“Like that, or unable to make decisions for herself because her mind was . . . foggy.”
“That would have to be confirmed by the doctor.” She nodded, and this time her smile was as fake as the dog poop Addison had found under Connor’s pillow that morning.
Addison stepped away, thanking the woman but leaving before the receptionist called the people with the special white coats to take her away.
Caroline lowered her magazine. “Did you get all the scuttlebutt you wanted?” The tone of her voice had a bitter edge.
“I’m not trying to pry. Honestly, I just want to help you out.”
“I don’t know what makes you think I need help. I’m a grown woman. I raised two amazing boys and take great care of our farm and home. I even took care of my husband until . . . well, you know.”
Addison laid her hand over Caroline’s thin forearm. “It’s just a checkup. We want you to live a long and healthy life.” And Addison didn’t have the reserves to care for Caroline while dealing with Caleb’s depression and recuperation. It was a fight with her tongue to hold back a snarky comment about the absentee approach of Caleb’s self-centered brother.
“Mrs. Kilbourn?” A nurse in seafoam green scrubs stood in the doorway to the left of reception.
Caroline got up, and Addison joined her. There was a quick flash of question in Caroline’s eyes before resignation took over. She didn’t stop Addison from joining her.
“Let’s get your height and weight.”
Caroline lifted her chin toward the ceiling. “I’m an old woman, not a child. I don’t think I’ve had a growth spurt.”
The nurse beamed, even adding a genuine chuckle. It must be easy to see Caroline as charming and quirky when you didn’t live every waking moment with her.
Addison tried to take Brianne’s advice and let the tension slide away. She drew in a purposeful breath, filling her lungs to capacity, then let the air out slowly as she mentally counted to ten.
“What on earth are you doing?” Caroline poked one finger into Addison’s shoulder. “You’re not going to get all woo-woo on me now, are you?”
Addison sucked in more air, then blew it out in one hard puff.
The nurse made a note before ushering them down the hall and into an examination room. A couple months ago, the interchange she’d just had with her mother-in-law in a public area would have mortified Addison. Now it was just another moment on just another day spent looking over the brink of the crazy cliff. If things didn’t change soon, she’d jump.
The nurse settled them into the room, taking Caroline’s blood pressure, temperature, and pulse.
Addison would soon need a checkup of her own. The last weeks had her blood pulsing a hip-hop beat behind her eardrums. That couldn’t be healthy. Neither could the wash of cold numbness that poured down her arms every time she thought of the investigation.
A few minutes after the nurse left, there was a tap on the door, and the doctor entered. She was slim, only about as tall as Hannah, and wore her dark blond hair in a bun anchored at the base of her skull.
Caroline’s eyes swept up and down the woman as if she could evaluate her competency by sight alone.
“Good morning. I’m Dr. Larson. I don’t believe we’ve met before.” She held her thin hand out to Caroline, who scowled at the gesture just long enough to make the room swell with tension before she took the doctor’s hand.
The examination moved quickly through the normal routine. Caroline appeared to be in better shape than Addison had been in her twenties.
Dr. Larson tapped a few keys on the computer, then swiveled her chair to face Caroline and Addison. She laced her fingers together and leaned forward. “Mrs. Kilbourn, I understand you’ve been having some memory issues. Can you tell me about that?”
Caroline’s back went ramrod straight. “I don’t know what you’re talking about. I’m just fine. As sharp as a farmer’s pitchfork.”
“Are you on any medications?”
The second hand on the clock ticked past three numbers.
“No. Don’t need anything either.”
Addison cleared her throat. “Caroline, I’ve seen you taking pills.”
Caroline’s face turned away from Addison.
“Is that true, Mrs. Kilbourn? Can you tell me what you’re taking?” Dr. Larson slid a notepad from the desk. “It may help me to help you. I can’t prescribe anything if I don’t know what you’re already taking.”
