Unexpected Riches (Bellingwood Book 13)

by Diane Greenwood Muir

  She tried to step back, but the people behind her were a solid wall. As she peered into the grave, Polly was surprised to see a flat wooden box at the bottom. There was plenty of open land here, why would they bury a second body on top of the first? She looked back at the pallbearers and saw another set of young men, marching toward them with a second coffin. That must be the way things were done here. Dig one deep grave and fill it with all of the dead family members.

  Polly looked around for ropes, trying to understand how they planned to lower the coffins into the ever deepening grave. She looked up as the first pall bearers arrived. They walked around the side of the grave, pushing her away, then tipped the coffin in and let it fall. Polly heard a strange sound and looked over the shoulders of one young man to see glittering gold flutter to the floor of the grave. The second bearers arrived and when the first young men wouldn't move, they put the coffin down on the ground and walked away.

  The young woman opened the coffin and people began pouring out of it, filling the hillside. She knew she was looking at all of the Carters that had ever been born and found herself looking for the two that she knew, Beryl and Tallie. She thought maybe one of them was at the back of the crowd, but no one would let her through so she could reach them.

  ~~~

  "Polly wake up," Henry said.

  She blew air out of her mouth. "That was frustrating."

  "Were you dreaming?"

  "I was standing at a gravesite. It was just weird. I saw the gold and all of the Carters. I was trying to find Beryl and Tallie, but no one would let me get to them."

  "That does sound weird. Heath and Rebecca are awake and Hayden is back."

  "Okay?"

  "Well, just so you knew where everyone was when you came out. You were sleeping pretty hard in here."

  She crooked her finger at him. "Come here, baby."

  Henry bent over and kissed her. "I love you, too. You'd better get moving if you don't want to be late. Rebecca and I have decided that we're doing takeout from Davey's tonight. We don't want pizza and we don't want to cook."

  "I'm sorry," Polly said.

  "For what?"

  "For not cooking a good supper for you."

  "That's right." Henry nodded as he walked to the door. "You're a horrible wife and mother and should be ashamed of yourself. It would be helpful if there was somebody we could report you to."

  Polly flung a pillow at him, but it landed just beyond the bed.

  "I'll let you pick that up," he said and laughed as he left the room.

  The dream continued to haunt Polly as she washed her face and cleaned up for the evening. She hated having odd images hover at the edge of her consciousness. She didn't think for a minute that it had anything to do with reality. It was one thing to find dead bodies, but Polly knew for a fact that she wasn't psychic. No, she didn't think the gold was buried in that old cemetery. Andy had explained that one away. She'd just been so surrounded by all of the information about Beryl's family, it was trying to sort itself out while she slept.

  "Hey there, you look better," she said to Heath once she stepped into the living room.

  Heath was propped up on the sofa, but for the first time since Friday, his face didn't look like he was trying to hold back the pain. "I am better," he said.

  Polly brushed her fingers on his cheek. "That's great. A few days away from school and you'll be back to normal in no time."

  "I don't have to go to school tomorrow?"

  She snorted. "No, honey. You don't."

  His face lit up. "Hear that, Hayden? I'll be here all day tomorrow while you're home." He looked back at Polly, concern replacing his relief.

  "I'm in no hurry," she said. "We have time. As for tonight, you’re going to have fun without me. I'm gone unless you need something."

  "We've got this," Rebecca said. She followed Polly through the house. When they got to Henry's office, she tugged on Polly's sleeve. "He's worried, you know."

  "About what?"

  "About you guys making him leave."

  Polly wrinkled her forehead. "Why would he think we'd do that?"

  "That's what Hayden and I told him. But he knows he wasn't supposed to have anybody else in his truck and he wasn't supposed to be with Libby and there's something about those boys who beat him up."

  "I know there is," Polly said. "But we aren't about to abandon him because he screwed up. He's a kid for heaven's sake. That's what you do." She sighed. "That's what we all do."

  Rebecca startled Polly by grabbing her into a hug. "You're so cool."

