Brenda Novak

by Home to Whiskey Creek

  Noah lounged on a love seat by a coffee table laden with magazines. “When?”

  “Last week.” His father closed his laptop. “How’s Baxter?”

  “Doing better.” Noah didn’t want to go into any more detail than that, didn’t want to tell them he’d been next door.

  “Glad to hear it. And—” his mother cleared her throat “—Adelaide?”

  His father spoke before he could reply. “I’m not sure she’s the right kind of girl for you, Noah.”

  “The right kind of girl?” he echoed.

  “What do you see in her, anyway?”

  Noah couldn’t help being offended. “Besides the fact that she’s beautiful? And smart? And sweet?”

  “You told me you weren’t going to say anything,” his mother murmured, chiding his father. “You said it would blow itself out.”

  His dad’s expression turned contrite. “I know. I should have taken my own advice.”

  “But now it’s too late for that...so, what don’t you like about her?” Noah asked.

  His mother’s eyes darted between them. She could’ve answered this question; she obviously agreed with his father. But she waited for Brent to take the lead.

  “In high school, she used to come on to Cody all the time,” he said. “She was so forward, wouldn’t leave him alone.”

  Noah felt his jaw drop open. “You can’t be serious.”

  “I’m completely serious. Shania will tell you. Ask her.”

  “If Shania felt threatened by Addy, I would’ve heard about it long before now,” Noah said.

  His mother frowned. “Not necessarily. She’s a good Christian, doesn’t like to gossip.”

  But if anyone was forward, it was her. How many times had she approached him since Cody’s death? “There would’ve been a major fight, at the very least,” he insisted. “Anyway, I was with Cody far more than she was. I think I’d know if Addy was coming on to him.”

  “I’m telling you how it was,” his father said.

  “Do you have any idea how shy Addy was in high school?”

  His mother removed her glasses. “Apparently, she wasn’t as shy as you thought.”

  “Yes, she was.” She’d also had a huge crush on him. She’d admitted as much. To the best of his memory, she’d never even mentioned Cody. “She’s slept with three men in her whole life. She married the second one. I’m number three.”

  His father shook his head as he chuckled. “She’s slept with a lot more than that, son. From what I’ve heard, she even slept with your brother.”

  Noah felt as if he’d been punched in the face. “When?”

  “At the graduation party.”

  “That’s a lie!”

  “Ask Shania,” his father said with a shrug.

  “She wasn’t even there. She went to Europe right after she got her diploma.”

  “You weren’t at the party, either,” he pointed out, but Noah scarcely heard him. He was heading outside, to his car.

  * * *

  Kevin waited in the empty lot behind the liquor store for Shania to join him. She’d texted him earlier, when he was leaving church with his family, saying she needed to speak to him. He’d sent her this location and “six o’clock” so she wouldn’t show up at his house, then left “to run an errand” while his wife was making dinner.

  It was the first time Shania had contacted him in years. She had to be upset about something.

  Kevin had a feeling he knew what it was.

  When she pulled in, she didn’t waste time on hello. She got out of some boxy little Nissan, slammed the door and led with, “Can you believe that bitch Adelaide is going out with Noah?”

  “I’ve heard.” And he’d been wondering how to defuse Shania’s reaction. He’d been strategic in sharing information with her fifteen years ago, but there were pitfalls to any game plan. Right now, his future hung in a very delicate balance. No one was talking. He needed to keep it that way, couldn’t let anyone tip the scales for fear they’d fall in the wrong direction.

  “It’s not fair,” she railed. “If he only knew!”

  Kevin moved toward her so she’d lower her voice. “Whatever you do, you can’t tell him.”

  “Why not? She deserves for everyone to hear what she’s really like, especially Noah!”

  “Think about how she might react. What she might do.”

  She kicked a pebble and sent it skittering across the broken pavement. “What could she do?”

  “She could claim we raped her! She put that in a letter to Cody’s parents the summer Cody died, remember?”

