Cassie gave me a perplexed look. "But he already knows he's getting it."
"Sure," I said, "but this will make it official. And he'll be meeting Aunt Gina for the first time, so this will give us something fun to celebrate."
Cassie was frowning now.
I asked, "What's wrong?"
"Round trip, you're looking at a six-hour drive. And you haven't slept. Are you sure that's safe? And what about Joel? Isn't he going to wonder where you are?"
Her concern was touching, but totally unnecessary. "It's definitely safe," I said. "I'm not even tired. And as far as Joel, he'll just assume I worked all day." I grinned over at her. "Especially if I bring home cookies."
Cassie didn't look reassured. "Maybe you should leave now, so you don't crash on the way home."
"Oh stop it," I said. "I'm not gonna crash."
Cassie was in the middle of objecting again when a loud, pounding noise made both of us look toward the front of the shop. The store wasn't scheduled to open for another half-hour.
I asked, "Are you expecting someone?"
Cassie shook her head and then moved to the narrow doorway that led to the front room. She peered around the corner and sighed. "Oh, crap."
"What?"
She turned to me and said, "It's for you."
"How do you know?"
"Because it's Derek." She grimaced. "And he looks ticked off as usual."
Damn it. I didn't even realize he was back in town. I so wasn't in the mood for whatever was wrong this time. Still, I couldn't let him pound all day, so I strode to the door and called through the glass, "We're closed!"
"I'm not here for cookies," he called back. "I'm here to tell you something."
I called back, "So tell me later!"
He glared through the glass. "It can't wait."
"Oh, alright," I muttered. I opened the glass door barely a sliver and said, "But hurry up, because I'm on the clock."
He looked to the slim opening. "Aren't you gonna let me in?"
"No," I told him. "I'm working, just like I said. So just tell me, okay?"
"Alright, you wanna hear it this way? Fine by me. I just wanted to let you know that your boyfriend?" Derek gave me a nasty smile. "He's on his way to jail."
My jaw dropped. "What?"
"Sorry, I misspoke."
Relief coursed through me.
Derek was still smiling. "What I meant to say was prison." He shrugged. "But oh well. See you later." And with that, he turned to go.
"Wait!" Desperately, I flung open the door. "You can't be serious."
He turned back. "Can't I?"
Chapter 67
Fifteen minutes later, I was pacing the back room of the cookie shop. And poor Cassie. Instead of getting any work done, she was listening to me rant about my own problems.
For the tenth time, I stopped pacing and studied the photos laid across the back counter.
Cassie asked, "So you knew what Joel did?"
"You mean the fighting?" I said. "Yeah, I knew."
She gave me an odd look. "Did you know it was illegal?"
"Well, uh, yeah. But I didn't think it was a big deal."
In hindsight, it all seemed terribly naïve. Seriously, what did I think? That Joel could go around breaking the law and there'd be no consequences, ever?
I'd just finished relaying what Derek had told me – that Joel was under some sort of suspended sentence. Apparently, he'd been busted for illegal fighting six months earlier. But, thanks to some high-dollar help from one of the promoters, he'd gotten off with barely a slap on the wrist.
Unfortunately, the slap had come with conditions. During a one-year term, Joel couldn’t associate with a whole list of people who'd been involved in that particular fight.
Again, I looked down to the photos. They all showed basically the same thing – Joel hanging out in some bar with a bunch of guys who I didn't recognize. But thanks to Derek, I knew their names, and a little about their backgrounds.
A couple were fellow fighters, while a third guy was involved in the whole betting operation. All of them were on the list.
Looking at them now, I wanted to cry. How could Joel be so stupid? And why hadn't he told me?
Cassie asked, "When were these taken?"
"Like two months ago." I pointed to a beefy guy in a black dress-shirt. "See him? He got married the next day."
"How do you know?" she asked.
"Oh, that's the best part," I said. "I know, because these stupid photos were taken just before his bachelor party." I gave a bark of laughter. "And what does the guy do? He posts the photos online."
I mimicked his stupidity, "Oh, look at me. I'm getting married tomorrow." I gave a derisive snort. "Idiot."
