by Vella, Wendy
“Roadies?”
“Ryker Roadies. Mostly fit elderly people, with a few young ones thrown in to keep everyone happy. Don’t make eye contact or they’ll have you in sneakers and a matching shirt before you can inhale.”
“Right, got it.”
Rory watched the group of people wrapped to the eyeballs in winter jogging gear all bustle through the doors. She marveled anyone would want to do that with temperatures as low as they were at the moment.
“Here’s my girl.”
She watched a man weave through the recent arrivals and head for the counter. Tall, with brown hair, he wore a wide smile and it was aimed at the woman who had served her. Behind him came another man carrying a pink-cheeked little girl wearing a purple snowsuit.
“My husband and daughter. I have to drop everything when they appear.” The woman rushed around the counter.
Love, Rory realized. It radiated from the woman and man as they hugged and kissed. She’d never wanted that, and likely never would. In fact, since she’d left Ryker and her life had imploded, she’d decided it was just easier to rely on one person: herself. That way no one could let her down.
“Piper Howard,” the woman said. “This is my husband, Dylan, and daughter, Grace. And this idiot is my cousin Jack.”
“Hi, I’m Rory.” Rory didn’t want to give her surname, so she smiled, then returned to her coffee. Thankfully she didn’t recognize either of the people before her, although... oh hell. Dylan Howard. Piper and Jack Trainer. She put the names together in her head and groaned silently.
“How about offering up your full name, Princess Aurora May Haldane?”
Shit.
“Haldane?” Piper Howard placed her hands on the counter, staring at her cousin. “Aurora Haldane,” she then said slowly.
All friendliness had gone. How had she missed those eyes? The Trainer green. All four of the cousins had them. Piper had changed a lot since school, but then she hadn’t been a friend of Rory’s, so they weren’t close. Searching her memory, she tried to remember if she’d been mean to Piper like she had to so many of the kids in school.
“The very one.” The words were delivered in a flat, cold tone from the man she now knew had come into the house last night, scared her silly, then put her power and water back on. Jack Trainer.
“Well hell, look at you slumming it with us. Want me to serve your latte in a crystal goblet, Aurora May?” Piper growled.
In all fairness, she deserved that and probably a hell of a lot more.
“Ah, could I have the coffee to go, please?” Rory asked.
“Let me see now, the last time we met was at school. You were a year or two younger but told Maggie Winters that girls with hair like hers should have been drowned at birth.”
God, had she?
“And that I was offensive to look at in my thrift shop clothes,” Piper said, her eyes now angry slits.
“Piper.”
The woman ignored her husband as he placed a hand on her arm.
“I was thirteen,” Rory said in a calm voice she wasn’t feeling. “I’m sorry.”
“Sure, and I’ll accept that, no matter it’s years too late. Hell, I’m even gracious enough to not leap over the counter and go for your throat for what you and your brothers did to the kids in this town.”
Rory thought about forgetting the food and coffee and just making a run for it.
“Everyone changes, right? I mean hell, a Haldane may even have turned into a passable human by now.”
“Piper,” her husband said, louder this time. Again she ignored him.
“But while a shit ton of years have passed since you and yours were in this town, Princess Aurora May, your daddy hurt a lot of people. That money he stole took years to raise. A hundred grand, if memory serves, and all meant for the school library and new classrooms.”
“I know, I’m sorry,” Rory said again, because she had nothing else. Every accusation the woman levelled at her was true... well, almost. Haldanes were a bad bunch.
“I don’t blame you for that, a lot of other things, but not that. But what I can’t figure out is why in God’s name you’d come back here. Because you sure as hell won’t be welcome, especially as not one of you bothered to attend your grandmother’s funeral.”
Piper Howard’s words were coated in ice. Rory slid off the stool so quickly she almost fell. A large hand steadied her, but she shook it free.
“Are you saying because my father took money from the good folk of this town, and my brothers and I were spoiled brats, we’re not allowed back here?”
