“So, I’ve been hanging on to a lot of bad stuff for way too long. I realized that when I saw Dad’s car wrapped around that post. Did you see it?”
“They’d cleared it by the time Garrett and I got out of there.”
“It was awful. I can’t believe he didn’t get killed. I’ve been so mad at him for so long. I guess it just became habit. It’s wrong.”
“That wreck must’ve been bad.”
“I can’t even tell you how bad. Words can’t describe what it looked like. I’m not sure how he got so lucky, but I’m not going to take the second chance lightly.”
“Wow. OK. Now you’re really freaking me out.”
“That’s OK. I’m freaking myself out a little, too. Jill, I feel so different. I don’t know, but maybe it’s letting all that anger finally go that’s making me feel so alive. Whatever it is, I’m grateful for it. I feel like a lot of bad stuff that’s been weighing me down has just been swept away.”
“Well, that’s good.”
Carolanne took in a deep breath. “I’m going to miss this place.”
“This place or living with Connor?”
“I’m not living with Connor. I’m only living here because you corralled all of your fiancé’s time to finish the artisan center instead of my house!”
“True, but I kind of did you a favor.”
“How do you figure that?”
“Because it gave you more time to realize that Pearl was right about you and Connor. Besides, now you can fill up all those extra bedrooms in that house with little redheaded babies. And before you start denying it”—Jill checked her watch—“I also need a little favor, but first let me say that Connor gets my vote.”
“OK. I’m not sure you get a vote, but I’ve recorded it just in case. What is it you need from me?”
“Part of my grant requires we do some statistics and stuff for the grand opening. I know you were going to come and be on hand in case we got too busy, but I was wondering if you’d help me with the numbers. You were always a much better math girl than me.”
“No problem. I’m still planning to come over Thursday night and Friday night to help you get ready, too.”
“That would be great.” She got up and headed to the door. “Will Connor be coming with you Thursday?”
“Wait and see.” Carolanne wasn’t sure herself what the answer to that question was. “Now, you better leave, or you’ll be the one who’s late.”
Chapter Twenty
Connor was shocked when he walked into Carolanne’s apartment on Tuesday morning. The empty boxes that had been stacked all over the place now rested neatly in rows four boxes high, labels out, near the door. Not one picture hung on the wall, and nary a knickknack was left unpacked.
“Wow.” He turned in a circle, flipping the daily crossword on his leg. “Is that my imagination? Do I smell coffee, or did you already pack the coffeepot?”
Carolanne walked up to him with a grin of amusement and a paper cup of coffee in each hand. “Hope you don’t mind the disposable cups, but I was on a roll.”
“I guess I should be flattered you thought to keep two cups out.”
“You should,” she agreed.
He took the cup of coffee. “Did you stay up all night?”
“Come sit. I don’t have any stuff, but I still have furniture.” She sat on the couch, and he sat down at the other end of it. She pulled her bare feet up onto the sofa and sipped her coffee. “I was up until about three, but I slept good knowing it was done.”
“It couldn’t wait until today?”
She shook her head.
He caught her uneasy glance.
“I’ve got something I have to do today. It’s not going to be pleasant.”
“What’s going on?” he asked, placing his cup on the table in front of the sofa. “Anything I can help with?”
She groaned and took another sip of coffee. “I’m so dreading it, but I know I have to do it.” She put the cup down on the table. “When I picked up Dad at the hospital, Scott was there talking to him about the…”
“Murder?”
“Don’t call it that.”
“I think it’s clear now that’s what it was.” He hesitated, measuring her for a moment. Clearly she hadn’t realized until just this minute that she was going to be living so close to where such a heinous crime was committed.
“I can’t think of it that way.” She shook her hands like that would shoo away the bad news. “Anyway, Scott showed Dad the picture of Gina, and he said he didn’t recognize her.”
He stared at her, baffled. “OK? No one in this whole town except you and Doris recognized her. Where’s this going?”
She sat up as if preparing to make a speech. “I saw Gina at his house.”
Connor cut his gaze to her.
“I know. It doesn’t make sense. I was over that way the night after the rehearsal dinner, and she walked right out his front door and then drove away in his car.”
Connor leaned back and sized her up. How did Ben know Gina? He isn’t the type to lie. There has to be something more to this.
“I’ve got to tell Scott. I tried to yesterday, but then he got called away, and then I talked myself out of it.”
“What did Ben say when you asked him about it?” He leaned his forearms on his legs.
She shrank back. “I didn’t ask him about it, but he didn’t offer up any information, either.”
You don’t think…You couldn’t… “Do you think he did something to that girl?”
“I didn’t say that.”
“No,” Connor said, unable to hold back the bitter feeling in his gut. “But you just said you were going to take the information to the sheriff without even talking to him. Carolanne, he’s your father, for God’s sake.”
She jerked back like he’d just slapped her. “I’m not judging the situation. I’m passing along information.”
“Listen to yourself. That’s bull, and you know it. Your father would never so much as hurt a fly, much less a person.”
She shrugged. “I’m not the bad guy here.”
