Secrets Gone South (Crimson Romance)

by Pace, Alicia Hunter

  You have no idea, Missy. None. Don’t pretend you do. “Forgive me for saying so, Missy, but it looks like life has been pretty kind to you.”

  Missy looked at her for a long moment and frowned. “I do forgive you and you need forgiving for saying that. I don’t deny that I’m incredibly blessed. I don’t play tit for tat with the details of my life and I’m not doing it now. But I’m going to tell you something to give you some prospective, if not for your sake, for Lanie’s.”

  What? Did you get a bad pedicure once? Maybe your homecoming queen crown was too heavy and you got a headache.

  “Before Beau was born, I lost three babies in thirty-eight months. The last one I carried for four months and she lived two weeks. We never got to hold her until she was gone. She had a name, though I never speak it. After that, Harris and I were so crazy, we almost lost our marriage.”

  Shame washed over Arabelle. “Missy, I—”

  “No, no.” Missy put her hand up. “This isn’t about me. After my baby died, my therapist told me I had to get something else to do. That’s when I learned to cook. That’s why people in this town don’t know what a good cook I am, that I even can cook. I didn’t grow into it and it wasn’t always so. Until then, I quite literally did not know how to scramble an egg. But I threw myself into learning. One week we ate nothing but yeast breads. Another, we had soufflés, a lot of them fallen. I decided I’d be as good a cook as I would have been a mother.” She smiled a little. “And then I got pregnant with Beau. You can’t replace what’s lost but you can embrace what you’re sent. Life will heal you, if you’ll let it.”

  If only that were true.

  Just in case she might have felt sorry for Missy then, she switched back to the mean gear. Arabelle got the idea that was on purpose.

  “Now, Tolly and I are one thing. We’re pragmatic and practical. If you like us fine, if not that’s okay. Move on. But Lanie and Lucy are another matter entirely. For whatever reason that you don’t deserve, they love you, Lanie especially. And they haven’t even noticed that you don’t love them back.”

  She swallowed. “That’s ridiculous. Lanie is my sister-in-law. I came to Lucy’s wedding.”

  “Oh, please,” Missy said. “I’ve been to a lot of weddings where the awful lard icing cake was the thing I liked best there. And I’m not going down the in-law trail. It’s too crooked and too long. Lanie and Lucy are sweet—unlike Tolly and, most assuredly, unlike me. But they are far from stupid. And eventually, they are going to notice how you treat them.”

  “I do not mistreat them,” she said. And it was true.

  “Stop playing word games, Arabelle. I know what you’re doing. I can lie and tell the truth at the same time with the best of them, though I seldom bother. But I’m going to give you a little advice. If you don’t correct your attitude, Luke is going to notice and woe be unto you.”

  How dare she? “So you know more about my brother than I do?”

  Missy nodded. “Yeah, I do. In this regard, I do. Do not test him where his wife is concerned. You will not win.”

  “I’m not testing anyone.”

  Missy cocked her head to the side and considered that. “You’re right. You’re not. You’re not a game player. You’ve got a real problem of some kind. And you’ve got three strong, amazing women who would love you and carry you through it if you’d let them—plus me.”

  Arabelle gave a little laugh. “You are standing there claiming that you would be my friend when you’ve as good as said you don’t like me.”

  “No. I didn’t as good as say that. I don’t as good as say anything. I say what’s on my mind and I’m saying it now. I do like you. I always have. If I didn’t, I wouldn’t have said all this to you. I’d just sit back and let you hang yourself. Though you might still. But pack a lunch, because you’ve been schooled. And you’ve got some choices to make. One of those choices can be to be our friend.” She took a sip of her drink. “It would be a shame to lose someone who can make a margarita this good.” She set her glass on the counter. “I’ll be back for that. I’m going up to check on my kids and then I’m going to watch my cousin win the Super Bowl. You do what you have to.”

  Arabelle put the blender in the sink. On some level she had to respect what Missy had said. But how can you do what you have to, when you don’t know what that is?

  She might have given it some more thought but Will came in, got a Coke out of the refrigerator, and ran his hand over the back of her neck.