Cassie's tone was gentle. "Oh come on. You can't really blame the guy."
I looked up. "Can't I? You do know what'll happen to Joel if the right person sees these?"
"No. What will happen?"
"Don't you get it? He'll be rearrested. Thrown in jail." My voice was shaking. "And then, the way Derek talked, off to prison."
"You don't know that for sure." Her tone grew hopeful. "Maybe he'd just get a warning or something."
I shook my head. "No. He won't. Derek's dad knows the prosecutor." My jaw tightened. "I swear, that guy knows everyone."
"But so what?" Cassie said. "That prosecutor – he probably won't even see the photos. I mean, not everyone scours the internet, right?"
"Don't you get it?" I wanted to scream. "He won't have to scour. Derek's gonna show him."
Cassie's mouth fell open. "What?"
I nodded. "Didn't I tell you?"
"Honestly," she said, "you were a little hard to understand. You were kind of…" She waved her words away. "Never mind."
"Hysterical?" I gave a bitter laugh. "Gee, I wonder why."
Again, I looked to the photos. The groom-to-be looked so happy. And I hated him for it. I looked up, meeting Cassie's gaze. "Wanna hear the worst part?"
She eyed me with concern. "There's something worse?"
"Oh yeah." I took a deep breath. "Apparently, there was this fight last year, where Joel really mopped the floor with some guy. And guess who he is."
Cassie shook her head. "I have no idea."
"Get this. He's a member of the Broadstreets."
Cassie looked utterly horrified. "The gang?"
It wasn't just a gang. It was a nightmare. A few months earlier, a huge sweep had landed most of them in prison – exactly where Joel might be, if things went terribly wrong.
I gave a sad nod. "And apparently, the guy didn't take it so great."
"What'd he do?" Cassie asked.
"Oh, nothing much," I said. "Just threatened to kill him."
"You mean Joel?" she said. "Is he worried?"
"I don't know." I rubbed at my suddenly tired eyes. "He never mentioned any of this."
"Then maybe Derek's lying." Cassie perked up. "He lied about the car, right?"
I let out a long, shaky breath. "I wish he were lying. But I saw the paperwork, along with a couple of news clippings. Unfortunately, this time he's telling the truth."
"What are you gonna do?" Cassie asked. "Like, is there some way to talk Derek out of it?"
"There is, in fact." I blinked long and hard. "I've got to get rid of Joel."
Cassie gave a little gasp. "You mean break up with him?"
My heart ached at the thought. But that's exactly what Derek had demanded. The jerk had even promised to send a moving truck to help things along.
But that wasn't all of it. "Not just that," I said. "I've got to pull his endowment."
"The art endowment? Is that even possible, legally, I mean?"
I gave another humorless laugh. "Oh yeah. I haven't signed the papers yet, remember? So technically, there's nothing to pull. I've just got to let Claude know that I'm vetoing Joel's name."
"You can do that?"
I sighed. "Oh yeah, it's one of the rare legal powers I actually have. Prett
y ironic, huh?"
Cassie's voice grew quiet. "So you're gonna do it?"
"I don't know," I said. "But I can't let him go to prison."
"But you don't know for sure that he will. You know Derek. He's probably exaggerating."
I gave her a long look. "If you loved someone, would you take that chance?"
"You love him? Does he know that?"
A sad smile crossed my lips. "Yeah. We've, um, said it actually."
Cassie gave me a sympathetic look. "Oh, gosh, I'm so sorry."
"Yeah, me too." I couldn’t help but recall Joel's dreaded nickname – Cigar. This would only confirm his worst superstitions.
There had to be another way. I just needed some time to think. Already, I had one idea, but I'd need to ask Claude about it. The only bright spot was that I'd been scheduled to meet with him today anyway.
I looked to Cassie and said, "I hate to do this, but do you care if I leave early after all?"
"Sure, no problem." Her eyes filled with sympathy. "So you're gonna tell Joel now?"
I shook my head. "No. And if I'm lucky, maybe I won't have to."
