by Robin Mahle
3
Time heals all wounds. That was how the saying went and while that was true for most, Riley still felt the sting of losing Carl, and in the six months that had passed, she wondered when the healing would begin. Summer had arrived. However, she wasn’t the same and didn’t have the foresight to see if she ever would be. Still, Carl wouldn’t want her to wallow in self-pity, so she worked hard to prevent that from happening. And there were great things in her life to look forward to; one of which was the fact that today was moving day.
Riley propped open her front door as the breeze had picked up with the heat of the day. Jacob walked toward her with a box in his arms. She peered around him and noticed the trailer attached to the back of his car. Everything he owned was in that trailer and it didn’t appear to amount to much. All the better, though. Riley’s house was a bit too cozy to add much more to it.
“You’ve got your hands full,” Riley began. “Come on in. It may be best to stack everything in the kitchen and sort through it later.”
“You got it, babe.” Jacob wore a broad smile and set down the box. CJ ran to him and jumped on his legs. “Hey, buddy. You want to help me unload the trailer?” He looked at Riley. “It’s a good thing he likes me.”
“You think you’d be moving in here if he didn’t?” She chuckled and walked outside in the blistering sun. The concrete path in the front yard led her to his car and the opened trailer. It still didn’t feel quite real to her that she was going to be living with Jacob. They’d gotten much closer since Carl passed. He’d been there for her every step of the way in learning to cope with the loss. Sometimes, Carl visited her in her dreams. It wasn’t often, and it wasn’t like a premonition, which she was prone to have on occasion. She would just see him standing underneath the great big oak outside the church where he had held his son’s funeral. No words, no smile. He would only stand and look at her, then he would vanish. Riley suspected it was all part of the normal grieving process and didn’t put much credence to it.
“I think he’d be happy about all this.” Jacob stood behind her while she peered into the trailer.
“What’s that?” She turned on her heel, beads of sweat running down the side of her face.
“Carl. I think he’d be happy we’re moving in together.”
“I think he would too.” Riley picked up a small box and walked past him. “I’ll take the light ones.” As she stepped off the trailer and onto the path, a car appeared in the distance. She recognized it and stopped.
The car pulled onto her driveway and the driver’s side window rolled down. “Hey. You guys need any help? I was in the area and thought I’d swing by.”
“Nah, I think we got it. You want to come inside for a drink or something?” Riley asked.
“Sure. Why not?” Ethan Pruitt shifted the car into park and cut the engine. He opened the door and stepped out. “Why don’t you at least let me take that for you?”
“Sure thing.”
Jacob emerged and spotted the exchange. “Ethan. Hey, man, what’s going on?” He offered a greeting.
“Not much. Had to run some errands and found myself nearby. Thought I’d see if you guys need any help, but Riley, here, says you got it under control.”
“Hey, far be it from me to refuse help. There isn’t much, but this heat’s a bitch. Wouldn’t mind an extra set of hands, if you got the time.”
“I do.” Ethan walked toward the trailer and grabbed a couple more boxes before making his way back toward Riley. “You got that one there, right?”
“Yeah. I got it.” She watched as he and Jacob walked side by side into the house.
Ethan seemed accepting of the idea that Riley and Jacob were moving in together. Things had been awkward between them for a while, but that, too, changed after Carl died. She figured Ethan didn’t want to make things worse for her by pushing back on the relationship and instead embraced it, though there were still indications he wasn’t entirely over her. She pushed those aside and hoped that, in time, those feelings would dissipate. For now, Riley wouldn’t look a gift horse in the mouth. She would accept this at face value and move on. It was time to move on.
Captain Dan Ward had close to twenty years on Riley. She remembered how he looked at their first meeting all those years ago. He was in his late twenties and she was just ten, but she remembered his smooth face and light brown hair. His eyes held more innocence in those days. Today, his hair was a little thinner and a little greyer, but his face showed only a few lines and most anyone would guess him to be forty at the most. He kept himself in shape, still worked out three times a week. But his eyes still held sorrow and loneliness, and there was nothing Riley could do about that. He wasn’t interested in dating anyone after Melissa died eight years ago and still had no interest.