  “Have we got a date later?” he whispered close to her ear.

  It was easier to think about that.

  Chapter Seventeen

  Arabelle removed her lab coat and was reaching for her stethoscope when Kelly stuck her head in the door.

  “Dr. Garrett, I know it’s almost closing time but we just had a walk-in. She’s our patient but we haven’t seen her in a couple of years. I told her I’d check but I wasn’t making any promises.” Kelly wore a red heart pin on the lapel of her lab coat in celebration of Valentine’s Day.

  Arabelle checked her watch. Almost a quarter to five. Tonight was the Junior League Hearts for Art fundraiser at the Brantley Building, a family affair to raise money for a children’s art program. There would be a spaghetti dinner and a silent art auction of items donated by local artisans, as well as some children’s artwork—including Avery’s defaced kitchen cabinet door and two other pictures Will had coaxed him into drawing. Arabelle suspected that all the children’s art would be bought by their parents, probably for exorbitant prices, but it was for a good cause and a good way to celebrate Valentine’s Day—at least it was a good way for her and Will. She just couldn’t see them holding hands across a table in a fancy restaurant with the reason for their marriage home with a sitter.

  So she was thankful for Hearts for Art. Lucy and Tolly were chairing the event and had been working on it for months but they got the idea for the children’s sale the night of the Super Bowl. Arabelle had to admit it was a good plan. There was no way she’d let anyone else buy her baby’s pictures and she suspected Will wouldn’t allow them to go cheap.

  She was supposed to meet Will at 5:15 at the daycare apartment where she would change her clothes and put Avery in the red overalls she’d bought him for the event.

  Still, she hated to turn away a sick person.

  “What’s wrong with her?” Arabelle asked Kelly.

  “She has a stuffy head and says she’s been sneezing and coughing,” Kelly said.

  Arabelle sighed. “Doesn’t sound too complicated. Do you have time to stay a few minutes?”

  “Sure, I can get her vitals.” Kelly said. “We aren’t going over to the Brantley Building until about seven. I’ll put her in room three.”

  “Let me know when she’s ready, please.” Arabelle put her lab coat back on and texted Will that she’d be a few minutes late. No answer. Not surprising. He was probably driving and he never looked at his phone when he drove.

  After a few minutes, Kelly opened the door and handed her a chart.

  “Do I need to stay?” Kelly asked.

  “I don’t think so,” Arabelle said, opening the file. Depending on the patient and the nature of the exam, Arabelle sometimes felt better with having Kelly in the examination room but this was a female who would not be removing her clothes.

  Then she caught sight of the name of the patient. Aspen Snow. She’d heard from more than one source that she’d left town after Will fired her. Odd. Apparently, she was back. She wondered if Will knew it.

  “Kelly? On second thought, can you stay? I need you present, I think.” Then she hesitated. Maybe it would be best if she didn’t see her. “Is Doctor Vines still here?”

  “No,” Kelly said. “He left after his four o’clock. Said he needed to get a Valentine. Is something wrong?”

  Clearly, Kelly did not know the gossip.

  “No. No, let’s get this done so we can go eat some spaghetti and buy some art.”

  She opened the door. Noth
ing to do but pretend she didn’t know of Aspen and Will’s connection.

  “Hello, Ms. Snow.” She extended her hand. “I’m Dr. Garrett. So you aren’t feeling well today?”

  The girl seated on the exam table was very thin with very light blue eyes and long hair that was so blond it was almost transparent. It hadn’t come out of a bottle either. Her chart indicated that she was twenty-six but she looked younger.

  Aspen looked her up and down so Arabelle took a moment to do a little assessing of her own. Somehow, when she’d pictured this woman, she’d imagined someone like herself, but they couldn’t have been more different. She wore red leggings covered in white hearts and a matching long white shirt with a big red heart on the front. There were three vertical bows at hip level on either side of the shirt. It was cute in a little girl sort of way. In fact, Emma wore similar outfits. Arabelle couldn’t help but wonder where Aspen had been able to find such a thing in an adult size. When Aspen pushed her hair back, the cupid-shaped earrings she wore swung from her ears.

  “Cute outfit,” Arabelle said when she realized she’d been staring.

