“Are you, Mommy? Are you praying?” Tyler tugged her hand, and she pushed the worries away. There’d be time to think of the answers she’d give after she and Tyler were safely away.
“Yes. I’m praying.”
“What are you praying about? ’Cause, I’m gonna pray, too.”
She thought about refusing to answer but keeping things from Tyler wouldn’t change them or make them any easier for him to bear. “We’re going on a road trip, and I was asking God to keep us safe.”
“Are we coming back?” He stopped bouncing, his black eyes narrowing as he waited for the answer. He knew, of course. They’d moved a dozen times in his short life, and he understood that road trips meant never returning.
“Why don’t you go in your room and pick a couple of your favorite toys to bring? Nothing big, though, okay?”
“Joe invited me to his party, remember? It’s in two weeks and one day,” he said, and Merry’s heart broke just a little more.
“I remember. Go pick your toys.” She opened the door, praying he wouldn’t put up a fuss, and walked straight into Douglas.
“Whoa! Careful.” His hands cupped her shoulders, holding her steady, his warmth seeping through her coat and T-shirt. She wanted to step into his arms, absorb even more of his heat, but doing that would be almost as much of a mistake as staying in Fitzgerald Bay had been.
The easy way is for you to tell me everything. All the stuff that you’re so determined to keep hidden. Whatever it is, I’ll help you deal with it.
His words had terrified and tempted her.
She was so tired of going it alone, so tired of only having herself to depend on. If Owen hadn’t walked into Douglas’s office with the news of the shooting, Merry wasn’t sure what she would have said.
Everything?
Nothing?
“Sorry. I wasn’t expecting you there. Ty, go on in your room and do what I said.” She stepped back and allowed Tyler to pass, hoping she was blocking Douglas’s view of the room and the overnight bag.
“Ida wanted you to know that she’s already called a company to come repair the window. They should be here in the next hour.” He studied her face, his eyes deep, calm blue, and she felt it building up again. The need to confess everything. To tell him the truth about Tyler, about their years of running, about the lie she’d been living.
The need to let him do what he’d promised.
Help her deal with things.
She swallowed back words she couldn’t say and tried to smile. “That’s Ida for you. Always on top of things.”
“She’s been that way for as long as I’ve known her. That quality must make her a good landlady.”
“It does. Can you tell her I’ll be down in a minute?” She started to close the bedroom door, but he slammed his palm into the wood.
“We need to talk, Merry.”
“I’ll be down in a minute,” she repeated, and he shook his head.
“We need to talk now. Not in a minute. Not in ten minutes. Not tomorrow. Now.”
“Okay.” She edged into the hallway, shut the door. “What do you want to discuss?”
“How about we go down to the kitchen? I could use a cup of coffee.”
“Sure.” But she didn’t want to go to the kitchen, didn’t want to have a conversation, didn’t want to do anything but pack up and head out.
She followed him downstairs anyway, turned on the coffeepot, inhaling deeply as the pungent scent of coffee filled the room.
Seconds ticked by, then minutes, and Douglas didn’t say anything, just watched as she poured the coffee, handed him a mug, grabbed a pop from the fridge.
She took a long swallow, praying she wouldn’t choke on it.
Finally, she couldn’t stand the silence any longer. “You said we needed to talk.”
“I meant, you need to talk. I need to listen.”
“Oh.”
That’s it. All she could come up with.
Because, he was right. She did need to talk.
But talking could cost her everything, and she had to stay silent.
Had to.
“That’s not a very good start to the conversation.” He sipped coffee, eyeing her over the rim of the mug.
“I don’t know what you want me to say.”
“No? Then, maybe I do need to talk, and you need to listen. Last night, someone tried to get in your house. Today, that same person shot through your front window. Do you know what would have happened if Tyler had been standing near the window?”
Did she know?
She couldn’t forget.
“I know.”
“Then you understand how serious this is.”
“How could I not? My son means everything to me. I wouldn’t do anything to jeopardize his safety.”
“Yet, you’re still holding back. Still not telling me everything I need to know to help you.”
“If you want to help me, let me get a few hours of sleep. I’m exhausted.” She tried to nudge him into leaving, but Douglas leaned in, his finger sweeping the delicate flesh beneath her eye.
“You have dark circles. Maybe you’ll sleep better if you share your troubles. Tell me what’s going on, and I’ll do whatever is necessary to keep you and Tyler safe.” His voice was as soft as a summer breeze, the words gentle and easy and undemanding.
“I can’t.”
“You won’t.” He tucked a lock of hair behind her ear, his touch gentle and more welcome than it should have been.
“It’s not—” Her cell phone rang, and she grabbed it, so thankful for the distraction she could have cried. “Hello?”
“It’s Mack. Is everything okay?” Her brother sounded like he always did, serious and just a little worried.
“Everything is fine.” She lied. Again.
