Next Door Secrets (Secrets Series Book 2) (15 page)

In walked Milton,
the head of HR. His rectangular glasses fogged up at the sides. “Good
afternoon. Am I interrupting something?”

“Have you ever
thought about how many germs must be on our currency?” Parker kept the tap
running while he dried one of his credit cards with a paper towel. “One study
found that 94% of dollar bills have bacteria on them.”

Shaking his graying
head, Milton watched Parker finish his cleaning. “I was going to come find you
after I finished here.”

“What about?”

Taking a deep
breath, Milton wiped his glasses on his shirt. “Perhaps you’d be more
comfortable in your office.”

“Sure. I’ll wait
for you there.” Parker left and headed back to his office. Instead of jumping
onto his computer to check e-mails, he stood in front of the gigantic windows
that overlooked the busy city street. He’d sworn he’d take the time to enjoy
this view more, but old habits were hard to break. Whenever he stepped foot in
here, he felt compelled to keep busy.

Behind him, the
door opened and closed. He turned to see Milton in an olive shirt and tie walking
toward him. “We need to talk. Let’s sit.” He gestured toward the small couch
and chair in the corner.

Parker hesitated
before joining the man in the seating area. Why did he feel like he was about
to get in trouble? “What’s on your mind?”

“You forgot to
inform me when you fired the two interns.”

“Oh, yeah. Sorry
about that. They were slackers and I’d had enough.”

Milton blinked
rapidly. “They’re saying you blew up for no reason. They’ve hired a lawyer and
are threatening to go public.”

“Go public with
what? They provided alcohol to a minor. Last time I checked, that’s against the
law.”

“According to
them, you’re the one with a drinking problem.”

Parker bolted
upright. “What?”

Taking a moment,
Milton seemed to be gathering his thoughts. “They say you’ve become forgetful,
that your hands shake and sometimes you can’t walk a straight line.”

He balled his
fists at his sides and started pacing. “Bullshit.” As soon as he said it, he
regretted it. He didn’t like to curse—especially in the work place. “We
have the right to fire people for any reason as long as it’s not due to their
race, religion or gender. I fired them. End of story.” Maybe if it hadn’t been
his daughter they’d gotten drunk, he wouldn’t have gotten so emotional, but he
wasn’t going to backtrack now.

“For the most
part, yes. But they’re threatening to go public.
To tell the
press that the founder of Mall Land is a drunk.
We can’t take that kind
of negative publicity.”

“Then we can sue them
for libel. Because I assure you, I’m not an alcoholic.”

Milton crossed his
arms. “Parker, with all due respect, you have been acting strange lately. I
just found you in the restroom washing out the contents of your wallet. Who
does that?” He let his question hang in the air.

Parker stopped
pacing. “I’m not a drunk. Period.”

“OK. But
something’s wrong. Maybe you have obsessive-compulsive disorder. Is that
possible? People with OCD obsess about germs sometimes. If that’s the case,
there are medications that can help you.”

OCD. That sure
would be better than what he really had. But with the Peace Corps requiring
another medical exam, he didn’t want to go on any medications. “If I see my
doctor, will you get off my case?”

A look of relief
eased the creases on Milton’s face. “Sure.” He rose and wiped his hands on his
slacks as if they’d been sweating. “But we’re also going to need to give those
college kids their internships back. Otherwise, our stocks could take a hit
from the negative publicity.”

Parker felt his
blood boil. He started pacing again.

“There are only a
few weeks left in the semester and then they’ll be gone.”

He sighed with
resignation. “Fine.”

Milton shook his
hand before he left the room. Once the door clicked shut, Parker reached in his
desk drawer for a bottle of anti-bacterial gel.

His computer
pinged with a new message. He sat down and read Beth’s Facebook update: Went to
see the new Star Trek movie. It was the best yet! Thanks, Jim.

Thanks, Jim? What the hell did that mean?

CHAPTER
SIXTEEN

Since Jim was home
with
Kaylee
and Parker was busy with work or Ivy or
who knew what, Beth perused her friends’ Facebook updates. She saw pictures of
new puppies, kids’ drawings and families on beach vacations. She tried to push
down the envy that took root inside of her.

