Finding Me (24 page)

“If you’re sure . . .”

“We’re sure.” Beth nodded with satisfaction.

“We most certainly are.” Rand smiled as he left the room.

“So what’s going on that you’ve been put in bed?”

Beth put both hands on her stomach. “It’s something called a funneling cervix. Long story short, it would be really easy for me to go into early labor, so they’re going to give me some hormones and such, but I’ll probably be in bed for the foreseeable future.” She shook her head. “I’ll do whatever it takes to get Sprout here safely, but I’m afraid I might go insane in the meanwhile.”

“Well, don’t worry about anything. I’ll come by every evening and check on you. And weekends, too.”

“You are such a godsend. Mom is going to spend a lot of time
over here helping, but she’s teaching up in Nashville two days a week, and Rand is in and out of town with his work. I don’t know what I would do without you.”

“You won’t have to find out, will you?”

Beth reached over and squeezed her hand. “I’m so happy God put you in my life.”

And for just a second, Kelli thought Beth knew the truth.

Later that night, as she walked home, Kelli thought about the long months ahead for Beth. She was glad she could be here to help for at least part of them. Then an idea hit her. She ran home and called Denice.

“I know what it is I can do.”

“What do you mean?”

“You know how I’ve said I have to stay here until I can leave in peace?”

“Yes, and I’ve told you that’s not going to happen.”

“But it is. My sister is on bed rest, and I’ve offered to help out at her house. Don’t you see? In some small way, I’m doing something to pay her back for what she’s lost. If I can stay around here and help Beth through the worst of it, then I will know that I have done what I could to right Daddy’s wrongs in some small way. I’m working for Kenmore while he recovers from surgery. I’m making some amends. Next, I’ll look for ways that I can do something for Alison, too.”

“Kelli, you are treading on dangerous territory.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll be careful. But this is something I’ve got to do. This is what is going to make me free in the end.”

“I hope you’re right.”

“I am. I’ve got to be.”

28

B
y a quarter to five Saturday morning, Kelli was staring out her front window, looking for any sign of Kenmore. It wasn’t so much because she was excited to sit on the side of a pond and fish, but because she hoped it would be the perfect chance for some deeper conversation.

Headlights appeared in the distance, and she watched them approach with growing anticipation. Today was going to be a good day, she just knew it. She hurried out to meet the truck, carrying a water bottle in one hand and a couple of granola bars in the other. She pulled open the passenger door. “I brought you a granola bar too, in case . . .” It took the time for the door to come full open before she realized what she was seeing. More like,
who
she was seeing.

Shane. Sitting right there in the passenger seat.

Kenmore said, “Shane got a hankering to do some fishing this morning, so I guess there’s going to be a third.”

Kelli fought the urge to turn around and run back to the house. She simply stood there, absorbing this information, as Shane scooted toward the center of the seat. “I’d get out and let you in
first, but believe me, it’s much more comfortable on the end.” Considering the way his knees were crammed up against the dashboard, Kelli did not doubt the truth of that.

“Should I . . . go get a granola bar for you, too?”

“Nope”—Kenmore leaned forward to look around his son—“just hop in. I always stop at Hardee’s for a sausage biscuit on my way out of town. Now, let’s get moving while the fish are still biting.”

Kelli climbed in beside Shane. The truck was small enough that her shoulder was jammed up against his on one side, and her hip was shoved against the door handle on the other. What had she just gotten herself into? His being here was going to ruin everything.

“How’s Beth doing?” Kenmore asked as he pulled out of the driveway.

“She seems to feel fine. She’s going stir-crazy though, as I’m sure you can imagine.”

Kenmore snorted. “Poor Rand. He’s going to have his hands full, and his ears full too, by the time that girl is up and around again.”

At Hardee’s, Kenmore and Shane each ordered sausage biscuits, and Kelli got a chicken biscuit. She took a bite and blurted out, “This is delicious.”