Chapter 68
When I finally turned into my own driveway, it was dark and drizzling. Pulling up to the house, I was surprised to see Aunt Gina's car parked out front. It should've been a welcome surprise, but in my current state-of-mind, I wasn't so sure.
As for Joel's car, I didn't see it, and maybe that was a good thing. Until I had something resembling good news, I'd be smart to keep my mouth shut. After all, there was no reason for both of us to suffer while I waited to hear back from Claude.
Distracted beyond belief, I got out of the car and made my way to the front door. When I opened it, I was greeted by the smell of something baking. I paused. It smelled surprisingly delicious.
From somewhere in the kitchen, Aunt Gina called out, "Melody, is that you?"
"Uh, yeah," I said, making my way toward the sound of her voice.
She called back, "Guess what I'm making!"
I stopped and gave the air another sniff. It smelled like pie. Really good pie. This made no sense. This was, after all, Aunt Gina, who wasn't exactly known for her culinary skills.
When I reached the kitchen, she looked up and gave me a big, happy smile. "Well? Aren't you gonna guess?"
I glanced around. I saw flour on the counter and apple peelings off to the side. "Is it apple pie?"
She clapped her hands together. "You got it!"
I didn't know what to say. I gave the oven a nervous glance. "So you made it from scratch?"
She laughed. "Don't look so worried." Her eyes brightened. "I'm taking a class."
"A baking class?"
"Not just baking. Cooking, too." She leaned forward. "I'm thinking of opening a restaurant." She brushed some flour off her dark shirt. "Or maybe a bakery. I mean, we're still on desserts, so I might be rushing it a bit."
In spite of everything, I almost smiled. This was vintage Aunt Gina. She went from zero to sixty in the blink of an eye. If this were any other time, I'd be thrilled to see her.
Now, I was just worried. Trying not to show it, I moved forward to give her a welcoming hug. "Boy, you really surprised me. I thought you weren't coming 'til tomorrow."
"Well yeah, that was the original plan." She pulled back to give me another smile. "But then I thought, 'I've gotta meet this guy of hers.'" She looked around. "So, where is he?"
I tried to smile back. "I don't know. I just got back."
"From work?"
"Sort of."
I'd been working alright, but not at the cookie shop. Mostly, I'd been trying to hammer things out with Claude.
Aunt Gina studied my face. "Is something wrong? You guys aren't fighting or anything, are you?"
"Nope." Not yet, anyway.
"Oh. Well that's good." She hesitated. "Maybe you should shower or something. You look kind of splotchy."
Funny, I felt kind of splotchy, too. And, I wanted some time to think. I agreed instantly, and turned away, with the promise to return after my shower.
Just before I reached the stairway, my aunt called out, "That guy of yours, he does like apple, right?"
I had no idea, so all I said was, "Well, it's everyone's favorite, so I'm sure he'll love it."
After showering, I returned downstairs and found Aunt Gina standing in the front doorway, waving goodbye to an unfamiliar white van.
Coming up behind her, I asked, "Who was that?"
She turned around to reveal an oversized white envelope. She gave it a little wave. "Special courier."
"Really?" It was long past business hours, and it couldn’t be from Claude, because I'd just seen him. Maybe it was something to do with the estate? I was just reaching for the envelope when new movement in the driveway caught my eye.
It was Joel's car, pulling up to the house. At the sound of his car, my aunt whirled around to look. "Is that him?"
I bit my lip. "Well, it is his car."
She turned back to give me a puzzled look. "You don't sound too happy."
"Sorry." I summoned up a smile. "It's been a long day."
"How about this?" she said. "I'll pop out for a quick hello, let you introduce us, and then I'll take a nice long bath." She lowered her voice. "And give you two some time alone, if you know what I mean."
Heat flooded my face. "Really, that's okay."
My aunt laughed. "Oh come on. Don't be shy about it. If he's as hot as you say–"
"I never said he was hot."
"Sure you did." She paused. "Didn't you?"
I looked to the driveway, where Joel was getting out of his car. He was wearing jeans and a black T-shirt that clung to his muscles as he walked toward us in the drizzling rain.
