Wish You Were Here (8 page)

“
Do me a favor,” he said, motioning toward the front door. “Switch on the main light.”

“
Um. Okay.” She hesitated for a moment, watching him, then crossed the room and did as he asked. The light came on for a second, then there was a pop from the fuse box, and it went off again.

“
Goddamnit.” He slammed the fuse box shut, locked it, and muttered, “Fuck it. She can use candles.” Then he leaned against the wall, crossed his arms over his chest and hung his head. Freya walked back to him and touched him lightly on the shoulder.

“
Nate? Are you okay?”

He looked up at her and took a deep breath, as though he had just realized she was there. Then he let out a soft, sad laugh and said,
“No.”

“
Don’t worry about me,” a voice called from the front door as it swung open to reveal a pretty brunette in a business suit dragging a tremendous suitcase behind her. “I’ll get my own luggage.”

Nate pushed himself off the wall and walked toward her.
“Ruby’s getting you clean linens for the pullout, but the electricity is fucked and I can’t get it fixed today. The front door doesn’t lock, and the water’s gonna be cold because the water heater’s electric.”

The woman looked around the cabin with an expression of such disdain that Freya had to smother an urge to smack her. Finally, her dark eyes landed on Freya—eyes Freya recognized as
colder, older versions of Piper’s—and Freya’s skin broke out in goose pimples as she realized she was looking at Piper’s mother.

Nate
’s ex.

The woman gave Freya a quick once-over,
then raised her eyebrows at Nate. Nate raised his eyebrows back. Finally, the brunette stepped forward and held out her hand. “Hi, I’m Nikkie Brody—”

“
Nikkie
Cooper
,”
Nate corrected quickly.

“
—and you are…?” Nikkie said smoothly over him, keeping her hard eyes locked on Freya.

“
She’s a guest,” Nate said, stepping between them.

Nikkie
’s eyebrows shot up. “Oh, really? Is that what they call it in Idaho?”

“
Excuse me?” Freya said, stepping out from behind Nate, ready to take the woman’s head off, she didn’t care who’s mother she was. But then Nate put his hand on the small of Freya’s back, pressing slightly. Freya looked up to see the request on his face and bit her tongue.

“
Get settled, Nik,” Nate said. “I’ll be back in a little while. Stay here until I come get you.”

He led Freya out, slamming the door behind them. As soon as they reached her cabin, she turned to face h
im.
“What the hell was that about?”

For the first time that morning, some of the angry tension drained from his face, leaving just the naked stress.

He ran his hand over his face and leaned against Freya’s cabin.

“
I don’t know,” he said. “Ten years, we’ve heard nothing from her. Then she just shows up out of nowhere. She wants something, but hell if I know what it is. And now Piper…” He went silent, and Freya could feel the tension coming off him in waves.

“
Hey,” she said, “it’s gonna be okay. Piper has you. She’ll be fine.”

“
It’s just... you don’t know Nikkie,” he said. “We met when she was a waitress and I was a prep cook, and I knew exactly what kind of girl she was, but I was twenty-three and she was hot, so what the hell did I care? But then she got pregnant.”

Freya nodded.
“So you married her.”

“
Seemed the thing to do. Doomed from the start, but goddamned honorable. Anyway, Nikkie got every last penny in the divorce, but I got Piper, so I won.” He released a deep breath, and the muscles in his face tightened. “I can’t keep her from Piper, that’s not fair to Piper. But it’s not going to end well, and Piper’s gonna take it on the chin.”

Freya watched him, knowing what she had to do. Now was her moment. He was weak, he was confused, and two million dollars would go a long way toward getting rid of his ex. All Freya had to do right now was be his friend, make arguments that would lead him to the money No mater how honorable Nate Brody was, his daughter
’s happiness was more important to him than his word, and Freya knew it would be so easy... so easy...

If only the very idea didn
’t make her want to throw up.

Dad
’s right,
she thought as she reached out and took Nate’s hand.
I’ve lost my edge.

Well. Fuck it.
She squeezed his hand and said, “You know what? Piper’s gonna be fine.”

He didn
’t look convinced. “You didn’t see her face this morning.”

“
No,” she said. “But I’ve seen her face when she looks at you. It’s the face of a kid who knows that, no matter what happens, someone will be there to catch her.”

“
I don’t want to catch her,” he said, staring down at his feet. “I want to keep her from falling in the first place.”

“
Can’t do that,” Freya said. “But trust me. Having a father who’s there, no matter what... it matters. A lot.”

