The Fountain of Infinite Wishes (Dare River Book 5) (13 page)

Vander put a few yards between himself and the door and stood there. A full minute passed before the door opened. An older woman in a loose, baby blue polyester dress filled the doorway—one hand on a cane, the other wrapped around the collar of a black-and-white spotted bulldog.

Shelby wasn’t the only one in the SUV who gasped.

“My God, she’s morbidly obese,” Sadie whispered, putting her free hand to her mouth. “She wasn’t that way at Mama and Daddy’s wedding!”

The woman at the door had to be over three hundred pounds, and her harshly dyed brown hair was gray at the temples and rolled up in curlers.

“Who the hell are you?” the woman shouted at Vander.

Shelby couldn’t hear Vander’s reply with the windows up and his back facing them, but her grandmother’s response was all too audible.

“What do you mean you’re a friend of my son’s kin? Who? Virgil?”

Vander shook his head and said something. Once again, Shelby couldn’t hear how he responded, but she saw the way it affected the woman. Her face crumpled and her hands balled into fists around their respective burdens.

“You mean that bitch Louisa’s kids?” she asked, turning her gaze toward the car. “Are they in there?”

Vander nodded again, and since their grandma seemed to be paying attention to him, Shelby expected he was saying his piece.

“That good-for-nothing woman ruined my boy!” their grandma shouted. “I hope she rots in hell.”

Sadie sucked in a breath, and Shelby felt her stomach quiver. She’d never heard anyone curse Mama.

“We should leave,” Susannah said, her voice quavering. “She’s a mean and hateful woman to be talking about Mama like that.”

“I agree,” J.P. said, “but we don’t know the reasons for her venom or how she’s come by it. Let’s give Vander some more time.”

They all fell silent.

Pretty soon, Vander was taking a few steps closer, and their grandma wasn’t shouting anymore. By the time he made it to her front door again, she was wiping tears from her eyes. Then Vander gave J.P. the signal, and Shelby tensed up.

“Be careful,” Sadie said, reaching a hand out to clutch at his arm.

“I’ll be fine,” J.P. said, giving them a tight smile. “Be right back.”

Their brother stepped out of the vehicle and walked to the door with his long-legged stride. The bulldog started barking again, but this time, their grandmother immediately shushed it. Then she awkwardly turned around and disappeared inside the trailer.

Vander and J.P. huddled together. After a few moments, they both turned and walked back to the SUV.

When they got back in the vehicle, J.P. looked at Vander, who nodded.

“She’s invited us inside for sweet tea,” J.P. said, turning in his seat to address them. “You don’t have to come in if you don’t want to. She doesn’t know how many of us are here, so it won’t offend her none.”

Shelby gazed back at the house, her mind spinning horrifying images of what it might look like inside. Sadie clutched her hand so tight it hurt.

“I’m scared to go in there,” her younger sister said in a soft voice. “That dog…”

“I told her it would make us feel more comfortable if she shut him in somewhere,” Vander interjected, “and she agreed to put him in the back bedroom. Heck, it would even make me more comfortable. I thought it was going to take a bite out of me when she opened the door.”

“I’ll go,” Shelby said, her heart pounding in her ears. “I’ve come this far, and I won’t let fear stop me now.” Besides, she knew Vander wouldn’t let anything happen to her or any of them. His intensity was palpable.

J.P. gave her a hesitant smile. “All right.”

“Every single one of us is scared to go in there,” Sadie said. “Maybe we’ll feel better if we do it together.”

“I can’t promise you she won’t say some pretty unpleasant things about your mother,” Vander said. “She has a perspective on why your daddy left. It might not be true. Only your mother and father would know that. Either way, it won’t be easy to hear what she has to say. She’s…had a hard life. Not that I’m making excuses for her.”

“That much is obvious,” Susannah said. “Jake, what do you think?”

He let out a long sigh. “I think they’re right, honey. You’ve come this far. I’ll be with you every step of the way. That goes for the rest of y’all too.”

