Always Us (The Jade Series #8)

by Everhart, Allie

  “I know, but they didn’t get along.”

  “Yeah, but—”

  “Harper, he’s not going. I can’t change his mind and I don’t want to. This is his decision to make. But we’re still going out there. There’s a private memorial at Garret’s house on Friday so we’re going to that instead of the funeral. It’s just for family and close friends.”

  “My parents are going to the funeral. They’re flying out Wednesday.”

  I sigh inside my head. Of course they’re going, because they’re part of the inner circle now. Part of the organization. Or if they’re not yet, they will be soon.

  “So are you just going for the memorial?” she asks. “Or are you staying a few days?”

  “We’re staying for the weekend.”

  “Do you think we could get together? Just for an hour or so?”

  “Yeah. Of course. If I’m out there, you know I have to see you.”

  Harper and I make plans to meet for coffee on Saturday. I’d love to spend more time with her, but I need to be with Garret and his family.

  The next few days we return to our normal routine. Garret doesn’t mention his grandfather so I don’t either. Pearce calls on Wednesday just to confirm what time we’ll be there on Friday, but other than that, we don’t hear from him. Garret’s been calling Lilly every day to check on her. She’s still sad, and with so much to be done for the funeral, I’m sure Pearce hasn’t had much time to spend with her. She’s probably all alone in her room.

  Now it’s Thursday and Garret and I are having breakfast at the coffee shop before class. I just checked my phone and noticed it’s eleven-thirty on the East Coast, which means the funeral for Holton is about to begin. Garret hasn’t said anything about it, but it was all over the financial news channels this morning.

  “Garret, it’s almost time for the funeral.”

  “I know.” He reaches in his pocket and takes out his phone, swiping through the screen. “Shit, there must be 500 people there.”

  He shows me a photo from a news website. It’s taken from outside of a large church and shows a long line of people filing in. I don’t know who all those people are. I can’t imagine Holton having that many friends, unless they’re evil like him.

  Garret puts his phone away, then gives me a kiss. “I need to get to class.”

  “Yeah, I’ll see you later.”

  He grabs his backpack and takes off. I hope he’s okay. Even if he’s not sad about Holton’s death, I feel like he’s still on edge from all the stuff that went on the past few weeks. He’s still not sleeping well or eating much. I’m hoping he’ll feel better after the memorial, when all of this is finally over.

  The next day we leave for Connecticut early in the morning and arrive there late afternoon. A car service picks us up at the airport. Eleanor hired them. Maybe she thought we wouldn’t show up if we weren’t driven there.

  When we get to the house, luxury vehicles are lined up out front. All black. The black car thing freaks me out. It seems ominous, like the owners are all members of the organization.

  Eleanor told Garret she invited friends of the family but she didn’t say who. I’m guessing at least some of them are members. I don’t know if I trust Eleanor. She doesn’t seem to be like Holton, but they were married for more than 50 years so they couldn’t be that different, could they?

  The front door is unlocked so Garret and I let ourselves in. A woman in a maid’s uniform walks up to me, waiting for my coat. I give it to her and Garret hands her his and she walks away.

  The caterers are running around with trays topped with glasses and tiny plates. As we walk farther into the house, I see that they’re setting up drink and appetizer stations, like it’s some kind of party. I guess you have to serve something, but it seems weird to stand around eating fancy appetizers after someone died.

  I have almost no experience with funerals or memorials. My mom was cremated and her funeral was nothing more than Frank, Ryan, and me standing in a church while a minister said a few words. Nobody else came because my mom had no friends and no other family. It was depressing. I didn’t even want to go but Frank made me.

  Garret and I make our way to the living room. There’s an easel with a large framed photo of Holton on it. I shudder as I see his stern face looking back at me. He’s not smiling in the photo. Not even a tiny bit. I don’t think I ever saw him smile. Next to the easel are two huge floral arrangements coming out of a tall stand.

  “Garret.” I hear Pearce and look over and see him giving Garret a hug. “Thank you for coming.”

