by SUE FINEMAN
Mother was free, and Alex felt lost. She wanted to find a new job and settle in her own apartment, but she was afraid Scott would find her again.
The next time he found her, he’d rape her for sure.
And then he’d kill her.
<>
Alex helped Hannah in the kitchen on Sunday. Dinner with the Kane clan felt much like having a big family dinner in Papa’s house. Charlie had two brothers, both married. His older brother, Billy, had two adopted sons who were a few years older than Taylor. Ginny, Charlie’s younger sister, was also there.
Although the swelling had gone away, Alex’s bruises hadn’t completely faded, and the lines where the doctor had sewed up her face looked like a small child had tried to draw a picture with a red crayon.
Billy pointed at the blue hat with the daisy pin Alex wore. “I remember that hat.”
Alex smiled. “It’s my favorite.”
Billy’s kids looked at her funny a couple times, but no one said anything about the way she looked. They treated her like a regular person, not like the monster she saw when she looked in the mirror.
Sitting at the dining room table, eating Hannah’s oven fried chicken with the side dishes Julie and Kayla had brought, Alex listened to Charlie teasing the boys about their dogs, Fred and Barney. A light went off in her head. “You named your dogs after the Flintstones?”
Charlie grinned. “Yep. All but Andy. He named his puppy Sadie Belle.”
Alex smiled and shook her head. “Whatever happened to Lassie and Laddie and—”
“Those are dog names,” said Michael, Billy’s younger son.
“It’s his fault,” said Andy. “Michael wanted to name his puppy Fred, so Conner called his Barney. Then Charlie named his Wilma.” He shrugged. “The dogs don’t seem to mind.”
“We never got to have a dog at my house,” said Taylor. “Grandmother doesn’t like dogs.”
“That’s too bad,” said Hannah.
Wilma nudged Taylor’s elbow and she handed the dog a bite of chicken. Alex glanced around the table, sure someone would chew her out. Instead, Charlie said, “No wonder my dog likes you so much.”
Wilma nudged Taylor again, and she giggled.
“Taylor, eat your dinner,” said Alex. “Wilma gets fed after we eat.”
“Can I save her a bite of chicken?”
“Sure,” said Charlie. “A little bite. No bones. Chicken bones aren’t good for dogs.”
Taylor pulled a bite of chicken off her piece and put it aside for the dog. Alex didn’t say another word. Charlie and his dog were taking over Taylor’s life, and even though everyone in the Kane family had been polite, Charlie had been avoiding Alex, and Donovan seldom spoke to her.
After they ate, Taylor helped Charlie feed Wilma and then went upstairs to the attic playroom with Michael and Conner. Alex helped clear the table and then sat in the living room with Julie, talking about hair styles. “I’ve always had long hair and now it’s so short, I don’t know what my hairdresser can do with it.”
Julie ran her fingers through the side of her short hair. “Mine was long forever and one day I decided I wanted a change. It took time to get used to having it so short, but I love it. It’s so much easier to take care of. The only downside is having to get it trimmed so often.”
Julie’s short blond hair looked good on her, but Alex worried about her scars showing more. She brushed her hand over her scars. “I suppose I’ll need special makeup, too.”
“You’ll figure it out in time, although I don’t think the scars show as much as you think they do.” Julie pushed up her sleeve. “I have some scars of my own from an incident with a man who thought he owned me. Kayla has some, too, from a beating by a crooked cop in Memphis. We can’t let the actions of these men control our lives.”
“I agree, but the police still haven’t found the man who hurt me.”
Julie put her hand over Alex’s. “They will. In time, your face will heal, your hair will grow, and the fear will go away.”
Alex wasn’t sure the fear would ever go away. “What if they never find him?”
“They’ll find him, Alex. Ginny is putting in extra hours looking for this guy, and Donovan has some friends working on the case.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“They’re worried he may come after Taylor, since she can identify him.”
Of course they were. “So am I.” She was afraid for her own life and for Taylor’s.
