He hadn’t stowed away in the trunk of Mom’s car—she’d checked before she left Bliss.
“I didn’t try to break into your boyfriend’s jewelry store. Sweetheart, you need to take your mother and get out of Bliss.”
“First of all, he’s not my boyfriend. You screwed that up just fine a year ago, and I learned my lesson. No dating. Second of all, I’m not leaving Bliss. You are.”
“Meredith—”
“Don’t, Daddy. Don’t lie to me.”
“I need the ring, Merry. You give me the ring, and I’ll end this all.”
“I don’t have the ring.”
Daddy’s sigh filled the dark cabin. She checked her mirrors again, then slowed the car.
No reason to get pulled over for a stress-induced lead foot.
Plus you’re setting a bad example for impressionable me, Phoebe Moon’s voice chided.
“The cops aren’t going to look for the real perpetrator. They’re going to assume it was me. I didn’t do this, Merry. Even if I wanted the ring, you know it’s not my style to take it without giving something back.”
She turned down a dark country road just outside of town and pulled over. The car’s lights illuminated darkened, barren cornfields around her. Her palms were slick on the wheel, and her leg muscles trembled. “Did someone actually steal something?”
Daddy paused.
Merry Silver and the Hot Diamond. Phoebe Moon could write it, because Merry would be in jail. What if the ring she had wasn’t the fake?
“Tonight,” she said. “Did someone steal something tonight?”
“I don’t know.”
“Daddy—”
“Merry-berry, we’re going to get out of this. Got a plot of land all picked out in Oregon—”
“Heard that before.” But she still desperately wanted to believe him.
You’re my pride and joy, Merry-berry. Worth more than any jewel. Come over here and play chess with your ol’ Dad.
“Where do you want me to settle? You tell me where you’ll come visit, and I’ll go there.”
“I want you to go back to 1983, and I want you to go somewhere with no diamonds, no rubies, no emeralds. I want you to go somewhere you could have just been my daddy, and I could’ve been your Merry-berry, and Mom could’ve been happy.”
“It doesn’t work like that, angel.”
“Then go anywhere but Bliss.”
She disconnected, tossed her phone into the cup holder, and dug into her purse.
Her fingers shook while she ripped the package open.
If she had the real Mrs. Claus diamond in here, she was dead.
She’d kept six different storage lockers, putting her childhood memories in them, scattered about so that if one was robbed, she wouldn’t lose everything. Her mismatched furniture. Pictures. Her books.
The rhinestones she’d worn to her junior prom just before the only time she’d been Daddy’s willing accomplice.
She’d still been in her prom dress.
And she’d kept the dress too.
Locked away.
Daddy knew about two of her storage lockers, but not the rest. And she’d been cleaning them out the past few months, one by one, consolidating what she absolutely couldn’t part with in preparation for her move.
Had she not, there was no telling if she would’ve discovered Daddy had been using the one in Peoria to store his replica Mrs. Claus diamond ring.
She’d found it inside her old Caboodles case, nestled between the locket her grandparents had supposedly given her when she was born and her favorite rainbow-colored scrunchie from her teen years.
And she hadn’t looked closely.
She’d just found a box, wrapped up the ring, and she’d found a place to stash the fake Mrs. Claus diamond. Somewhere ridiculously safe despite being ridiculously public.
Barely a week ago, she’d gotten the call that her unit had been broken into and ransacked.
Not Daddy’s usual style.
Until now, it wouldn’t have occurred to her that Daddy might’ve already pulled his heist.
The box popped open, and the ring went flying through Mom’s car. “Dammit!”
Language, Phoebe Moon chided.
“Shut up.”
That’s not how we make friends, Merry Silver.
“You too, Zack Diggory, or I swear to God, I’ll feed you to the giant alligators in Sandalico.”
She crawled onto the floorboard, using her phone’s flashlight until she saw the sparkle. Hunched over with the gear shifter poking her leg, she shone the light straight on the center diamond of the setting.
Rainbows sparkled in the depths of the gem.
