“That’s why I never saw you with her again. That’s why you warned Jess about my license. Nailed Stu for hitting Bailey. Then what the hell was Vanessa, huh?”
He swallowed hard. “I had to keep tabs on her. When I realized she would go through with the sale … I convinced her to go with Tremaine’s offer instead.”
Cooper’s head jerked in surprise. He stood, pointing a finger. “That stays between us. Bailey thinks her sister did the right thing in the end.”
Jack sighed. “Maybe Bailey should know what her sister is capable of so she knows not to trust her.”
“Jesus fuck,” Coop repeated as he paced the living room. “And Rebecca? She’s been charged?”
“They lied to me, Coop.” Jack crossed his arms over his chest. “Rebecca was …” Saying it still made him sick with guilt. “The guy was raping her. There was no trying. He did. Ian found out later he was wanted for multiple rapes in different states.”
Cooper looked as devastated as Jack felt. “Oh, hell. Little Becs.”
Jack swallowed down the emotion threatening to explode out of him. He looked at the floor, taking a minute.
“What happened, Jack?”
“Stu heard her crying out for help in the pool house. He saw the guy raping her and hit him in the head with a dumbbell. Repeatedly.” Jack looked up and found Cooper’s expression surprised again. “He was just trying to protect her.”
Coop nodded, dazed.
“Rebecca came home a few days ago and went to the sheriff. Confessed. They found the body and the weapon. It’s got Stu’s prints all over it. They charged Becs with aiding and abetting. She’s out on bail.”
“I can’t believe this.” Cooper shook his head. “I mean, I knew it had to be something, but murder … fuck.”
“I want you to forgive me.” The words blurted out of Jack before he could stop himself.
Cooper’s eyes narrowed.
“I don’t expect it. I’m not asking you for it. But I want it.”
His friend looked at him. Really looked at him. There was no hardness or anger. But there was a shitload of weariness in Cooper’s eyes. “Before Dana, I considered you the truest man I had ever known.”
Jack flinched.
“I’m glad you told me, Jack. However, that doesn’t mean I understand your reasoning. We were brothers. I would’ve done anything for you. And maybe if you’d told me what was going on, I could have helped you figure it out. You devastated my life. You think I cared in the end that she cheated on me? No. I cared that she cheated on me with you. That you betrayed me. And now I find out it was all to push me away, protect me? I don’t know if I get that. I don’t know if I ever will.”
Jack’s hope deflated.
He hadn’t realized how much he needed that forgiveness from Coop.
Neither he nor Emery trusted him.
Jack knew he deserved the consequences of his actions. Didn’t make it any harder to swallow.
“I should let you get back to Jessica.” Jack started for the front door.
“Jack.”
He glanced over his shoulder at Cooper. His friend exhaled slowly. “If you had come to me before I met my wife, I would’ve kicked you out on your ass no matter what the truth was.”
Jack waited as Cooper rubbed a hand through his hair.
“But I guess … I guess I don’t know if I wouldn’t have done the same thing—the pushing you away to protect you part, I mean. The sleeping with my wife part was just plain fucked up.”
“I wasn’t … It’s not an excuse … I just … I wasn’t in my right mind, Coop. I was in a messed-up place.”
“Yeah, I can imagine.” He took a step toward Jack. “Lucky for you, I’ve come to find a twisted sort of gratitude over the past few years for your actions. Because if you hadn’t done it, I might have been with Dana when Jess moved to town.”
That hope rose in Jack.
“I don’t know if it’ll ever be the same between us … but I forgive you, Jack.”
Tears he tried desperately to fight back brightened his eyes.
Cooper saw and his own glistened, his lips pinching hard.
“I’m so sorry, Coop. I’m so fucking sorry,” he choked out.
“Yeah, I can see that. I’m sorry too. For what happened to Rebecca. For what happened to you.”
Jack gave him a grateful nod, afraid if he spoke, he’d start fucking bawling. He pushed out of Cooper’s house and hurried down the porch steps.
He was just about to get into his car when Cooper called out to him.
