It Adds Up for Mary [Hardwick Bay 4] (Siren Publishing Ménage Amour)

by Morgan Henry

  What the hell was that about? Did he assume that since she was moving back—in his mind—that she would be getting rid of the cat to appease him? Or, and this made her ill, did he think the dead cat was Sammy? How would he know about the dead cat?

  Maybe Colin and Marcus had questioned him. But they would have told him the dead cat wasn’t Sammy, wouldn’t they? The two security professionals seemed to think that Bob had been in on this from the start. Mary hadn’t thought so originally, but she was starting to wonder now.

  She heard Logan come in from the shop and inhaled the scent of wood shavings as he approached. She turned her head toward him. “Hi there,” she said as she smiled. She could see him fairly clearly now.

  “Derek headed out for a while. I think he’s going to stop by the office to catch up on some paperwork,” he told her. “Anything exciting in you inbox?” He gestured to the computer.

  “Nothing I can’t handle,” Mary replied, feeling a bit guilty for being evasive. She just needed to hear from the lawyer, and then she could ditch the remnants of her city life and things would be so much better.

  “Derek says your vision should be back to mostly normal soon. I guess you’re looking forward to getting back to your own place?” It was definitely a query there.

  “Um, yeah,” answered Mary. But was she really? It was good living with the Murrays. It felt comfortable and right, even more so than her condo. Even with the rainy, cool weather of fall, the house was a haven. It would be a jewel in the summertime and a cozy fortress in the winter.

  “If you want, we can take you back tomorrow,” offered Logan.

  Wow. That was not what she’d been expecting. After all their talk of wanting a relationship with her, they were sending her on her way? “If I’m in your way, of course I’ll go.”

  “You’re not in the way. We just thought you’d want your own space back.” Logan rattled around in the kitchen, getting dinner ready.

  “Oh.” Not the most eloquent reply, but what else could she say? I thought you’d beg me to stay and it’s not doing my ego any good that you’re not? “I—I’ll miss you two.”

  “That’s good to hear,” he replied, chopping some onion and adding it to a pan.

  Mary’s cell rang, and she answered it to avoid feeling hurt by Logan’s indifference. “Hello.”

  “Hi, Mary, it’s Colin. Logan was looking for an update on your stalker, but he’s not answering his cell.”

  Mary hadn’t heard it ring so she suspected he’d left it in the shop or the mudroom. “Well, you can tell me. What’s up?”

  “I apologize, we were called out of town for a couple of days. We spoke to Bob after the tire-slashing incident, and he was in Hardwick Bay that weekend with your parents at the cottage, but he swears he had nothing to do with it. We haven’t had a chance to speak to him regarding the cat yet.”

  “But you told him about it, right?” Mary had a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach.

  “No, not at all. Why?” Colin’s voice suddenly became deeper and more commanding.

  “Well, he…he sent me an email saying he was sorry about Sammy and he knew I would miss him. But Sammy’s fine. Maybe he meant something else.”

  “I think you need to forward me that email.”

  Mary cringed. She definitely did not want to do that. “I can’t. I, ah, deleted it already.”

  “Don’t you dare lie to me, Mary. If you were mine, I’d redden your ass for that, and Derek or Logan might just do the same. Send it along, or I will hack your computer and get it myself.” Mary could hear the tightly leashed anger in his voice.

  Mary had walked away from the kitchen and into the living room during their conversation. She lowered her voice. “Okay, okay. But, um, I sort of had to appease my mother for a bit, and she thinks I’m ditching Hardwick Bay and going back to Toronto, and so does Bob. But I’m not. So don’t believe the email, please?”

  “What kind of game are you playing, Mary?”

  “Please, believe me, I wouldn’t have written that crap if it weren’t completely necessary. Just keep it to yourself for a few more days, please.” Mary was just about crying, and she knew Colin could hear it in her voice.

