#7-9--The O’Connells

by Lorhainne Eckhart

  “Hey, kid,” Marcus said. “I just wanted to have a word, you know, about the school prank. Why would kids be saying it was your idea?”

  Owen didn’t miss the way Ryan had settled his hand on Alison’s shoulder, and she didn’t shrug him off, though he wondered if her stubbornness would have her becoming suddenly mute.

  “If someone’s tossing you under the bus, kid, you tell us,” Owen said.

  Alison gave a deep sigh as she settled her deep brown eyes on him. “I don’t know. I guess someone figured I’d be an easy target. My uncle’s the sheriff, and my family’s the O’Connells, so take your pick. I told you before that I heard what the kids planned, and I didn’t want any part of it. I told them it was lame.”

  Ryan rested both his hands on her shoulders now, and Jenny dragged her gaze from Alison up to Ryan as if willing him to do something.

  “So who told you about the plan to run around the school naked, and the pills?” Marcus said. He had a way of talking to her that was calm and reassuring but also said he expected an answer.

  “I told you already that I heard it from a few of the kids, who said they’d heard it from Belinda Lee and Amanda Strickland. Hunter was also pushing the idea. Heard there was a meeting point right after school, behind the auto shop. There were a bunch of pills, too, that would be passed out, you know, a few of them, in a candy dish.” She stopped talking.

  “Come on, Alison. Spill everything,” Ryan said. “What pills, and who was supplying them?”

  Jenny was still standing there, her arms crossed. The expression on her face was one of shock, horror, or wanting to pull her hair out, Owen thought. Maybe she expected something more to crawl out of the woodwork.

  “I don’t know—everyone. You should talk to Hunter and Belinda, because I heard from Amanda that a bunch of the kids had gotten a hold of pills from their parents’ cabinets, and Belinda had kept a tally of who was supplying what. Hunter and Belinda do everything together. They were going to put them in a bowl and mix them up, and everyone was meant to take one. No one would know who got what. Then, after they popped the pills, they were planning on stripping and racing around the school naked. They laughed about it. I said no thanks and came home. There’s nothing else. You think I could come up with an idea like that? Organizing that requires the kids who run the school, the ones who can talk anyone into anything, and that’s not me. I fit in about as well as Jackson Moore did.” She gave that sulky look to her mom and then Marcus.

  “So is Hunter trying to keep the spotlight from shining his way and Belinda’s?” Owen said. “Tell us why he named you, Alison.”

  Alison turned to him and narrowed her eyes. He could see she was pissed off. “Hunter pointed the finger at me?” she said.

  Okay, so they hadn’t told her who it was.

  She lifted her hands, and he could see she had that O’Connell fight deep within her as she shook her head. “He’s lying.”

  “It wasn’t just Hunter. It was Belinda, too,” Jenny added.

  Alison’s jaw slackened, and she was fighting the tears that threatened to spill from her eyes. She forced another shake of her head. “They’re damn liars! Now what am I supposed to do? How can they get away with this?”

  She had every right to be upset.

  “They won’t get away with it,” Owen said, jumping in, giving everything to Alison. “But it seems pointing their fingers at an O’Connell is the way they figured they could save their asses.”

  She dragged her fingers roughly over her eyes to wipe away the tears she was struggling in her fury to hold back. She sniffed loudly.

  Marcus looked at his niece. “So how about you help us by telling us who we can talk to? Which kids would’ve been there, and who would know about the pills? If Belinda had a tally, who would know about it? Where can we find it?”

  For a second, Alison seemed to consider something, then said, “Amanda Strickland. Talk to her. I know she didn’t supply any pills, but she always knew who did. You do know that prescription meds are passed around at school, right? They’re easy to get. Everyone knows that. Amanda always said that if her dad ever found out about the candy bowls, she’d be shipped off to Kansas. I bet if you pull her aside without her dad around and let her think you’ll talk to him if she doesn’t come clean, she’ll tell you the who and the why. And if she doesn’t know, at least she can tell you where to find the tally that outlines who supplied the pills.”

