by Kym Roberts
“You look . . . beautiful,” I told her.
Naomi blushed and looked down at her feet. “Thanks to Scarlet and the ladies at the shop.”
“Scarlet weaves magic into everyone’s appearance.”
I shook Shirley’s hand. “Thank you for coming by. Would you like to see the books we’ve already sorted? I think you’re going to be happy with the amount we’ve collected, but storage may be an issue for you.” I turned to the kids, who were being surprisingly gently with Princess. “Lily? Jimmy? Would you guys like to pick out a couple of books?”
Naomi started to object. “Oh, I can’t . . .”
“It’s on the house, or rather the Barn,” Daddy interjected as he approached us with his coffee in his hand. He didn’t know Naomi or her kids, yet despite their new clothes and new hair styles, Daddy could spot a family in need.
Naomi blushed again. “But . . .”
Daddy wasn’t taking no for an answer. “No buts. That’s the way we develop our customer base.”
I quickly introduced everyone to my Daddy, but he and Shirley already knew each other, while Naomi and her children had never been in the Barn. I wasn’t sure they’d ever made it out of their trailer park with Jimmy Senior ruling the roost.
“Daddy, would you show Shirley and the kids the books?” I asked.
He nodded, and he and Shirley headed toward the back of the Barn, where we’d stored boxes upon boxes of books for foster kids.
“What’d you do to your arm?” Lily asked.
My dad wasn’t daunted by her curiosity. “I got over twenty stitches in it last week.”
I saw Lily look up with an expression of awe. “No lie?”
I couldn’t hear his response, but from the expression on his face and the reaction of the two kids, I was pretty sure Dad’s tale was growing to monster proportions.
I turned toward Scarlet and Naomi. “How do you think Jimmy is going to react to your makeover?”
Naomi stiffened. “I’m not going back.”
“You’re not?”
“No. I’ve been thinking about it for some time. I need to do this for my kids. Jimmy Junior hit Lily over the weekend, and she didn’t fight back. They’re turning into us, and it’s my fault for not stopping it sooner. Jimmy and Lily have seen what happens between their dad and me, and they’re acting the way they’ve been taught. I can’t have my son grow up to be like his father, and I certainly can’t have Lily grow up to be like me. I just can’t.”
“Are you ready?” I asked.
Scarlet answered for her. “I’m taking her and the kids to a shelter when we leave here, and Shirley’s got them set up for an appointment with a caseworker on Wednesday. Once they’re at the shelter, the staff will help her get an order of protection to keep Jimmy away from her and the kids. Since they won’t be at home, Naomi wanted you to have the key to Ava’s house. She figured you’d need it to get in to retrieve the books for the drive. Especially now that John Luke is in jail.”
I reached out to shake Naomi’s hand. “Thank you.”
Naomi smiled. It wasn’t a full-blown grin or anything like that. It was a slight rise to the corners of her mouth. The kind you see on the face of someone who’s forgotten how to smile, like joy was so foreign to her she didn’t remember how to express it anymore. “Thank you. I probably wouldn’t have made this move if you hadn’t come through the neighborhood with Scarlet in tow. She knows how to motivate the laziest person.”
“You’re not lazy. Given the right environment, I suspect you’ll be back in the workforce and making a real home for you and your kids before you know it.” Scarlet rested her hand on Naomi’s shoulder. “Your dreams will come true.”
Naomi looked like she didn’t quite believe it, but she wanted to. “Was that Joan that I saw leaving a few minutes ago? She didn’t look very happy.” Naomi began twisting her fingers and looking up at me through her eyelashes.
Her question took me by surprise. I couldn’t imagine how she knew the receptionist at Oak Grove Manor or why Joan would make her nervous. “As a matter of fact, it was. How do you know Joan?”
Naomi looked as if she wished she hadn’t said a word but answered the question anyway. “She’s Jimmy’s mom.” She hesitated, glanced toward the direction of the kids in the back of the Barn, and continued twisting her fingers. Scarlet grabbed her hand and squeezed it for support. “I was worried she saw the kids at Beaus and Beauties. She wouldn’t appreciate me spending money like that.”