She was proud of
herself for going to the movies by herself, but now what? Her free time was
usually spent with Parker. Just last weekend, she’d had the pleasure of hanging
out not only with him, but with Hannah, as well. Now Hannah was mad at her and
she didn’t know what to do about it. Shouldn’t she be happy that Beth hadn’t
ratted her out to Connie about her drinking? Shaking her head, she felt as if
there were no pleasing her daughter. Hannah didn’t want her to act like her
mother, but Beth couldn’t help but worry like one.

She scrolled
through more Facebook posts until she saw one written in all capitals: PLEASE
HELP ME FIND MY DAUGHTER. SHE WAS STOLEN FROM ME WHILE I WAS IN THE HOSPITAL.
SHE’S 7 YEARS OLD WITH BLUE EYES AND BLACK HAIR.

Something clenched
inside Beth’s chest. What a nightmare for someone to kidnap your child. She saw
that the post had 2608 shares and 203 comments. There was also a link to read
the full story. She felt compelled to follow it.

At the top of the webpage
were the words: Bring Skye Home!

Below, a montage
of grainy home photos showed a toddler riding a tricycle, playing with a black
and white bunny and watching TV. None of them were close-ups. Obviously, the
photos hadn’t been taken with the intention of identifying a lost child.

Something about
the girl looked familiar. Yes. She kind of looked like
Kaylee’s
little sister. Beth squinted as if to assure
herself
that she was imagining things, which, of course, she was.

Could it be? No.
Kaylee’s
mom and sister were both dead. This must be some
other little girl. There must be millions of dark-haired, blue-eyed girls in
the world. Some of them, unfortunately, had been kidnapped.

Even though she
couldn’t help this poor woman, Beth read her story.

Please help me
find my Skye. I named her that because of her beautiful blue eyes. Have you ever
seen anything like them? It’s a daily hell for me to not know where my daughter
is or to know if she’s alive. Although in my heart, I feel sure that she is
alive. A mother would know, wouldn’t she? While I was in the ICU following a
car accident, someone stole Skye from the hospital. Fortunately, they tell me,
that her injuries were only minor. Please. Skye is all I have left. I pray that
you will pass this along to everyone you know so that I can bring my baby home
safe.

Beth couldn’t deny
the uneasy feeling pulsing through her body. Hadn’t
Kaylee
said her middle name was Skye? And she’d broken her arm before, but it hadn’t
healed properly. Perhaps it’d been broken in a car accident. Could Jim be a
kidnapper?

Her heart thudded
inside her chest. No. He was obviously
Kaylee’s
dad.
Kaylee
was old enough to let someone know that this man
wasn’t her father. She could’ve screamed as he’d tried to take her from the
hospital. She could’ve told a teacher, a police officer, me.

Chewing on her
lip, Beth looked at the blurry
candids
again. Didn’t
everyone have a twin? She’d been approached before on the street and been told
she looked just like someone’s best friend from junior high. The strangers had
laughed and parted ways.

Her jagged
breathing wouldn’t stop. She stared at the child, but none of the pictures
showed the color of the eyes. What struck Beth as odd was the fact that this
woman didn’t have any pictures posted of herself together with Skye. Who was to
say this woman was really the girl’s mother? Maybe it was all a hoax.

She saw a link
labeled “Reward.” Beth clicked it and read: I’d like to offer a reward for the
safe return of Skye. If you’d like to contribute, please use PayPal or send a
check to
Gola
Moon.

Her heart rate
slowed back to almost normal. It was a scam.

# #
#

Sitting in Beth’s
living room Sunday morning, Parker looked at the baby shower invitation that
Beth had received. “I can't believe she named the kid after me.” On the outside
was
a mama lion and her cub. Inside it said "Help
us welcome Parker Jr." with a photo of a sleeping baby with a knit cap
covering most of his blond hair. His arms splayed to the sides as if he were
making the letter “Y” with his body.

Beth took back the
invitation and stared at the infant with longing. “He’s adorable.”