  “Jade.” He gives me a tight hug, almost like Garret’s hugs have been the past couple weeks.

  “Hi.” I don’t know what to say. I’m so bad with death and grief and all that type of stuff. So I just say the words that I seem to be saying a lot lately. “I’m really sorry.”

  He nods as he steps back. He’s wearing a black suit with a white shirt and silvery-blue tie. He looks handsome as he always does, but his face looks like he hasn’t slept for days.

  “How are you doing, Dad?” Garret asks.

  “It’s been a rough week, but things are starting to settle down. After tonight, we’ll finally get some time together as a family. It’s good to have you two home.”

  Katherine walks by and completely ignores us. I tense up seeing her, knowing she wanted me dead. I’m sure she’s disappointed I’m alive. That’s probably why she’s ignoring me. She’s choosing to pretend I’m dead.

  I haven’t seen Katherine since last spring. Her hair looks even blonder than I remember. She’s wearing a long-sleeve black dress that has a thin belt around the middle. I think she might’ve had something done to her lips. They look fuller, like maybe she had those injections that plump them up. She used to have really thin lips.

  “Why don’t you two go upstairs and get settled?” Pearce says. “People will start arriving in a half hour or so.”

  “Can we see Lilly?” I ask him.

  “Yes, of course. She’s in her room. My mother is up there with her. She’s staying here at the house for a few days.”

  “Come on.” Garret takes my hand and we go up the stairs.

  The maid already took our luggage up to his room. I always forget that Garret’s family has all this hired help. People are always doing stuff for you.

  Garret stops at Lilly’s room but I pull on him to continue down the hall. “Let’s just see her later.”

  “Don’t you want to say hi?”

  “Your grandmother’s with her. We should leave them alone.”

  He turns me toward him, his hands on my upper arms, his eyes on mine. “Jade. She’s not like him. I swear.”

  I notice I’m shaking a little, probably from seeing Katherine and that photo of Holton. I’m feeling anxious and nervous and a little sick to my stomach. And now that I know Eleanor is staying here, I’m even more nervous.

  Garret hugs me and says quietly, “She’s not going to hurt you. She had nothing to do with it.”

  He lets me go and knocks on Lilly’s door. It opens and I smile when I see Lilly standing there. She’s in a black dress and little black shoes, her long blond hair held back with a headband that matches her dress. The headband reminds me of Harper. It wouldn’t surprise me if that’s why she’s wearing it. Lilly loves Harper and is probably trying to dress like her now.

  “Hi, Lilly.” I bend down and give her a hug. I’m still in the hallway but I need to hug her. She’s hurting and could use a hug. And hugging her helps me relax.

  “Hi.” Her voice is soft and tiny and sad.

  She needs her brother. I stand up and Garret picks her up.

  “Hey, Lilly.” He smooths her hair as she lays her head on his shoulder. She hugs him really tight, her arms and legs attached to him like she’ll never let him go.

  “I’m sad,” she whispers.

  “I know.” He kisses her head.

  Whenever I see those two together, it makes me want to cry. Lilly’s doing bett
er now that she goes to school and has some friends, but she still really misses Garret. They have a special bond that Lilly doesn’t have with anyone else. She trusts him and listens to him and loves him, probably more than she loves her own parents.

  “Hello, Garret.” Eleanor appears in the doorway to Lilly’s room. She’s wearing a black dress that almost matches Katherine’s dress but without the belt. And she’s wearing a pearl necklace with matching earrings, her short hair framing her face.

  “Hello, Grandmother.” Garret walks past her into Lilly’s bedroom.

  I remain at the door, frozen in place, my heart thumping fast.

  Eleanor gives me a slight smile. “Jade. Thank you for coming.”

  “I’m sorry for your loss.” I sound like a greeting card, but I didn’t know what else to say.

  She steps aside and I walk into the room and stand next to Garret, who still has Lilly glued to him.

  “How was the flight?” Eleanor asks. “I haven’t flown commercial for years. I’ve heard it’s even more unpleasant than it used to be.”

  “It’s not that bad,” Garret says.