Merry’s body sagged in relief.
She had a fake.
Just to be certain, she did a quick fog test. Her breath lingered on the stones until she wiped it away, and her throat clogged.
Daddy hadn’t screwed up. Yet.
The Mrs. Claus diamond ring was beautiful. With a nearly flawless three-carat round-cut diamond surrounded by diamond chips in a setting shaped like a snowflake, and decorative strings of platinum adding depth to the arrangement, the real thing was a work of art.
Even the fake was gorgeous. The setting made the ring, not the diamonds inside it.
Someone rapped on the car’s window.
Merry dropped the ring, said a word Phoebe Moon wasn’t allowed to repeat, and untangled herself from the passenger wheel well, heart in her throat.
A Marshall County sheriff’s deputy stood beside her window.
And there went another word Phoebe Moon wasn’t supposed to know.
She rolled down the window. “Evening, Officer.”
“Everything okay, ma’am?” He flashed his light into the depths of the car, to the passenger wheel well, where the Mrs. Claus diamond sparkled.
Her stomach bounced to her toes. “My contact was giving me trouble,” she lied, gesturing to her eye.
She winced as his light aimed right into her pupils.
“Ah. Sorry, ma’am. Don’t see cars parked on the side of the road around these parts often. Especially this time of night. You sure you’re okay?”
Having a mild panic attack, but otherwise… “Very much so. Thank you.”
“Where you headed?”
“Bliss.” Always tell ’em as much of the truth as you can, Merry-berry. Makes it more believable when you have to do the stretching. “My mom’s getting married. Stressful, you know? I just needed some breathing room for a while.”
“Ah. Completely understand, ma’am. My niece got married up there a few weeks ago. You need directions? Pointed the wrong way there to get back.”
“No, I’ve got it. Can I do a U-turn here?”
He looked up and down the road. “Just this once.” He gave her an easy smile. “Drive careful. Lots of deer this time of year, especially at night.”
“I will. Thank you, Officer.”
He left, and Merry sagged back into the seat.
But only for a moment.
She had a ring to deliver to Bliss.
If the real one wasn’t already missing.
Chapter 19
Phoebe Moon stared in wonder at her own wide eyes, her own bow-shaped lips, her own chin-length dark hair. “But who are you?” she said to the girl.
“I am all of the best parts of you, Phoebe Moon,” the girl replied in Phoebe Moon’s voice. “The parts that secretly want sweet Uncle Sandy to succeed.”
—Phoebe Moon and the Secret Sister
* * *
Merry had survived Mom’s other half-dozen weddings, but she was fairly certain this one in Bliss would kill her.
Not because of the wedding.
Because of it being in Bliss.
And maybe partly because Patrick’s family had arrived, and she’d been roped into breakfast when she would’ve preferred to be heading to Max’s house. Or to With This Ring.
Anywhere to get rid of the jewel currently guarded by her shampoo bottle.
“You’ve been married how many times before?” Patrick’s brother said to Mom over breakfast.
“Oh, honey, once you’ve had three ex-husbands, you stop counting.” She smiled at Patrick, who appeared to have a case of indigestion. “The point is that Patrick is the last one I want.”
“Or maybe the point is that you want his money.”
Where Patrick was a winker, his brother John was a boomer. John’s inside voice was loud enough to make small children cry from half a mile away, and his comb-over was the stuff of legends.
Had Merry had four more cups of coffee this morning—and no fake diamond sitting upstairs in her room—she might’ve been tempted to touch it.
For research. Maybe devilish Uncle Sandy needed a new hairdo.
“The point is that I want to marry this woman because she makes me happier than I’ve ever been in my life.” Patrick covered Mom’s hand, then grabbed Merry’s hand as well. “And I’m getting the world’s best stepdaughter to boot.”
Way to find your gonads, Patrick, Phoebe Moon cheered.
Coffee.
Merry needed coffee.
But her stomach had been twisted more ways than a mutant pretzel since those alarms went off at With This Ring last night, and she couldn’t even handle the thought of toast without getting nauseous.
