Head Over Heels (The Bridesmaids Club Book 3) (25 page)

“Is this visit all about the man who’s in prison, or is there more to it?”

Todd glanced quickly at his father. “I don’t know what you mean.”

“You’re restless. I haven’t seen you like this since Emma and Josh died.”

“A lot has happened in the last few years.”

His dad didn’t say anything for so long that Todd thought the conversation was over.

“You’ve been here two weeks and you haven’t been to the cemetery.”

Todd had never liked the local cemetery. Even as a young boy, when he’d left flowers on his grandparents’ grave, there was something about the eerie silence, the weight of the grief hanging over the land. It made him uneasy. And when Emma and Josh died, he’d felt the same sense of wrongness, a fear of things that weren’t meant to be.

“Going to the cemetery’s not important.” He should have known it was the last thing his dad would want to hear. Todd had deliberately kept away. It brought back too many memories, too many questions that he’d tried desperately to answer over the last four years. “Not visiting the cemetery hasn’t got anything to do with how I feel about Emma and Josh.”

“I think it’s got everything to do with how you feel. It’s okay to grieve. It’s part of letting go.”

Todd leaned against the door of the truck and looked out the window. He’d grieved for so long that it had taken over his life, made him into a person he wasn’t proud of. And then he’d met Sally and everything had changed.

He didn’t know how to tell his dad about Sally, about the life he was building that was so different to the one he’d built with Emma.

“Have you met someone, son?”

Todd gazed along the fence line. “It’s not…I haven’t…” He felt like a bumbling idiot. “The man I’ve been watching, Mitch Zambezi, has been watching me. I met Sally a couple of months ago. She was looking for a home for a shelter dog.”

“Max?”

Todd nodded. He’d brought Max with him to Wyoming and he’d been an instant hit in the Randall household. Todd’s mom was constantly finding treats for him. She’d even knitted him a vest to wear once winter hit Montana. “Mitch sent two people to kidnap Sally. I guess he wanted to tell me to back off. I don’t want to think about what they would have done if they’d caught her.”

“Have they arrested the people that were responsible?”

Todd heard the worry in his dad’s voice. Emma and Josh’s death had hit them in different ways. They wouldn’t be the same again, but they tried. They tried so hard that sometimes Todd worried that Emma and Josh’s death overshadowed everything else.

“They arrested them not long after they tried to kidnap Sally. I’m still worried.”

“That’s why you came home?”

Todd nodded. “I care about her dad. I don’t want her to get hurt.”

His dad sighed. “You can only do your best. Tell me about your girl.”

“She’s not my girl, dad. She’d probably box my ears if I called her that.” Warmth snuck through Todd’s body. Sally might not like it, but the thought of her being his girl made him wish for a whole lot of things that would never happen. “She’s a good person.”

“Any woman you loved would be a good person.”

“But I don’t…I don’t…”

“Love her?”

Todd stared out of the window. “I care about her.”

“Isn’t it time you showed her, then? Hiding here isn’t going to change what’s happened. We enjoy your company and appreciate your help, but you have a life to live.” Todd’s dad stopped the truck. “While you’re figuring out what to do, you can help me with the next fence. Bring the barbed wire.”

Todd got out of the truck. For the last four years, his days had begun and ended with memories of his wife and son. It had been so long since he’d simply lived, that he didn’t know where to start.

And he didn’t know if he was ready.

***

Sally pulled another student’s workbook closer and opened it to the last entry. The writing was large and round, filling each line with the wandering thoughts of its owner. The little girl who owned the book had a personality that matched her writing. Elizabeth was like a big, glossy, bubble, drifting through each day in a ray of sunshine.

“Would you like another refill?”

Sally looked up at Caitlin, the teenager Tess had employed to help in her café. “No, thanks. One cup of coffee is enough for me.” She shouldn’t have been drinking coffee at all, not with Tess’ wedding only a few weeks away. But she hadn’t been sleeping, and she needed something to keep her awake during the day.

