Changing Fate (Book 3) (Piper Anderson Series)

by Danielle Stewart

  “But the letter Jedda sent you from prison about me knowing about his sister . . . . you were so upset when you read it. I should have spoken up. I could have stopped all of this if I would have done the right thing.”

  “We weren’t angry that you knew and didn’t tell us, we were upset that you knew at all. We thought we had been keeping some of the more horrific details from you, but when we found out you’d been to that place with him, that you’d seen his sister and the conditions she was living in, we were devastated. We blamed each other. We fought tirelessly. Jedda didn’t want to see us, or, really, he didn’t want us to see him like that. So when we were sure we wouldn’t have the opportunity to foster or adopt Jedda’s sister, we made the choice to move to Edenville. We wanted to give you a fresh start; we all needed one.”

  “But you don’t disagree that it ruined everyone’s lives, do you? What he did that day, it destroyed everything.”

  “I completely disagree. And I have my reasons. I wasn’t sure of the right time to tell you this, but we visit Jedda now. It’s part of the reason we moved back. We didn’t want to burden you with it, or drag up anything that might have hurt you. Jedda might be in prison, but he doesn’t regret the choice he made that night, nor would I consider his life ruined. He went and worked on his education, earned a degree. He volunteers to help other prisoners further their education. His circumstances aren’t great, but he feels he has a purpose, and that makes him happy. Your father and I have come full circle. I’ve never been more in love, more joyful in my life. That was a black spot in our relationship, but you find me a love that doesn’t have one. And you,” she asked pointing at him, “do you feel ruined?” She had a sparkle in her eye, as though she knew the answer, but the longer he hesitated the dimmer the light became.

  “Some days I do.”

  “You have a great life down in Edenville. Thank God for the Grafton’s. I know I was in no condition to care for you at times, and they did it without hesitation. You have friends and a great job. You’re not ruined.”

  He looked over at Piper, and she knew what he was thinking. He’d slowly pushed some of those friends away, his job was gone now, maybe he was ruined. And maybe it was Piper who ruined him.

  “So you see him?” Bobby asked, turning his attention back to his mother and running his hand over his short hair as if it might help him process the information in his brain.

  “Yes, we visit. He asks about you all the time. He’ll be glad to know you were here. He’d love to see you, would you come with us?”

  Bobby sidestepped the question, not ready to make that commitment. “Two people died that day, Mom. Do you really believe that was the only way?”

  “You’re a cop Bobby, you’ve seen enough of the real world now, don’t you believe that?”

  “No, how can you even make that argument? Two people are dead.”

  “Wrong, two monsters are dead. Maybe it’s good you’re here asking these questions if that’s what you think. Your brother sacrificed his freedom for his sister. He gave up his right to a trial, one I think may have spared him, just so we wouldn’t be subjected to any more pain. His parents were grooming his sister to be sold.” She lowered her chin to her chest, unable to speak the words, go into detail what sold meant. And he didn’t press her to. “She wasn’t the first. There was a detective, a man who could see what a wonderful boy Jedda had become and felt terribly sorry for us. He spent his off hours investigating, trying to give us some closure. There were six girls before Jedda’s sister, and there likely would have been dozens more after if he hadn’t stopped them.”

  “He could have called the police.”

  “His parents would have run, or killed her, before anything could be done. Or they’d have found her again. They were desperate people with more hate in their hearts than any two people should be able to have.”

  “So you think everything has turned out exactly as it should? You wouldn’t change a thing?” Bobby’s voice was raised slightly, swirling between anger and sadness, between boy and man as he begged his mother for more answers.

  “That’s not true.” She crossed her legs and leaned back, almost defiantly. “If I had known, I’d have killed them myself. Spared Jedda his life and gladly spent the rest of my life in prison knowing I did the world, and my family, a favor.”

  Bobby shook his head, disbelief dancing in his eyes. Piper wanted to lean toward him, touch him, but she couldn’t anticipate his reaction. He looked on the verge of storming out, or maybe breaking down.