  “I will try, but I’m making no promises.” There was finality in his voice that scared Mary. She didn’t need for Derek, Logan, and Karen to find out about her fake vacillating and get the wrong idea.

  “Okay. So what now then?”

  “We’re going to talk to Bob. And he is going to be truthful with us, whether he likes it or not. We’ll be in touch. Goodbye.” He disconnected.

  Chapter 23

  Derek didn’t get home until late, and he crawled into bed with Mary and Logan and went to sleep more or less immediately. He was up early and left for the office without saying much more than “good morning” and “have a nice day” to Mary.

  She was hurt.

  She had no idea what she had done to deserve the sudden cold shoulder from him. Logan wasn’t much better. He was speaking to her more, but the affection seemed gone.

  Logan went to his workshop early, promising to take her to Derek’s office for her checkup that afternoon. It was late in the day, and he suggested that, if all was well, they could drop her off at the apartment afterward.

  She had a good cry after he left.

  Something clearly had gone wrong, but she had no idea what. It couldn’t be her vision. It was almost normal. Had they decided she was too annoying to have in their space? Had they decided she wasn’t sexual enough for them? Let’s face it, with her face down for more than a week, it’s not as though there was a lot of action possible.

  She couldn’t think, and she hated confrontation enough that she didn’t want to ask. She was afraid of the answer.

  She packed her things and got Sammy’s stuff all together as well. He had been so happy at the house. There were so many windows for him to look out of, lots of space to roam in, and both Derek and Logan slathered him with affection.

  There were plenty of times she’d found him on their laps, getting treats from them, or playing with the various toys on strings that appeared for him to chase. He still spent most of his time with her, but a bond had clearly grown between the cat and the Murray brothers.

  Logan looked at her collection of stuff and loaded it in the car without a word. He helped her get Sammy in his travel bag, and they went to the office.

  Derek greeted her as warmly and politely as he greeted any of his patients.

  It felt like a slap in the face.

  She was quiet as he examined her eyes, answering his questions but not offering anything further. When he was done, he took a few moments to make some notes in her chart then turned to her.

  “Your vision is coming along really well. I doubt you’ll need glasses, but it’s a possibility. We won’t fit you with a prescription for a couple of months though because things might change considerably. You still need to limit your time reading and at the computer, but distance stuff is okay. You can watch as much TV as you want.” He gave her a brief smile and then turned serious again. “There’s still follow-up in London to be done, but if you need to, you can drive yourself now. I’m clearing you to have your license back.”

  “Well, that’s good,” she ventured.

  “So, I think we’re done for now. You have your next appointment in London fixed, don’t you?”

  “Yes.” What, you’re not going with me? she thought, misery and panic mixing in her belly in a lumpy, congealing stew.

  “Good.” He helped her up from the chair and walked her to the lobby. “Her vision is coming along well,” he announced to Logan.

  The two men looked at each other, and Mary wasn’t sure what passed between them. It seemed to be significant, whatever it was.

  “Well, let’s get you home then,” Logan said.

  For the briefest moment, Mary thought he meant back to the Murrays’ house, but then she realized he meant her apartment. That made her heart seize like an oil-less engi
ne.

  Whispering a goodbye to Derek, she followed Logan to the truck and went to the apartment above Karen’s.

  Logan’s goodbye was polite, perfunctory and cut her to the bone.

  What had once seemed like such a welcoming space to her now felt empty and lonely. She unpacked, got Sammy settled, and walked to the store to pick up a few groceries. Not that she could eat, but it was something she was expected to do.

  The next morning she went down to the store to find Karen opening up. Her sister had visited lots over the past ten days, but she hadn’t let Karen know she was back in the apartment.

  “Holy shit, you scared the crap out of me!” Karen shrieked at her when Mary walked out to the front from the back room.

  “Sorry. I forgot to tell you I was back upstairs.”

  “What the hell?” demanded Karen. “I thought you were staying with Derek and Logan permanently. And though your bruises are fading, you look like crap. What happened?”