  Polly wrapped her arms around the girl. "Stay here a minute," she said, releasing Rebecca. She ran back into the living room, bent over Heath and whispered in his ear. "I love you. You can't do anything bad enough to make me stop doing that or not want you to be part of my family. Now quit worrying."

  Without waiting for a response, Polly turned and left the room. Rebecca was still standing in the doorway.

  "What did you do?" she asked.

  "Told Heath to quit worrying. Now have a good evening and I'll see you later."

  "You're still cool, you know," Rebecca said.

  Polly laughed. "We'll see if you believe that in a few years."

  She was a few minutes later than usual getting to Pizzazz and nearly everyone was there. Sal waved at Polly when she walked in the front door and pointed to the chair beside her.

  "I have your soda already," Sal said. "We were worried you wouldn't be able to come with everything that's going on. But since you didn't text any of us..."

  Polly smiled and hugged Sal's shoulders. "I wasn't missing this. It's been a weird weekend. Hopefully tomorrow things will start settling down again. I haven't been back to the Bell House since early last week and there's so much to do before Henry can get started."

  "You should let us come help you," Joss said.

  "I'd love for any of you to come any time," Polly responded. "But honestly, I feel like I'm getting to know the old house. I'm making friends with it."

  Sylvie laughed out loud. "First it's a haunted house, now Polly's insisting that it be her friend. What's next?"

  Polly sneered at her. "You never know. Maybe it will grow its own food and weave its own fabric." She threw her hand in the air. "Oh, I don't know what I'm talking about. I took a nap before coming up here and had the weirdest dream about a grave and gold and people coming out of a coffin. It's still hovering right here." She tapped her forehead.

  "I hate those," Sal said. "And I especially hate those nightmares that come back over and over. I used to dream about a grave, too." She shuddered. "It was in a clearing in the middle of a forest. I knew that it was mine, but thank goodness it was always empty. I woke up night after night shaken because I'd found myself in that same place again."

  "That's kind of creepy," Camille said, sitting forward. "Mine was about trying to walk up a really icy hill. I'd start and then slide back down. Every time I'd get almost to the top, I'd lose my footing and slide to the bottom again. But I haven't had that dream since I was a kid."

  "Mine happened when I was young, too," Sal said. "I thought I'd never lose that dream, but one day I realized I hadn't had it for years." She shivered again. "Weird."

  "Hello," Sandy Davis said, dropping into a chair beside Joss. "Sorry I'm late. I couldn't find my keys."

  "How's Benji doing with the baby this week?" Joss asked.

  "So much better. I tell you what, getting out every week has really forced him to get comfortable being a hands-on dad. I didn't realize how much I was stopping him from getting involved with everything." Sandy smiled at them all. "Thank you for letting me be part of this. Not only do I get some sanity, but you're teaching me to do this right."

  Sylvie laughed and looked around the table. "How weird is that? You, Joss and I are the only ones who raised babies."

  "And I haven't been doing it for very long," Joss said. "I feel like every day is a new opportunity to discover things I probably should have known yester
day."

  "Like what?" Sandy asked.

  "Oh, yesterday I turned my back for a second to put dishes in the dishwasher and when I turned around, Cooper and Sophie were painting each other with the butter. It was in their hair and all over their clothes." She sighed. "We got to have another bath and the butter now goes into the refrigerator." She grimaced. "Because once they learn a trick that makes Mom crazy, they'll do it again and again, just to see if I react the same way each time."

  "Mine was lipstick," Sylvie said. "You might notice that I never wear it. I got out of the habit because it wasn't safe in the hands of my boys. One day I came home after working all day. Jason was maybe five and Andrew wasn't quite two. I collapsed on the couch and before I knew it, they had painted themselves and colored the back of the recliner. Andrew was coloring the bottom of his feet when I got to them."

  "What did you do?"

  I dropped Jason into a bath. He was lucky I didn't spank his little bottom. He knew better, but Andrew had found a couple of tubes of my lipstick and Jason thought it would be fun."

