“Here? Are you at the house? How did you get in?”
“Trade secret. Will you do this for me?”
“What about my commission? If Malcolm’s not selling the house, I’ll lose money.”
“I’ll cover your commission, and I’ll throw in one of those fun-house bouncy things for the kids to play in at Jeff’s party.”
“I have one final question,” Dee said. “If Malcolm says yes and Shannon says yes, what happens then? With you and her?”
“That’s two questions, and since I happen to live across the road, I’m hoping she’ll invite me over for a drink. I’m not kidding myself, Denise. She might not want a relationship with me. It’s not like she’s banging on my door to see me.”
“She said you told her you don’t want to see her.”
“Yeah, well, I sort of, may have said that, but only because I thought she didn’t want me in her life. Does she? Want me in her life?”
“You’ll have to ask her. I’ll get her over there and feel her out. When are you coming back?”
“Sunday night. I have to work at the bar.”
“Okay. I gotta run. I’ll text you. Drive safe.”
With the phone call over, he walked outside and got in his car. If only he’d told Shannon the truth when they were on the plane. Hopefully, he hadn’t missed his chance.
He shifted into drive and headed down the winding driveway, inwardly pleading with her to not give up on him.
Chapter 37
“You cannot swim for new horizons until you have the courage to lose sight of the shore.”
William Faulkner
With Chad safely at the school party and under the watchful eyes of Dee, Peg, and Leeann, Shannon finished packing the last of her clothes. Chad’s bedroom had been the first to get sorted. Clothes he’d grown out of and toys abandoned as he grew from a toddler to a six-year-old big boy were deposited in a carton marked for donation. She’d like to keep everything for his own children, but storage space would most likely be a rare commodity in her life. When he had kids, he’d be a rich tort lawyer and could buy new toys, which would probably have the ability to procreate by then.
While she was whittling down her wardrobe, her cell rang. She’d just spoken with Dee, so Chad was okay, and Jayla had called too. There was only one other person she wanted to talk to, and she leapt over a half-filled carton, catching her foot on the edge and tumbling to the floor. Jasper seemed to think she wanted to play and landed on top of her, his tail wagging.
“Jasper, off. You’re crushing me.”
She pushed herself free and scrambled up the side of her bed to reach for the silent phone. “Stupid box,” she huffed. Now she’d have to sort through all the mental turmoil of whether to call him back or not, assuming the call had been from St. John.
The number was a New Hampshire area code, so it had to have been him, although she didn’t recognize it. Maybe he’d used a different phone.
A pinging noise announced the voicemail, and she settled herself to hear what he had to say. Fantasies of him telling her he loved her and had made a terrible mistake in letting her go flitted through her coffee-stoked brain.
“Here goes nothing,” she said to Jasper and pressed the numbers for her messages.
“Hi, Shannon, um, I need to talk to you.”
She paused the message. The soft, meek tone was familiar, but she couldn’t produce a face to match. Most likely the woman was from the Conservation Committee. Leeann had said someone would be in touch about membership.
The message resumed.
“Would you, um, please, call me back? Oh, it’s Shelby.”
“What the fuck?” She flung the phone at the floor. The call had to be some twisted ploy of Justin’s. He was trying to…to what? Confuse her?
Well, it had worked.
And she wasn’t calling back.
Shannon entered the Beans, and Jimbo greeted her with a wide grin like he’d just eaten the cat along with the canary. He walked around the side of the counter, wrapped her in a bear of a hug, and deposited a damp kiss on her cheek.
“Congratulations, sunshine. I’m proud of you.” He clapped his beefy hands. “This calls for a celebration. Want a cappuccino?”
“A tall espresso with a triple shot would be nice, thanks, and how did you find out?”
“You just missed St. John. He was grabbing a coffee for the road. Took a dozen of your blueberry scones too.”
Jimbo’s little piece of news knocked the wind from her momentum. St. John hadn’t said anything about… She really was dense at times. Why would he tell her anything?
She pretended she was studying the pastry case. “Where did he go?”
“New York. Gone to see his half-ass brother.”
“Do you have any boxes I could take? Did he say when he’d be back?” She hoped by slipping in the last question Jimbo wouldn’t notice. Not a chance.
Jimbo laced his hands together, tucking them under his beard. “He came in all smiles and whistling some irritating tune.”
“‘It’s a Small World’?”
“Yeah, that one. I figured it out immediately. St. John’s finally in love.”
“Does she live in town?”
“Don’t be coy. I heard about the trip to Disney and put two and two together.”
“And from learning that we flew to get Chad, you deduced St. John’s in love with me? Dee told me a very similar thing, but the two of you are missing a very important fact: St. John hasn’t said anything to me except he was moving on.”
The confusion she felt must have surfaced onto her face.
“Don’t you worry; you’ll be hearing from him.” Jimbo said more seriously, “St. John’s a true person, and he’ll never let you down if he can help it.”
She buried herself against the Santa Claus belly and hugged as best she could with her arms not even reaching midway around Jimbo’s girth. “What about the times when he can’t help it?”
“Well, those, sunshine, are the times when your love, and a bottle of whiskey, come in handy. Let me get you those boxes.”
