All for One

by Melody Carlson

  “How nice for you to meet her.”

  He frowned. “Except that Donna is insisting we must celebrate Thanksgiving together.”

  Janie considered her response. “Well, that seems reasonable. I mean, Ben and Marcus are her sons, and she must be eager to meet her future daughter-in-law.”

  “I suppose.” He brightened. “How about your kids? Will they be coming for Thanksgiving?”

  She sighed and looked down at her hands, fingers tightly folded together like she would to do as a child when her father questioned her. “Matthew is in the midst of fall term and plans to spend the holiday weekend snowboarding with a buddy up in Vermont. And Lisa, well, you know how it is with her. At least she’s talking to Matthew now. That’s something. It’s a long shot, but I’m hoping I can get them both to come out here for Christmas.”

  “Right.” He exhaled loudly. “Janie, I don’t really know what to say. I’m embarrassed and so sorry about Donna, the way she treated you on the boat last week, all that weirdness. I feel so badly.”

  She looked eagerly at him. “So you do believe me then?”

  He blinked. “Of course.”

  Relief washed over her. For some reason she feared he thought she manufactured the strange story. She was about to say something when she heard raised voices upstairs. “That sounds like Michael!” she exclaimed. “He’s here!”

  “Let’s go!” Victor was out the door ahead of her, bolting up the stairs two at a time. Meanwhile Janie followed, grabbing her cell phone, ready to call 9-1-1 if necessary.

  “This is family stuff, jus’ between me and my sister!” Michael bellowed in a slurred voice. “Everyone elz can jus’ butt out!”

  “We are Caroline’s family,” Abby said, planting herself between Michael and Caroline.

  “That’s right,” Victor said as he stepped forward.

  Janie said, “If you don’t leave this house immediately, the police will be here in five minutes.” She stepped next to Victor, locking eyes with Michael.

  “Not until my sister answers to me!” Michael pushed Abby aside and grabbed Caroline. “She’s got some explaining to do.”

  “What do you mean?” Caroline cried out as he jerked her toward the front door with him.

  “I mean what’d you do with the money?” he demanded.

  “What money?” Caroline’s eyes were full of fear.

  “Our parents’ money—and all the stuff—where is it, Caroline?”

  “There isn’t any—”

  “You took it all, Caroline! I know you took everything. Before I got here, you took it all!” He opened the door.

  “I’m Caroline’s attorney,” Janie announced loudly, for the sake of everyone in the room, as she shoved her cell phone at Marley. “I already hit speed dial for 9-1-1,” she said quickly. “Tell them what’s going on while we take this outside.” Then she took off after Michael and Caroline, with Victor by her side and Abby and Marley trailing behind.

  “Let Caroline go,” Victor warned Michael as he chased after them. “Do not put her in that pickup with you!”

  “That’s right,” Janie yelled. “You will be charged with kidnapping, Michael. That’s a felony punishable by a lot of prison time in most jurisdictions. You better stop right there unless you—”

  “The police are on their way,” Marley called out.

  Michael pinned Caroline against the truck with one hand as he opened the driver’s door with the other. “Get in!” he yelled. “This is not kidnapping. This is big brother taking little sister for a ride so we can talk in private. Now get in.” He shoved her, but she resisted.

  “Do not get in the truck!” Janie looked directly Caroline. The fear in her eyes made Janie realize they needed to act quickly.

  “Don’t listen to them,” Michael yelled into Caroline’s face. He reached into his pocket and pulled out a large pocketknife, flipping it open with one hand. “I don’t want to hurt you. I just want to talk to you! I want you to give me what’s mine. Now get in!”

  Victor spoke in a calm but firm voice. “Michael, you need to let Caroline go before this gets out of hand. Just let her go. Okay?” He was only a few feet away from Michael now, but he looked ready to lunge if necessary. Janie hoped it wouldn’t be. That blade looked lethal.