  “I want to find her,” he said, clearing his throat and steadying himself emotionally. “His sister, what can you tell me about her? I want to find her.”

  “Why?” His mother’s eyes were narrowed now. “Do you intend to dredge all this up for her?”

  “No, I just need to see how she is, how all this turned out for her.”

  “Bobby, what kind of mission is this? Are you trying to punish yourself or win an argument here?” Piper froze slightly at Genie’s words. Had she read the tension between them? Could she see that things weren’t right?

  Bobby huffed, not daring to go down the road of why this was important to his relationship with Piper. “I’ve spent a long time believing what Jedda did was wrong. I had decided it was like an infectious disease that impacted everyone it touched. I thought you blamed me. I thought you wished it had never happened. I thought I was right.” The lump in his throat seemed almost visible to Piper.

  “You aren’t,” his mother said as she stood and sat beside him. “If you thought this was your fault, you were wrong. If you thought you could have changed things, saved everyone from themselves, you were wrong. And if you thought we were all destroyed because of what happened, you were wrong. I don’t think you need to find Jedda’s sister to be able to make all this right in your head. And I don’t think whatever life she is leading right now is any representation of whether or not Jedda did the right thing. Maybe the damage had been done to her, maybe she was too far gone.” She touched her son’s shoulder softly, and it made Piper think of Betty, all the surrogate hugs she must have given while everyone put themselves back together. She imagined all the casseroles she delivered, knowing something wasn’t right but never needing to know exactly what.

  “I still want to find her,” Bobby asserted.

  His mother rolled her eyes in Piper’s direction, implying her son’s stubbornness was boundless. “I don’t know much, really. When we were told we couldn’t adopt her, we weren’t given much more information. The only thing I know was that her name was Willow, and she was adopted by a family that lived on an island off Rhode Island. Nantucket, Block Island, I’m not sure. You’re a good police officer, I’m sure you’ll be able to track her down.” She turned toward Piper and smiled. “When Bobby sets his heart on something, he doesn’t stop until he gets it.”

  Piper let her heart warm for a moment at that thought, until she realized right now Bobby had his heart set on something other than being with her. Did that mean he was so determined to stay away from her that he would?

  “You’re staying for dinner aren’t you?” his mother asked, a slight panic in her voice as Bobby rose. “Your father . . .”

  “I might need a little break from Dad,” Bobby said, gesturing for Piper to follow him. “I’m pissed he cheated on you. I’ve got enough things I’m sorting out, I don’t think a little lemon chicken and a screaming match are in order for tonight.”

  His mother deflated like a balloon. “I’m sorry I had to tell you, but I didn’t want you carrying around all that blame and guilt. You needed to know that some of these things were set in motion long before Jedda made his decision.”

  “I’m glad you told me.” He embraced his mom as she stood for a hug. “When do you see Jedda again?”

  “We’ll see him right before Christmas, do you think you’ll still be in the area?”

  “Maybe,” he said, releasing her, looking down into her hopeful face. He towered over her and Piper
wondered what that must feel like as a mother. When your son starts out small enough to cradle in your arms then one day ends up like this, too large to control, boo-boos too big to fix with a kiss.

  He and Piper moved toward the door, Bobby heading out first as his mother pulled her in. “Don’t let him do this alone.”

  “I won’t.” Piper wanted to delve into the complex reasons why she might not be the right person for him through this. Maybe she was the last person he needed, the reminder he could do without. But the more time she spent with real people in this world, the more she realized that sometimes you just had to tell them what they needed to hear. Sometimes it was your job to just comfort, not to explain.

  They climbed back into the car, the long ride stretching out before them, and Bobby sprung right into action. His phone was to his ear, favors being called in, searches being run. That was how Bobby worked; when things were out of control, he started working, sorting through and formulating his plan. It was how he brought order to things he felt were spiraling out of control. It was what all of this was about, she realized. He was trying to make sense of something that probably never would make sense. It was likely futile, the end of this road filled with disappointment. But Bobby found comfort in following the road map he created, not necessarily in what was waiting for him at the end of it.

