Читать книгу The Other Woman - Brenda Novak - Страница 9

LIZ STOOD AT THE BACK of the hardware store, trying to keep her voice low enough that Keith’s boss, Ollie Weston, wouldn’t hear them arguing.

“It had to be you,” she said vehemently.

Keith stepped closer, looming over her. His anger and indignation etched a deep V between his eyebrows and almost made Liz retract the accusation. He didn’t look guilty. But he’d been the last one to leave her shop the night before. Who else would have had the time or opportunity to cause the damage she’d found?

“Why would I do that?” he demanded, his voice rising. “I spent three hours there last night trying to help you!”

Ollie glanced at them from the cash register in front, and Liz felt her cheeks grow warm. When she’d first come to Dundee, she’d caused a huge scandal simply by virtue of being the Other Woman. Because Reenie had grown up here and was a popular figure, folks had felt protective of her, and they’d whispered about Liz, even stared at her, as though she’d purposely destroyed Reenie’s marriage.

A private person to begin with, Liz didn’t want to draw attention to herself now that she was feeling comfortable in this place. “Be quiet, will you?” she said.

“You’re accusing me of something I didn’t do,” Keith snapped.

“Who else could it have been?”

“Anyone!” He threw up his hands. “Christopher was playing with the key you gave me and lost it. I couldn’t lock up last night.”

“What? Why didn’t you call me?”

“Because I didn’t want to wake you. I didn’t think it was a big deal. The place isn’t even fixed up yet.”

Again, Ollie angled his head to see if he could hear what was going on, but Liz turned her back to him. “I paid a small fortune for all the supplies that are lying on that floor,” she said in a half whisper.

“So? This is Dundee. Who’s going to steal them?”

“I grew up in L.A., where people lock their businesses.”

He straightened a sack of fertilizer that had fallen from the shelf. “You’ve been here for a year and a half, Liz. You know what it’s like. The worst crime we ever see is drunk-and-disorderly. Why would I worry about not being able to lock the door? Especially the back one?”

Liz tucked the hair that was falling from her ponytail behind her ears. If Keith hadn’t caused the damage at her shop, was it some sort of hate crime? Vengeance from someone who blamed her for wrecking Reenie’s first marriage?

She couldn’t imagine anyone holding a grudge over that. Especially since she hadn’t done it intentionally and Reenie was so obviously in love with Isaac. Watching him and Reenie for two seconds revealed how happy they were together. The only people who weren’t pleased about their relationship were Keith and his family….

Narrowing her eyes, Liz stabbed a finger into Keith’s chest. “Your brothers would never do this, would they?”

“My brothers? Cal lives in Boise, for crying out loud. Do you think he’d drive up here just to wreck your sink? And Luke’s still in Texas. He’s staying at Baylor for summer term.”

“What about your father?”

Keith gave the fertilizer a kick because it had tipped again. “Come off it, Liz.”

“Your folks have never liked me, Keith. Even now that they help out with the kids, they barely speak to me.”

“They’re still struggling with what’s happened. You can’t blame them for that.”

No, she couldn’t. What had happened was entirely Keith’s fault. Which was one of the reasons she could never reconcile with him. As hard as she tried, she couldn’t completely forgive him for the devastation he’d wrought in her life. And she couldn’t imagine trying to belong to a family that resented her as much as Frank, Georgia, Cal and Luke did. She was the physical embodiment of the disappointment and embarrassment they’d all suffered over Keith’s deception.

“Are they struggling so much that they’d try and make me fail?” she asked.

His jaw dropped as if he couldn’t believe she’d even suggest it. “Of course not. They’re better people than that.”

Liz wanted to think so. But she wasn’t entirely convinced. Someone had torn the sink from the wall.

“Maybe it was Mary Thornton,” he said.

Liz bit her lip. She and Mary had exchanged words, but…“She wouldn’t go that far.”

“Why not? You know she’s upset that you’re opening a chocolate shop right next to her candy store.”

“When I leased the space, she wasn’t selling candy. She had a card-and-gift shop!”

“That’s my point. She’s green with envy. Grant Nibley did that big write-up on you in the paper and how you’re basing your shop on the movie and all that, so she copied you, and still her shop didn’t make the paper.”

“At least her store is open.”

“But not doing particularly well, from all indications.”

Pressing her fingers to her forehead in an attempt to ease the headache pounding behind her eyes, Liz sighed. “She’s just disappointed that she didn’t think of a chocolate shop.”