She glanced at the clock on the wall and realized she’d been in the café for more than an hour.

“Your face looks better,” Caitlin said. “I didn’t think the bruising would ever go away.”

Neither had Sally. The cut on her face had been bad enough, but the bruising kept shadowing her face. It had changed color each day, going from crimson red to jaundice yellow. And until yesterday, that’s where it had decided to stay.

“Are you trying to make Sally feel better or worse?” Doris Stanley poked Caitlin with her walking stick. “A girl doesn’t like to be told that she looked like a train wreck.”

Caitlin bit her bottom lip. Sally knew she wanted to tell Doris that she’d never mentioned the word ‘train’ in her conversation. Sally also knew that Caitlin was studying psychology at College. Doris and her friend Jessie would make an interesting case study.

“You’re right, Doris. It was rude of me to mention it. Would you like a refill?” Caitlin held the coffeepot toward Doris.

Without any hesitation, Doris moved her and Jessie’s cups to the edge of the table. “In my day we wouldn’t go out in public if our faces were bruised and beaten. Violet Hanning would have kept the gossip tree entertained for days, isn’t that right, Jessie?”

Jessie smiled at Caitlin and nodded. “Thank you, dear. Yes, you’re right, Doris. I’d almost forgotten about Violet. She had such a sharp tongue. Do you know what happened to her after she ran away with the vacuum salesman?”

Doris shook her head. Her gaze lost focus, as if she was traveling down the twisted path of her memories. “One minute she was here and the next she was gone. I’m sure she made up half of the stories she told to cover her own indiscretions.”

Jessie nodded solemnly. “You’re probably right, but that was a long time ago.” Her gaze focused on Sally. “You’ve got so many books in front of you. What are you doing?”

“Grading my student’s workbooks. I’m working at the animal shelter tomorrow, so this is the last chance I’ll get to catch up.”

“It must have been so distressing,” Doris said. “The man at the wedding must have given you a terrible fright.”

Before Sally had a chance to reply, the doorbell rang and Molly walked into the café.

“How are my lovely grannies doing?” Molly asked in her sing-song accent.

“We’re very well.” Doris smiled at her favorite Irish immigrant. Molly had taken some beautiful photos of Doris and her family. Ever since the grand unveiling, Molly had been elevated to special friend status. “Have you heard from the Gallery in Los Angeles?”

Molly shook her head. “Not yet, but they haven’t had my portfolio for long. How are you today, Jessie?”

“My arthritis is causing me some concern, but other than that I’m as fit as a fiddle.”

“Let me know if I can help with anything.” Molly slid into a chair beside Sally and gave her a knowing glance. “Did I rescue you?” she whispered.

Sally nodded. “What are you doing here? You’re normally working on Saturday afternoons.”

“Weekend off. I’ll be back in a minute.” Molly walked across to the big glass cabinet beside the front counter. She pointed to a cake and Sally almost groaned.

A slice of cake on its own wouldn’t have been so bad. But when Molly came back to the table, an equally large blob of cream was on the plate, too. It was a dieter’s worst nightmare.

“Tess’ wedding isn’t far away so I’m not going to offer you any,” Molly said. “How are you holding up?”

“I’m doing okay. I’ve only got half the workbooks left to grade.”

“No, I didn’t mean that. Todd has been gone for weeks now. How are you feeling?”

“Like a part of me is missing.” Sally had been doing everything she could to keep busy. Alastair had been assigned to another case. She hadn’t heard from Detective Munroe or the local Police Department for so long that the last month could have been a bad dream. Between The Bridesmaids Club, the animal shelter, and school, her life was just as full as it had always been.

She stared at Molly’s plate, wondering if a little cream really counted on her diet. It was, after all, a product derived from a cow. It was a healthy, honest, food group, somewhat processed by human factors.

“If you stare at my cake for much longer, I’m going to buy you one.”

“Sorry. I’m practicing avoidance therapy.”