  “Thank you.” Aspen looked down at her hands. “I love Valentine’s Day. Also, Halloween and Thanksgiving but Christmas gets on my nerves. I won the Rotary turkey shoot two years ago before I left here—a twenty-five pound turkey.”

  Somewhat alarmed, Arabelle said, “You shot a twenty-five pound turkey?”

  “No.” Aspen looked at her steadily and paused so the word would sink in. “You don’t shoot a turkey. You shoot a target. And the winner gets a turkey from the grocery store. I would never shoot an animal. I’m a vegetarian. I only eat meat from the grocery store.”

  “I see,” Arabelle said. Had she walked through the door to an alternate universe? “Do you eat enough protein?” It was her fascination that made her ask this question.

  “Oh, all the time. My former fiancé was a vegetarian so I know what to eat. Beans, but I only like green beans. Cottage cheese, pears, and peanuts. Also, chicken and steak but only from the grocery store. I would never harm a real chicken or cow. They’re part of nature. I don’t sit in judgment of people who do choose to eat them. It’s a personal decision for me because I draw my strength and serenity from nature. I wouldn’t feel right eating what gives me peace.”

  This was Will’s philosophy—sort of. Up to a point, the point about grocery store meat.

  Behind her, Kelly turned her back and began to cough. Which reminded her …

  “So, Aspen. Kelly tells me you’re feeling a little stuffy and have a cough and have been sneezing.” She flipped the chart open though she knew what it said. “Your vitals are fine. Have you had any fever?”

  “No.” Aspen twirled a lock of hair around her finger and looked at the ceiling. “I’m fine.”

  Fine? Oh, no. This woman was not fine. By no stretch of the imagination was this woman fine. But one thing for sure, if Arabelle had ever doubted Will’s word on any level that Aspen was delusional, she didn’t now.

  Arabelle sat down on the stool and looked into Aspen’s eyes. “Aspen, what about your cough? And the sneezing?”

  “Oh.” She laughed and flipped her wrist. “I’m not coughing and sneezing. I just said that so I could get in to see you.”

  “To see me? Why do you want to see me?”

  “Well.” She looked down and began to pleat the hem of her shirt. “I heard that you married my Will and I wanted to see what you look like. We talked on the phone one time. Remember? I told you I was Will’s fiancée.”

  Oh, yes she remembered. It was the day she would have told Will he was going to be a father. If not for that, things might have gone differently from the beginning. If Will was to be believed, he might have come for her and taken care of her when she was so sick and needed caring for. But Aspen had lied and she’d been left sick and alone to make all the decisions with no help.

  But was it accurate to say Aspen lied if she truly believed they were engaged? Not that it mattered.

  “I do remember that,” Arabelle said.

  What now? She looked at Kelly who shrugged her shoulders. There was a tapping on the door and their receptionist, Cora, stuck her head in.

  “Dr. Garrett? Miss Snow’s cousin is here.”

  Thank God. Maybe it was someone who could be in charge. The woman who walked in didn’t look much older than Aspen and, though she was just as blond, she wasn’t transparent. She nodded to Arabelle and turned to Aspen.

  “Aspen, go get in the car. You know you weren’t supposed to leave the house. I told you we’re going to your doctor in Birmingham tomorrow.”

  “I was just having a conversation with Will’s Dr. Wife, here,” Aspen said.

  “I know that. And you’ve had it. Now go. Flint is in the hall waiting for you. He’ll take you home and I’ll drive your car home.”

  “Ah, Erie.”

  “Go. Do it.”

  Reluctantly, Aspen got off the table and walked toward the door. “Dr. Will’s Wife, give my Will big Valentine smooches for me!” She held her arms wide apart.

  “I will, honey. You take care.” Arabelle nodded at Kelly, who followed her out. Couldn’t let her take a wrong turn and get loose.

  Erie turned back to Arabelle. “I’m Erie Snow. You were very kind to my cousin.”

  “Kindness costs nothing,” she said. “That’s what my grandmother used to say.”

