by Gen Griffin
“You want to bury her in the yard?” Lowery asked Joe. “We can dig a hole.”
“Fuck no. You're a damn idiot. This is the Sheriff's house. We can't bury a body in the Sheriff's yard.”
“It's probably the last place he'd look,” Lowery joked.
Ian gagged on his own saliva. “I can't do this,” he whispered.
“We could toss her in the swamp with the gators.”
“We're gonna have to do something.” Joe rubbed his hands down the front of his grease stained t-shirt. “I ain't going back to prison. I'll shoot every motherfucker in this town before I'll see the inside of a jail cell again.”
Ian threw up on the hardwood floor beside April Lynne's body.
Joe let out a loud groan. “Great. He's puking again. Now we got to clean up barf and blood.”
Ian continued throwing up until there was nothing left in his stomach and he was just dry heaving. All the while, Joe and Lowery continued to discuss what they could do to get rid of April Lynne's body.
Chapter 24
Katie was woken up by the shrill ringing of her own cell phone. A sharp pain shot through her skull as she groggily tried to disentangle herself from a thick set of sheets and Addison's long legs. A pang of emotion that wasn't quite excitement went through her veins as she looked down at the beautiful boy who was sleeping in the queen sized bed beside her. Addy was still shirtless and she'd finally gotten her opportunity to play with his nipple rings. She had sucked and nibbled on them for a good fifteen minutes during the makeout session they'd indulged in for over an hour before she'd gone to sleep listening to his heart beat under her cheek. He looked like a fallen angel when he was asleep. His dark eyelashes dusted the tops of his cheeks and he had all those golden curls going in all different directions on the pillow.
“You are going to be my worst mistake,” she whispered under her breath as she sat up in the bed. Her phone continued to ring as she made her way to the edge of the bed and crossed the narrow deck of the houseboat. There was a distinct chill in the morning air and she shivered underneath the thin cotton of Addy's t-shirt as she picked up the phone. Gracie's name was on the caller ID. Katie pressed the answer button.
“Hey.”
“Hi. I know it's early but can we talk?” Gracie sounded stopped up as if she'd been crying.
“What's wrong?” Katie asked as her headache turned itself up several notches. “Do I even want to ask how your visit was with your mother last night?”
“It was awful. I need you.”
“Where's Cal?” Katie asked.
“Asleep,” Gracie explained. “Mom...last night. Jeez. I don't even know how to explain. I just need to talk and I'm pretty sure Cal's sick of listening to me because I keep saying the same things over and over. Can you come over?”
“Of course.” Katie didn't quite know what to say. She didn't even want to imagine what Jane May had done or said to upset Gracie this badly. “Give me five minutes.”
“You'll come right now?” Gracie sounded hopeful.
“Isn't that why you called me?” Katie asked.
“Yes. It was, but...”
“Like I said, give me five minutes. I need to find...pants. I need pants. Or maybe I'll just borrow some of yours.” Katie made a face at her bare, skinny chicken legs.
“Do I want to know why you don't have pants?” Gracie's curiosity was clearly peaked.
“Nope.” Katie picked up Addison's truck keys and walked out onto the porch of the houseboat. She closed the door quietly behind herself. “I'll be on your doorstep in like three minutes. You can tell me all about whatever horrible thing Jane May has said now. Hopefully over coffee. Tell me you have coffee?”
“I have coffee,” Gracie promised.
Chapter 25
The front door of Gracie and Cal's newly built house was unlocked so Katie let herself in. She was pleased to discover the house smelled strongly of freshly brewed coffee.
Making her way to the kitchen, Katie wondered how much aspirin she would need to take before her hangover faded. She walked into the room to see Gracie sitting in the breakfast nook with dark circles under both of her red, swollen eyes. An unmistakable look of relief crossed her friend's eyes, followed by a look of confusion as she took in Katie's appearance. “Nice t-shirt.”
“Thanks. It's not mine.” Katie told her as she walked over to the coffee pot and poured herself a fresh cup.
