by Lena North
Danny? Everyone?
They laughed at me and explained how small Marshes was, how few visitors they allowed in the village, and that Danny was the Daniele that I’d met briefly when Jinx had told me I was pregnant.
“Half the women in the village are probably in debt to you, Mary,” Anetta giggled, and Carlie slapped her arm with fake annoyance.
“We are not supposed to talk about that.”
“Oh, pooh,” Anetta said.
“What are you talking about?” I asked, curious about the mischievous looks on their faces.
“Seven times, Mary?” Anetta giggled.
Oh my God.
“We should have known, though. He was here a while back, and we all saw him dancing with Jiminella so we should have known,” Anetta said, and they both started laughing.
I didn’t even want to know what that meant so I laughed with them, and then I got ready to leave.
“You’re sure you don’t want me to write a name on the sign?” I asked cheekily as I stood in the door. “Carlie’s Curls would look good,” I giggled and pointed toward the woman’s very curly hair.
They stared at me, and then Carlie said, “Carlie’s Curls…”
“I was just joking,” I told them, but they looked at each other.
“It sounds nice,” Anetta said.
“It does,” Carlie murmured. “Yes. It sounds professional.”
I wasn’t so sure professional was the word that came to my mind, but I waited for them to make up their minds which took less than ten seconds.
“Yes, Mary. Carlie’s Curls and flowers. I’ll have someone carry the sign over for you immediately.”
Then I spent the afternoon painting flowers and letters. Carlie’s house had been a muted yellow with green shutters, so I made the sign a darker, more burnt yellow with a dark green edge, drew the letters in deep red, and filled the sign with flowers in all colors. It was soothing to hold a brush, and I let my thoughts roam as I worked.
“Miller is at the gate, Mary, can he –”
Jinx stopped abruptly, both moving and talking, and stared at me.
“Hey,” I said and grinned at her surprised face.
“You cut your hair. Holy shit. It’s gone.”
She stared for a little while, and I waited for her to get over her shock. Eventually, she walked up to me, touched the bangs softly, and said, “I love it. You look…” she twisted around to look at me from the side before she spoke again. “This will sound weird, but you look like you.”
I grinned and then I remembered what she’d started saying.
“Miller’s here?”
“Crap. Yes. He wants to talk to you, although we can send him away.”
“No, Jinx. I should talk to him. Let me clean up and –”
She looked out through the door and said loudly, “Tell them to bring him straight here.”
I raised my brows, wondering who she was talking to.
“Beats modern high-tech communication every time,” she snorted, and when she saw my confusion, “Snow’s bird is outside, and Snow is with Dante at the gate. The bird will pass the message on to them.”
I wanted to laugh but I was too nervous, and to have something to do, I started wiping the paint off my hands.
“Do you want me to stay?” Jinx asked after a while.
“No,” I answered. “We need to be alone, there have been too many people around us. It won’t take long.”
“Mary…” she said, but we heard footsteps, and she left.
Then a shadow was blocking the light from the outside.
“Miller,” I said, trying for business-like but ending up with sad and a little breathless.
He walked into the room without saying anything, until I turned my face toward him. He looked like he hadn’t slept in days, which he probably hadn’t, with chasing bad guys, and me all over the country. It didn’t look like his unplanned fatherhood had been good news.
“You cut your hair,” he said hoarsely.
“Yeah,” I said.
Then we were silent.
“I’m so sorry things ended up like this, Mill,” I whispered. “I swear, I won’t ask anything from you, and you don’t have to –”
“It’s my baby too,” he rasped out.
“What?”
“You told Hawk that I’d get word when your baby was born, but it’s my child, goddammit.”
He sounded angry suddenly, and I touched his arm gently, but he jerked back.
“Have you been to see a doctor?” he asked.
“I’ve been pregnant a few days. No, I haven’t been to see a doctor. It’s even too soon to take a test, Miller,” I told him because Jinx had been able to tell me that much.
“We have a good doctor in Norton. If you came with me, I could take you to him. You could stay in my house.”
“Miller –”
“I wouldn’t be there. I’d be at Hawker’s, or with Carson,” he interrupted, and I understood.
He wanted to make sure the child was okay, but he didn’t want anything to do with me.
“I’ll be fine here,” I said firmly.
“Mary,” he started, but I suddenly felt like crying again, so I talked over him.
“Miller, please. Don’t make this difficult for us. I swear you’ll get to meet the baby as often as it’s practical, and I –”
“As often as it’s practical?” he asked hoarsely.
“You have your family, your friends, the bird. Work. I know we were having fun, and that you weren’t planning on this. You have a busy life…”
His face was suddenly that blank mask again, and I hated it.
“There’s nothing I can do for you?” he murmured.
“I won’t ask you to do anything. I promise, Miller,” I reassured him.
He turned abruptly and walked away.
“Miller,” I called out.
He stopped but didn’t turn.
“I was never a whore,” I whispered.
He twitched, and replied quietly, “I know, baby.”
“Then please tell Kit and Hawker that, because I really need for them to know it too.”
