Color of Forgiveness (55 page)

“You could have been killed because of me,
Myra. You could have died. What if you had died? What would I do
without you?” Jackie says, sobbing.

Myra’s eyes tear up. “But I didn’t die. You
can’t think like that because you’ll drive yourself crazy. You have
to focus on the positives…” She swallows the lump in her throat and
looks up at Dylan. His face is so soft and tender, his eyes filled
with nothing but love. It gives her the courage she needs. She
clears her throat. “Jackie, there’s something I need to tell you.”
She lifts her hand and touches Dylan’s scruffy jaw.
And you
,
she mouths. His brows knit together in confusion. “That night, when
I was upstairs, I told everybody that I went downstairs to check on
Porter and that’s when I saw Rhonda. But that’s not quite how it
happened.” Dylan’s eyebrows draw together even more.

She keeps her eyes on his as she tells both
of them her experience with Grampie whispering in her ear. “So no
matter what, a higher power was at work. Someone was watching out
for me that day and keeping me safe.

“Jackie, your grandpa used to talk to me all
the time about fate and destiny. He believed in it and so do I. If
I hadn’t heard that sound, I wouldn’t have left my room. And I
wouldn’t be here right now. But it wasn’t my time. Someone was
protecting me.

“I’m telling you all of this because I truly
believe that no matter what you would have done or not done,
Jackie, the outcome would have been the same. Grampie would have
saved me because that was my destiny.”

Dylan’s concerned frown has been replaced
with only softness.
I love you,
he mouths as his hand ghosts
over her hair, her face, her shoulder.

I love you,
she mouths back as a tear
slips down her cheek. Dylan carefully brushes it away with his
thumb.

“Myra. That…” Jackie pauses, sniffing
loudly. “I just, I don’t even know what to say. I absolutely
believe in the paranormal and spirits and ghosts. They’re all
around us. I feel Grandpa around me all the time. I just know it
was Grampie that spoke to you. It had to be. He loved you so much,
he had to come back. I bet he could somehow sense the danger. Maybe
he even saw it! Maybe he was watching you and saw her outside the
house and knew what she was going to do. He protected you. My best
friend had a visit from the other side!” Jackie shouts. Myra
wonders if she’s clapping and jumping up and down as well. “I can’t
believe you had a paranormal experience. Have you ever had a
séance? I’ve always wanted to try one.”

Myra just smiles and shakes her head in
amusement. “Uh, no... Definitely not.”

“Oh, neither have I. We’ll so have to do
that together some time. It would be so much fun.”

Myra decides to change the subject and fast
because she wouldn’t have a séance with Jackie even if she was
dead. “Are you back in Nyssa?”

“No. I’m still in Boise.”

“So am I. I’m here with Dylan. Right after
you left, his sister-in-law had her baby prematurely.”

“You’re in Boise? Oh my god. We have to get
together. This is so perfect. Wait. You’re back with Dylan? You
guys made up? Did he apologize and finally get his act
together?”

“Uh, I don’t know about the apology thing,
but yeah, we’re
very
back together.” Myra can’t stop the
word
forever
as it floats easily through her thoughts,
bringing a sense of calm with it. “We made up and everything’s
perfect.”

Dylan smiles and leans down to kiss her
forehead.

“Well, as long as you’re happy, I guess I’ll
try to tolerate him,” Jackie says with a giggle as Myra joins in.
“I could tell you were really miserable and sad without him, and I
hated seeing you like that. But if he does anything stupid, I won’t
hold back going off on him.”

“So are you still supposed to sign the
papers on the bookstore this week?”

“No… didn’t you hear? Rhonda was behind the
whole thing. She was the anonymous person that was going to buy it.
All she was trying to do was get me out of town and away from
you.”

“Oh no… What are you going to do?”

“Well, I’ve been talking to mom and dad, and
I’ve pretty much decided that I’m going to go ahead and still put
it up for sale. And I’m going to see if I can find someone to rent
the house as well. Mom and dad said they’d loan me the money to get
my new store up and running in Boise. They tried to
give
me
the money, but I wouldn’t let them. I’ll pay them back either when
I sell the bookstore or start making money with the new store.”

“That sounds like a good plan.”

“Yeah, I’m excited about it. So what are you
going to do? Are you going to stay in Nyssa?”

“I honestly don’t know yet.”

