Haley waited. She looked out the windshield toward the restaurant. Tim was sitting down and had a tray in his hands. He looked her way. Haley concentrated on her phone. At least he’d left the keys in the ignition so she could keep the AC on.
A psychiatrist met a cop at a gas station. She turned out to be smart, sexy, and the psychiatrist doesn’t know where or what her life would be without her.
Haley stared at the words. Emotion clogged her throat, and her eyes burned. Her heart was racing, and it was hard to breathe. Instead of texting back, she called.
“Hey, I only have a couple minutes.”
“That’s all I need. You wanna know the punch line of your joke?” Haley wiped at her eyes with the back of her hand.
“Impress and enlighten me.”
“The funny thing is that the cop feels exactly the same way,” Haley said softly.
Tonya’s breathing hitched. “Then they probably deserve each other.”
“I think they do.”
“She’s sweet too, incredibly so.”
“Don’t tell anybody.” Haley smiled. She couldn’t help herself.
“I won’t, but I’ll definitely see you later.”
“Yeah, later.”
Haley looked into the restaurant again. Tim was shoveling fries into his mouth. She peered down at her phone and made another call.
“Hello?”
Ugh, she hated when he answered her mother’s phone.
“Is that your phone?” Haley heard Cathy’s voice in the background.
“Naw.”
“Then why did you answer it? Were you gonna be rude to Haley right in front of me? That was her ring. We’ve had our discussion about that for the last time.”
Jeb didn’t say anything.
Haley smiled. He may be like an old pair of shoes, but there were obviously times when Haley fit better.
“Hey, sweetie. Sorry ’bout all that.”
“It’s okay, Mom.”
“So what’s goin’ on? Not that I’m complainin’, but I just talked to you on Sunday.”
“I’m fine.” Haley cleared her throat.
“Uh-huh. I didn’t buy that bullshit on Sunday, but I didn’t say anythin’. You ready to talk about it?”
Well, damn. “What—”
“I’m your mother, and at the risk of soundin’ like some Brady Bunch episode, I can tell when somethin’s botherin’ you. I can hear it in your voice.”
“Work stuff. Nothin’ I can’t handle.” She hadn’t hurt him yet, so Haley counted that as progress.
“Mmm, I know I asked this before, but everythin’ okay with you and Tonya? I can’t wait to meet her. I know she’s gonna be somethin’.”
Haley grinned. “Yes, we’re okay, and yes, she is. I just got off the phone with her before I called you.”
“I can hear you smilin’.”
“Yeah, well.” Haley smiled harder.
“Oh, baby. She has you wrapped around her finger, doesn’t she?”
Haley laughed. “Yup.” It was true. She’d do anything for Tonya, and had proven that to be true too.
“So you just called to chitchat?”
“I just wanted to hear another friendly voice.”
“Ah, I see. Somethin’s goin’ on with your partner.”
Haley sighed. “Yeah, I put in for a transfer to another precinct. I have an interview on Monday. Sorry I didn’t say anythin’ on Sunday.”
“That’s fine. It’s that bad?”
“Yeah. It’s easier to do it this way than to just try to change partners.”
“I’m so sorry. I know the two of you were close.”
The driver’s side-door opened.
Haley almost dropped her phone. Tim had caught her by surprise. She should’ve kept eyes on him. “Okay, I gotta go, Mom. I’ll call you this weekend.”
“Oh, okay. Love you.”
“Love you too.”
Haley glanced at Tim as he started the car. He had the same stony expression he’d been wearing all day.
* * *
“So this is a surprise,” Tracy said.
“Well, I know your schedule, and I meant to call this morning.” Tonya leaned back in her office chair.
“It’s fine. What’s up?”
“I have an idea. I haven’t talked to Haley about it yet, but I’m sure she’ll go for it. If her friends and Stephanie are free on Sunday, how would you feel about going somewhere to watch the game?”
“Wait. The football game?”
“Yessss.”