Gracie nodded tiredly at Katie. “You got here really fast.”
“Um, yeah.” Katie didn't elaborate because she didn't really feel like explaining that she'd spent the night on Cal's houseboat with Addison. Gracie would figure that one out soon enough on her own. Like when she looked out the front windows of her house and saw her brother's truck parked outside in the driveway.
Katie cradled her coffee mug in both hands as she walked over to the breakfast nook and sat down opposite of Gracie. “Talk to me.”
Gracie sucked down a deep breath. “I don't think I'm ready to be a mother.”
Katie nearly dropped her coffee. “You're pregnant?”
“No,” Gracie said quickly. “I'm not pregnant. I'm still on birth control because I'm totally not ready to be a parent. Neither of us is. Like, Cal and I talked about it again before the wedding and we decided I should go ahead and renew my birth control implant. I should be good for another three years. By that point maybe Cal's new company will be more than just a pipe dream and we'll be ready.”
“Okay.” Katie leaned both elbows on the table. “Sounds like a solid plan.”
“It is. Cal and I have all kinds of plans. They're good plans. Responsible plans.”
“Okay.” Katie kept waiting for the bomb to drop. “Where is Cal right now?”
“Asleep in our bedroom. He and I were up all night talking. He finally said we were just talking in circles and that he was going to bed. He went to sleep. I can't sleep.”
“Why not?” Katie was almost dreading the answer.
“Mom doesn't want Kimber,” Gracie blurted out. “She says that she's going to put her up for adoption with the State if Cal and I don't take her.”
“Oh sweet Jesus,” Katie whispered. She was stunned.
Gracie nodded as fresh tears began running down her cheeks. “We have the weekend to make our decision. Mom says that she's going to sign my sister over to the state if we don't go back up to Silver City to sign the custody papers on Monday.”
“I am so sorry.” Katie reached out and took Gracie's hand.
Gracie clutched Katie's fingers as if she were a life preserver and Gracie was drowning. “I don't want to be a mom yet. I'm not ready, but...”
“You don't want to lose your little sister either?” Katie guessed where this was going.
Gracie nodded. “I can't do that to her. I looked into her innocent little face last night and there was so much trust in her eyes. I can't just throw her away. I know what it feels like to be thrown away by mom. At least I had Addison and Granny Pearl. Kimber wouldn't have anyone.”
Katie took a deep breath and then nodded. “What does Cal say?”
“He says it's up to me. He's willing to take her. He didn't even flinch. He doesn't want to be a dad yet but he'll do it if it's what I want.”
“What do you want?” Katie was almost afraid to ask.
Gracie choked out a gasping sob. “I want my mother to be a mother and not do this to us. I want her to love me. I want her to love Kimber. Everyone else has a loving mother. Why can't mine give two shits about me?”
“You know I have no answer for that.” Katie gave Gracie's hand a reassuring squeeze. “You haven't talked to your brother yet.”
“I haven't,” she acknowledged. “He's going to be furious. He'll probably offer to take Kimber so that Cal and I don't have to. You know him. Addison will do anything to make you happy if he loves you. He loves me and Cal. He'd sacrifice his own happiness to keep us happy.”
“Addison...” Katie felt a little flutter in her heart a
nd stomach at Gracie's description of her brother. Now was not the time to be thinking about Addison and what he would do for the people he loved. It was also not the right time to be wondering whether or not she was someone he loved.
“Addison can't handle a baby,” Gracie said flatly. “He'd sign the custody papers and then be so far in over his head that he'd drown in formula and diapers.”
“I agree.” Katie couldn't have put it better herself. “Where is what's his name? Tommy?”
“Tommy is washing his hands of the entire situation,” Gracie explained. “He doesn't want to marry Mom anymore. She's pretty furious with him.”
“She's not even divorced yet, is she?”
“She's not getting divorced. Dad won't sign the papers.” Gracie pulled her hand free of Katie's and picked her coffee back up. “Mom is talking about coming home to Possum Creek and making her marriage work. She says she can't do that if she keeps Kimber. She described her own daughter as an 'unfortunate reminder of a bad decision'. Seriously. She said that word for word.”