  She studied him for a second. “You told me that letter was anonymous.”

  “Who else would have written it?” Kevin responded. It had to have come from Tom, but he didn’t want her to know that. “Who else would lie about grad night?”

  “It won’t matter. It’s her word against yours. And Tom’s. And Derek’s. And Stephen’s. You’re all well-known and well-liked. She hasn’t even been in town for...years.”

  “We can’t rely on being well-liked. For all we know, she’s kept DNA evidence. Her panties or something. They can test for semen years after a crime. I’ve seen it on TV.”

  “So your semen’s on her underpants. What does that mean? Consensual sex isn’t rape. Everyone was drunk at that party. How will she prove she wasn’t a willing participant?”

  This was the tricky part. But Shania wanted to believe him, so he had that going for him. “You and I know she had a thing for baseball players. She came to every single game and hung around the team as much as possible. She wanted to do us all that night, even though most people would say she was too shy to be so sexually aggressive.”

  “A lot of people aren’t shy once they get some alcohol in them,” she pointed out. “And why would she keep her panties?”

  “As a trophy. What else? Or...” He hesitated, purposely being dramatic to pique her interest.

  “What? Say it.”

  “In case anyone ever tried to hold her responsible for Cody’s death.”

  There. He’d dropped the bomb. And he saw that she was reacting with the appropriate shock when her face went pale.

  “The last thing Cody said to me was that he was going back to make sure she was okay,” he added.

  “Why wouldn’t she be?”

  “We were in a different part of the mine when we were...you know, fooling around. He wasn’t sure she’d be able to find her way out. And she didn’t have a ride. She’d come with Sophia, but Sophia went home with someone else.”

  “It wasn’t his coat he went after? You’re saying Cody wouldn’t have died if he hadn’t gone back for her?”

  Shoving his hands in his pockets, Kevin lowered his voice to give his next remark the proper emphasis. “He was fine when he turned around to go back.”

  She clutched his arm. “But it was an accident, right?”

  “Who knows what it was? She might’ve gotten angry, regretted what she’d done and tried to blame him. Or he wanted to do her again, she refused and that caused a fight—”

  “Ick! No!” Shania wrinkled her nose. “What would he want with her when he could have me?”

  Kevin held up his hands. “Maybe it was the other way around. It’s just a little strange that she walked out of that mine and he didn’t. I’ve always wondered if...if she had something to do with his death. And if she did, she might’ve kept her panties in case she ever faced that accusation. Then she could twist everything, make herself the victim.”

  Shania leaned against the cinder-block wall of the liquor store. “That’s unforgivable....”

  “For all we know, she hit him over the head with a rock and buried him in all the rubble that was lying around. Stranger things have happened.”

  “Noah should be told what type of person he’s getting involved with,” she whispered.

  The commitment in those words made Kevin fear he’d gone too far. He couldn’t have her flapping her mouth. “He won’t believe yo
u, even if you tell him. And if you speak up, my wife will know I was with someone else after she left that party. She’ll never forgive me.”

  “That was before you were married.”

  “Doesn’t matter. It’ll be a betrayal all the same. You and Cody weren’t married, either, but do you really want everyone to know he cheated on you the night he was killed?”

  He was banking on the fact that she wouldn’t. She’d always been so proud of her status as Cody Rackham’s girlfriend. If word got out that he’d been with someone else, it would suggest he didn’t care that much about her, after all. She’d lose the image of a perfect love tragically ended, the image she still used to garner sympathy.

  “No, I don’t want anyone to know,” she admitted. “I still can’t believe he did it. He wouldn’t have if she hadn’t initiated it.”

  “We all took a turn with her. It was just sex. It didn’t mean anything.”

  “Just sex?” she snapped. “He wouldn’t have liked it if I was spreading my legs for anyone else.”

  Kevin knew she was struggling with jealousy but this reversal almost made him want to strangle her. He’d been under so much pressure since Addy returned to town. For his sake, Shania couldn’t give in to those emotions. “How can you even be worried about that now that he’s gone?”