“I agree. She feels you’ve outdone her, and yet she has as much riding on her business as you do on yours. She quit her job at Slinkerhoff’s law office to make this big career change. She’s a single mother. Her ex-husband has been a total flake—”

Liz didn’t want to hear it. She didn’t feel sorry for Mary. Maybe Mary’s ex-husband paid his child support in fits and starts and rarely came around, but Mary had it better than she liked to portray. “Are you kidding me? How stressed can she be when she’s still living with her parents? When they’re helping her raise her son and filling in with anything else she needs? It’s their money behind that shop, not hers.”

“No one our age likes accepting help,” Keith said. Liz knew his parents had had to come to his rescue a time or two during the past eighteen months. Keith hated needing help. But that didn’t mean Mary Thornton felt the same. She used her parents.

“So why doesn’t she move out? Make it on her own?” Liz asked. “Like the rest of us?”

Because of her stepmother, Liz had run away from home at seventeen and had never returned. She’d graduated from high school while living with a girlfriend, spending most her weekends hanging out with Isaac at college.

“I don’t know,” he said. “I’m just saying that if you’re having trouble at the shop, Mary could be behind it.”

Liz stared at him. Was her neighbor really trying to cause trouble?

“Listen, I’ll pay the plumber to reinstall the sink, okay?” Keith said. “Then maybe you won’t think I caused the damage.”

Liz didn’t want him to pay the plumber. Because of what Dave had suggested earlier, Liz had accused Keith without any real proof, and now she felt terrible. “Thanks anyway, but…I’ll take care of it.”

She started out of the store, but Keith caught her arm. “Liz.”

“What?” she asked as she turned.

“You believe me, don’t you?”

She noted his earnest expression. “I believe you. I’m just scared,” she admitted. She was putting everything she had into the shop—all her money, her hopes, her dreams.

“It’ll be okay,” he promised.

There was a time when Keith’s words would have encouraged her. But her trust in him had been destroyed when Isaac had revealed his infidelity.

She nodded, but he still held her arm. “There’s something else,” he said.

“What?”

“When you first came in here, I thought…Well, since you haven’t mentioned it, I’m guessing you don’t know.”

The seriousness of his tone made her leery. “What?” she repeated.

“Your father’s in town.”

“No!” The word came out far too loudly. Ollie frowned at the two of them, but Keith ignored his employer.

“Yes. I ran into him at the gas station on my way to work. He looked a bit rumpled around the edges, as though he’d driven all night, but it was definitely the man I’ve seen in your childhood scrapbooks. I spoke with him briefly and tried calling you afterward, but no one answered.”

“I was at the shop,” she said numbly.

“I went by there.”

“Then I must’ve been at your parents’ house, dropping off the kids.”

“I figured you were in transit. And since you don’t have a cell phone…”

Cellular coverage had improved to the point where people in Dundee could now get service. But local reception wasn’t the best, and Liz couldn’t afford it. Keith didn’t have a cell phone, either. Since he’d left Softscape, they’d both been forced to tighten their budgets.

She blinked, wondering how she could even be thinking about cell phones.

“Are you okay?” he asked.

She took a deep breath, trying to dispel the shock. “What does he want?”

“You haven’t talked to him recently?”

She shook her head. The past two Christmases, she’d sent her father a card containing a few photos of the kids. In more than ten years, that was the extent of their contact.

“That would explain why he didn’t know we were divorced.” A muscle flexed in Keith’s cheek. “It was pretty damned embarrassing.”

“Embarrassing?”

Regret filled his eyes. “Right before we got married, I called to see if he’d meet us in Vegas. He gave me some flimsy excuse, which made me mad, so I told him not to bother. I said you didn’t need a bastard like him, that I’d take care of you.” An uncomfortable-looking shrug followed this admission. Keith didn’t spell it out, but Liz knew what he was thinking. When he’d spoken to her father, he’d already been married to Reenie. It had only been a matter of time before he’d broken both their hearts.

But another thought surfaced on the heels of the previous realization. Was the way her father had responded part of the reason Keith had gone ahead with the marriage? In addition to the fact that she’d been pregnant with Mica? “You never told me you were going to call him,” she said.

“After I’d spoken to him, I was glad I hadn’t told you.”

The heat of the day seemed to grow worse, become stifling. A large fan whirred in the corner, but Ollie was too conservative to use an air conditioner in May. “What does he want?” she asked, wondering why her father’s actions still hurt so badly.

“He and Luanna have split up.”

Liz’s heart leaped into her throat. How many times had she prayed that her father would separate from the woman who’d made her life so miserable? How many times had she dreamed of reclaiming his love and approval?

“Is he here to see me or Isaac?” she asked.

“I’m guessing he wants to see both of you. Who else does he have, now that Luanna’s out of the picture?”

There was Luanna’s son, Marty, but he was Liz’s age and on his own. Liz couldn’t imagine her father being attached to him. Luanna had spoiled Marty so terribly that hardly anyone could stand him. But maybe he’d changed. Liz couldn’t say for sure what kind of man he’d turned out to be. She hadn’t been in touch with him either since she’d run away.