“I believe you,” Katie said. “She says stuff like that a lot.”
“Maybe it just hurts worse when she's talking about an innocent baby?” Gracie wiped her eyes with the back of her hands.
“It hurts because it's horrible.” Katie traced the wood grain pattern on the surface of the hardwood table with her fingertip. “You have forty-eight hours to make your decision. Talk it over with Cal again.”
“Cal's made up his stubborn mind.” Gracie leaned back in her chair so that it tipped backward onto two legs and she had to work to keep the chair balanced. “He says it's my decision. He won't make it for me. If I want her, we'll sign the paperwork. If I don't...well, you know what will happen.”
“You need to talk to Addy,” Katie said.
Gracie raised one neatly plucked golden blonde eyebrow at Katie. “You and I both know what he'll say.”
“He'll keep her,” Katie didn't have to think twice about that one.
Gracie nodded and let the chair thump back down onto four legs. “He won't care how hard it's going to be. He'd never send her to foster care or give her to strangers.”
“You should still talk to him about it.”
“I'll talk to him,” Gracie wrinkled her nose. “Assuming I can even find him. No telling where he spent the night last night or who he spent it with.”
Katie cringed.
“What?” Gracie noticed Katie's horrified expression. “It's Addison. He's a slutty hot mess.”
“He is.” Katie stared down into her coffee and wondered if she should get back into the truck, go down to the houseboat and wake Addy up with the news that she'd changed her mind about last night. Giving a relationship with Addison a chance sounded like a really bad idea sober and in the light of day.
She wondered if he'd be mad or relieved. He'd been just as drunk as she was last night. Maybe it was all just a giant mistake. Maybe he was sitting in the houseboat right now with his own cup of coffee, trying to figure out how to tell her that he hadn't meant anything he'd said.
Maybe that would be for the best.
“What's wrong?” Gracie was looking at Katie with visible concern.
“Nothing,” Katie said quickly as she faked a smile.
“Nothing?” Gracie eyed her skeptically. “I know you better than that. The look I just saw on your face wasn't a nothing look.”
Katie bit the inside of her cheek. “Ian and I are getting a divorce. You and Cal are getting a baby. It's only Saturday morning and I'm already feeling a little bit overwhelmed. Also, I'm hungover. I got drunk last night. Really drunk. Pretty sure I made a horrible decision.”
“You didn't agree to take Ian back, did you?” Gracie eyed her worriedly.
“God no.” Katie looked out the window and stared across ten acres of slightly overgrown, dying grass. Cal should have mowed one last time before the weather had snapped cold.
“Well then, it can't have been that horrible of a decision.” Gracie sniffled and then offered up a shaky smile. “I just feel really overwhelmed by the idea of having a little person to take care of. How do you manage to take care of Hannah Mae without second guessing yourself every minute of the day?”
“When you have a little person counting on you, you can't second guess yourself every minute of the day.” Katie shrugged at her bestie. “At some point, you just have to make decisions and hope that doing the best you can will be good enough.”
Gracie looked thoughtful. “What if I screw up?”
“You admit you screwed up, do the best you can to fix it and then move on,” Katie said. “What else can you do?”
“Good point.” Gracie leaned back in her chair and then ran her fingers through her nearly waist-length blonde hair. “We're going to sign the paperwork Monday. I don't think I could live with myself if I didn't do my best by Kimber. She didn't ask to be brought into this world any more than I did. I always had Addy to take care of me. She deserves to have me to take care of her.”
Katie nodded because there was nothing else she could think of to say.
“We're going to be okay, right?” Gracie asked. “I can do this?”
“You can do this,” Katie confirmed.
Gracie took a deep breath. “I don't have any baby stuff. I don't even know what to buy or where to start.”
“It's not that hard to buy baby stuff,” Katie promised with a small smile. “They sell everything you could ever want for a baby plus hundreds of useless baby items that you don't even know exist until you visit the baby aisle.”
