Instead of heading right over to Reeve’s, an idea formed in her mind and twenty minutes later she walked out of Bourbon and Baker with half a dozen giant cookies. Back in her car, her phone dinged with a text.
REEVE: You there yet? I’m so sorry but we had a small issue here on-site and I’m going to be about forty-five minutes late. If you’re at my place the garage code is 8324. Be home soon.
Whoa. She knew he liked her, but was shocked that they were at the point of him just allowing her to go into his place alone. But she had to admit, she kind of liked it. Heading to his house, she pulled up to find a middle-aged woman sitting on his front steps.
“Shit.” Emily muttered to herself. The woman had spotted her parking at the curb and began heading in her direction. Grabbing her purse and the cookies, Emily got out.
“Hello,” she said to the woman now crossing the yard. She appeared to be in her fifties, with dark hair that was matted around her head as if she’d been sitting out in this hot weather for too long. She wore khaki shorts and a floral top and her fingers were covered in rings. Her smile was sweet, but Emily noticed immediately that her eyes were red and puffy. She’d been crying.
“Are you Reeve’s girlfriend?” the woman asked, wiping at her face.
“No, no. I’m just . . . a friend of his.” Emily stepped into the yard, and the woman stuck out her hand.
“I’m Alice Miller, Reeve’s mother.”
“Alice, hello. It’s so nice to meet you. I’m Emily.”
“He’s not home and I’ve been trying to reach his cell phone for an hour.”
An hour, huh? Considering Emily had just heard from him on his cell phone about ten minutes ago, it was obvious that he was avoiding his mother’s calls. For some reason, Emily also wasn’t comfortable assuming he’d be okay with them both waiting on him in his house. She didn’t know about his relationship with his mother, but he had made a couple of odd comments in regard to this woman. Emily didn’t want to overstep her bounds so she decided to play dumb. “Oh shoot, he’s not home? I’m sure he’s had a busy day. Maybe he just hasn’t checked the phone.”
Alice’s expression was overcome with worry. “He ignores my calls sometimes. But today I really need to get ahold of him.”
Great. Emily wasn’t sure how to respond to that, but she worried that maybe something really was wrong. Obviously it was or Alice wouldn’t be here crying.
“Well, how about I try calling him?” Emily asked. She reached into her purse and retrieved her cell.
After dialing she gave his mother a hopeful smile as she listened to the ringing on the other end of the line. After his voicemail clicked on, announcing that he was Reeve Miller with Big Blue Landscaping and that he couldn’t take her call, she just hung up without leaving a message. Obviously he was too busy at this point.
“I’m sorry, he didn’t pick up. Is there something wrong? Anything I can do?”
“Oh no. I mean, yes, but, I just really need Reeve.”
“Okay, I understand.” Emily wasn’t sure what to say, especially since Reeve’s mother still stood there, arms crossed, sweat dripping as she chewed at her pinkie nail. “Well . . . hopefully he’ll get back to you soon.”
“Are you close with him?”
Emily froze, perplexed by such odd questions. “We haven’t known each other long. Can you tell me what you need help with?”
Alice looked torn, her face wrinkled with indecision. “My air conditioner is acting up and, well, I haven’t seen Mr. Boo in a few days. I’m starting to get worried.”
“Mr. Boo?” Emily asked, confused.
“My cat.”
“Oh, okay. Did he possibly escape the house? Maybe I can help you look for him.”
“Oh no, I’m certain he’s in there. He never leaves.”
“Have you tried putting food in his bowl? He’s bound to come out sooner or later if he’s hiding.”
Alice’s lip began to wobble. “Reeve really should have just let me keep Clarice. Mr. Boo has never been so happy, not since Plain Jane left, and Reeve is always taking them all away. I kept trying to tell him, but all he wants to do is break my heart.”
Emily stood there, in absolute shock. She knew who Plain Jane was, but this . . . this was beyond strange. She had no idea how to respond to that. “Alice, I’m so sorry. He should be here soon.”