Riley blamed herself for not knowing, not seeing that Melissa would get sick so soon after she and Dan married. She was in her teens when Melissa died, and Dan pulled deeply into himself. Riley couldn’t pull him out. It took several more years and now here they were. Dan was still alone, Riley had Jacob again, and there was nothing she wanted more than for Dan to find happiness. Right now, that was outside her purview, if it was there at all.
Captain Ward walked into the bullpen where Riley and Ethan sat at their desks. “Hey, did either of you take a look at last night’s calls for service?”
“No. Should we have?” Riley asked. “I figured Abrams or Decker would’ve made mention of any issues.”
“They didn’t encounter any problems, but they did get a call about an illegal card game. Some folks set up shop at the back of the Crooked Horse near Montrose Street.”
“Did they bust it up?” Ethan asked.
“Didn’t have to. The boys got there and nothing was going on. I have to assume they got advanced warning and broke it up themselves.”
“What do you want us to do?” Riley asked.
“Keep an ear out. Maybe make a visit to the bar in the next few days or so. Just to let them know we’re watching. Last thing we need is people gambling away their paychecks around here.”
“Right. They can go to the casino in South Bend to do that,” Riley replied.
“Just don’t want that stuff going on here. You think drunk folks are a pain in the ass? Just wait till they’re drunk and lost all their money. It’ll be fun times around here.” Ward returned to his office.
“Captain’s in a good mood,” Ethan said.
“You know what Abrams is like. Probably blew it out of proportion trying to make himself look good. You want to know what happened last night, it’s better to ask Decker.”
“I won’t argue with you there.” He peered at her.
“You look like you want to say something,” Riley began. “Everything okay?”
“Yeah. Of course.” Ethan cast away his gaze. “Well, now that you mention it, there was something I wanted to talk about. I was going to mention it on Saturday when I was helping you guys unload the trailer, but…”
“What is it?” Riley felt an urge to look behind his eyes to figure out what he wanted to say before he said it. It wasn’t the right thing to do, using her gift that way, and it wasn’t something she often did, but intrigue captured her imagination because the look in his eyes wasn’t one she’d noticed before.
“I hear Gracie’s coming home from college soon.”
“That’s right. She’s graduating next week. Dillon and I are taking Mom up there for the ceremony and then she’ll hang with us for a while. How did you know?”
“I saw that Gracie posted something on Facebook,” he replied.
“Oh. Okay, right.”
“I haven’t seen her in a long time. She’s all grown up now,” Ethan said.
“Yes, she is. I don’t know how long she’ll be staying here in town. She’s already had offers for internships with a few marketing firms.”
“That’s great,” Ethan replied.
There was something else. She could feel it and it was starting to tak
e shape. “Have you been talking to Gracie lately? I mean, on Facebook or whatever?”
“Um, yeah. Like a couple of times. I don’t remember exactly.”
There it was. She felt it emanating from him. “Are you and Gracie together?”
“What? No. I mean, no. She’s your baby sister.”
“Ethan, she’s an adult now. Old enough to drink. She can date whoever she wants. If you’re going out with her, it’d be nice if you told me.”
“You can already see it, can’t you? I was surprised you didn’t say anything on Saturday. Thought you might be slipping. I’ve been wanting to say something for a while now. I mean, not that long, but you know. We’ve been talking a lot lately. She was pretty broken up about Carl.”
“I know she was.” Riley peered at him. It felt strange to think Ethan and Gracie were an item. His feelings for her had been pretty strong for a long time and now, well, he was over her. He was with Gracie, her little sister. “Look, I’m happy for you. And for Gracie. I’m going to kick her butt for not saying anything to me, but it’s her life. And yours. You both deserve to be happy. I just hope you realize she’s got a bright future ahead of her.”
