Winter Storm

by Barbara Winkes

  Either way, she couldn’t imagine her life without Maggie. She just wasn’t able to.

  There were two cruisers from the police station in Autumn Leaves, and one from out of town. Her heart was racing again, and she wondered if at some point, it might just give out. Callie was beside her, her hand firm on Rebecca’s waist as if she had to hold her upright. Maybe that wasn’t such a wrong assessment.

  The grip wasn’t strong enough, though, when she saw Craig being led out of the hotel by Bev and another cop, watched by curios onlookers.

  “You bastard!” she yelled. “What did you do to my daughter?”

  Craig Lowman turned to her, a grin on his face. It was too much. She’d been holding herself together best she could, but seeing him like this, unharmed, made something inside her snap.

  All her pent-up fear and anger went into that closed-fist punch, making his nose bleed.

  “Rebecca,” Callie said behind her.

  “No, let me—”

  “Rebecca, look.”

  Maggie stood in the doorway of the hotel accompanied by another policewoman. She was looking pale and frightened, but a smile appeared on her face as she recognized familiar faces. She came running into Rebecca’s embrace, regardless of the fact that she was wearing no coat and nothing but socks on her feet.

  * * * *

  Craig scared the hell out of Maggie and, most likely, every other hotel guest with the shot, but no one was injured. Callie caught David’s gaze. He smiled at her, his eyes bright. She smiled back at him tiredly. The abrupt relief was just as draining as the fear had been, and all of a sudden, she felt empty. There was nowhere else to go. She needed to sleep for two days straight.

  For Rebecca, however, the world had righted itself in that one instant, and with her daughter in her arms, she didn’t look like she hadn’t slept at all the past night.

  Callie walked over to the two of them, touching Rebecca’s shoulder gently.

  “Let’s go home,” she whispered. Rebecca straightened and followed her, Maggie on her hand, both of them holding on.

  Usually, Maggie was a shy, quiet girl, but when prompted by Bev, she told her story in an avalanche of words. She hadn’t seen Uncle Craig in a while and that made her wonder why he would pick her up. He was nice, though, suggesting they have dinner so there would be less work for Mom to do.

  Rebecca’s lips straightened into a thin line, but she didn’t say anything.

  “We had ice cream, and Uncle Craig said that the snowstorm was too bad and we had to stay. I wanted to call Mom so she wouldn’t worry.”

  “What did your uncle say?”

  Bev’s tone was calm and comforting. Maggie just shrugged.

  “He said we’d do it later, but I was worried he’d forget. So I used the phone in the room.”

  “That was very thoughtful of you, Maggie,” Bev said. “Did he get angry with you?”

  Maggie shook her head. “No. He just talked to Mom and then said we had to leave. He didn’t know why.”

  “Did he do anything that scared you?”

  “Uncle Craig is with the police, so I thought it would be okay. He had a gun though.” Maggie’s eyes filled with tears. “I was scared then. It was so loud!”

  “I can imagine. That is one terribly loud noise. You were very brave, Maggie, and you did everything right.”

  Maggie cast a quick glance at Rebecca. “I shouldn’t have gone with him.”

  “You couldn’t know,” Bev said immediately. “None of this was your fault, honey.”

  The girl’s smile was hesitant, but at least she seemed to believe the sheriff’s words. Bev turned off the recorder and got up with a sigh.

  “I wonder what’s gotten into him. At least we could stop this before he went off the deep end altogether.”

  “What’s going to happen to him?” David asked.

  “He’ll have a public defender appointed. Probably, he’s going to wait for trial in a county jail, because I suppose there is a flight risk.”

  David exchanged a look with his mother. “We’ll pay for the lawyer, of course. Mom, I’ll drive you, I just want to…spend a moment.”

  Laurie nodded, teary-eyed.

  It was after nine when everyone had finally left, except for Dina who had been authorized to skip school anyway. Even though the teenager was trying to play it cool, Callie could see that the abduction of her little sister had shaken her, and she wanted to stay close. The two of them finished cleaning up in the kitchen, too restless yet to sit down. Rebecca and Maggie had retreated into the bedroom. Callie guessed that both of them were fast asleep by now.