  "This is why I'm very happy with bringing older kids into my family," Polly said.

  "You just wait," Sylvie retorted. "You'll get yours someday."

  Polly held up a cross she made with her index fingers. "Stay away from me with that talk. I like it that all of you young chickadees are having babies."

  "Young chickadees?" Sal asked.

  "Yeah. Like them." Polly waved her fingers at Sandy and Joss. "You know, not me in my old age here."

  Sal frowned at her. "We're only thirty-five."

  "You may be thirty-five, but after this weekend, I feel like I'm in my..." Polly looked at Sylvie, who was giving her an "I dare you" look. "I feel like I'm in my early fifties or something."

  Sal relaxed and Polly glanced at her, wondering what that was about.

  "How are things with Heath?" Joss asked.

  "He's doing good tonight." Polly grinned. "He felt much better when I told him he didn't have to go to school for a few days."

  Sandy peered at her. "What happened to Heath?"

  "Somebody beat him up Friday night. Heath stepped in to protect a girl he was with. A few bruised ribs and some good cuts from a knife." Polly shook her head. "I don't know that I've been that scared for someone else in a long time. He was a mess."

  "Do you know who it was?"

  "Not yet. Heath insists he doesn't know them, but Boone isn't that big and he's been going to school there for three years. We aren't finished with the conversation."

  Their regular waitress, Bri, stepped in, carrying two pizzas. Everybody moved things to make room and she put them in the middle of the table. "It's good to see you all here at the same time this week," she said. "Can I get anything else?"

  Sal held up her hand and Bri nodded. "I'll be right back."

  "What was that?" Polly asked.

  "Nothing," Sal said. "You'll see."

  They passed plates back and forth, filling them with pizza and soon chatter died down as they ate.

  "When do you think your house is going to be ready?" Sandy asked Joss.

  Joss mumbled something, then pointed to her mouth.

  "Sorry," Sandy giggled.

  "Nate says we'll be in by mid-April, but Henry thinks it's more like May," Joss said, after swallowing. "All I know is that I want to get our house on the market so that once I move out, I don't have to think about it again. But oh dear lord, I don't want to pack and clean things."

  "Hah," Polly said. "Your house is so clean and orderly, all you'll have to do is slide things into boxes and they'll find their own transportation. They wouldn't dare disobey you."

  "That would be nice, but with Sophie and Cooper underfoot, packing will be the death of me. When we get closer, Mom said she'd help with the kids."

  "I'll help you pack," Polly said.

  "Me too," Camille said. "I can't wait to see the inside of that beautiful home you're building."

  Sandy nodded and put her hand up. "I'll be there."

  Bri stepped back in and put plastic champagne glasses in front of everyone, filled with something bubbly. Another waitress handed her a final glass that she gave to Sal.

  "What's this?" Polly asked.

  "I have an announcement," Sal said. She put her head down and took a deep breath, then looked back up. "I'm not sure how to say this, so I'm just going to put it out there. I'm pregnant."

  Polly slowly turned to look at her friend. "You're going to have a baby?"

  "That's generally what happens at the end of being pregnant," Sal responded.

  Polly looked at the glass in front of her and then back at Sal. "A baby?"

  "Uh huh. Now pick up that glass and make a toast before I think that you believe it's a bad idea."

  "It's great," Polly said. Her mind was still a little fuzzy from the announcement, but she picked the glass up and raised it high. "I'm so happy for you, Sal. Here's to an exciting new life you're about to lead."

  "Hear, hear," the other women said, raising their glasses.

  Polly took a sip. "Hey, this is the real thing. We're really celebrating."

  "Mine's not, of course," Sal said. "But yes, we're celebrating."