She should’ve gone straight to Max’s house last night, but she’d been terrified Daddy would be expecting that.
So instead she’d called Mom, claimed to be afraid of walking through the B&B’s parking lot with the owl on the loose, and used her rapidly sobering mother as a security guard against her father.
“So we’ll be stepcousins, Merry,” John’s son, Richard, said. Unlike his uncle, Richard’s winks were leery and lecherous.
“I’m a lesbian,” Merry said.
“Meredith.”
“Um, I wish I was a lesbian?”
Richard’s wink suggested he’d be down with some role-playing.
“Mom, didn’t you say you need to get your ring checked out today?” Merry said abruptly.
Mom’s knuckles went white around her china coffee cup, and her forehead almost wrinkled. She hadn’t asked any questions last night, but the attempted break-in at With This Ring had been the topic of conversation all over the dining room.
And Mom wasn’t stupid.
“I do,” Mom said tightly.
“What’s wrong with your ring, sweetheart?”
“I thought the stone felt loose last night at the bachelorette party.” Mom kissed Patrick’s cheek. “You boys run along and make sure your tuxes fit. Merry and I will meet you at the bridal planner’s. John, Richard, so lovely to have you here for our wedding. I know it means the world to Patrick, so it means the world to me.”
Merry forced a smile at both men. “So lovely to have more family. Excuse me, please, I need to brush my teeth before we leave.”
The fake Mrs. Claus diamond was still safe and sound in her empty shampoo bottle. She shook it out, then wiped it down until it sparkled.
She hadn’t seen the real thing—she made a point of avoiding jewelry stores—but Daddy’s contact seemed to have done an impressive job with the replica.
She’d just thrust her arms into her coat and pulled on her gloves when Mom knocked on the door. “Ready, sweetheart?”
Merry wiped the ring one last time in case the ring was big enough to hold an incriminatingly sized sliver of her fingerprint, then gripped it in her left hand and shoved it in her pocket. “Yes.”
She opened the door, and Mom scrutinized her whole body with that classic Mom X-ray vision. “I was thinking With This Ring,” she said flatly.
“Perfect,” Merry answered.
Mom squeezed her eyes shut and sighed.
“I’m doing the right thing,” Merry whispered.
She was.
She was taking away Daddy’s opportunity to steal the real Mrs. Claus diamond. And she was doing it in broad daylight. On chilly winter streets that might not have been bustling with shoppers, but with enough witnesses that Daddy wouldn’t try anything.
“Shall we drive?” Mom said.
“I love the smell of new car in the morning.”
“Merry…”
“It’s for Max.”
Mom popped the trunk and peered into the empty space. “I think I left my scarf—oh, I guess I didn’t.”
Merry bent over to peer under the Caddy’s carriage. “Did you drop it on the ground?” No odd wires under the car, no unusual bulges, no footprints in the fresh dusting of powdery snow. No fluid leaks on the ground either.
“Maybe it’s in the backseat,” Mom said. “Oh, nope, not there either. Damn. I loved that scarf.”
At Merry’s subtle nod, Mom unlocked the car. They both slid in, and Mom locked the doors and cranked the engine. Nothing exploded, nothing pinged. She backed out slowly.
Daddy wasn’t dangerous.
He wasn’t.
But Merry had never intentionally stood in his way before either. And the fact that she and her mother could silently agree to check the working condition of her car before getting into it was a very bad sign.
The drive to With This Ring wasn’t far, but she felt as though they’d gone halfway around the world before Mom pulled into the parking lot beside the chocolate shop.
Merry’s arms ached from holding them so tense.
So did her jaw. And her thighs.
She placed herself to Mom’s right, keeping her gloved hand wrapped around the fake ring in her pocket while she huddled as close to her mother as she could. When Mom flung open the door to the jewelry store, Merry’s body nearly sagged in relief.
So close.
This was almost done.
A few customers were being assisted over various display cases, but Merry didn’t spot Max immediately.