Nate looked up at her, his eyes searching hers as his fingers tightened around hers. Freya
’s breath caught as he watched her, and she stepped back and dropped his hand.

“
Hey,” she said, “I need you to do something for me.”

He nodded and pushed himself off the wall.
“Something wrong with the cabin?”

“
No,” she said. “Well... yes, but that fix would require a bottle of bourbon and a wrecking ball. No...” She glanced at the cabin across the way from her own, then looked back at him. “I need you to keep the idea open in your mind that maybe Nikkie’s really here to connect with Piper.”

Nate shook his head.
“Freya, you don’t know—”

“
I know what it’s like to be betrayed, trust me. It’s just…” She took a deep breath. “My mother died when I was a little girl. I spent so many nights wishing so hard that she could come back to me, even if it was just for a minute. I would have given anything,
anything,
for the chance Piper has right now.”

“
I’m sorry,” he said, and she could tell by the look on his face that he meant it. “But your mother and Nikkie, they’re two different people. Your mother didn’t choose to leave you.”

“
Doesn’t matter,” Freya said. “Not to a little girl. And if there’s even a slight chance that Nikkie is really here for her, you have to let it play out, okay? And if Nikkie’s up to no good, then you’ll just have to be there for Piper when it’s over.”

Nate stared at her for a while, and Freya held his eye until she could see that first hint of surrender she
’d seen so often around the negotiating table. He was on the ledge; all she had to do now was push him over.

“
Go get Nikkie and bring her back to Piper. It’s the right thing to do.”

He stared at Number Two for a long time, his expression intense and angry, and then he sighed and nodded.
“Okay.”

He turned back to Freya like he was going to say something, but then just reached out and touched her face, a small smile on his lips. Their eyes held for a moment, and then he kissed her forehead.

“Thank you,” he said.

“
Get out of here,” Freya said. She watched as he walked over to Number Two, got Nikkie, and walked back with her to the house. Once they were out of sight, Freya started toward cabin Number Two.

She didn
’t care what she had told Nate. That woman was up to something. Nate needed to give Nikkie a chance for Piper’s sake, but Freya didn’t. She glanced behind her to be sure Nikkie wasn’t coming back for anything, then slipped inside. She took a moment to memorize things exactly the way Nikkie had left them, then went for the suitcase.

She might have lost her edge where Nate
was concerned, but when it came to playing dirty with the likes of Nikkie Cooper, she still had a few tricks up her sleeve.

Seven

Nate
and Ruby sat at the kitchen table, watching Nikkie and Piper perched stiffly next to each other on the living room couch. It was all Nate could do to stay where he was and let it unfold, but Freya was right. He had no choice.

Whatever her mother really was, Piper had to find out for herself.

“So... you’re doing well in school?” Nikkie asked for the fifth time.

Piper nodded.
“Yeah.”

And they fell into silence. Again. Nate looked at Ruby, who looked back, her face as stony as ever. She was still in mother bear mode, believing she could prevent whatever hurt might be coming Piper
’s way. Nate kind of missed that illusion.

“
Where did you go?” Piper asked finally.

“
What?” Nikkie said.

“
When you left. When I was a baby. Where did you go?”

Nate stiffened; small talk was over. He felt Ruby
’s hand on his arm, and he touched her fingers lightly before she withdrew.

“
Well... um. First, I went to Des Moines. It’s where I grew up. I spent some time with...” She glanced at Nate. “...an old friend for a while.”

Greg had been the name, Nate thought, although he couldn
’t be sure. There hadn’t been a lot of time for proper introductions when he’d hunted Nikkie down to get some final documents signed and found her living with the guy.

“
And then?” Piper asked. “Where’d you go after that?”

“
Well, I... floated for a while. Spent some time in Arizona. Then, a few years ago, I ended up in Los Angeles.” She brightened. “Oh, do you know Rodeo Drive?”

Piper shook her head. Nikkie
’s shoulders slumped a bit.

“
It’s a place with a lot of shopping. Really expensive stuff. High fashion, stuff like that. I used to work there. And I met a man there who I was seeing for a while. Did you ever watch
Sex and the City
?”

“
No. Dad says it’s inappropriate.”

“
Oh, please. They cleaned up the reruns—”

Nate cleared his throat and Nikkie looked up, rolled her eyes, and looked back down at Piper.

“Anyway, his brother was a producer for that show.”

“
Oh. Neat.”

Another painful silence.
Nate curled his hand into a fist and pressed it into the table, locking himself into his seat.