Molly smiled. “You’re substituting Todd for cake?”

“No. I’m substituting my mixed up life for cake. What was I thinking? He’s still in love with his wife. No one can compete with those kind of memories.”

“What about creating new memories of your own? If Todd can’t let go of the past, that’s his problem. You’re young, you’re beautiful. What more can I say?”

Molly filled her mouth with more cake and Sally sighed. She was right. Deep down in her bones, Sally knew there was no use hanging onto what could have been. Todd Randall had other things on his mind. The sooner she moved on with her life, the better she’d be.

“The painters have finished his house. He’s even had the builders propping up the old barn.”

“Whose barn?”

“Todd’s. Matt Harvey is Todd’s neighbor. He’s looking after his animals while he’s away. I took some photos of their ranch yesterday. According to Matt, Todd will be home in a couple of weeks.”

Sally finished her mug of coffee. “Is there anything else you haven’t told me?”

“Just this…” Molly leaned forward and held a fork of cake and cream out to Sally. “Live dangerously. A little cake is good for the soul.”

Sally smiled and ate the cake. Molly was almost right. A little cake was good for the soul, but so were good friends.

She had a great life. If Todd Randall didn’t want to share it, then that was his problem.

***

Todd sat in his truck, staring at the black metal gates surrounding the entrance to Worland’s only cemetery. Fear and something much deeper kept him in his truck, stuck between the past, the present, and the future.

Max whined from the passenger seat. His paw knocked against the door, thumping loudly in the silent cab.

“Okay, boy. We’ll get out, but stay with me. No running.”

Max barked once when Todd opened his door. With his leash attached to his collar, Max was good to go. Todd couldn’t say the same thing about himself.

He walked through the entrance, past the graves of the founding families of Worland, past the headstones of people long dead and forgotten. Max pulled on his leash, but Todd held firm. He kept Max beside him, as much out of respect as need.

The wide asphalt driveway beckoned him forward, pulled him deeper into the manicured lawns and well-maintained grounds. Trees, bright with Fall leaves, had been spaced at regular intervals along the driveway. They softened the view, gave the illusion that something lived and flourished within the walls of the cemetery.

He remembered the day they’d brought Emma and Josh here. It had been cold. A wind as bitter and cruel as the men who’d killed his family, had risen out of nowhere. They’d stood, shivering in layers of clothes, under a tree that offered no shelter.

After Emma and Josh’s bodies had been laid to rest, after the last prayers and tributes had been said, everyone left. They trundled back to their vehicles with heavy hearts and frozen hands. Todd had stayed, wrapped in a grief so deep that he barely felt the freezing wind whipping through his jacket. He’d said goodbye for the last time, knowing he’d never be back.

Or so he thought.

Max kept a steady pace beside him, holding onto the streak of adventure that usually pulled him away. They turned left, entering the newest part of the cemetery. The graves were closer here, pushed together out of necessity. Stone and marble headstones sat shoulder to shoulder, more decorative than the older graves.

Todd tried not to pay too much attention to the names and dates, the photos that made him sad. He’d never asked Emma about what she wanted when she died. They’d been young, full of hope and excitement. They were going to grow old together, build a life they’d look back on with pride.

He looked at where he was and walked toward a white cross with red lettering. Bernard Davies’ headstone marked the row where Emma and Josh were buried. He stopped and stared down the walkway. He could see their heart-shaped headstones from here, the marble roses that would be in bloom for the rest of eternity. A part of his heart broke all over again.

Max looked up at him, his brown eyes big and bold, wanting to know why they’d stopped.

Todd took a deep breath and stepped forward. “Let’s go, boy.” They kept walking, passing the men and women who’d died around the same time as his family. He wondered if there was a place in heaven for the people buried here to meet each other. Josh would have giggled his way through the introductions, lighting up the sky with his cheeky grin. Emma would be her bubbly self, flitting from person to person in case someone felt left out.