Secrets of Redemption Box Set

by Michele Pariza Wacek

  I took another gulp of lemonade, which had grown warm and watery in the sun, and figured it was time for a break. On second thought, after taking another glance at the time, I decided to call it a day. I was going out with Daniel that night, and I needed to get cleaned up.

  After putting my gardening gloves and tools away, I headed into the laundry room to scrub the dirt off my hands before moving into the kitchen. Mia and Daphne were there at the kitchen table, huddled over Mia’s laptop.

  “Hey, you two,” I said, opening up the fridge to pour myself a fresh glass of lemonade.

  “Hey yourself,” Mia said, eyes never leaving the screen. ‘”See, Daphne, I think this is what it’s supposed to be.”

  I tuned out their conversation, focusing instead on drinking my lemonade and trying to figure out what to wear on my date. Did I keep it casual with shorts or jeans? Or was this a dress-worthy occasion?

  Ugh. Dating sucked.

  My phone beeped, informing me I had a text message. It was from Daniel.

  I’m so sorry, but I’m going to have to cancel. Work. Rain check?

  “Great,” I said out loud.

  That got Mia and Daphne’s attention. “What happened?” Mia asked.

  I swear, one of Mia’s superhero powers was a radar sense for gossip. “Daniel just canceled on me.”

  “Why?” Daphne asked.

  “Work.”

  “Work?” Mia exclaimed. “What work? Where’s my phone?” She pushed away from the table and started hunting around for it.

  “Is this your first date?” Daphne asked. She pulled her dark, brownish-red hair back from her plain, freckled face before adjusting her red glasses. I could see puffy dark circles under eyes and wondered how much sleep she was getting. She took care of her sick mother, which sometimes demanded long and restless nights.

  “Yes. Well, no. We did go out to dinner a couple of weeks ago, but it wasn’t exactly a date. He had some ‘official’ questions to ask me.”

  “Maybe I should talk to him about proper dating etiquette,” Daphne mused.

  “Or maybe it wasn’t a date at all,” I said.

  Daphne opened her mouth to answer, but Mia interrupted with a loud “ah-ha!” She came back into the kitchen, triumphantly brandishing her cell phone. “He is on a case.”

  “Did you think he wasn’t?” I asked.

  “I figured you would think he was lying.” Mia said, narrowing her almond-shaped, dark-brown eyes at me. Her father was Japanese and had somehow found his way to Redemption, Wisconsin, where he met and married her mom. Her mom had passed years ago, but her dad was still there. “Daniel wouldn’t lie to get out of a date. I was just looking for proof, just in case I needed to convince you,” Mia said.

  “I wasn’t thinking that. Well, not exactly,” I said. While it was true my first thought had been that he was trying to get out of the date, my second was that maybe it wasn’t such a bad thing. There was likely a reason why I was a two-time marriage loser—maybe it was smarter to just steer clear of the dating game altogether.

  Daphne gave me a knowing smile, as if she could tell precisely what I was thinking. I stuck my tongue out in response.

  Mia continued as if I hadn’t said anything.

  “It appears Ellen has disappeared.”

  “Ellen? As in Nurse Ellen?” Nurse Ellen was my nemesis when I was trapped in the psych ward of the hospital.

  “That would be her.”

  Daphne’s face had gone quite pale, and I suddenly remembered she had dated Ellen at one point. “Oh God, Daphne, are you okay”

  Daphne took a big gulp of lemonade, waving me off with the other hand. “We dated a long time ago. I just ... what happened?”

  “I’m not sure,” Mia said, before eyeing Daphne over her phone. “It’s okay to be worried about her, you know. Even if she didn’t know a good thing when she had it. Not to mention being a grade A bitch.”

  Daphne snickered, some color returning to her face. “That’s mean,” she said. “She has issues. I shouldn’t laugh.”

  “Issues?” I asked.

  Daphne shook her head. “Too many to get into now.”

  “Think she ran off again?” Mia asked.

  “Again?” I asked.

