Always the Hero

by Anna J. Stewart

  “And now the entire town is going to suffer because of my ineptitude and selfishness.”

  “It might,” Lori agreed, “but feeling sorry for yourself isn’t going to fix anything. If you’re willing to be part of a team instead of taking charge, there might be a way to salvage the welcome dinner. With a few tweaks, of course.”

  “What kind of tweaks?” The familiar suspicion that crept into her eyes actually had Lori grinning.

  “Tweaks you’re going to accept because otherwise I’m not going to save your butt.” She picked up her phone, dialed Jason’s cell and held up a finger when BethAnn started to question her. “Hey, Jason. You know that plan B we talked about a few weeks ago? Yeah, it’s a go. Rally the troops. We have a festival to save.”

  * * *

  MONDAY MORNING DAWNED OVERCAST, cold and under the threat of rain, all of which described Matt’s sour mood.

  Watching Lori work miracles with BethAnn Bottomley yesterday had only solidified Matt’s feelings for her. Although it didn’t come close to making anything better between them. She couldn’t write anyone off, could she? Not even when someone had gone out of their way to make her life miserable. Not that Lori was ever miserable.

  Matt was, though.

  And so far, the only person Lori had written off was him.

  He considered putting on his dress uniform, but given that in a few hours he’d pretty much be admitting to fabricating his relationship with Lori with the intent of deceiving the court, he was afraid it might burst into flames. Instead, he dragged out the only suit he owned—navy blue—and spent an embarrassing amount of time tying the blue-striped tie. When the joint in his prosthesis froze up, he found himself stumbling back on his bed where he lay, staring up at the ceiling for far longer than was necessary.

  It had been three years since he’d first been fitted. Three years since he’d walked out of the rehabilitation center determined to live each day to the fullest. How could he not, given so many of his friends hadn’t been given the chance? Yet here he lay, stewing in the toxic sludge of guilt and grief he’d suppressed for far too long. It was as if Lori had been the stone keeping everything from rolling down the hill. Now, with her gone, the avalanche had begun.

  He picked up his phone, held it up as he scanned through his list of contacts. He stared at the name he was looking for, felt his heart pounding an unsteady rhythm in his chest. He dialed, brought the phone to his ear. Waited. “Hey, Doctor Mason.” He cleared his throat. “It’s Matt Knight. I’m sure you don’t remember—”

  “Matt! Yes, of course I remember you. You’re a hard man to forget.”

  Matt closed his eyes. If only that was the truth. “I’m sorry I haven’t returned your calls. I was...I was wondering if the offer of a new prosthesis was still on the table? I don’t expect any favors and I’m not sure what my schedule has in store for the foreseeable future, but if there’s a list—”

  “You’re already on the list,” Doctor Mason said. “I just keep bumping people over you. Figured I’d hear from you at some point. You give me a call when you have a couple of days and we’ll get you in to the VA, okay?”

  “Yeah.” Matt croaked. He pinched the bridge of his nose and nodded. “Yeah, that sounds good. Thanks, Doc. I’ll see you soon.”

  He hung up and took a shaky breath. One step forward. Not a big one by most people’s standards, but by Matt’s? He’d just leaped the Grand Canyon.

  * * *

  “HEY, GREAT. I caught you before you headed out.” Kendall walked up the path to his house and looked at her watch. “Aren’t you early? It’s barely noon.”

  “I need to talk to Chris about Lori.” Matt tugged at the knot of his tie and wondered if this was what it felt like to be strangled. “We need to adjust our strategy now that she’s not testifying.”

  “What do you mean she isn’t testifying?” Kendall planted a hand on his chest when he tried to pass. “You told her the truth about everything, didn’t you?”

  “She found out the truth.” Matt busied himself with his keys. “That letter I got from the judge? She found it in my jacket. Things...didn’t go well.”

  Kendall’s expression remained neutral. “She thinks you lied to her.”

  “I did lie to her.”

  Kendall blew a raspberry. “Please. Not about anything that matters. You’re crazy about her. She’ll come around and see that.”

