Just Evil

by Vickie McKeehan

  Dylan watched as Jake stuck his hands in his pockets and stared out the window onto the street and the traffic below. Realizing he’d opened up old wounds that needed stitches, he tried to make it right. “Jake, I could back up, start over again, but I’d just find a way to piss you off, especially if I wasted my breath and reminded you that Reese and I begged you not to marry Claire. The woman came on to me the first time I met her, for chrissakes. And what did you do when I told you about it? You laughed, said it was her outgoing nature. Bullshit. And never once during the entire time you knew her did she act as if she gave a crap about anything except your bank account. She was an opportunistic bitch, nothing more. You just don’t like being reminded. And Claire’s misfortune stemmed from the fact that she finally pissed off the wrong person and somebody took it personally.

  “This Kit, she seems nice enough. Hell, there was a time Claire was too. But maybe this Kit might be another money-hungry woman with a great-looking body interested in nothing but your money. You need to…”

  “No, you need to stop right there before you say anything else and make me rearrange your face. Kit doesn’t need my money. Kit’s Gloria’s niece, for chrissakes. You remember Gloria and Morty Gandis. She’s…” He stopped, what was she anyway? “She’s in some trouble right now, similar to what I went through with Claire. St. John thinks she killed her mother. Gloria asked me to help. I’m helping as a family friend, nothing more.”

  Like hell, thought Dylan. He’d seen the way his friend had looked at the woman, had watched the way he acted around her. His reaction to criticism told Dylan all he needed to know. And it had nothing to do with being a friend of the family. Jake looked like he had it bad.

  Because of that he’d just have to keep an eye on Kit Griffin, Gloria’s niece or not. He refused to sit back and watch while another woman sunk her greedy nails into his best friend…again.

  Kit was still trying to recover from his bone-shattering kiss when she stepped off the elevator into the parking garage. As she walked to her car, she considered their age difference somewhat minor when she realized what those years represented. That kiss came from a man far more experienced than she was in everything sexual. She had very little history in relationships: three to be precise. She had never even experienced the big О like Baylee and Quinn had.

  The first time she’d just turned twenty and finally lost her virginity to Brad Traynor, a hunky but rather serious-minded geomorphology major that had packed up after eight short weeks and headed off to study the landforms of South American jungles.

  The other two relationships had come right on the heels of Brad and were even shorter. From there, she’d moved to San Madrid, where most of the male population fell into three distinct categories. They were either kids, happily married, or well over fifty.

  She even considered herself to be a rather naïve chump where sex was concerned. She liked it okay, but didn’t understand what the fuss was all about. The guys she’d been with hadn’t exactly been stellar in bed. But then she was no prize there either.

  What was it about Jake anyway that always tied her up in knots?

  She reminded herself that she wasn’t a kid now but rather a grown woman. And the grown woman wanted him now more than she’d ever wanted him at fifteen. Maybe she could find a book on sex at the store that would fill in some of the gaps. Because a man like Jake, who kissed her blind like that, had to be better than first-time Brad.

  Lost in lusty thoughts, and trying to search her brain for the inventory of books back at the store that dealt with sex, she looked around the darkened parking garage.

  An eerie feeling crawled up her spine, making the hairs stand up on the back of her neck. Even though it was still daylight outside, that creepy feeling had her increasing her pace toward the car.

  But the faster she walked, the more it felt like someone was following her. Fighting the urge to panic, she quickened her pace as her Jeep came into view. She was tempted to look behind her, but thought better of it.

  Was someone here? She realized how silly that was. It was a place where hundreds of people parked their cars.

  Even though she felt ridiculous, she readied the keyless remote a good fifty feet before actually getting to the car and then pushed the button on her key chain to release the door lock. Sliding quickly into the driver’s seat, in one swift motion she locked the door, fumbled a bit in the dimly lit interior to insert her key into the ignition. She hurriedly started the engine, grabbed her seatbelt, and buckled it around her.