Another lie on top of all the others, and she felt sick with them, burdened with their weight.
“Are you sure? You sound upset.”
“I’m just tired.”
“The job is wearing you out, huh?”
“Yes.” She glanced at Douglas, walked a few steps away, hoping he couldn’t hear her brother’s words.
“How’s the little guy?”
“Great.”
“That’s what you always say.”
“Because it’s true.”
“Well, if everything is okay, why didn’t you return my call?”
“Your call?” She glanced at the answering machine, saw the flashing light.
“I called yesterday and left a message on your voice mail. Are you sure you’re all right?”
“I think I should be asking you that. You never call me on the weekend.” As a matter of fact, he almost never called. Too many years and too many lies stood between them, and Merry knew he felt those things acutely. Like their sister, Danielle, he had given up trying to maintain the close relationship he’d once had with Merry.
She missed that. Missed what might have been if she could have told him the truth about Tyler and their constant need to move. Told the truth about why she only gave a P.O. box in different cities and never a street address.
Just plain told the truth.
“I wanted to touch base. And, actually,” he hesitated, and Merry knew he had something big to say.
“What?”
“I proposed to Emily, yesterday. She said yes.”
“That’s wonderful news, Mack! I’m so happy for you.”
“The wedding is going to be in December. We want you to come.”
“To Boston?” She realized what she’d done as soon as the question slipped out. Given Douglas a piece of information she shouldn’t have.
She didn’
t glance his way. Prayed he hadn’t heard.
But he had.
She knew he had.
“Yeah. You can make it can’t you?”
“Of course I can.” But she couldn’t. No matter how much she wanted to. Anywhere but Boston.
“I can’t tell you how happy I am to hear that!”
“I love you, Mack. I wouldn’t miss out on it for the world.”
They chatted for a few more minutes, Mack’s excitement over his engagement ringing through the phone. Finally, he said goodbye, and Merry hung up, turning to face Douglas again.
“Boyfriend?” he asked, and Merry almost laughed. Boyfriend? Having one now would mean lie after lie after lie told to someone she should only ever be honest with. Besides if she’d been willing to date someone long enough to call him her boyfriend, she would have continued to go out with Douglas. The thought made her blush.
No. Dating was out of the question.
Another lonely truth of the life she led.
“My brother.”
“I didn’t realize you had other family. I thought it was just you and Tyler.”
It was, because she couldn’t pull her brother and sister into her troubles and because she couldn’t tell them the truth about how Tyler had come into her life.
“I have a sister and brother. Our parents died in a car accident when I was eighteen. I took care of them until they graduated from college.”
“You must be really close.”
“We are.” But not as close as they used to be.
“So why are you here? Why aren’t you living near your family?”
“People move away from family all the time.”
“That’s a statement. Not an answer.”
“There is no answer. I just…moved away after they went to college.”
“Away from Boston?”
“Just away,” she said too forcefully, and heat spread up her cheeks.
She did not want to look him in the eye and lie.
She didn’t want to keep covering one lie with another and another.
She just wanted him to accept what she said and go away.
But he wouldn’t.
Douglas wasn’t that kind of guy.
“Merry—”
“I need to get some air.” She shoved past him, running across the kitchen and out into the backyard, inhaling huge gulps of frigid air. If not for Tyler, she would have kept running, but Tyler needed her more than she needed to be free of Douglas. More than she needed to be free of the heavy burden of guilt she carried every moment of every day.
She skidded to a stop in the middle of the yard, dropped down onto one of the old vinyl swings. She’d planned to fix the swing set in the spring. Put new seats on the swings, clean the slide and put a sandbox next to it. She’d been saving money for months with that in mind. She’d be using that money for a deposit on another home instead.
Elbows on her knees, she stared at the blanket of snow beneath her feet, so tired she wasn’t sure she’d ever get up. Tired of running, tired of hiding, tired of partial truths and half lies and always looking over her shoulder.
Just plain tired.
But at least she and Tyler were alive.
That was more than Olivia had. It was more than Nicole had.
Alive with a son she loved and siblings who cared.
It was enough, and she would be thankful for it.
TEN
He needed a new approach.
Obviously, pushing Merry was only making her run, and having her run wasn’t what he wanted.
What he wanted was the truth. All of it. Not the little pieces she kept feeding him.
He pulled off his coat as he walked across the backyard and dropped it onto her shoulders. “You’re going to freeze out here.”
“Thanks, but now you’re going to be cold.” She offered a half smile, her lips nearly colorless.
“Neither of us will be cold if we go back inside.” He sat on an old swing, wincing as the rusted chains creaked under his weight. “I don’t think this swing set is made for someone my size.”
“I don’t think it’s meant for someone my size, either,” she responded, pushing against the ground with her feet.
“Your size? A stiff wind could blow you away.”