  “What a day,” Dina sighed. “I’m so glad I’m off the cell phone ban for now. My friends really kept me sane.”

  “You’re still talking to Tomaso?”

  “Of course. He was awesome. Offered to come over and kick Uncle Craig’s ass.”

  Despite herself, Callie had to smile. “I hope he didn’t say that on Facebook.”

  “Course not, since everybody has been going crazy paranoid. We’re careful.”

  “With everything?”

  “With everything,” Dina confirmed. “So, about this Nicole person—is she likely to show up again?”

  “I hope not. I’m pretty sure she’s going to go home soon.”

  “Good. Do you think anybody would mind if I crashed in Maggie’s room for a while?”

  “It’s fine. Go ahead.”

  Everybody was connecting with Maggie in their own way, Callie reflected. David and Laurie were probably at the jail right now while Dina was going to catch up on some sleep in her little sister’s bed. The main bedroom was still silent. Callie tiptoed to the door and opened it very carefully. Mother and daughter were still fast asleep, all earlier stress and fear erased from their features. Callie closed the door again, feeling like her legs wouldn’t uphold her another minute. Even in her own house, she had nowhere to go. Maybe she was being melodramatic. The lack of sleep might do that to a person. She walked back into the living room, curling up in the corner of the sofa with the comforter.

  Everybody seemed to be magically okay, but as much as she was happy to have Maggie back safe and sound, Callie wasn’t.

  She was on the verge of being drawn into a dream when the phone rang. Callie caught it on the first ring.

  “It’s me,” Asha said. “I just wanted to know how you’re doing. According to the Weather Channel, you are all snowed in. That must be good for creativity.”

  “Asha.”

  “What? It’s nearly ten, darling. Don’t tell me you were sleeping.”

  “Actually…” Callie pressed one hand against her forehead where a headache was starting to build. “Asha, this is not such a good time.” She realized that while Maggie’s abduction had gone to the media, the coverage had been local. Of course Asha didn’t know.

  “Did Nicole bother you some more?”

  “Actually, she came here looking for some business contacts and trying to win me back.”

  “Okay, and you filed a restraining order. Right? Please tell me you did.”

  Callie realized that while she had many opportunities to approach the subject with Bev, she hadn’t even spared a single thought on Nicole. Maybe that was a mistake. What happened with Craig Lowman showed too clearly the potential of a narcissistic personality. Chances were that destructive potential wouldn’t always stay dormant.

  “There wasn’t really time for this. By the way, do you know anyone who’s had ‘ex-gay therapy’?”

  “Cal? That’s not funny. Did you take anything?”

  “What?”

  “Drugs. You sound like you’re…Never mind. Is there anyone with you?”

  “What? Wait. It’s not what you think.”

  “I’d like to convince myself of that in person. I was going to be in the area anyway, so why don’t I drop by and we talk?”

  “We’re talking now. No, you don’t have to come. I don’t really have anything to show you except for a vague idea
you won’t like, because it’s not about Vanessa and Sabine.”

  “Count me in for dinner,” Asha said. “Looking forward to seeing you.”

  Callie put the phone back into its station, shaking her head. She knew it was futile to call Asha back and try to make her change her mind, so she wouldn’t waste energy on that.

  “What are you doing?”

  At the sound of Rebecca’s voice, she nearly dropped the phone.

  “I thought you might join us,” Rebecca clarified, her voice soft and heavy with sleep. “You must be exhausted.”

  I wasn’t sure I was welcome. Callie bit back the first, instinctive response.

  “I was kind of wired. I could lie down for a bit.”

  Rebecca smiled, her face now showing the traces of stress and fatigue. “Let’s do that then. Did Dina stay?”

  “Yes. She went to nap in Maggie’s room.”

  “I never really thanked you for getting rid of Father Reynolds.” Rebecca shook her head. “I don’t want to cause anyone trouble, but he’s a nuisance. I’d like to file a complaint.”