  Taking a quick look around, she put the car into Reverse, and gunned the car out of its parking space. As she braked to put the vehicle into Drive, a shadow passed to the left and behind her. Something struck the backside of the car with a heavy thud. Looking into the rear view mirror, she made out the shadowy form of a man. Frantic, Kit floored the accelerator and the car lurched forward, narrowly missing a row of parked cars.

  Glancing back in the mirror, Kit saw the man run between the cars and disappear into a darkened corner of the parking structure.

  By the time she drove to street level, still shaking from the experience, she wondered what the hell had just happened.

  CHAPTER 10

  As soon as Kit walked back into the Book & Bean, she took one look at Baylee’s brooding glare and new something was up. So she wasn’t surprised when Baylee announced, “We need to talk.”

  True, she’d been gone longer than expected, but she didn’t think that was the reason Baylee looked so anxious. Slipping her purse under the counter, she tried to gauge that look on Baylee’s face. When was the woman going to get over these mood swings?

  Over the past several months, Kit and Quinn had discussed Baylee at length, repeatedly trying to get her to open up about the past year, even suggesting at one point she seek advice from a professional. Maybe, get her to go back in and see Dr. Strasburg.

  As Kit braced herself for whatever Baylee had on her mind, she stuck her hand in her skirt pocket and felt the gold cowboy she’d found earlier. She pulled out the trinket. “I can see you’re upset about something, but before we get into that, can you tell me where you found this?” She held out the miniature cowboy nestled in the palm of her hand.

  Baylee picked up the cowboy and inspected it briefly before telling her, “I’ve never seen it before.”

  Kit frowned. “I found it this morning on the counter by the register. I thought maybe a child lost it in the store and you picked it up.”

  “Wasn’t me.” Wringing her hands, Baylee blurted out, “Look, I need to leave.”

  “Sure. Okay. I know I should have been back an hour ago but…”

  Baylee was nervous. “No. No. Not that. I need to leave L.A.” She’d thought about it while Kit was gone and decided it was the safest thing she could do.

  Panic stuck like a wad of cotton in Kit’s throat. “No. You. Don’t.”

  Looking into Kit’s eyes, Baylee decided on the spot to put a spin on the truth. “I do. I can’t stay with Dad any longer. He’s getting verbally abusive, Kit. He’s started drinking again.” That part was true. “I’m sure it’s because of the illness, but you know how he is when he drinks. I don’t want Sarah around that. Even if he is dying, he can’t verbally abuse us like…” Before, was the word she wanted to use, but instead her voice trailed off as she considered the shaky past with her father. She wouldn’t get into that today, not with everything going on in Kit’s life right now. The time to talk would have been…no, she wouldn’t go there either. Things were just getting too complicated to handle. And Collin had come into the shop this morning. It was just a matter of time before he got around to mentioning something. She had Sarah to protect.

  Kit laid her hand over Baylee’s. “Of course you don’t. But you don’t have to leave L.A., Baylee. You can move in with me.” She’d spent a week with Kit at Christmas before moving back into her father’s house. She could move back in now. Problem solved.

  But Baylee shook her head. “Not this ti
me. Remember how crowded we were for a week? You don’t have the space. Don’t look at me like that. If it were just me, I’d bunk at your place, but it isn’t. Sarah’s things take a lot of room. Besides, she’s starting to teethe. And we spend five days a week together as it is. I can’t ask you to take me in…again.” The idea was humiliating.

  “You didn’t. I offered. Baylee, you can’t just take off again, where would you go?”

  “I’ve got a friend in Denver. Remember…”

  “No. You aren’t leaving. What are you running from, Baylee? Is it Sarah’s father?”

  Baylee went dead pale and rocked back on her heels as if she’d been slapped. “Don’t ask. I can’t drag you into my problems. I won’t. You have enough to deal with without me adding to it. Just know that it’s better for Sarah and me if we go away. Tanya will call me when…if…Dad gets any worse. I can come back.”

