Secrets in the Shadows (34 page)

“On my way now,” Lauren told her. “I’m pulling out as soon as we hang up.”

Molly told her to drive safely, and promised they would talk more when Lauren got home. Disconnecting, she rested her head briefly against the steering wheel. She suddenly felt tired, worn out, and old. The next few weeks were going to be a challenge, and she wondered if she was up for it.

Iris eased the bedroom door closed, trying to be quiet as she left the baby’s room. All the tension in the farmhouse had gotten to Jamie, and he had been nearly inconsolable the last few hours. Leaning against the doorjamb, she sighed. She was weary down to her bones, and felt decades older than her nineteen years. Placing a hand on her abdomen, she felt the fullness that contained the life inside and swallowed.

Mary Margaret had come home a couple of hours ago, escorted by her sister Patricia and brother-in-law. The doctor had given her something for her nerves, and they’d had to practically carry her upstairs to her room. She was sleeping now, but Iris knew it would be an ugly situation when she woke up. Marci, Troy’s cousin, had stayed with her the night before, only leaving when Patricia came. She was a nice person, Iris thought, only a few years older than Iris herself. Iris thought they could have been friends, in another life.

Slowly making her way down the stairs, she peeked in the kitchen and saw that Patricia and her husband were out on the back porch. Grabbing the cordless phone from the counter, she backed down the hall toward the front door, quietly opening it and moving out onto the front porch. She closed her eyes, clenching the phone to her chest as she fought back tears. It was going to take a lot of her pride away, making this phone call, but she had little choice. She had to think of her children, and now that Troy had been arrested, her options were running out.

There was little doubt in her mind that he had, indeed, killed his sister. Remembering how he had been Monday night when he finally came home still gave her chills. He’d bruised her that night in bed, and she even bled a little afterward, the sex had been so rough.

Her parents had warned her that she was making a mistake, marrying Troy, but Iris had wanted him, Hell or high water. Theirs was nothing more or less than the stereotypical good girl/bad boy relationship. She had loved the idea of being a wife and mother, and rebelled against every safeguard her parents put in place to protect her. Although they had divorced years ago, they both strived to be good parents to their youngest daughter, and when she married Troy, they’d been horribly disappointed. Her mother told her then that if she ever decided to walk away, all she had to do was call, and she would get her out of there, wherever ‘there’ happened to be.

Hands shaking, she considered her options one last time. She’d learned things living in this household she never would have imagined. She laughed bitterly at how naïve she’d been, at how right her parents had been in their concerns. Taking a deep breath, she hit the talk button and dialed the number. As it rang, she prayed someone would answer. Finally, someone did.

“Hello?” she said. “Mom? It’s me, Iris. I need you.”

Lauren stopped by her house first when she got back into town, needing a little more time to herself. As she let herself inside, her cell phone rang. She saw that it was David, and answered.

“Hey,” he said. “Are you back from your meeting? How’d it go?”

“It went well enough. What’s up?” She had called him first thing that morning to let him know about the situation and her plans. He told her that he would check in with her this afternoon.

“Josie and I would like to pick Ava up for a few days, have her stay with us until you get back on your feet a little bit. You’ve had a lot to deal with the last week, and it’s probably not going to get any easier for a while. You’re a good mother, Lauren, so don’t take this as criticism, but you could probably get a lot more done without an active, curious seven-year-old under your feet.”

“Wow. I wasn’t expecting this. Is Josie up to having her there right now for an extended period? How long are we talking, anyhow?”

“Josie is okay. Her morning sickness is pretty much a thing of the past now, and she’s back to normal for the most part. We’d keep her maybe a week? Ten days? Just long enough for you to have a break and get some things done, that’s all.”

She thought about what he was saying, trying to get past the sting. “I don’t know, David. I’d feel like I’m pawning her off on you guys. Plus, I’ll need to talk to Ava first, see if she’s okay with it. I’m sure she would be, but it’s important to give her the choice.”

“Why don’t you do that, then? Talk to Ava, and call me back. You’re not pawning her off, either, so don’t think that. If our situations were reversed, you’d do the same for us, wouldn’t you?”

“Of course I would, you know that.” Realizing his suggestion had a lot of merit, she gave in. “Okay, I guess if Ava is agreeable, then it’s fine with me. I’ll call you back in a little while, maybe an hour?”

“That’s fine. Just let me know what the two of you decide.” Changing the subject, he asked, “Have you heard anything more about Carl?”

“He’s gone. That’s all I know. I just got back from Madison, and I stopped by the house for a few minutes before I head back to Mom and Dad’s. I’ll probably know more when I get over there.” After a few more words, they ended the call.

Walking upstairs to her room, she sat down on the bed with a tired groan and flopped back. She spent a while there, staring at the ceiling. She had so many decisions to make, and she had never felt less capable of thinking. Someone had once said the worst time to make decisions was during a crisis, and Lauren believed it. She closed her eyes, wishing she could stay for days, but knowing she needed to get up.

After washing her face, she made the quick drive to her parents’ house to get Ava. Considering the coming week, she conceded that having her stay with David and Josie probably was a good idea.

Ava ran to meet her at the front door, grabbing her hand to tug her along as she chattered about the cool stuff she’d helped her grandpa and Charlie do with their planes. Lauren reached down and smoothed a hand over her hair as they walked back toward the kitchen and family room, smiling at her daughter’s enthusiasm.

“Sounds like you had fun, huh?”

“Oh, yeah! Tons of fun,” Ava answered, giggling. “Did you know Charlie has a cat, Mom?”

“No, I didn’t know that. What’s its name?”

“Rumble,” Charlie answered from his seat in the family room. “His name is Rumble, and he’s named that because he purrs so loudly things around him rumble.”