Her eyes widened, and she laughed, the sound spilling out into the quiet yard, a tinge of color staining her pale cheeks.
“That’s better.”
“What?” She hooked a lock of red-gold hair behind her ear, and he wanted to reach out and touch the silky strands that fell around her shoulders. She compelled him in a way he couldn’t explain, drew him in and made him want to stick close.
“You’ve got some color back in your cheeks.”
“Cold will do that to a person. Sorry for running out like that. I guess I’m a little overwhelmed with everything that’s happened. The past twenty-four hours have been really stressful, and you…well, I can’t answer your questions. I don’t have any answers to give you.”
“I think you have answers. I think you just don’t want to share them.”
“What if you’re right? What if there are things I don’t want to share? What does it matter? It’s nothing to do with Olivia or her murder. I can promise you that.” She shifted uncomfortably, her feet digging into the snow, her head bent so that he couldn’t read her expression.
“Finding Olivia’s murderer isn’t the only thing I’m concerned about. I told you that I’m concerned about Tyler. I’m concerned about you.”
“You don’t have to be. We’ve been going it alone for four years, and we’ve been just fine.”
“Someone is hunting you, Merry. Stalking your house. Shooting at your windows. I’d say that’s a far cry from fine.”
“I’m cold. I’m tired. I need to get some rest. Can we finish this tomorrow?” She didn’t acknowledge his comment, didn’t pretend to answer it.
“Sure.” He tugged her upright, led her to the house, acted like he really thought they’d pick up the conversation the next day.
Only, he didn’t think she planned to be around. He’d seen a small suitcase sitting on the floor in her room. She planned to run.
No way was he going to let her. Running wouldn’t solve her problems. It wouldn’t keep her safe. She needed to stay in Fitzgerald Bay, stay close to people who knew her and cared about her.
And he did care.
Too much to accept her lies and cover-ups.
If she wasn’t willing to tell him what he wanted to know, he’d simply do what he’d threatened. A background check. He’d taken her fingerprints. If she’d come to Fitzgerald Bay to hide from the law, he’d know it soon enough, but he didn’t believe that was the case. She was hiding from something else. Someone else?
“I need to check on Tyler.” She hurried into the house, and he let her go, knowing he’d get little else out of her.
He’d let her try to make a run for it.
Maybe when he caught her fleeing and stopped her, she’d be more willing to tell him what she was running from.
“Douglas!” Owen rounded the side of the house, his dark hair mussed.
“Right here. What’s up?” He walked to his brother’s side, trying to push thoughts of Merry out of his head.
“We’re finished collecting evidence. Keira is bringing what little we found to the station.”
“Are you heading back there, too?”
“No. I’m going to see Granddad and try to talk some sense into him. At least, that’s what Dad wants me to do.”
“Some sense into him about what? His retirement?”
“Dad doesn’t think he’s ready.”
“In this instance, Dad’s opinion doesn’t matter. Granddad has been working hard for a long time. He deserves to retire.” Douglas walked to Owen’s car, his gaze drawn to the house’s second-story window. Was Merry packing? Did she really think she’d be able to leave?
There he went, thinking about her again.
Had he really thought he could push her out of his thoughts?
She’d been there since the first day he’d seen her. Lunches together hadn’t changed that. Her secrets hadn’t changed that.
“You don’t have to convince me,” Owen said. “It’s Dad who’s having issues with it. Maybe you’ve been too caught up in the murder investigation to notice, but he hasn’t been himself since Granddad’s announcement.”
“I was thinking Dad hadn’t been the same since Olivia’s body was discovered.”
“They both happened the same day, but Olivia wasn’t family. Granddad is.”
“So is Charles.” Douglas didn’t have to say any more. Owen had heard the whispers, and he knew exactly why the family had reason to be concerned.
“I guess that’s reason enough for Dad to be upset. Whatever the case, he wants me to talk to Granddad, and I’m going to do it. Don’t be surprised if he asks you to do the same.”
Douglas nodded. “Thanks for the heads-up.”
“Are you planning to work late tonight?”
“Yes, and I’ll probably be at the office early tomorrow morning. I have to take some time off in the afternoon, but I’ll be back in the evening.” And he’d be searching. For Olivia’s killer. For Merry’s secrets.
“Take some time off from what? You’re not scheduled to work.”
“We’re in the middle of a murder investigation, and there’s no way I’m not going to be at the office. If I hadn’t agreed to meet Aunt Vanessa for tea—”
“Tea?” Owen laughed as they walked out to his car.
“Yeah. Tea.”
“You know what that means, right?”
“It means she’s going to have a half-dozen eligible bachelorettes waiting for me at Connolly’s Catch.” And that made Douglas want to stay as far away from his uncle and aunt’s restaurant as he could. Unfortunately, he loved his aunt too much to keep sidestepping her invitations.
The Lawman's Legacy (Love Inspired Suspense) Page 9