You just might be. “If you take that information to Scott, he’ll have to check into it, and then he’ll probably take your father in—and you and I both know that without any other suspects and probably no alibi, they are going to hold him. It’s not going to look good. If you won’t talk to him, I damn sure will.”
“What would I say to him? I can’t call my father a liar.” She gave him a challenging look. “Seriously, you think I should just call him a flat-out liar?”
“But you can call him a murderer?” He slapped a hand on the arm of the couch. “You are unbelievable.”
She got up and walked to the window. “I know. Or I don’t. I really don’t know what to think, Connor.” With arms wrapped around herself, she turned to face Connor. “You don’t understand. I was trying to make a positive move. I went over there, and instead of making a forward step, that girl walked out of his house.” She closed her eyes. “It was like I’d been replaced.”
“That’s weak, Carolanne. Your relationship, or lack thereof one, was by your choice. You know that.”
“It still hurt. She was using his phone, his car, sleeping at his house. It was like a regular little family over there.”
“Did you see them together?”
Carolanne shook her head. “But it was at his house.”
“Did you talk to her?”
“No, but I heard her talking on the phone to someone—her boyfriend back home, I guess—and she clearly said that Ben had let her stay there.”
Connor felt like she was spinning figure eights around him. “Let me get this straight. You didn’t talk to your dad. You didn’t talk to the girl. But you saw her and overheard her whole conversation on what you say was your dad’s cell phone.”
“Right.”
“How did you hear all that if you didn’t even talk to them? None of this is making any sense at all.”
She dropped
her head back. “I was nervous about taking that first step, and as I walked up the sidewalk, the porch light came on. I jumped behind the bush at the end of his driveway. I saw her from there.”
Connor couldn’t help laughing. “Oh, this just gets better and better.”
“I’m not proud of how I reacted, but I sure as heck don’t know how I would have reacted if I’d been one minute earlier and she’d answered my dad’s door!”
Ben had been his friend for a long time. He was a kind man, and if Gina was staying there, he had a good reason. Heck, she could have been one of the people he helped through AA. It was no secret he still went to those meetings. They could have met there, but talking to Carolanne when she was in this state of mind wasn’t going to get him far. “If that’s true, if that’s the case, someone else saw Gina over there, and you can rest assured it’s just a matter of time before Scott puts two and two together. You’re not doing yourself, or your dad, any favors by not getting to the bottom of this.”
“I can’t.”
“You’re stubborn and selfish, Carolanne. He could wind up in jail.”
“I’ll trust the system.”
A laugh of frustration belted out of him like a crazy man. “Carolanne, you and I have seen plenty of cases that have been won for the wrong reasons. I’m not taking that chance. He’s my friend. If you won’t help him, I will.”
“Well, I guess it’s good to know where your allegiance lies. You should probably leave.”
Connor stood. “I was thinking exactly the same thing.” He walked out the door and slammed it so hard that one of the boxes stacked near the door toppled to the floor.
Chapter Twenty-One
The next day, Carolanne stood in the middle of the living room in her new house. She hadn’t seen or heard from Connor since the big blowup, but she’d successfully moved every single box out of the apartment without his help.
Even though there wasn’t one piece of furniture here yet, it already felt like home—besides that the tension with Connor was too much. This is where I belong. She tried to picture her furniture and the pictures she’d picked out for each accent wall.
Three fast raps pounded on her front door.
My first company!
She jogged through the space, sliding to the door on the hardwood floors in her socks. Without even bothering to look through the peephole, she swung the door open, expecting to see Jill and Garrett since she’d called them earlier about using the trailer.
She froze for a two-count. “Dad? What are…? Come in. How are you feeling today?” Did Connor tell him?
He looked like he was stuck in neutral, bobbing forward a little but not taking a step. “I saw your car. I hope you don’t mind me stopping by. If it’s not a good—”
“It’s fine. Are you OK?”
“I’m fine. Fine.” His mouth kept moving, but it was like he was on mute, because nothing was coming out.
“Come in. I’ll show you around.” She forced a smile and stepped aside so he could enter. “Garrett lent me his guys. They are bringing the furniture over later. I’m just waiting on them.” It was good that Garrett had offered them up because there was no way she was going to ask for Connor’s help after yesterday.
He looked nervous but not mad. How would she explain herself if Connor had already told him with his own personal slant on things, like she was a villainess?
“I brought something for you.” He turned and walked back outside, and for a moment, she thought maybe the knock to the head had him totally wonked out and he was leaving, but instead, he squatted to lift something from the deacon’s bench on the porch. The large box had been labeled at one time, but the years had faded the black marker past recognition. He carried the awkwardly wide box inside, turning sideways to fit through the front door.
“Is it heavy? I can help you with that.”
“It’s not heavy.” Ben hoisted the box up with his knee to get a better grip.
She brushed a hand through her hair. “You didn’t need to bring me anything.”
“I know. It’s something I wanted you to have, though, and now seemed like a good time. Something that seems perfect as you start another phase of your life.”