Lauren leaned against the doorjamb, eyeing him as Ava went to the couch and plopped down beside him. “I figured you for more of a dog person.”

“Nah,” he said. “Dogs are cool, but cats are more independent, a little more low-key. Plus you don’t have to walk them at three o’clock in the morning when it’s ten degrees below zero outside.”

“There is that,” Lauren agreed.

Ava patted the cushion next to her. “Come over here, Mom, and watch what Charlie’s doing.”

Lauren went to the couch and Ava scooted over to the seat she’d indicated. “You sit here, Mommy, and I’ll sit in your lap.” Raising an eyebrow, Lauren did as she was told, and Ava climbed into her lap. Wrapping her arms around her daughter, she watched Charlie tweak the internal settings on a remote control.

“Where are my parents?”

“Your mom needed help doing something upstairs, and commandeered your dad. Something about a shower curtain?”

“Oh.” Lauren snickered. “That shower curtain is going to be the death of my father. Mom just redid the upstairs bath, and she can’t find a shower curtain she likes. She comes home with a different one every week, and she always makes him help her put it up. I think she just uses it as an excuse to aggravate him a little,” she said and Ava giggled. “Revenge for his being such a bad patient.”

Charlie smiled, but Lauren thought he looked a little strained. “How many shower curtains has she gone through?”

“What’s it been now, Ava? Six or seven? That’s just in the past month.”

“I don’t know, but I caught ’em kissing up there one day,” Ava said.

“I don’t believe it,” Lauren said, pretending shock. “Kissing? Your grandparents? Never. I’ll make you confess the truth.” Tickling her daughter’s ribs, Lauren smiled as Ava shrieked with laughter. Turning the tickles into a hug, she planted a smacking kiss on top of her daughter’s head.

“How long have they been up there?” she asked Charlie.

He glanced at the clock on the wall. “Probably ten minutes? Maybe a little longer.” He shot Lauren a wicked look, and she elbowed him gently.

“Cut that out,” she told him with a smile. “Ava Bear, I need to ask you a question. How would you feel about going to your dad’s and Josie’s for a few days?”

“Really?” Ava asked, excited. “But I just got back from there. I can go again?”

“Really, you can go again, but only if you want to.”

Ava jumped up and did a little dance. “I’d like that, Mom.”

“Good,” Lauren said. “Why don’t you run upstairs and tell your grandparents?” Ava grabbed her in a hug and shot off toward the hall, hollering for her grandparents the whole way.

“That’s mean,” Charlie told her. “Using your daughter that way.” He tsked. “What if they’re in a compromising position up there? You keep doing things like that, you won’t get anything but coal in your Christmas stocking.”

Lauren smiled. “My parents get a ton of alone time. They’ll have plenty opportunities to finish anything they start this afternoon, trust me.” She cleared her throat. “Speaking of compromising positions… I owe you a big thanks.”

He scowled, obviously not pleased to hear that. “Why? For yesterday?”

“Yes. For stopping. You were right. If we ever—I don’t want it to be because of grief. So thank you.”

Very carefully, he sat the remote control down and wiped his hands on a rag that he’d draped over his knee. A flush highlighted his cheekbones. “It wasn’t easy, you know. Stopping.”

Lauren swallowed, feeling her own face flush. “Oh.”

“I almost came over here half a dozen times last night, but I knew you needed some space. And I probably shouldn’t have told you that.” He stood and moved to look out over the back yard. “So why are you sending half-pint to her dad’s? Is everything okay?”

She rolled her shoulders, feeling the tension building in her neck and shoulders. “David called and asked if they could keep her for a week or so, just until we get through the funeral and I can get things sorted out with the shop. I guess it’s probably the best thing for Ava, and it will help me, too.” She put a hand up to her neck and rubbed, wincing as she hit a sore muscle.

Charlie moved back to the couch and held out his hand. “Come here.” When she took his hand and stood, he turned her to face away from him. Setting his hands on her shoulders, he started rubbing the tense muscles. Lauren almost whimpered as the stiffness started melting away.

“The last thing you want or need to do is to end up snapping at Ava right now, or risk someone else saying something to her that she’s not ready to hear,” he told her quietly. “I imagine you guys are going to be crazy the next few days with memorial services and the like, and Ava’s too young to be obligated to attend. Even in the best of circumstances, she’s a little young for that,” he said. “Sending her to her dad’s is a good idea.”

Hearing her parents and Ava coming back downstairs, he pulled her into him briefly for a hug. “I probably should head out.” He started gathering the remote and tools he had been using to work on it. “You all will have a lot to talk about.”

Lauren stopped him with her hand on his arm. “Thanks for being here,” she told him, squeezing his arm a little bit.

“Any time,” he said, his voice a little husky.

Ava bounded into the room ahead of her grandparents, disappointment crossing her face when she saw that Charlie was leaving.

“Do you have to go?” she asked as he picked her up for a hug.

“Yeah, but I’ll be around.” Twirling her around a few times first, he sat her down gently, and as he was saying his goodbyes, Lauren remembered their date. “I’ll walk you out. Be right back,” she told her grinning parents. Following him through the door, she walked with Charlie toward his house.

“About dinner tomorrow night. We’re probably going to have to cancel that for now.”

“I figured as much,” he told her. “Can I get a rain check?”

“Yes, absolutely.”

“Good.” He smiled. “I’d hate to have to break down crying in your parents’ backyard.”

“That would indeed be horrible,” Lauren told him. “My dad doesn’t handle tears very well, especially when they’re from another man.” They both laughed as they pictured Winston upset over a tearful Charlie.

“When are you going to take Ava to her dad’s?”

“Probably tomorrow,” she told him. “I have an appointment with Charity’s attorney at ten o’clock, so I’ll probably just go a little early and drop her off. There’s no need to make an extra trip.”