  When the phone calls seemed finished, a list of next steps clearly laid out in Bobby’s head, Piper felt she had her window to speak.

  “How do you feel?” she asked, leaning forward to catch his eye as he drove.

  “Hungry,” he murmured. “Do you want to stop for something before I drop you off?” Piper had to physically bite her tongue to stop the words Drop me off? from leaping from her mouth. When she felt like she had a firm grip on her emotions she responded, “I could eat.”

  She wanted to help him find Jedda’s sister. She wanted to pepper him with questions about how he felt about his father’s affair, the revelations his mother had laid before him. She wanted to crawl inside his head and rummage through his worry, his sadness, until she could help him make sense of it all. And then she realized, she was becoming a person. A real one. She was fitting into clichés and turning into that girl. The one who rolls over and asks, “What are you thinking right now?” to a man who cringes at the words.

  So she would do the only thing she could. Bide her time. They’d go eat somewhere and she’d tread lightly, but she’d be damned if she was getting dropped off anywhere. They were doing this together.

  Chapter Ten

  So this is what it felt like to be on the other side of a breakup, Michael thought to himself as he heard Jules’s voicemail pick up again. Was this a breakup, he wondered? He had the pit-of-the-stomach pain you got when someone you cared about decided she didn’t have the time for you. He thought back through the laundry list of women he’d sent straight to voicemail. The women he slowly, almost imperceptivity, backed away from until they were gone from his life. He wondered if any of those women lost the amount of sleep he had been losing over Jules. Had his unexplained coldness left any of them questioning their worth?

  As he sat at his desk, staring blankly at a document he should have read and signed by now, his mind spun. Piper had called him earlier in the day, and he tried to lay tracks between what she had said and what might be going on with Jules, trying to forge some connection. The call had been brief. She asked him to talk to Betty tonight, try to convince her to spend the holidays with them in New York. She filled him in on all the details of possibly locating her father. She told him she missed him and that she couldn’t wait to see him. But she said nothing about Jules. And like the asinine, bullheaded fool he was, he didn’t ask.

  Since his brain didn’t seem able to focus on work, he figured he’d better call it a day. He packed his briefcase and headed for the parking lot. He dodged the smiles and waves of coworkers. He just wanted to be in his car listening to music Jules would have loved and letting the thumping of the bass take over the beating in his chest.

  Michael had felt completely distracted over the last couple weeks since Jules left. At first he’d tried to shake it off by returning to his old schedule: work, dinner and drinks with buddies, sports channel, and bed. But his mind drifted off as his colleagues discussed their latest female conquests. When his food was placed down in front of him he always found himself disappointed that it lacked Betty’s home-cooked appeal. So after a few days he started just showing up at her house, driving from work to Betty’s under the guise of making sure she was doing okay.

  There was something comforting about being in a place where Jules had laughed. Where they had all accomplished so much together. Now, as he pulled in the driveway once again, he readied himself to convince Betty that a little trip to the city for Christmas was exactly what she needed. In reality, he needed it more.

  Like clockwork, he saw the door pull open as he got out of his car, and Betty step out onto the cold porch. He made note again on how different the house looked without the driveway filled with cars. Even the porch looked sad now. Betty had pulled in the cushions from the porch swing to protect them from the damp winter weather. The windows were closed up tight, and there was something symbolic and gloomy about it all.

  But like a knight fighting off a dragon, Betty’s wide, wrinkle-rimmed smile beat back the weariness from his heart.

  “Early day from work?” she asked, as she held open the screen door for him to pass into the house.