“You don’t know a damn thing about sports.”
“And your point is?”
Tracy laughed. “You’ve got it bad. This should be interesting. Yeah, I’ll go, but what are we gonna do on Saturday? I’m sure you’ll need some space from Daddy after you talk to him.”
Tonya beat back a wave of sadness. It didn’t belong. She’d made her decision and was sticking by it. “True, but Stephanie already beat you to it. We’re more than likely going to Oz. We can get drinks there.”
“Sounds good. Is Haley’s gonna be staying over in the middle of that mess?”
“Probably.” Tonya wouldn’t have it any other way.
“She has it bad too.”
Tonya certainly hoped so.
“Did you tell Stephanie the plan for Sunday yet?”
“No, but she’ll be fine as long as she can drink.” Tonya smiled.
Tracy chuckled. “Very, very true.”
“I’ll just be glad when this weekend is over. I’m tired of being tired of Daddy.”
“I bet you are. Has he been giving you the cold shoulder?”
“He’s tried, but I won’t let him.”
“You know, he could surprise us. We’re expecting him to be angry about moving out. He could be relieved.”
“I don’t know, Tracy. Nothing with him has been easy so far. I don’t expect this to be either.”
“I see your point. If anything happens between now and Saturday, just call me. I should be home by noon or so.”
“I’m sure it won’t be anything I can’t hand—”
“Just call me, okay? I’m your sister. We’re in this together.”
A ball of warmth invaded Tonya’s chest. She smiled. “Okay, I will.”
After Tonya hung up, she looked at the clock on her phone. Thank God it was time for the transition meeting with the next shift. She was ready to go. As if on cue, Stephanie tapped the glass pane on the door and waved her out. Tonya nodded and stood up.
Her office phone rang. She held up a hand, and Stephanie waved her away. Tonya picked up the receiver. “This is Dr. Preston.”
The other end was silent.
“Hello?”
“I hate it when you think you know somebody and you really don’t.”
Tonya sat back down. Anger shot through her. “Tim.”
“I like Tang better. She won’t even call me that anymore, but it doesn’t matter. I can tell by the sound of your voice that she’s been talkin’ to you.”
“Then I’m hanging up now. There’s nothing you can say.”
“She tell you everythin’, you think? I don’t think she did. I know her. She can be all noble and protective when she wants to be.”
“What do you want?” Tonya dug her nails into the leather armrests as something like apprehension filled her stomach.
“That daddy of yours is squeaky-clean ’cept for one little thing. Well, it’s not little. I guess you were too busy with med school or somethin’ to notice.”
“I don’t have time for this. If you want to play games, you called the wrong person. Get to the damn point.”
“Oh shit, you got some fire in you. I knew there had to be somethin’.”
“Good-bye, Tim.”
“Okay, fine! Your father was questioned in 2007 because he was under suspicion of drug trafficking. Had good evidence on him too, but they let it go because catching the boss was more important than dealin’ with an old man.”
“Haley didn’t believe it either.”
Tonya went cold as she put it all together. “What?”
“I could make things miserable for all of y’all. It doesn’t matter that the dealer’s in jail. All it would take is for a CI to come forward and say your daddy’s name in the same sentence with a known dealer. It don’t matter how old he is; with his background, they’d be throat-fuckin’ y’all with an investigation before you had a chance to breathe.”
“Why? Why would you do something like that? I barely even know you.”
Tim scoffed. “I guess that’s a yes, then. She didn’t tell you everything?”
“I’ve never done anything to you.” Tonya was numb. She was feeling so much that there was no way to single out just one emotion.
“She’s gonna try to leave. I heard her talkin’ about it.” Tim sounded tortured. “How do I know she’s not gonna turn—”
Tonya didn’t want to hear any more. She couldn’t take it. She hung up the phone.
There was a knock at her door. Stephanie walked in. “Hey, we’re wait…Tonya? What’s wrong?”