“You say that as if you’re surprised,” Shane said.

“Yes, I guess I am. I’ve never had a fast-food breakfast before. I just assumed it would taste more bland.”

“You’ve never had a fast-food breakfast?” Shane was all-out staring at her now.

“My stepmother was always watching her weight, and my father enjoyed cooking his own breakfast. It was part of his morning routine.”

“What did he make?” Shane took another bite of his biscuit.

“Depended. Sometimes pancakes, sometimes scrambled eggs and bacon. He even made his own biscuits from scratch, which were delicious.” Memories of tastes and smells flooded back to her, making her homesick for what she used to have. Or at least, what she’d thought she had.

Half an hour later, the three of them had opened a rural gate, driven through it, and then locked it behind them. “Are we breaking and entering?” Kelli asked, only half kidding.

Kenmore smiled. “The fishing in this pond is good enough that it would be worth facing jail time, but no, this property belongs to a friend of mine. There’s about ten of us who have a key and permission to come fish whenever we like.” He parked the truck and pulled three rods out of the back, along with a Styrofoam bucket with air holes in it.

Kelli looked at it. “Night crawlers, huh? Somehow I had you figured for more a spoon type guy.”

“You know lures?”

“My father used to take me fishing some.”

“I thought lures might be too complicated for your first outing. Little did I know I was dealing with an experienced fisherwoman.”

“I’m not that experienced, but I can bait my own hook.”

“Thank goodness for that,” Shane said.

They walked through a wooded area and came to a large pond. It was surrounded by lush grass and tall trees, with a steep wooded hillside running up the far bank. It was absolutely stunning. “This place is so beautiful.”

“Yeah.” Kenmore nodded. “One of the reasons I chose this place is because you told me you were looking for inspiration for your jewelry. I thought this place as about as inspiring as it comes.”

“You make jewelry?” Shane looked down at her bracelet, the only piece of jewelry she was wearing. Thankfully, it was one she had made. She held it up for him to inspect. “Yes. Just a hobby,
really, but who knows, someday it might be more. Everything I’ve made up until now has been inspired by the ocean.” The bracelet she was wearing was braided nautical rope with freshwater pearls woven in.

He took her wrist in his hand and turned it over. “I have to say, I’m impressed.”

Who knew Shane could even be impressed? “Thanks.”

“If you’d like, you’d be welcome to put some of your pieces in the display case at the front of the store. We’re not exactly a jewelry store, but it’d be worth a try.”

“Not exactly a jewelry store?” Shane snorted and shook his head. “Now that’s an understatement.”

Kelli looked at Kenmore, purposely ignoring Shane. “What a good idea. Thanks. Maybe I will.”

“I still don’t know why you decided to come this morning.” Kenmore glanced at Shane, then back at Kelli. “He’s never been much for fishing, and not once in his life has he ever been accused of being a morning person.”

Shane busied himself setting up three chairs at the pond’s edge, ignoring the question altogether. Kelli knew why he wanted to come today, and it had nothing to do with fishing and everything to do with trying to uncover her secrets. His presence would completely destroy any hope she had of having a meaningful conversation with Kenmore.

Three hours later, Kenmore had caught six bass, Kelli three, and Shane one. Shane had spent most of the time looking at his phone and complaining about the lack of a cell signal.

“We’re fishing. You don’t need a phone for that.” Kenmore didn’t bother to look toward his son as he said it.

“Yeah, but I’ve got a showing this afternoon.” He stood up. “I’m going to walk back toward the truck and see if I can find a signal anywhere.”

Shane disappeared through the woods. Kelli listened until the sound of his footsteps crackling in the leaves was too far away to hear. Now was her only chance, and she knew it. “How long ago did you say you left the financial world?”

“Long time.” He pulled in his hook to find it empty. “Thought I felt something down there messing with this.” He pulled another night crawler out of the bucket.