  Erie looked very tired. “She isn’t like that all the time but she flushed her meds yesterday. I’ve got an appointment for her tomorrow with her doctor in Birmingham.” She closed her eyes and massaged her forehead. “In case you’re wondering, she was hitting on all her cylinders when she started seeing Will and while she was working for him. Well, until she decided they were engaged. As soon as that happened, he fired her and broke up with her. He had no choice.”

  Arabelle had not been wondering but now that it had come up, she was relieved to know Will hadn’t knowingly taken advantage of such a fragile creature.

  “I’m sorry she got away from us and came here,” Erie said.

  “I thought she had left town.”

  “She did. Her parents and brother moved to South Carolina several years ago and after the Will debacle, she moved there. She was doing fine, had a job as a receptionist at a spa. But she showed up here a few days ago. We have an appointment tomorrow and we’ll get her straightened out like we always do. But here’s the thing. Can you prescribe something to make her sleep tonight? We had a really rough night last night.”

  She didn’t doubt it. Erie had dark circles under her eyes but there were rules.

  “I can’t do that,” Arabelle said. “I don’t have her medical history and I can’t discuss this with you.”

  Erie looked up and sighed. “You can. She used to come to Dr. Junior. If you’ll look, you’ll see that you can discuss her health with me or my brother.” She whipped out her driver’s license and an envelope. She’d clearly been through this before. “I have a list of her meds signed by Dr. Louis in Birmingham.”

  Arabelle turned to her computer and brought up Aspen’s file. “Okay, Erie, I see that I am authorized to talk to you. Just let me see what we’ve got here.” She pursued the list of medications. “All right. I see that she normally does take something at night to sleep. When is she seeing Dr. Louis tomorrow?”

  “Right after lunch. We couldn’t get her in today and he wouldn’t call her meds in without seeing her because she’s overdue for a visit.”

  She reached for her prescription pad. “I’m going to write this for one dose for tonight. I’ll email Dr. Louis in the morning and let him know that.”

  “Thank you,” Erie said. “One dose is all we need.”

  “Good luck.” Arabelle handed her the slip of paper. “And thanks for coming to get her.”

  “Thank you. And Dr. Garrett, I know you won’t tell Will about this.”

  Arabelle was taken back. “Well. She seems pretty fixated on him. I think—”

 
; Erie shook her head. “I know you won’t because you can’t.” She held up the prescription. “You’re not allowed to discuss patients.”

  “Oh, Erie. Will needs to know this. Not the medical details, certainly, but that she came here.”

  “No, he does not. Aspen is not dangerous. I’m sorry she came here. I am. I’m sorry for the things she does from time to time. But she wouldn’t harm anyone. She’s just off her meds and she’s not mentally deficient.”

  “I never thought she was.”

  “Thank you. She’s really very smart.” Erie rose to go. “I need to get to the pharmacy.”

  “One question, Erie.”

  The girl looked back over her shoulder and raised an eyebrow.

  “Why is it so important to you that Will not know this?”

  “If your brother—if Judge Avery—had these issues would you want him to be further embarrassed when he got back on an even keel?”

  “No,” Arabelle admitted. “I would want to protect him.”

  “Then you understand.”

  And the hell of it was that she did.

  Arabelle thanked Cora and Kelly for staying late and walked the two blocks to Heavenly Confections. What a crazy day, crazy week even. It had been beyond bizarre to sign the adoption papers in Luke’s chambers yesterday and hear Luke declare Avery their child. But it got Avery Will’s last name and that had been part of the deal. They hadn’t done anything to celebrate, hadn’t even told her parents it was happening. Why celebrate something that was not only unnecessary but a lie?

  On their way home Will had said wistfully, “Don’t you sometimes wish we could just tell the world?”

  Her stomach had exploded with fear. She’d been tempted to remind him of their agreement and make him promise again to never tell. She could endure anything except Avery finding out she had given him away. As much as she hated the thought of lying to her child for the rest of her life, it was the price she would pay. She would never risk having him think that she had wanted rid of him and had only taken him back when Sheridan and David died because she’d had to—and she would never risk him hating her. But she hadn’t explained any of that to Will. She had only said, “No. I don’t wish that. It’s enough that I have him. It has to be enough for you, too.”