She didn’t know what to say. How do you put something like that into words when she didn’t even understand it? “I…I have to get home. Can you handle things for me here?” Tonya stood again. She grabbed her things. Every movement felt jerky.
“Yeah, whatever you need. Is your dad okay? Did something happen to Haley?”
Tonya’s stomach lurched. “No, nothing like that.”
“Well, I’ll take care of things here. Don’t worry about it.” Stephanie’s eyes were wide and filled with concern.
Stephanie was somebody she could count on. Tonya grabbed her hand and squeezed on her way out the door. “I’ll call you later.” She didn’t wait to hear Stephanie’s reply.
Tonya was barely off hospital property when her phone started to ring. It was Haley. Her insides clenched and she couldn’t breathe. Tonya couldn’t talk to her. Not right now. She let it go to voice mail. By the time she reached the Causeway, Tonya was trembling and Haley had called and texted several times.
Shock, betrayal, and fury intertwined and sat in her stomach, slowly leaking poison to the rest of her body. Haley or her father. Tonya didn’t know who was more responsible for what she was feeling. Tonya took some slow, deep breaths and tried to think rationally. He could have been making it all up.
She wanted to believe that, but she couldn’t.
Would Haley keep something like this from her? The question had an easy answer. Yes, she would, if she thought she was protecting her. A surge of anger almost choked Tonya. How many times had she told her not to do that? She should have known there was more going on.
She should have known that the rug would be pulled from under her. Tonya had put too much stock in her own happiness. She’d put too much stock in everyone. And this information just confirmed that her father was a hypocrite. All those years, she’d felt like nothing, but he was hiding his own secret.
There was no way he ran drugs, then or now. He wouldn’t put his family in jeopardy that way…but how could she say that for sure? Was there some other reason he’d lost the store? “No, no, no.” She shook the thoughts free.
Her phone rang again. Tonya switched off the Bluetooth and put the phone on vibrate. She got home in record time. Her father was pulling out of the driveway as she pulled in. Tonya honked her horn. He stopped and waited.
She got out of her car and slammed the door. Any control she had gained left as soon as she saw him. Robert rolled down his window.
“We need to talk.”
He sighed. “I don’t have the energy to—”
“Now, Daddy!”
His eyes widened, and he stared at her. “Just because I live in your house. You don’t get to order me around.”
“We can do this right here. I don’t care who knows if you don’t.”
He looked around. With controlled violence, he snatched the keys from the ignition. “Fine.”
Tonya stormed into the house. She didn’t check to see if he followed. She reached the kitchen and waited. It was incredibly hard to contain herself. She was shaking again. The psychiatrist in her encouraged calm. Nothing would be solved by a screaming match, but God it would feel good.
Her father walked in. He slammed the door and glared at her.
She didn’t back down. “You don’t know half of what I’ve been through.” Tonya said the words slowly, softly. “I’ve been a million different people to try and please you, to try to make you proud.”
“How many more times do I have to hear this!”
Tonya took a breath to keep from saying something unnecessarily nasty. “You have a secret too, Daddy. Are you who you pretend to be?”
“What the hell you talking about?”
She pulled out a stool and sat down, suddenly exhausted. “Tell me about 2007.”
Robert stiffened. His eyes widened and his jaw clenched. He licked his lips. “What?”
“Drug trafficking.” She stared at him, daring him to refute it.
“Did that freak show tell you about this? She’s trying to ruin this family.”
Tonya’s eyes prickled with tears. She understood why Haley did it, but that didn’t make her any less infuriated. “No, Daddy, she was actually trying to keep it together. This conversation isn’t about her.”
He walked toward her with his hands out in front of him in supplication. “It’s not what you think. I would never do anything like that. It’s not the kind of person I am. I’ve made some bad moves, a lot of them, and that one was one of the worst. I was doing a friend a favor. I didn’t know there was drugs. As far as I was concerned, it was just bric-a-brac or some shit.”