The woman exhaled slowly.
“That’s not my place to say, and it would be wrong of me to do so, but here’s the thing, Miss Haldane. Even if those you mistreated have forgotten about Princess Aurora May and her minions, the crime your father committed is still fresh even many years on, and let me assure you, they won’t be as welcoming as me.”
“This is you being welcoming?”
The green eyes narrowed.
“I tried to warn you to leave last night,” Jack Trainer said, moving into her line of vision. “This isn’t the place for you, considering what went down. My advice is still the same: go now.”
“I didn’t come here to make friends or be part of this community again.”
“Why did you come?” Piper Trainer asked.
“I have my reasons and they’re not your business.”
“Well if they included selling that house and land, come and see me,” Jack said, then turning his back on her he sat at the counter.
Looking at the cousins and the small bundle of delight in Jack’s arms, she felt a heavy weight settle in her chest. Rory hadn’t had the worst life, and likely not the best either. But after leaving Ryker Falls she’d learned the hard way just who she’d become under her parents’ tutelage.
“Here’s your coffee, Princess Aurora May.”
A takeaway cup was thrust her way, Rory ignored it. Taking some money out of her pocket, she stepped around Piper and slapped them on the counter.
“I really don’t care what you think of me, as I don’t know either of you and don’t plan on fixing that anytime soon. Keep the change!”
Rory turned and walked away. Dylan Howard gave her a gentle smile. She didn’t return it and simply headed out the door with acid, but no coffee, churning inside her stomach.
Chapter 3
Jack fought back the guilt as he watched Rory Haldane leave the cafe. He’d been mean to her last night, and while he didn’t like the woman or her family, there had been no need to behave as he had.
“Who knew you two could be so nasty.”
“What?” Jack looked at his cousin’s husband.
Dylan and Pip had been married a year now, and he and his brothers couldn’t have picked a better man for the job. An FBI Profiler, Dylan now did cases only when he wanted, and the rest of the time he was building, which was his real love—besides his girls, that was.
“Here’s the thing. I’ve never been a firm believer in the sins of the father and all that kind of thing. That,” Dylan waved a hand toward the door, “was beneath both of you, and I have to say I’m pretty disappointed. We are not Hatfields and McCoys.”
“She was a queen bitch in school, Dylan. Parading about with her nose in the air and being mean,” Pip said defensively. “Really mean,” she added, to strengthen her argument. “Then there’s her daddy. Thieving bastard. What he did hit this town hard, especially as he was our mayor. We don’t need all that dredged up again.”
“And it was what... thirteen or fourteen years ago?” Dylan asked.
Jack had seen the hair first. A mass of ash-blonde curls stood out in every direction and hung down her back. She’d then turned, and he’d recognized her face from last night. Then she’d been dressed in sweats, trying not to show him how scared she was that he was inside her house.
Rory Haldane had a lovely mouth, and eyes he now knew were blue. Not the color of the sky, but deeper, more pur
ple than blue. Today she wore a faded gray sweater, equally faded and worn jeans with a rip in the knee he thought was more through wear than design, and scuffed black work boots, much like his own, on her feet. She certainly didn’t look like the Princess Aurora May he remembered. Mind you, he didn’t remember much of that time, as his brother had just left town and he was running wild.
He guessed she was hot, in that casual, I-don’t-give-a-shit way some women had. No makeup, and he doubted she’d used that brush she wanted to hit him with last night. Still, there was something interesting about her. Not that he’d be interested. She wasn’t his type and she was a Haldane. Haldane was a swear word in Ryker Falls.
“Her father did the crime,” Dylan said slowly, “not her. And you of all people should know what it’s like to be tarred with the same brush as your father, Jack. And don’t get me wrong, I remember the Haldanes from before I left, they were shitty people... all of them. Mind you, so were we,” he added. “Being Mary Howard’s son was never easy.”
