by Brenda Novak
She was aware of that. They’d talked about it before. Savanna remembered warning him of the danger involved in picking up strangers.
“But once my confusion and panic subsided, and I could think clearly, I realized she was the same woman,” he went on. “So I told my attorney, and after he reminded her, she remembered it, too.”
“Was she bleeding when you did that?”
“Not that I could tell, but I didn’t check her for injuries. The drops of blood the police found were so small, who knows how they got there? You could barely see them with the naked eye. For all I know, they were planted, like I said before.”
She pivoted to check on the kids, who were still peering out at her. “That’s not the only evidence tying you to these crimes, Gordon.”
“It’s the most compelling. DNA evidence always is.”
“The things you kept in our storage shed tell their own story.”
“What are you talking about? Those things were part of a Halloween costume! I thought it would be cool to dress up as a murderer, in a scary sort of way. You know I like the macabre. But then I realized it would be going too far and never did anything with it.”
“Since when were you ever interested in dressing up for Halloween, Gordon?”
“It’s been a while. I don’t even remember when I assembled that. I mean, come on, babe. Have some faith. I miss my family. I miss you.”
Babe. The endearment made Savanna feel...odd, sad, guilty (of what, she didn’t know), repulsed and confused, all at once. Now that she could look back on their marriage from the vantage point of a new perspective, she was beginning to believe it had been like a piece of fruit left to rot on a tree. It’d hung on for a long time, had looked fine on the outside, but once it fell to the ground and broke open, it was easy to see it’d been rotting for quite a while.
Branson opened the van door and leaned out. “Mom, it’s getting hot in here. You coming?”
She lifted a hand to signal that she’d only be another moment. “I can’t talk anymore,” she told Gordon—and Dorothy, who was, of course, listening in.
“Wait! Before you go, promise me that you’ll at least accept my calls from now on, let me talk to you and the kids once in a while. I’m going crazy in here. I think about you all the time.”
Did she have to remain in contact? Did she owe it to him by virtue of the fact that they’d once meant so much to each other? And what was fair when it came to their children?
Turning, Savanna saw her kids staring back at her. God, this was difficult. She had no idea how best to protect them—except to make a clean break from their father. “I hope I’m not misjudging you, Gordon. I really do. And I’m sorry if that’s the case. But...I don’t want any contact.”
“Wait. What? Why not? I’ve been nice, haven’t I? I didn’t say anything to upset Alia when I had her on the phone. You can trust me.”
“No, I can’t. It’s all smoke and mirrors, and I don’t like the feeling that you’re constantly trying to prey on my humanity.” She hit the end button. She couldn’t allow him to mess with her head, couldn’t allow him to undermine her confidence in the decisions she’d made.
Branson and Alia both watched her solemnly as she climbed back behind the wheel.
“What’d he say?” Branson asked.
“Nothing that changes anything,” she replied.
“Are we going to see him?” Alia asked. “He says we can visit him if we want.”
Savanna gazed into her little girl’s earnest face. “No, we’re not going to see him.”
Alia’s eyes filled with tears. “Maybe later?”
With a sad smile, Savanna pushed her daughter’s hair back and started the truck. “Yeah, maybe later,” she mumbled. It was a lie, and she felt bad for telling it. But she was hanging on by such a thin thread she couldn’t withstand Alia’s tears right now. She was too busy choking back her own.
7
The fridge wasn’t the best Gavin had ever seen, but it wasn’t too bad. He and Eli helped unload it and get it plugged in. Then, looking hot and miserable, since the day was so warm and the truck didn’t have air-conditioning, Savanna took her children and headed to LA. Gavin told her it’d be late by the time she got there, what with traffic. Even on a Sunday, gridlock could be a problem in Southern California. But she wouldn’t postpone the trip. She said the car lots would be open until nine—and would likely stay open later if she was in negotiations on a purchase. She wanted to get that over with so she could return the van.
Gavin watched them drive off while standing in her driveway, drinking a cold beer with Eli. He’d brought drinks for everyone from his place before Savanna and her kids had left.
Once they were out of sight, Eli gestured toward the ramshackle structure behind them. “They’re really going to live here?”
Gavin frowned. “Can you believe it?”
“No. It’s a dump. She can’t even lock the back door.”
“She’ll replace that—and a lot of other things.”
Eli lifted his beer for emphasis. “Renovations take time. Helps if you have money. That can speed up the process a lot. But considering what she chose for a fridge, I’m not getting the impression she’s sitting on a fortune.”
Apparently, Gordon hadn’t left his wife with much extra when he went to jail. She’d told Gavin she’d worked as an administrative assistant for an insurance agent, which meant she couldn’t have been making a lot more than minimum wage. And, according to the articles Gavin had read, Gordon had fixed mining equipment. His job had given him the freedom to roam but couldn’t have paid a great deal. “I can help her with basic fixes,” he said. “That’ll bring the costs down.”
Eli shot him a look. “That’s how you’d like to spend your off-hours—doing more maintenance and repair?”