“All babies are
adorable. That’s not the point.”

“Don’t you think
it’s just a little bit cool?”

Shaking his head,
he cracked his knuckles. “I told her not to, but she did it anyway.”

“Well, you
should’ve known Ivy would do the exact opposite of whatever you said.” She
smirked at him.

“It’s not funny.
The birth announcement will probably be in the newspaper. People will think the
kid’s mine. They’ll think I divorced my wife as soon as she gave birth to my
baby. I’ll look like a prick.”

That shut Beth up.
He could see her trying to regroup, trying to figure out how to cheer him up.
“I hadn’t thought about that. Sorry.”

“As if that’s not
bad enough, HR forced me to re-hire those loser interns that got Hannah drunk.”

Her forehead
wrinkled. “Why?”

“They don’t want
the bad PR. Apparently, you’re not allowed to fire people who deserve it
anymore. All someone has to do is threaten to smear Mall Land in the press and
we cave.” He suddenly felt the urge to wash his hands. “Excuse me.” He went to
the restroom and turned on the hot water. Scrubbing between each finger helped
calm him down a little. He didn’t know why.

Someone knocked on
the apartment door. As he exited the restroom, he saw Beth open the door to a
girl with beautiful blue eyes.
Even bluer than Beth’s.

The girl waved at
Beth. “Look! I got my cast off!
Dad’s making omelets to
celebrate.”

Beth crouched down
to her level and examined her arm. “How does it feel?”

“Good.” The girl
wiggled her fingers and bent her elbow as if to prove it. “Come on over.” Her
gaze landed on him and her face froze. “Oh. Is that your boyfriend?”

“Yes,” Beth
answered at the same time that he said, “No.”

Beth’s head
whipped around and she scowled at him. A moment later, she composed herself.
“Parker, this is
Kaylee
.”

Chewing a piece of
gum with her mouth open,
Kaylee
shuffled her feet.

He felt bad for
ruining her mood. “Hey, I can take off. You two have fun.” The more time Beth
spent with the neighbors, the easier it would be for him to leave her. He’d
been selfish to come over this morning, wanting a sympathetic ear.

Again, Beth gave
him a disapproving look. “We haven’t seen each other all week.”

Kaylee
twirled a lock of her black hair. “I guess he could
come, too. My dad says he makes enough food to feed an army. Whatever that
means.”

“No,” Beth said.
“I think we’ll pass this time.”

It occurred to him
that he’d never met
Kaylee’s
father, the man Beth
thanked on Facebook for taking her to the movies. If Parker
was
going to leave Beth in this man’s care, he’d like to know he was a stand-up guy
and not some jerk. “Actually, I’d love an omelet.” He tried not to let Beth’s
glare bother him.

She sighed. “I
guess we’ll come over. But just for a quick bite. Parker and I have a lot of
catching up to do.”

Kaylee
jumped for joy and he couldn’t help but smile.
Before they went next door, though, he decided to wash his hands one more time.

The first thing he
noticed when they entered the Steins’ place was that it looked just like Beth’s
except it didn’t have any artwork or photos on the walls. The apartment was
bare-bones
as if they hadn’t quite settled in yet. A
turquoise kid’s bike leaned against one wall and shoes were piled by the front
door.

A man wearing a
silly red apron walked toward him. He was about Parker’s height and in need of
a haircut, but he had a firm handshake.

“Thanks for
letting me crash your party,” Parker said. "I was at Beth's and
Kaylee
said you always have plenty of food."

Jim stood there
eye-to-eye with him as they sized each other up. “Beth was the one who took
care of
Kaylee
the day she broke her arm. It seemed
only right that she be here to celebrate.” He turned his attention to the object
of his affection. “Thanks for recommending Dr. Peterson. He was wonderful. I
can’t believe he has weekend office hours.”

Beth accidentally
kicked a child’s sandal as she crossed the foyer. “Glad to hear it.”

Kaylee
nodded. “He gave me a piece of gum
and
a toy.” She tugged on Beth’s hand.
“Come in my bedroom and I’ll show you. It’s a yo-yo. Do you know how to work
one of those?”