He turned then, and there was so much pain in his eyes.
“Please, Mill,” I said, though my voice broke so I cleared my throat.
“Oh, Mary,” he breathed, and then he was gone.
I had thought I’d been sad before, but when he disappeared, I felt a pain in my chest so sharp I knew it was my heart that broke. It hurt so bad I couldn’t breathe. Why had I been so stupid? Why hadn’t I begged him to love me, just a little? He was a kind man, I knew he liked me, and he wanted the baby. Maybe he would have accepted me as a part of the bargain.
“Mary?” Jinx asked gently.
“I need to be alone for a little while,” I said hoarsely.
“Okay,” she murmured. “The garden is empty. I’ll be inside if you want to talk.”
“Thanks,” I rasped out, and then I sat in one of their big garden chairs until dusk settled.
I knew I needed to think things through, needed to plan, but my mind was completely blank. When it was almost dark, Jinx came out with a blanket. I turned my face toward her as she wrapped it around me, and saw in the corner of my eye how Dante came out with a mug of something warm.
“I should have begged,” I said quietly. “He says he wants the baby, and if I begged he would have –”
I pulled in air and turned toward the garden again. They waited, but I didn’t say anything because there wasn’t really anything to say. I’d lost everything yet again, but I’d find a way.
“Keep me company?” I asked.
When turned to them I made my lips curve upward, and it was sad, but at least I smiled. Jinx sat down, and Dante disappeared to return with more blankets and tea for them too.
“He wasn’t happy, Mary,” Jinx said
I turned to look at her.
“
When he got in the car. I saw him. He slammed his hands on the steering wheel, and I think he cursed some.” She paused, and I almost smiled because he would have cursed. “Then he swept one hand across his eyes, hit the steering wheel again and drove off.”
“Nellie,” Dante murmured.
“I’m just saying,” she muttered.
We sat there in silence for a long while, and then we started talking about what I would do. They promised I could stay for as long as I wanted, and I was grateful. I would have to find another way, I though. They were so sweet, but I had to start taking responsibility for my life again. I’d lost my bearings when I was kidnapped, and Carson and Bo had held me up, but I knew how to work, and I would find a way. It was time to restart my life yet again, I thought.
“I painted a sign for Carlie,” I said. “It looks quite nice, and if I put a page together on the net, maybe I could start selling things like that?”
“I saw it,” Dante said calmly. “I’m sure you could. I liked the red text and the blue violets.”
Suddenly the thought I'd had at the hairdresser's came back to me, but this time I knew what had me so puzzled.
“Oh my God,” I whispered.
“What?” Jinx murmured and patted my shoulder awkwardly.
“Roses are red, violets are blue…” I started.
They stared at me, and I stared right back. Then I snatched my phone off the low table in front of me and called Wilder.
“Mary –”
“Hey, that painting that was stolen in Treville, the night before I was kidnapped. What did it look like?”
“What?”
“Wilder, it’s important. Ask Mac.”
It took her a minute, and then she told me, “Ugly he says. Modern. Bright red with blue lines across it. It wasn’t even one of Willy’s.”
“Has there been any other incidents around Willy’s collections?”
There was another silence, and then she said, “Someone broke into a small art gallery showing a few of his paintings. It was a few months ago, but they didn’t manage to steal anything. And you already know about the incident with the glass sculpture.”
“Okay. It’s probably nothing.”
“Mary!”
“I’m sorry, I had this idea, but it’s… I’ll call you later.”
“Okay. What about Mi –”
“Bye sweetie,” I chirped, cut the call off, and turned to Jinx.
“I need to leave.”
C
hapter Fourteen
I get it now
They didn’t let me leave immediately, and after listening to their arguments, I settled for going the next morning. It would take a couple of hours to Jinx’ house, and it was dark, so it made sense to wait, though I didn’t like it. They also wouldn’t let me leave alone, which I didn’t like either but I could understand that with everything that had happened, they wouldn’t just watch me get into my old car and happily wave me off.
I spent the rest of the evening and most of the night thinking through things I’d heard over the past months and searching the net for more information. I didn’t find much, but it kept me busy until I was too tired to think and drifted off to sleep. A nightmare woke me up in the middle of the night, though, and when I’d calmed down, I got up to open the window, needing the fresh air. Miller’s kite was sitting outside, with its back toward my window. It looked like he was guarding my room, and when I saw him, I had a hard time holding my tears back.
“Please,” I said hoarsely, needing the bird to leave because of the memories he brought and since I wanted to cry without an audience. “I don’t need you to guard me. Tell him I don’t need any help, and that I’ll be fine.”
The kite turned his head slowly, made a chirping sound, then another one, and then it flew off. I closed the window again and climbed into the big bed. Then I wept, for a dream that had died and a child who would grow up without his father. Maybe there wasn’t a child, I thought when I’d calmed down. It would probably be the first time ever, but Jinx could be wrong. Finally, I settled into sleep.
