“You knew I’d come for the binder.”
“You can even have that one. But you’ll have to do a little bit more than break my window to get the copies.”
“How many are there?”
“Not so many that I can’t burn them when you do as I ask.”
Ryan glared around the office, then folded his arms across his chest. “What do you want?”
“I want you to confess.”
“To you? All right, fine, I did it. It’s true.”
Reid shook his head. “Not to me.”
“To who, then?”
“To Marianne Wilson.”
Ryan took a step back and looked horrified, pretty much as Reid had expected. “You can’t ask me to do that.”
“I just did. And when you’re done, you ask her to call me and tell me what you said.”
“They’re leaving town. They’re going to drive to Alaska. Lisa told me.”
“Then you’d better hurry.” Reid lifted the rifle. “I’m feeling a little impatient and I hear that Lucille is itching for a new project.”
Ryan swore. He looked around the office as if salvation lurked in one of the corners, then back at Reid, his gaze defiant. “I won’t.”
“Okay. Your choice. I just wanted to give you the option.”
Ryan was suitably uncertain. “What happens now?”
“You can go.”
“And the book?”
Reid smiled. He touched his cellphone, which was on the desk beside him, and it rang the number as programmed. Ryan watched with dawning horror. Someone answered, but the voice was too indistinct to be recognized. “Just as I expected, unfortunately, so we’ll go ahead with the plan,” Reid said. “Put it in the night deposit.”
“Where? What night deposit?” Ryan demanded.
Reid let his smile broaden.
“No,” Ryan said. “Don’t do it!”
“Hang on,” Reid told Lionel. “Tick tock,” he said to Ryan.
“All right, I’m going. You know I’ll be waking them up.”
“I don’t think they’ll mind. It’s a small price to pay in exchange for the truth.” He nodded and waited while Ryan fled the store, then he picked up his phone. “Good job, Lionel. Thank you. It’s going to be just fine.”
“What if my mom wanted to move out?”
“She could rent an apartment from me,” Reid said. “No deposit. I trust her.”
“Thank you, sir.”
Reid hung up the phone and marveled at what he’d just done. He’d never stepped into anyone’s life, never interfered, never been judge and jury.
It was probably a good thing that Cassie was gone, because there was no telling how much more of his rules and assumptions she would have destroyed.
But he was going to miss her. That Reid couldn’t deny.
He called up Shannon’s number in his address book and eyed it, his thumb hovering over the button to call. He turned off his phone instead and shoved it into his pocket, wondering just what Marianne Wilson would make of someone knocking at her door at five in the morning.
He was feeling surprisingly satisfied and a little bit sleepy. He’d put a piece of plywood over the broken glass, then head home to bed.
Cassie felt lighter on her feet than she had in a while. At first, she worried about her mom getting the book and learning the truth, but once Marty’s book was gone, she felt relieved.
It would be kind of nice not to have a dark secret anymore.
On impulse, one day, she ducked into the new baby store just down the block from F5. Usually, she avoided such stores like the plague, but her time with Emily made her think she could manage it.
What kind of godmother would she be if she didn’t send gifts?
They’d just opened and were having a sale. The shop was filled with pregnant women, strollers, and balloons in pink and blue. There were stuffed toys and educational toys; there were children’s picture books and music boxes; there were bonnets and onesies; there were cribs and strollers. Cassie headed determinedly for the pink section. She quickly found a stuffed giraffe with long eyelashes that made her smile, and discovered that it had a music box inside. She wound it up and her smile broadened as she listened.
She could envision Emily with this toy nestled beside her. Maybe the baby would chew on its little horns or suck on its ears. The music box could be removed and the toy was machine washable after that. Cassie had to think that was a plus.
There were darling little porcelain picture frames with flowers fired right on to them. She chose one that had My Christening written on the bottom in a pretty script.
Then she looked around the store, daring to glance to the blue section. Amy and Ty were going to have a boy in September. She needed to be able to step into that section of the store.
Today was a good time to try.
Clutching her gifts for Emily, Cassie crossed the store cautiously. No one noticed her in the flurry of shopping, but she felt her tears rising. Little blue toys and sleepers. She touched a stuffed bear with a blue ribbon around his neck and her throat tightened.
Her child would have been a boy. They’d told her that at the clinic and she’d refused to even think about it all these years. Her memories had all circled around the rape and her resulting panic, but now she thought about that baby boy. She thought about her choice, which hadn’t seemed to be a choice at the time, and her tears started to flow. She picked up the little bear and held it close, knowing it couldn’t fix what had been done. She wished she could have believed differently at the time, but then wondered how it would have all worked out. Probably it would have worked out somehow. Now she knew that terrifying prospects usually didn’t turn out to be so bad when they happened. She stroked the little bear’s fur and mourned her loss.
“Are you all right, dear?” An older lady was beside her, her features filled with concern. She wore a name tag, so she must have been one of the owners or an employee.
“It was a boy,” Cassie confessed, her voice breaking.
“I’m sorry.” The woman touched her shoulder with compassion. “When it’s right, if it’s right, there will be another, dear.”