“I know you wouldn’t, Daddy,” Tonya said quietly.
His forehead wrinkled in confusion. “Then, what? I don’t understand.”
“You don’t get to judge me or my life when you’re holding back secrets of your own, especially since it could come back to bite us.” She hoped Tim was bluffing. An investigation could put her job in jeopardy.
He took another step forward. “What? That’s not the same thing. I was trying to protect you, all of you from that.”
“I don’t need anyone to protect me!”
He flinched.
“I needed you to be there. I needed you to love and accept me for who I am.”
Their gazes held for a few more seconds. Then he looked away, just like she knew he would.
“I love you, Daddy. I was going to wait until Tracy was home to bring this up, but I can’t. We can’t live together like this. I’ll help you find a new place. No matter what’s going on between us, I’ll make sure you’re okay.”
His mouth fell open. “You…kicking me out?”
“That’s what it comes down to, yes.”
He deflated right before her eyes. It was a sad thing to see, and it pulled at her heart.
Robert nodded. “I’ll start looking around in the morning.” He moved toward the hallway and his room.
Tonya was surprised he hadn’t brushed off her offer to help.
He stopped and turned. “Tonya?” His voice quivered.
“Yes, Daddy?”
“What did you mean when you said come back to bite us?”
Tonya swallowed, but the feeling of apprehension remained. “I was told that there was a possibility of a new investigation, but I think Haley can help to keep that from happening.”
He nodded again, but his expression held shock. “For what it’s worth, I’m sorry.”
Tonya remained quiet as he turned and disappeared down the hallway. She wasn’t sure which issue he was apologizing for, but it was worth a lot.
She needed a drink.
Less than ten minutes later, the doorbell rang. Tonya wasn’t surprised. She’d expected it. After ignoring the calls and texts, Tonya k
new it was Haley at the door. She finished off her second glass of wine in one gulp and went to answer it.
Within seconds, Haley was wrapped around her. “Thank God! Are you okay? With everythin’ that’s goin’ on, I was freakin’ the fuck out. Did somethin’ happen with your dad? Why were you ignorin’ my calls?”
Tonya closed her eyes and sank into the warmth Haley provided. The feel of her, the smell of her settled Tonya just like it always did, but she couldn’t let that happen. She stiffened and stepped away.
Reluctantly, Haley let her go and walked farther into the living room. Her face was crinkled in concern. “Tonya? What’s wrong?”
“I got a call from Tim today.” Tonya’s voice was hoarse with emotion.
Haley’s eyes widened and her face reddened. Anger spread over her features. “Fuck!”
Their gazes met. Haley moved toward her again. Tonya held up a hand and moved away. “Don’t. I can’t. Not right now.”
“I’m not sorry. I did what I thought was right, but I am sorry that I hurt you.”
“Why didn’t you just tell me? My family would’ve been more prepared to deal with an investigation if we’d had more time.”
Haley opened her mouth, presumably to speak.
“This was the real reason you went along with him, wasn’t it?”
Haley nodded. She looked like she was in pain.
“I get why you did it. I really do, but I told you time and time again that wasn’t what I wanted from you.”
“I know, but I’d do it again.”
Tonya’s heartbeat rammed against her chest. “Was he really going to try to frame you?”
Haley stepped forward again. “That wasn’t a lie. I kept some things from you, but I didn’t lie. Yeah, he was, but he knew that it wouldn’t hold water. He knew I’d figure it out too.”
“He threatened to find a way to open up an investigation. You should’ve talked to me. We could have—”
“No. I hated keepin’ all this from you, and I shoulda known my leavin’ would trigger him somehow. I just didn’t know he’d shoot himself in the foot like this.”
“You’re lying for me. If this gets out, your career and your freedom is on the line. I can’t let you do that! Why would you do something like that?” Anger and fear whirled inside Tonya, vying for space.
Haley rubbed the back of her neck, but she didn’t say anything. She wouldn’t even look at her.
Between the Lines Page 36