  They peppered Sal with questions until she put her hand up. "Let me fix this for you," she said. "I found out around Thanksgiving and told Mark at Christmas, just in case everything fell apart." She glared at Polly. "Because thirty-five is old, you know. I'm keeping the baby and we're really happy about this. We talked about getting married, but we'll probably elope. I haven't told my parents." She sighed. "Because I'm just not ready for that. We're going to fly out to see them so Mom doesn't have a heart attack on the phone. Now that the first trimester is over and the baby is healthy, I'm ready to tell people. So I'm telling you."

  "Look at her," Sylvie said, pointing at Polly.

  The rest of them laughed.

  "What?" Polly said.

  "You're crying."

  "Shut up." Polly put her glass down and turned so she could hug her friend. "I'm so damned happy for you."

  Sal whispered. "I never thought it would be me. I always thought you'd have babies and I'd be an old maid."

  "I don't want babies and you could never be an old maid," Polly said.

  "We have to have a baby shower at the coffee shop," Camille said. "Ohhh, everyone is going to be so excited about this." She rubbed her hands together. "I love babies."

  Polly snickered. "Maybe your mom will move to Bellingwood so she can help you."

  "Now you shut up," Sal said. "That's the most horrible curse you could wish upon anyone. Well, everyone in Bellingwood at least. We want to keep her as far away from here as possible. Maybe I won't tell her anything ever and she'll continue to believe that I'm going to move back to Boston and pick up my old life."

  "Have you had morning sickness?" Sandy asked.

  Sal moaned. "It's just been the worst. But I couldn't tell anybody since I didn't want you to know. Poor Mark has been wonderful."

  "Do his parents know?" Polly asked.

  "Not yet." She glanced at the kitchen. "I suppose they will now. Dylan will find out from Bri and then he'll tell his wife and she'll probably call her mother."

  "Maybe Mark better call his sister and tell her to be quiet until you can spill the beans," Sylvie said.

  "Whatever," Sal said with a shrug. "I wanted to tell you before the whole world knew. Now we tell everyone else."

  Polly hugged her again. "I am so glad you're going to be here in Bellingwood for this. We're going to have a blast."

  "Maybe Rebecca can babysit when I need a shopping fix?" Sal asked.

  "She'd love it." Polly raised her glass again. "To all of life's funny little surprises."

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  Rather than hurrying home, they'd all stayed late at Pizzazz talking about the many changes happening in everyone's lives. Sylvie and Camille cut out first, complaining about their early morning. Sandy had taken off around nine thirty, worried
that Benji hadn't called her yet. She couldn't help herself.

  Joss knew that Nate had put the twins to bed and was watching television, so she didn't need to hurry home. Mark was taking care of the dachshunds, giving Sal the opportunity to spend time with her friends.

  They realized they were the last ones in the restaurant when the tables had been wiped clean and the kitchen staff was leaving. Instead of calling it a night, the three headed for the Jefferson Street Alehouse, not ready to leave each other yet. They'd talked about all of the changes on their horizons. Sal had asked Joss question after question about taking care of babies. She was another young woman who had never really spent much time around children throughout her life and Polly was glad Joss was there to give Sal some down-to-earth advice.

  They talked about Joss's new house and her absolute panic over the process in front of her. She felt as if she hadn't spent nearly enough time making decisions about all of the different appliances and paint, carpet and trim colors.

  As Polly listened to her friends fret over the things coming at them, she realized how much she'd changed in the last few years. Most of that was because of Henry. If it had to do with something practical, he'd help her figure out how to deal with it. If it was emotional, he just held onto her while she worked through it. And through all of the mess this last weekend with Heath, he'd stepped up in a big way. He made a great dad. That didn't surprise her. Bill Sturtz was the same type of man and you couldn't be any more calm and sensible than Henry's mother, Marie.

  She'd tiptoed up the back steps well after midnight. The house was quiet as she crossed into her bedroom. Hayden wasn't in the living room, so she hoped that meant Heath was feeling well enough for them to put the air bed up in his room.

  Obiwan lifted his head and thumped his tail when she pushed the bedroom door open and Henry flipped on the light.

  "Did you have a good evening?" he asked.

  "Sal's pregnant," Polly replied. "Due in July."