My gaze moved toward the front door where two people I cared for deeply had walked out of my life. Probably for good.
“It could still work, you know.”
I turned to her, sure I’d heard wrong. “How?”
“They finally talked. Yeah, it was more yelling than talking, but still they communicated. It’s going to be harder to ignore each other from now on.”
“But Maddie’s going back to D.C. in a couple of days.” And I’d be looking for a new place to live.
“It’s the twenty-first century. Cell phones, email, texting, smoke signals. Plus it’s not that far down here. It’s not like Ugly Creek is on a different plane of existence or something.” Liza stood and grabbed her duffle bag from where she’d stashed it. “It’ll work out because Maddie and Jake love each other. Need a ride back to Margaret’s house?”
All the life dropped out of me. I was still moving around, but I felt dead inside.
A voice that sounded like mine said, “I don’t have a key.”
She held up the duffle bag Madison had tossed earlier. “I have Maddie’s.”
We headed out, the bouncy ex-cheerleader and the zombie.
Chapter 15
Three hours later, I was sitting at Margaret’s kitchen table, cup of tea in my hand, wondering if I should be packing up and getting out while I still could. Before the person I’d tried to help decided to go all Slayer Buffy on me. Then again, Maddie was my friend. My closest friend. I couldn’t just leave her here after the mess I’d made.
The sound of a car pulling in the driveway told me the time for cowardly retreat was past. I’d have to face up to my mistake. I stood and edged around so I could see the front door without being seen.
Maddie blew in and stomped up the stairs. Margaret followed her into the house, her shoulders drooped, her eyes were red, gloom radiated from every cell of her body.
“Are you okay?”
She looked at me, startled. “Stephie. I’m glad you got home all right. I was worried.”
“Liza gave me a ride, and she had Maddie’s key, I hope that’s all right.”
The smile was small and shaky. “Of course it is. I should have given you your own key.”
I went over to her, my hand going without thought to her arm. “I’m so sorry about all this.”
This time her smile was genuine. “You didn’t do anything wrong, sweetie. You tried to help.”
“And failed miserably.”
She brushed an unruly curl off my cheek. “You did what the rest of us have tried and failed at for ten years. You got them talking. Now it’s up to them.”
Almost the same thing Liza had said. Nice people, these Ugly Creek folks.
Margaret and I walked toward the kitchen. “I made a cup of tea, I hope you don’t mind.”
“Of course not.” She turned the water on to reheat. “Nothing better after a stressful day than a nice cup of tea.”
“They really care about each other, don’t they?”
“Maddie and Jake? They always did. They were inseparable from the time they were in diapers until ten years ago. They’re a good match for each other because they’re both so stubborn. But right now stubbornness is what’s keeping them apart.”
My heart wasn’t just breaking; it was slowly tearing into confetti. Jake and Maddie. Maddie and Jake. I felt like dropping my head onto the table and crying my eyes out.
Margaret had just poured her tea when a knock at the front door caught her attention. She headed that way and I edged so I could see. The silly romantic girl inside me dreamed it was Jake come to take me away from all this.
The rest of me wondered, what now?
Henry was on the other side of the door. He pulled Margaret into a kiss, and I went back to my tea. I heard something about Steve and Jake coming to blows, and I wanted to crawl into a hole and never come out.
They came into the kitchen and I managed a smile for Henry. “Thanks for your help,” I told him.
“You’re very welcome.” He grinned. “I haven’t had so much excitement since my Uncle Bartholomew threw his back out at one of those lady-of-ill-repute houses. My cousin and I had to go over there and get him out, and it was, shall we say, interesting.”
Margaret got him a cup of tea and we all sat at the table. Soon they were engaged in their own conversation and I excused myself and went out onto the screened-in back porch. I loved it out there, where the scorching July heat was brought under control by big trees and a gentle breeze. I could live out there, I decided.
