’d had light-brown hair when we were kids. But Tom was blond like Bryce and his son, even though he was silvery white now. He sat, typing something into his computer.
“Damn,” he said.
“What?”
“Just a typo.” He held up his right hand. “This damned bandage.” He had a Band-Aid on the tip of his right index finger.
“You okay?”
He nodded. “Just a paper cut. I get them a lot. So much paperwork for this tiny city.”
My nerves were on edge, but damn it, I was ready to discover some answers. I opened with, “I’m really glad Henry is okay.” I wasn’t lying, but I also hadn’t been able to think of anything else.
“He’s a great kid, isn’t he?”
I took another sip of coffee. “He sure is. Bryce seems crazy about him.”
“Oh, yeah, he’s a great father. I was always surprised that he didn’t marry sooner. Speaking of that, it’s nice to see that one of you boys will be settling down. I assume Talon and Jade are serious?”
“As serious as Talon has ever been.”
“What about you and Ryan? You’re not getting any younger, you know.”
I certainly wasn’t here to talk about my brothers and me settling down. I needed to get back to Larry. But then something occurred to me. Henry had that little birthmark on his arm, and it was clearly visible as he was lying in his crib wearing just a onesie and a diaper.
“I noticed that Henry has a birthmark.”
“Yes, he does.”
I cleared my throat. “Bryce said he might have gotten it from you.”
“I’m not sure why he said that.”
“Oh? You mean you don’t have any birthmarks?”
“No, that’s not what I meant. I do have one, but it looks totally different from Henry’s.”
“Maybe he did get it from you, then, because Bryce said neither he nor Henry’s mother have one.”
“I suppose that’s possible. But Evelyn has one too. Cutest little thing right on the cheek of her ass.”
I squirmed uncomfortably. I really didn’t want to talk about anything a sixty-five-year-old woman had on her ass. I couldn’t force him to remove his shirt and show me the inside of his right arm. Time to ditch the birthmark investigation.
“I’ve been meaning to talk to you, Tom,” I said.
He raised his eyebrows. “Oh?”
I cleared my throat. “About Larry Wade. Did you know he was my half-uncle?”
“Nope. That was as big of a surprise to me as it was to the rest of you.”
I didn’t believe him for a minute, but I was willing to play along. “Yeah, it was pretty crazy. Anyway, when he came back to town a few years ago, you hired him on as the city attorney. How did that happen?”
“As you may know, George Stanford retired in the middle of his term, so the position was vacant. Until Larry moved back a month later, we’d been using contract attorneys to do our work because Snow Creek is such a small town. But that was no longer cost-efficient. Talon’s girlfriend, Jade, is doing an excellent job, by the way.”
His lips twitched subtly. Just a bit, but I noticed. He was trying to sidetrack me off of Larry by mentioning Jade.
“Yes, she’s a very smart and driven young lady. But back to Larry. Why wasn’t he elected city attorney?”
“Since it would be a while before we had a regular election, I decided to make an appointment.”
“But why Larry? He turned out to be very unethical.”
Tom twisted his lips again, this time not so subtly. “I’ve known Larry a long time. Believe me, if I had known what kind of man he was, I would never have appointed him. But we knew
each other back in the day, went to high school together in Grand Junction, and he was a licensed attorney and needed a job. None of the other attorneys here in Snow Creek wanted the job. They preferred to stay in their own private practices. So what choice did I have?”
I saw through his game again. He was trying to put me on the defensive. “Why not hold a special election?”
“This is Snow Creek, Joe, not Denver. Who the hell would turn out for a special election?”
“My brothers and I would have.”
“That’s three people. Plus Evelyn and me. Maybe Bryce if he was in town. It wasn’t a feasible solution. We needed to wait until a presidential election year. That’s the only time you see any results in a small town. I hope Jade will run next year. She’ll be a shoo-in, and we couldn’t ask for a better city attorney.”
Trying to distract me again. Jade was Talon’s girlfriend, not mine, and I wasn’t going to be sidetracked. Before I could say anything else though, Tom spoke again.
“Why all the questions about Larry? He’s locked up where he deserves to be. Case closed.”
“Why not all the questions about Larry? Aren’t you as upset about this as I am? My brother was one of his victims, and so was your nephew.”
“He was Evelyn’s nephew. Victoria Walker is her sister.”
I forced myself not to widen my eyes. Had I heard him correctly? Was he denying feeling remorse because he wasn’t Luke’s uncle by blood? What a coldhearted bastard.
I knew then that if I stood and forced this man out of his shirt, I would see that birthmark Talon had described.
I had been right in my original assessment.
Larry Wade might be a psychopath, but Tom Simpson was far worse.
He was an iceman.
Chapter Twenty
Melanie
Dr. Cates continued toward me, his right hand balled into a fist. “I’m going to see that file today, Dr. Carmichael, before I leave this office.”
I bit my lip. “The file is not here. It’s in storage.”
