Pecked to Death (19 page)

“Luke, I know,” she whispered, and he supposed she did. They had once been two halves of a whole, he and Sadie. Maybe they still were. Whatever the case, she would know what he was thinking and feeling, and she would understand. Instead of trying to force him to talk through his complex mix of emotions, however, she simply kissed him on the cheek and went inside. He wondered if he would ever see her again; he stood and walked away to get as far from possible from the sadness and temptation of Sadie Cooper.

The next day, Sadie was ready to go. She had packed her meager belongings in her old car. Her insurance was paid. Her tank was full. She had thirty dollars for food and incidentals. And yet she remained sitting in her father’s driveway, staring at the garage door.

Something didn’t feel right. She hadn’t said goodbye to Gideon, but that wasn’t what was bothering her. Last night the two had reached some sort of tacit peace and understanding. If she tried to talk to him, she would no doubt mess it up. Better to leave things as they were and slip away quietly. Just like with Luke. He knew she was leaving; she knew he was struggling. Better to let things lie and try to forget each other again. So if it wasn’t her dad or Luke, what was it? What was holding her back?

She didn’t know where she was going or what she was going to do until she found herself driving toward the local farming supply store. And then suddenly she was standing at the counter, her arms loaded with bird food, as much as she could buy for thirty dollars. So what if she didn’t eat for a few days? A girl couldn’t be too careful about her weight.

When she got back in the car and headed toward Shady Acres, she finally felt at peace. Filling Abby’s feeders was the right thing to do. If she had inherited any of Abby’s money, she would have carried the torch and finished the upgrades and beautification process. She didn’t need a piece of paper to tell her Abby’s vision; anything would help.

The secretary on duty tensed when she saw Sadie. She tried to convince her to leave the food, but Sadie wouldn’t be deterred. She wanted to fill the feeders herself. At last when the woman realized it was a losing battle, she waved Sadie through and pretended the whole encounter hadn’t happened.

Sadie made two trips to carry all the food. And then she ripped open a bag and began to pour. She had almost finished filling the feeders when she saw the woman. She sat alone on a bench, staring at nothing. Sadie finished filling the feeders and continued to watch the woman, unable to shake the overwhelming feeling of sadness. There was something about her that reminded Sadie of Aunt Abby. How sad for anyone to end up in a place like Shady Acres alone, forgotten, and neglected. Sadie crumpled the bags and decided to go across the courtyard to say hello. The woman wasn’t paying attention to Sadie or the feeders. Maybe she didn’t realize they were filled with food and the birds would be coming soon. The least Sadie could do was suggest she move down to watch the action.

As she approached, she couldn’t get over the uncanny resemblance to Abby. The hair was shorter, the posture less proud, but otherwise…

“Abby?” Sadie said it uncertainly. She knew it was her, but she couldn’t quite believe it.

Abby looked just as surprised to see her. “Sadie?” They stared at each other in shock a few seconds before Sadie burst into tears and crumpled into Abby’s outstretched arms.

“What are you doing here?” Abby asked.

“What are you doing alive?” Sadie countered.

They both began talking at once until they realized neither of them could understand each other. Sadie stopped talking so Abby could take her turn.

“I thought Johnny was going to kill me,” she said.

“He was,” Sadie said.

“I tried to talk to Jonesy and Gideon about it, but neither would listen to me. If they didn’t, who would? So I prepared myself to go out gracefully. But then I lost my nerve. Instead I convinced Jonesy to help me fake my death. I wanted to retire somewhere nice, but the money was gone. This was all I could afford, and it was still near…” she faltered, her lower lip quivering. She cleared her throat and powered on. “It was still near Jonesy. I can’t believe he’s gone.” She pressed her hand to her eyes. Sadie put her arm around her shoulders and gave them a squeeze.

“I’m sorry, Abby,” she said.

“It’s my fault, Sadie,” Abby said. “Everything is my fault.”

“It’s not,” Sadie said. “It’s Johnny’s fault, and he’s going to get what’s coming to him.”

“Did they find the money?” Abby asked.

“No,” Sadie said. She felt horrible. Abby had lost her oldest friend and she was stuck in the terrible Shady Acres. “Abby, come out of here.”

“I can’t,” Abby said. “I can’t face everyone after being such a fool with my money. And with Jonesy gone, who is there for me? I already bequeathed the house to Luke, and I don’t even have the money to keep it going.”

“Luke would never take your home and leave you in here. Come out, and we’ll take care of you.” Sadie meant it, but she didn’t know how it would be possible. She could barely take care of herself. Still, there was no way she could leave Abby in the horrible home.

“You’re sweet, Sadie, but I’ve lived my life. Your best years are yet to come. Go see the world and be happy. I’ll be fine.”

“How can I be happy if you’re here? Your death showed me how much you mean to me, Abby. I have no one if I don’t have you, no one who understands, no one who really cares. You’ve been there to see me through every crisis in my life, and I’m not ready to lose you.” She clutched Abby’s hand. “Come with me.”