I sat for hours, contemplating how I’d done something so bad to my brother that he’d actually run from me. And now I’d managed to screw up my relationship with my best friend and a man I was feeling pretty strongly about. Not to mention, an unsavory scum was trying, clumsily, to find something in my background distasteful enough to suit his yuckiness. Boy had I screwed up. What a doofus I was.
I saw movement in the growing darkness, and I leaned forward in my seat to see more clearly. It was him, the little furry Bigfoot critter, well, little compared to the other one I’d seen. I smiled and waved, and to my surprise, he waved back.
For a moment it seemed as though he was edging toward the porch, then all at once he turned and scurried back toward the woods.
I sat until almost midnight, waiting for any sign of the cute little creature. There was nothing though, and finally I headed back into the house.
Henry and Margaret were sitting on the living room couch, heads leaned back, and I could hear soft snoring coming from their direction. I smiled, hot date for the middle aged set.
But then, they were no doubt worn out from the events of the day.
Events of my making.
I tiptoed upstairs into the dark bedroom, quietly slipped into my nightshirt, and crawled into bed.
It was hours before I could let go of the guilt enough to sleep.
****
The sound of my cell phone jarred me awake. I groped on the nightstand until I realized I’d left my phone in my purse. I considered getting out of bed to find the thing, but when the annoying sound abruptly stopped, I lay back down and the soft, warm arms of sleep pulled me close.
The phone started up again.
“Answer the damn thing already,” Maddie’s slurred voice said.
I slid to the foot of the bed, and used my hand to brace myself so I didn’t take a header against the softly carpeted floor. I grabbed my purse and shoved myself back on the bed to dig out the phone. By this time the ringing had stopped again and restarted. “Hi,” I managed.
“What the bloody hell do you think you’re doing?”
I pulled the phone back and stared at it. “Mr. Grainger?”
“Who the hell were you expecting? You’re lucky it’s me and not our lawyer.”
This had to be a bad dream. It just had to be. Nothing else made any sense. I pinched myself, and it hurt. Sunshine was pouring in the window. Okay, now I was totally confused.
“Well, Stephanova, what do you have to say for yourself?”
This had to be a dream. A nightmare. “I’m sorry, Mr. Grainger, I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“You do understand you’re fired. You signed an exclusivity contract with us. The Weekly Tattler isn’t exactly a competitor, but its national distribution puts you in violation of your contract. If it were up to me, I’d fire you for stupidity. I expected better from you. Get your things out of here ASAP.” The line went dead.
I sat staring at the phone and wondering what in the world had just happened. Nothing my boss had said made sense. Had he called the wrong person to chew out? No, not Mr. Grainger. Besides, he’d called me by name. What in the world had I done? I’d been here, in Ugly Creek, how could I have managed to get myself in this much trouble? It had to be a mistake, it just had to be. I headed toward the bathroom. Maybe a gallon of cold water on my face would wake me up—or at least help me figure out what had happened to my world.
The first thing I he
ard when I stepped back into the bedroom was Maddie’s voice. “Thanks for letting me know, Greg.”
I walked carefully back toward my bed, wondering when the next wave of weirdness would hit. I didn’t have to wait long.
“How could you? I thought I knew you, but you betrayed my trust. That was bad enough, but to betray the entire Ugly Creek community is beyond loathsome.”
I stared at her. What was going on here? I shook my head to clear it. Maybe I’d been drugged, or I was in the middle of an especially tenacious dream. I pinched my arm again, but the pain didn’t pull me out of the Twilight Zone.
“What do you think I did?”
Maddie didn’t answer she just glowered harder than I’d ever thought she could.
“Tell me. What do you think I did?”
She didn’t blink. “Don’t play games with me, Buffy. I may be from a small town, but I’m not stupid.”
Tears filled my eyes, and my throat closed so tightly I could barely speak. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“I don’t believe you.”
Maddie climbed out of bed and grabbed some clothes. “I’m going to get dressed.”