  Daphne played with her lemonade glass, creating wet circles on the butcher-block kitchen table. “Anything is possible with her. Especially if she’s mad at someone and wants to get even.”

  Mia rolled her eyes. “That is just so Ellen, to ruin other people’s love life when hers sucks.”

  “It’s probably for the best,” I said. “I don’t know if I’m even ready for a night out.” Which was true. At least mostly true. Yes, I wanted to go have fun. I was VERY ready to have fun, in fact, but I also didn’t feel like running into anyone who didn’t want me in this town, and who wouldn’t be shy about telling me so.

  Mia slammed her phone on the table. “Absolutely not! You are NOT spending Friday night cooped up in this house. We are ALL going out. God knows I need a break this week, too, with Todd and Jack both quitting.”

  “Wait, you lost both dishwashers in one week?” Daphne asked.

  Mia groaned. “In one day. I guess Jack got into a bar fight the other night and can’t work for at least a few weeks because of his injuries. His sister came in to tell us. Todd has some family emergency he’s dealing with. His grandmother, I think, or maybe an aunt? Either way, it’s some family relative who doesn’t live here, so he’s moving.”

  “Man, talk about bad luck,” Daphne said.

  “You know it. I guess Todd was sitting at the airport waiting for his flight when he texted us to let us know.”

  “Well at least he remembered before he got on the plane,” I said.

  Mia rolled her eyes. “I suppose. Not that it did much good. It’s not like we have anyone else who can help. We only have one other dishwasher, and he’s a super-part-time high school student. The rest of us waitresses have been pulling double duty. Anyway, enough about that. We’ve got a night out to get ready for. Go on now, put your party dress on. Chop chop.” She clapped her hands.

  “Maybe you and Daphne should just go,” I said hesitantly. “I don’t want any trouble.”

  “I don’t want any trouble either,” Mia said. “What does that have to do with going out tonight?”

  I shot her a look.

  Mia gave me the same look back. “I’m serious. There’s no reason to expect anything bad to happen. I keep telling you that you have more friends here than you realize. But you have to leave the house to see it for yourself.”

  “Besides,” Daphne chimed in. “Don’t you want to go to Jessica’s memorial tomorrow? Do you really want that to be your first time out in public since CB’s arrest?”

  Daphne had a point. Now that the truth had come out about Jessica, thanks to CB and my recovered memory, the town could properly grieve.

  When Mia had first told me about the service, I had been adamant about not going. It was my fault, after all. Out of respect for the family, I needed to stay away.

  But then Brittany, Jessica’s niece and Chrissy’s friend, had showed up at my doorstep to personally invite me to attend. “It’s time to heal,” she said. Her father and grandfather both thought it was important for me to be there. It was time to put the past behind us and come together as a community. And besides, they wanted to properly thank me for my role in saving Brittany. Brittany had already thanked me herself, but she said her family also wanted the opportunity.

  I noticed she didn’t mention her mother, who was Jessica’s sister, or her grandmother, who was Jessica’s mother. Needless to say, they were not my fans.

  As much as I wanted to attend so I could pay my respects, grieve, and maybe start to find some closure myself around what happened to Jessica, I still wasn’t sure it was a good idea. I had been making myself
sick going back and forth about it.

  “Daphne is right,” Mia said, seizing the opening. She knew how much I had been agonizing about whether or not to go. “This will be a perfect test run for tomorrow.”

  I sighed. “I don’t know.”

  “Look, if you’re worried about Celia, don’t be,” Mia said. “She’s just difficult. It’s not personal.”

  The last time I had seen Celia, she had been comforting Gwyn, Daniel’s ex-fiancé. I had a feeling it was very personal, indeed, but decided not to argue the point.

  “Why do you all put up with her then?” I asked instead. I had wondered it for a while, but hadn’t found the right time to ask.

  “Well, she is Barry’s wife,” Mia said. “Although I admit I’m surprised by his choice.”

  “Maybe she makes him happy,” Daphne said. “ Celia isn’t so bad once you get to know her.”

  “If you say so,” I said.

  Daphne made a face at me. “And stop trying to change the subject. Regardless of whether Celia is there or not, it would be good for you to get out of the house.”