  Mary slumped into one of the coffee bar chairs. “I don’t know,” she said, voice cracking. She hadn’t allowed herself to cry yet, and the tears were a tissue paper’s thickness from the surface.

  “What do you mean you don’t know?” Karen sat down opposite her, frowning.

  “Things seemed to be good. Then yesterday…” Mary sighed, her breath catching. She swallowed and had to be silent for a moment. “They were polite and distant and offered to take me back to the apartment.”

  “Did you ask what the hell was going on?”

  “No. I was too…stunned. And what would they say anyway? That they were bored? That they weren’t interested in a half-blind woman with a cat and too much baggage?” There it went. A tear escaped, and Mary had to fight hard to keep the rest from fleeing the confines of her eyes.

  “This smacks of some sort of misunderstanding, like when you intervened between the guys and me. I’m going to talk to them.” Karen slapped her hand on the table, the sound loud in the unopened store.

  “Don’t, please,” Mary begged. “Give it a few days at least. Maybe whatever they’re thinking will blow over.” And if it turns out that Mom has grounds to try to terminate your marriage, then it will be easier for me to leave. Though it might kill her to say goodbye to Hardwick Bay in the end.

  “Why? You’re upset. I doubt they’re happy. What’s going to change by waiting?”

  “Maybe it will give them time to think, reconsider. Please, do it for me. Do it because you’re my sister, and I’m begging you.”

  Karen snorted. “Well, that’s just sisterly emotional blackmail. But fine.”

  * * * *

  Logan answered the door to find Karen standing on the step. She was tense, and her eyes were practically radiating anger.

  “Ah, hi, Karen. Come on in. What’s up?”

  She blew past him into the foyer. “Like you two don’t know.” She continued to charge into the living area. “Where’s your jerk brother?”

  “I’m right here,” answered Derek as he started down the steps from the loft. “And why are we jerks?”

  “Because my sister hasn’t a clue what she did to make you ditch her like yesterday’s underwear. She’s spent the last two days moping in the apartment. I’m frigging worried that she’s going to get another ulcer from you two.” Karen was standing in the living area with her arms crossed.

  Logan could see Derek’s temper starting to simmer. He needed to head this off before he got to full boil.

  “Ah, Karen, it’s not exactly us that’s calling it quits,” he said. “Please sit down and we’ll try to discuss this a little more, er, calmly. Please?”

  “Yeah, you should be saying please,” she muttered. She plunked herself into a chair, arms still crossed and no less of a frown.

  Derek walked stiffly into the room and sat, just as stiffly.

  Logan looked at his brother, who looked back, silently. He sighed. Obviously it was up to him.

  “We came by some information that Mary is still employed at her old job. She’s on a leave of absence and will be going back. Her condo isn’t up for sale, and she’s told your mom she’s heading back to Toronto.” He stopped there, hoping it would be enough.

  Karen gasped and uncrossed her arms. “No way. She wouldn’t do that. She wouldn’t leave us now.”

  “Yeah, well, apparently we were all wrong.” Derek voice could have frozen fire.

  “How did you find this out? She didn’t tell you,” she stated authoritatively.

  Derek didn’t answer, and Logan grimaced. “Well, Derek, ah, accidentally talked to your mom, and then your mom forwarded some emails to Derek.”

  “Christ on a cracker!” Karen exploded. “You two idiots believed my mother, snooped Mary’s email, found shit you didn’t like, and were too cowardly to talk to her about it? God, this is just a little too familiar.”

  “She could have said something, too. She could have been fucking honest with us!” Derek raised his voice too.

  “Whoa!” Logan stood and set himself between the two. “Maybe we both could have handled things better. She should have told us the truth, and we should have confessed. But it’s over now, and she’s going back, so let’s let it lie.”

  “No,” Karen said stubbornly. “I don’t believe she would do that. There’s something else going on, and I’m going to talk to her about it. You may not give two shits about her anymore, but she’s my sister, and I care.”

