The thought brought her a modicum of comfort.
She finally sat up. After lying there for almost an hour, she felt a little chilly. The sun still hadn’t broken through, but she could tell it was overhead. If she didn’t get back to the house soon, her mother would worry.
Gathering her purse, she clambered to her feet. On the way to the car, she leaned over to brush the sand off her legs. When she straightened, she saw Grady walking toward her.
The ocean breeze had disheveled his hair, making him seem dark and dangerous. His eyes looked more green than hazel near the water. He really was a beautiful man. She’d been so lucky for so many years. But the fact remained that she’d undergone a life-changing experience and nothing would ever be the same again.
“I’ve been waiting for you,” he said in a husky voice.
“I’m sorry. If I’d known, I would’ve come back to the car sooner.”
“Susan—”
“It’s all right, Grady. You don’t have to say anything. We’ve both tried our very best. Sometimes that isn’t enough.
“While I was lying there, it came to me that destiny had something different in mind when it preserved my life. I’ve come to accept that.”
There was a bleakness in his eyes she’d never seen before. “What are you talking about?”
“Divorce. It’s the first step to free us from a situation that’s been taken out of our hands. Even if my memories of you return, our world has changed, Grady. We’re no longer the same people.
“Until Jim is arrested, no one has to know. After that, I’ll move out. Don’t worry, I won’t go far. Las Vegas is Brett’s home. I intend to be his mother as long as I live.”
His mouth had gone white around the edges. “You promised before God to be my wife as long as we both shall live.”
“I’m not your wife. I tried to tell you that last night. Unfortunately you had to find out you were making love to a stranger before you believed me.
“It was a beautiful experience,” she whispered with tears in her voice. “But that’s all it was. The Susan you knew might as well have died out on the reservation.”
Moisture glazed his eyes. “Don’t say that.”
“I have to go, Grady. Mother’s waiting for me. I’ll sleep there until we leave for Las Vegas.”
She didn’t remember the drive home.
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“MOM?”
“I’m in the bedroom.”
She heard footsteps running down the hall. “You’ve been asleep all day!” he blurted. “Aunt Bev has dinner ready. Dad thought you’d be over by now.”
“Your grandma and I stayed up too late talking. Where is she?”
“Helping Aunt Bev fix the food.”
“You’re kidding! She should’ve awakened me. It’s a good thing I showered before I went to bed. I’ll hurry and get dressed.”
She threw off the covers and slipped on a clean pair of shorts and a top while Brett waited out in the hall.
“Could I ask you a favor, Mom?” He followed her into the bathroom.
“What do you think?”
“I need you to talk to Dad.”
She felt a surge of pain. “About what?”
“Getting a dog.”
Oh, Brett.
She finished brushing her teeth. “I agree Todd’s Lab is awfully cute.”
“When I asked Dad a few minutes ago, he said it was out of the question right now.”
It hadn’t taken Grady long to recognize that a divorce was the only solution, the only thing that would bring an end to their agony.
She ran a brush through her hair, then put on lipstick. “He was right. Let’s give your dad time to deal with Mr. Stevens, then I’ll find a way to broach the subject to him. I think getting a dog is a wonderful idea.”
If she could find an apartment or rental house that took animals, she’d keep one there. It would be Brett’s dog. They’d work it out somehow.
“You’re the best. Thanks, Mom.”
“That’s nice to hear.” Susan smiled. “Have you decided what kind you want?”
“I like Labs, but Ken has a collie that’s pretty cool.”
“A collie? You don’t see a lot of those anymore.”
“Her name’s Mitzie. She’s really smart.”
“Well, we’ll have to look into it, but let’s keep this to ourselves for now.”
“Okay.”
“I’m as ready as I’m going to be. Did you walk over here?”
“No. Karin let me ride her bike.”
“I’ll race you back in Grandma’s car.”
He grinned. “You’re on. The winner has to buy the loser a frozen chocolate banana at the marina after dinner.”
“I haven’t had one of those in a long time. Get ready for your chocolate banana!”
Brett dashed through the house ahead of her and managed to beat her to Todd’s. They were both laughing when they entered the living room, where everyone was waiting for them.
“It took you long enough, Aunt Susan,” Lizzy grumbled. “Everybody’s starving!”
“I’m sorry, honey.” Avoiding Grady’s eyes, she gave her niece a hug. “Being at the ocean always makes me sleepy for the first couple of days.”
“Come on, folks,” Bev called to them from the dining room.
Susan hurried ahead of the others so she could sit at the rectangular table between the two girls. Let Grady find a spot with Brett.
Todd said the blessing. It turned out to be a long, very touching prayer thanking God for bringing Susan back to them. By the time he’d finished, all the children were squirming in frustration.
Bev, a lovely brunette as Grady described her, had prepared Swedish meatballs and sour cream noodles, an old Nilson family favorite. It happened to be Susan’s favorite meal. She reached around Karin to squeeze Bev’s hand. “It looks wonderful, as always.”
“What’s wonderful is seeing you here.” Bev’s voice wobbled. “You have no idea.”
“Speaking of ideas,” Susan’s mother interjected. “I think it’s time Brett told everyone his plan.”