Naomi was fishing, politely asking if Joan had mentioned her or the kids across the street, and I suspected her mother-in-law’s presence at the Barn had been the real reason Naomi had Scarlet bring her over here. She was worried about the repercussions of Joan reporting back to Jimmy. It was heartbreaking to see a grown woman afraid to get a makeover because it would cause her husband to become suspicious, maybe even violent.
I tried to reassure her as much as possible, but I was honestly having trouble reconciling Joan, the woman who was ticked at me because she thought I’d neglected my grandmother, with Joan the mother-in-law who clearly didn’t care enough to stop her own son from neglecting and abusing his own family. It didn’t make sense. “She never said a word about seeing you or the kids. She was pretty upset with me when she left. I don’t think she would have noticed a purple longhorn in front of her by then.”
“What did you do?” Scarlet asked.
“It was about Oak Grove Manor.”
Scarlet immediately understood that I wasn’t going to bring up Isla in front of anyone, even the people who didn’t have a clue about my past, or lack thereof, with my grandparents.
She nodded and changed the subject. “I was wondering if you could help take the kids to the shelter? I’ve only got enough room for two in my car, and I thought maybe you could follow with the kids in the truck. Mary helped me pick them up this morning, but she’s got customers until this afternoon and I didn’t want to take any chances of Jimmy showing up after we saw Joan.”
“Of course. Let me talk to my dad and make sure he was planning to stay.”
After conferring with my daddy about the store and Shirley about dropping books off on Wednesday, we gathered the kids with their selection of books in tow and headed toward our cars.
I opened the door to the truck and looked down at Lily and Jimmy. “I don’t have any car seats.”
Scarlet headed across Main Street. “I’ve got a couple on the porch in front of the beauty shop.”
I looked at my best friend carrying two car seats across the street like they weren’t a foreign entity in our world. When she saw the dumbfounded expression on my face, she grinned and handed one to me as she climbed into the truck and installed the first one in the middle of the bench seat. She clicked the seat belt, then tugged on the end before wobbling the seat back and forth and yanking on the end of the belt one more time.
Scarlet stepped down and took the second seat from me.
“Who are you and what have you done with Scarlet?” I whispered in her ear.
“Mystery is the key to any relationship. Lose that, and it goes down the crapper.”
I laughed. I’d never get used to Scarlet using any kind of language that was remotely dirty. She followed the same procedure with the second car seat and then rechecked both of them while I stood back in awe.
“Jimmy, you get to ride in the middle.” Jimmy frowned at the idea, and Scarlet immediately told him why he got to ride in such an important position. “It’s your job to tell Charli if she’s doing something wrong. She’s new at driving.”
Naomi looked as if she was going to object to me driving her kids, and I leaned over and told her the truth. “I’ve been driving since I was fourteen.” I didn’t tell her I’d stolen my daddy’s truck to drive to school so I wouldn’t ruin my hair and the sheriff . . . my grandfather had caught me.
Thinking back, it made me wonder if he’d actually been watching over me during my childhood. At the time, I’d thought he was harassing me. Knowing what I knew now, maybe it was something else entirely.
“Lily. It’s your job to make sure she doesn’t cross the solid white line on the side of the road. Deal?” Scarlet asked.
Lily gave a curt nod and helped Jimmy climb in before getting into her own seat. Once the kids were in and Naomi checked to make sure they were secure, we were on our way with Scarlet leading.
I turned on the radio and Jimmy corrected me. “That’s the wrong station,” he said through his thumb, which had made its way to his mouth the moment he was settled in his seat.
“What is?”
Lily answered for him. “We’re only allowed to listen to Daddy’s station.”
“Do you like Daddy’s station?”
Jimmy shrugged.
Lily was a bit more vocal. “We don’t know any others.”