Beth raised her
eyebrows toward Parker as if asking if it was OK to leave him alone. “Of course
I know how to use a yo-yo.”

Parker waved her
on. “I’ll see if Jim needs any help with breakfast. You go do girl stuff or
whatever.” As soon as the females walked away, the two men headed to the small
kitchen.

Jim stood at the
stovetop. “Damn. This one burned.” Using a spatula, he lifted the brown egg
mass out of the pan and onto a plate. “What do you like in your omelet? I have
ham, onions, mushrooms, green peppers and cheddar.” He poured some egg batter
into the sizzling pan and swirled it around.

“Wow. This is
better than a restaurant. I’ll take everything.”

Without
responding, Jim tossed a little of each ingredient into the pan.

Time to get to
know his replacement. Parker leaned against the center island. “So, how long
have you lived here?”

“A few months.”

“Where were you
living before?”

“A small town you
probably never heard of.” After he checked his watch, Jim pulled a loaf of
bread out of the pantry and stuck four slices into his toaster.

“Try me.”

He opened the
fridge and busied himself finding the butter and jelly. “It was in Ohio.
Seriously. Even people from Ohio didn’t know it.”

Parker shifted his
weight. This guy seemed kind of cagey. “How long did you live in Ohio?”

“We spent some
time in a couple different towns. I don’t like to stay in one place too long.”

“That can’t be
easy for
Kaylee
.”

Jim’s shoulders
pulled back and his spine went rigid. He made eye contact. “Everything I do, I
do for
Kaylee
.”

Not wanting to
create an adversarial relationship, Parker took a breath. He remembered how
aloof Beth said Jim had been with her at first. Was he a man with secrets? Or
was he simply a man filled with wanderlust? On both counts, Parker could
relate. He didn’t like people prying into his personal life and he enjoyed
traveling with his business.

Giggles came from
down the hall and Parker decided to lighten up. “Beth and
Kaylee
sure hit it off, didn’t they?”

Jim focused his
attention on the pan in front of him. “I never asked for her help, but she kind
of inserted herself into our lives.”

“Beth is the
kindest person I know.” That was one of the things he admired about her. That,
and how she always had the time to listen. Even though he’d been dodging her
all week, she’d spent their short time together this morning listening to him
talk about his frustrations with Ivy and HR.

“I didn’t realize
how much
Kaylee
needed a female influence until Beth
showed up, painting her fingernails and teaching her how to jump rope.”

Parker nodded.
“Beth loves kids.”

“Too bad you two
can’t have any.”

A
perfect example of someone getting too personal.
Parker ground his
molars. It wasn’t as if he was impotent. How much did Jim know about him
anyway? But then Parker remembered his mission. He wanted to see if Jim would
take care of Beth when he left town. “Yeah. It’s too bad.” And it was.

“It’s none of my
business.”

“Yeah.” Parker
cracked his knuckles and took another breath. “So, what do you think of Beth?”

Jim turned around
with the spatula in his hand. “She’s nice. I’m not trying to steal her away
from you, though. The last thing I want is a relationship.”

“Why is that?”

“Because women are
evil. They seduce you, then make you wish you’d never been born.”

A laugh burst from
Parker. His whole relationship with Ivy had been built upon great sex. In the
end, that wasn’t enough to sustain the marriage of two mismatched people.
“Sounds like you’ve met my ex-wife.”

“You’re divorced?”

“Yep.”
 

“Me, too. I
learned my lesson. I don’t ever want to get married again.”

Parker paused. How
could this guy not want to be with Beth? She was beautiful, smart and generous;
she was the whole package. If he were healthier, he'd snatch her up in a
heartbeat. “I’ll set the table if you tell me where the silverware is.” After
Jim pointed to a nearby drawer, Parker went to work placing the forks and
knives. If Beth married Jim, she'd have an instant family, just what she always
wanted. “What about for
Kaylee’s
sake? She could use
a mother, don’t you think?”

Shaking his head,
Jim slid another omelet out of the pan. “
Kaylee
and I
are doing just fine.” He set the plate down hard on the table.