Jack looked up to find his friend standing on the porch, a thoughtful frown marring his brow. “Yeah?”
“I can’t make any promises … I … this shit will take time … but … why don’t you come by the bar before it opens sometime. If you need to talk.”
It was a generous offer.
And it made Jack miss his old friend even harder than before. “I might just take you up on that, Coop.”
Cooper gave him a tight nod and strode back into his house to be with his pregnant wife.
His pregnant wife whom Jack knew he partly had to thank for Cooper’s willingness to forgive.
18
Emery
I barely slept that night. I fervently hoped that Cooper had been more receptive to Jack than I had been. Despite my need to protect my heart, I didn’t want him to feel as though he wasn’t worthy of forgiveness.
It was contradictory, I know.
However, as I drove to Ivy’s rental place on Johnson’s Creek, I considered offering friendship to Jack. It meant I could keep my heart safe from him but still extend forgiveness. An offer of friendship would let him know I didn’t think he was beyond repute. That perhaps trust between friends could bloom again.
Like most of Hartwell, the houses on Johnson’s Creek were all white clad with brightly colored awnings and old-fashioned porches. Except most of the houses were bigger than a lot of homes in Hartwell. Moreover, it wasn’t actually a creek but rather a lake.
Like most of South Hartwell, this was where the money was. A few homes on Johnson’s Creek were second vacation homes. Ivy’s two-story house was one of the smallest, even though it was slightly bigger than my beach house. The front faced onto the neighborhood, like most of the houses, and the back faced onto the lake.
I parked on Ivy’s driveway, and she’d opened the door before I’d even put a foot on the porch. To say she was surprised to see me was an understatement. She invited me inside, leading me through an open-plan living area much like my own, and out onto the porch facing the lake. Her house was perched on a slope over the water, and I could see she had her own private dock.
I sighed inwardly at the sun glistening across the water. She and I were both blessed to wake up to magnificent views.
After she returned with a cold lemonade for me, we sat at her white wicker bistro set and gazed quietly out at the lake. People water-skied in the distance.
“So, what brings you here, Emery? Did my mother send you?” Ivy asked.
I knew she and Iris hadn’t resolved their issues. Although Ivy had stayed with her parents for months after her fiancé’s death, and she’d returned to her parents after Freddie Jackson attacked her in her apartment, there was still an estrangement between them. Mostly because Ivy refused to tell Iris what exactly had gone on between her and Oliver Frost. She’d pushed her parents away before he died, practically cutting everyone out of her life. And then when he overdosed and it was all over the papers, Ivy had returned to Hartwell to hide.
It was a shame. She was a wonderful screenwriter. I’d seen the movie that she won an Academy Award for, and her storytelling abilities were magical. Iris had given me a list of all the films Ivy had written, and I’d loved them. She was somewhat fatalistic but utterly romantic at the same time. It was a compelling combination.
Intelligence and wariness shone in her large dark eyes. I blushed a little under their intensity. Ivy was stunning. Her eyes tilted slightly up
ward and then narrowed toward the corner. She wore mascara today, making them appear even bigger. Her smooth, bronze skin was enviously perfect, her cheekbones movie-star high, and her mouth small but full. Since the attack, Ivy had cut her long, jet-black hair into a shoulder-length bob that now hung in tousled waves around her face. Iris and Ira didn’t know much about Ivy’s real parents beyond the fact that her mother was Filipino.
If I’d met Ivy at one of her star-studded events back in Hollywood, I wouldn’t have been able to talk to her. She was the kind of beautiful that stopped you in your tracks. And when she was all glammed up, it was intimidating.
Even now, wearing jeans and a T-shirt, there was something untouchable about Ivy.
“Well?” She raised an eyebrow before taking a sip of lemonade. “You’re blushing. My mother definitely put you up to this.”
I frowned. “Why would Iris send me to see you?”
“Because I’m no longer under her roof and her nose is twitching.” Ivy’s lips quirked. “She’s worried about me. All the time.”
“Well, mothers are supposed to worry about their daughters. You should be grateful for that.” I winced because I sounded almost accusatory.
