“Oh Kelly, I didn’t want to bother you way up there but it’s your dad. He’s had a stroke. They have him at Northwestern Hospital, in the Stroke Center.” Her voice began to quiver “Kelly, I don’t know what to do.”
Kelly’s parents were a typical old-fashioned couple. Married for forty-five years, her father had always been the boss, no questions. He maintained the finances and was the sole breadwinner. Kelly doubted her mother knew how to write out a check or even how much their monthly expenses were. Her father gave her a weekly allowance in cash for groceries and whatever other household items she might need, which was probably the reason that Kelly was so insistent about having her own source of income.
Kelly’s mother had always been a stay-at-home mom, taking care of laundry and kids, all three of them. Kelly was the middle child with one older sister, Tanya, who lived in Northern Italy with her Air Force Major husband, and a younger brother, Peter. Peter lived within an hour of their parents but he couldn’t take care of himself much less be of any help to their mother when she really needed it. Kelly always knew the day would come when her parents would need help. She also knew that when that day came she would be the only child willing and able to do so.
“Ok mom, calm down, I’m coming. I have to call and see how soon I can get a flight out to Anchorage. But it probably won’t be until tomorrow. I will call you back as soon as I know. In the meantime go be with daddy and if he can hear you please tell him I love him. I’ll be there as soon as I can.” She gave her mom a few words of encouragement and then hung up.
She dialed the number she knew by heart “Hello, Spirit Air, how can I help.”
“Hi Janine, it’s Kelly Sherman, I need a flight to Anchorage ASAP, and then onto Seattle. It’s a family emergency.”
“Oh, Kelly, I’m so sorry, let me check. To Anchorage we are booked today but tomorrow, Sunday, there is one opening on the early flight, seven am. Want me to pencil you into the seat?”
“Pen please! Thanks so much.”
“It’s a done deal. After we hang up I will set you up with a flight from Anchorage to Seattle. I will have that flight’s confirmation number for you when you get here in the morning.”
“Janine, you are a life saver. Thanks again and I will see you bright and early tomorrow.” Kelly hung up. She called her mother back and told her she would be on the first flight out in the morning and that she would call her tomorrow with the information for the flight from Anchorage into Seattle as soon as she had it.
There was nothing more she could do for now but pack a few things. It was at that point that she remembered that all of her good clothes, and travel clothes, plus her suitcases were packed in the shed behind her house in Hanlon. Stephen was gone until dinner. It was only seven thirty in the morning so she might as well go now. Fifteen minutes later she was dressed and in the Jeep, making her way back to Hanlon. Before she left she penned a quick note to Stephen just in case he came home while she was gone.
When she got to her house Mr. Locke did not seem to be around. Neither were the Kramer’s. She was thankful for both because she wasn’t in the mood for idle conversation today. She pulled out a travel outfit, a suit with trousers, and three blouses that would go with the suit, and travel bag to put everything in. At the last second she remembered to grab a pair of black pumps and handbag. Within twenty minutes she was back in the Jeep.
Before she left town she made a quick stop to check her PO Box, mostly junk, which she deposited into the trash can in the lobby. As she climbed back into her Jeep she noticed several police cruisers and an ambulance parked outside The Snow Shoe Inn. Chief Deputy Kyle Dawson was standing next to his cruiser, making notes into a small notebook. Kelly slowed as she passed him, and rolling down her window as she came to a stop said “Hi Kyle.”
Kyle turned and gave her a smile. “Well, if it isn’t our resident sleuth, how have you been Ms. Sherman, I haven’t seen you around in a while.”
“I’ve been keeping a low profile lately. So what’s going on?”
Kyle’s face took on more of an official look and he lowered his voice as he approached her car window “seems one of the Jensen girls decided life wasn’t worth living anymore. She hung herself out back in the storage barn.”
“Oh my God, that’s awful, which one”
“One of the older ones, Jackie; she was the small blond who graduated from high school last year.”
