by Brenda Novak
But another thought surfaced on the heels of the previous realization. Was the way her father had responded part of the reason Keith had gone ahead with the marriage? In addition to the fact that she’d been pregnant with Mica? “You never told me you were going to call him,” she said.
“After I’d spoken to him, I was glad I hadn’t told you.”
The heat of the day seemed to grow worse, become stifling. A large fan whirred in the corner, but Ollie was too conservative to use an air conditioner in May. “What does he want?” she asked, wondering why her father’s actions still hurt so badly.
“He and Luanna have split up.”
Liz’s heart leaped into her throat. How many times had she prayed that her father would separate from the woman who’d made her life so miserable? How many times had she dreamed of reclaiming his love and approval?
“Is he here to see me or Isaac?” she asked.
“I’m guessing he wants to see both of you. Who else does he have, now that Luanna’s out of the picture?”
There was Luanna’s son, Marty, but he was Liz’s age and on his own. Liz couldn’t imagine her father being attached to him. Luanna had spoiled Marty so terribly that hardly anyone could stand him. But maybe he’d changed. Liz couldn’t say for sure what kind of man he’d turned out to be. She hadn’t been in touch with him either since she’d run away.
“Liz…”
She lifted her eyes to his. “What?”
He sighed. “You look devastated.”
“I’m fine.” After all, she’d had eighteen months to recover from the previous blow.
“You’re not fine.” Gently tugging her up against his chest, he kissed her head. Liz would have resisted, as she always did these days, but she wasn’t thinking straight. The news he’d just delivered felt like a knockout punch.
Keith smelled good. Familiar. Comfortable. Not so long ago, he’d meant the world to her. Certainly one moment in his arms wouldn’t hurt. Resting her head against his shoulder, she tried to decide what to do about her father.
“I know you’re under a lot of pressure right now, and you don’t need this.” Keith’s hands caressed her back, reassuring her with their strength.
Liz knew Ollie was watching, and that word of the embrace would probably spread. But she stayed where she was, too shocked to pull away.
“Do you want me to ask him to leave town?” Keith asked.
“No.”
“Why not?”
Because it was no longer Keith’s responsibility. He had no right. “I’m sure Isaac will take care of that,” Liz said. Her brother felt angrier toward their father than she did, even though Luanna had treated Isaac much better. His presence in the house hadn’t threatened Luanna in the way that Liz’s presence had.
“I wonder what happened to their marriage,” she said, still trying to come to terms with her father’s sudden appearance in Dundee.
“He said he got tired of Luanna’s bullshit. But—” Keith brought her chin up “—I got the impression it was Luanna who left.”
The sting of this particular detail surprised Liz. Had she hoped, after all these years, that her father had finally come to his senses?
What did it matter? It was too late, anyway. The girl who’d needed him so badly was an adult, now.
Straightening up, she disengaged herself from her ex-husband’s embrace. “So he’s here because he has no better place to go.”
Keith’s sympathy reminded Liz that he wasn’t quite as bad as she sometimes liked to tell herself he was. “I’m sorry, babe,” he said.
She smiled sadly and said, “Thanks. But don’t call me babe, okay?” Then she forced her feet to carry her out into the dazzling sunshine.
AS SHE EMERGED from the hardware store, Liz nearly bumped into Carter.
“You’ve already started?” she asked when she noticed the cranberry-colored paint that speckled his hands and hair and even the soft T-shirt that made the most of his muscular build.
“Was I supposed to wait?” he replied.
“No, it’s just that I was going to help you. But—” She shook her head, trying to order her scrambled thoughts. She felt like a punctured balloon, in the process of deflating. “Did you figure out the marbling?”
“Yeah. It’s easy.”
“Okay, well, I’ll be there shortly.”
“I could use a more expensive roller,” he said. “This one won’t last an hour. And I figure I might as well get a few of these while I’m here.” He showed her a tiny screw that he carried in one large hand. “We’ll need them when it comes time to reattach the light plates.”
“Light plates?” she murmured, unable to immediately picture what he was talking about.
“The face plates that go over the outlets and light switches?”
“Oh, right.” She waved a hand halfheartedly. “Tell Ollie to put whatever you need on my account.”
He peered more closely at her. “Is something wrong?”
She stole a glance down the street. “No, why?”
“You seem a little dazed.”
An old truck came rattling by. Holding her breath, she tried to identify the man behind the wheel….
It was Hawthorne Cawley, one of the longtime ranchers who lived in the area. The vehicle was probably one he didn’t bring to town very often, which was why she didn’t recognize it. Letting her breath out slowly, she said, “It’s nothing.”
“You’re sure?”
“I’m sure.” She began to step around him, but he cut her off. “What’d you find out about the sink?”
Anxious to get to her car and head for the high school, where she hoped to find her brother, she rubbed the palms of her hands on her shorts. “It wasn’t Keith.”
“You’re sure?”
“I’m sure.”
“How do you know?”
She pulled her sunglasses out of her purse and took refuge behind the dark lenses. “He said so.”
Carter’s smooth forehead rumpled with impatience and disbelief. “You’re taking him at his word?”