Brett looked surprised. “You mean the party?”
“Don’t tell me,” Todd interjected. “It’s going to be a surprise party and your mom will pop out of a cake.”
“Hey—that’s not a bad suggestion, Uncle Todd.” Everyone laughed except Grady. Susan kept eating.
“Actually, I thought we’d call it a thank-you party for all the people who were so nice to us after Mom died. That way, no one’ll guess what’s really going on. Especially Mr. Stevens. When everyone gets there, Dad will tell them he has a surprise. That’s when Mom’ll walk into the living room.”
Todd’s smile disappeared. “That ought to be a sight to see.”
“Yup. You guys have to come.”
“When is this going to take place?”
“I’m hoping next Wednesday night,” Susan said. “Grady wants to make the arrest as soon as possible, but we need that long to plan it and get the invitations out. I was thinking that I’d work on them tomorrow and express them to Matt Ross at the police station.
“He can put them in the mail for us so there’s a Las Vegas postmark. I’ll have to find a telephone directory for the addresses.
“We can go to the library for that,” her mother said.
“First thing in the morning, Grady will need to contact a catering service. It’ll be a big crowd. I’d like to invite the friends I made while I was away from all of you.”
Todd nodded. “We want to meet them, too. Sounds like a doozy of a plan, Brett.”
“Thanks.”
“Are you okay, Grady?” Bev asked, with concern in her eyes.
Susan lowered her head.
“Yes. I’m simply contemplating the pleasure of taking that monster into custody at the end of the party.”
“Is that when it’s going to happen, Dad?”
“With Captain Willis and some of the other detectives, including
Matt there, it’ll be the perfect time. As soon as he and Ellen start to leave, I’ll draw them aside and we’ll close in.”
“What if they don’t come?”
“That’s a possibility, Lizzy. If they don’t show up for some reason, we’ll drive over to their house afterward and make the arrest.”
“Don’t worry. Mr. Stevens will come,” Brett muttered. “Trust me. He loves going to parties so he can brag about all the stuff he owns.”
Bev caught Susan’s eye. “That’ll be horrible for Ellen.”
“She might have helped him.” Again Brett had spoken.
“That’s why we’ll only be inviting adults,” Susan rushed to explain. “I don’t want her children to witness anything.”
Her sister-in-law nodded. “Well—does anyone feel like dessert yet?”
“Mom owes me a frozen chocolate banana.”
The girls immediately chimed in that they wanted one, too. Couldn’t they all go to the marina and walk around with the dog afterward?
“Looks like we’ll have to eat my chocolate cake tomorrow,” Bev said good-naturedly.
“As long as we’re going, I might as well buy the invitations tonight and get started on them at Mom’s. After sleeping all day, I’m wide awake.”
She caught the private exchange between Bev and Todd. They’d picked up on the tension between her and Grady.
“Okay,” her brother said as he stood up from the table. “Everybody grab a jacket and we’ll go.”
Bev began clearing the table. “Why don’t you and Grady take the kids in our car? Susan and I will go with Mom in hers after we’ve finished here.”
“Did you hear that, guys? We just got out of doing dishes,” Todd teased. “Run for your lives before your mom changes her mind.”
Unable to stay seated, Susan shot up from the table and ran around to hug her brother. “I’ve missed you, Todd.”
“Ditto, Susie Q.”
AS SOON AS HIS DAD drove them into the garage in their own car on Sunday night, Brett jumped out and opened the door for his mom. She’d been hiding on the floor of the back seat for the drive over from Mrs. Harmon’s house.
Grabbing one of the suitcases, he dashed through the house to the study where Mrs. Harmon put the mail. Sure enough, there were the sunglasses Detective Ross had ordered from Disney World. Brett took them to his bedroom.
Mike ought to be home from Mexico by now. Brett couldn’t wait to find out if they’d gotten their invitation yet. But first he listened to the messages. Three of his friends had already called, including Mike.
Without hesitation he phoned him.
“Stevens residence.”
Brett’s jaw hardened. Mr. Stevens wouldn’t be answering his phone much longer.
“Hi, Mr. Stevens. It’s Brett. Is Mike there?”
“He sure is, and he’s dying to talk to you.”
“Same here.”
“Did you have a great trip?”
“It was okay.” His dad had told him to downplay it.
“Just okay?”
“The snorkeling was pretty exciting, but I think Disneyland’s better. How was Mexico?” he asked as his father walked into the room.
Brett made a circle with his thumb and index finger to let him know it was Mr. Stevens on the line.
“We caught ourselves a marlin. Wait till you see it stuffed!”
Wait till you see where you’re going to be stuffed in about three days.
“Did Mike help catch it?”
“It took both my boys to help me.”
“That sounds cool.”
“Ellen tells me we got an invitation to a party at your house on Wednesday night.”
“Are you going to come?” he asked, holding his breath.
“What do you think? I told you at dinner the other night that your father would start to feel better one of these days.”
Brett nodded to his dad.
“I don’t know about that, but he said he owed a lot of people.” And you’re going to get paid back big time.
“How did he arrange all that and go on a trip, too?”