She glared hard at me as she walked out of the room. Alone, I contemplated the scattered pieces of my heart.
I grabbed the only pair of jeans and T-shirt I’d brought and pulled them on with shaking hands. The cool air from the central system chilled me almost as much as the confrontation with Maddie had. I pulled on a light sweater and sat on the edge of the bed.
I had absolutely no idea what was going on. First my boss, then Maddie. And of course she believed the worst of me after I forced her to talk to Jake. I’d only been trying to help, but she wouldn’t see it that way. And neither would he. The tears I’d managed to staunch so far filled my eyes. Suddenly I wanted more than anything in this world for Jake to hold me in his arms. I wanted to lean against his rock-hard chest. I wanted to explain to him that I was lost and confused even before I’d agreed to come to Ugly Creek.
Surprise froze me in the process of reaching for the errant tear sliding down my cheek. What a ridiculous idea. I was happy with my life. I had a good job, a nice apartment, a roommate who was closer than a sister.
Except I no longer had any of those things. I wanted Jake so much the agony of it burned me deep inside, a place I didn’t know existed, a place I think might be the lonely hole where love should fit.
With a big sigh, I forced myself off the bed and began putting my clothes back in my suitcase. I had to get away from this house. This town. From the craziness that had twisted my life all around since I’d come to Ugly Creek.
From the man I cared way too much about.
“I see you’re packing. Good.”
For the first time since I’d answered my cell, I felt the burn of anger through my gut and into my chest. “We’ve been friends since college. We’ve shared an apartment for three years. How can you possibly believe I’d do whatever it is you think I did?” Then again, she didn’t tell me about Bigfoot.
Maddie gave a little one shouldered shrug. “While I was tied up in the back of Henry’s store I realized I don’t really know you at all.”
Tears stung my eyes and I tried to blink them back. “I just wanted to help.”
She took a step toward me, and I saw tears cover her eyes. “What’s between Jake and me is nobody’s business but ours.”
“You love each other.” I was surprised the words didn’t slay me right there.
There was a faraway, beaten expression on her face. “That is none of your business, you traitorous bitch.”
“Maddie…”
She rushed toward me and shoved her phone in my face. “Deny that.”
What I saw stunned me. The photo was the one I’d taken of the smaller Bigfoot. Worse, it was obvious even on the small screen the picture was on the front page of The Weekly Tattler.
She turned and stomped out the door.
I sat hard on the foot of the bed. Never in my life could I have believed I could feel this shocked and devastated. And alone.
I took a moment to allow myself to recover a little, then I did what I’d been doing for most of my life. I pulled myself together and did what I had to do.
I dug my laptop out of the linen closet, grabbed my bag and purse, and carried my stuff downstairs while I wondered what to do next. I could hear voices from the living room and my gaze swung in that direction.
Margaret glared at me through the doorway. “Madison told me what you did.”
Behind her, Maddie looked at me with righteous fury.
“I didn’t do this, Margaret. You have to believe me.”
“I don’t have to believe anything, Stephie. I want to believe it’s some kind of mistake, but it sure doesn’t look like it.”
The knock startled me so badly it hurt.
Margaret opened the door, and Henry handed her what I knew was a copy of The Weekly Tattler. For a second I hoped the whole, stupid mistake would be revealed and we could all go back to our lives.
“That’s my backyard,” Margaret said pointing at the tabloid. “That picture was taken in my backyard.”
There it was, that morning’s issue of the worst tabloid on the supermarket stands, The Weekly Tattler. On the front page was my shot of the creature. The headline read, “Award-winning Photographer Up Close and Personal with Bigfoot.”
“I didn’t do this.”
“Your name is on the article.” Tears shimmered in Margaret’s eyes.
“I didn’t.”
“Didn’t what?” Maddie asked.” Didn’t take the picture? Because I recognize your style.”