“Vitamins. That’s all.” Caroline picked at the edge of her fingernails. “Oh, and the Tylenol for my hip. It gives me an awful ache, but my memory is fine. I’m just tired, is all. I’ve got a mighty full house right now, and I’m not sleepin’ too well. That’s the hip again. It causes a great deal of pain in the night.”
Dr. Larson looked back at the computer screen and scrolled through information. “I don’t see any mention of your hip here. When did this start being a problem?”
“About the time my son and his crew moved in. It’s the nerve. I’ve messed it up before. A ram got me full force. Threw me right into the fence.” She looked down at her feet. “Dr. Campbell gave me some sort of pain medication back then, and it cleared up.”
“Do you remember the name?”
“Nope. Big white pills. They did the trick. I wouldn’t mind getting some of those again, you know, just for bedtime.”
“I’m willing to prescribe a mild muscle relaxer if you’ll come back in two weeks so we can see if there’s been improvement.”
“I think a pain pill would be better.”
“You can take an over-the-counter pain medication with this prescription. Trust me. It should do the trick.”
Caroline opened her mouth as if she were going to protest once more, but shook her head instead. “All right, then.”
Dr. Larson proceeded to give Caroline a thorough physical, without digging any deeper into the cause of the visit. When she finished, she washed her hands and gave a list of wellness advice.
The printer hummed, and Dr. Larson handed Caroline the printout. “If there’s nothing else, please make a follow-up appointment at the front desk.”
Addison made the next appointment while Caroline grumbled her disapproval of the new doctor. She was not a child. It was clear to Addison that everyone in the office had a firm understanding of Caroline’s feelings on this matter.
The drive home was nearly silent. If tensions hadn’t been at a level next to dangerous, Addison may have actually enjoyed the fifteen minutes of quiet.
As they approached the driveway, the sight up ahead punched Addison square in the stomach. A patrol car was parked near the front of the house.
Addison pressed her foot farther down on the pedal and took the corner fast enough to cause her mother-in-law to grab for the dash.
“What on earth?” Caroline’s scolding halted as she too saw what was ahead.
Fear beat at Addison’s heart. Her son was in there. What was he hearing or seeing? Had they come to make an arrest or to apologize?
Addison pulled up behind the squad car, shoved the truck into park, and swung her door open. Without waiting for Caroline, she jogged up the steps and rushed into the house.
Caleb sat on the edge of the sofa, his elbows pressed into his thighs, his face in his hands. Beside him, Connor clung to his father’s waist, eyes wide.
“Mrs. Kilbourn.” Deputy Cruz shoved her notepad into her vest pocket. “I’m glad you’re here.” She motioned toward Connor. “I think it would be better if we handled this with just the adults.”
Caroline shoved past Addison, taking hold of Connor’s arm. “Come on, now. We have chores to get to.”
Connor tugged back. “I want to stay with my dad.”
“You listen to your elders.” Caroline gave his arm a firm shake. “Come along.”
Caleb unwrapped Connor’s fingers from his flannel shirt. “Everything is going to be just fine. Go on with Grammy now. Give us a chance to work this out.” A tight-lipped smile etc
hed Caleb’s face.
Connor rose, looking to Addison for help, but she nodded and pointed toward the back of the house, a piece of her heart ripping open as her son left the room, his shoulders slumped and head down.
Addison typed a quick text to Brianne. Police here. Don’t come back yet.
A moment later, the back door slammed, giving emotion permission to hit Addison square in the face. She sank onto the cushion beside her husband, tears flushing her eyes. “What’s happening?”
Caleb’s arm drew her close. “They say they’re here to arrest me. I’m going to jail.”
“No. You can’t do this.” Gripping Caleb’s free hand in both of hers, she made direct eye contact with the female deputy. “It was all a terrible accident. Please. Don’t do this.”
“Mrs. Kilbourn, we have solid evidence to the contrary. And it’s well beyond enough for an arrest. Let’s not make this harder than it has to be. Mr. Kilbourn, you have the right to remain silent. . . .”