Ethan turned defensive. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Like I said, she’s got offers. I wouldn’t count on her staying in Owensville for long. She wants to spend time with Mom and then, who knows? I just want you to be prepared.”
“Why? You don’t want me to get my heart broken?”
Riley felt the bite in his tone. “As a matter of fact, I don’t.”
“Well, you’re too late for that.” Ethan returned to his computer and pretended to punch in a bunch of keys as if he suddenly got very busy.
Riley wanted to say more, but what was the point? Maybe things would work out between Gracie and him. She didn’t see otherwise—not yet.
Jacob was HVM’s newest in-house architect. The small homebuilder who specialized in entry-level houses had recently opened a branch office in Owensville. In fact, construction on the business park where the office was located was very near the old Shady Acres mobile home park. That was where Carl lived for far too long and it had finally been demolished a few years back. New businesses came to town to set up shop and HVM was one of them. Owensville was growing, even if a little slowly.
No one had the nerve to take on the Caterpillar plant that had become a dog food manufacturing facility until it got shut down because it was being run by the mafia. People died in that place. Everyone figured it had bad karma.
The business park was given state funding and off it went. HVM was the only builder in town and employed about thirty people, not including the contractors who were put to work. They were good-paying jobs and Jacob was lucky to get one. There wasn’t much call for architects in Owensville, and especially not one who had been entangled with the mob and the old plant.
Jacob walked into the breakroom for an afternoon iced coffee. It had been a hot summer and didn’t appear to want to let up anytime soon. “What are you guys up to?”
Three of his colleagues sat at a small round table eating chips and playing cards. One of the guys, and Jacob’s contemporary, went by the name of Alex. The structural engineer was roughly the same age but was married and had two kids.
Alex looked back at him. “Got a game of Texas Hold-em going. Care to join in?”
“Aren’t you guys supposed to be working?” Jacob replied.
“Took a late lunch. Come on, jump in. The water’s fine.”
“No thanks. Just came in for a coffee. I have a crap-ton of plans on my desk.” Jacob walked toward the fancy coffee machine and punched in the code for iced coffee.
“Your loss, man.” Alex waited for the next player to make his move.
Jacob watched for a few minutes and returned to his desk with his coffee. He never had been much of a gambler. He didn’t like losing money and the pressure of a game was too much for him. And after facing down mafia hitmen, he figured he’d spent all his luck already since he made it out of that situation by the skin of his teeth.
Alex Laughlin had been playing cards since he was a teenager. He played mostly online before the Feds made it too difficult to win any money. If only they’d been smart enough to figure out how to tax the winnings, the government could’ve made a killing. Instead, they took down just about every website they could to stop people.
So Alex would play every now and again when the opportunity struck. Usually a few guys who would gather at one another’s homes. Small money, nothing major, but it was fun. Of course, his wife didn’t care for it when the boys would be at their house. His two young kids, a boy and a girl, four and six respectively, were a handful and the last thing she wanted was to have to cater to a bunch of guys getting rowdy and drinking beer over a poker game.
“I hear the cops were about to bust up that game last night at the bar,” Alex said. “Looks like I left before all the excitement. Any of you there to see it?”
“Nah, man.” A file clerk named Craig, not more than twenty-two, spoke up. “I bailed early, even before you. Not worth the trouble.”
“I agree.” Billy Flores, HVM’s accountant-extraordinaire and the smartest guy in the building, nodded. “This is okay for fun, but it isn’t worth getting in trouble for it. It was hard enough finding a job here. I’m not doing anything to jeopardize it.”
“Christ, I didn’t realize I was working with a bunch of pansies.” Alex dropped his cards to the table. “Fold. I’m out of here. Got to get back to work.” He pushed up from his chair. “Catch you losers later.”
Alex made his way through the corridor and stopped at Jacob’s cubicle. “Hey, man.”