Julie went into the kitchen to help Hannah, and Alex walked upstairs to check on the kids. At the bottom of the attic steps, she overheard Donovan and Billy talking in the attic.
“How long is she staying?” Billy asked.
“Not much longer,” Donovan replied. “Hannah invited her to stay until she recovered, and she’s about there.”
“What about Taylor?”
“Charlie wants her to stay, and I agree. His daughter doesn’t belong in Vinnie Porcini’s house.”
“Taylor is his granddaughter.”
“She’s my granddaughter, too, and I don’t want Vinnie poisoning her mind about this family, especially Charlie. They hid Taylor for six years. What’s to say they won’t spirit her away somewhere so Charlie would never see her again?”
“Alex wouldn’t let that happen, would she?”
“Who knows,” said Donovan. “She’s a Porcini, and I don’t trust any of them.”
A deep male voice behind her whispered, “Heard enough?”
Alex jumped and turned to face Charlie. “More than enough. I’ll leave in the morning.”
“Not with Taylor.”
“You can’t keep her, Charlie.”
“They hell I can’t. Where do you plan to take her?”
The only other place she felt safe. “My father’s house until they catch Scott Higgins, then we’ll find our own place.” She should have gone home straight from the hospital instead of letting Charlie talk her into coming to this house. Donovan didn’t want her here. Hannah invited her because of Taylor.
Donovan walked downstairs. “You heard?”
“I didn’t mean to eavesdrop. I was coming to check on the kids. I’ll take Taylor to school in the morning and then move back to my father’s house. He has a good alarm system, and I don’t think my attacker can get to us there.”
Charlie shook his head. “Taylor stays with me.”
“She’s only six, Charlie. She needs her mother.”
“Then you’ll have to stay here with her, won’t you?”
“No, I can’t—”
Taylor came racing down the attic steps with Wilma right behind her, tail wagging happily. Charlie caught Taylor and planted a big smooch on her cheek. Taylor giggled. She wouldn’t want to move back home, but Alex couldn’t leave her child behind no matter how much Charlie wanted to keep her here.
Taylor ran on downstairs with Wilma.
Charlie said, “Stay or go, whatever you want, but Taylor is not going back to Vinnie’s house.”
Alex ran to her room before the first hot tears of self-pity spilled down her cheeks. She couldn’t stay here and she couldn’t take Taylor home. Where did they expect her to go, back to the Whippoorwill Inn, so Scott could finish her off? The more she thought about it, the more angry she became. Before, she had her father manipulating her life. Now Charlie and his family were doing the same thing. Instead of staying in her father’s home, she should have cut her ties in River Valley and moved out of the city before Taylor was born.
Wiping tears off her face, she knew it was too late to go anywhere. Charlie had latched onto Taylor as if he owned her, and she couldn’t go anywhere without Taylor. Donovan had spent most of his adult life in the police department. If she tried to sneak her daughter out of this house, Donovan would track them down and Charlie would take Taylor away from her for good.
She threw her suitcase on the bed. “What in the hell do they expect me to do?”
“Stay,” Charlie said from the open doorway.
/> She wiped her face again. “Your father doesn’t want me here and you don’t either. You can’t even stand to be in the same room with me.”
Charlie walked into the room and sat on the bed beside her suitcase. “Alex, every time I look at you, I remember how it used to be between us before you dumped me. I wasn’t good enough for you then and I’m still not good enough for you, but we have a daughter together. We have to put up with each other for Taylor’s sake.”
“You hate me.”
“I don’t hate you. I want to help you.”
“By taking my daughter away from me?”
“She’s my daughter, too, Alex.” He snagged her hand. “Stay a few more days and we’ll work something out.”
“I don’t stay where I’m not wanted, but I can’t leave without Taylor.”
Hannah tapped on the open door. Donovan stood behind her. He said, “Alex, I didn’t mean to chase you out.”
“You don’t trust me.”
“Of course not. You hid Taylor from us for six years.”