  There’s silence. None of us knows what to say. Eleanor hasn’t talked to Garret since last summer, other than to call him and tell him to come here today.

  Katherine appears at the door. “Lilly, I need you to come downstairs.”

  Lilly doesn’t move or say anything. The room is quiet as we all wait for Katherine’s reaction. She straightens up and her lips purse as she stares at Lilly.

  Katherine goes and stands next to Garret. “Did you hear me, Lilly? I need you to come downstairs. Right now.”

  “I want to stay with Garret.”

  Garret smiles a little, which makes Katherine even more furious.

  “He’s here all weekend. You’ll see him later. Now hurry up.”

  She doesn’t move. I guess Lilly’s developing a rebellious streak. Good for her.

  “Garret.” Katherine’s tone has an edge, like she’s warning him.

  “Katherine.” He says it back the same way, staring at her.

  More silence as this standoff continues. Then Garret turns and kisses Lilly’s head, which is still on his shoulder. His gaze returns to Katherine as he says, “I have to go get ready, Lilly, but later we’ll watch a movie, okay?”

  “She’s not allowed to—”

  “She’s not what?” Garret cuts Katherine off. He gives her a look which she seems to understand.

  She clears her throat. “Very well. But for now, she needs to be downstairs.”

  He lowers her down to the floor. “Lilly, let go.”

  She reluctantly releases him. “We’ll watch a movie later? You promise?”

  “I promise.”

  Lilly follows Katherine out of the room. The woman still hasn’t even acknowledged me.

  Eleanor steps in front of Garret. “I should say a proper hello.”

  He leans over for her usual faraway hug, but she moves in and gives him a full hug. A real hug. Arms all the way around. I see his face. He’s completely shocked, but he hugs her back.

  “Go get yourself ready.” She pats his back, then steps away. “And please shave, Garret. A five o’clock shadow is so unsightly on a man.”

  “I will. We’ll see you downstairs.”

  Actually, I like Garret’s five o’clock shadow. I think it’s sexy.

  We go down to his room. Katherine still hasn’t touched it. I keep waiting for her to tear it apart and redecorate it, painting the walls beige or white instead of the dark blue he picked out.

  “Damn, I’m tired.” He collapses on the bed and so do I.

  “Me too. Maybe we should’ve left yesterday so we wouldn’t have had to get up so early today.”

  “I guess, but too late now. I’m sure we can find some caffeine to keep us awake. Charles always has coffee going.”

  “I want to go see Charles. Let’s go to the kitchen.”

  “We’ll see him later. We need to get ready. It’s getting late.” He gets up and pulls me to standing. “You can shower first. I’ll shave.”

  I follow him into the bathroom. “What’s going on with you and Katherine?”

  “What do you mean?” He turns the shower on for me.

  “You gave her a look and she just backed down.”

  He smiles as he goes back to the sink. “Yeah, we kind of have an agreement when it comes to Lilly.”

  “What’s the agreement?” I strip my clothes off and grab a towel.

  “A few years ago I made some videos of Katherine, and just recently I told her about them and threatened to release them to the media.”

  “Videos of what?”

  “Her gossiping on the phone about her rich friends. Saying all this bad shit about them.” He rinses his razor in the sink.

  “Why would the media care about that?”

  “The gossip pages would care. Society pages. Whatever they call it. They’d eat that shit up. And Katherine’s reputation would be destroyed.”

  I step in the shower. “So you’re blackmailing her?”

  “Yeah, but it’s not like I need to anymore. The organization will make sure she never attends another charity ball or any other high society gathering. And once my dad divorces her, she won’t be able to keep me away from Lilly.”

  “You think they’ll still be allowed to get divorced?”

  “I don’t know why they wouldn’t. My grandfather was the only one who forbid it and he’s gone now.”

  “That’d be great for your dad if he could finally get rid of her.”

  “It’d be great for all of us.”

  We finish getting ready. Garret puts on a black suit and I wear a black dress. We walk down the hallway and I look over the banister and see at least 30 people downstairs. Everyone is wearing black. It’s so somber and depressing.