  She gaped at him. “He was the love of my life! And Noah’s his twin brother. I don’t want her walking off into the sunset with Noah if it was her fault Cody was killed.”

  Kevin could believe that. After Cody’s death, she’d made play after play for Noah but wound up empty-handed. He’d never been interested. “Noah will move on soon enough. The last thing you want is to force him to choose sides.”

  Her sullen expression reminded him of a child. “He wouldn’t choose her, not if he knew what happened on grad night.”

  “But he won’t know! We could tell him, but he wasn’t there, and she’ll plead her case, too. Trust me, you’ve got to keep your mouth shut.”

  With a grunt of exasperation, she stomped off but pivoted after a few steps. “It’s not fair that she gets exactly what she wants when she cost me everything.”

  “Their relationship won’t last,” Kevin promised her. “You’ll see.” He bent his head to catch her eye. “So...are you with me?”

  She didn’t answer.

  “Shania?”

  “I’m with you,” she said, suddenly more glum than angry. “But only because I don’t want Addy to tell the world that what she put in that letter to Cody’s parents is true. It would hurt them so much.”

  “There you go,” he said, and hurried to his car. He had to get home before his wife finished making dinner. But as he was pulling away, he saw a flash of movement.

  Had someone been close by, possibly in the alley, while they were talking? And, if so, had they heard what was said?

  Heart thumping, he slammed on his brakes and got out to check. He’d seen something—a woman’s coat? But he couldn’t find anyone.

  “Who’s there?” he called, just to be safe.

  Satisfied when he received no answer, he got back in his car. He must’ve been imagining things. He was getting paranoid these days.

  28

  Addy was at Just Like Mom’s, tallying the receipts for the day when someone banged on the door. Because the restaurant was closed and all the employees had left, she’d locked up. She hadn’t wanted to risk having someone who frightened her walk in and catch her unawares, like Kevin had on Thursday.

  Hoping it was her mother—that Helen had returned even though she’d said she was heading home to bed—Addy peered around the corner and found Noah standing there. She would’ve been excited to see him. She was always excited to see him. But he looked upset.

  He banged again before he realized he’d caught her attention.

  “I’m coming,” she called.

  He waited, hands on his hips, as she brought out the keys and turned the lock.

  “What’s wrong?” she asked as he brushed past her.

  “I need you to be honest with me,” he said.

  She swallowed hard. She couldn’t make any promises about honesty, not with everything she was hiding. “About what?”

  “Did you ever sleep with my brother?”

  Addy could tell he didn’t believe she had. He was expecting her to confirm it. He’d asked as if the very thought was outlandish.

  Only...she had “slept” with Cody. Maybe not in the way Noah meant, but that night at the mine had changed everything and would forever stand between them.

  She wanted to tell him. She was tired of the self-recrimination, the resentment, the regret. She didn’t feel she could hold back the truth any longer, no matter what the fallout might be. Ever since she’d returned to Whiskey Creek, one thing after another had shoved her back into that damn mine—literally and figuratively—until the rape and Cody’s death felt as if they’d happened yesterday.

  But she had more than herself to consider. At this point, she was afraid that what she had to say would hurt Noah more than it would hurt her. So she tried to keep carrying the cross she’d picked up at that graduation party fifteen years ago.

  Except the words to convince him wouldn’t come. Tears streamed down her face instead.

  He stepped closer. “Addy, what’s wrong?”

  Before she could decide how to deflect his concern, Darlene walked in, eyes shining, face flushed. She looked excited, which confused Addy.

  “I thought that was your truck, Noah,” she said.

  Noah didn’t want to be distracted. “Addy and I are having a conversation,” he said, not taking his eyes off her. “Would you mind giving us some privacy?”

  “Not at all. But I think you’re going to have a lot more to talk about after you hear what I have to say.”