She obviously assumed that Cassie had had a miscarriage, but this wasn’t the place to explain. Cassie nodded and wiped her tears, then thanked the woman for her kindness.
She bought the bear, took it home and perched it in a position of honor.
Her phone rang while she was eyeing it, her throat tight, and she knew she shouldn’t have been surprised that it was her mom.
“Oh, Cassie,” she said. “I wish you’d been able to tell me.”
“I couldn’t.”
“I know. And that was my fault.” Her mom gave a wry laugh. “If ever anyone was going to show me that I’d been wrong, I should have guessed it would be you. My fearless Cassie. How I do love you. I’m sorry if you thought telling me the truth would change that.”
With that, Cassie began to cry in earnest. Her tears were long overdue, and so was restoring her relationship with her mom.
She wished she could thank Reid for both.
The fact that she’s probably never have the chance to do so just made her cry a little more.
Sixteen
Marianne Wilson had one last thing to do before leaving Montrose River again.
This time, their destination was Alaska, and she was looking forward to seeing a bit of Canada on the way north. She’d had to buy a new map for the RV, one with all of North America on it. Paul was ready to go, but she had this one last job to do. And she wanted to do it alone. She borrowed Ally’s car and told her husband that she’d be back by lunch.
Ally was still in Chicago with Jonathan, which couldn’t be a bad thing. She’d heard the most astonishing confession from Ryan early one morning, and she’d only believed him because she’d read Marty’s book. She was glad to have made amends with Cassie, and wanted to say one last farewell before they drove away from town.
She wondered, as she alway
s wondered when she entered the cemetery, just who maintained Marty’s grave. It always looked tidy, no matter when she visited or how long it had been since her last visit. In the spring, there were daffodils on the grave. Marty had liked those—was it just coincidence or was his grave tended by someone who’d known him? Marianne couldn’t figure out who it might be.
As she rounded the corner to the newer part of the cemetery, she saw that there was someone in the section where Marty’s grave was. She caught her breath as she parked and realized it was Reid Jackson, and that he was weeding the little garden in front of the stone.
Reid Jackson. He’d given the book to Cassie. He’d sent Ryan to make his confession. He’d stood by Cassie at Emily’s christening.
And he wasn’t the bad boy she’d always thought he was. In a way, she was disappointed that her call about Ryan had gone to voice mail, although she hadn’t expected Reid to call her back.
Maybe she’d have the chance to thank him now.
“Reid!” she said when she got out of the car and he turned to glance her way, unsurprised. “What are you doing here?”
“What does it look like I’m doing?”
Marianne sputtered. “But why?”
“I have every reason to be here,” Reid replied calmly. “It’s your presence that’s a surprise.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You barely spoke to Marty when he was alive. Why visit his grave?”
“He was my brother.”
“You should have talked to him when he was alive, then.” Reid turned back to his work.
Marianne took a deep breath, disliking that he was right. “We didn’t get along.”
“I’m not surprised. But he was like a father to me.” Reid straightened and came to take the petunias she’d brought. He had a trowel in the other hand and his hands were dirty. “Great minds think alike,” he said, almost smiling, and she knew he was trying to change the tone of their conversation. “This purple will go really well with the yellow lilies.”
Marianne surrendered the box from the nursery and Reid turned back to the grave, crouching down to make some more holes in the earth. She took a deep breath, telling herself that he’d been tending the grave and doing a nice job of it.
“It always looks so good,” she managed to say and it became easier to talk to him once she started. “I didn’t know it was you tending it.”
“Not something I advertise.”
“You don’t advertise much of anything you do, do you?”
“I don’t see the point.”
“You sent Ryan.”
“Yes.” He spared her a glance. “Here?”
She eyed the holes he’d made and nodded approval. The arrangement would be symmetrical, which she liked.
“I’m usually here on Memorial Day, just FYI,” Reid drawled. “I come early, so am easy to avoid.”
Marianne closed her eyes. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to sound ungrateful.”
“But Marty sold me the store instead of leaving it to you or your daughters.” Reid’s tone was matter-of-fact, as if her reaction was perfectly natural.
“There’s that,” she admitted.
He glanced over his shoulder. “But neither of them wanted to run a grocery. Marty asked them.” Marianne blinked in surprise because she hadn’t known that. “And he knew you didn’t need or want the responsibility.”
“You just said he sold it to you.”
“He did.” Reid shook his head. “And he demanded a fair price, that’s for sure.”
“When?”
“After my surgery. When I came back to town because I had nowhere else to go. I had nowhere to live, either. Marty said I needed an objective and a reason to get up every morning, and just a job wouldn’t do it.”
“That sounds like him,” Marianne said, smiling a little in memory.
Reid nodded agreement.
Marianne watched him settle the plants, surprised that he was so gentle with them.
He took his time, then straightened and came to stand beside her. “Okay?”
“It looks nice. Thank you.” She felt her tears rise with the wish that she and Marty had reconciled before his death. “We fought about you, you know,” she admitted without meaning to do so.
