by Mary Frame
“Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.”
“Why do you work if you don’t have to?”
He’s quiet for a moment, considering my words while his thumb draws slow circles on my arm. “If I didn’t have something to keep me busy, I think I’d lose my mind.”
“I can see that.”
He sighs a little. “The distraction has really helped me deal with my parents’ deaths. But you’ve helped, too. I don’t feel so . . . guilty anymore.”
“Guilty? Why would you feel guilty?”
He doesn’t speak for a moment, and I can feel him gathering his thoughts. It’s in the sudden tension of his arms, the increased thumping of his heart against me.
“I should have been here. I missed so much because I had to move to a bigger city, a bigger life. If I hadn’t left . . .”
“You don’t know that you could have stopped what happened to them. It was an accident, no one’s fault, except maybe the other driver.”
He shrugs. “Maybe they would still be gone. Maybe not. But I would have had more time with them. I was always too busy. I couldn’t even keep a relationship alive with someone who lived in the same town, let alone remember to call my mom on Sundays or visit over the holidays. I forgot what was really important until it was too late.” There’s a slight pressure on the top of my head, like he’s brushing his lips against my hair. “I won’t forget it ever again.”
It makes sense to me now. Why he doesn’t want to use their money, why he cares so much for the people in this town—which now includes Paige and myself.
And I’m conning him.
Chapter Five
We go to breakfast at Stella’s, the diner in Castle Cove, still wearing rumpled clothing from the night before, but we don’t care.
He drops me off at Ruby’s midmorning, walking me to the door and kissing me goodbye on the porch. Tabby sticks her head out and heckles us, but we just laugh. He has to go to work, and so do I.
Once he leaves, I thank Tabby for staying with Paige, and then once she’s gone, I shower and open the shop.
Paige hangs out and helps for a while until she gets bored and goes to play with the boys next door in Mr. Bingel’s sprinklers.
It would all be perfectly domestic if it weren’t for the threat of our parents looming over everything.
As if my very thoughts conjure them, they show up in the shop.
They’re still dressed impeccably, looking fresh even in the summer heat, always as smooth as ice.
“Hello, Daughter dear,” Mother says.
Today, there’s no looking around or backhanded compliments. However, the silver lining to their appearance is that they walk right up to the counter where I’m standing, finishing up the day’s accounts—and thumbing on the listening device below the register.
“We have another assignment for you,” Father says.
I don’t say anything. I just wait for them to spit it out.
“It’s about your boyfriend. Deputy Reeves, I believe?” Mother’s eyes are focused on me, waiting for my reaction to her words.
I don’t move, keeping my expression blank.
They don’t waste any time.
“I’m not sure if you know this, honey, but it turns out lover boy is better off than you might think.” Father’s voice is infused with an exaggerated measure of shock.
He knows I know, as I’m sure they’ve known since the first night at his house.
Mother is still scrutinizing my face, weighing my expressions against her words. “I knew there was more to his story when I saw his house. Maintenance alone must be rather pricey. As it turns out, he inherited quite a bit when his parents died. And since you’re so cozy and all, it’ll be a snap for you to get us his account information.”
Blood rushes from my head, but I refuse to show any kind of emotional response.
This is all my fault. If only I hadn’t come to Castle Cove. If only I hadn’t pretended to be Ruby. If only I hadn’t gotten close to Jared.
“Are you dropping the charity con then to go after a bigger fish?” I ask. Come on, come on, admit to the whole thing while my little friend with the big ears listens . . .
“No,” Mother says.
I pause. “You want to run a double con? You always told me that was a bad idea.”
Father rolls his eyes and shakes his head at me. “We know what we’re doing. No one will suspect anything until it’s too late. We won’t touch your boyfriend’s money until after the big con is done. We’ll be long gone before anyone notices anything missing.”
Mother agrees. “We thought of making you do more work than this, you know, something really hard since you ran away with our money and daughter and all that, but we decided to be nice to you. This one time. Get us his account information and his password, and you and Paige are free to go.”
My heart thumps dully in my chest. This is the choice they’ve presented? Screw over Jared? How could I? After everything . . .
“As an added incentive.” Father pulls a folded paper out of his jacket and holds it out to me.
I don’t necessarily want to approach him, but I also don’t want him to see my trepidation. Don’t show any weakness.
I force my buttery legs to move toward him and pluck the paper from his grasp.
“What is this?” I ask, my eyes running over the words. It’s a legal document, and at first I can’t make sense of what I’m reading. Would they . . .
“We haven’t signed it yet, but if you do this,” Father says, “your debt to us will be paid and we’ll sign Paige over to you. Fully and legally.”
I can’t process it. They must want this money very badly to give me this kind of leverage. Or maybe they really don’t care, but they know I do and that’s why they are dangling such a carrot in front of me. They know nothing would entice me more.
A little, sickening voice whispers in my mind. He doesn’t want the money anyway. He’s already trying to give some of it to Paige for school. I would be doing him a favor.
I lower the paper and lock eyes with Father. Then I nod, just once.