“I’ll tell you what. I’ll change the station until you hear a song you like. Jimmy gets to choose first. Lily, you can choose the next one.” Both kids nodded and we proceeded through the dial.
“That one!” Jimmy yelled and I stopped on the old rock station Cade listened to as “Hooked on a Feeling” by Blue Swede began playing. The two kids began giggling, and I started singing the nonsensical “oogas” throughout the chorus to entertain them. They looked at me like singing was a sin, then tentatively joined in. Before the song was over, they were bouncing to the beat. That moment of pure joy on their faces would live with me forever.
As we crossed the river, it was Lily who spotted the truck coming toward us.
“It’s Daddy!” She pointed to the man driving a white truck in our direction, and in that little gesture, it was like she drew Jimmy Sr.’s attention to the occupants of my truck. He looked over at us, and the two kids waved.
I cringed and watched Jimmy Sr. do a double take. It wasn’t moments later that he was doing a U-turn behind me and my phone rang.
“Don’t pull over,” Scarlet instructed. “I’m calling the police.”
We hung up, and I tried to distract the kids by finding a new station for Lily to choose.
“It’s your turn, Lily,” I said as I watched my rearview mirror.
Luckily, the kids were oblivious and Lily immediately found a song she liked, one I could relate to as Meghan Trainor began rocking the airwaves from my old radio with “Woman Up.” I tried to sing and sigh with the song, but I was completely distracted by the truck passing one car and then another behind us. Only a Toyota Prius stood between my truck and Jimmy’s. My phone rang and I immediately clicked it on.
“It’s never a dull moment with you, is it?” Mateo asked.
“Where are you?”
“Waiting for you to pass Rodeo Way.”
I looked up ahead and figured we were about two miles from where he was waiting. “Did Scarlet fill you in?” Jimmy passed the Prius and nearly caused a head-on collision. I pressed harder on the gas pedal and eased closer to Scarlet’s bumper. Hopefully she’d get the message and speed up.
“Are you going to pull him over?”
“That’s the plan.”
I glanced at Jimmy, who was gaining on me. “What if he doesn’t pull over?”
“We’ll deal with that if the time comes. Where are you at now?”
I saw the street sign stating Rodeo Way was one mile ahead of us. “One mile to your east.” I turned my head toward the side window. “The kids don’t know he’s behind me.”
“I won’t turn on my siren unless I have to.”
“Charli, keep your eyes on the road!” Jimmy yelled next to me.
“Where are your eyes?” Mateo asked.
“On the road,” I said.
“Charli, you shouldn’t talk on your cell phone while you’re driving,” Jimmy insisted.
“You’re right,” I told him.
“Bye, Charli.” I could have sworn Mateo was laughing as he hung up. I put my cell on my lap and gripped the steering wheel with both hands as Jimmy Senior began to pull up alongside my truck. His illegal lane change over the solid no-passing line was in complete view of Mateo’s patrol car sitting at the next intersection. Scarlet accelerated and I followed suit, but Jimmy was determined to overtake me. I wasn’t sure what he’d do when he did, and I was extremely glad when we passed Mateo and I saw him pull out behind us. I was even happier for the semi headed in our direction that forced Jimmy to pull in behind me once again.
“It’s your turn, Charli,” Lily said.
I glanced over at her. “What?”
Jimmy chimed in. “It’s your turn to pick a song.”
I tried to smile and act like I wasn’t watching the flashing lights behind me. “Of course. Sorry, I got distracted.” I switched the dial and stopped at the first station as I watched Jimmy Sr. slam his hands against the steering wheel and pull over onto the shoulder.
“Really? That?”
I’d stopped the radio without even thinking about anything but the irate man in the pickup on the side of the road who had Mateo approaching his driver’s side window at a snail’s pace. A second patrol car pulled in behind Mateo’s. I breathed a sigh of relief and focused on the song Jimmy didn’t really care for.
I smiled. “Absolutely. I love the smooth sound of Tony Bennett’s voice.” I loved it more when Mateo sang with him, but for the moment, Tony would do just fine. Jimmy seemed to contemplate my choice and before the song was over, his legs were bouncing to the beat of the song.
