How Sweet It is

by Sophie Gunn

  Nausea overcame him, but he kept his foot on the gas, fighting off the sensation. He pulled his truck onto the bridge as fast as he could, which was maddeningly slow, slower than usual—if that was even possible.

  He said a prayer as the truck crawled toward the person by the guardrail. His hands were shaking so badly, he could barely keep them on the wheel.

  Please let it be her. Please let her still be alive.

  CHAPTER

  44

  Tay climbed cautiously out of the truck, leaving the door hanging open behind him. White followed him out, but he didn’t have time to worry about her. “Candy?” The frigid air turned his words to vapor.

  The person turned, but it wasn’t a person. It was two people, arm in arm.

  “Sorry,” Tay said. “I thought you were someone I knew.”

  The couple wished him a Merry Christmas, then hurried over the bridge and off toward campus.

  Tay tried to start breathing again. It wasn’t easy.

  But where was Candy?

  Tay vaulted the rail separating the road where he stood from the pedestrian path. Tay peered over the edge, trying to see into the blackness below.

  He moved down the bridge. “Candy?” he called. The lights on the bridge made the abyss below seem even darker, blackness stretching in every direction. The creek crackled under a sheet of ice. A faint glimmer reflected off the ice that clung to the cliff walls.

  If Candy’s car was parked here, she had to be nearby. Tay stumbled to the end of the path, but didn’t see anyone. His breath had slowed to barely an inhalation. His fingers were numb from gripping the icy metal rails. “Candy?” he shouted into the darkness.

  Something fluttered against the railing, caught between the spokes. Tay picked it up.

  It was a crisp, new hundred-dollar bill.

  Everything inside Tay froze. He couldn’t move.

  He stood, staring at the money, unable to understand. Had she kept the money the whole time, and just now thrown it over the bridge? Or was this a random hundred-dollar bill, nothing to do with any of them?

  Throwing yourself over the railing will not help find her faster, Tay reminded himself. Maybe he could climb over the Trail Closed for Winter—Warning—Dangerous Conditions sign and slide down the path…

  Please, don’t let anything happen to her. I can’t do this again.

  Tay tried not to be sick as he thought of the darkness below them.

  And then he heard a scream.

  CHAPTER

  45

  Tay spun around. He couldn’t see anyone.

  “Candy!” Tay looked around desperately. He crossed to the other side of the bridge where the cry had come from.

  No one was there.

  Then Tay looked down.

  Candy had climbed over the railing. She sat on a thin ledge, her feet dangling into the darkness. She was wearing only jeans and a T-shirt despite the frigid cold. The wind blew her hair over her face. She was gripping the grate below her in terror.

  White sat next to her, licking her paws.

  “Candy?” he said softly, terrified to scare her.

  “That cat—it came out of nowhere. Scared me to death. I almost fell.”

  Tay felt his knees buckle, but somehow he kept upright. Stupid cat. What if? He wanted to reach down to Candy, but he didn’t dare. What if he startled her? Obviously, she didn’t know who he was. If she knew, what would she do? He pulled his hood around his face as tight as he could. “Sorry. It’s my cat. I’ve been out looking for her.” He wasn’t sure why he said that, except that he wanted to say anything, anything at all to keep her talking.

  He stepped back into the shadows. If she saw his face now—

  No. That couldn’t happen.

  Candy started to cry. “I wanted to die. And then the stupid cat scared me and I almost went down. And I didn’t want to go anymore. I don’t want to die. Oh, God, I don’t want to fall down there.”

  “No one’s going down there,” Tay said. “Let me help you. Don’t move until I’ve got you, okay?”

  Candy nodded and Tay leaned forward and lifted the terrified girl off the ledge and over the rail.

  White hopped up behind her, cool as a cucumber.

  Tay stood watching but with his head lowered, his hands shaking, his heart pounding. He didn’t dare to move, to breathe. She was safe. That was all that mattered. Now he just had to get out of there before she noticed who he was.

  “Can I call someone—the police, an ambulance? A friend?”

  “I don’t have a friend,” she said.

  “I can’t just leave you here alone.”