At this point, Liz wasn’t as concerned about the vandalism as she was about the next twenty-four hours. How long would her father stay? What would she say to him? And how would he treat her children? He’d never even met Mica and Christopher. “I guess.”
“We’re talking about the same man who lied to you your entire marriage.”
She managed to give him her full attention. “Listen, I’m grateful for your help at the shop, and I’ll do what I can to compensate you.”
“But…”
“I don’t need any of your cynical bullshit right now,” she said and walked away.
She knew he stared after her, that she’d surprised him once again. But she couldn’t find it in herself to care.
CARTER HAD QUIT HIS JOB with the Federal Bureau of Investigation shortly after Laurel’s funeral. He knew he’d never go back. But he was still a cop at heart, and that made him reluctant to allow the mystery of the vandalized bathroom to go unsolved. Someone had been inside Liz O’Connell’s chocolate shop; someone had caused the damage. He intended to find out who was responsible—and he doubted he’d have to work very hard to do it. The way Liz had muttered, “Keith!” before she’d stormed out and marched over to the hardware store told him she had reason to believe it might be her ex-husband. Which meant Keith probably had a solid motive. And a solid motive made him Carter’s best suspect. Maybe Liz’s ex denied ripping the sink from the wall, but any man who could lead the double life Keith had led had to be one hell of a liar.
Carter hated liars almost as much as he hated petty thieves and vandals. In seven years with the bureau, he’d learned that small crimes stemmed from the same lack of regard for others that fostered larger crimes.
“Can I help you?” An old guy with spidery veins covering his ruddy cheeks stood at the cash register.
Carter paused long enough to hold up the screw. “Can you tell me where I can find these?”
&nb
sp; He took a moment to peer at it. “Aisle nine.”
“Thanks.” Carter moved on. He hoped to run into Liz’s ex while he shopped. But he found a new paint roller and the right screws without meeting anyone else, so he wandered about the store until he heard voices coming from the nursery that leaned against one side of the building.
Sure enough, there was a tall dark-blond man inside. Judging by his T-shirt, which had Ollie’s Hardware written across it in red, and by his approximate age, Carter guessed he’d found Keith.
Taking a well-worn dirt path that snaked through the plants, Carter drew closer and listened as Keith spoke to a middle-aged woman and her teenage son. They wanted advice on getting rid of snails in their garden without using pesticides.
Carter paused while Keith answered, using the time to examine a stone birdbath in front of him.
Finally, the teenager hefted a bag of potting soil over his shoulder, and he and his mother headed out of the nursery.
Carter sauntered closer.
“Can I help you find something in particular?” Keith asked.
Carter took in the sharp angles of the other man’s face. Keith appeared to be fit and healthy, and Carter guessed most women would find him attractive. But the way his clothes hung on him suggested he’d lost weight recently. Was he depressed? Skipping meals? Experimenting with drugs?
Carter wished he could ignore such details, the way most other people did. But it was the minutiae that made the difference in an investigation. Noticing had become second nature to him. “You’re Keith O’Connell?”
Keith’s eyebrows shot up. He wasn’t wearing a name badge, probably because there wasn’t any need for it. In a town this size, most folks would already know who he was. “Have we met?”
“I’m new in Dundee. I work for Senator Holbrook.”
“Oh, right.” He looked Carter over thoroughly. “I hear you went out with my ex-wife last night.”
“I went out with one of them,” Carter corrected.
His pointed allusion to Keith’s past prompted a tightening about the mouth and a quick retaliation. “Yeah, well, from what I hear, she wasn’t very excited about your dinner together.”
Keith’s dig bothered Carter, and that surprised him. He hadn’t cared about anything for a long time. But he’d made no effort to endear himself to Liz and he knew he couldn’t expect any better. Anyway, he had no real interest in a woman with emotional baggage. He had too much of his own. “I guess I’m not very good at small talk,” he said.
“I can see that,” Keith replied. “It’s almost as if you came here just to piss me off.”
Carter held up the new roller he meant to purchase. “Actually, I came to get a few supplies, too. Otherwise, I couldn’t make the improvements at the chocolate shop.”
Keith’s jaw dropped. “The what?”
“You heard me.” Carter suspected he was being too combative. He didn’t even know Keith. But since the numbness that set in after Laurel’s death had worn off, the darker emotions simmering beneath his skin sometimes got the best of him—especially when he found a target as deserving as a man who’d cheated and lied to the extent that Keith had done.
“Did Liz ask for your help?”
“The senator suggested it.”
Liz’s ex stepped closer, giving Carter the impression he wasn’t the type to back down from a fight. “Well, you can forget about it. She doesn’t need you. She’s got me.”
Carter eyed Keith’s hands, which had nearly doubled into fists. He waited to see if Keith would take a swing at him, but when Keith made no move, he said, “Evidently it’s not happening fast enough.”
“I’ll get to it.”
“No need,” Carter said. “The place will be painted before you can get off work.”
“That’s all you wanted to tell me? That you’re helping Liz—and that you can get it done quicker than I can?”
“No. There’s one more thing.”
Keith’s nostrils flared. “What’s that?”