“Shit.” Jack rubbed a hand over his face as guilt settled heavily on his shoulders. The Trainers’ daddy could only be termed an asshole, and that was being polite.
It wasn’t like him to go off like that, but last night he’d been tired, and today wasn’t much better. Plus, there was the little jolt of awareness he’d felt when he saw Aurora May that had thrown him.
“I hated her in school,” Pip said, sounding grumpy.
“Sure, but the key word there is school,” Dylan added. “She was a child when they were forced out of town.”
“You make it sound like we ran them out with pitchforks,” Piper said.
“I can’t imagine they were treated well, knowing some people in this town,” Dylan said.
“Because her daddy was mayor and had money, she thought she was better than us. So did her brothers. Always had the best of everything, and never hesitated to shove it in our faces. Her brothers were losers too.”
“Again, just children in school, honey.”
“Stop doing that!”
“What?” Dylan smiled at his wife.
“The guilt thing.”
“Not trying to, just pointing out no one was perfect in their youth.”
“Well, hell,” Pip sighed.
Jack knew she’d been into drugs and a nightmare for his aunt to raise, just like he and his brothers had been. Shame washed over him, just like it did Pip. They’d been wrong to treat Aurora May as they had.
“I can’t believe I did that.” Pip slumped over the counter. “I just saw red as the memories came back.”
“She has as much right to be here as any of us, baby, and let’s not forget her grandmother only died six months ago,” Dylan added. “Maybe she’s back to sort out that land, then she’ll move on?”
“She’s staying at Connie’s place.”
“How do you know that?” Piper asked Jack.
Jack ran his fingers through Grace’s curls, and the little girl giggled as she always did.
“I saw light up there last night and went to see what was going on. Thought someone was squatting.”
“That must have been terrifying for her,” Dylan said.
“She threatened me with her hair brush.”
“Yeah? Shame she didn’t do something with your hair,” Piper commented.
“What’s wrong with my hair?” Jack patted it down.
“You don’t brush it. In fact, it’s one of life’s little mysteries what all those women see in you. I’ve never known a man to take less care of his appearance than you.”
“Imagine if I did. I’d be mobbed walking out my front door.”
“Oh, ha ha.” Piper reached across the counter to punch him in the shoulder.
“Another thing we all need to remember is the money was repaid... all of it. Dad and I were just talking about this case the other day. After the federal boys released it, every cent of that hundred grand ended up back here for the school.”
Jack felt something heavy settle in his chest. He labeled it as guilt.
“Gracie, your mom and uncle just behaved real bad.” Jack tickled his niece under the chin, then blew a raspberry into her neck making her squeal.
“Really bad,” Pip corrected him. “I don’t want Gracie picking up your bad English.”
Jack rolled his eyes. “She’s two.”
“And a parrot. Speak a good word, she’s deaf; a bad one, she’ll remember it for days.”
“Can I have coffee now Dylan’s done telling us off?” Jack asked.
“I suppose, but I still feel bad.”
“I’m sure it’s not gonna stop you making me coffee.” He turned to Dylan. “How long did he get, Mayor Haldane?”
“Four or five years, I think?”
How had the Haldanes survived after leaving Ryker without their father, the man who had fed them with a gold spoon since the day they were born?
“I wonder what happened to the rest of them?” Pip said. “Matt and Leo were as unlikeable as their sister.”
“Not sure. After they left Ryker, all contact was severed according to Dad,” Dylan said.
“My guilt is increasing every second,” Pip said, handing him a coffee. “They left everything they knew and lost their father for years. They may not have been my most favorite people, but that had to be hard.”
Jack sat and drank his coffee, then ate the breakfast Pip put in front of him, and the entire time all he could see was the pain they had inflicted on Rory Haldane with their words. She’d raised her chin and tried to show them different, but he’d seen it, and hated himself for doing what people had often done to his family.
“Did you hear!”