“Where?” Abby asked.

“I don’t know, but somewhere. I’ll get a job and we’ll get an apartment.”

“This is my family’s town, Sadie. I can’t move. I could never leave my home, my community. Everyone thinks I’m gone. Maybe it’s better this way.”

Sadie threw her arms wide. “Look around, Abby. This place is like prison. How could that ever be for the best?”

Abby had no answer for that. They sat in silence for a while. At last Sadie knew what she needed to do. She took a breath and plunged in before she could change her mind. “You have to come out of this place, Abby. I need a job and a place to stay. I think there’s a way we can both get what we need.” She was careful to say they wouldn’t both be happy. Abby would never stop mourning the loss of her inheritance and friend, and Sadie would never be happy as long as she was living in her small hometown. Would she?

“What is it?” Abby asked, drawing her back to the present.

“You’re going to leave this place. You’re going to move back into your house, and I’m going to come with you. And we’re going to open a business. Together.”

Abby blinked furiously as she tried to process Sadie’s suggestion. “What sort of business?”

“Thanks to you, I’ve sort of developed a taste for investigation. I was thinking maybe we could do it on a more permanent basis.”

“Sadie, are you saying what I think you’re saying? Are you seriously suggesting that we could be private investigators?”

Sadie nodded. In truth, she had said the first thing that popped into her head, but it was the first time Abby showed any signs of life since she sat down. If it made Abby leave Shady Acres and start to live again, then Sadie would do whatever or become whatever was needed. “Who would hire a young blond and an old woman?”

“Who wouldn’t?” Sadie said. Now that the idea was hatched, she refused to be daunted. There would undoubtedly be many troubles, but she would face them as they arose.

“I could probably drum up some business with other old folks I know. Some of them have been swindled and too embarrassed to report it. We could track down the criminals. We could help other people like me.” Abby increased the pressure of her clasp and sat up, her posture straightening. Sadie smiled and nodded.

“We can do anything,” she said and tried to believe it. If worse came to worse, she would wear the chicken suit once in a while to earn a little extra money. She had already proved that her pride was dead. Why not try something as risky and crazy as opening a business, especially a business she knew nothing about?

Abby’s smile fell and she looked crestfallen again. “What about Luke? He won’t be able to get his doctorate if he has to move out and pay rent. We can’t kick him out.”

“Let him stay,” Sadie said. “We’ll all be roommates together.”

Abby studied her through narrowed eyes. “How would that work between the two of you?”

Sadie shrugged one shoulder and aimed for nonchalance. “It’s a big house. I’m sure it will be fine. He’ll love the idea; you’ll see. C’mon, Abby, what do you say?” She watched as Abby slowly regained her smile and some sparkle in her eyes.

“Okay. Sounds like a deal, partner.”

“Good,” Sadie said. They hugged. Sadie rested her head on Abby’s shoulder. “There’s just one more thing.”

“What’s that?” Abby asked.

“One of us has to tell Gideon I’m staying.”

“You give it a go, and if he doesn’t like it, then he can deal with me,” Abby said. The old fierce protectiveness was back in her tone, and Sadie smiled.

“I thought Gideon killed the doctor,” Sadie confessed.

“Why would you think that?” Abby asked.

“Because when I found him, he said Gideon’s name. I thought he was trying to tell me that was who killed him.”

Abby shook her head. “From the beginning, Jonesy wanted to let Gideon in on the plan and tell him I was at Shady Acres. But I was so furious with Gideon that I wouldn’t allow it. I think he was simply trying to make sure someone knew I was here. He was always thinking of me, always putting me first.”

“He loved you,” Sadie said.

“Don’t repeat my mistakes, Sadie. Don’t allow your regrets to pile up,” Abby warned.

“It’s good to have you back, Abby.”

“It’s nice to be wanted, Sadie,” Abby said. She clasped Sadie’s hand. Together they sat and watched the birds return to Shady Acres.

Gideon Cooper reacted to Sadie’s big idea exactly the way she had expected with a two hour lecture. He followed her around as she packed her room, listing all the ways her new idea was doomed to fail. Sadie blocked him out. She hadn’t gotten where she was today by listening to her father.

It was while she was re-packing her car that the next wrinkle in her plan showed up.

“Trying to sneak out without saying goodbye?” Luke asked. He looked a little too happy and relieved over the prospect.

“Not at all. Here.” Sadie shoved a heavy box at him.

“What am I doing with this?”

“You’re helping me move,” she said.

“Don’t tell me you’re actually staying here,” he said.

She nodded. “I am.”

“You found a television job in the middle of Virginia?”

“No, I’m opening a business.”

He stared at her, trying to figure out what possible business she could open in their tiny town. “Like a boutique?”

“No, more like a detective agency.”

He snorted a laugh that quickly died when he realized she was serious. He shoved the box back into her hands. “Wait, what?”