“If you’re the person who ripped her sink from the wall, you’d better not try that shit again,” he said and stalked off.
“Who the hell do you think you are, you arrogant son of a bitch?” Keith called after him.
Carter didn’t respond. He’d already made his point. Besides, he wasn’t arrogant. He was angry.
CHAPTER FIVE
LIZ WRUNG HER HANDS TOGETHER as she stood at the door of Isaac’s classroom, barely able to resist the urge to barge in while he was teaching. She wasn’t sure what she expected him to do about their father’s unexpected arrival. But she wanted to warn him. Isaac hadn’t spoken to Gordon for years, hadn’t even bothered with a Christmas card. Liz had encouraged him to do what he could to improve the relationship, but Isaac had no patience for any talk of reconciliation. He couldn’t understand how Gordon could have allowed Luanna to do what she’d done to Liz.
To be honest, Liz couldn’t understand it, either. Her father had probably been lonely and in love, she told herself. He had needs, too. But Luanna had been downright cruel, at least to Liz. And Gordon hadn’t interfered.
At last, the class bell rang, tinny and loud enough to rattle Liz’s nerves. Taking a moment to regain her composure, she threaded her way through a crowd of high school students surging past her.
She spotted Isaac sitting on the edge of his desk, wearing a pair of chinos and a blue short-sleeved shirt. He was speaking with a female student. “You’re making it more difficult than it has to be,” he said calmly. “The number of electrons surrounding the nucleus of an atom is equal to the number of protons inside.”
The girl scrunched up her nose. “Always?”
“Always,” he replied. “And the number of the element on the periodic chart is the number of protons in that element’s nucleus.”
She smacked her forehead. “Now I get it.”
“It’s that easy.” Catching sight of Liz over the girl’s head, Isaac started to get up.
The student grabbed his forearm. “But what do I use to build my model?”
“Anything you want.” He gently extricated himself, as if he’d had ample practice slipping out of the clutches of overenthusiastic teenage girls. “That’s the fun of it. You can be creative.”
“I like this class.” The adoration in the student’s voice indicated she was far more interested in her handsome teacher than in the subject he taught.
Liz raised her eyebrows at her brother and Isaac blushed. The student’s crush obviously embarrassed him. “You’ll do fine,” he said as he shepherded her to the door. “Model’s due on Monday. Don’t forget.”
The girl cast a jealous glance at Liz before stepping outside. Clearly she wasn’t pleased she’d lost her audience with Isaac so soon. If not for her own preoccupation, Liz would’ve laughed. Isaac handled the attention he received so well. If Liz hadn’t witnessed this little scene firsthand, she knew he never would’ve mentioned it.
“Evidently you have another female admirer,” she said when the door clicked shut.
He shrugged as if he’d barely noticed. “The only female admirer I care about these days teaches next door.”
Although Isaac wasn’t the type to cheat on his wife, especially with a student, he was human and had more opportunity than most men. After what Keith, who’d once seemed equally devoted had done, Liz thought it was probably good Reenie worked so close.
“What’s up?” he asked, folding his arms and settling back onto the corner of his desk. “The last time you showed up here, you’d just quit your job and leased a thousand square feet of retail space. I’m almost afraid to hear what’s happening next.”
“This isn’t about the store.”
When she didn’t crack a smile, he grew serious. “Are Mica and Christopher okay?”
“They’re fine. It’s…” She cleared her throat “It’s Dad.”
Isaac stiffened slightly but showed no other emotion. “What about him?”
“He’s in town.
”
He sat perfectly still for several long seconds, then sighed. “Did he call? Stop by? What?”
“I haven’t seen him yet. Keith bumped into him at the gas station a couple hours ago.”
“I guess it’s too much to hope that it was a chance meeting? That he was only passing through?”
“Probably.” Liz turned to examine the handmade rockets that covered one table. She didn’t want her brother to read the mixed emotions on her face. He was good at remaining aloof, at shutting off whatever he’d once felt for their father. Liz wished she could do the same, or channel her emotions into something simple and all-encompassing, like hate, but she wasn’t built that way. “Luanna has left him,” she said.
“No kidding.” When Isaac added a curse, Liz glanced up. “She would wait until now,” he explained. “She probably hung on for so long just to spite us.”
Liz toyed with the zipper on her sweatshirt. “What do you think we should do?”
“Ignore him until he goes away, I guess.”
“That’s not realistic.”
“Why not? He ignored us for years. Or he took Luanna’s side in every argument.”
“She was his wife, Isaac,” she said.
Her brother moved toward her. “I don’t care. She was in the wrong.”
Liz couldn’t argue with that. Luanna had constantly found fault with her, even in the beginning when Liz was still trying so hard to please. How long can it take to do a simple batch of dishes?…I swear you’d forget your head if not for your neck…. I don’t know what’s ever going to become of you…. Stupid girl…I’d be humiliated if you were my daughter….
That voice came to her even now, every once in a while, undermining her confidence. She’d heard a bit more of it than usual since she’d decided to take the risk of starting her own business. But that was between her and Luanna. Isaac wasn’t part of it. Or in any case, he didn’t have to be.