Spinning on the stool at the high-pitched words, he found Dylan’s mother, Mary Howard, standing behind him. She wasn’t talking to him but her son. The Trainers and this woman had shared bad blood until Dylan had married into Jack’s family. She tolerated them now, as they did her, for Dylan’s sake.
“Say hello to my family, Mom.”
Her lips flattened at Dylan’s words but she did it.
“Good morning, Jack, Piper.”
“Mrs. Howard,” Jack acknowledged her.
“Mom,” Pip said, to annoy her.
“Hello, my sweet little granddaughter.”
Mary Howard’s only saving grace, as far as Jack was concerned, was her love for Grace. Ever since the child’s mother had died, and Pip and Dylan took her in she’d idolized the little girl, who in turn seemed to reciprocate.
“Nana!”
The child was taken from Jack, hugged, and kissed.
“Now, what were you saying when you came in, Mom?” Dylan asked.
“One of those Haldanes has dared to step foot back in Ryker. Can you believe they would do such a thing? Must be looking to cause trouble.”
Mary Howard was big on exercise clothes for no other reason that Jack could see than they made her look like she was exercising. Today was no different; even in the cold she wore spandex, and it was stretched to breaking point.
“Who told you that?” Jack asked.
“Sally Peters told me while I was in the pharmacy.”
“How did she hear?”
“Lottie told her. Now I’m going to show off my baby to Penelope, she’s just walked in.”
Jack knew how the grapevine in this town worked; soon everyone would know Rory Haldane was back in town. Most would simply shrug and say those Haldanes were bad, but some would be more vocal on the matter.
“The Roadies,” Pip said. “They were in here when you came in, Jack. One of them must have overheard and talked.”
“That can’t be good.” Dylan looked worried. “I mean, most of the citizens in this town are sane, but they lose reason when it comes to the Haldane name. Just the other day I overheard Gail Patrick saying she hoped Jackson Haldane ended up enduring a slow, painful death.”
“And all that anger still lingers even though the money was repaid,” Pip added.
“We tr
usted him,” Mary Howard said, “and he betrayed us.” She walked away, clutching her granddaughter.
Jack’s guilt climbed, because he’d behaved badly himself, and likely now put Aurora Haldane in the firing line.
“She’s a big girl. Coming here, she must have known how people would react,” Jack said.
“Sure, but you know how mean they can get. Look what Joe and the rest of you put up with from my mom and her friends,” Dylan said.
“Yeah, not pretty.”
“So go.”
“What?” Jack looked at Pip.
“You need to go and make sure she’s okay.”
“No I don’t, and not long ago you were part of the Haldane hate squad, if you’ll remember.”
“Sure, but I realized the error of my ways, so you need to find her because I’m working and Dylan has Gracie.”
“They’re not likely to lynch her in the street, Pip. Just say a few things. She’ll survive, and I’m sure she’s had worse.”
He was subjected to a look from his cousin. Jack sighed.
“What?”
“You’re better than that.”
“She’s right,” Dylan said, patting his wife’s hand. “You’re a good person, Jack.”
“And?” he gritted out.
“And she’s one woman against a town. She’s tired, scared—”
“You don’t know that!”
“In all fairness he likely does. FBI Profiler, remember,” Pip said.
“You were way ruder than me with your Princess Aurora shit, so how come I have to be the one to go after her?” Jack was feeling cornered... and yes, guilty. He’d been wrong to speak to Rory that way. Jack never intentionally hurt people.
“I told you why, now go. And bring her back in. The coffee’s on me.”
“So what? You’re going to be like her long-lost pal now?”
“Just go, will you.”
“Women,” he muttered, getting out of his seat. “Profilers,” he added, sending his brother-in-law a glare.
Chapter 4
He walked with Buzz, his older brother Joe’s dog, up the main street, hunching into his jacket, pissed off and still guilty. He had no intention of tracking down Aurora Haldane—or Rory, as she now called herself—but he’d had to leave Phil’s Place or suffer more lecturing.