  As we go down the staircase, I spot Victoria. She’s looking right at me and she’s not smiling. In fact she looks angry.

  I can’t wait for this night to be over.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  21

  GARRET

  Jade and I come down the stairs and the first person to greet us is Victoria. I can’t stand the woman. She’s almost as bad as Katherine.

  “Garret.” She puts her long skinny fingers on my shoulders and leans in to hug me. Not a real hug, thank God, but a distant hug, which I expect to get a lot of tonight. “My deepest sympathies to you and your family.”

  “Thank you, Victoria.” Her perfume is filling the air around me and making me feel like I have to cough. I step back.

  She smooths the side of her hair which is pulled back into some type of twisted knot. She probably paid someone hundreds of dollars to style it that way. When I was dating Sadie, she’d pay $200 to $300 to have her hair styled for the ritzy parties she made me go to in DC.

  “It’s such a tragedy when death is sudden like that,” Victoria says, referring to my grandfather but also probably to her husband.

  “Yes. It is.” It’s eerie that Royce was killed by my father just steps away from where we’re standing and yet Victoria has no idea.

  “It’s a shame you couldn’t attend the funeral.” She makes sure to only look at me, like Jade doesn’t exist.

  “The timing of it just didn’t work out.” I glance over at Jade. “I believe you’ve met Jade, my wife.”

  “Yes, we’ve met.” Her eyes do a quick scan of Jade, then dart back to me.

  “Hi,” Jade says, but Victoria pretends not to hear her.

  “Thank you for coming, Victoria.” I walk away before I do what I want to do, which is to call her out on her rudeness.

  I’m trying to stay calm and get through this night without any drama. Yeah, like that’ll happen. Wishful thinking.

  “You okay?” I ask Jade as I lead her down the hall to the kitchen.

  “Yes. But let’s try to avoid her the rest of the night.”

  Being around Victoria made Jade as nervous as she was around my grandmoth
er. It makes sense. Both of their husbands tried to kill her. Shit. What the hell was I thinking? I shouldn’t have brought Jade here. This is way too stressful for her.

  I take her to the kitchen because I know she’ll relax if she sees a friendly face.

  “Charles,” I say to get his attention. He’s at the sink, washing a pan. “Someone wanted to see you.”

  He turns around and smiles. “Jade. Garret. Welcome home.” He dries his hands on a dishtowel and comes around the island to shake my hand. “Congratulations on the marriage.” He turns to Jade and hugs her. “Is this guy treating you well?”

  “Extremely well.” Jade smiles. She loves Charles. “And Garret does all the cooking.”

  “Not even close to as good as you could do, Charles, but I try.”

  Charles winks at Jade. “I taught him everything he knows. Don’t let him tell you otherwise.”

  “I give you credit all the time,” I tell him.

  “He does,” Jade agrees. “And he uses your recipes, too. He cooks almost every night.”

  Jade takes a seat on one of the stools by the island. So I guess we’re staying a while. She’d stay here all night if I let her.

  “I tried cooking, but it didn’t work out so well,” she says. “I ruined Garret’s birthday dinner.”

  I stand behind her and rub her shoulders. “You didn’t ruin it.”

  “I ruined it,” she says to Charles.

  He laughs. “Not everything turns out. That’s just part of cooking.”

  Jade points to a tray of cheese-filled tarts that’s sitting on the counter. “Those look really good.”

  “They’re all yours.” Charles goes back around the island and slides the tray over to her. “Katherine decided she didn’t like them so I was getting ready to throw them out.”

  Jade tastes one. “These are delicious. You can’t throw these out. Garret, try one.”

  She hands me one and I taste it. “Yeah, they’re good. Why didn’t Katherine like them?”

  “She didn’t like the way they looked on the tray,” Charles says. “It was an appearance issue, not a taste issue.”

  “That’s crazy,” Jade says. She doesn’t understand how it works when you’re rich. She grew up with barely enough food to eat, and here my wicked stepmother throws perfectly good food away because it isn’t pretty enough.