“You know. Mrs. Harmon. She did the invitations. Oh—guess what? She said our house almost got broken into while we were gone.”
Brett was listening hard and noticed the slight hesitation before Mr. Stevens said, “What happened?”
“One of our neighbors phoned Mrs. Harmon about a couple of guys dressed up like missionaries who came to our back door and then ran away. It seemed suspicious, so she called the police. Sure enough, those guys came back and the police caught them.”
“Thank goodness for that. Did she find out what they were after?”
It was getting more difficult to pretend. “No. The police told her they were probably going to steal electronic stuff.”
“I’m sure that’s what it was.”
You evil liar.
“Yeah, but Dad felt bad that it happened while Mrs. Harmon was looking after the place. She got pretty scared. I’ve got to tell Mike about it.”
“He’s standing right here. I’ll put him on.”
While Brett waited, he covered the receiver with his hand and whispered to his dad, “I could tell Mr. Stevens already knew about the break-in.” Then he put the phone to his ear again.
“Brett! When did you get back?”
“Just a few minutes ago.”
“Am I glad! This has been the most boring vacation of my life.”
“Mine was okay. I brought you a present from Disney World. You’ll probably think it’s kind of stupid but I didn’t know what else to get.”
“You want me to come over?”
“Yeah, but Dad says I have to get ready for bed. I’ll ride my bike to your house right after school tomorrow and bring it.”
GRADY LISTENED WHILE SUSAN emptied Brett’s suitcase and left his room to do laundry.
After delivering her bombshell at the beach, she’d given him no opportunity to speak to her in private. Todd had remained a silent observer until yesterday morning, when he’d asked Grady to go to the store with him for groceries.
As soon as they’d backed out of the driveway, his brother-in-law admitted the trip was just an excuse to get Grady alone in case he wanted to talk. Todd had a way of inviting confidences. It didn’t take long for Grady to break down and tell him everything.
“I blew up at her for something she couldn’t even remember. She has every right to hate my guts.”
“That would be impossible. I know my sister. She’s in love with the man you are now, but she knows you’re in love with the old Susan. I can understand how she doesn’t want you to feel trapped. A divorce would solve the problem.”
“I would never give her one.”
“Of course not. You guys need time. One of these days she’s going to remember you. As you know, we’ve had Lizzy in counseling since her friend was kidnapped. When you told me about Susie’s amnesia, I called Lizzy’s psychiatrist to ask some questions.
“He told me Susan’s suffering from hysterical amnesia. That means there’s no physiological problem. Her mind is protecting her from something painful, and when it’s ready, it’ll allow her to remember. Until then, you just have to chill.”
All the other doctors had said virtually the same thing. After what Muriel had revealed about Jennifer’s lie, he had even greater proof of the old Susan’s love for him. Between his mother-in-law’s contribution and the talk with Todd, Grady had been saved from losing his sanity.
Earlier on the beach, where he’d first met the great love of his life, Susan had struck pure terror in his heart with her talk of divorce.
Grady decided his big mistake had been making love to her too soon. Having learned from that experience, he realized that what they needed to do now was relax and take one day at a time. Tonight after Brett was asleep, he’d find a way to reach her.
“Dad?”
“I’m putting the luggage away in the closet.”
His son came into their bed
room. “Did I do okay?”
Grady closed the louvered doors. “You were perfect. Jim’s not going to know what hit him.”
“Mike’s kind of upset he wasn’t invited to the party.”
“Unfortunately he’ll know why before that night is over.”
“He probably won’t want to be my friend anymore.”
“We won’t let that happen.”
Grady lifted his head. Susan had entered the bedroom. She walked over to Brett and put her arms around him.
“When it’s the appropriate time, we’ll shower their family with the kind of love people showered on you after I died.”
Brett’s lips curved upward. “That sounds so weird when you talk about being dead.”
“It’s a bizarre situation.”
“Maybe you should write a book to help other people who’ve lost their memories. In my class on the Second World War, we learned that some of the wounded British soldiers had amnesia. My teacher said nobody knew how to treat it. They had a really hard time.”
“You think I could write a book?”
Grady heard the incredulity in her voice—shades of the old Susan, who’d always been self-effacing.
“After the way you solved your own case, do you even have to ask?” Grady said. Her eyes swerved to his in surprise. “There isn’t anything you can’t do. You’ve already proved that.”
A delicate blush crept into her cheeks, confusing him. He hadn’t thought this new version of Susan could do that. For the first time since they’d discovered she was alive, her reaction touched a place deep inside him, bringing out his protective instincts.
“It’s time for bed, son. Six-thirty comes early.”
“I know, but it’s going to be hard to go to school.”
“How come, darling?” Susan asked as they headed for his bedroom.
“Because I’m afraid you won’t be here when I get back.”
“Oh, Brett.”
Grady could understand that feeling.
When he’d finally returned to her mother’s house to apologize to his wife and discovered that she’d been gone for several hours, he’d almost lost his mind. Muriel had suggested he look for her at the place they’d met seventeen years before.
He’d needed his mother-in-law’s inspiration. After the way he’d wounded Susan, he’d been too traumatized by his own guilt to think rationally.
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