“So where and when can we meet up? Do you
guys have plans for today?”

“Good question. Dylan and I were going to
talk about that earlier but didn’t get a chance to. Hang on a
second and let me ask him…”

* * *

As Dylan walks hand-in-hand with Myra down
the hallway of the hospital towards Natalie’s room, he feels
different, lighter. Like he’s somehow laid down all of the heavy
shit he’s been carrying on his back for the last three years.

He glances down at Myra, and his lips turn
up slightly as he squeezes her hand. Her phone rings and she
quickly digs it out of her pocket. “Oh. It’s Porter.”

“How are you?” she says as soon as she
answers it. “Yeah…? That’s so good to hear… yes… Okay... Sure… hang
on a second.”

She looks up at Dylan. “He has an update on
Rhonda and wants me to put this on speaker phone so we can both
hear.”

Dylan nods and she hits the speaker phone
button. “Okay, Porter. We’re both on here.”

“Hey, Dylan,” Porter says.

“Hey. How are you feeling?” Dylan asks.

“I’m better. Still a little sluggish but I
got to go home.”

“Good…”

“My guys interviewed Rhonda yesterday, and
she pretty much confessed to the whole thing. She’s been following
you for months, Dylan. She even followed you to Boise… she told us
about the tombstone, I’m really sorry about that by the way.”

“
She
did that?” Dylan asks,
frowning.

“Yeah, she then tried to cover up what she’d
done by making it look some kids did it instead. She was also
behind the break-ins, and the damage done to your car, Myra. She
also had this elaborate plan to try to buy Jackie’s bookstore to
get her out of town. She thought that if Jackie was gone, you’d go
back to Philly, Myra. She’s a sick woman. We found out that she had
a mental breakdown about a year ago. They’ve not done any psych
testing on her yet, but I did talk to one of her doctor’s, and he
said there’s no way she’ll pass one. So it looks like she’ll be
going away to a hospital for the rest of her life.”

“So there won’t be a trial?” Myra asks.

“Probably not, but we’ll have to see how it
all plays out.”

“Is there any way that she could escape
right now?” Dylan asks, frowning.

“No, it’s secure. She can’t escape so you
both are safe now.”

“Good.”

“Well, I’ll let you two go. When I hear
anymore, I’ll give you a call.”

They say their goodbyes and Myra hangs
up.

“Jesus Christ, I can’t believe that bitch
was the one that did that shit to Mel’s tombstone. What is wrong
with that woman?”

“I don’t know… But she obviously has to be
suffering from some kind of serious mental illness because no one
in their right mind would do something like that.”

“I guess…”

“Are you okay?” Myra asks, touching his
arm.

“Yeah…” Dylan says, taking in a deep breath.
“You ready to go see Nat?”

Myra nods and he kisses her lightly on the
lips before grabbing her hand. When they get to Natalie’s room, he
taps lightly on the door. Three different voices shout, “Come in,”
all at the same time.

Pushing the door open, he bites back a groan
when he sees his mother charging for Myra. He does love his mother,
very much. But he just worries that her ‘loving, motherly, and
seriously overbearing’ ways might be a little fucking much for
Myra. They’ve just gotten back together and everything’s going so
damn well that he’s terrified of anything messing it up. Myra has
reassured him that she loves his mom, but she could just be saying
that shit because how do you tell a person that his mother gets on
your fucking nerves?

“You look absolutely lovely today,” Sherri
says before pulling Myra into a hug. “That color you’re wearing
just makes your skin glow.”

Dylan draws in a deep breath trying to keep
his mouth shut, and as he does, he catches sight of Myra’s face.
With her eyes closed and her arms wrapped tight around Sherri, the
content smile on her face tells him everything. She really does
love his mom, and it makes him love her even more.

“Guess what? Trish is here,” Sherri says in
an excited voice.

Dylan looks up to see his sister walking
towards him. “Hey,” he says with a smile, giving her a hug. I
haven’t seen you in a while.”

“I know. I’ve missed you. How have you
been?”

“Good.”

“Trish?” Sherri says, interrupting. “This is
Myra, Dylan’s girlfriend, the one I’ve been telling you so much
about. Isn’t she just beautiful?”

“
Mom…
” Dylan growls. Trish laughs and
pokes Dylan in the ribs.

“Hi, Myra, it’s wonderful to meet you. And
yes, you are quite beautiful and I’m afraid it’s true, my mother
has not shut up once talking about you.”