Jimbo and one of his staff loaded Shannon’s SUV with stacks of flattened cartons, tied into neat bundles.
“Let me know if you need more or anything else.”
Shannon scrunched her mouth. She was going to owe Jimbo big time. “Do you mind if I store the food in the freezer here? You can take anything you want for the café.”
“Call it what it is, for crumb’s sake. It’s a coffee shop, not some damn café, and I already cleared a spot. You want me to send someone over with the van to get the stuff?”
“That’s okay. I’ll be coming back into town to pick up Chad, and I’ll drop them off. Thank you. Oh, and I did what you suggested and withdrew some money, but Justin is fighting for it back.”
“Tell Justin to suck his own dick,” was Jimbo’s quick response. “You keep that money until Marty tells you otherwise. By the way, where you gonna be staying until the house is ready?”
She cast him a surprised look. “What house?”
“Nothin’, I was just thinking you’d be buying a house, that’s all.”
When he became interested in a spot on her car’s bumper, she said, “Come on, Jimbo, give it up. What house?”
Before she received an answer, her cell phone rang. It was Shelby again. “You’re off the hook for now. Love you. Bye.”
“See you soon, sunshine.”
Wearing a scowl, Shannon swiped to answer the call. “Hello.”
“Hi, Shannon, this is Shelby, Justin’s…ah…Shelby.”
“Hold on, would you?” Shannon said. She started the car and pulled from the parking lot and, while driving, held the phone out the window. First she had to deal with Justin and now his mistress. Who was next? Shelby’s mother?
She brought the phone back into the car. “Sorry about that. I had to… I was… Never mind. What can I do for you?”
“I called to see if maybe we could meet and talk.”<
br />
“I don't think that's such a good idea, Shelby.” Unless Justin had fallen off Magic Mountain, and Shelby wanted to celebrate together, there was nothing to talk about.
“This is important,” Shelby said.
“I’m listening.”
“I’d rather tell you in person.”
“Sorry, I have too much going on to stop for a gab session. You may not know this, but I have to vacate my house in two days, or maybe you do know.”
The back and forth continued until Shannon reached her driveway. “Hold on, please.” She maneuvered the car with the hatch facing the bay door and contemplated whether to back into the garage or leave the SUV outside. Since Shelby wanted to meet, that meant Justin was most likely back in town. But he’d have to be a complete idiot to come by the house. She turned off the engine and retrieved the phone. “Shelby, I have to go.”
Shelby’s small voice rose a notch. “Can’t we sit down like civil adults and talk?”
Shannon opened the back of the SUV and removed one of the carton bundles. She didn’t feel like being a civil adult and chose to give a direct hit. “I already know about the baby.”
“Oh, um, I…”
“I’m not trying to be mean, and I am happy for you. Going through a pregnancy is a wonderful experience, and I truly wish you and the baby well, but right now I don’t have time to do this.”
“The baby is the reason I want to talk to you,” Shelby said.
Shannon carried the boxes into the house and tossed the stack onto the floor. Was this woman for real? Had she even listened to what had just been said? She took Jasper outside and removed the other stack.
“Shannon, are you there?”
“Yes, I’m here. Would you please get to the point?”
“Okay. Would you— ? I mean, could you find it in your heart to please let Justin go?”
“Go where?”
“What I meant to say is please, will you divorce him so he can marry me?”
Shannon placed the phone on the counter and walked out of the room. It was either that or smash the frigging thing, and she’d need it. Justin’s deceit had dropped to a new low.
She returned to the kitchen. “Shelby?”
“Yes.”
“What has Justin told you?”
“Um, he said that you're willing to move out of the house so we can live there together and raise the baby, but you won't let him go because you still love him.”
“I’m sorry to burst your bubble about Justin, but he’s lying to you. My lawyer filed the divorce papers yesterday, and we’re waiting for Justin’s signature, not mine.”
“Oh, but I don’t understand. He said—”
“Shelby, let me give you a piece of advice: think long and hard about whether Justin is the person with whom you want to raise your child. I wish you well, and please don’t call me ever again unless it concerns Chad. Goodbye.”
With the last of the freezer containers in her arms, Shannon walked to her car and screamed, releasing her hold. Half-Moon cookies littered the blacktop.
“Surprise,” Justin said, stepping in front of her.
She considered bolting back into the house but knew she wouldn’t make it. Her only option was to swallow her stomach and stand up to him.
“What are you doing here?” Hopefully she sounded threatening.
“What? No welcome back from Disney?”
“You’re not allowed on the property, not until Sunday. The TPO states—”
“Fuck the TPO and fuck you.” Justin shoved his finger at Shannon’s face. “This is my house, and I’ll come and go as I please. What are you still doing here?”
Shannon bent and gathered the chocolate-and-vanilla-frosted cookies, which she threw back into the plastic tub. “You gave me until Sunday to leave.” Asshole, her brain added.
“Yeah, well I changed my mind.”
Screw you, she wanted to say. Instead, she straightened and walked away to dump the cookies in the trash. When she returned, she said, “Are you still here? Fine, I’m calling the police.” There was one problem with her little ploy—her phone was in the house. Not looking at him, she picked up the unopened container and added it to the others already in the back of the SUV.