  She shrugged and got out her phone. She dialed someone.

  He pulled off his coat and put it around her shoulders, then quickly turned his back to her, pretending to be blocking the wind.

  “Georgia?” Candy asked. Then she started to cry.

  Tay watched her sob as long as he could bear, then he gently took the phone.

  Was this the Enemy Club Georgia? Tay wasn’t sure, but he told the person on the other end of the line what was happening, and Georgia explained that she was Candy’s psychiatrist. “I’m going to call the police,” he said.

  “No. Wait. She’s safe now?” Georgia asked. “She doesn’t look like she’s going to try anything?”

  “That’s what she said, but—”

  “But now she looks okay?”

  “If she tries anything, I’ll stop her,” he said. Tay wasn’t sure how much longer he had before she noticed who he was.

  Georgia said, “Let me talk to her.”

  Tay handed the phone back to Candy. The girl nodded, mumbled a few words he couldn’t catch, then gave him back the phone.

  “Okay,” Georgia said to him. “Wait with her. I’ll be right there. I don’t think the police are best able to deal with these things. She’s not in danger right now. She’s okay if you stay with her. I’m sure of it. Just stay there.”

  Tay didn’t know how to say he couldn’t wait with her, that he was the last person in the world who could wait with her.

  But Georgia had already hung up.

  “It’s you,” she said as they walked to the end of the bridge. They sat on a snow-covered bench to wait for Georgia.

  Tay was shocked. Had she known all along? “It’s me.”

  “How did you find me?”

  “I saw your car at the end of the bridge. I was looking for it, to tell you the truth.”

  “Why?”

  White put her front paws on his legs, digging in her claws. He picked her up and she settled into his lap. “Because sometimes, Christmas sucks.”

  “It does,” Candy agreed. “Sometimes.”

  “I’ve been meaning to leave town,” Tay explained. “I’m sorry I didn’t. I was going to find the money and go.”

  “There’s always tomorrow,” Candy said.

  “There is,” he said.

  “I’m joking. Don’t leave. Stay with that woman I saw you with at the restaurant. You looked happy. Someone should be happy.”

  “Not me,” Tay said, and the girl didn’t disagree.

  They watched the headlights of a car approach.

  “Did you find the money?” she asked.

  “Nope.”

  “Well, I guess we’re even now,” she said.

  He looked down at White. He took his hands off her and waited for her to jump away and slink off into the night.

  She didn’t budge.

  “I’m not sure we are,” he said.

  The headlights grew bigger. A white Lexus screeched across the bridge. It pulled to a stop next to them. A short woman in slippers and a bathrobe jumped out and took Candy into her arms.

  Tay left the two women to talk.

  He walked slowly back across the bridge to his truck, White trotting behind him. They climbed in and Tay started his motor, but he couldn’t make himself drive away. All the terror he had felt on the bridge washed over him in a wave and he put his head down on
the steering wheel and tried to breathe.

  A rap on his window startled him out of his stupor. How long had he been sitting there?

  It was Georgia.

  He rolled down his window.

  “I could bring Candy back to my house,” Georgia said. “But I’m leaving tomorrow for the Caribbean. She can’t be alone in the dorms. All her friends are away. She doesn’t have any family. I could take her to the campus health center, but it’s not the best place on Christmas. Too depressing.”

  Tay couldn’t follow. What could she want from him? “Look, Candy would rather jump over that railing than lay eyes on me again.”

  “I know. I know the whole story. I know who you are, Tay. Candy told me. I would never suggest such a thing. I want her to go to Lizzie’s.”

  “Lizzie’s?” He shook his head.

  “Call Lizzie. I ran out without my cell phone and I don’t have her number. I’ll head over right now, but could you warn her we’re on our way?”

  “Ethan came today. It might not be the best night for Lizzie.”

  “Oh, God. You’re right. How could I have forgotten?” Her hesitation only lasted a moment. “But Lizzie will understand. She’ll understand like no one else. I really think it’s best. Trust me. This is the right thing to do.”

  “I’ll call Lizzie,” Tay agreed. But he felt pretty rocky about the whole situation. “Hey, Georgia—you’ve known about the money all along.”