Alice headed for the sidewalk. “I have to get home. If Mr. Boo comes out and I’m not there it will upset him.”
Glancing around the yard, Emily noticed there were no other vehicles. “Do you live close?” she called after the retreating woman.
“No, my neighbor Janet dropped me off here on her way to work,” Alice said over her shoulder.
Emily followed after her. “Why don’t I give you a ride home? It’s awfully hot out here. Too hot to walk.”
Reeve’s mother stopped and looked up at her. “Reeve will get upset. He’s always mad, you know? Always yelling at me. Every time I do anything wrong he tells me it’s my fault and I should have known better.”
Emily was stunned at that. Alice was describing a man that Emily had never met, and didn’t want to. This woman was his mother so who was she to question her . . . and yet something just wasn’t right. Emily wondered if the woman had some sort of mental problem. Or maybe she was having a heatstroke. Either way she couldn’t just let her walk home, no sane person would. She was distraught and sweaty. What if something happened to her? Then she’d have to explain to Reeve that she’d allowed it.
“Well, I don’t think he’ll be upset if I just drive you home.”
“You’re wrong. He’ll be mad.”
“Alice, it’s too hot out here to walk very far. Is there somewhere else I can take you?”
“No. I need to be home.”
“Then come with me. It won’t take long.”
Reluctantly Alice started back toward the house and followed Emily to her car. As soon as they were seated inside, she noticed that Alice smelled faintly of body odor. Emily asked where she lived, which was indeed on the other side of town. As they drove, Alice went on and on about Mr. Boo and Clarice, to the point that Emily tuned it all out. When they pulled in front of the house, Alice quickly hopped out of the car.
“Thank you, Emily.” Then she closed the door and was rushing toward the house. It was an older home, run-down, but the yard was mowed and the front step had a flower pot on it full of petunias. She watched as Alice struggled at the front door for a moment then pushed it open just enough to squeeze through and slam it shut. All the windows were shuttered, even the ones on the garage door.
Emily stared over her steering wheel, trying to work out exactly what the hell had just happened. Something about leaving his mother here didn’t feel right at all. She’d mentioned her air conditioner not working. Emily glanced at the temperature gauge on her dash. It was eighty-three degrees, which meant it had to be near a hundred in a home without air. She probably should have just made Alice wait inside Reeve’s house. What had she been thinking?
With a sigh, Emily opened her car door and made her way to the front door. When she reached the steps, a faint odor of rot and possibly . . . animal greeted her. She knocked.
“Alice? It’s Emily, I don’t know what I was thinking. It has to be hot in there, why don’t you just come back to Reeve’s house with me. He should be home soon.”
When no one answered, Emily knocked again. She put her ear to the door. “Alice? Everything okay?”
She pulled her cell from her pocket and called Reeve again. This time when she got his voicemail, she left a message. “Hey, Reeve, it’s Emily. This is kind of strange, but your mother was at your place. She needed you to help her find her cat. I brought her home, but her air conditioner’s not working and now she’s not answering the door. Anyway, if you get this, call me. I don’t know what to do. Sorry.”
Emily put her hand on the doorknob, hesitated, and then tried to turn it gently. It was locked. “Alice, I’m not sure what I did
to upset you but please open the door. I’m getting a little worried. I called Reeve and left a message for you.”
She heard a shuffle on the other side of the door.
“Alice, please let me help you.” She waited, now knowing with certainty that Reeve’s mother could hear her.
She waited for a moment and then stepped away from the door. Why was she trying so hard? Obviously the woman didn’t want her to come in, and it wasn’t as if she were a helpless child. If she got too hot, she could come outside.
Just as she was about to step off the concrete, the front door creaked open. When Emily turned back, the door was open just a few inches, enough for Alice to peek out.
Emily smiled, trying to look helpful and genuine. Which she was, but this was all so odd. “Hi. Why don’t you let me drive you back to Reeve’s? We can wait for him together.”