  “Come on, Michael,” Janie said quietly as she moved to stand next to Victor. “You don’t want to spend the night in jail, do you? Just let Caroline go. I promise you that we will all sit down and discuss this later.”

  “I’m sick of your lawyer talk!” He shook his knife toward her. “You’re just messing everything up. We’re family—me and Caroline. We can sort this out ourselves. She can give me what’s mine. Just leave us alone.”

  Janie held up her hands as she took a step closer to him. “I know you can sort this out, Michael. But not like this. This will only get you into some serious trouble. You don’t want trouble, do you?” She heard sirens. “See, Michael, the police are already on their way—”

  “Please, Michael,” Caroline pleaded with tears streaming down her cheeks. “Just let me go, okay? It doesn’t have to be like this.”

  The sirens were louder now, and Michael looked uneasy. “I wasn’t going to hurt you, Caroline.”

  “I know,” she said quietly.

  He closed his knife and let her go. “I just wanted what was mine.”

  “I know,” she said again, but she was backing away. Janie went to her, gathering her into her arms as Michael got into his pickup.

  “Hey, man,” Victor said gently. “Don’t drive in your condition. The cops will pull you over for sure, and then you’ll be stuck with a DUI.”

  “He’s right,” Caroline called out. “Don’t go, Michael.”

  Michael leaped into his cab and tore off down the street just seconds before the police arrived. While Janie and Marley took Caroline back into the house, Victor and Abby spoke to the police.

  “I can’t believe he did that,” Caroline said through her tears as they walked her up the stairs to her room. “What did he think he’d accomplish?”

  “It was desperation,” Janie told her. “Drunken desperation.”

  “The cops have probably got him by now,” Marley said as they sat Caroline down on her bed. “You’re safe.”

  “I know.” Caroline sniffed. “But Michael’s not.”

  “There’s nothing you can do about that,” Janie told her. “Like my mom used to say, he’s made his own bed, and he’ll have to lie in it now.”

  “Hello?” The three of them looked over to see Ashton standing in the doorway.

  Marley went over to him. “What is it?”

  “The police want to speak to Caroline,” he said.

  “I’ll go down.” Caroline stood, taking in a deep breath.

  “I’ll go with you,” Janie told her.

  Ashton looked bewildered. “Is it always this interesting in Clifden?”

  Marley let out a chuckle. “It can get a little crazy,” she told him, “especially when your friends are all named Linda.”

  He just shook his head. “I guess.”

  Janie went down with Caroline, and together they answered the policeman’s questions. “I really don’t want to press charges,” Caroline said. “I mean, he is my brother, and I honestly don’t think he was going to hurt me.”

  Janie had to bite her tongue.

  “I’m sorry,” the officer told her. “Even if you don’t press charges, your brother has broken some laws, and he will be held accountable for those.”

  “Oh.” Caroline nodded sadly.

  After the police finally left, Janie assured Caroline that she would do whatever she legally could to help Michael. Of course, even as she promised this, she suspected that Michael would not appreciate her generosity. Furthermore he might
not even accept it. Really, some jail or prison time would probably not be such a bad thing for Michael McCann.

  Chapter 25

  MARLEY

  Abby’s idea to let Ashton use Doris’s beach house turned out to be brilliant. Both Marley and Ashton appreciated the extra space, and Ashton even repaired Doris’s dripping bathroom faucet as well as a loose floorboard. Best of all, by Thanksgiving morning, Marley felt pretty certain that her boy had turned a corner. He showed up at her door with beach-blown hair and his old smile.

  “Whatever happened with Caroline’s brother?” He asked her as they shared coffee and the newspaper in Marley’s tiny sun-filled kitchen.

  “Caroline told me that they’re letting him out of jail today.”

  “Do you think that’s safe?”