  Ryan squeezed her shoulders and then pressed a kiss to the top of her head. “Just FYI, Alison, don’t ever get any ideas about joining up with that crew at school, popping pills, or doing anything as harebrained as what they suggested, because if you do, I won’t ship you off to Kansas, but your carefree life as you know it will suddenly have a serious kink put in it—like never having a moment alone, with every one of us poking our noses into your business at every moment of the day.”

  She rolled her eyes as if she’d heard it all before and then strode into the house without saying anything. The screen door slapped shut behind her.

  “So now what?” Jenny said, gesturing to the brothers.

  Marcus flicked his gaze over to Owen. “I’m going to stop over and see Amanda right now, have a word with her. If Alison’s right, then I’ll pay a visit to Belinda and then to PJ. I’m going to find out exactly what happened to Jackson Moore and how he ended up in that closet.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  The clock was ticking as Owen drove back home. He’d left Ryan’s, declining a beer and instead heading out just after Marcus, who had slid behind the wheel of his cruiser to go searching for answers and close this case, which he knew well would likely rock this community for years to come.

  He still had to tell his family about the night his dad disappeared, and he could put it off only until Luke came home. It was a secret he’d pushed to the back of his mind and carried with him for so many years: his mom, her expression. Damn it all to hell! Marcus was insisting on sitting down with their mother first and making her bring up everything about their dad and what had happened.

  He inhaled deeply as he flicked on his headlights, unsure why he had turned left down Tessa’s street instead of driving straight home. He slowed as he started past, seeing the lights on inside the house, and he remembered his tools were still there. He pulled into her driveway behind her compact and stepped out, then started up to her door and hesitated only a second before knocking. Where the outside light should’ve been were only wires hanging down. Maybe he’d give her a hand there, as well.

  The door opened. Her hair was damp from the shower, and she wore light knit lounging pajamas. “Hey…didn’t know you were coming back,” she said.

  He stepped inside and then turned back to her as she closed the door. Something about her was different now; she was no longer the same girl who’d given him the gears and challenged him for so long.

  “Realized I left my tools and didn’t feel like going home to an empty house. Did I catch you at a bad time?”

  Boy, that sounded pathetic.

  She gestured toward the living room, and he followed her there, where a book was lying open on the green sectional with a blanket tossed over the back. “No, was just going to read for a bit,” she said. “I can’t remember the last time I got into a book. After sanding half a wall in the kitchen and vacuuming the dust, I decided I was done for the night.” She slid around on the sectional and faced him where he sat on the end, his arm over the back. It was comfortable. “So what happened with Marcus? Or is it the kind of thing you can’t talk about?”

  There it was again, the difference between her and Lori. Why had he kept trying to settle on someone who wasn’t Tessa? “He’s trying to piece together the case and is getting the run-around from a few of the kids’ parents, you know. They show up with lawyers and then point fingers somewhere else because they can.”

  She made a rude noise and shook her head without trying to fill the silence. She was absolute perfection. “Know it all too well.
With some problem kids, you know you won’t get anywhere, as the administration won’t rock the boat because of who their parents are. Well, at least now I’ve got time at home to finish all this.” She gestured around herself, not prodding him for more details. She didn’t suddenly become shy or pull her gaze, just let her blue eyes linger on his. “You really don’t like talking, do you, Owen? I guess I should be angry with Steve.”

  He took in the way her eyes flashed in amusement—and maybe a little anger.

  “Ah, Steve… Whatever happened to him?” He couldn’t remember anything other than that he’d received a scholarship to some community college. Last he’d heard, he’d done his first year in Minnesota. After that, Owen had lost track of him.

  “No idea. I heard he changed specialties to become a veterinarian and met some girl in Idaho.”

  “Idaho, wow! Really, a veterinarian?”

  She gave a smile and a soft chuckle. “So did you really come all the way over here to talk about Steve Schwarkosky?”

  He shook his head as he reached out to Tessa and pulled her closer to him. “Steve who?”