  Kit’s temper uncharacteristically snapped. “Well, of course he’ll get worse, Baylee. The man’s dying. He has a brain tumor. What is it with you lately? You and I have been like sisters. We’ve always confided in each other because we didn’t have anyone else. Then Quinn came along and we made a nice little circle, the three of us closer than real sisters.”

  Kit started pacing back and forth, getting worked up. “Then after high school we venture out on our own, room together all through college, tell each other everything. But then a year ago, you lie to me.” Eyeing Baylee’s defensive expression, Kit shook her head. “No, there’s no other way to describe what you did. You lied to me. Then seven months later you show back up with Sarah.”

  By now, Kit’s fury raced along the fast track, heading for the finish line after all the months of holding back. “I try to give you some space, try to let you deal with whatever you’re dealing with in your own way, in your own time. But now, you tell me you want to just take off again. Like hell you will. If you won’t stay with me, then move in with Quinn. She’ll be at the hospital most of the time anyway. She’s got space. It’ll work.”

  “No, it won’t.” Baylee had already thought of that for about five seconds. “When she’s home Quinn needs to sleep. Sarah’s a great baby, but she cries. I can’t intrude on Quinn’s downtime like that.”

  “Oh, for Pete’s sake, Baylee, you’re trying my patience; since when can’t you intrude? You’re my family. Why are you acting like this?”

  Then as if she’d just thought of something, she snapped her fingers. “Wait a minute. I wonder if Gloria’s guest cottage is still empty. A couple of months ago, her long time-tenant moved out, a travel writer from Europe who met this hunky carpenter and moved in with him. If it’s still available, it’d be perfect for you and Sarah.”

  Baylee looked skeptical. “You really don’t want me to leave.”

  Dialing Gloria’s number, Kit muttered, “Idiot. Of course I don’t want you to go. What’s wrong with you? Why would I want you out of here?”

  “I…because I’ve kept things to myself. I haven’t been a very good friend lately.”

  As she waited for Gloria to pick up, Kit declared, “No kidding. Baylee, the last few months getting information out of you has been like trying to interrogate an undercover cop afraid of blowing his cover.”

  When Gloria picked up on her end, Kit got right to the point. Yes, the guest cottage was empty, and no, Gloria didn’t mind if Baylee moved in as soon as possible. In fact, the arrangement would work for both of them.

  When she hung up, Kit turned to Baylee, tapping her finger on her bottom lip. “You can move your things in tonight. I’ll keep Sarah. I’ve been trying to get her to myself for months now anyway. And Baylee, don’t you ever just up and leave again without being honest about where you’re going and why. Don’t you know there isn’t anything you can’t tell me that I wouldn’t understand? Whatever it is, whoever’s hurt you, we can deal with it together. Whenever you’re ready to talk, I’ll be right here.”

  When she saw tears pool in Baylee’s eyes, Kit drew the shorter woman into a hug. “Now that that’s settled, what do you need me to do?”

  Baylee patted the water from her cheeks with her fingertips, began to plan what needed to be done. “We can switch out the car seat from my car to yours, load up the Pack ’N Play. She can sleep in that. I’ll pack a couple extra bottles of breast milk, but remember to save one to give to her when you put her down for the evening. She goes down around seven, wakes up again around midnight. I’ll be back long before then, of course. I’ll pick her up around nine. Is that okay?”

  “Perfect. I invited Jake to dinner.”

  “Ah. Then you’ll need to take the baby monitor.” She saw the puzzled look cross Kit’s face and broke out in a huge grin. “In case you get distracted, you can still hear Sarah over…heavy breathing.”

  Kit rolled her eyes. “Well, things are…heating up.”

  “Nothing wrong with heat in the early stages. Look, I’ll call Tanya, take the chicken way out and let her tell Dad I’m gone after I’m gone. That way I can avoid a blow up with him.”

  When Kit gave her a doubtful look, she added, “I can’t deal with him, Kit. Even if he needs me to be around, I can’t be there when he’s drinking. Lord knows we were never close, but for the past couple of months I thought we’d turned a corner. And then…anyway, I was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. But now, I don’t want Sarah around him if he’s going to drink like that.”