What I thought was early morning clearly was something entirely different in their world, and I had to settle down until we’d eaten, and consumed what seemed like a bucket of coffee. I didn’t want to tell them what I thought we’d find, partially because I wasn’t sure but mostly because I thought they’d talk me out of going. I needed something to focus on, and something to do, and avoided all questions by saying something might be wrong in Jinx’ house.
Then, finally, I was in the backseat of Dante’s car, he was driving, and Jinx was in the passenger seat.
“We’re on our way so can you tell us now why we’re going to my house?” Jinx asked for the tenth time.
“I’ll explain when we get there,” I answered, closed my eyes and pretended to sleep until we parked outside her lovely mountain cabin.
I fake stretched as I stepped out of the car, which made Dante’s mouth quiver, and then I let us in with the spare key. I didn’t wait for them and walked quickly into the bedroom, and there they were. Two big paintings with a base made in shades of blue with splashes of red that looked like a scattering of flowers.
“We had dinner at Double H, chicken and noodles, and you and Wilder fought. Do you remember, Jinx?”
“Sure,” she said.
“Wilder said she’d found a note in Willy’s desk.”
“Yes. With a sappy poem on it,” she said thoughtfully.
“For my love: Roses are red, violets are blue, we’re two beautiful paintings, and I’m waiting for you,” I said. “I remember because it was about paintings and because I thought it was romantic that Willy had a girlfriend at his age, but what if he didn’t?”
“What?” Jinx said, looking confused.
“Wilder even said it herself, she thought she was his love, and she was,” I said. “I decorated this house for you, and I wanted you to have a small piece of Willy. It was meant as a surprise, but it wasn’t a big deal, so I forgot about it. Two paintings from Willy’s collection were suddenly on the market. I don’t know how, but they were, and I bought them. For you.”
Then I turned and pointed to the paintings.
“Roses are red, violets are blue,” I whispered, and lifted them carefully off the wall, placing them on the bed with the backside up. Then I felt along the edge, pulled off the thick tape that held the painting to the frame, lifted the cardboard covering the backside of the canvas, and pulled out an envelope.
“We are two beautiful paintings, and I’m waiting for you,” I said, turned the envelope around, and showed them.
It said “Wilder” in big letters on it.
“What?” Jinx breathed.
“We have to go to Norton with that,” Dante said and pulled out his phone. Before I could say a word, he had Mac on the line.
“Mac, I’m bringing Mary to Norton, we’ll be there in thirty. Get Wilder, we’ll meet you at Hawker’s.” There was a pause and then, “Can’t tell you, but Mary needs to talk to them both.”
He closed the call, we carried the paintings to his car, and then we were moving north again.
“There’s more,” I whispered.
“Hold that thought until you can tell us all at the same time,” Dante said.
We arrived at Hawker’s house quicker than I wanted. The last couple of times we’d met had not been good, and I was not looking forward to seeing him again. During the drive up to Norton, I planned how to tell everyone, and how I would behave. Aloof, calm and mature was what I’d try for, I decided.
As Dante had requested, Hawker and Wilder waited for us, as well as Hawker’s girlfriend, Sloane.
“It didn’t take you long, Mary,” Hawker sneered before I could say a single word.
“Dad,” Wilder snapped angrily.
“What?” I asked.
“Miller is one of my best friends. I’ll do anything for him, even set you up,” he said.
&n
bsp; “What?” I repeated.
Set me up with what?
“That’s why you’re here, right? You know about the money, the fund, and you figured –”
“He said that?” I gasped.
“He doesn’t say anything about you.”
“Dad,” Wilder barked again. “Maybe there’s a reason for that?” she asked sarcastically.
“Shut up,” he told his daughter rudely and turned to me again. “You’re not getting his house.”
I stared at him, worrying that my head would actually explode.
“Are you out of your goddamn mind?” I whispered.
He blinked and raised his brows high on his forehead.
“I have told him that I won’t ask for anything. I know he wants the baby, and he’d do anything for it, and I also know that he does not want me. That hurts, Hawker, but I will pick up the pieces my life has shattered into, and glue them together again, one piece at the time.”
I took a step toward the tall man who was staring at me as if he’d never seen me before.
“And do you know why?”
I didn’t wait for him to reply, and he clearly didn’t know anyway.
“I used to love only him, Hawk, but if there is a child, then Miller is not the only one I love anymore. And I will work myself to the bone to make sure my baby has everything. There is no way I’ll ever accept a penny from someone like you, and I will manage without help because that’s what I always do.”
Then I threw the envelope to an astonished Wilder and stomped toward the door.
“Found that behind one of Willy’s paintings. Others know about it and have tried to find it. Call me if you want to know more,” I growled.
When I’d reached the entrance, I turned and yelled at the top of my lungs at the tall black-haired man who was staring at me with intense yellow eyes, “AND I WAS NOT A WHORE.”
The exit would have been perfect if it hadn’t been for me whirling around and crashing straight into Mac.
“Whoa,” he said. “You should probably not leave right now.”
“Go to hell,” I muttered sourly.
“Yeah, yeah,” he said calmly, turned me around and steered me back into the room.
I slapped at Mac’s hands, but he just chuckled.