“Liz…”

She lifted her eyes to his. “What?”

He sighed. “You look devastated.”

“I’m fine.” After all, she’d had eighteen months to recover from the previous blow.

“You’re not fine.” Gently tugging her up against his chest, he kissed her head. Liz would have resisted, as she always did these days, but she wasn’t thinking straight. The news he’d just delivered felt like a knockout punch.

Keith smelled good. Familiar. Comfortable. Not so long ago, he’d meant the world to her. Certainly one moment in his arms wouldn’t hurt. Resting her head against his shoulder, she tried to decide what to do about her father.

“I know you’re under a lot of pressure right now, and you don’t need this.” Keith’s hands caressed her back, reassuring her with their strength.

Liz knew Ollie was watching, and that word of the embrace would probably spread. But she stayed where she was, too shocked to pull away.

“Do you want me to ask him to leave town?” Keith asked.

“No.”

“Why not?”

Because it was no longer Keith’s responsibility. He had no right. “I’m sure Isaac will take care of that,” Liz said. Her brother felt angrier toward their father than she did, even though Luanna had treated Isaac much better. His presence in the house hadn’t threatened Luanna in the way that Liz’s presence had.

“I wonder what happened to their marriage,” she said, still trying to come to terms with her father’s sudden appearance in Dundee.

“He said he got tired of Luanna’s bullshit. But—” Keith brought her chin up “—I got the impression it was Luanna who left.”

The sting of this particular detail surprised Liz. Had she hoped, after all these years, that her father had finally come to his senses?

What did it matter? It was too late, anyway. The girl who’d needed him so badly was an adult, now.

Straightening up, she disengaged herself from her ex-husband’s embrace. “So he’s here because he has no better place to go.”

Keith’s sympathy reminded Liz that he wasn’t quite as bad as she sometimes liked to tell herself he was. “I’m sorry, babe,” he said.

She smiled sadly and said, “Thanks. But don’t call me babe, okay?” Then she forced her feet to carry her out into the dazzling sunshine.

AS SHE EMERGED from the hardware store, Liz nearly bumped into Carter.

“You’ve already started?” she asked when she noticed the cranberry-colored paint that speckled his hands and hair and even the soft T-shirt that made the most of his muscular build.

“Was I supposed to wait?” he replied.

“No, it’s just that I was going to help you. But—” She shook her head, trying to order her scrambled thoughts. She felt like a punctured balloon, in the process of deflating. “Did you figure out the marbling?”

“Yeah. It’s easy.”

“Okay, well, I’ll be there shortly.”

“I could use a more expensive roller,” he said. “This one won’t last an hour. And I figure I might as well get a few of these while I’m here.” He showed her a tiny screw that he carried in one large hand. “We’ll need them when it comes time to reattach the light plates.”

“Light plates?” she murmured, unable to immediately picture what he was talking about.

“The face plates that go over the outlets and light switches?”

“Oh, right.” She waved a hand halfheartedly. “Tell Ollie to put whatever you need on my account.”

He peered more closely at her. “Is something wrong?”

She stole a glance down the street. “No, why?”

“You seem a little dazed.”

An old truck came rattling by. Holding her breath, she tried to identify the man behind the wheel….

It was Hawthorne Cawley, one of the longtime ranchers who lived in the area. The vehicle was probably one he didn’t bring to town very often, which was why she didn’t recognize it. Letting her breath out slowly, she said, “It’s nothing.”

“You’re sure?”

“I’m sure.” She began to step around him, but he cut her off. “What’d you find out about the sink?”

Anxious to get to her car and head for the high school, where she hoped to find her brother, she rubbed the palms of her hands on her shorts. “It wasn’t Keith.”

“You’re sure?”

“I’m sure.”

“How do you know?”

She pulled her sunglasses out of her purse and took refuge behind the dark lenses. “He said so.”

Carter’s smooth forehead rumpled with impatience and disbelief. “You’re taking him at his word?”

At this point, Liz wasn’t as concerned about the vandalism as she was about the next twenty-four hours. How long would her father stay? What would she say to him? And how would he treat her children? He’d never even met Mica and Christopher. “I guess.”

“We’re talking about the same man who lied to you your entire marriage.”

She managed to give him her full attention. “Listen, I’m grateful for your help at the shop, and I’ll do what I can to compensate you.”

“But…”

“I don’t need any of your cynical bullshit right now,” she said and walked away.

She knew he stared after her, that she’d surprised him once again. But she couldn’t find it in herself to care.