That made tears pop into Shelby’s eyes. “You’re the best guy ever, Jake Lassiter. Right after our brother.”

J.P. gave them an easier smile. “Let’s head inside. Remember, we can leave whenever we want. I’ll make sure of that.”

“You leave that to me,” Vander said. “I have a lot of experience in gracefully exiting uncomfortable interviews. If you all don’t mind a word of advice…”

“Please,” Shelby said, meeting his aquamarine eyes.

“Don’t challenge what she says,” he told them. “Let her say her piece. You aren’t going to change her mind—and she isn’t going to change yours.”

“What he’s saying is don’t raise her hackles,” J.P. said. “It’s sound advice.”

J.P. exited the vehicle and opened the passenger door. He helped Sadie out while Vander assisted Shelby, then Jake and Susannah followed.

“Stay beside me,” Vander told Shelby, and she was more than happy to comply. “Sadie, stay close to your brother, and Jake—”

“I got my woman,” he told Vander, giving him one of those alpha chin nods men gave each other.

“I also recommend you only use your first name, Jake,” Vander said.

Another nod from him, and they walked forward en masse. Their grandma was at the front door waiting for them, but there wasn’t a smile on her face.
 

When Vander’s arm came around her, Shelby was beyond grateful to have his support, even if it was only as her pretend boyfriend.

Chapter 12

Vander didn’t see any harm in letting Lenore McGuiness think he was attached to one of her granddaughters. In fact, it might keep her natural hostility in check. He’d suggested Shelby rather than Sadie since there was no denying that he and the middle McGuiness sister had chemistry. He’d find it easier to pull off his cover this way.

Plus, Shelby was shaking a bit anyway, and it had felt as natural as breathing to offer her some of his strength. This interview wasn’t going to be easy for her. For any of them.

He made himself smile hesitantly at the older woman. It had shocked him to see how morbidly obese she was, and he could tell by the way she’d favored her right foot while holding the dog in check that it was painful to stand, even with a cane. He felt bad for her. Her feet were horribly bruised and swollen, which he suspected was why she didn’t have on any shoes.

The dog was nowhere to be seen, and he breathed a sigh of relief. He’d dealt with enough protective dogs in his line of work to know that dog would kill for Lenore. She was enough of a handful without any backup.

“Are you really my Preston’s girls?” she asked, shielding her eyes from the noonday sun. “I already told your brother—what was your name again, boy?”

“J.P., ma’am,” he said, his arm around Sadie.

“Right,” she said, her jowls like unbaked bread loaves tucked around her face. “You
 
have his nose. What are your names?”

Sadie’s eyes widened, and she pointed to herself. “Me?”

“Yes, you,” Lenore said. “Spit it out, girl. I can’t stand here all day.”

“This is Sadie,” J.P. said in a calm voice, “and that’s Shelby. Susannah and her husband, Jake, are over there.”

“Fine-looking man you have there,” she told Susannah. “You too, Shelby. My, you resemble my Pres too.”

The woman Vander had his arm around glanced up at him, and he could feel her muscles tighten even more. “She’s a sweet one,” he answered before she could. “Probably as sweet as your sweet tea. Can I help you pour, ma’am?”

Shelby turned to him with a puzzled look on her face, and he knew why. He was putting on a Southern accent as part of the act, something he’d decided to do after seeing the Confederate flags displayed all around the park. The people here had enough trust issues. They would rather spit on or shoot at a Yankee than shake hands with one.
 

He should have mentioned it, he supposed. He liked to think he would have talked this way naturally if he’d grown up in Nashville and never stepped foot in his grandparents’ home.

“That would be nice,” she said, turning and walking inside. “I’m feeling a little poorly today.”

“I’m sorry to hear that, ma’am,” Vander said, following her.

When he entered the front room, he had to lock down all his senses. The combined stench of body odor, cigarettes, and dog urine was overwhelming. The tan carpet was stained in spots, and the cream couch looked more dishwater-blonde than anything else. Half-eaten bags of potato chips and boxes of cookies lined the upholstery and the rickety liquor crate that served as a makeshift coffee table.