  Marley shrugged. “I don’t know. Caroline doesn’t seem too concerned. Apparently Janie helped him to work a deal. He agreed to surrender his truck, since he already had a suspended license in Arizona, and he promised to return to Phoenix and remain there, as well as to quit pestering Caroline for money. That last bit will probably be hardest for him. But he did all that in exchange for his freedom.”

  “He was okay with that?”

  “I guess so.” Marley flipped to the entertainment page.

  “And Caroline was good with it too?”

  “I’m sure she was relieved. It tore her apart to hear he was locked up.”

  “Even though he nearly kidnapped her at knifepoint?”

  “Like my mom used to say, blood is thicker than water.”

  “Yeah, it’s rough when families fall apart like that.”

  Marley put down her paper to study his face. “You mean like your family? Like Dad and me and you?”

  His mouth twisted to one side. “And like Leo and me too. It’s just really sad, you know, what we all do to each other when we’re supposed to be family.”

  She considered this. “I know.”

  “I mean, you’d think the human race would improve, wouldn’t you? That we’d all get better at resolving our differences, that we’d eventually learn to just get along? Sometimes it seems like everyone is degenerating, like someday there will be no such thing as family.”

  She forced a weak smile. “But we’re family, Ashton, you and me. Right?”

  His face brightened. “Sure, Mom. You and I will always be family.”

  “Maybe family is what you make of it. Like Caroline, Abby, and Janie—I think of them as my family too.”

  “You’re right. I have friends like that.” He let out an exasperated sigh. “But now I’ll have to sort it out, you know, because some were friends with Leo, too. That’ll be tough.” He set his coffee mug down with a crooked grin. “Fortunately I think a lot of our friends liked me better than Leo.”

  “I like you better than Leo too.” Marley patted his hand. “Today I’d like you to meet some of my other friends.”

  “That’s right.” He nodded. “I get to meet Jack today.”

  “And Hunter and Jasmine, too.”

  “They’re all coming to Abby’s Thanksgiving bash?”

  She nodded. “Which reminds me, we need to start working on that sweet-potato dish. As I recall, you said you’d help.”

  “Only if you promise—no marshmallows.”

  She made a pouty face. “How about just half of—”

  “Just say no to marshmallows, Mom. Seriously they are so tacky.”

  She laughed. “Okay. Fine. But I still get to use brown sugar and nuts, right?”

  “You know,” Ashton told her as they peeled and pared sweet potatoes together, “it’s been pretty cool getting to visit you like this. I mean, even though the circumstances were a little rough, I’m glad you forced me to come here.”

  “I’ve loved having you here, Ashton.”

  “I can see why you like living on the beach. I’m going to miss it.”

  “Meaning?” She gave him a sideways glance.

  “Meaning I have to go back, Mom. The business is suffering, orders are backed up, and with Christmas coming … well, life goes on, right?”

  She nodded. “Right.”

  “If it’s okay with you, I’d like to come back for Christmas.”

  “It’s more than okay, Ashton. I would love it!”

  * * *

  Marley and Ashton arrived at the B and B early so they could help Abby get things set up. “I’ve never had more than a dozen people for a sit-down dinner before,” Abby admitted as they squeezed two more chairs into the long line of tables that extended from the dining room into the living room. “Eighteen at one table is a record for me.”

  “I was surprised Victor and his family decided to come,” Marley said quietly.

  “To be honest, I was too. But I think Janie was pleased to hear the news.”

  “So what’s up between Janie and Victor and the ex?” Marley glanced around to be sure that Donna wasn’t lurking around a corner.

  “I’m not sure.” Abby was arranging the place settings now, trying to make everything fit. Marley had encouraged her to use disposable plates and things, but Abby would not hear of it. She wanted to try out the new dishes and glassware that had just arrived for the inn. A glutton for work, she’d insisted on cloth napkins, too. Marley had to admit the final effect was lovely.

  “Where’s Caroline?” Marley asked as they returned to the kitchen, where Ashton was starting to mash the potatoes.

  “Didn’t I tell you? She and Janie picked up Michael at the jail this morning.”