Myra giggles. “It’s wonderful to meet you
too.”

“Did you guys sleep okay?” Sherri asks Myra
still hanging onto her arm. “I know the bed in that hotel can’t be
comfortable at all, and I’m certain their sheets can’t be as soft
as the sheets I have at home. I just bought some Egyptian cotton
sheets that are to die for.”

Myra’s smiling eyes find his, and they
exchange a ‘knowing’ look. “The bed was fine, mom,” Dylan says.

“Ma, give it a rest. They want their damn
privacy,” Chad shouts from a corner chair. “So they can ride the
skin bus to tuna town. Jesus, it’s gonna be a long fucking time
until I get a ticket on that bus…” Chad says longingly before he
slumps back down in his chair.

“Chad!” Sherri yells before turning to Myra
and profusely apologizing. Myra’s eyes meet his again. He shakes
his head and mouths,
sorry,
but has to grin when she can’t
seem to stop giggling.

“Chad, if you don’t shut your mouth, you’ll
never get a ticket on that bus, ever again. No tickets. They’ll be
so expensive you’ll never be able to afford them, ever. Do you hear
me?” Natalie shouts.

Nick, who is sitting next to Chad in the
corner, starts cracking up.

“I’m sorry, baby. Please don’t raise the
price of those damn tickets. They’re high enough as it is,” Chad
begs Nat in a small voice.

Dylan grabs Myra’s hand and tugs her over to
an empty chair next to Natalie’s bed. He sits down and pulls her
into his lap, wrapping his arms around her.

“Myra, I’m so sorry,” Natalie says. “The
only way to tame my husband’s tongue is to strap a child to him.
When we get Jilly home, he’s going to be wearing her in a Snuggly
for hours on end, I promise you.”

Chad’s eyes grow huge. “No, not the Snuggly…
oh shit. Please, baby, anything but that damn Snuggly.”

“Oh yes,” she tells him, with an evil smirk.
“And it’s going to be way worse this time around because the
Snuggly won’t be blue. It’ll be pink with bows all over it.”

“Oh fuck,” Chad mumbles. “I think I’m gonna
be sick.”

Everyone in the room starts chuckling.

Chad stands up. “Men, I need some fucking
chow to make this puke feeling go away, you in?”

Nick stands. “I’m in,” he says before he
looks at Myra. “And hello again. Sorry I didn’t get to say it
sooner, but it’s been quite loud in here.”

Myra giggles and waves to Nick as Chad yells
out, “I don’t know what the hell you’re talking about, Dr. Spock.
Myra, have you seen how big Nick’s ears are?”

Dylan ignores him and leans his head towards
Myra’s ear. “Do you mind if I go?” he asks, rubbing her arm
lightly.

“No, not at all,” Myra says, with a smile as
she stands.

“Okay. We’ll go see the baby when I get
back.”

Dylan stands and with his hands on Myra’s
waist, looks down at Natalie. “You look good… you feeling any
better?” he asks Natalie as Myra leans back against his chest.

“Better in some ways… They’ve been making me
sit up and move around, which is good, but extremely painful.”

Dylan nods.

“Let’s go, bro,” Chad shouts from the
door.

“I’ll be back in a few,” he mumbles as he
kisses Myra on the cheek.

Once the three men get out in the hallway,
Dylan turns to Chad. “Do you always have to say shit like that
around Myra? What the fuck is wrong with you? Why do you always
have to act like a damn 12-year-old?”

“You know my mouth, bro. I open it and shit
flies out. I swear to fuck I have no damn control over it, dude.
Besides, if your baby girl is gonna be part of our family, she
needs to get used to it because that’s who I am. She
is
gonna be part of our family, right?”

Dylan frowns when he gets into the elevator,
and Chad and Nick both stare at him.

“Yeah,” Dylan barks back. “What the hell is
that supposed to mean?”

“So you’re gonna marry her?” Chad asks.

“
No
. Not that this shit is any of
your damn business, but I told her that I didn’t want to get
married again. So she already knows.”

“Are you fucking insane?” Chad shouts. “Myra
is the type of girl that you marry and keep forever, bro. She
shouldn’t have to suffer because it didn’t work out with you and
Sabrina.”

A crease forms in Dylan’s forehead. He’s
never thought of it like that before. The elevator doors open, and
they exit.