The Weekly Tattler. Mr. Grainger had mentioned that name. Was this what he was talking about? This picture had violated my contract? It wasn’t possible. This was a nightmare. It had to be.
“Well, did you?”
A huge drum was beating against my skull, I had an all but overwhelming urge to throw myself at their feet and beg them to believe me. Somehow, I managed to keep myself in adult mode. “I took the picture, but I didn’t send it to the Tattler. I’d never do something like that.”
“Why should we believe that?” Maddie took a step toward me. “You even gave them an interview.”
What! My hands were shaking so hard I ripped the tabloid as I grabbed it from Margaret’s hands. Sure enough, there was an interview supposedly given by me. “I don’t understand.”
Maddie walked by me, and I had the sudden thought I might literally be stabbed in the back—not that I much cared. “I didn’t do this.” I looked from Henry to Margaret and back again. Margaret’s face was pale and I could see she was trembling. Henry was quieter, not meeting my gaze, but not saying anything either. Tears stung my eyes, but hard-learned lessons prevented them from falling.
Maddie came back from the entryway where I’d dropped my things, my laptop case in her hand. “Steve can prove what you did.”
“Fine.” I wiped at my eyes. “He can do whatever he wants with that.” I had to get out of there. I had to go back to my apartment. Maybe, maybe if I got back to D.C. I’d find this was all a horrible nightmare. “Could somebody take me to town so I can rent a car?”
“I will.” Henry stood and walked me over to my things. He took my suitcases and turned toward the door.
The etiquette part of my brain screamed at me to say goodbye and thank you to my hostess, but I figured the faster I got out the better. I’d send a card, I promised myself. Maybe a gift.
Maybe she’d send me one. Maybe a bomb.
The drive into town was silent except for my sniffles. I wanted to talk to Henry, but he was the only one who hadn’t said anything about what a monster I was, and I really wanted to keep it that way.
He pulled into the rental car lot and I started to get out, but a hand grabbed my wrist and held me in place.
“Did you send the picture to that sorry excuse for a newspaper?”
I looked him right in the eye. “No. I would
never do that.” Tears blurred my vision. “I like that little furry fellow.”
He studied my face for a few long, tense moments, then slowly nodded. “I believe you.”
I felt like I was a balloon and the air had just been let out. I collapsed against the seat. “Thank you.”
“Give ‘em time to figure things out. Madison’s still mad over that craziness yesterday. And Margaret is a momma. Mommas are protective over young ones, even if they aren’t hers.”
That verified what I’d assumed. “The little creature, it’s a child.”
Henry nodded. “He’s nine, and pretty much equivalent to a human nine-year-old, except for being almost as tall as I am. They don’t have many kids, you know.”
“No, I didn’t know.”
“Yeah. Don’t know why, but they don’t. So we all tend to be kinda protective of the critters, especially the young ones.”
“They’re amazing.”
The sides of his lips twitched in the direction of a smile. “You don’t know the half of it.”
“Thank you, Henry. For giving me the benefit of the doubt.”
He did smile then. “You take care of yourself. I’ll be looking forward to seeing you again real soon.”
“I don’t know about that. I kinda think I wore out my welcome here in Ugly Creek.”
He shook his head. “You belong here, Stephie.”
I snorted. “Yeah right.” Grabbing my stuff, I started toward the front door of the rental company, only to have Henry take the suitcase away from me and carry it inside the building.
“Bob, this is my friend Stephie. You treat her real good now.”
“I’ll do that, Henry.”
Henry honored me with a warm smile and a quick hug before he headed out.
“So, what can I do for you today young lady?” Bob asked.
Twenty minutes later, I was driving a gray Toyota, but instead of heading north like anybody with a lick of sense would do, I was steering down Main Street. I wanted my antique clothing, I told myself. I didn’t want to entrust the things to the postal service. I was close; I could just run by and grab the chest.
Okay, I admit it. I wanted to see Jake again. I missed him and I hadn’t even left yet.
The Ugly Truth Page 17