  “I have.”

  “Thank you for not telling anyone what you knew about me and the money. The way this town works, the news would have spread like wildfire and everyone would have been searching those gorges.”

  “Patient confidentiality is important, Tay. But that doesn’t mean I didn’t warn Lizzie about you. A man who thinks that money will make a difference! Really. How lame. I told her to stay away.” She paused. “I think I might have been wrong, though.”

  Lizzie answered the phone on the first ring. She had been wide awake, watching the minutes flip by on her red, glowing clock as she lay in bed contemplating whether it was better for Paige if Ethan was dead or if he had a terrible disease that kept him away—leprosy, maybe.

  When she heard Tay’s voice, she was both disappointed and relieved. She waved off Paige, who had appeared at her door the instant the phone rang.

  “Georgia is on her way to your house,” Tay said. “She needs a favor.”

  “Georgia Phillips? What are you talking about?” Lizzie looked out her window. The night was deadly quiet. “Ethan didn’t show up.”

  “Bastard. How’s Paige?”

  “Awful.” Lizzie let her head fall back on the pillows.

  “I think your night is about to get more awful. Georgia needs you to look after Candy tonight.”

  “Candy? The girl who—?” Lizzie stopped. She sat up. “Tay?”

  “I’m sorry. I feel like I got you wrapped up in this. I know it’s the worst night this could be happening. Especially now.”

  Lizzie got out of bed and went to the window, Paige right behind her. A set of headlights turned onto their road. “I don’t understand this, Tay.” Paige darted out of the room and down the stairs before Lizzie could stop her. “Oh, hell.”

  “In a nutshell, Candy was maybe going to jump off the Main Campus Bridge. She has nowhere to go. For some reason, Georgia thinks that you’re the one person in Galton who should take her in.”

  Lizzie heard a car door open outside. “This really isn’t a good night.” She had to tell Paige that the car wasn’t her father’s, but she couldn’t bear to go downstairs and deliver one more disappointment. “Georgia has to keep her.”

  Lizzie watched the women approach. The doorbell rang. Where was Paige?

  “I’ll talk to you later,” Lizzie said, clicking her phone shut. She took a deep breath.

  Paige was sitting halfway down the stairs, staring straight ahead at nothing. “I’m sorry it’s not him,” she told Paige. She put her hand on her head as she passed, but Paige didn’t respond.

  Lizzie opened the door. She didn’t know which teenager looked more distraught.

  Candy looked past Lizzie at Paige on the stairs. They stared at each other, first confused, then resigned, as if to say, Oh, so this is the house of the miserable teenagers. Welcome, join the fun.

  Lizzie met Georgia’s gaze and just like that, she guessed at the truth.

  Georgia nodded slightly.

  Every cell in Lizzie’s body went out to Candy. “Come in,” she said, opening the door wider. “We’ve got you.”

  “You look like you need coffee,” Paige said, surprising Lizzie by coming down the stairs and taking Candy by the arm. She walked her to the kitchen.

  “Thank you.” Georgia tried to look past Lizzie. She lowered her voice to a whisper. “Where’s Ethan?”

  “Scum didn’t show,” Lizzie whispered back.

  “Oh, hell. I’ll call first thing tomorrow.” Georgia was studying the foyer rag rug closely. She didn’t seem inclined to leave. “Merry Christmas.”

  Lizzie looked at her watch. “Too late for that.”

  CHAPTER

  46

  Lizzie joined the girls in the kitchen. She’d never seen anyone look more forlorn.

  Well, she had once, years ago. When she’d looked at herself in the mirror, pregnant and abandoned by the boy she thought was the love of her life. Paige moved around the kitchen as if in a daze, fixing coffee and taking out all the Christmas cookies she could find.

  Candy just stared at the vast assortment of cookies. She sipped at her coffee. Then, all at once, her face crumbled. “I don’t know what I’m going to do,” she said, bursting into tears.

  “You’re going to have your baby and be a great mother,” Lizzie said.

  Candy looked up, shocked into silence. The tears kept falling.