“I am grateful. But I’m also a grown woman who doesn’t need her mother sending over spies.”
“I’m not a spy.”
“Then why are you blushing?”
“I do that. Especially around people I don’t know very well.”
“Right. Actually, I already knew that.” She studied me carefully. “I don’t get it, though. I mean, you’ve seen you, right? You have Hollywood written all over you.”
I huffed in embarrassment. “Oh, yes, I’m quintessential Hollywood.”
She laughed at my sarcasm. “Not in personality. And I would not recommend that world to anyone, let alone someone as shy as you, but you’re beautiful and the camera would love you.”
“Is that all it takes?”
Ivy frowned. “No. Not for most of the biggest, well-respected actors. You have to be able to act. But you also have to have that certain something. Charisma. You can’t cheat charisma. Some of the most average-looking actors have charisma and it transcends good looks. You know … they’re just naturally sexy. And nothing is hotter than a guy who can take what you’ve written and make it so real, your heart feels like it might burst out of your chest watching him.” She gazed at the lake, smiling softly to herself.
“Did you date actors while you were out there?” I asked tentatively, not sure it was a subject she’d want to touch.
Ivy threw me a wicked smile. “Hell yeah.”
I laughed and her grin widened.
After a moment of surprisingly comfortable silence, she asked, “So really, Emery, why are you here?”
“To invite you to lunch today.” I sat up a little straighter. “The girls come to my store once a week for lunch. Jess, Dahlia, and Bailey. I thought you might like to join us.”
Ivy contemplated me. “You know, my mom used to talk about you all the time.” She looked a little sheepish. “I was jealous of you.”
Shocked, I could only stare. “Why?”
“Silly, right? I was in LA. I had the kind of career very few people get to have in film. Hotshot fiancé. Fame. Respect. Blah blah blah. But I missed my family. I missed this place.” She gestured to the water. “I missed my mom’s sharp wit. And I missed Bailey and how she could turn the most banal event into a story that had you rolling on the floor.”
We shared an affectionate smile for our friend.
“And Mom talked a lot about you. The sweet, shy bookstore owner. I could tell she felt a motherly protectiveness for you, and I’ll admit, I didn’t like it. Childish, huh?”
Thinking of how I hadn’t wanted to share my friends with Ivy, I shook my head. “I understand.”
“I will say one thing for Mom … she’s always right about people. She’s got that gut instinct, you know. And if Mom thinks you’re good people, then you’re good people.” Ivy stood. “I’d love to come to lunch with you.”
I beamed, glad my decision to put myself out there with Ivy had paid off.
My friends sailed into the bookstore together, chattering madly with a cloud of intensity hovering over their heads. They stopped abruptly at the sight of Ivy standing on the stairs that led to the seating area.
“Ivy.” Bailey walked to her first. “You’re here.”
“Emery invited me. I hope you don’t mind.”
“Of course I don’t.” She pushed Ivy toward the chairs and turned back to mouth “thank you” to me.
I smiled and shrugged as I grabbed a plate of sandwiches off the counter.
Jess approached and put her arm around me. “That was sweet of you,” she whispered.
“She needs good friends.” I eyed her carefully. Jess looked pale. “How are you?”
“I’ve been dealing with morning sickness, although I curse whoever named it that because it happens at any time of day. I’m feeling okay today, though. Ish.” Jess lifted a rolled-up newspaper. “Have you seen this?”
I shook my head, my heart thumping with trepidation.
I thought I already knew what was in there.
“Drinks?” I asked everyone as they sat in the armchairs and on the sofa, already diving into the sandwiches.
“We’ll get those later.” Bailey gestured to an empty chair. “Sit, sit. There is news afoot.”
“What’s going on?” Ivy took a bite of a canapé and moaned. “Oh my God,” she said around a mouthful.
Dahlia chuckled. “Yeah, Em’s lunches are the best.”
“Yeah, you’re not kidding. Emery, why aren’t you catering? My God. These are better than what I had at glitzy LA parties.”