  Mia elbowed her. “It would be good for you, too. When was the last time you went out? I’m not taking no for an answer from either of you. Go get ready.”

  Daphne held up her hands. “Far be it for me to resist.”

  “But what if it all goes to hell?” I asked. “What if we run into people who want to fight with me again?” Or worse, I thought, but didn’t add.

  Mia shrugged. “We’ll deal with it.”

  I stared at her. “Just like that?”

  “Of course,” Mia said, surprised. “Becca, what do you think you’re going to do? Hide in this house for the next ten years? If you’re going to live here, you likely are going to run into people who don’t like you or your aunt, and you’re going to have to learn to deal with it. It’s not that big of a deal.”

  Mia had a point. It was starting to look like a night out was in my immediate future.

  Even though I still wasn’t convinced I was ready.

  Mia must have seen something in my face, because she started hoisting me out of my chair. “No more stalling,” she said sternly. “Off to the shower you go.”

  I tried one last time. “But ...”

  “No ‘buts.’” Mia wagged her finger at me. “We’re leaving in an hour. You too, Daphne.”

  An hour? I couldn’t possibly be ready in an hour. I opened my mouth to argue, but the determined expression on Mia’s face stopped me, and I slunk out of the kitchen.

  “Besides,” she called out. “Chances are very likely that nothing is going to happen, other than all of us having a good time.”

  Chapter 2

  “See, this wasn’t so bad after all,” Mia said, clinking my wine glass.

  I gave her an almost-natural smile back. The booze helped.

  This was our third bar, not including the restaurant we stopped in for dinner (to help soak up the alcohol).

  It took that many to finally wear me down enough to end the night at The Tipsy Cow, everyone’s favorite bar.

  I really didn’t want to run into the “old gang,” but (as both Mia and Daphne pointed out), it was bound to happen at some point, so I might as well get it over with.

  “Did you have enough to drink yet?” Mia asked.

  I took a sip. “What do you mean?”

  Mia stuck her tongue out at me. “Because Celia is here.” She stood up and waved at Celia.

  I sunk down in my seat. Great. Just great.

  Celia swept into the booth, wearing a dark-blue top with a sweetheart neckline that strained against her large breasts. As usual, she dripped with jewelry: gold necklaces, oversized gold hoops, gold and copper bracelets. Her black hair was pulled back into a smooth ponytail. She placed her cosmo in front of her. “Well, well, well,” she said, looking me over. “Look what the cat dragged in.”

  “Celia,” both Mia and Daphne protested.

  “What?” Celia asked, widening her heavily made-up eyes, looking like a caricature of someone feigning innocence. “Am I just supposed to ignore the fact that her sleazy cousin is a sexual pervert?”

  “Nice to see you, too, Celia,” I said drily, picking up my wine.

  Mia punched her arm. “She can’t be blamed for what her cousin did. She’s her own person.”

  “They share the same genes,” Celia retorted.

  “You’re not being fair,” Daphne said. “Becca was as horrified as we all were. Probably more so. And, besides, if it wasn’t for her, Brittany would still be missing.”

  Celia muttered something and drained her drink, gesturing to the waitress for another round.

  “In other, unrelated news, how’s your deadbeat brother?” Mia asked.

  Celia shot her a dirty look. “That’s hardly a fair comparison. Tom isn’t a pervert.” But her face had paled except for two red spots of colors on her cheeks.

  “That you know of,” Mia muttered under her breath. Celia made a point of pretending not to hear her.

  The conversation shifted to other things—Mia’s online college preparations, a problem Celia was having with her son (he either was bullying someone or was being bullied, Celia wasn’t being all that clear on the details), an update on Daphne’s mom (her knee seemed to be getting worse, despite all the home treatments they were doing).

  I mostly listened. After Celia’s reaction, I didn’t particularly feel like drawing any more attention to myself. In fact, the longer I sat there, the more I thought it was time to go home. What more did I need to do? I had left the house, visited a variety of establishments, and nothing bad had happened. Even what Celia had said wasn’t terrible. And she was still sitting at the same table as me. I would say the evening was a success.