  “Well, good for you.” In spite of her dinner invitation to Jake, Kit offered, “Can you get your stuff and Sarah’s by yourself or do you need me to go with you?”

  Checking her watch, Baylee decided. “I can get it. I don’t have that much.” And wasn’t that pathetic, she thought. “Maybe I should stay and feed her when she wakes up. Yeah, that’ll work. And Kit—thanks.”

  Later, Kit was dealing with diaper duty and contemplating closing up fifteen minutes early when the bell over the door jingled and a customer walked in.

  Used to customers coming and going in and out of the store all day, Pepper usually gave them no more than a quick once-over before ignoring them completely while they went about their shopping.

  But now as the man, not all that tall and with salt and pepper hair, approached Kit and the baby, Pepper took up a genuine guard-dog stance. Head ducked low, growling, Pepper watched the man advance. Kit couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Her usually docile dog had gone on the attack.

  She gave Pepper a look, snapped her fingers and commanded, “Sit. He’s usually not like this,” she told the man. As Kit stood up, she swung Sarah to her hip, and watched as Pepper reluctantly obeyed, sitting in place on his haunches, nervously eyeing the customer.

  “May I help you with something?” Kit politely asked the man who continued to stand just inside the doorway, eyeing the dog as if he weren’t sure the canine was friend or foe.

  Looking around tentatively for several seconds, he answered with just a hint of a brogue. “I hope so. I was in here the other day getting coffee and noticed you have several paintings on the walls.”

  He nodded toward the coffee house. He’d come back not just to take another look at Kit Griffin but to satisfy a curiosity that had been nagging at him, one he couldn’t shake. “I was wondering if they were for sale. There’s one…I’m interested in the one where the woman with the long flowing blonde hair appears to be floating on water. None of the art had a price.”

  A confused look crossed Kit’s face momentarily before realization dawned. “Oh, the paintings…” Some were hers, some were Baylee’s, but there was only one that fit his description and it belonged to Ella Canyon.

  She tried to think whether or not in the four years since it had been hanging on the walls of the coffee shop if anyone had ever shown an interest. That had been her original intent to showcase local artwork on the walls of her store where customers might see the paintings and buy them. But here in San Madrid the idea fizzled. The town wasn’t exactly a hotbed for art lovers.

  “Imagine my
surprise at finding such art in a backwater place like this, or the fact that anyone here would recognize such artistic expression.”

  Certain that she and her shop and the town had just been insulted, Kit tried to offer up a smile when she pointed out, “It’s done in oil. One of Ella Canyon’s works; she called it Woman Rising.” She jostled Sarah as she walked over to stand beside him under the painting. All the while Pepper continued to stand guard.

  The painting was of a semi-nude woman, draped only in a sheer white gown, standing in a greenish pool of water on an oversized canvas. “Notice the golden color of the woman’s long hair, as if you could simply reach out and touch it, and the way the artist uses contrasting colors around the woman’s form to create a reflective effect. I think that’s what causes it to look like mist rising slowly out of the water. And as you can see, there’s no busy background to detract from the subject of the painting, which is of course, the woman.”

  When she turned to get his reaction, the man had turned white as a sheet and looked to be on the verge of hyperventilating. Fearing he was about to faint, or worse, suffer a heart attack, Kit snapped out instructions, “Sit before you fall down.”

  It didn’t take much effort to push him into one of the overstuffed chairs. “Do you want some water? Are you on medication? Is it time for you to take a pill or something?”

  He didn’t answer her, but continued to look as though he might be having some kind of attack. She took off clutching Sarah, ran to the counter, and grabbed the phone, dialing 911. While she waited for help to come on the line, she slid behind the counter to grab a bottle of water from the mini-fridge. She ran back past the register to where he was sitting and found him pointing at the canvas. “Where…did you get it?”

  The minute the dispatcher came on the line Kit stared at the man, wanting to know, “Do you need an ambulance?”

  The man shook his head.