"Yes," he said, meeting her gaze. "Mandy threatened to go to the police and also to tell my son that his mother was a murderer. Valerie was finally in a better space. Richard was a freshman in college. He was actually happy. The truth would have destroyed them both, so I paid. It eased my guilt, too, to be honest. But Mandy wanted more and more and more. Right before I moved here, I told Mandy I was done paying her. My son is twenty-four now. He's an adult. He has his own life, and if he finds out the truth now, hopefully, he can handle it." Mark turned to her mother. "I was going to tell you, Ruth. But every time we were together, it was so much fun; I didn't want it to end, and I thought it might if you knew I was dealing with a blackmailer."
"Mandy came to this house," Keira put in. "You didn't think she could be a problem for my mother?"
Surprise filled his eyes. "She came here? When?"
"Sunday," her mother answered. "I assume it was her. There was a red-haired woman sitting in a car outside of the house."
"She must have been following me around this week. I never saw her. I'm sorry, Ruth. I should have told you."
"I can understand why you didn't," her mother said.
Keira sucked in a sharp breath as her mother let Mark off the hook. "I can't," she said harshly.
"It was complicated," her mother said, giving her a pointed look, then gazing back at Mark. "And it was part of your past."
"But Mandy isn't in the past," she interjected, bringing their attention back to her. "She's causing trouble. And we don’t know if she's done."
"Keira is right," Dante said. "Mandy cut up your clothes, Mark. There was a personal vindictiveness to her destruction. You need to tell the police everything you told us."
"I agree. I'll do that now." Mark got to his feet. "I'm going to step into the other room."
As Mark left, Keira looked at her mom. "Do you believe he told us the whole story?"
"Yes. I believed every word," her mother said, without a trace of doubt in her eyes. "Didn't you?"
"I don’t know," she admitted.
"You do know. You heard what he had to say. You just don't want to let go of your suspicions because you don't want him to be with me," her mother said sharply.
Was her mother right? Was she holding onto her suspicions for that reason? "I do want you to be happy, Mom, but I still think you should be careful. We don't know if this is Mark's only secret."
"I believe it is." She stood up. "I'm going to check on Mark."
She looked at Dante as her mom headed down the hall. "What do you think? You're probably the most objective person in this situation."
Dante gave her a thoughtful look. "I'm inclined to believe him."
"So it's two against one."
"Is it?" he challenged.
She sighed. "Maybe not. It's a bizarre story, but it felt true. I wouldn't mind hearing Mandy's side. I hope Adam can catch her."
"She won't be able to move around so freely now that the police are looking for her. She knows I saw her come out of Mark's room, so her best bet would be to leave town and disappear."
"I would think so, too, but she seems determined to get him to pay. Maybe she thinks he will do so now that she's shown the lengths to which she's willing to go."
"In which case, she'll contact him, and I'm sure the police will use him to get to her."
"Good point." As the doorbell rang, she added, "That must be Adam. I want to hear what he has to say."
"So do I. Is it okay if I stay?"
"Sure," she said, as they stood up. "But when Mark leaves, you need to leave, too."
He met her gaze. "I know. I got the message. We're over."
She let out a sigh. "Unfortunately, yes. But we shouldn't think of it as a bad thing. It's only happening because your arm is better. I am happy for you, Dante. It might not look that way, but I want you to have your life back. I really do."
"Thanks. That means a lot."
"And we had fun, so…" She drew in a shaky breath. "That's what I'm going to remember."
Shadows filled his gaze. "I hope that's what you remember, because I never wanted to hurt you."
"You didn't," she said. And she meant it. Because he hadn't hurt her; she'd hurt herself by falling for a man who was always going to say goodbye.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Keira looked out her kitchen window on Wednesday morning. The Fourth of July promised to be a hot, sunny day that would end in spectacular fireworks, but she wasn't in the mood for any more explosive surprises. The night before had had too many. After Adam had a long discussion with Mark, where much of the same information he'd revealed to them had been shared once more, all three men had left. Mark and Dante had gone back to the inn while Adam was off to look for Mandy.
She and her mother had eaten some cold pizza in an uncomfortable silence before her mom declared she was exhausted and didn't want to talk about anything. She'd then gone up to her room and closed the door.
She'd decided to go to bed, too, but sleep hadn't come fast or easy. Her brain had jumped from one worry to the next. Could she trust that Mark had told them the entire truth? Could her mother possibly get caught up in this feud between Mark and Mandy?
When she forced her mind off that subject, she'd thought about her surprise visit from Margot, her request that she come to LA as soon as possible to meet with Jessica. Her dream job could be days away. But how could she make that work with everything else going on?
And then there was Dante. He wanted her to spend the week with him. He didn't want to waste the time they had left, but she was afraid of falling more in love with him. His departure was going to hurt. On the other hand, she was depriving herself of a lot more fun.
But it wasn't fun anymore. It was just over.
She turned away from the window and started the coffeemaker. Then she popped bread into the toaster and sliced up an avocado and a tomato. She munched on that as she waited for the pot to fill. When it was done, she filled a large mug with coffee and took a grateful sip.