The words blurred until Addison couldn’t distinguish one from another. She knew this life, and she’d left it behind. She’d tossed the good, her sisters, along with the bad, to be sure her family could live free of trauma like what they faced this very minute.
Suddenly, she longed to have a sister, or someone as close, to take her in her arms and say everything would be all right.
Caleb groaned as he rose to his feet, sounding as if he’d given himself over to guilt.
Addison’s family was shaken to its foundation, but Deputy Cruz didn’t seem to have any reservations or trouble picking her side. For her, it was as if this were another traffic citation. Pay the fine and move on. But these were their lives, their children’s memories, the security Addison had worked so hard to establish.
The deputy placed a hand on Caleb’s upper arm and guided him toward the door.
“I’ll be right there to post bail. We’ll be home before the kids are even aware you’re gone.” Addison reached out for her husband, but he shrugged away.
“It doesn’t work that way.” Deputy Cruz opened the door, ushering Caleb outside. “He needs to be questioned, and the judge will decide what happens after that.”
“Can I be with him at least?”
“No. I’m sorry.” For a fleeting moment, compassion shone in her dark eyes. “I truly am sorry for what your family will have to go through.”
Addison shook her head. “How can you even say that? This is all up to you.”
The deputy opened the back of her squad car and guided Caleb into the seat. “No. This was all up to your husband. He made a choice that killed a woman. If he had been the one killed by an impaired driver, I guarantee you, you’d be begging me to bring the driver to justice.”
Addison’s arms fell heavy at her sides. Nausea roiled through her middle. And her carefully planned and cultivated life collapsed.
28
The soccer coach blew her much-used whistle again, gathering the girls around her.
Brianne scanned the field and found Lilly at the top of the play structure, yelling to the kids below. She gripped a bar and swooped onto the slide, gliding down to the ground like a mix between a superhero and a fairy.
Parents called their younger ones over, and Lilly followed, arriving at Brianne’s side with flushed cheeks and grass-stained knees. “That was exactly what I needed.”
Brianne cocked her head toward the woman still trapped in a child’s body. “It was, was it?”
“Yes. I’ve made a pile of new friends. I’m going to be very popular when school starts.” She brushed her hands over her blond hair.
Brianne blew out a breath. “Life is not about being popular.”
“Then what?”
“I don’t know.” Brianne chewed the side of her lip. “It’s about finding your special people, I guess. The people you can help and who can help you. It’s like a team, but no one is the boss.”
“Like you and my mom?”
“Yes. Like me and your mom.”
Brianne’s phone buzzed in the pocket of her shorts. She pulled it out and opened a text from Addison, ready to reply with Lilly’s observation. Then she read the message. Her heart skipped a beat. No, Lord, no. Brianne’s eyes brimmed with tears before she could halt the reaction.
“What’s wrong?” Lilly tugged on Brianne’s T-shirt.
She forced back the tears. “Nothing. I was just surprised.” Brianne looked out at the field, buying a minute to think.
Hannah and her new friend broke away from the group, walking toward the van and Brianne.
“Thanks for being my partner.” Hannah waved as the other girl picked up her bike from where she’d dropped it when she arrived.
“Looks like we’ve got some extra time. How about ice cream?” Brianne tucked loose hair behind her ear.
Lilly exploded in a burst of bouncing and squealing.
“Can I invite Tally?” Hannah looked over her shoulder at the other girl.
Brianne shrugged. “If it’s okay with her parents.” Let them be the out.
In the first bit of enthusiasm Hannah had shown since Brianne met her, the girl ran toward the bike as Tally settled her foot on the pedal. The two giggled as they spoke too far away for Brianne to understand.
Lilly’s hand curved into Brianne’s as Hannah and Tally walked toward the van, Tally pulling her bike along beside her.
Where were they supposed to put that thing?
“Tally said she’d love to come with us.” Hannah’s eyes sparkled.