Justin spread his legs and crossed his arms over his puffed-out chest. “I’m sleeping here tonight, and you and the mutt are not. And don’t have any delusions about Chad. He’s staying with me.”
A kink in her courage appeared. And then another one. More followed.
It would be so easy to return to the old ways and her usual pattern of cowering to him. There’d be no packing, no moving all her stuff…but also no safety for Chad.
Screw that.
“As long as we’re on the topic of children,” she said. “How does it feel?”
“What the fuck are you babbling about?”
“I’m just wondering if you’re excited about being a daddy again.” Surprise couldn’t describe the look passing through his eyes and in her head she performed a happy dance. She hoped he’d enjoy her next announcement. “I talked with Shelby today. She’s so happy she could barely get her words out, but she did. I assured her I would eagerly sign the divorce papers so you two can get married. Congratulations.”
She wasn’t going to wait for him to catch up, so she added, “I don’t hate you, Justin. I just wasn’t the right woman for you.”
“Anyone would be better than you.” He spat on the driveway. “You’re just like my mother, always complaining and then walking out. You’re both whores.”
She finally understood him, and all the loathing she felt for him seeped away. He’d been doomed as a man from the moment his infant lungs had taken their first gasp of air.
But, hey, he was Shelby’s problem now.
“I’m not your mother, Justin,” she said. “And I don’t care that she didn’t hold you enough. Grow up and start acting like a man. Sign the papers and give Shelby and your baby a chance to heal you. But whatever you decide to do, do it far away from Chad and me.”
She slammed the hatch closed, returned to the garage, and lowered the bay door.
So this was what courage felt like.
Pretty frigging cool.
Chapter 38
“It’s your road and yours alone. Others may walk it with you, but no one can walk it for you.”
Rumi
Victorian Park Entertainment Center offered miniature golf, an indoor arcade, and over forty different flavors of ice cream. By two o’clock the party was in full swing with Leeann acting as ringmaster. The part she’d played in locating Chad had risen her to superhero status with the other mothers, including Shannon. She was quick to point out to anyone willing to listen that without Leeann, Chad might still be missing.
“Shannon, do you want me to gather the children for the cake before or after Chad opens his gifts?”
Leeann stood with a clipboard in hand, awaiting Shannon’s instructions.
“I don’t know what I’d do without you.” Shannon said. Truly, she didn’t. She wanted to hug the energetic blonde, but she wasn’t sure if that would be awkward. Leeann obviously didn’t think so because the perky woman’s surprisingly strong arms soon wrapped around Shannon.
Leeann gushed, “We’re going to be the best of friends, you just wait. Gifts or cake?”
“Honestly, I can’t decide. I’d love it if you would since I’m sure whatever decision you make, it will be the right one.”
“That’s true,” Leeann said with a hop in her step as she bebopped away, ponytail swaying.
Dee raised a very bushy eyebrow and sipped on a Diet Pepsi. “So, Peg and I are dog meat now, huh?”
“Not at all,” Shannon said. “We’ll just have to make room for her in our gang. She’s even going to sponsor me on the Conservation Committee and the PTA.” She stared at the children running through the play area and chewed on the inside of her top lip. A friendship with Leeann might prove to be a mistake. “Do you think I should trust her?
” she posed to Dee. “What if she turns on me like she did last time?”
“Shan, chill. She thinks you’re the bravest woman alive. Did everything go okay with the movers?” Dee walked to a nearby recycling bin and tossed the can inside. “
“Like a charm,” Shannon said as Dee walked back her way. “Thanks again for taking Chad to baseball. I’m a lousy mother for missing his first game, but the packing took precedence.”
“Trust me, you didn’t miss anything. The only way the kids are going to keep the ball in their gloves is if St. John glues it there. I took a video and sent it to him.”
“I bet St. John hated missing the first game. He’s coming home around noon tomorrow, right?” Slipping a similar question into her conversation with Jimbo hadn’t worked, but hopefully Dee was too distracted by the chaos around them to catch on. The narrowed glance she received suggested otherwise.
Dee said, “If you want to know his plans, text him.”
“I was only—”
“Yeah, right. Are we on for later?”
“Yes, if Peg is still taking the kids.”
“Change of plans. Leeann is taking a bunch of kids for a sleepover and pool party.”
Chad, wearing a golden crown and a sash that read I’m Six, raced their way and pulled on Shannon’s skirt. “Mama, Stevie’s mama says to come now for the schedule.”
“Okay, birthday munchkin, I’m coming.”
Shannon turned to follow Chad, but Dee stopped her. “For what it’s worth, Shan, I happen to think you’re brave too.”
At that, Dee clapped her hands and yelled at the kids to gather in the ice cream parlor.
Shannon maneuvered her SUV along Farmview Road. She’d done some research on the property where she was meeting Dee. The satellite image had been too pixelated to see specific details except for a small house, pond, and trees galore. A little digging in Wexford’s property archives revealed a surprising fact, though: the house had been built by Chester St. John, St. John’s grandfather.
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