“I don’t mind,” he said. “It’s what I’m good at.”
“And you don’t think Heather will have a problem with you hanging out at your gorgeous neighbor’s all the time?”
“I have no idea what’s going to happen with Heather...” Every time he saw Savanna, his future plans with Heather went a little out of focus.
Silence fell, but neither one of them moved.
“Savanna likes you, too,” Eli said at length. “You realize that.”
Finished with his beer, Gavin crushed the can. “No, she doesn’t.”
“The chemistry between you is unmistakable. I caught her looking at you so many times while we were moving that refrigerator—and when she’d see that I was watching, she’d blush and glance away.”
Part of Gavin really wanted to hear what Eli had just told him, and yet he tried to shrug it off. After the way she’d been betrayed, it would take forever and a day for her to recover. And now he had his own problems to deal with. “We barely know each other.”
Eli wiped the sweat from his forehead onto his pants. “You both live way the hell out in the boondocks—and it’s just the two of you.”
“So? A lot of people who live in the country have only one or two neighbors.”
“I’m saying it looks like you’re going to have plenty of time together.”
And Gavin was supposed to be falling for someone else, someone who might be the mother of his child. He hadn’t missed Eli’s point; he didn’t want to acknowledge that it could become a problem. He was tempted to believe he’d dreamed up Heather’s visit last night. But then a car turned down the street, coming toward them, and he knew he hadn’t. “Maybe I’m seeing Savanna as an escape from what I have going on in my own life,” he said, and gestured to draw Eli’s attention to the Camaro.
The second Eli glanced up, he lowered his beer. “Shit. That’s Scott, isn’t it?”
“No question.”
“You don’t think this will come to blows...”
“I have no idea. He’s not happy. He glares daggers at me, even follows me sometimes when he sees me in town like he wants to start something.”
Eli straightened. “Jealousy is a dangerous emotion.”
“I’m well aware of that.”
Scott pulled into Gavin’s drive, got out and waited for Gavin to walk over, which he did with Eli at his elbow.
“Can I have a minute?” Scott asked, glancing from Gavin to Eli and back again.
“Sure.” Gavin tossed his crushed can into the small recycle bin he kept by his chair on the front porch.
Although Eli had been planning to leave—he’d said something earlier about wanting to get a few things done around the house before his wife returned—Gavin guessed he wouldn’t go anywhere right now. As protective as Eli was, of his whole family, he’d stay to make sure he wasn’t needed to break up a fight.
“It’s hot out today,” Gavin said to Scott. “Why don’t you come in?”
When they moved toward the door, Eli didn’t follow, so Gavin turned to see what he was planning to do.
“Don’t worry about me.” He tilted his beer in a salute. “I’ll stay here and relax for a few minutes, finish this.”
Close, but not too close...
Gavin wasn’t afraid of Scott, but he wasn’t eager to get in a fight, either. That wouldn’t solve anything.
Knowing Eli’s presence would discourage that sort of thing, Gavin shot his brother a grateful look. “Can I get you a drink?” he asked Scott as they went inside.
Scott shook his head. He seemed upset, which, of course, came as no surprise. Gavin was upset, too—only in a different way. He was angry with himself for going back to Heather the last time.
“Would you like to sit down?” Gavin indicated the couch.
Scott’s chest lifted as he drew a deep breath. “No, I’ll make this brief.”
“If you’re here to tell me about the baby, I know. Heather came by last night.”
His eyes widened. “She did? When?”
Should he not have revealed that? The last thing he wanted was to make Scott angrier. “She was waiting for me when I got back from a gig in Santa Barbara.”
“Had to have been late.”
“It was,” he admitted.
Scott shook his head in apparent disgust. “She must’ve come straight over here from my place.”
“She’s not in a good situation—”
“None of us are!” he broke in.
Gavin attempted to modulate his voice so that he wouldn’t ignite what was already a potentially volatile meeting. Truth be told, he felt sorry for Scott. But what could he do? He hadn’t planned on getting Heather pregnant. “True, but she’s the one who has to carry and deliver the baby. So I think we can agree that she has the worst of it. She was upset and...and looking for some support.”
“From you.”
Remembering what she’d said about hoping to get back with him, Gavin cleared his throat. “You two had just broken up. I’m assuming she didn’t feel comfortable trying to get it from you.”
“We didn’t break up. We had an argument. That’s all. She was with me all night before she said a word about the baby. And then, right when I wanted to make love...wham, she told me she was pregnant with someone else’s child. You’d be pissed, too!”
“She told me she wasn’t sure the baby is mine,” Gavin said, purposely skirting the rest of it.
Scott’s hands curled into fists. “That it’s even a possibility makes me want to tear your head off.”
Gavin lifted his hands. “With the childhood I had, you wouldn’t want to fight me.” Gavin had gone to juvie for fighting. It wasn’t as if he didn’t know how.
“I’m not scared of you! You’ve got to be thirty pounds lighter than me!”
“That’d be my guess, too. But trust me. I’ve done a lot more fighting in my day than you have. Nothing good ever comes of it.”