He heard Shelby clear her throat, and a few of the others followed suit as they stepped inside. The dog was whining and barking on and off from the back room.

“Lenore,” he said, “do you have somewhere we can all sit for a spell out back? It’s mighty crowded in here.”

Shelby glanced up at him again, and they shared a look. Yeah, she knew what he was doing. A few of the others looked like they were liable to gag if they stayed in here much longer.

“I have some old chairs out back,” the older woman told him.

He gave Shelby one last squeeze before approaching Lenore. “If you show me where your keep your glasses, I can pour the tea for everyone. The others can go on outside.”

“Those girls should be the ones to pour the tea,” she told them with narrowed eyes. “I raised my girl to wait on the menfolk, not the other way around.”

Vander made his mouth twitch. “I’m one of those modern kind of men. Hope that don’t offend you none?”

She shook her head. “Modern, eh? You let him wait on you, girl?” Her question was directed at Shelby.

Shelby swallowed thickly and then shrugged. “There’s no stopping him sometimes, but I like to help too. Why don’t y’all go outside? Vander and I will bring out the drinks since he’s a modern man and all.”

Lenore snorted, but she led the way to the kitchen nonetheless, leaning heavily on her cane. Vander was impressed with the way Shelby had handled that. The part of her that loved order must be quailing from this miserable place, but there was also that other side of her, the one that enjoyed being around unusual folks like Gail. Lenore was certainly unusual, and Shelby had quickly stepped into the role-playing game with him. She was a good partner, and he liked knowing she could be counted on in tight spots. Not every woman could be, he’d discovered.

The grime on the kitchen countertops was as thick as dried tobacco juice, and there were roaches running across the floor. Vander saw Shelby shrink back when one scurried in front of her, but she managed not to outright squeal. Again, impressive.

“The glasses are in the cabinet to the left of the stove,” Lenore called, opening the back door connected to the kitchen.

Vander fought a wince when the door gave an ear-piercing squeak.
 

“Don’t go looking around my home while you’re in there,” Lenore said, shooting them a suspicious glance over her shoulder.

“We would never dishonor your hospitality,” said J.P., who’d followed her. “What should we call you, ma’am?”

Lenore thought it over for a moment and then said, “I suppose Me-Mother since we’re kin and all.”

The rest of the group ambled out the door after her, Sadie giving them a nervous backward glance before stepping outside. The dog started another round of barking, and Vander struggled to tune it out.

He walked across the kitchen to the cabinet Lenore had indicated. The glasses he pulled out weren’t much cleaner than the rest of her house, but there were no paper towels on the counter, so they’d just have to make do.

Shelby was pulling out tea from the ancient harvest gold refrigerator whose compressor was on its last legs from the sound of it. “I just can’t…”

He crossed to her and took her shoulders in his hands. “I know it’s a shock, but try and stay focused right now. You’re doing great.”

She bit her lip. “Okay.”

Together, they poured the tea, and he listened to her take slow, even breaths to calm herself.
 

“We’re not going to have enough for everyone. You’ll have to pour water for the rest of us.” He shuddered when rust-colored water emerged with a putrid smell when he turned the faucet on. Thankfully, the water ran purer after a spell, although a faint odor remained. “I think her septic tank needs to be flushed out.”

Shelby gave another visible tremor and walked to the door. “Ah…Me-Mother? Do you have more ice tea fixings?”

There was a reply, and soon she was taking out the powdered tea from another cabinet. Her hands were shaking as she measured out the scoops, so Vander took over.

“Start handing out the glasses that are already full. I’ll finish this.”

She did as he’d asked, and he went through the motions of making the tea even though he knew it wouldn’t do much to help the water. He hoped they wouldn’t end up with some intestinal bug after this. With Shelby out of the kitchen, he scanned the area, looking for any family photos.