Gracie laughed. “You want to go shopping with me?”
“I can go with you if you want me to.” Katie considered her for a minute. “Do you think you should wake Cal up so y'all can shop for baby stuff together?”
“Cal doesn't have a clue what to buy for a baby,” Gracie pointed out. “Besides, he hates shopping.”
“True.” Katie glanced down at the t-shirt she was wearing. “Are you wanting to go shopping now?”
“We might as well. Forty-eight hours isn't really a long time to completely prepare for a new baby. Normally you get nine months.” Gracie stood up and stretched. She was wearing a spaghetti strap tank top and athletic shorts. Katie couldn't help noticing that Gracie had both the booty and the boobies that Addison had sworn didn't matter last night. “Let me throw on some jeans and a hoodie,” Gracie said.
“Take your time,” Katie said. “We're going to have to go to Canterville and I'm not going without a hot shower and some clean clothes.”
“You want to borrow the guest bathroom?”
“Planning on it.” Katie got up and walked over to the sink with her empty coffee cup. She gave it a quick rinse and then set it in the dishwasher. “I also need to borrow some clothes.”
“Help yourself,” Gracie told her. She was staring out the window at the frosty grass. She appeared to be totally lost in her own thoughts.
Katie didn't blame her, but she didn't really know how to help her either. It had taken Katie months to get used to the idea of being a parent and to prepare herself for the responsibilities that came with a baby. Gracie had a weekend to prepare herself.
Chapter 26
“We can drive Cal's truck,” Gracie offered as they walked out the front door of the house roughly an hour after finishing their coffee.
“Okay,” Katie said. She felt significantly better since she'd taken a shower and borrowed a very stretchy pair of Gracie's workout leggings, a cute pink t-shirt, fuzzy boots that were two sizes too big and an over-sized purple hoodie. It was nice to be clean and dressed appropriately for the chilly 40-degree weather.
Gracie paused in the driveway as she caught sight of the Dodge. “Where did that come from?”
“The truck?” Katie pursed her lips at Gracie. “You didn't think I flew here on my broomstick, did you?”
Gracie raised her eyebrows at Katie. “Your broomstick would probably get better gas mileage. I was wondering how you'd gotte
n here so quickly. Where were you?”
“I slept on your houseboat last night,” Katie explained without explaining anything.
“Fun. Y'all had a party in our backyard and didn't invite us?” Gracie pouted jokingly at Katie.
“I wouldn't exactly call it a party,” Katie said dismissively. “I wound up at Boomers with Kristy and I ran into your brother there. It turned into an all night drunken field trip to the houseboat.”
“Always memorable.” Gracie walked over to the driver's side of Cal's truck and got in. Katie went to the passenger's side and climbed into the seat. “See any hot guys at Boomers?”
“No one new.” Katie bit her lip and tried to decide how much of the truth she wanted to reveal. She absolutely did not want to tell Gracie that she and Addison had decided to give things a chance between them. Gracie knew Addison better than anyone and that meant that she would know exactly how stupid Katie was being.
“Meaning you spent all night dancing with my brother?” Gracie didn't look surprised or particularly concerned by the idea.
“Mostly I danced with Sully Briggs,” Katie chose her words carefully. “The dancing kind of stopped after your brother showed up.”
“Are the two of y'all still fighting over...whatever it was y'all were fighting about?” Gracie tossed her long hair back over her shoulder as she shut the door and put her key in the ignition.
Katie shook her head no. “We talked a lot last night.”
“Good. It's annoying when the two of y'all fight.” Gracie cranked the truck, turned the heater up on high even though the engine was still cold as ice and began backing out of the driveway.
Katie curled her legs up underneath her in the passenger's seat as they turned onto the country highway that would take them to Canterville. “Enough about me and my boring social life. Tell me exactly what Jane May said to y'all last night.”
Gracie took a deep breath and started to recount the events of the previous night. Katie halfway listened as the big truck burned through the miles that separated Possum Creek from civilization.