“And I’m Vinnie Porcini’s daughter.”
He nodded. “That, too.”
They’d never forgive her, and she didn’t blame them, but she wasn’t handing her little girl over to them.
Hannah walked into the room and hugged Alex. “What if we gave you and Taylor your own apartment here in the house? Would you stay then?”
Charlie nodded. “Good idea, Mom. I’ll get someone working on my house as soon as Andy gets the plan done, and we’ll move over there when it’s finished.”
“Taylor and I have an apartment in my father’s house,” said Alex. “We’ll be all right there until you get your house finished, Charlie. Then we’ll share custody.”
He shook his head. “Absolutely not! Vinnie would never allow me to visit her there.”
“What do you want from me, Charlie? Blood? I don’t have any more to spare.” She turned away before her eyes spilled over again.
Arms wrapped around her from behind and the dam burst. She’d once thought she was the luckiest girl in the city, because she was the only daughter of Vinnie Porcini, she lived in a mansion, and she had everything money could buy. But that life came at a price, a price she was no longer willing to pay.
Charlie turned her to face him and she fell against him, sobbing into his shoulder. Strong arms held her and a deep, gentle voice soothed her like he’d soothed Taylor in the hospital. But she couldn’t stop crying. All the fear and turmoil of the past few days came flooding back. The meeting in the bar with Scott. Taylor’s accident and her stay in the hospital. The fight with Papa and moving out of his home. Then the attack at the Whippoorwill Inn. Now Charlie and his family wanted to keep Taylor.
Charlie rubbed her back and handed her the handkerchief from his back pocket.
Finally, she stopped crying. “Sorry about blubbering all over you.”
“I didn’t mind.”
“I don’t normally fall apart like that.”
“After what you’ve been through, I’m surprised you didn’t do it sooner.”
She wiped her nose. “I have a home in my father’s house, but I can’t go there. My mother has her own place now, but it’s not big enough for me and Taylor. And nobody wants me here.”
“Not true. I want you here.”
“You just want Taylor.”
“And you. We have some things to work out, just the two of us, but we can’t work anything out until I move into my own house. I don’t want you out there somewhere on your own until they catch the bastard who hurt you, and Taylor… she was scared to death the night you were attacked. Alex, she thought you were going to die. She needs you here. And she needs me. If you take her away, she’ll think some man is going to come and hurt you again.”
Alex lifted her head off Charlie’s shoulder. “I came here because you had Taylor, and I can’t leave for the same reason. Don’t take her away from me, Charlie,” she said as her eyes filled with tears again. “Please don’t take her away from me. She’s my life.”
He dipped his head and brushed his lips over hers and then settled his lips on hers in a tender, yet chaste kiss. How she wished he’d give her a real kiss, the kind he gave her before her father broke them apart.
Charlie took her shoulders and moved back a step, as if he couldn’t stand to be that close to her again. Her heart died a little. “You can’t even stand to touch me.”
“If I keep touching you like that, I won’t want to stop, and we both know we can’t get involved again.”
Alex watched Charlie walk out of the room and she knew. “He still has feelings for me.” He was afraid he’d let himself love her, afraid she’d leave him again. It wasn’t all about Taylor.
He still cares about me.
<>
Vinnie went into the office early Monday morning. His accountant met him there and went over the books with him. Then Vinnie looked through the payroll records. His sons had been bleeding all three divisions of the business. Their pay had multiplied since they took over, while the reliable employees who’d stuck with the company for years didn’t even get a cost of living increase. “Damn! Are they trying to send us into bankruptcy?”
His accountant, Donald Coulter, said, “I don’t know, Vinnie. I just know this can’t continue or they’ll lose it all.”
“How long do we have? How long can we continue to operate?”
“Three, maybe four months for the trucking division. If we replace some of the equipment in the cannery, we should be able to revive that division. As for the food distribution business, we’re spending entirely too much on computer consulting to keep the old systems going. And the customers are getting so frustrated, we’re losing contracts. Cash flow is so bad, if something isn’t done soon, we’ll lose that division, too.”