“Welcome to With This—oh! Vicky. Merry. So lovely to see you.” Rachel smiled brightly from behind the far back counter. “What brings you in today?”
“I—” Merry started.
“I want to make a donation to Pepper’s bachelor auction fund,” Mom said. “So she can bid on your brother-in-law.”
Merry’s eye twitched, and her stomach dropped into a crater.
Rachel glanced at Merry, then gave Mom a hesitant smile. “That’s remarkably sweet of you.”
Remarkably evil of her.
“Love is important,” Mom said. “Merry and I just wanted to let Max know we’re behind him. Is he here?”
“He’s not in today. He came down with that nasty stomach virus that’s been going around.”
Well, isn’t this craptastic? Phoebe Moon said.
Merry’s hand wobbled so hard, her elbow shook. “He’s—”
“Sick as a dog,” Rachel said.
“I hope he’ll be well enough to participate Saturday night,” Mom said.
Wow, she’s good with torture, Phoebe Moon said.
Merry couldn’t help but agree. Perhaps perfidious Uncle Sandy needed to take a bride. Merry had a good idea who she’d force on him, though she wasn’t sure who’d be getting the better end of that marriage.
“We’re optimistic he’ll be feeling better soon,” Rachel said. “If not, I’m sure Max will insist we auction him as a mystery bachelor. He’s always so supportive of Bliss’s causes.”
“In that case, is a check for three hundred enough?”
Mom pulled out her checkbook, and Rachel’s eyes bulged.
Merry’s might’ve too. And there was a possibility she’d just squeezed the fake ring in her pocket tight enough to puncture her leather gloves and leave a permanent imprint in her palm. “Three hundred?”
“You’re right, sweetheart. Let’s make it five.”
“Ms. Silver, that’s so…wow. Thank you.” Rachel tilted her head toward a door behind her while Mom scribbled a check. “Dan? Honey, that lovely woman I was telling you about last night is here.”
“We heard about the alarms,” Mom said. “That must�
�ve been terrifying.”
Merry kept her mouth shut.
She needed to see Max.
“Oh, it happens more than you might think.” Rachel smiled the innocent smile of someone who was either an exceptional actress or who had no clue there was a jewel thief in town. “The police think that crazy owl probably ran into the window.”
“That owl tried to attack my car last night too,” Mom said.
A tall, heavier-set man with Max’s eyes strolled through from the back. His hair was thinner and threaded lightly with gray, but it was impossible to miss the family resemblance. He smiled at Merry and Mom, but it looked forced. “Ms. Silver, is it?” He held out a hand. “I’m Dan. What can we do for you ladies today?”
“They’re making a donation to my fund for Pepper to bid on Max on Saturday,” Rachel said. “A large donation.”
“Oh.” Dan looked at Merry, then back at Mom. “Thank you. That’s…incredibly generous.”
“We believe in no hard feelings,” Mom said.
Mom glanced at Merry, but when Merry didn’t move, Mom slid the check to Rachel, then thrust her hand out to display her teardrop-cut Tiffany diamond. “Also, we were out last night, and I thought I felt the stone slip.”
“Hmm.” Dan took her finger. “Lovely setting. May I?”
“Oh, honey, I wish you would.”
Merry forced the sigh to play her part. “Sorry,” she muttered. “This is why she’s had seventeen ex-husbands.”
“Six, Meredith.”
“Well, who can blame her for wanting to flirt with this guy?” Rachel put a slender manicured hand on Dan’s chest and laughed.
“He is a catch,” Mom said.
“And young enough to be your grandson,” Merry said.
Mom slid her a look that dastardly Uncle Sandy probably used often.
So maybe that was taking it too far.
But she had a freaking fake Mrs. Claus diamond ring in her pocket, Mom had just practically bought another woman for her favorite ex-boyfriend, and they were wasting time. She needed to go see Max.
Dan took a little tool to the ring, pushing and poking at the jewel, then inspected the setting with his loupe. “Seems solid,” he said. “But I can take it in back and look more closely if you’d like.”
Merried Page 19