  He shook his head. “Not soon enough. She’s got trust issues, Kendall. Big ones and I blew a new hole in them. I need to come clean with the judge and hope she’ll understand.”

  “So you’re what? Going to surrender and pretend she doesn’t exist? You going to moon over her from a distance?”

  “I don’t moon. And, well, maybe I’ll have to make some changes. Durante’s sometimes looking for new deputies. Seeing as the chances I’ll get Kyle anyway are slim to none without her support, a new start might be in order.”

  “Over my dead body will you move away.” Kendall followed on his heels to his truck. “I just made a commitment that’s going to keep me in Butterfly Harbor for longer than I’d planned. You think I’m staying here without my best friend?”

  “I think you’ll make plenty of friends whether you want to or not,” Matt said, but as he opened his door, he realized what she’d said. “What kind of commitment?”

  “Well, seems Abby got to bragging to the mayor about what a great job I’m doing on those cabins of hers. For twenty percent below what that fool contractor was hired to do by the way. Word got around to Mr. Mayor, who asked if I’d be up to doing a refurbishment of the lighthouse. There’s a keeper’s house I can stay in. As much as I like the apartment over the diner, it’s too...there’s a lot of people around here.” She blinked away that haunted look. “Might have to have some help here and there, but it’s something I can tackle.”

  “That’s great, Kendall.” Matt went against every one of Kendall’s issues and pulled her into a hard hug. “For once that mayor of ours is showing some sense. You’ll do a phenomenal job.”

  “Not without you, I won’t.” She gripped the open car window and nearly fell forward as he closed it behind him. “You can’t surrender, Matt. You can’t just walk away and not fight for her. That’s not you.”

  “You’re right. That’s not me.” He stuck the key in the ignition and started his truck. “The only problem is, without her, I’m not sure who I am. Step back, Ken. I don’t want you to get hurt, too.”

  * * *

  “PICNIC TABLES TOWARD the north end of Monarch Lane,” Lori yelled into a passing truck loaded with backyard furniture. She waved them on, started down the lineup of cars to direct people where to go.

  “Can you believe people are willing to do this?” Paige had a stack of aluminum serving trays piled high in her arms as she headed from the inn to the diner. “I’d wager every patio set and picnic table in Butterfly Harbor is making an appearance.”

  “Including yours,” Lori told her. “Fletcher dropped them off a while ago. How’re the dinner plans coming along?”

  “Jason’s shut down the restaurant for today, and Abby’s giving out vouchers for meals to inn guests for the diner. I’ve got a couple more runs to make to and from Calliope’s. We’re going to do watermelon kegs on each of the tables. I’ve got Luke and Ozzy working on those.”

  “If we can do extra watermelon without alcohol on either side, that’ll be good.”

  “Yeah, that should work. Family-style farm-to-table meals was a brilliant idea, Lori.”

  “Well, Jason and I came up with it as an emergency backup plan in case things with BethAnn didn’t work out.”

  “Guess we can add psychic to your list of talents. Hey, where’s Matt?” She stumbled forward a little as Charlie barreled into her.

  “He has court today.” Lori had been doing her best to ignore the guilt for most of the morn
ing. All this time Matt had been trying to appease everyone, live up to the promises he’d made—to everyone. He was being exactly who she’d always believed him to be. The exceptional man she’d fallen in love with.

  “What’s going on?” Paige asked as she passed the foil trays to Charlie and sent her scooting toward the diner.

  “You need to leave those at the other end of Monarch Lane,” Lori called to the compact car with a round patio table tied to its roof. “Go up and around, then make a left on Bleeding Heart Way. Fletcher and Jasper will direct you from there.” She turned back to Paige. “What’s going on where?”

  “With Matt. You two have been inseparable for a while now. You hit a bump?”

  “You could say that.” It was what Matt had said to her and the more she thought about it, the more she had to wonder if he was right. Had she been looking for an excuse to break things off? Was she looking for the easy way out?

  “You aren’t going to court with him I take it?”