Kelly’s heart skipped a beat. She had just seen her not to long ago, when she had gone to the Inn in search of Mr. Locke. “Oh no, I just saw her last week. How terrible for the Jensen’s. Suicide, you said?”
“Well, for now that’s the way it looks. Of course there will be an autopsy and a drug screening. We’ll know more when those are done.”
“Ok, well thanks Kyle.” Another deputy came out of the building, looking in the direction of Dawson. “You’d better go; I don’t want to hold you up any longer.”
Kelly put the Jeep in drive and headed out of town. She couldn’t help but think about the Jensen family. They had the Inn but it didn’t do much business. Otherwise they had nothing. Now they had to bury a daughter, so young, so sad. What horrible situation had this girl gotten herself into that she found suicide the only way out. Only Jackie would know the answer to that question.
As she neared the cabin, her mind went back to the subject of her trip, and her father. She made a mental check list of things she would bring, including her laptop in case she got inspiration to write but that seemed highly unlikely. At least not until she knew her father was out of the woods.
Kelly pulled into their driveway and opened the back hatch to remover her clothing. An older model slightly rusted Chevy Impala pulled in next to her. She recognized Stephen’s uncle, Marv smiling out the driver’s side window at her.
“Hi Kelly, how are you?”
“I’m ok Marv, and you?”
“So, so, I’ve been having issues with my knees lately. Just on my way back from the doctors now but there’s not much they can, or will do for me. Anyway, sure wish we could have coffee sometime. I enjoyed our visit last time; at least until my nephew interrupted us.”
“Marv, I don’t know what happened between you two but Stephen made it clear to me that he does not want you here and I have to respect his wishes.”
“And you would be smart to listen to him if you insist on staying here. There are things I could tell you that he probably doesn’t want you to know. That’s why he doesn’t want me here. But I wouldn’t want him taking it out on you. Maybe you could come up to my place sometime for a visit; I make a mean pot of coffee myself.”
“I’m not sure Marv.”
“No, I wouldn’t even be here now except that I think you are a fine young woman and I’d take personal responsibility if anything were to happen to you. I may be a harmless old man but Stephen’s got it in his head that I’m a terrible person and nothing will change that. He’s stubborn that way. There was a time long ago that a sweet young girl got caught between Stephen and me. It didn’t turn out too well for her. Stephen doesn’t like competition where women are concerned.” He paused for a moment, then seeing the question on her face continued “oh, I know I don’t look like much competition now, it’s hard to believe but fifteen, twenty years ago I was quite good looking. In fact people use to mistake Stephen and me for brothers. Before my hair was gray it was the same color as his. And before my bones got old I stood tall and proud. I don’t mind saying that I was a looker back then. Stephen and I both take after my mother. Stephen’s father took after our father, pity for him. Anyway, things don’t always turn out like they’re supposed to in life, now do they?”
Kelly’s curiosity peaked a bit at his words. In another time she might have tried to explore further his rant, but with her father in ICU and getting packed for her trip, she let it go. When Kelly pulled her suit bag out of the back Marv asked “are you going on a trip dear?”
Kelly answered “yes, quick trip to Seattle. My fathe
r is in the hospital and my mother needs my help.”
“Oh no, you poor thing, and here with me rambling on and on about my own problems. I hope everything turns out good for you and you’re back here soon. I’ll leave now so you can get back to packing. Have a safe trip!” He put the car in reversed but before taking his foot off of the brake he turned to her again and said “You know, you might want to consider not telling Stephen that I stopped by today. After the last time, well, I just don’t want him getting mad at you. Just save yourself the trouble, ok?” With that he backed out and disappeared down the road.
***
By the time Stephen got home that evening Kelly was three glasses into a new bottle of wine, exhausted, and near tears. She recapped her mother’s call and the flurry of activity that it had led to. “Stephen, I don’t want to leave but I have to go, I am really all they have.” She filled him in briefly on the status of her siblings and the fact that her parents had no other family left in Seattle.