She walked up behind him. “You can set it down back here on the kitchen counter.”
He followed her through the living room to the kitchen and set the box down, glancing around the spacious open floor plan. “You’ve done real good for yourself, kiddo.”
He walked over to the French doors. “You’ve got a great view of the pastures and the pond. You’ve worked really hard for this. I’m proud of you, Carolanne. I know I’ve never told you that enough.”
“Thanks,” she answered softly.
“Your mother—she’d have been proud of the woman you’ve become. You’re so much like her. Strong.”
The love showed in his green eyes when he spoke. You still love her as much today as you did when I was a little girl.
He must have been nervous, because he started talking faster and faster, but facing this overdue conflict scared the heck out of her, too. She could tell he was struggling to maintain control of his emotions. “I know I can’t take any credit for the wonderful woman you are. I’ll never get those years I wasted back. It’s a tough pill to swallow. I’m glad you did so well in spite of me.”
“Neither one of us should live in the past.”
He looked relieved. “I’m glad to hear you say that.”
“It’s time we both tried to move forward.” I’m dying to ask you about Gina. How can I ask you without you knowing I was there? Maybe your vision just wasn’t clear after the accident. That could be it.
“Agreed. Won’t keep me from thanking the good Lord for Pearl stepping in the way she did, though. Don’t know what would’ve happened if she hadn’t been there for the both of us all those years.”
“I miss her.”
“Me, too. You know, I worry about you being alone. With Jill and Garrett getting married, I’ve been thinking about that even more. Have you?”
“A little.”
“You need more than just work in your life. You deserve someone special to share the good times with and to be there in the not-so-good ones.”
“I’ve really never thought of myself as the marrying kind.” Until recently. “I’m happy the way things are. I’m going to start taking yoga classes, and I’m going to be really busy decorating my house. I’ll probably help Jill out with things at the artisan center. It’s all good.”
“That’s not the kind of thing I was talking about. I know I didn’t set a fine example of men, but don’t hold that against the rest of the world. The love I shared with your mother was more important to me than my own life. I’m sorry I let you down in the process. So, so sorry.” Tears glistened in his eyes.
“Everyone mourns differently.”
“I didn’t go about it in too healthy a way. I’m sorry for that. I don’t expect you to ever forgive me, but I hope you find a love like I had with your mother. It’s true it tore me right out of the frame when I lost her, but I spent the best days of my life with her. I wouldn’t trade a single one of them.”
It scares me to death to think how much that hurt. “So what’s in the box?”
Ben’s voice softened. “It was your mother’s. The wedding—it got me to thinking.”
She stared at the box, then glanced up at him.
“Open it,” Ben urged her.
Carolanne raised her hand, then hesitantly tugged on the tape. It had lost its stickiness over the years and pulled back easily. She lifted one of the cardboard flaps, and the top of the box sprung open. Tissue paper, folded neatly across the top, had yellowed from years of heat and dust.
She glanced at her dad, wondering what was in the box. She moved the paper gently to the side. A small gasp was all she could manage.
She laid her hands on the fine fabric. Unlike the tissue paper, the dress had remained white, and the intricate needlework was simple but eleg
ant.
“I can still picture the first moment I laid eyes on your mother in that dress.” A smile and faraway look came across his face. “I’d never seen a more beautiful woman.”
Carolanne lifted the dress out of the box. “It’s lovely.”
“There are a few other special things she’d put away for you in there, too.” He shoved his hands into his pockets. “I know it’s long overdue.”
“This isn’t about that stupid bouquet, is it? That’s—”
“No, Carolanne. It’s not about you catching the bouquet.”
“But—”
“Your mother would’ve wanted you to have it a long time ago.”
“She was about my size?”
“Yes. I think you’re exactly the same height that she was, too.”
Carolanne went to the hall closet and found a heavy wooden suit hanger. She carried it back over and slipped the hanger into the shoulders of the gown, then hung it from the top of the door. She stepped back and took in a long breath. “It’s so pretty.”
“Not real fancy. Your momma wasn’t like that, but she looked absolutely stunning walking down the aisle in that dress.”
“It’s beautiful.” She tugged the hem of the tea-length gown, pulling some of the wrinkles free. “Timeless, really. Dad, I can’t take this from you.”
“Don’t be silly. She’d want you to have it, Carolanne. Our wedding day was the best day of our lives. I hope it brings you the same kind of joy we shared.”
Tears welled, but she was maintaining control.
“You might never wear it. That’s perfectly fine, but you should have it.” He reached over and took her hand in his own.
His weathered hand looked tan and rough against her delicate skin.
A sob caught in her throat.
“It’s OK, honey.” He pulled her close and hugged her. “I never had one second thought about getting married to your mother. No cold feet. No desire for a crazy bachelor party. I knew how lucky I was to find my perfect match. But I didn’t expect the impact of seeing her step around the corner in that dress. She took my breath away. Literally. If your Uncle Reggie hadn’t been standing next to me, I’d have landed on the ground like one of them fainting goats. Thunk.”
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