  “Is he coming here too?” Marley suddenly imagined a food fight breaking out at Abby’s elegantly set table, police coming, and Hunter terrified.

  “No. I told them it was okay to bring Michael, but Janie had already arranged for him to fly back to Phoenix today. They were driving him over to Eugene to catch a flight, which should be leaving”—she looked at the kitchen clock—”shortly.”

  Marley started working on the veggie tray. “Is Donna around?” she asked quietly, still worried that the woman might pop in.

  “No, her boys picked her up this morning. They were going to do a beach walk and blow out the carbon before they stuff themselves. Not a bad idea, really.”

  Marley felt relieved that Donna was gone. “I’m just so curious about what’s going on with them. Janie was tight-lipped when we had coffee on Tuesday, which only makes me think that she and Victor are not history yet.”

  “You wouldn’t know that hearing Donna talk.” Abby sighed and pushed a strand of hair away from her forehead as she closed the oven door.

  “Hey, I just realized you did something different with your hair.” Marley looked more closely at Abby. “It’s a little shorter and lighter, too. I like it.”

  “Thanks.” Abby smiled.

  “Reminds me of when you were younger.”

  “Paul didn’t even notice.”

  “Oh, you know how men can be.”

  “I know how Paul can be.” Abby frowned.

  “You’re still doing your marriage counseling, aren’t you?”

  “We missed our last session. And we’ll miss this week, too.”

  “Oh.”

  “Hey there!” called Caroline as she entered the kitchen. “It smells absolutely yummy in here!” She went over and gave Ashton a squeeze. “Hey, good-looking, what you got cooking?”

  Ashton chuckled. He and Caroline had seemed to hit it off right from the start. Marley couldn’t even put into words how great this made her feel. Abby and Janie liked Ashton as well, but Ashton seemed to brighten up when Caroline was around.

  “Spuds,” he told her. “But I’m spiking them with some pretty heavy cream and butter.”

  “Don’t tell Abby,” Caroline said in a hushed tone.

  “Abby k
nows,” Abby said. “I figured one serving wouldn’t kill Paul.”

  “Did you notice Abby’s hair?” Caroline asked Marley. “Doesn’t it take about ten years off of her?”

  Marley nodded. “It’s great.”

  “How was your brother this morning?” Abby asked. “Everything go okay?”

  Caroline’s expression grew more serious. “Yeah, it went pretty well.”

  Janie came into the kitchen. “That’s an understatement,” she said. “It went incredibly well.” She put her arm around Caroline, giving her sideways hug. “You guys would’ve been so proud of our girl here.”

  “Tell us!” Marley urged. “What happened?”

  “Do you mind?” Janie asked Caroline.

  “No, this is family.”

  Janie told them that Caroline and Michael had this amazing heart-to-heart conversation as Janie drove them to Eugene. “Caroline confessed to Michael how rough her childhood was. It seems that Michael thought he was the only one who had it bad, but Caroline opened up and told some pretty heart-wrenching stories. Well, let’s just say there wasn’t a dry eye in the car.”

  “Then Michael opened up a little,” Caroline injected. “I mean, I knew he’d had some tough times with Dad, but I didn’t know everything. Good grief, it’s not even that surprising that he’s been such a mess.”

  “I think it’s amazing that you’re not a mess,” Janie told Caroline.

  “Well, you weren’t around me in the seventies and eighties. Trust me, it wasn’t pretty.”

  “Anyway,” Janie continued, “we talked to Michael about getting some counseling in Phoenix, maybe even some alcoholism treatment. He wasn’t totally opposed to the idea.”

  “I’ll cover the cost out of my mom’s insurance money,” Caroline explained. “There’s nothing I’d rather spend that money on. It would make Mom happy too.”

  “Michael even apologized to Caroline at the airport,” Janie said. “It was truly amazing!”

  Caroline nodded with glistening eyes. “I have an awful lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving.”