  “Can you really complain for this?” Callie asked. She doubted that such a complaint would go far.

  Rebecca looked at her with an emotion hard to discern, disappointment maybe or exasperation. If it was meant for her or Father Reynolds, Callie didn’t dare guess.

  “I can complain about him intruding when I was scared out of my mind about my daughter. Let’s not talk about it now. I need a couple of hours of sleep more before I can even think about it.”

  Callie followed her into the bedroom, and they lay down on either side of the still-sleeping girl.

  “I meant it though. Thank you for being there for me. I don’t know what I would have done without you.”

  “Where would I go?” Callie forced a smile, and Rebecca reached out to take her hand.

  * * * *

  The sensation of the soft kiss to her temple reached into her subconscious, but when Rebecca woke, she was alone, bolting upright in a moment of panic. Hearing voices from the kitchen, Dina, Maggie, Callie, relaxed her enough to sink back down into the cushions. She didn’t feel nearly rested enough. Rebecca was aware, though, that she wouldn’t get much more time until the night, too many things to deal with.

  She’d wanted to settle, hoping for peaceful times, not drawing any more attention to her family and herself, but it wasn’t so easy.

  The people she’d once trusted and confided in were mostly gone from her life, like Maria, Father Langdon, and Betty to some extent.

  She had trusted David, but he’d been absent so often that she’d wanted to keep things light and easy for the times he was home. With Callie, everything was different. She couldn’t pretend. Rebecca didn’t want to.

  Still, she was making herself more vulnerable. She’d accepted the role of the woman who’d managed it all, two kids, the household, and the job, flawlessly, mostly on her own. Learning how to share wasn’t easy.

  She stretched, wishing she could just snuggle under the covers and stay here all day. Instead, Rebecca got up and went to join her lover and daughters, hoping that there would be coffee.

  The scenery—Callie, Dina, and Maggie sharing a pizza, the girls talking—made her smile. Before she’d left David, before there was even the idea, Dina and Maggie hadn’t gotten along very well. It seemed like the divorce had gotten them closer together instead of further apart, and for that, Rebecca was grateful.

  They all needed a bit of stability right now, but especially Maggie. She needed to feel safe again.

  Callie got up to pour a mug of steaming coffee and set it on the table. Rebecca accepted it with a grateful smile. She was reminded of something she’d need to take care of. Later.

  For the moment, she just wanted to stay here and enjoy a moment with the people she loved, nothing and no one intruding on them.

  Maggie had not left her side since this morning. Rebecca certainly didn’t mind, even though Maggie’s excited chatter was a sign that she was still working through what had happened.

  She nearly squealed when Rebecca announced they were going to make Christmas cookies. Dina’s reaction was an indulgent smile. It seemed like she had been doing a lot of growing up in the past days. Rebecca wasn’t too sure whether she found that comforting or disturbing. In any case, there were much more disturbing things, and she wanted to forget about them for a while. Callie retreated to her own office to write. Even though this was a different home, a different kitchen, it almost felt like the old times.

  She hadn’t done a lot of baking in the past season, Rebecca realized, when the familiar scents filled the kitchen. There’s your therapy. All of her troubles with people she’d rather see leave Autumn Leaves sooner than later, seemed like a distant nightmare.

  She hoped they would fade away for real.

  At least, Maggie seemed to have remained oblivious to the hateful words Craig had thrown at Rebecca. She found that she couldn’t even find it in herself to hate him, not like Beckett and Weller. Rebecca pitied him.

  “Hey. It smells so good, I couldn’t stand to stay away.”

  Callie stood in the doorway, a small, tired smile on her face.

  “Almost done. We’ll clean all of it up, of course.”

  “It’s okay. Can I borrow you for a minute?”

  Rebecca only hoped she wasn’t in for more bad news. Callie seemed to have something on her mind. When they stood in the hallway, she just stepped forward and wrapped her arms around Rebecca.

  “It’s okay. Sorry I’ve been freaking. This was…bad,” Rebecca said for the lack of a better term. She held on tight, then brushed her fingers over Callie’s hair.