“I can’t leave again until I find Mr. Boo.”
“Okay. Why don’t I come in and help you?” Although something in the back of her mind was telling her that going through that door was not a good idea.
“Reeve will be mad, but he should know better. He never helps me even though he knows I need it.”
Emily still had a hard time believing that. Something was off about Alice—and yet for some reason Emily felt compelled to help her. Maybe because she was Reeve’s mother. “Well then, why don’t you let me help you?”
“I’ve not been feeling well lately, ever since the air-conditioning broke, so the house is a little messy.
“That’s okay, I understand. My house is usually a mess, too.”
Alice stared at her a moment, clearly deciding if she could trust Emily. Finally, the door opened slowly, and Emily stepped inside.
She froze. Immediately she realized that despite her good intentions, she’d just lied to Reeve’s mother. The truth was, this was something she could never, ever, ever understand. What she was seeing . . . it took her breath away.
The living room—or so she assumed—was piled high with . . . everything. Boxes, magazines, bags from the grocery store filled with cans, unopened packages from the mail and home shopping channels. One entire corner appeared to be stacks of clothing as tall as Emily herself. Those were topped with more paper bags, full of Lord knew what. There was a pathway cleared that led down a hallway and another toward what appeared to be a dining area, but the table was either not there or no longer visible.
The worst part was the heat. It was stifling, and that combined with the stench made Emily’s stomach want to heave. She took another step into the mess, and the overwhelming sense of sadness that washed over her would’ve brought her to her knees if she’d been willing to touch anything on the floor. She wasn’t.
She turned to Alice who was eyeing her warily, probably waiting for her negative reaction. Emily forced herself not to let that happen. She remained all business, giving nothing of her horror away.
“So, Mr. Boo is in here somewhere?” Emily asked, proud of the level tone of her voice, since it was taking a great deal of effort not to gag.
Alice nodded and visibly relaxed a little. When was the last time she’d had someone inside? Surely this kind of living condition was illegal or something.
“How long since you’ve seen him?” Emily knew her voice wavered. Her breath was becoming labored.
Alice stepped over a large pile of DVDs, careful not to knock anything out of place, almost as if it needed to stay in a perfect stack. “Since Sunday.”
Sunday? That was four days. With this heat and mess, Emily was afraid poor Mr. Boo might be partly what she was smelling. “Alice. If you don’t mind telling me, how long has the air conditioner been broken?”
“Mmm, probably since last September.”
Emily sucked in a breath. Alice needed a lot of help, probably more than Emily or her son could give her, and it went way beyond the missing cat. Right now, many of Reeve’s comments and actions were beginning to make a lot of sense.
Oh, Reeve.
The thought of him made her sad. He was such a proud and honest man, and she knew without a doubt that Alice was right. He would not be happy when he found out she had come here.
CHAPTER TWELVE
Reeve had never had to fire anyone before, but there was a first time for everything. He’d known his employee Rick had a tendency to get a little mouthy and had been disrespectful to both Reeve and Brad in the past, but he’d never been anything but polite and professional to their customers. Until today, apparently. When Mr. Hanson called and told Reeve about the way Rick had acted, Reeve had been humiliated. He’d then apologized profusely and gave the man the following month’s service for free.
As much as he hated to lose the manpower during the busy season, using profanities and speaking in anger to a client was not something Reeve could forgive, and so he and Brad had decided that they had to let him go. As much as he knew he’d done the right thing, he felt like shit as he made his way back to his truck. Mr. Hanson, old and crotchety, could be a real ass, and he hated that Rick had let his emotions get the better of him, but he had, and Reeve hoped this taught him a hard lesson.
On top of that, Reeve was hot as hell, sweating from head to toe, and nearly thirty minutes later than he’d told Emily he’d be. Once in his truck, he started the engine and blasted the air. It was not going to be ideal, seeing her completely dirty like this, but he’d just have to take a quick shower before they could be together.