  “I’m busy. BethAnn!” She called to the older woman, who was helping set up tents along the ocean wall line where they’d be serving drinks and water to dinner attendees. “We’ve still got three pop-ups coming in so make sure we have room for them.”

  BethAnn gave her a thumbs-up.

  “Did you transplant her personality yesterday?” Paige asked. “She’s being so...helpful.”

  “I have her working with the committee instead of overriding them,” Lori explained. “I told her it was the only way to earn back people’s respect. She seemed to like that idea. The respect part.” Lori shrugged. “I go with what works.”

  “How many tables are we looking at?”

  “Well, hopefully at least fifty since we have three hundred on the RSVP list. I need to go over and check with Harvey and Gil. They’re setting up the makeshift stage. The audio’s been giving them some trouble.”

  “Sure, yeah, okay. Lori?” Paige caught her arm. “Whatever is going on with Matt, I hope you work it out. He’s been really good for you. And I’ve never seen him happier.”

  “Thanks. We’ll see.” She ducked her head and moved off, happy to leave the conversation about Matt behind. As she hiked up Monarch Lane and saw the line of tables begin to take shape, she never felt such pride in her community. In her friends. Not only had they come through for the beautification project, but they hadn’t batted an eye when they’d put out the call for tables. Dozens of people had turned up at Calliope’s yesterday and again this morning to help harvest all the bounty of her plantings both to transport to Jason and Holly, but also to help with preparation.

  The lineup of grills and barbecues paralleled the tables and already the smell of charcoal wafted through the air and mingled with the salty brine of the sea. Jason had called in some favors with local seafood suppliers and had stockpots full of clam chowder and hearty vegetable soups simmering. Holly had begun baking up a storm yesterday afternoon while her cook, Ursula, had joined forces with her sister Matilda in turning out biscuits and rolls and... Lori’s stomach was growling at the very idea of the feast that would take place in just a few hours.

  They’d blocked off Monarch Lane, so the directed traffic would be filtered in and around the main thoroughfare, which was ideal now that all those streets had been prettied up and were showing off their town’s appeal.

  Things could not be going better. And yet...

  As Lori continued walking, she couldn’t help but think the day was incomplete. She missed Matt. She missed his teasing and his dedication and his rational observations mingled with sardonic wit. She missed how he made her feel; as if she could accomplish anything she set her mind to. As if nothing other than her ability and attitude mattered.

  She watched as a father and his two teenage boys hurried past her on their way to the grills, where the father started handing out tools and instructing them on how to operate the fire extinguishers in case of emergency. Watching them together, seeing them laugh and work side by side, a unit, a family, tightened the knot in her chest she feared would never loosen.

  The way those boys looked up to their dad, the trust and admiration felt like a knife to her heart as she realized what she was standing in the way of.

  Not all lies were meant to be cruel. Not all lies were acts of malice. She hadn’t made things—any things—easy on Matt. She hadn’t given him a lot of choices as to how to deal with what was going on with Kyle. Or with her. Refusing to testify on his behalf, keeping a hold of her anger and pain might seem like an appropriate and maybe an understandable response, but she was doing far more harm than Matt had ever done to her.

  He’d been there when she’d needed him. She’d relied on him, trusted him, and he’d expected so little in return. Expectations he’d been too afraid to voice for fear she’d turn him away—and walk away. And because of that, a boy could very well lose out on the father he deserved.

  And Matt would fail in keeping his word.

  Whatever else might happen between them, she couldn’t let that happen. She couldn’t let Matt lose his family.

  “I can’t do this.” She searched the street, her mind spinning as she tried to figure out what to do, where to go. “I can’t let Kyle pay for something that isn’t his fault.”

  She spun around and nearly slammed face-first into Kendall. “Kendall. Good heavens.” She pressed a hand against her chest. “Sorry, I was distracted.”

  “Seems to be going around,” Kendall said. “You and I need to talk.”

  “Not again. And not now.” Lori shook her head. “I have to go. I have to find a car.” She shoved her tablet into Kendall’s hands and rushed past her.