Vinnie cocked his head. “Have you discussed this with the boys?”
“I’ve tried a number of times. I don’t know if they don’t understand or don’t care. I just know all the best people are looking for work elsewhere. Including me.”
“Aw, don’t leave now, Don. You’re the only one here I can trust to be straight with me.”
“Vinnie, no one wants to work for Mario, and he’s the one running things. Everyone here knows what happened to Alexandra, and they know Mario was responsible.”
“What about Antonio?”
“He’s not a strong enough leader to manage the business. Mario is strong enough, but he doesn’t know what the hell he’s doing. When anyone brings him a problem, he doesn’t listen, doesn’t take action. He ignores problems like they’re going to go away on their own, and we both know that’s no way to run a business.”
Vinnie leaned back and sighed. He should be enjoying a peaceful retirement, not going back to work at his age. But what choice did he have?
“One more thing,” Don said. “If the boys continue to work here, you’ll lose the respect of the employees and the customers.”
“You want me to fire my own sons?”
“Would you put up with that kind of behavior from other employees?”
“Hell, no.” Vinnie sighed deeply. “Okay, okay, cut them final paychecks. Make them through the end of the month.”
“You want to add severance pay?”
“What do we give other employees?”
“If we eliminate their jobs, they get two months notice. If they get fired, they only get paid through that day.”
Vinnie glanced at his watch. Nine-thirty and his sons weren’t at work yet. Where in the hell were they? “Pay them through the end of the month. No severance.” They wouldn’t like it, but Vinnie didn’t care. In three years, they’d managed to tear down what he’d spent forty years building. But the worst part was that they didn’t seem to give a shit. They didn’t care about their sister’s safety, and they didn’t care about the company.
<>
Charlie worked through the morning on the farm and then sat on the porch to have lunch with Andy and Julie. When they fin
ished eating, Andy showed him the plans for the renovation of Pop’s house.
“You’ll have three big bedrooms and two bathrooms upstairs, laundry on the main floor,” said Andy. “We’ll turn the back bedroom into a family room and open it up to the kitchen. French doors to a deck in the backyard. The front bedroom will be your new study or library or computer room or whatever. The basement needs to be renovated, too, but I figure that can wait.”
“Looks like a completely different house.” A better designed, more up-to-date house. A home for himself and his daughter. And maybe Alex. If she wanted to live there. He wasn’t sure what she wanted to do.
Charlie looked the plans over carefully and then asked the big question. “How much?”
“I think we can do it for eighty thousand, assuming we do some of the work ourselves.”
“That’s almost half as much as I paid for the house.”
Julie leaned forward. “Charlie, most homes in that neighborhood are selling for three or four hundred thousand. By adding square footage, updating the kitchen, and adding bathrooms, you’re increasing the appeal and the resale value. You got a really good deal on that house because it was in such poor condition.”
“It’s still in poor condition,” Charlie muttered.
“Not for long,” said Andy. “Pete Manderly can get a crew in there next week. I told him we’d refinish the floors downstairs and do all the painting inside and out. And I know you’ll want to do the landscaping yourself.”
“And the roof.” Charlie sighed. “Eighty thousand?”
“Unless you start changing the plans, that should cover most of the work. I can get discounts on most building supplies, including kitchen cabinets, granite, and appliances. That should help.”
“So all I need is a sugar daddy.”
“Sugar brother,” Andy said with a grin. “Billy said he’d cut you a check for a hundred thousand.”
“I hope I don’t need that much,” Charlie said mostly to himself. He hadn’t worked a regular job since he left the Marines, yet he didn’t owe anybody anything. He’d borrowed money from the family, but since he started farming, he’d paid it all back. He didn’t own anything except a five-year-old car and a rundown brick bungalow that needed more work than he’d anticipated. But he had a daughter to support now. He needed a steady income.