He smiled to himself knowing that she was in his house waiting for him. He wondered what she was doing. Going through his stuff? Peeking in the refrigerator? He had absolutely nothing to hide considering how anal he was about getting rid of things and not hanging on to anything unnecessary. Maybe she was just sitting on the couch waiting for him. It was possible she hadn’t gone in, but he hoped she had.
It was still a little worrisome, her wanting to get together. He loved the idea that she couldn’t wait until Saturday, but something about the way she’d started the conversation had put his senses on alert.
He pulled away from Brad’s house, which doubled as their business office, and headed toward home. Ten minutes later he pulled into his driveway and noticed that Emily’s car wasn’t there.
“Shit.” He hoped she hadn’t gotten tired of waiting and left. Picking up his phone, he saw a bunch of calls from his mother, many of which he’d ignored earlier. Then two calls and a voicemail from Emily. He listened to her voicemail. The minute she mentioned his mother he felt a pit form in his stomach. By the time he’d listened to her entire message, he felt as if he might be sick.
Throwing the truck into reverse, he flew out of the driveway and then down the street. He was speeding. It was reckless.
He didn’t care.
Oh God, if she went into his mother’s house . . .
No, she wouldn’t allow that. Alice Miller never let anyone into the house. Ever.
When he pulled into his mother’s driveway he cursed out loud when he saw the little black Audi parked alongside the curb. And it was empty. He scrambled out of the truck, slammed the door, and strode up to the porch before banging on the front door because he knew without a doubt it would be locked. It always was so no one accidentally walked in.
“Mom,” he yelled, then pounded again. “Mom, open up.”
The door opened, the horrible smell poured out, and there she was, the one woman in the entire world he would never, ever want to be standing there. In his childhood home. Surrounded by the mountains of shit his mother would never part with. Not even for her son. His entire body inflated with rage that settled deep in his chest, heavy like a physical weight.
“What the fuck, Emily? Why are you here?” He was being a dick, he could hear it in his own furious voice and see it reflected back to him in the round shock of her eyes. He didn’t care. She needed to go.
“I’m so sorry, Reeve. But we did find Mr. Boo.” She tried a timid smile.
He grabbed her arm and forcibly pulled her from the house. “You shou
ld not be in there.”
“It’s okay, Reeve.” She tripped on a crack in the concrete when he yanked her and Reeve grabbed her shoulders with both arms before quickly letting her go. Emily turned to stare at him, shock on her face. “I know you’re upset, but . . . I said it’s okay.”
He lifted his hands to his head and squeezed, not able to handle what was happening right now. “Emily, stop fucking talking.”
She shut her mouth and stared at him. If he wasn’t mistaken her eyes had gone a little glassy.
He tried to be calm as he spoke but it came out as cold and bitter instead. “I need you to leave here. Right now.”
“Reeve, pl—”
“Now!”
Without another word she scooted past him. He couldn’t watch her go. He could only listen for her car to start and then drive away. When it did he yelled into the house.
“Mother, what the hell is wrong with you?”
It took her a moment, but she finally came down the hall. He’d known she would avoid the confrontation between him and Emily. She knew damn well that he never would have wanted anyone he knew here, let alone inside the house. He would have been fine if Emily never met his mother at all, his shame of this place and this woman ran so deep.
“Reeve, you really only have yourself to blame. I ask you all the time to help me and you never will.”
“Goddamn it, Mom. You don’t want help. You want your cats. And everyone’s pity. You want me to make Dad come back. He’s not ever coming back, because he could not handle living like this. Don’t you understand that?”
Her eyes filled with tears. “You were also a difficult child. It was not just my fault.”
Reeve shook his head. He would never get through to her. Deep inside, he knew his mother loved him somehow, but she was ill. Her blaming him for the state of her house had always been her excuse and they both knew it was bullshit. For a long time now he thought he’d finally made it to a stage in his life where he’d moved beyond these issues, but finding Emily here had brought the deep shame and paranoia rushing back.
All I Ask Page 16