He wrapped her in his arms and offered to go with her. Despite a heavy work load she knew he would if she wanted him to. She thanked him for his support before letting him off the hook.
Stephen said “I’m not going to pretend that I’ll be OK without you here because I won’t. But having lost my own dad so many years back I understand that you need to be there.”
“Thank you” she said. “I don’t want to leave you either. Really I don’t. But I’ll be back as soon as I can. Please know that.”
“I do.”
“Besides, I’m counting on you to keep an eye on Max.” Stephen released Kelly, took a step back and looked down at Max, who was lying on the tiled kitchen floor. As soon as their eyes locked Max voiced a low growl of objection.
Stephen laughed “yeah, well, we’re going to get along just fine while you’re gone.”
“Maybe after you feed him a few times he’ll warm up to you?”
“He might, if he doesn’t eat my hand first.”
“He won’t, I promise. Hey, speaking of upsetting things, when I was in town today there was something going on at the Snow Shoe Inn. I ran into Chief Dawson who told me that one of the Jensen girls, Jackie I think it was, had committed suicide. She hung herself in the storage barn out back. Isn’t that horrible? I think she was only eighteen.”
Steven turned to look out the window but before he did Kelly detected a look she hadn’t seen before on his face, fear maybe, or something else. She wasn’t sure but when he turned back around his expression was blank when he said “How terrible. Losing a child can never be easy; and one so young.”
Kelly asked “did you know her, Jackie?”
“No, not personally; one of the older boys, Collin, helps me every now and again, when I need an extra pair of hands. I know all of the kids by faces, from picking up him up or dropping him off. Their mom is pretty thankful for the extra money so she usually comes out to thank me in person with most of the kids hanging around her but I could never put names to their faces, there are too many. I will have to stop by this week and give them my condolences.”
“I’m sure that they would appreciate the gesture if you did. And speaking of stopping by, just for purposes of full disclosure I want to let you know that your Uncle Marv stopped by today. Don’t worry; I didn’t let him in the house. He saw me in the driveway and just pulled in to say hello on his way back from town.”
Stephen’s beautiful gray eyes instantly turned black as his face went dark with anger, maybe mixed with a little fear.
When she saw his reaction she continued “I’m sorry Stephen, but he seems like just a harmless old man to me; he didn’t even get out of the car. I respect your wishes though.”
As she turned to head out of the kitchen “someday maybe you’d like to share the whole story with me. You can talk to me anytime about anything and maybe it would help you to make peace with him if you talk about it.”
She dismissed the subject and started for the hall but was stopped in her tracks by the menacing tone in his voice. “I asked you; NO, I told you point blank that he was not to be here. He is NOT a harmless old man; he is a very dangerous old man. When I said I didn’t want him in the house apparently I should have been clearer. That order includes my driveway, my land, and most importantly of all, I don’t want him anywhere near you. Do we understand each other clearly this time?”
Stunned by the violent undertone to his voice, Kelly turned slightly to meet his glare and whispered “we understand each other perfectly.” With that she left the room to finish packing.
Her hands were shaking as she packed her bag. That was a side to Stephen she hadn’t seen before, but Marv had warned her not to tell him. Stephen had told her that Marv had killed his father, and if that were true, that would be a very good reason to hate him. But looking at Marv it was hard for Kelly to imagine him killing anyone. And if he had then why wasn’t he in jail; why we he free here in Alaska, and why was Stephen living next door to him? Maybe the death of Stephen’s father had just been a terrible accident, like Amanda’s. If it had been an accident, even if Marv had been somehow involved, then one would think that Stephen would have eventually gotten over it and forgave the old man. One thing was for sure, who knows what Stephen would have done to Marv the day he found him here having coffee if she hadn’t been here. Maybe she saved the poor old mans’ life.