  Adelaide couldn’t imagine where Darlene was going with this, but there was a coldness about her that told Addy something terrible was about to happen.

  “You’ve been looking for me?” Noah said.

  She smiled. “I have.”

  He shifted his attention to her, but Adelaide could hear the impatience in his voice when he said, “What is it?”

  “I just heard Kevin Colbert and Shania Carpenter talking behind the liquor store.”

  The mention of Kevin Colbert sent ice through Addy’s veins. She lifted her hand in a futile attempt to stop what was coming next, but Darlene merely glared at her.

  “So?” Noah said.

  “Darlene, no,” Addy murmured, but it didn’t do any good. Gran’s ex-manager didn’t even hesitate.

  “They said Addy screwed half the baseball team on grad night and that she’s the reason your brother didn’t make it out of the mine alive.”

  Noah scowled at her. “What are you talking about? Cody was caught in a cave-in when he went back to get his coat. That could’ve happened to anyone, anytime. The mine wasn’t safe.”

  “He wasn’t getting his coat, Noah. He was cheating with your new girlfriend. But she was the only one who survived. Maybe he tried to tell her he was already in a relationship.”

  A bewildered expression brought Noah’s eyebrows together as he turned to her. “Is that true?”

  Addy’s mind urged her to say no, to insist that she hadn’t been there that late. Who’d refute it? Kevin, Tom and the others were as eager as she was to keep the door closed on the past. But something else had already caused Noah to ask her if she’d been with Cody. That lent Darlene’s words enough credibility to make him wonder. And Addy had reached a point where she could no longer bring herself to deny it.

  “I was with him.”

  Darlene looked as stunned as Noah did, but Noah ignored her. “What are you saying?” he asked Addy.

  Fresh tears rolled down her cheeks. “I’m sorry.”

  * * *

  Noah sat up alone the rest of the night. He wanted to shut out the thoughts swirling through his head, but sleep was too far away. He hadn’t even bothered to undress or go into his bed
room. After making Darlene leave the restaurant, he’d heard what Addy had to say. He’d heard what his parents had to say when he went back there after. And he’d heard what Kevin, Tom, Derek and Stephen had to say, following that. He’d hauled them out of bed, one after the other, so he could compare stories.

  But what Addy told him was so different from what everyone else had said. She claimed she was gang-raped by Cody and his friends on graduation night. She said that when Cody came back, she panicked, thinking he might hurt her again. He was so wasted he could hardly stand, and yet he tried to drag her out of the mine. He claimed he was going to take her home, but she couldn’t trust him, couldn’t be sure. They fought until she managed to shove him into a support beam that gave way. The next thing she knew, the ground was rumbling and she couldn’t breathe for the dust, but she ran and kept running and never looked back. Kevin found Cody the next morning.

  But could Cody’s death really have happened in that way? Kevin, Tom, Stephen and Derek denied the rape. His own parents refused to even entertain the possibility that Cody could have been involved in anything like that. Noah didn’t want to believe it, either. No one could’ve loved Cody more than he did. But he kept going back to the moment when Adelaide had approached him on the baseball field to congratulate him on a good game. He didn’t see how it was possible that such a shy girl would want to have sex with the whole team. Maybe some girls were that aggressive at sixteen, but not Addy. The image others painted of her was contrary to everything he knew her to be.

  Problem was, so did the crime she accused Cody, Kevin and the others of committing. The people she claimed had raped her were his friends. He’d grown up with them, hung out with them over the years. He’d never known them to hurt anyone.

  Still, someone had put her back in that damn mine. He’d found her there himself, saw how frightened and hurt she was. He’d also found that threatening note on her car: Stay away from Noah or that mine will be your burial place, too! And what about the night he caught Kevin outside her house?

  He wished he could discuss the situation with Baxter, so he’d have someone he trusted to talk to, someone who’d known Cody almost as well as he did. Baxter’s opinion would be helpful. But for all he knew, Baxter’s parents had disowned him and Baxter would never speak to him again.