  Tessa went up on her knees and straddled him, sitting on his lap. He ran his hand up her back, feeling her perfection, and then he took in her lips, her face. He didn’t say another word as he pulled her closer and pressed a kiss to her lips, taking it deeper as she slid her hands over his shoulders.

  He ran his hand down over her ass, and she broke the kiss, slowly pulling back. She caught his lower lip between her teeth and pulled gently, teasing, oh so hot, and then she rubbed her nose to his.

  “You came back for this,” she said in a soft voice, low and sexy.

  He brushed back her light hair, still damp in places, taking a minute to burn every part of her image into him. Her nose was perfect, her cheekbones high, and her brows were natural, as if she didn’t need to put a ton of effort into primping. He ran his thumb over her lips and cheek.

  “I didn’t plan on coming back at all, but something had me turning down your street,” he said. “I wanted to see you again.” The way she was touching him, settling around him, he knew he didn’t want to leave, but if she asked, he would. “God damn it to hell, Tessa—you are so beautiful.”

  A smile touched her lips again as she pressed those amazing breasts against him. “Well, if I said I’m glad you came back, what would you do?”

  He knew what she was asking, as he somehow slid to the edge of the sofa and had her standing before him. As he stood up, towering over her, he shrugged off his hoodie and tossed it on the sofa behind him. He lifted her in his arms. She was so light as she slid her arms around his neck.

  “I’d ask which way to your bedroom,” he said.

  As he gave her a little toss, she gestured down the hall. He strode down it, taking in the two bedrooms they passed and the one on the end, from which a soft light drifted out into the hallway. The small room was neat and tidy, and he took in the simple furnishings, the dresser, the mirror.

  He settled her on the bed over the white duvet, and she just lay there on her back as he pulled his shirt off over his head and drank in her image. Then he moved onto the bed, holding himself over her. He lowered his head again and kissed her.

  He didn’t know what woke him as he blinked in the early morning light, with Tessa draped across him. Her legs were entwined with his, and her head was on his shoulder as if he were her pillow. Her arm was tossed over him.

  He could feel himself stir again as he thought about the sex, which had gone beyond anything he’d expected. The way he’d touched her, the way she’d responded to him, the way he hadn’t been able to get enough of her…

  He heard the buzz of his phone and jerked up a bit, Tessa stirring.

  “Didn’t mean to wake you,” was all he said as he gently freed himself from the sexy woman draped over him. He reached for his jeans on the floor, tossed in with Tessa’s clothes, and pulled out his cell phone to see Marcus’s number on the screen.

  “You’re calling rather early,” Owen said.

  “Where are you?” Marcus said. “Because I’m at your house, and you’re not here.”

  He sat back on the bed, and Tessa pressed her hand to the small of his back and rubbed. He glanced back to her. “I’m not there. I’m with Tessa,” he said. At the question in her eyes, he let the phone slide from his mouth. “It’s Marcus,” he said, and she sat up. He took in those perfect breasts as the sheet slid away.

  “Well, we got a problem,” Marcus said. “I had a talk with Amanda last night, and, long story short, she said enough before her dad came out and started asking what I was doing there, just like our precocious niece said would happen. I gave Amanda the out, and she said Belinda keeps a tally of which kids supply which pills on her phone, in some app she uses. Apparently, though, Amanda was there. She said there were a bunch of pills, like ten different kinds, different colors and shapes, in pill bottles, and they dumped them in a candy bowl. Jackson was there, too.

  “There were twenty-five kids, apparently. I got all their names. She said she’d taken one of the red pills, and she saw Jackson take a different one. The bowl hadn’t gone all the way around the group before something happened. She said Jackson must’ve had some reaction, as he started foaming at the mouth and went down on his knees. He couldn’t breathe. She said she ran, and Hunter said he’d get help, and everyone was freaking out. She passed out and woke up on her bed, hearing her dad downstairs, and didn’t remember how she got home. I’m on my way to Hunter’s now.”