“
I thought you were in the Congo,” Piper said. Nate shot a confused glance at Ruby, who shrugged. When he looked back, Piper was sitting with her hands tucked under her knees, lower legs kicking out from the couch, her eyes on the floor.

“
The Congo?” Nikkie laughed. “Why in the world would I go there?”

Piper stopped kicking.
“I saw a movie once where a guy went to the Congo to find some plant to cure cancer. And his daughter came down to find him. She was mad because he’d left their family, but he’d gone because he wanted to save people. And they didn’t have phones or mailboxes or anything.” She straightened up and looked up at Nikkie. “But you were in California?”

Nikkie nodded, her face tense.
“And Arizona.”

Nate felt as if someone had just dropped a heavy stone on his gut. All these years, Piper had never mentioned the Congo to him. They
’d talked about Nikkie very little, except for Nate’s rote explanation that her mother loved her, but wasn’t able to be around. Here Piper had been building this whole scenario in her head, a reason why her mother had left her that made sense, and he’d never even known. He wanted to run over there, throw Nikkie out the door, and pull his little girl into his arms, but he knew he couldn’t. He had no choice but to sit there and watch as the last of his daughter’s precious illusions were shattered.

Piper stood up from the couch and walked over to him. He smiled as brightly as he could, but her face was flat.
“Hey, Pipes,” he said. “How ya doin’?”

“
I’m going to ride my bike down to the lake, okay?”

He nodded.
“Okay. Be back for lunch.”

He watched as she gave a short, halfhearted wave at Nikkie,
then walked out the front door, closing it quietly behind her. Nate sat where he was for a while, watching Nikkie as she sat on the couch, not moving. She looked beaten up. Nikkie had never been one for showing emotions, so for her to look beaten up meant that something was really going on inside. She wasn’t entirely cold; he knew that. In there somewhere was a beating heart, it was just buried under so many layers of shit that by the time you got to it, it was hardly worth the digging.

And the fact that it was his little girl trying to wade through all the shit made him a lot less sympathetic than he would have been otherwise.

He shot a look at Ruby and pushed up from the table, walked over to Nikkie, and stood a few feet away from her in silence. The truth was, he was so far out of his depth that he wasn’t sure what to say or do. Finally, Nikkie raised her head.

“
Should I go after her?” she asked.

Nate shook his head.
“No.”

“
Do you think she’ll ever forgive me?”

Her voice was so quiet that Nate wasn
’t sure if he’d imagined it, but when she looked up at him, he could tell by the look in her eyes that she was torn up. As torn up as Nikkie ever got, anyway.

Good.

“I don’t know,” he said honestly. “I guess it all depends on what you’re willing to do to earn it.”

Nikkie nodded again.
“Right.” She pushed up off the couch. “Well, I guess I should get back to my cabin. Take a shower. Get some rest.” She looked at Nate. “When can I see her again?”

Nate took in a deep breath.
“Come back for dinner. Six-thirty.”

One edge of her mouth quirked up.
“You cooking?”

Nate shrugged.
“Me or Ruby.”

Ruby
’s eyes lit a bit with gleeful malice. “I make excellent mac and cheese. Straight from the box.”

Nikkie held a cold look with Ruby, then turned and left. Nate walked over and sat down next to Ruby, suddenly exhausted beyond the telling of it.

“You’re doing the right thing,” Ruby said. “A girl needs to
kn
ow her mother, for better or worse.”

Nate nodded. So he
’d been told.

***

“It’s a California driver’s license,” Freya said, holding up one of Nikkie’s receipts on which she’d scribbled the paltry information she’d gleaned from going through Nikkie’s purse. Through her cell connection, she could hear her sister’s boyfriend, Jake Tucker, typing the information into his computer. “The name she’s going by is Nikkie Cooper, but she might also use Brody.”

“
All right,” Jake said. “I can run a basic check on her; it’ll give you what jobs she’s had, any criminal record, aliases, that kind of thing. We’ll see what comes up.”

“
I also need you to track down a number,” she said. “I got it off her cell phone and it just said ‘private number,’ but she’d gotten three calls from it in the past two days.” She read the number off; it was a 208 area code, which narrowed its issue down to anywhere in Idaho.

“
Got it.” Jake paused for a moment, then said, “So, what’s going on out there, Freya? You’re not in any trouble, are you?”

Freya stiffened.
“What makes you ask that?”

“
You’re calling me to track down odd information for you, for one thing. Plus, you share genes with Flynn.”