“I know. He told me.” Reid paused for a moment. “He never told me why, though. Until recently, I figured you just disapproved of me.”
“I did.”
Reid frowned. “I didn’t even know Cassie was pregnant. She didn’t tell me, not until she was here for Emily’s christening.”
Marianne kept her gaze locked on Marty’s stone. She wished Cassie had told her the truth first, but she hadn’t really made that possible. She recognized her own role in what had happened and regretted it.
“You could have told me then.”
Reid shook his head. “It wasn’t my story to tell.” There was a primness in his manner that surprised Marianne, because she caught a glimpse of Marty in his expression—and his words.
Marty had never spread gossip.
He’d just written it all down in his secret book.
“She probably didn’t tell you sooner because you weren’t the father,” she said softly. “I didn’t know that then.”
“You could have guessed,” Reid countered. “I would have married her in a heartbeat, even though Marty had one rule and one rule only. He insisted that I not even talk to his nieces, in case I damaged their reputations.” He grimaced. “He would have killed me if I’d gotten Cassie pregnant and not done the right thing about it.” He nodded at Marianne, then picked up the watering can and headed for the tap.
She watched him go, realizing this was why Marty had defended Reid. He’d made the boy promise and knew him well enough to know that the promise hadn’t been broken.
She thought of the content of Marty’s book, which she was still absorbing. Could it all be true?
Reid came back and watered the petunias.
“I did ask Cassie who the father was at the time,” she admitted. “She wouldn’t tell me.”
“Yet she’s the most forthright person I’ve ever known. Honest, too.”
Marianne found herself nodding agreement.
“Don’t you think she would have pointed the finger at me, if I had been the father?”
“You’re right.” Marianne nodded, feeling guilty again. “I should have known that there was a good reason why she didn’t tell me the truth.”
Reid gathered his tools and stood back from the grave, surveying his work. There was a look in his eyes that surprised Marianne and she spoke impulsively.
“You loved Marty.”
“I did,” Reid admitted easily. “He gave me a chance. He was good to me, even when I didn’t deserve it, and I could never figure out why.” He shrugged. “I guess I was just in the right place at the right time.” He seemed to find that amusing, but Marianne knew better.
“No,” she said firmly and Reid glanced at her. “That’s not why.”
He didn’t know, she could see that in his eyes. Maybe there was one way she could start to make amends for all the years she’d blamed him for what he hadn’t done.
Marianne had a story that was hers to tell, and it was time to share it.
“Let me tell you something about Marty,” she offered.
“Here? Or can I buy you a coffee?”
“Here,” Marianne said with resolve. “I want my brother to hear me start to make amends.” She took a deep breath. “But afterward you can buy me a coffee.”
“Deal,” Reid said, smiled a little and waited for Marianne to find the words.
He was patient, just like Marty, and she had a feeling he might be just as kind.
Talk about improbabilities. Reid had never imagined he’d be standing in the cemetery with Cassie’s mom on a Tuesday afternoon in June. He certainly would never have imagined that she would have chosen to talk to him by choice, and in a friendly tone, but she was doing just that.
&n
bsp; Cassie must have sent her The Book.
And he had sent Ryan to her to confess.
Marianne folded her arms across her chest, as if it was cold, even though it wasn’t. “You probably guessed that your mom and I were in school together.”
Reid blinked. “I’ve never thought about it.”
Marianne nodded. “No, I guess you wouldn’t. But we were the same age and in the same grade all through school. Doreen was quiet and sweet, a tremendously gentle person even as a child.”
Reid felt a lump rise in his throat. “She was.”
“We were friends. We played together. We avoided my brothers together. We were teased by my brothers.” Marianne took a deep breath. “We had the most glorious summers in those days. Perfect childhood memories. We ate watermelon and caught fireflies and ran through sprinklers. We earned nickels and dimes for doing chores and rode our bikes down to buy treats at the Shop ’n Save. We could spend an hour deliberating over the possibilities.”
Reid smiled.
“My older brother, Marty, seemed to always be working at the store then. Even then, Frank was obsessed with cars and had a job at the gas station. And then we grew up, Doreen and I, and I went to college. Doreen didn’t. My dad hired her as a cashier at the Shop ’n Save.”
Reid waited, enjoying this glimpse of his mom before his own time.
“And that was when Marty fell head over heels in love with Doreen.”
Reid glanced up, startled.
Marianne nodded. “I’m sure he never told you. He was like that. He certainly never wrote it in his book, but everyone knew. It was obvious that he adored her, and when I came home at Christmas and saw them together, I was pretty sure the feeling was mutual. She came to our house Christmas Eve, then had Christmas Day with her family.” She fixed Reid with a look. “You probably don’t remember them.”
He shook his head. “Not really.”
“Well, you were just little when they passed, but that’s getting ahead of things. I was pretty sure that Marty would be getting married soon when I went back to school for the winter. Imagine my surprise when I came home in the spring to find Marty working like a demon in the store. Doreen had quit her job and married someone else.”
Some Guys Have All the Luck Page 30