  “Don’t you accuse us of not caring!” Derek shouted, his hands so tight on the chair arms that Logan wondered if they would need repair when this little chat was over. “We love her. We’ve looked after her since she got here. We’ve protected her as much as we could, we’ve tried to find out who her stalker is, and we nursed her through blindness, for fuck’s sake. She’s the one who wouldn’t talk to us!”

  “And if you knew how hard it was for her to risk any kind of confrontation, you’d get her a lot better. She hates shouting, fighting and arguments among family. She was always trying to be perfect so that there wouldn’t be any of that in our house. You shouting like this would only make her run. And, frankly, you’re not the one I expected to be the shouter in this duo.” Karen had lowered her voice somewhat, but she was still tense.

  It took a lot to get Derek riled, but Logan knew Mary’s betrayal had hit him hard. He had put his faith in her, and she had let him down with lies. Logan knew he seemed more superficial with his emotions, but when Derek was truly angry, he wasn’t quiet.

  “Karen, it’s been hard for both of us to accept this. But it seems like Mary’s made her choice, and we can’t help but be hurt by it.” Logan tried to explain why Derek was acting so out of character.

  Karen took a deep breath. “We don’t know that for sure. I’m going to the apartment to ask what the hell is really going on. It’s up to you whether you come or not.” She stood up, apparently finished with them.

  “Wait,” Logan asked her. “Would you give us a minute?”

  “We don’t need a minute,” Derek interjected. “We’re going too. I’m going to confess, and then we’ll know for sure that she’s leaving us.”

  Logan was pleasantly surprised. He’d thought he was going to have to threaten to rearrange the entire house so that Derek wouldn’t know where anything was to get him to move.

  Chapter 24

  Mary wanted to cry.

  This time, though, it was in relief.

  Eric Roberts had gotten back to her, and there was no way Karen’s marriage could be declared invalid. It didn’t matter that they hadn’t declared in front of the entire assemble guests. That was tradition, not law. Two people who did know exactly who Karen was married to had duly witnessed the marriage, and that was the legal sticking point.

  Karen was free, and by extension, so was Mary.

  To add even better news, she and Andrew had formed a trial partnership as accountants, and Eric had expressed interest in her forensic abilities. He was even willing to help her advertise a bit in local legal circ
les.

  She had emailed her mother straight away and let her know the good news. She flat-out told LeeAnn that she would not be breaking up Karen’s marriage, Mary was not returning to the firm, and she was putting her condo on the market as soon as she was able.

  Job, check. Sister safe, check. Mother thwarted, check. Eyesight, mostly check. Getting rid of Bob, her old job, and the condo would be a piece of cake after those three.

  Getting over Derek and Logan. That was another story.

  She missed them. More than she ever would have thought.

  She missed the obvious things—their hot bodies, the fabulous sex, the way they took care of her. She also missed the little stuff. Like the way they played with the cat but didn’t want to get caught doing so. The way Derek always had his lists. He had the daily list, the weekly list, and the list of stuff to buy. List mania. She loved the way Logan would interfere. He would add stupid stuff to Derek’s lists or hide them or even throw them out. It was a constant battle they both loved to fight.

  She missed the way Logan smelled like wood shavings and Derek smelled like caramels.

  She missed having someone else brushing their teeth in the bathroom with her in the morning.

  She had fallen in love with them, and she hadn’t realized it until they were gone.

  Mary had always vowed she would do her best to recognize love when it came. She never wanted to be like the heroines in love stories that didn’t realize what they had until it was too late. Well, the joke was on her. She was the stupid romance novel cover girl.

  And she was going to live in Hardwick Bay and get to see what she lost almost every day.

  The bell rang for her apartment.

  Great. Company.

  Just when she was working herself into a good pity party again. Perhaps whoever it was had brought some cheese to go with her whine.

  She pulled the door open, somewhat expecting her sister.

  Instead, she was pushed back against the wall and overwhelmed by the stench of alcohol.