Brianne cocked her head to the side, truly sorry to ruin the fun. “Girls, we can’t put the bike in the van.” Addison kept everything as neat and tidy as possible. Today of all days, Brianne couldn’t return with tire marks in her car.
“No problem.” The dark-haired girl had turned from sulking to excited. “I live only a couple blocks from here. Can you pick me up at my house?”
Brianne nodded. “But you’ll have to check with your folks.”
“I will. My dad’s home. He won’t mind.”
They climbed into the van and followed Tally’s fast figure around a corner and up to a small cottage in a neighborhood that looked to be struggling.
Tally tipped her bike against the side of the house, popped inside for a moment, then ran toward the van, her drawstring pack flapping on her back.
“Shouldn’t you lock your bike?” Brianne looked around for an adult before she drove off with a kid she didn’t even know.
“It’s not a problem.” Tally buckled in next to Hannah.
Brianne’s phone buzzed again. Addison confirmed that they were making an arrest.
Over the weeks, Brianne had seen the man Caleb Kilbourn was. No matter the circumstances of that horrible night, Caleb was a loving and caring husband and father. She couldn’t even force herself to believe this was a man who could callously fail to value the lives and safety of others. But she’d been terribly wrong before.
Would it be easier to envision Caleb as guilty if he weren’t a confident, middle-class, well-thought-of man? If Amanda’s mother had brought her in with an allegation against someone like Caleb, would Brianne have still missed the signs of deception?
Life really wasn’t fair. It wasn’t fair that Brianne had Amanda as one of her very first solo cases. It wasn’t fair that Amanda was born into a family with serious levels of dysfunction that began well before Brianne had met with Amanda and her mother. And it wasn’t fair that young girls had to take on the weight of the misery around them.
Whatever happened to fresh starts and new beginnings? Were they even a thing?
Tally and Hannah burst into giggles about something they’d been discussing.
Lilly rolled her eyes, then smacked the palm of her hand on her forehead. “Teenagers. I’ll never understand them.”
“No worries, Lilly. We’re two minutes from the ice-cream shop, and you can escape from all this crazy fun.” Brianne reached back and tickled Lilly’s leg.
Little Miss Drama gigg
led in spite of herself.
A parking spot emptied right in front of the large window with the words Carmichael’s Creamery curling across the top. Brianne pulled in Addison’s forest green van, edging close to the curb in front. She’d never driven a minivan before, and by the looks of her love life, she’d be sporting her little Honda Civic for a long time yet. No need to give up a good thing, right?
Before she could pull the key from the ignition, the van’s side doors slid open, and the three girls headed for the shop. As they reached it, a boy, perhaps thirteen or fourteen, his silky blond hair falling loose over one eye, came out. He held the door while the girls entered.
By the time Brianne caught up, Hannah and Tally were whispering, their heads tilted close.
“What’s that about?” Brianne took Lilly’s hand and walked toward the long display of ice-cream varieties.
Lilly faked a deep gag. “It’s the hormones.”
The melodramatic gesture brought a scowl from her older sister, new teen though she was. Children really were growing up too soon these days.
“All right, ladies. Pick your two favorite flavors.” Brianne licked her lips in exaggerated anticipation. She caught the attention of the teen behind the counter. “Could I please get a double cone, mint chocolate chip and chocolate caramel swirl?” When in doubt, she went with something chocolate.
Tally and Hannah were quick to choose, ordering identical cones, but Lilly paced up and down the display.
The boy behind the counter, not much beyond Hannah’s age, passed the cones to the older girls. This time it was the boy who blushed while the girls seemed to hardly notice him, aside from the ice cream. He looked to Lilly. “Would you like to sample any of the flavors?”
Her posture went straight. “I can do that? For free?”
“Yep. Just let me know what you’d like to try.”
She cocked her head to the side. “Is there a limit to this offer?”
The boy looked from Lilly to Brianne.
Brianne pulled Lilly up onto her hip. “How about keeping it to two samples. I’m sure this nice young man has other things to do today.”
More Than We Remember Page 18