We made it to the shelter without any more interruptions, and I said goodbye to the kids. I was kind of sad to take the car seats out of the truck, but then again, I was pretty happy to have the radio back all to myself.
Chapter Twenty-four
Daddy was watching the store and Scarlet was headed back to her shop. I still had questions about not only my heritage, but who killed Ava and who left my daddy wearing a bandage across most of his bicep. I’d been so sidetracked with everything else, I’d lost my focus. Although I didn’t think anyone could possibly consider Daddy a suspect after he’d been attacked behind the store, I didn’t think he was completely eliminated as far as the law was concerned either. Nor was Isla, or the Judge, and although I wasn’t feeling particularly protective of the Judge, for Isla sake and my dad’s, I was more invested in proving everyone’s innocence than ever.
The problem lay with Isla. She knew more than she could tell me. I drove to Oak Grove Manor and parked the truck. Big drops of rain struck the ground around me as I exited the vehicle, and I made a run for the front door. I shook my hair out once I was under the awning and shivered with the breeze picking up. I swore the temperature dropped ten degrees from my truck to the door.
I went inside and was thankful that Joan was off-duty. Maybe she was bailing Jimmy Sr. out of jail on all the traffic tickets Mateo had piled on him.
I couldn’t help but wonder if there was a connection there that I was missing—Joan’s anger about my relationship with Isla—me being indirectly responsible for Naomi moving out with her kids and Jimmy Sr. being left in the cold without a wife or children. Yet I wasn’t sure how that could possibly connect with Ava, other than the two women being neighbors. Maybe Ava had started to help Naomi plan her escape, and that encouragement put Ava in the crosshairs of one angry mother-in-law.
It was a stretch, and I had no proof. But it was possible . . .
I signed in with the woman named Beth that I recognized from previous visits, who called Isla and told her I was there. I made my way to her room and noticed the halls seemed unusually quiet for the dinner hour. Isla met me at her door with her cane and gave me a huge hug.
“I can finally show my love for you and not be ashamed,” she said and then pulled back to look me in the face. Her eyes brimmed with unshed tears and I
couldn’t help but feel a bit choked up.
“Why didn’t anyone tell me when I was a little girl?”
“Your grandfather and I didn’t deserve to have you, but your mom welcomed me into the store and gave me the best gift of my life.”
I could understand why she felt like she was given a gift, but I couldn’t help but think I’d been denied one. And now Isla wouldn’t remember me much longer. Maybe not tomorrow.
We moved into her room and sat down in her little seating area with her Scrabble board between us. As much as I wanted to ask about our relationship, I felt I needed to talk about Ava. Everything hinged on finding her killer.
“Isla, why did you accuse the Judge of having an affair with Ava?”
Isla fiddled with the corner of her shirt. “I was wrong. You know how I get confused sometimes . . .” She looked up at me with a haunted shadow in her eyes, and I nodded. I couldn’t possibly understand how hard it was for her, but I knew she became confused. “Jacob and your father came by to see me before work, and before Jacob left, he said he was going to spend the day with Ava. When he was gone, all I could think about was him leaving me to be with her. I got angry and wasn’t going to wait for him to come back to me.”
A tear slid town her cheek, and I reached across the table to squeeze her hand. Isla wiped it away. “I think I may have ruined Jacob’s day.”
The Judge may not have been having an affair with Ava, but according to John Luke, he controlled Ava’s life, and Ava’s own letter to the Judge said she let him down. I needed to know if there was more to the relationship that would make Isla believe the two were having an affair.
“Isla, did the Judge control Ava?”
“What do you mean?”
“Did he dictate who she could see, what she did?”
“Don’t be silly. He treated her like the daughter we never had . . . or the granddaughter we’d hoped to have.” Isla leaned forward and stared me in the eye. “Jacob would never hurt Ava. From the day she was kicked out of foster care, she may as well have been our own.”