  “It was.” Callie’s voice was slightly muffled. “There’s just something I wanted to tell you. Nicole says she’s leaving town, taking the last flight tonight.”

  “Good for her,” Rebecca said, not sure what to make of the news. “She’s been saying a lot of things. Are you sure it’s for real?”

  “I think so. She wants to say good-bye.”

  “You want to go?”

  After the past two days or so, Rebecca thought that nothing could shake her anymore. Maybe she’d been delusional. She still felt on edge, the need to make a decision while things kept spiraling out of her control. Rebecca had never been someone to just sit it out. This time though, she wasn’t sure what the right direction was. Nicole scared her. Father Reynolds did too. She couldn’t back down with either of them though.

  Callie nodded.

  You will come back though? Rebecca didn’t ask. Instead she went to the coat rack and picked up her purse, searching through it until she found the colorful leaflet. She tore it in two and walked into the living room where she tossed it into the fireplace. They both watched as the paper curled and turned to ashes.

  “She lied to you,” Rebecca said. “I just put it there and I forgot. Next thing I know my ex-brother-in-law turns into a maniac who kidnaps my daughter. I never had any intention to call that therapist, but if you believe her…”

  “I don’t. I just want to see her get on that plane.”

  “What if she decides to come back?” Rebecca was aware that it was hazardous to have this conversation now when nerves were still raw, hers, Callie’s.

  “She won’t. Nicole doesn’t like to lose.”

  Rebecca didn’t answer, but stared into the flames where there was nothing visible of the offensive item anymore.

  “Just this, and she’s going to be out of our lives.”

  The temptation to say something overtly dramatic was strong. Rebecca doubted that someone like Nicole would give up because of distance. Callie said earlier she’d have to be in New York from time to time, and there was nothing that could stop Nicole from showing up, time after time, unless charges were filed.

  “I’d prefer it if we could all stay home tonight,” she said calmly. “It’s been a horrible few days, and honestly, I don’t care about her feelings. I just want to know that everyone is saf
e.”

  Callie studied her for a long time before she said, “Okay.”

  “Just like that, ‘okay’?” Rebecca hadn’t expected her to comply.

  “Yes, just like that. I realize whatever I do, and whatever I call it, it’s probably not closure to her. You’re right. I shouldn’t give her reason to think I’d change my mind, ever. Maybe it’s true, that I’ve been doing that. Guilty as charged.”

  “No. You just tried the best you could.”

  “It’s been so damn hard.” Callie shook her head. “Everybody tried to make me doubt—”

  “I know.”

  Rebecca leaned forward to kiss her, very softly.

  “I know what that feels like. Please, don’t go. Just let us spend a nice quiet evening with the girls. Pretend it’s a holiday, and we don’t have to answer to anyone.”

  “That would be so nice,” Callie whispered. “Except…”

  “Except?”

  “I’m sorry, I forgot to tell you earlier. Asha is coming over. She called this morning.”

  “Well,” Rebecca said with a half-hearted smile, “I have to admit of all your exes, I like her the best.”

  “Oh, come on, you make it sound like there are dozens!”

  They hadn’t had a lot to laugh about lately. Rebecca decided she wanted to take it as a good sign that this was changing.

  In the end, Callie had gone out anyway to get some ingredients for their dinner. What could happen in a few minutes? Rebecca gave herself the answer as she stood by the window, knowing that knot in her stomach wouldn’t go away until Callie returned.

  Nearly seventeen years ago, she and David had wanted to build a life in Autumn Leaves, because it had seemed like a safe place for their children to grow up. Now she was scared for a grown woman to go to the grocery store a few blocks away?

  It was just her luck that Asha arrived before Callie’s return. True, Rebecca had begun to see a tentative ally in her which was a long way from how they’d first met. However, Asha, even though she wasn’t doing it on purpose, never failed to make her feel like the boring, suburban housewife.

  “Wow,” she said, inhaling deeply as she stepped inside. “Callie is so lucky. I have yet to meet a woman who can cook. Her included, as you might have found out.”