“Good girl.” Mother pats me on the hand like I’m a child who’s done something to be proud of. “This will be easy for you. After all, you’ve done it before. Don’t feel bad about this man. He’s not one of us. He never will be. I can tell you like him, but someday you’ll find someone better. It was the same for your father and I.”
They exchange a heated look and I want to barf.
I’ve heard bits and pieces of their story before. Mother always said Father saved her. From what I’ve been able to gather, her parents—my grandparents—were rather well-off. They met when Father was conning them. When Mother discovered what he was about, instead of turning him in, she joined up with him.
For all of their faults and their inability to care about anyone but themselves, they do seem to love each other. It was something I almost envied about them, their relationship. As horrible as they’ve been to me, and as negligent as they’ve been to Paige, they’ve never treated each other badly.
Before they leave out the front door, Father stops and looks me straight in the face. “Don’t try to leave. If you do, we’ll find you, but not after we finish our work here.”
They leave and I stare at the wall in front of me for a minute, not really seeing anything.
“You can’t do that,” Paige says from behind me.
I whip my head in her direction, her voice knocking me out of my stupor.
She’s still in her swimsuit, the beach towel Jared gave her covering her thin, dripping frame.
“We can’t do this,” she repeats.
I nod. “I know.”
She shakes her head, her expression nearly as lost as I feel at the moment.
“I’ll come up with a plan.”
I hope.
~*~
The following Saturday, the Founders’ Day Parade starts bright and early at eight o’clock.
Paige is goi
ng to walk down to Main Street with Mr. Bingel and the boys, so she sleeps until seven thirty.
I am not so lucky.
Tabby doesn’t give me any leeway. She’s at the door right at seven because we have to find the best place to sit for the parade.
“Finding a good spot is the most important part,” Tabby says as we’re walking from Ruby’s to Main Street. “You need to find somewhere you can see all the floats. It’s gotta be close to the hot cocoa stand and not too far from the bathrooms. But not too close either, because, ew.”
She brought chairs we can carry on our backs and a small cooler with water and snacks.
It’s warm and slightly humid outside, even in the early morning hours. Tabby told me to wear something comfortable, something I could run in—which is a bit scary, but she’s only referring to the competitions she wants me to do with her, although that thought is frightening in and of itself.
“Did your aunt and uncle decide to come?” Tabby asks.
“They said they’d try to make it, so we might see them there. They have some work stuff going on.” I shrug it off.
I have no idea what they’re up to. I’ve been waiting for them to appear at the shop and demand the account information, but they’ve been MIA since they leveled me with their task. All a part of their plan, surely. Make me anxious and stressed while they hover over me like some kind of demonic specters.
They can’t know that I bugged Ruby’s. Unless that’s why they’re now avoiding the shop?
In addition to planting the bugs, I’ve spent the momentary reprieve figuring out where they’re staying—in one of the priciest parts of town, of course—and searching for what they did with my car. I still haven’t found it. Whatever they did with it, they aren’t keeping it at their new place. The only car there, when I scoped it out under cover of darkness, was the black Mercedes.
“How long does the parade last?” I ask.
“Like three hours.”
“Seriously? That long? How many floats can there be?”
“Well, you know, the middle school band, the high school band, the cheerleading and drill teams, the local radio station, the Girl Scouts, the Boy Scouts, some local businesses, law enforcement, the mayor . . . you get the picture. And then afterward is the Founders’ Day Festival, and at night, there’s music and dancing in the park.”
“This is going to be a long day.”
“At least you have something to look forward to: dancing in Jared’s arms under the stars.”
I tuck my head to hide my smile.
I’ve seen Jared every day this week. Sometimes it’s for dinner, and sometimes he pops in for lunch during his work shift. He even brought me breakfast the other day when he went out for his morning run.
I haven’t done anything about the parents’ most recent demands. How can I? They didn’t give me a timeline—probably on purpose to make the waiting even crueler—but I know before too long they’re going to show up again, expecting me to hand over Jared’s account information.
They have to. We don’t have much time to finish this con before Ruby gets back.
My stomach twists when I think about actually going through with it. Are there other options? If I say no . . . what will they do? There has to be another choice, something I haven’t yet thought of.
We haven’t been to his house all week, he always comes over to Ruby’s, so it’s not like I’ve had much opportunity anyway.
Once we reach the main road, there are already people taking up spots along the sidewalk, even though we’re nearly an hour early.
It takes a few minutes for Tabby to find the perfect area to sit, and we end up smooshed in between a few elderly people in their wheelchairs on one side and a family with young kids on the other. I set up the chairs while Tabby goes to the hot cocoa stand for drinks.
While I’m saving our spots, Mrs. Olsen walks by wearing a cat-covered T-shirt, still pushing Miss Viola around even though we all know the woman can walk just fine, and Judge Ramsey and his wife wave at me from across the street.
It’s weird how comfortable it feels, talking and waving, being a part of a community. At the same time, my eyes are continually scanning the crowd for two faces I absolutely do not want to see amongst the children and revelers and vendors walking around selling hats, T-shirts, and giant stuffed animals. But I don’t see them, only the happy, quirky people of Castle Cove.