  “Where are you going? Wait! Lori, you don’t drive, remember?”

  “I know how to. I just prefer not to.”

  “Would you wait a minute? I need to talk to you about Matt!”

  Lori skidded to a halt. “Where do you think I’m going? I need to get to court.”

  “You mean you’re going to testify?”

  “Yes.” Lori looked down at her watch. “I only hope I’m in time. It starts at two, right? Maybe I can catch him before he—”

  “He’s already gone,” Kendall said.

  Lori swore. She pulled out her cell and dialed her brother. “Fletcher?” She turned a pleading eye to Kendall, who seemed to know what she was thinking. Kendall nodded. “Where’s your truck? I need it.”

  * * *

  “HEY, KID, how are you doing?” Matt focused all his energy on keeping his voice encouraging and even as Kyle was escorted in to the defendant’s table. He was wearing a smaller version of Matt’s suit, but he didn’t look nearly as uncomfortable as Matt felt. Matt stood behind the banister and laid firm hands on Kyle’s shoulders. “Everything’s going to be okay.”

  Kyle nodded, the innocent optimism on his face nearly cutting Matt to the quick.

  Chris had suggested, rather strongly, that Matt talk to Kyle before court was called into session, but Matt hadn’t been able to figure out what to say. Story of his life these days. He’d already screwed things up with Lori by postponing the inevitable, which was why they were in this situation to begin with.

  The only way out of it was through, which meant Matt was going to have to be completely honest with the judge and hope she would see how important Kyle was to him. And that he was responsible enough to admit when he had made a mistake.

  Nothing, however, was stopping that ball of anxiety from bouncing around inside of him like a renegade pinball.

  “All rise!” the bailiff announced. Matt gave Kyle a firm pat and turned him toward the judge as she emerged from her chambers. Judge Jeannette Harris was younger than Matt expected, not much older than himself. Her robes flowed around a rotund figure, her intense gaze scanned the room with practiced ease. She looked stern but confident and, Matt could only hope, fair. He could practically hear Kyle swallow as th
ey all took their seats.

  Matt unbuttoned his suit jacket as he sat, and settled in to listen to the business of the court. Kyle kept glancing back at him, as if needing to confirm he was still there. Whatever happened, whatever decision the judge made, he wasn’t going anywhere. If Kyle’s sentence needed to be served in total, he’d continue with the visits. If he got handed off to a group home, he’d be there, too.

  And if, by some miracle, he ended up taking Kyle home with him, he’d never tell another lie for as long as he lived.

  “I understand there’s been a change in your witness list,” Judge Harris said as she opened Kyle’s file. “Is this correct, Mr. Walters?”

  “Yes, Your Honor.” Chris cleared his throat and stood. “We had hoped to be able to include Ms. Lori Bradley’s testimony today, but unfortunately...”

  The double wooden doors at the back of the courtroom burst open. “I’m here!”

  Matt and the other observers in the courtroom all spun in their seats.

  “I’m sorry, Your Honor.” Lori darted forward, dropped her bag on the bench beside Matt and smoothed her flyaway hair. She was sweaty and nervous and determined, and Matt couldn’t remember a more beautiful sight in his life. “I’ve been dealing with an emergency back in Butterfly Harbor and I was only just able to get away.”

  The judge looked down from the bench at her. She turned those piercing eyes on Matt, who tried to erase the look of surprise on his face, but he had the feeling he hadn’t fooled her. He saw Kendall step into the court and stand in the back of the room. She had an odd smirk on her face, as if everything was going according to plan.

  “Is it your intention to testify on behalf of the petitioner, Deputy Matthew Knight?” Judge Harris asked.

  “It is, Your Honor. But I’d much rather make a statement if that would be permissible?”

  Kyle gripped the edge of the table and looked back at Matt, then Lori, who walked over and held out her hand. “Hey, Kyle.”

  He smiled and nodded. “Hey, Lori.”

  “Miss Bradley?” the judge said. “You’re welcome to proceed.”