  It was definitely time to go home.

  I finished sipping my wine, waiting for a break in the conversation to announce my intention to leave, when Mia suddenly said, “Oh, there’s Barry. Who is he with?” she squinted. “He looks familiar.”

  “Oh, that’s JD. He’s new around here,” Celia said.

  It was a good thing I had finished my wine, because I likely would have choked. JD? The guy who hit on me at the bar and then showed up at Brittany’s search party? Here? And friends with Barry?

  I was debating how obvious it would be if I turned around and looked, or if there was any way I could sneak a quick peek without anyone noticing, when Celia sat up and waved her hand, calling them over. “Barry! They haven’t met JD yet!”

  Before I had a chance to decide if I should stay or slip out the back, they had magically appeared beside us.

  “I can’t believe you haven’t met JD,” Barry said, as he introduced Mia and Daphne. When Barry’s eyes fell on me, he paused, and for a moment, my heart stopped. Had I misread our last encounter when he apologized for believing CB over me years ago? But then his face broke into a grin. “Becca! I’m glad you’re here.”

  To my relief, he sounded genuinely pleased. I could feel myself start to relax. “Yeah, Mia decided I had been a hermit long enough,” I said.

  “Ah, yes, Mia, our little homebody… ironic,” Barry said. Mia stuck her tongue out at him.

  Barry grinned at her and then suddenly remembered JD next to him. “Oh, let me introduce ...”

  “We’ve met,” JD interrupted, giving me a slanted smile as he held out his hand. I took it warily. “It’s nice to see you, Becca.”

  He wore a black cowboy hat, the same one I’d seen him in before that emphasized his high cheekbones and narrow, angular face. His dark-brown eyes seemed to look straight through me, like they could see my soul. I squirmed slightly, dropping both my gaze and his hand. I could feel him chuckling at me.

  “Oh, I didn’t realize you’ve met,” Barry said. “Shall we join you? Or is this girl’s night?”

  “Join us,” Mi
a said, sliding over and giving me a look. I knew what was going through her head, just like I knew she would be grilling me as soon as we were alone. “Slide over, Becca.”

  Reluctantly, I made room so JD could slip in beside me. I squeezed as tightly as I could next to Daphne, not wanting to touch JD, even accidentally. There was something about him that felt ... dangerous. I would have to stay on guard.

  Barry gestured to the waitress, and before I could protest, I found a fresh glass of wine in front of me. Oh well. Might as well drink it.

  “I think we might have met before as well,” Mia said to JD.

  “Hmmm ...” JD stared hard at Mia. “I don’t think so.”

  “Have you been to Redemption before?”

  “First time.”

  “Really? What brings you here?” Mia asked. As much as she was trying to sound polite, it was like she was fighting the urge to bounce over the table and shake the details out of him.

  “Right now, I’m just doing the touristy thing,” he said.

  Mia cocked an eyebrow. “Right now?”

  “I’m looking for a fresh start,” he explained. “I’ve been traveling around a bit, keeping my options open, seeing what feels good, and I stumbled upon this place. Thought I’d ...,” here, he glanced at me, his eyes unreadable. “... stick around awhile.”

  “How long have you been here?” Mia asked, doing her best not to stare at both of us.

  “Few weeks.”

  “And you’re thinking about staying?”

  He shrugged. “Considering it.”

  “Are you looking for a job?” Mia’s voice was a little too eager.

  Barry groaned. “Are you serious?”

  “Hey, Jack and Todd both quit last week,” Mia said defensively. “Yesterday was a nightmare. We’re desperate for a dishwasher at Aunt May’s.”

  “Since you’re interrogating him anyway, why not just ask him what he does for a living, instead of offering him a dishwasher job?” Barry asked.

  “Well, now that you mention it,” Mia said cheerfully. “What do you do?”

  JD’s mouth twitched. “A little of this, a little of that. I do a lot of work with my hands. Repairs, construction. But I’m not opposed to washing a few pots and pans in a pinch.”