Her mother walked into the kitchen. "Good morning," she said, a cool note in her voice.
"Morning. Coffee is ready. Can I get you something to eat?"
"I'll just take coffee. I'm not really hungry."
She filled a mug and took it over to the table, sitting down across from her mom. "Did you sleep?"
"A little. You?"
"Same. Have you heard from Mark?"
"Yes. I just spoke to him. When he got back to the inn last night, the room was really bad, so he checked out and went to the Sunset Lodge. This morning, he spoke again to Adam. They haven't picked up Mandy yet, but they did see her car on a traffic camera, on Highway 10, heading out of the mountains."
She was relieved to hear that. "So, she's gone."
"They think so. They're going to watch the Denver airport and also alert the police department in Los Angeles, where she lives."
"I wonder if she'll go home. She must know the police are looking for her."
"Mark says she has a brother who lives in Fresno, California. Maybe she'll go there. I'm sure they'll find her, and this should be the end of her blackmail."
"What do you think about everything now, Mom?"
"Mark was in a very difficult situation. I'm not saying I would have made the same choices, but I understand why he did what he did. It's not easy to be married to someone who is that unstable, and his child had to come first."
"I agree with that, but a woman died because of his wife, and she never had to answer for it."
"That's true. Mark said there was a part of him that always hoped she had just made it up in her head the way she'd made up so many other things. That because they fought over Gretchen and then Gretchen died, Valerie thought she was responsible but wasn't."
"That sounds like an excuse, a way for Mark to rationalize not going to the police."
"Possibly. You've been looking for a reason not to like him, and you certainly got one."
She frowned. "This isn't my fault, Mom. I didn't make this
up. Mark did what he did. And I'm not even the one who brought it all out; that was Mandy."
"I know. I'm not blaming you. I'm just sorry you were right."
"I'm kind of sorry, too."
Her mother met her gaze. "Why?"
"Because you like him."
"I do like him. All the old feelings from when I was a teenager have come back. He makes me feel young again. I'm not injured or ailing when we're together; I'm just me. I don't want it to end."
"It doesn't bother you that he kept so much from you?"
"I think he would have told me eventually. He said that again this morning. He feels bad that Mandy showed up here at the house and he didn't know about it. He didn't think she was dangerous to anyone, but after seeing his room last night, he realized he hadn't seen how out of control she was. He said he felt bad for her when she first came to him. She'd just gone through a bitter divorce and she'd lost her last remaining parent. She has a brother, but everyone else is gone. And she needed money. She needed someone to take care of her."
"And he wanted to do that."
"Yes. It wasn't just blackmail; it was also guilt. He wasn't responsible for what happened, for that fire. He had no idea his wife had left the house. And he believes the fire was truly an accident. But he still felt like Gretchen's death was his fault. Maybe he should have forced Valerie to get medical help, but she was very resistant. She wouldn't take her meds. She wouldn't see a doctor. He felt helpless."
"I can see how he might feel that way."
"I'm glad you can see that, because life is complicated, Keira. Most people aren't all good or all bad; they're complex and they're flawed."
"I know." She let out a heavy breath. "Is Mark going to tell his son?"
"I urged him to do that. He needs to tell Richard everything before Mandy does. His son should hear the truth from him. He agreed."
"What about the two of you? Where do you go from here?"
"You won't like my answer."
She gave her a tired smile. "You want to keep seeing him."
"Yes. I'm sorry if that makes you unhappy, but I've been alone for a long time. I've found someone I enjoy spending time with, and he feels the same way. We're not going to get married or live together. We just want time to get to know each other again. Can you handle that?"
"I guess I'll have to. I'm going to need to know a lot more about him before he gets my unrestricted approval."
"That's fair enough. Now that I've shared my plans, what about you? What's happening with Dante?"
"His arm is better, and he got the okay from his doctor to go back to pitching. He's leaving town on Saturday."
"Oh, Keira." Her mother gave her a sympathetic look. "I'm sorry."
"I'll survive."
"I don't want you to just survive. I want you to live. I want you to have everything you've ever dreamed about. But, mostly, I don't want to be the reason you don't have the life you're meant to have. I'm good now, Keira. I can get by on my own or with a little help from my friends. You don't have to stay here with me. I am so grateful for everything you've done. But I love you more than life, which is why I want you to go and do whatever you want to do."
She blinked back a rush of emotion. "Are you trying to kick me out?"
"I'm giving you permission to leave, if you want to. You're so talented, Keira. If you want to go back to New York, you should. If you want to follow that handsome baseball player to Florida, you can. Brenda can manage the real-estate business. I'm sure you can find someone to take over the store. You just have to decide what you want, what you really want. And then don't think about anyone else. You've been generous for too long. It's time to be selfish."
"I love being with you, Mom. It's always been us. We're a team."
"A good team," her mother agreed. "We'll always be that to each other. But we both know you need to do something different. Whatever it is, I'll support you. And I want to be clear: this has nothing to do with Mark being in town. This is just about you and me."
"I got it. Thanks."
"Now give me a hug."
She got up and gave her mom a long hug, feeling like another turning point had arrived earlier than she'd thought.