“And you said it was just you and a partner? Is that right?”

“Yep.” He cast his line toward the left bank.

“What was he like?”

Kenmore didn’t say anything for so long, Kelli thought maybe she should repeat the question. She was just beginning to seriously consider it when he turned toward her. “You going to tell them?”

Kelli’s mouth went dry. “Tell who?”

“Alison and Beth, you know who. Are you going to tell them?”

“I don’t know what—” Kelli stopped the lie before it came out. “How did you know?”

“Can’t quite put my finger on the exact moment I knew for sure. That first day you came in, I took one look at you and thought you resembled David. Then you told me you were from California, and I knew that was a place he’d always been interested in, so it made sense that he might have gone there.”

“If you recognize me, how is it that Alison doesn’t?”

“She thinks you’re dead. I’m sure she’s thought there was a resemblance, but she wouldn’t have taken the thought any further than that.”

“And all this time, you’ve known that my father and I were still alive?”

“Not for sure, but I’ve always suspected it. David was my business partner. For over a year before the . . . um . . . accident, I knew that he’d been seeing a waitress from the old diner downtown. I also knew that he’d started stowing money away someplace.
I didn’t know where or why, but I knew he was moving funds around. Frankly, I assumed he was funneling it to his girlfriend so she could get a nicer apartment or something. Then she left town, and just a few weeks later he had this mysterious accident. I knew it, I knew the moment I heard the news report. I thought, ‘He’s gone and done it. Left everything behind and started a new life.’”

“Why didn’t you tell anyone what you thought?”

Kenmore rubbed the back of his neck. “I did consider it, but I figured what was the use? I thought it would be better for Alison to believe that her husband had died, and better for Beth and Max, too. It seemed to me to be the kinder thing than for them to know what lengths he had gone to so he could dump them.”

“Then you’ve answered the question for me, haven’t you? The kinder thing is to keep them in the dark. That was my original plan, to just come here for a few days, meet them, and then get on with my life. But the more I’ve gotten to know them, well . . . my plan is to stay through the summer, help Beth while she’s bed-bound, and see if I can’t do something to help Alison in some way before I leave. Something that can help make up for what he did.”

He looked over his shoulder, then leaned closer to her and lowered his voice. “Your father, he was killed in a car accident before you came here, right?”

“Yes. And I know what you’re asking, and yes, he definitely died this time. He didn’t pull another disappearing act.”

“That wasn’t what I was thinking, but it’s a good point. What I was wondering is if it wouldn’t be a better thing for Alison now, years after she’s worked through all the grief, to get her baby back. Yes, I think she would be devastated to know what David did, but I also think she would be thrilled to have her Darcy back. Especially since she puts such a high store in you already. And I’m gathering that Beth loves you to pieces.”

“Yes, but she also has memories of her father. In her mind, he is this flawless man who was never anything but the perfect father in every way. If she were to find out that he actually ran off and left her, I think it would be devastating.”

“Perhaps.”

“And we haven’t even talked about the insurance money. I’m afraid that when the insurance companies find out they’ve paid out on my father twice, they’ll come looking for some reimbursement, and we both know they would look right at Alison. I’ve already invested my entire payment into a restaurant that’s opening in the fall, so it’s not like I could give her my share. There is no way I could get that money back without financially ruining my friends.”

“You might be right about that one. I’m sure we could ask Shane to look into it, since he knows a fair amount about insurance.”

“You can’t tell him.”

Kenmore looked at her long and hard. “That’s up to you.”

Kelli leaned forward, putting her head between her knees. “I think it’s better for everyone if I just go away at the end of the summer, with no one but you and me the wiser. I’ll at least have memories of what my mother and sister are like, and they’ll still have their happy memories of my father without knowing what a . . .” As much as she knew that most any word she inserted here had been proven true, Kelli still couldn’t bring herself to say anything terrible about him. “Well, that he wasn’t the man they all thought he was.”