She could dwell on it and ruin their last night together for however long it will take to settle things with her parents, or she could shake it off. There was obviously much more to the story than she knew and maybe if she heard it she would understand Stephen’s feelings. She was exhausted from the day and the worry over her father trumped everything else tonight she would give Stephen the benefit of the doubt.
Kelly returned to the kitchen and, with little talk they made a no-fuss dinner, did the dishes, retired to bed early. When they lay in bed, side by side but not touching Stephen said “I’m sorry; for earlier. Not for what I said, but that it came out sharper than I had intended it to. Few things in this world cause me more fear than Marv. It’s not something that I am comfortable talking about so I ask again for you to please trust me.”
His apology vaporized whatever qualms she might still have been holding onto. She turned into his arms and he held her tight.
Chapter 15
Kelly’s cell phone alarm rang out at five-thirty. She showered, dressed, and finished packing her last minute items. After a quick breakfast and coffee they walked hand in hand to her Jeep. Stephen loaded her bags into the back. “Are you sure you don’t want me to drive you?”
“I’d love you to but it doesn’t make sense. I don’t know when I am coming back.”
They lingered for more than a few minutes, longer than they should have, but squeezed in several extra embraces; neither of them wanted to say goodbye. After a final lingering kiss Kelly climbed into the driver’s seat, buckled, and waved goodbye. He watched the Jeep back out of the driveway and continued watching until it had disappeared out of sight.
The drive back to Hanlon and its tiny airstrip was agonizing for Kelly. But the thought of her mother being alone right now was equally so. At the airstrip she pulled into a parking spot, removed her bags, and locked the Jeep with just minutes to spare. She entered the terminal to pay for her tickets where she receive her Alaskan Air confirmation number before handing her bags over to the young man who would load them into the baggage compartment of the small prop plane.
Within moments they were airborne, on their way to Ted Stevens International Airport in Anchorage. If all went well she would have only a forty-five minute layover there, just enough time to make some calls before her Alaskan Airline’s flight departed Anchorage for Seattle.
Kelly needed to call Dale, her agent, to let her know that she was going to be in town for a few days. She would call the hospital to check on her dad’s condition and then her mother with an expected arrival time. A smooth non-stop flight to Seattle would get her in at half past noon and after colle
cting her bags, a short taxi ride would have her at Northwest Hospital by one-thirty.
She had arrived in Anchorage on time, made the necessary calls, and now waited in line to board her flight to Seattle. Once settled into her seat she closed her eyes and let the events of the last couple of days wash over her.
The nurse at the hospital reported that her father was no better but no worse for now. Only time would tell how bad it had been and what areas of his brain had been affected. She’d just have to wait until she got there to see him for herself. Her mother was hanging in there and very relieved to know that Kelly would soon be there.
As for work, she hadn’t actually spoken to her literary agent, Dale, but left a message letting her know she was coming to town and wanted to set up lunch. She’d have to break the news to Dale about her father. Depending upon how things went with him she may or may not be able to make her next deadline. They were just going to have to deal with it. If the publishers cancelled her contract she was quite sure that Dale would be able to find another, with the success that she has had there have been many attempts by competitors to steal her away over the years. And besides, this was the first book that she had ever missed a date on.
And then there was Stephen. The turmoil that his named stirred up inside of her was amazing. Never in her life had she felt so blissfully deliciously happy or so confused at the same time. She loved him; there was no longer any doubt about that. She trusted him, she wanted to believe him, but if he’d just open up to her it would help her to understand him better. He was so completely committed to her. It didn’t matter to him that he knew nothing about her past, her first marriage, her family. He never seemed to have questions about her at all. He seemed only to be interested in their present, what they have now, and his love for her. She wished she could be more like him in that way. But she can’t shake her underlying fear that whatever he is hiding, he hides for good reason.
Convictions: Kelly and Stephen Page 10