“Aunt Abby and I are opening a detective agency together. I’m moving in with her, with you.” She smiled sweetly and jammed the box against his chest. She hadn’t shoved it hard enough to knock the wind from him, but that was how he looked.

“No,” he said, handing the box back as if that were the end of the discussion.

“What do you mean no?” she asked.

“I mean no. You cannot open a detective agency. For one thing, it’s not 1984, and you’re not Tom Selleck. This is the digital age, and you still record shows on VHS. How do you expect to compete when you can’t program numbers into your cell phone?”

“Technology changes, Luke, but people don’t. Aunt Abby and I can read people. They talk to us and tell us things. We can find what is hidden, we can solve riddles.” She eased the box back into his hands while he was distracted with indignation.

“While I might normally find it amusing that you think you’re going to open a detective agency, I am in no way amused that you think you’re going to move in with me.”

“I don’t think anything; I know. It’s not your house—it’s Aunt Abby’s, and it’s all been arranged.”

He glanced down, blinking in consternation at the box as he realized he was holding it again. “We can’t live together,” he said. This time when he handed her the box, he crossed his arms over his chest so he would be sure not to get it back.

“It’s mind boggling how such a dork can make something innocent sound illicit. We’re going to be living in a mansion with an eighty-year-old chaperone.

“We don’t get along. We don’t like each other,” Luke pointed out.

“Of course we do. We’re best friends.”

“No, we’re not.”

“Yes, we are.”

“Since when?” he asked.

“Since forever. Where have you been all our lives?”

“I’m pretty sure I was there from fourteen until now. Believe me, we are not best friends.”

Sadie shifted the box to one arm and waved her free hand in the air. “I’m over that. We had a spat. Big deal. Best friends argue all the time. I’m tired of not getting along with you, so I’ve decided we’re best friends again.”

Only Sadie would be able to condense a fourteen-year feud into a “spat.” “You’ve decided,” he said.

She nodded.

“What if I don’t agree?”

“Of course you will,” she said.

“What makes you so sure?”

“In order to say no, you would have to hurt me, I mean really hurt me. Such a thing is beyond your nature.”

He gave her a petulant frown; she had him there. He might be able to peck at her, but he could never do anything to make her bleed.

“You can be our handyman,” she offered.

“I’m not handy. Have you forgotten how I almost died when I tried to fix your toaster?” he asked.

“Your heart barely stopped. The point is that Aunt Abby needs you. I’m going to be busy starting the new business and moving in. Someone has to manage the house.”

He would grant her that; Aunt Abby did need him. “Fine, but what about all the other stuff between us?”

“What other stuff?” she asked, looking down at the contents of the box as if they were suddenly fascinating.

“The spark.”

“There’s no spark,” Sadie said.

“There’s a spark. We both know it. Don’t lie.”

“There’s always a spark between two healthy young people of the opposite sex. It doesn’t mean anything.”

“I’m a teacher in a school where the female/male ratio is forty seven to one. Believe me when I tell you that the kind of spark we have is not indicative of all male/female relationships. There’s a spark.”

“Maybe there was a spark once, but there’s not anymore. We both realize we’re better off as friends. Like brother and sister.”

“Bull.”

“Which part?” she asked. She was getting exasperated, and the box was getting heavy.

“All of it. There’s a spark, you know it, and we are not brother and sis…” The word cut off when she stood on her toes and pressed her lips to his. Nothing happened. The world didn’t shift, no fireworks erupted, nothing.

“There,” Sadie said, a smirk of self-satisfaction branded across her lips. “I told you there was no spark.”

Luke took the box and bent over as he set it aside. “You’re forgetting the fundamental rule,” he said, straightening as he turned toward her.

“What’s that?” Without the box, she had nothing to do with her hands. They fluttered nervously to her hair.

“It never works when you kiss me; it only works when I kiss you.” He pulled her tight, crushing her against him, but he didn’t kiss her right away. He waited until the much-maligned spark surfaced between them. It sprang up like a Roman candle on the fourth of July, hovering, glimmering, shooting off bits of fire. He had proven his point then; he could have let her go. But he didn’t. He couldn’t. Even though it was of his making, he was as caught up in the moment as she was.

So he kissed her. Later Sadie wouldn’t be able to put a name to what she felt in that moment. But she did remember thinking that it seemed wrong that of all the men she had kissed from several walks of life, the one who did it best was the one she had known all along. After a few minutes, she realized they were no longer kissing. When she was finally able to pry her eyes open, Luke was gone.

Her gaze rested on her possessions, now strewn about her car, awaiting the move next door. She bit her lip. Luke was right—there was a definite spark. Living in the same house, sharing Aunt Abby with him wouldn’t be easy. There was a part of her that wanted to flee for self-preservation. And it was that realization that brought her up short and made up her mind. She might be tempted to run away, but it was no use; she had nowhere else to go.

Tucking her hair behind her ears, she bent and picked up a box, forcing herself to whistle a merry tune as she headed next door.