A shadow stops right next to me, unmoving. Tabby, holding a cup of hot cocoa in each hand, staring into the distance with a blank face.
“Tabby?”
Her eyes flick toward me but she doesn’t move.
“Are you okay?”
“I just saw . . .” She shakes her head. Her mouth opens but nothing comes out. Then her mouth closes.
Standing, I take the cups from her and put them down in the cup holders on our chairs. I touch her arm and she startles. “What did you see?”
I expect her to say something terrible. Someone was crushed by a runaway float, maybe stung to death by bees, or Sharknado is now a reality and a great white is looming on the horizon.
“I saw—Troy. Making out with—Eleanor.” Her sentence is broken, like she can barely speak the words.
I laugh, relaxing. “Is that it? I thought you saw something truly horrible.”
“No, you don’t understand, they were like totally sucking face. It was worse than horrible.”
“Eleanor’s not that bad.”
“She’s not. But I saw my brother’s tongue in her mouth. I’ve been scarred for life.” She plops down in her chair, still grimacing, and I sit next to her.
“Why don’t you seem surprised?” She turns toward me, lips pursed, eyes narrowed.
“I’m not.”
“Did you have a psychic vision about this? Because if so, being a clairvoyant isn’t as cool as I thought it would be.”
“Um . . .” I scratch the back of my head. “Sort of. It came up a couple weeks ago.”
She stares at me, her eyes wide and unblinking. “You knew?”
“I did. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you, but it wasn’t really my place.”
She slumps. “I know. I’m not mad at you. It’s just—I can’t believe it.”
“Is it really so hard to believe? He’s single, she’s single. There’s not many of those in our age range nearby.”
“Yeah but she’s just so . . . bland.”
“Tabby!”
“I don’t mean to sound rude, it’s just that I’ve known her for like ten years, and other than knowing where she works and that she must like books, I literally know nothing about her.”
“Have you ever tried to get to know her?”
“Sure,” she waves a hand, “years ago. I invited her to karaoke night at Ben’s and she acted like I’d invited her to sample some herpes-infested cakes.”
I laugh. “I’m sure she didn’t react that badly.”
“No, really. She mumbled something incoherent and ran away from me as soon as she could.”
“She’s obviously shy. Maybe karaoke isn’t her thing. She came to trivia night, remember?”
She shrugs. “She didn’t say much then either.”
“You should give her another chance.”
“I just don’t want to see her making out with my brother again.” Her mouth twists. “Yuck. That is an image I wish I could scrub from my brain.”
The parade starts, and Tabby is distracted by the first float. It’s a giant rooster made by the local high school.
“That’s the school mascot.” Tabby leans over to tell me. “A rooster. We’re literally the Castle Cove Cocks.”
I choke on a laugh and we cheer and clap with the rest of the town as various groups and organizations march by.
The crowd gets really excited when the mayor cruises down the street in a bright-red convertible, flanked on all sides by police cruisers. The car in the rear has its windows down and I hear the catcalls before I see Jared. I’m not surprised every female in h
is radius is whistling at him. The man makes panties melt all over town. Even if they are mostly granny panties.
When the car reaches us, it rolls to a complete stop.
Jared jumps out of the passenger seat, strolling over to where Tabby and I are sitting. He looks amazing in his perfectly pressed police uniform, as usual.
“What are you—?”
He doesn’t let me finish my sentence.
He reaches down, grabs my hand, and pulls me to my feet. Then he leans down and kisses me, right there on Main Street in front of the entire town.
I should protest, but once his mouth hits mine it’s like every time he touches me—I melt into him like butter on hot pavement.
After a moment, he releases me, giving me a crooked grin and squeezing my hand. “I know I said I wouldn’t kiss you in front of everyone, but . . . I lied.” He winks before jogging back to the patrol car.
I watch the car drive slowly away before regaining my senses.
People are still clapping and whistling.
I glance around and wave a bit awkwardly. Through the smiling crowd, I spot Father’s profile. There’s a shift in the line of bodies and he disappears. Even though I keep scanning for another minute, it’s no use. He’s vanished.
“That was hot,” Tabby says next to me, fanning herself with one hand. “Way better than watching my brother. Girl, he is so into you.”
I smile, but inwardly, the euphoria of his blatant display of affection is sinking into a yawning pit in my stomach.
It’s not that I don’t want him to be into me. But I can’t help but worry about the fallout.
What have I gotten myself into?
Worse, what have I gotten Jared into?
Chapter Six
“I can’t believe he teamed up with her,” Tabby grumbles as she stretches in the grass, warming up like we’re about to run a marathon.
We’re in the park, in a large grassy expanse where the games have been set up. We’re waiting for the first event to begin, which is the potato sack race.
“It’s no big deal.”
“It is a big deal. He never wanted to be on my team. I had to threaten him with bodily harm and even then he complained the whole time. But Eleanor sticks her tongue down his throat once and he says yes?”