“What’s up?” Jacob turned to him.
“We should grab a beer sometime. We’re about the same age, right?”
“I guess so.”
“Kids?” Alex asked.
“No. I just moved in with my girlfriend actually.”
“Lucky you. No wife. No kids. Life of Reilly over here, yeah?”
Jacob couldn’t help but smile. “You have no idea. I’d like to hang out sometime. Thanks for the offer.”
“Sweet. Catch up with you later?”
“Sure.” Jacob was feeling pretty good about the offer. He’d been employed here since just before Carl passed and was finally starting to make friends. Riley would be happy. “Life of Reilly.” He chuckled.
Dinner was on the table and Riley’s older brother, Dillon, secured little Danny into his high-chair. Marjorie brought in a pitcher of tea and finally sat down. The little family had grown, and Riley regretted not spending more time with them. Dillon’s wife, Marjorie, wasn’t exactly Riley’s type, but they got along well enough. She was a little too Type A for her liking. And the kids, Danny, who was almost four, and Ella, who had just turned one, well, they were almost unrecognizable.
“Thanks for having us over,” Riley began. “It’s been a busy week and Jacob hasn’t finished unpacking yet.” She glared at him, though mostly in jest.
“Of course. We’re glad you both could make it.” Marjorie poured herself a glass of tea. “Anyone else?” She held the pitcher.
“I’ll take some.” Dillon waited for her to fill his glass and then turned to Riley. “Gracie’s graduation ceremony is next week?”
“Yep. Mom’s getting excited. Did you get the time off?”
“I did. It’s finals week, so it was tough, but they got a substitute lined up. It’s only a day.”
“You’re not staying the night? I thought we were planning on visiting Jack.”
“I don’t know, Riley. It’s bad enough I’m leaving Marjorie here to deal with the kids. I don’t want to make it harder. And Mom, I mean, what are we going to do? Leave her at the hotel while we visit ol’ Pops and his new family?”
“He’s going to the graduation. You know that, right?” Riley said.
“I know. But there’ll be a lot of people there. It’s not like we have to sit next to him. Mom won’t sta
nd for that.”
“Well, here’s a little tidbit of news I picked up today.” Riley quickly shoved a small piece of grilled chicken into her mouth. “Gracie’s got a boyfriend.”
“Oh, she does? And who is this guy?” Dillon asked.
Riley swallowed down her food and wore a smirk on her face. “You won’t believe it.”
“Don’t keep me in suspense. You know the guy, or what?”
“Um, yeah. You could say that.” She paused a little longer to prolong Dillon’s agony. “It’s Ethan.”
“What? Ethan Pruitt? Your partner, Officer Ethan Pruitt?” Dillon said.
Jacob turned to Riley with a mouth full of food. “What? Are you serious?”
“Oh yeah, I’m serious.” Riley peered again at Dillon. “I guess they’ve been talking on Facebook. I don’t know if they’ve officially gone out on a date, but it sure sounds like they’re going to. At least, that’s what Ethan told me today.”
“The same Ethan who’s had a crush on you since, I don’t know, since forever?” Jacob appeared hot under the collar. “Now, what, he’s going to date your younger sister?”
“Why are you so pissed off about this?” Riley asked.
“Language, please.” Marjorie shot her a scornful gaze.
“Sorry. Why are you angry?”
“Come on, are you serious? You of all people should see through this. I can’t believe you don’t.”
“You know what, I’m sorry I brought it up at all. This clearly isn’t the time or place to get into it. I see that now. Geez. Didn’t realize it would be a sore point.”
Dillon peered at Riley, seemingly siding with Jacob. “Well, anyway, we can figure out the logistics next week. I just want to watch Gracie walk across that stage and get her degree. After all, it cost us both a hell of a lot of money.” He smiled.
Marjorie slapped the edge of the table. “Language!”
“Sorry, hon.”
4