“If you don’t stop complimenting her, she’ll burst into flames,” Dahlia teased.
I shot her a mock disgruntled look.
“Okay, people, yes, Em can make a mean canapé … can we concentrate?” Bailey gestured to Jessica. “Paper.”
Jess opened and flattened it on the table.
Across the front page of the Hartwell County Chronicle were two photographs: one of Rebecca, the other of Stu. The headline read “MURDER ON HART’S BOARDWALK.”
“Well, that’s dramatic,” I murmured.
“Dramatic.” Bailey shifted forward in her seat. “Rebecca Devlin was raped nearly five years ago and Stu Devlin, trying to protect his sister, murdered the guy. She confessed to helping Stu bury the body and murder weapon. The guy was wanted for rape in multiple counties.”
“It gets even more complicated.” Jess sighed. “This stays between us.”
The girls all nodded eagerly.
“Jack came to see Cooper.”
I held my breath.
“He told Cooper everything. Including the fact that Ian Devlin knew about this.” She gestured to the paper. “But they lied to Jack. They told him that Rebecca had killed Caruthers before he could rape her, that they covered it up and if Jack didn’t fall in line, Ian would tell the police what Rebecca had done. And they’d lie and say it was Jack who’d helped her, not Stu.”
“Holy shit,” Dahlia breathed. “I shouldn’t know this. If Michael knew, he’d have to arrest Jack for failing to notify the police about the crime.”
Jess’s eyes widened. “Oh, Dahlia … I—”
“You can’t tell Michael.” The words slipped out of my mouth before I could stop them. They flinched at the near hysteria in my tone. “You’d have to tell him I knew too.”
“WHAT?”
I flinched.
Oh hell.
What had I just done?
“You knew?” Bailey said in between gaping at me like an oxygen-deprived fish. “How did you know?”
I couldn’t believe I’d just blurted that out. What on earth was I thinking? I flushed hot and covered my eyes with my hand. “Oh, flea shit on a dog turd.”
“Did she just say what I think she said?” Bailey whispered, shocked laughter in her voice.
“Emery?” Jess rested her hand on my arm.
I peeked at her through my fingers. “I’ve known for a year,” I whispered.
Silence fell over the table.
“Okay. Sisterhood comes first,” Dahlia announced. “Anything said in this room stays in this room.”
“That’s not fair to you,” Ivy said. “Michael is your man. You shouldn’t have to keep things from him.”
“Although to play devil’s advocate, clearly Michael kept this”—Bailey nodded to the paper—“from you. You didn’t know about any of this before the news article, and it says in it that Michael is heading the investigation.”
Dahlia contemplated this. “True. I mean, I knew something was up because he was distracted and told me he had an interesting case at work … but he didn’t give me the details. But if you’d prefer me to leave, I can.”
“You’re not leaving.” Bailey shook her head. “Unless you want to.”
Dahlia’s gaze came to me. “I’ll stay. It’s not like Jack or Emery were involved in the actual murder. And clearly Jack was being blackmailed, so …”
Everyone looked at me.
“I’ll tell you after Jess finishes telling us about Jack and Cooper.”
I wanted to know if Cooper had forgiven him.
“Right.” Jess sighed. “Ian blackmailed Jack. That’s why he gave up his business. And apparently, Cooper kept pushing Jack for the truth. Jack didn’t want Coop to know because he didn’t want him to be burdened with that knowledge. He was in a bad way.” Jess frowned. “A really bad way and obviously not thinking straight. That’s what I reminded Cooper. Anyway, Jack told Cooper that Dana was coming on to Jack before all this went down—”
“It’s true,” I interjected without thinking.
They all gawked at me in confusion.
Dammit. I was just blurting out all my secrets these days!
“I … uh … Jack and I spoke about it back then. He needed reassurance that telling Cooper was the right thing to do.”
“You and Jack talked to each other?” Bailey threw up her hands. “What is going on? Am I in an alternate universe?”
“Okay, okay, clearly Emery is a woman of many mysteries,” Dahlia said. “But let’s allow Jess to finish.”
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