“
It’s no big deal. It’s just a tiny thing I have to work out on the property I’m going to buy. Send the bill to my apartment, though, okay?”

“
Right,” Jake said flatly. “I’ll get right on that.”

“
I’m serious, Jake. We hire private detectives to check on things for us all the time. It’s standard operating procedure. Bill me.”

“
No,” he said. “You want me to get Flynn for you?” There was a light knock at the door, and Freya put her hand over the phone and called out, “Who is it?”

“
It’s me,” Piper’s little voice called through the door.

“
Just a minute,” Freya said, then spoke into the phone. “Gotta go. Give Flynn my love. Keep her out of trouble.”

“
Easier said than done,” he said, and Freya said goodbye and powered off her phone. As soon as Flynn found out that Freya had hired Jake to look into something, she’d call, and Freya didn’t feel like explaining anything. Not now, anyway. She opened the door to find Piper standing there, staring up at her, her eyes red-rimmed but dry.

“
I asked my dad if I can ride down to the lake, and he said yes,” she said.

“
Ah. She can be taught.” Freya crossed her arms over her stomach and leaned against the doorjamb. “How are you doing, kid?”

Piper shrugged then looked up at Freya.
“You wanna come?”

“
Sure.” Freya shut the door behind her and followed Piper to the office, where they got the bikes. Without speaking, they rode fast down to the lake, zipping through the paths so fast that Freya thought she was going to get thrown from the bike just trying to keep up with Piper. Finally, they reached the lake and set their bikes against the shack. Freya followed Piper’s lead, walking quietly behind her until she sat at the end of the dock and looked up at Freya, who pulled the back of her oversized T-shirt down over the butt of her silk capri pants to protect them and sat next to Piper. She pulled her knees up to keep the silk from touching the dock and waited for Piper to speak first, which she finally did a few minutes later.

“
Do you have kids?” she asked.

Freya stared out at the water and shook her head.
“Nope.”

Piper turned to face her.
“Did you ever want kids?”

“
Nope,” Freya answered honestly. “I don’t think I’m the mommy type, you know? Some people are good at that kind of thing, and some people aren’t, but it ends up being the kid who takes it on the chin when they screw up.”

Piper nodded and then her face crumpled and tears streamed down her face. Freya put an arm around her and Piper curled into her, her body shaking on the shocks of a fresh grief. Freya simply held her, remembering the exact same grief she
’d had at that exact same age. In a different way, but just as real, Piper was grieving for the death of a mother as well, and Freya knew there was nothing to do but just be there. She held the girl in silence as she cried, running her hand over her hair until Piper straightened up and swiped at her face with the back of her hand.

They sat in silence for a long time, and then Freya said,
“For what it’s worth, if I could get a guarantee my kid would turn out like you, I’d go for it.”

“
Right,” Piper sniffled, and her eyes filled again. “You’re just saying that to be nice.”

Freya tapped Piper
’s wrist until the kid looked up at her. “You don’t know me well, so I’ll let you get away with it this time, but I don’t say things to be nice.”

Piper shrugged and swiped at her face, not meeting Freya
’s eyes.

“
Hey,” Freya said. Piper didn’t look at her, so she said it again.
“Hey.”

Piper finally looked up. Freya crossed her legs in front of her as she shifted around to face her.

“You’re a great kid, Piper, but if you start feeling sorry for yourself, you’re gonna end up being just another whiny little brat who’s pissed off that life didn’t go how she wanted, and that’d be a hell of a waste.”

Piper sniffled.
“Is this supposed to be a pep talk?”

“
Close as I get to one, yeah,” Freya said. “My point is, if she didn’t want you, that means something’s wrong with her, not you. You understand me?”

Piper straightened a bit.
“Yeah.”

“
I mean it,” Freya said. “You’re stronger than that and better than that. You need to know, without a doubt, that none of this is because there’s anything wrong with you. You are great.”

Piper met her eyes, and slowly the doubt in them seemed to recede.
“Okay.”

“
Okay.” Freya stood up and held her hand out to pull Piper to her feet. “You’ve just gone through a hell of an emotional growth spurt, one your future therapist will be hearing about for years to come, and I think we need to celebrate, which means near-lethal doses of fat and sugar.” She eyed Piper. “You like chocolate, right?”

“
Yeah,” Piper said.

“
Good woman. Unfortunately, all I’ve got is snowman poop.” She crinkled her nose. “What’s in that stuff, anyway?”