My aunt turned to look. "Oh. My. God." She turned back to me and said, "Does he have an older brother?"
"Uh, yeah. But…" I winced. "He says they're awful."
"If they look anything like him, I'll take my chances." At something in my expression, she laughed. "Don't worry. I'm just teasing. I met someone. Didn't I mention that?"
I shook my head. "No. Who is he?"
She waved away the question. "Never mind that. Let's meet your guy."
Before I knew it, she was bounding out the front door to meet him. At the sight of my aunt dashing through the drizzle, Joel paused on the front walkway. His gaze drifted to me, and I gave him a tentative wave before reluctantly following after her.
Five soggy minutes later, the introductions were done, and we were all standing just inside the front entryway. My aunt glanced down at her clothes, which were still dusted with flour – except now the flour had congealed into a goopy mess, dripping down her shirt. "Oh, jeez," she said, looking back to Joel. "Normally, I make a much better impression."
He flashed her a smile. "Hey, I didn't notice a thing."
She almost giggled. "Liar." She turned back to me and said, "And I totally approve." She glanced toward the stairway. "Anyway, I'm gonna get cleaned up. Wanna meet back here in a couple of hours?" She smiled at Joel. "I made dessert. But it's a surprise."
She waggled a finger in my direction. "And don't you tell him either." In a stage whisper, she added, "Unless you can't resist."
In a flash, it struck me how wonderful all of this would be under different circumstances. Near me, I had the two people I loved best, and they seemed to be hitting it off.
The house was warm and scented with the aroma of fresh apple pie. Outside, it was still drizzling, which made everything seem extra cozy in here.
If it weren't for Derek's godawful threat, this would be the beginning of a lovely night. Now, all I felt was lingering dread.
I still hadn't heard from Claude, and the longer I waited, the more worried I became. He promised to call me as soon as he knew – or at least send me a text or something. Where was it?
My aunt turned and started heading toward the stairway before suddenly pausing. She whirled around and said, "Oh shoot, I almost forgot to give you t
his."
The envelope. She was still holding it.
As she moved forward, I held out my hand. "Sorry, I meant to grab that."
"Oh, it's not for you," she said. "It's for him." She gave Joel a warm smile. "Special delivery. Aren't you important."
She turned and handed him the envelope. As she did, I caught sight of not only his name on the front, but the return address in the upper left-hand corner. I felt my face pale. It was from my dad's foundation, and for once, I knew nothing about it.
A renewed sense of dread settled over me. Whatever that envelope contained, it couldn’t be good.
Chapter 69
I snuck a quick glance at the soggy envelope. Joel was holding it loose at his side, still unopened.
I just prayed it stayed that way.
With growing despair, I watched my aunt walk toward the stairway. My heart was racing, and I wanted to holler out, "Come back!"
Aunt Gina was a bundle of energy. She'd be the perfect distraction for what I desperately wanted to do – sneak off with that envelope and see what it contained.
Yes, it would be intrusive, unethical, and a whole bunch of other things, but I was beyond caring. And besides, I was part of the foundation. Whatever the envelope contained, I should've been informed.
This had to be Derek's doing, which meant, of course, that the envelope was a proverbial bomb, waiting to explode.
Stalling for time, I turned to Joel and explained that Aunt Gina's early arrival had caught me by surprise. I finished by saying, "So anyway, sorry I didn't call to warn you. I guess I should've, huh?"
"It's alright." He eyed me with obvious concern. "Hey, don't look so worried. It's not a big deal."
I swallowed. "I look worried?"
I wasn't worried. I was terrified. But it had nothing to do with the change in my aunt's schedule.
All day, I'd envisioned telling Joel about Derek's threat. And all day, I'd imagined Joel's response. Joel was fearless. There was no way he'd back off just because Derek had waved some photos in my face and made mouth noises about knowing some prosecutor.
After all, if Joel had any sense of self-preservation, he wouldn't've been fighting at all, especially with it being illegal. I recalled our conversation from just a few days earlier. He'd actually mentioned fighting again if the money ran low.
Something Tattered (Joel Bishop Book 1) Page 26