CARTER HAD QUIT HIS JOB with the Federal Bureau of Investigation shortly after Laurel’s funeral. He knew he’d never go back. But he was still a cop at heart, and that made him reluctant to allow the mystery of the vandalized bathroom to go unsolved. Someone had been inside Liz O’Connell’s chocolate shop; someone had caused the damage. He intended to find out who was responsible—and he doubted he’d have to work very hard to do it. The way Liz had muttered, “Keith!” before she’d stormed out and marched over to the hardware store told him she had reason to believe it might be her ex-husband. Which meant Keith probably had a solid motive. And a solid motive made him Carter’s best suspect. Maybe Liz’s ex denied ripping the sink from the wall, but any man who could lead the double life Keith had led had to be one hell of a liar.

Carter hated liars almost as much as he hated petty thieves and vandals. In seven years with the bureau, he’d learned that small crimes stemmed from the same lack of regard for others that fostered larger crimes.

“Can I help you?” An old guy with spidery veins covering his ruddy cheeks stood at the cash register.

Carter paused long enough to hold up the screw. “Can you tell me where I can find these?”

He took a moment to peer at it. “Aisle nine.”

“Thanks.” Carter moved on. He hoped to run into Liz’s ex while he shopped. But he found a new paint roller and the right screws without meeting anyone else, so he wandered about the store until he heard voices coming from the nursery that leaned against one side of the building.

Sure enough, there was a tall dark-blond man inside. Judging by his T-shirt, which had Ollie’s Hardware written across it in red, and by his approximate age, Carter guessed he’d found Keith.

Taking a well-worn dirt path that snaked through the plants, Carter drew closer and listened as Keith spoke to a middle-aged woman and her teenage son. They wanted advice on getting rid of snails in their garden without using pesticides.

Carter paused while Keith answered, using the time to examine a stone birdbath in front of him.

Finally, the teenager hefted a bag of potting soil over his shoulder, and he and his mother headed out of the nursery.

Carter sauntered closer.

“Can I help you find something in particular?” Keith asked.

Carter took in the sharp angles of the other man’s face. Keith appeared to be fit and healthy, and Carter guessed most women would find him attractive. But the way his clothes hung on him suggested he’d lost weight recently. Was he depressed? Skipping meals? Experimenting with drugs?

Carter wished he could ignore such details, the way most other people did. But it was the minutiae that made the difference in an investigation. Noticing had become second nature to him. “You’re Keith O’Connell?”

Keith’s eyebrows shot up. He wasn’t wearing a name badge, probably because there wasn’t any need for it. In a town this size, most folks would already know who he was. “Have we met?”

“I’m new in Dundee. I work for Senator Holbrook.”

“Oh, right.” He looked Carter over thoroughly. “I hear you went out with my ex-wife last night.”

“I went out with one of them,” Carter corrected.

His pointed allusion to Keith’s past prompted a tightening about the mouth and a quick retaliation. “Yeah, well, from what I hear, she wasn’t very excited about your dinner together.”

Keith’s dig bothered Carter, and that surprised him. He hadn’t cared about anything for a long time. But he’d made no effort to endear himself to Liz and he knew he couldn’t expect any better. Anyway, he had no real interest in a woman with emotional baggage. He had too much of his own. “I guess I’m not very good at small talk,” he said.

“I can see that,” Keith replied. “It’s almost as if you came here just to piss me off.”

Carter held up the new roller he meant to purchase. “Actually, I came to get a few supplies, too. Otherwise, I couldn’t make the improvements at the chocolate shop.”

Keith’s jaw dropped. “The what?”

“You heard me.” Carter suspected he was being too combative. He didn’t even know Keith. But since the numbness that set in after Laurel’s death had worn off, the darker emotions simmering beneath his skin sometimes got the best of him—especially when he found a target as deserving as a man who’d cheated and lied to the extent that Keith had done.

“Did Liz ask for your help?”

“The senator suggested it.”

Liz’s ex stepped closer, giving Carter the impression he wasn’t the type to back down from a fight. “Well, you can forget about it. She doesn’t need you. She’s got me.”

Carter eyed Keith’s hands, which had nearly doubled into fists. He waited to see if Keith would take a swing at him, but when Keith made no move, he said, “Evidently it’s not happening fast enough.”

“I’ll get to it.”

“No need,” Carter said. “The place will be painted before you can get off work.”

“That’s all you wanted to tell me? That you’re helping Liz—and that you can get it done quicker than I can?”

“No. There’s one more thing.”

Keith’s nostrils flared. “What’s that?”

“If you’re the person who ripped her sink from the wall, you’d better not try that shit again,” he said and stalked off.

“Who the hell do you think you are, you arrogant son of a bitch?” Keith called after him.

Carter didn’t respond. He’d already made his point. Besides, he wasn’t arrogant. He was angry.