  Owen pressed his fingers to the bridge of his nose and shook his head. “So do you know how Jackson got into the janitor’s closet?” he asked. He could see that Tessa had figured out what he was talking about.

  “I don’t know,” Marcus said. “I already called the lawyer and said I was coming over this morning. I plan on taking Hunter in. Wanted to give you the heads-up, because as soon as I finish here, we’re talking to Mom.”

  So the case was almost closed, and here he was, looking in the eyes of a woman who had no idea what he’d done.

  “Okay, thanks for the heads-up,” Owen said. Then he hung up and reached for his jeans as he sat on the edge of the bed.

  Tessa leaned in and pressed a kiss to his shoulder. “So you have to go?” she said.

  The last thing he wanted was to leave, but at the same time, thinking of the conversation he needed to have with his mom was kind of a mood-killer. “Yup,” he replied.

  He turned and pressed a kiss to her lips, stuck on the fact that she hadn’t asked him a million questions about the call. “So why aren’t you hounding me on what Marcus wanted?” he said as he stood up and reached for his underwear on the floor. As he went to step into them, she took in all of him.

  She shrugged as she scooped back her hair and didn’t pull her gaze from his. “I figured you’d tell me if you wanted me to know, but as I’m well aware, it’s an ongoing investigation. I’m not meant to talk about it. I heard you ask about how Jackson got into the closet, but I’m sure we’ll find that out, right? Speaking of which, Rita Mae called me again last night. I didn’t pick up, and she left a message, something about Hunter. She’s always worried about Hunter. I guess I’d better call her, find out what that’s about.”

  As he reached for his jeans again, stepped into them, and pulled them up, he said, “Why would she be calling about one of the students at school? Why is she so worried about Hunter?”

  Tessa frowned and glanced up to him. “I thought you knew…” she said.

  He stilled and gave her everything. “Knew what?”

  Confusion crossed her face as she sat there in nothing, then shrugged. “Why, that Hunter is Rita Mae’s nephew. Her sister is Angela Rowse, Hunter’s mother. I thought everyone knew.”

  Upon hearing it, he realized everything made sense. He knew why Rita Mae had said what she had, and he also realized, as he stood there, that Tessa was watching him with a confused, questioning expression.

  “Do you want to tell
me what’s going on?” she asked.

  He reached for his shirt on the floor, pulled it on, and pocketed his phone, then took another second to pull it together. “I can’t right now, but I will. Can you do me a favor?”

  She said nothing, seemed to consider, and then shrugged. “Okay.”

  “Don’t call Rita Mae back, not yet. Give me time to talk to Marcus. It seems my brother is likely going to want to have another word with her.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  He didn’t know when it was that his feelings for Tessa had changed. He still couldn’t get it out of his head, what she’d asked of him, what had happened between them, between his stubbornness and hers and his unwillingness to be happy.

  It had always been about making sure that his family was taken care of, that all of them were safe. Happiness for him seemed to have never been in the equation, or rather, he’d never allowed it to be.

  He backed out of Tessa’s driveway, dialing his brother again, though it kept going to voicemail. His mind was jumping back and forth over the fact that Rita Mae was Hunter’s aunt. How the hell had he not known about that? She knew something about what Owen had done, but why was it coming up now? There was no such thing as a coincidence, so what exactly tied Rita Mae to Jackson Moore being found dead in the closet?

  “Hey, you’re not answering your phone, and this is really important,” Owen said. “I need you to pick up…” He let his words hang, frustrated, waiting, knowing Marcus was likely in the middle of something with someone—Hunter, his parents, the lawyer? He didn’t know. He heard the beep for the end of the message and swore under his breath.

  He needed to shower and change, and he needed to warn his brother, so instead of going home, he turned the other way and started to the sheriff’s office. Right, hadn’t Marcus said that was where he would be?

  Then there was Rita Mae. In some ways, she could very well be the catalyst for a scandal that would cause problems for his family, his mother, and Marcus, the kind of problems that could screw up everything for them. He felt as if he had been the one holding everything together for so long.