Scott looked a little less set on violence when he shoved his hands in his pockets. “I’m doing my best to remain calm, but...I don’t know what to do.”
“Fair enough. Let’s start here, then. The last time I was with Heather was before she started seeing you.”
“For the second time.”
Scott had been trying to get with Heather for a while. “Still, even if it was the third or fourth time, it’s not as if she was cheating on you, if that’s what’s causing you so much pain. You weren’t together at the time. That’s the point I’m trying to make.” Gavin knew that wasn’t really the root of the problem. Scott was upset by the fact that Gavin could get Heather back in a heartbeat if he wanted to, and now that she could be having his baby, he’d have reason.
“It’s not that simple! I’m in love with her. I was planning to marry her. And now she wants you—right when I thought we were finally past all that!”
“I’m sorry,” Gavin said. “I don’t know what else to say. Is that why you’re here? You’re looking for some sort of an apology?”
“I guess I’m hoping to hear you say you won’t take her back.”
When Gavin hesitated, Scott’s eyes narrowed.
“You don’t love her...”
That was true. But Gavin couldn’t make the admission. It could mean giving up easy access to his child. He didn’t trust Scott to allow him to coparent, felt certain Scott’s jealousy would get in the way—and might cause Scott to be unkind to the baby. After what Gavin had been through with his own stepmother, he wasn’t about to give someone as emotionally immature as Scott that much power over an innocent child, especially his. “Why don’t we...try to keep things open for now.”
“Open?” he echoed.
“Until the baby’s born. We’ll see whose child it is and go from there.”
“You expect me to hang in limbo, go on feeling this way for seven months, while you decide whether you really want her?”
“I didn’t say that. A bit of time would give us the chance to calm down before making a decision that could impact the rest of our lives, as well as that of an innocent child. That’s all.”
“To hell with waiting,” he cried. “I say she gets an abortion. She’s my girlfriend now, and I don’t want your filthy bastard growing up in my house.”
For the first time since Scott had arrived, Gavin felt like throwing a punch. After a statement like that, he might’ve done so, returned to the troublemaker he used to be. But Scott had already turned and was stalking toward the door.
Gavin followed him, catching the screen before it slammed. “I would never let you raise my child,” he called after him from the stoop.
Halfway to his car, Scott whirled around. “Yeah, well, we’ll see who winds up with Heather in the end. At least I’m willing to step up and marry her!” he said, and flipped Gavin the bird.
Eli pushed off Gavin’s truck, where he’d been waiting, and watched as Scott peeled out of the drive. “That seems to have gone well,” he said sarcastically.
“He’s a dick. There’s no way I’ll give him any influence over my child.”
“So what will you do?”
“Pray it isn’t mine.”
“And short of that?”
He frowned. “Marry Heather myself. Surely, I’d make a better husband than he would.”
Concern darkened Eli’s face. “Even if you don’t love her?”
Gavin didn’t have an answer for that.
* * *
It was almost midnight when Savanna drove her “new” 2016 Ford Fusion, a $14,500 purchase with forty-seven thousand miles on it, past Gavin’s house. She wanted to show him her car, but she was exhausted, and the kids were asleep in the back. She hesitated to wake them. Hearing Gavin’s voice might get them excited, which could make it hard for them to go back
to sleep. So she continued across the temporary bridge and parked, even though she saw a light on at his house.
After she woke Branson, who stumbled sleepily inside, she carried Alia in, which wasn’t easy. Her daughter was getting big—she took after her father—and Savanna was only five-four.
The moment she stepped inside the house, she knew something was different. Better. Her house was warm. If she listened carefully, she could hear the hum of the heater, which meant her HVAC system was working. How, she had no clue, but she felt a huge wave of relief. What with all the additional fees and taxes involved in buying a car, she’d realized that her money wasn’t going to last as long as she’d initially thought.
It wasn’t until she took Alia potty and tucked her in, and checked on Branson to kiss him good-night, that she noticed there were other changes. The broken windows had been boarded up, and her back door was fixed. It now locked! She could see the square piece of plywood that had been used to reinforce the broken part. It wasn’t beautiful, but it made the door functional, which was the most important thing. She felt safer already. Not only that, but there were two boxes of cold cereal sitting on the counter, and when she looked in the refrigerator, she found a gallon of milk.
Gavin. He had to have fixed the heater and done all the rest. Maybe Eli had helped him...
There were no flowers, no Welcome to Your New Home card or treats, like a woman might think to add. His contribution had been entirely practical. But as far as she was concerned, no one had ever done anything nicer.
As she sagged to the floor, she felt tears of gratitude well up. What would she have done without her neighbor? He’d gotten them to a motel when they first arrived and made it possible to drive the moving van across the creek so they could unload the next day. He’d helped her empty the van of furniture and boxes, even put the beds together. Then he’d unloaded the heavy fridge, which she couldn’t have budged on her own. And while she was gone today, he’d done enough around the house to make her feel as if she had a warm, safe place for herself and her children.