"So, any idea what you are going to do?" her mom asked, as she took her coffee mug to the sink.
"Today or for the long-term?"
"Let's start with today. Are you going to the beach or out on a boat with your friends before the fireworks?"
"I'm not sure," she said vaguely. "I'm going to head down to the store and get caught up on some paperwork. After that, I'll see."
"It's a holiday; you can take a day off. Or are you trying to avoid Dante?"
"You think you know everything," she said with a dry smile.
"I do know you. He's not gone yet, Keira. Maybe you should take this time to find out how you really feel about him."
"Unfortunately, I already know."
Dante spent most of the day on a bike ride. He'd wanted to be outdoors, but he hadn't really wanted to be with anyone except Keira. He'd hoped she would call him, but she hadn't. By seven in the evening, he was tired of his own company. He headed down to the beach, where Lizzie was hosting a picnic dinner before the fireworks. He hoped Keira would be there, but even if she were, she'd probably try to avoid him.
When he arrived at the beach, he found Lizzie standing by a buffet table filled with food, while Zach and Jake tended to meat on a grill. Hannah and Adam were sitting at one of the tables, drinking beer and snacking on chips. He waved to Lizzie, then joined the group at the table.
"Hello, Dante," Hannah said with a smile. "Is Keira with you?"
"No," he said shortly, surprised that one of Keira's best friends didn't seem to know they weren't seeing each other anymore.
"I hope she's not still working. When is she coming?"
"I'm not sure."
Hannah gave him a sharp look. "Are you two having a thing?"
"No, we're having nothing."
"Oh. So, she's avoiding you, which is probably why she's not here."
"If that's the reason, I'll leave."
"Don't be silly." Hannah leaned over and grabbed a beer out of a cooler. "Have a drink. I'm going to give Keira a call."
As she got up, he opened the beer and took a swig.
"Looks like you needed that," Adam said dryly. "Women problems?"
"Seems like those two words usually go together."
"Can't argue with you."
"But I'm glad to get a chance to talk to you. Is there any news on Mandy?"
"We haven't been able to locate her yet. She last used her credit card at a gas station about thirty miles away yesterday evening around seven. Nothing since then, but we'll find her eventually."
"I'm sure it's not a crime that is at the top of the list."
"Are you kidding? She destroyed one of my sister's guest rooms. Trust me, it's very high on my list. I will make sure she pays for what she did."
"I'm glad to hear that. What do you think of Mark Langley?"
"He has been very forthcoming. I will, however, follow up with the LAPD later this week on that fire from fifteen years ago to make sure Langley's story lines up with what is in their reports. And I'll be interested in talking to Mandy when we find her, but from what I saw, I think she got desperate when he decided to stop paying for her silence. She wanted to do something to shake him up, make him pay again. But she went way too far, and now she's going to be the one to pay."
He nodded, seeing the determined glint in Adam's eyes. Adam would get to the bottom of the situation. He'd do it not only because it was his job, but also because his sister had suffered a loss. Adam seemed to be an overachiever like his siblings, so he had confidence that he'd get the answers they all wanted.
Their conversation was interrupted as everyone came over to the table, bringing plates of food, one of which was plopped down in front of him. He found himself squeezed into the middle of the group. Keira's friends were smart and funny, but he co
uldn't enjoy himself because Keira wasn't there. And he hated the idea that she was missing the party because of him.
When they'd finished eating, he excused himself on the pretense of getting another drink, but once he'd dumped his plate into the trash, he kept on walking. There was a good chance he wouldn't see this group again before he left, and he didn't want to get caught up in goodbyes.
The crowd at the beach had thickened as the time for fireworks drew near, and he was definitely going against the swarm of people moving toward the sand to get a good spot for the fireworks. Eventually he made his way out of the area and walked down the block to where he'd parked his car.
He was almost to his vehicle when he ran into Mark and Ruth. Mark had a blanket under one arm and a picnic basket in his hand. Ruth gave him a surprised smile. "Dante. You're not leaving, are you?"
"Yes, I'm going back to the inn."
"The fireworks are starting soon. You don't want to miss them."
"I'm not big on fireworks." He should have left it at that, but for some reason, he couldn't. "Is Keira joining you?"
"No. She's not interested in the fireworks tonight, either. She told me she was going to bed early, although I can't imagine she'll sleep through the fireworks. You can hear them all over town. They echo off the mountains." She paused. "If you want to talk to Keira, you know where to find her. I know you're leaving soon, but if there's anything you still need to say, you should say it."
"Thanks for the tip."
"I want to thank you for your help yesterday," Mark interjected. "I don't think I ever said that. But the fact that you saw Mandy and were able to give her description to the police was very helpful. It would have been just speculation if you hadn't seen her leave my room."
"I was in the right place at the right time. I just saw Adam at the beach. He said they haven't found Mandy yet."
"No, but she appears to have left town, which makes me very happy," Mark said. "I am sorry I got all of you involved in my mess. I know I've made some mistakes along the way. I probably should have gone to the police the first time Mandy contacted me."
"Or told your son," Ruth said.
If We Never Met Page 24