  “You know how it is,” he said, flopping down onto a creaky chair at the kitchen table. What a stupid thing to say, he thought to himself. Betty certainly didn’t know what it was like to be a lawyer with heavy caseloads switching between working feverishly and waiting impatiently. But as he searched himself he realized that wasn’t what he meant. He was implying she knew what this loneliness and worry felt like. He imagined her days at work were feeling as empty as his. She probably did know how it was.

  “I heard from Piper this morning.” Michael watched as Betty moved through the kitchen and readied a plate for him. She turned and looked at him over her shoulder, and he imagined she had some magical way of gauging his level of hunger and possibly his need for comfort food. Was this a ham sandwich kind of afternoon or a biscuits and gravy crisis?

  Like always, she read him right. She placed a steaming bowl of hot chili in front of him. He grinned and breathed in the smell of its therapeutic healing powers.

  “I’m still cross with them all, but luckily I’m a forgiving person, so I’m willing to listen to the update. For the record, I’m mostly mad at Bobby for chasing after them and not taking us with him. If anyone else goes to New York and doesn’t take me I’m locking this door and y’all can find another home base for all your crazy schemes.”

  “Funny you should say that.” He let his lips curl into a playful smile and readied his charm. “Piper thinks she’s found her father. He’s a doctor, and he and his wife want her to stay for Christmas while they wait for the paternity results. They’ve invited all of us to spend it with them. I’m planning to head up just before the holiday. If you really don’t want to be left behind, now is your chance.”

  “New York City,” Betty groaned skeptically. “For Christmas? Maybe I was sounding more adventurous than I intended. I didn’t actually think we’d go.”

  Michael saw the normal sparkle in Betty’s eye fade slightly as she looked down at her boxes of half-unpacked Christmas decorations spread across her kitchen counter.

  He’d done a good bit of traveling in his day. It was hard for him to imagine what it would be like for Betty, all this excitement in such a short period of time after a fairly sleepy existence. “It’s beautiful this time of year. There’s snow, ice skating, you’ll love it.” When Betty only shifted around a few stockings and ornaments, he continued. “I don’t have any specifics so don’t grill me,” he started, trying to fend off the questions he knew would come. “I think something might be up with Piper’s new family. I got a weird vib
e from her about it. I think it would be good if we could show our support.”

  Betty looked up at him and narrowed her eyes. He was playing a card he knew was impossible for her to ignore. “How long of a drive is it?”

  “Twenty minutes,” he replied, smiling widely at her. “That’s how long it takes to get to the airport.”

  She folded her arms and stomped her foot slightly in protest. “You know I’ve never flown before. There is just something unnatural about the whole thing. A big metal bus, careening through the air. If the good Lord intended me to fly you’d see some wings on this back.”

  “It’s physics, and it’s been working for quite a while now. They seem to have it pretty well figured out. I wouldn’t steer you wrong.” He spoke in between bites, and perhaps it was the mother in her or maybe the waitress, but right on cue she read his thirst and pulled a cold jug of sweet tea from the fridge. She filled a glass and placed it down in front of him. He thanked her with a wink of his deep green eyes.

  “I don’t doubt that, Michael. I think you have the best of intentions.” Betty squared her shoulders to him, moving one step closer and boring into him with her eyes. “I believe you to be a good man. A trustworthy friend. What I’m not clear on is who you are as a partner—a boyfriend. I’ve long passed the time when I could talk that girl in or out of anything. That ended when she was about five. But I can find other ways to try to keep her and her heart safe. That means I’m not above interrogating you with good ol’ fashion what-are-your-intentions-with-my-daughter tactics.”

  Michael was surprised. Not that Betty was insisting he delve into his heart and decide what he intended to be to Jules long term, but that it took so long for her to ask. “I’m not great at this, Betty. I do a lot of things well, but I don’t have a good track record for making a relationship work. I can admit that about myself. I thought when we were in Illinois things were going well. I had just dealt with the thought of losing her and it made me realize,” or admit, he thought to himself, “how much I care for her. But then she just took off. When I call her she acts all strange, distracted. She didn’t even call to ask me about coming up for Christmas.”