  “Don’t worry. Georgia didn’t tell me. I just knew. I think that’s why she brought you here. She knew I would understand. Candy, you’re going to be okay. I promise. If I did it, anyone can.”

  “It’s true,” Paige said. “She’s totally lame.” Then her coolness melted away and she couldn’t help asking Lizzie, “You could tell she was pregnant?”

  Lizzie stiffened at the girl’s lack of grace, but she nodded.

  “How?” Paige was trying to glance at Candy’s stomach, but the table hid it.

  “Because that’s pretty much how I looked when I found out. Here, have a Christmas Wreath butter cookie. Both of you. Me, too.”

  Candy took one and bit it listlessly. Paige did the same.

  “See. Progress already. We’ll work this out.”

  The next morning, Tay tapped on the back door at seven. Lizzie was in the kitchen on her second cup of coffee.

  “I have bagels,” he said.

  Lizzie let him in as quietly as she could so as not to wake Paige or Candy. She had finally coaxed them into bed after three in the morning.

  “Still no Ethan?”

  “I could kill that bastard. Or, worse, I can’t ’cause he’s not here,” she whispered.

  Tay put the bagels on the table. “Merry day after Christmas.” He leaned against the cabinets.

  Lizzie sank her back against the cabinets next to him, hip to hip. Tay slipped his hand behind her back and ran his fingers up and down her spine.

  “Paige liked her screwdriver. You really shouldn’t have.”

  “It’s guaranteed for life.”

  “What happened last night?” Lizzie asked. She’d heard an incoherent story from Candy, and was curious for the real thing.

  Tay told her about the strange night on the bridge. “She’s okay, right?”

  “Sort of.” Lizzie told him about the long night of weeping teenagers. As she finished, Paige, ashen and wrapped in a quilt, appeared in the doorway. Tay let his hand slide back to his own side.

  Paige asked, “Just him, huh?”

  “Sorry,” Tay said. Candy was going to be even sorrier to see him when she came down. “I ought to g
o.”

  He could feel Lizzie stiffen at his side. “Go, go?”

  “No. I have to pack. Clean out the cabin. I’ll come back to say good-bye.”

  Lizzie shook her head. “No. You belong here, too, Tay.” She felt deeply for Candy, but she also felt for Tay. “You saved her life, doesn’t that make you guys even?”

  “I don’t feel even,” Tay said.

  “Me either,” Paige said. “I’m mad! Stupid men!”

  Lizzie watched her daughter carefully. “It’s okay to be mad. Ethan is a scumbag for not showing up.”

  “I’ll be right back.” Paige rose in her quilt cocoon. To Lizzie’s surprise, she plodded down the basement steps, still wrapped in the blanket.

  “What is she doing? You think I should follow her?” Lizzie asked. Would her daughter dig a hole through the foundation and tunnel to Geneva? She surely wasn’t doing laundry. Lizzie’s stomach was tight.

  “I never gave you your Christmas present,” she said to Tay. “It’s still under the tree.”

  Tay smiled. “Maybe you could bring it by later? I don’t feel right opening presents now.”

  “Tay, you saved her life,” Lizzie insisted again. “Why doesn’t that make you feel better?”

  “I have no idea,” he said. “I’ve been wondering that myself, believe me. If that wasn’t the ultimate good deed to clear my conscience, what is? It’s been driving me nuts, Lizzie. I wish I understood.”

  “Me, too,” Lizzie said. She worried for him so much, but there didn’t seem to be an answer. “When are you going?”

  “I told you, I’ll stay till Ethan comes. I’ll stand by my word.” He paused. “For a week.”

  Lizzie shook her head, but just then, Paige came up the stairs, still wrapped like a mummy in her quilt.

  “You okay?” Lizzie asked.

  Paige grunted and went up to her room. The door clicked shut behind her.

  “Think she’s going to be okay?” Lizzie asked.

  “If any of us will, she’s the one,” Tay said. “I better go. I’m the last person Candy’s going to want to see when she wakes up. I just wanted to make sure you were okay. Merry day after Christmas. I’m sorry that Santa brought you all this crap. I won’t leave till we talk. And if I catch that Santa dude, I’ll tell him you have a valid complaint.”