by P. C. Zick
“Yes. Ever since Dean left.”
“I am so sorry, Jacob. So very sorry, but maybe it’s the room, this house.”
He shook his head. “I’ve tried with others in different places. It’s always the same.”
Leah let it rest about who the others might be, but a picture of Sally Jean in her red bra came to mind. She hoped she wasn’t one of the “tries” he’d had.
“You need to get on with your life, Leah. Don’t worry about me.”
“Jacob, I think your father knew, and that’s why he left you the money to get help and to get away. That’s what you have to do. I know you don’t want to tell anyone else what happened, but let’s find a really good therapist—you can afford the very best in the world—and then you can decide if you want to share anything. This isn’t the life you want, is it?”
He looked at her with tears running down his face. “I don’t know any other way. Since I was fifteen, Leah. Fifteen. Ten years of my life with my father right here in the house, and then when I was the minister. Even with you here.”
“It continued after I moved in?”
“She said we needed you, so no one would ever suspect how we felt about one another.” He shook his head and scrunched up his mouth. “She thought I loved her as much as she said she loved me. She said it was God’s plan for us to be together that way.”
“And you believed her? God doesn’t work that way.”
“I didn’t know what to believe. You helped me finally stand up to her, but I live in fear she’s going to come back. I changed all the locks, and they’re going to put locks on the windows later this week. I installed a security system, too.”
“Do you think she’s dangerous?”
“Before she left, she told me she was going to kill us all: You, Dean, and me,” he said. “She said she’d do it when we least expected it.”
“We need to tell the police, Jacob. We can’t handle this on our own. Have you contacted the police?”
“I don’t think they’d believe me. The Sheriff is a good friend of Geraldine’s.”
“We have to find someone who will listen. I’m going to ask Reggie. I don’t have to tell him anything besides the threat. Reggie will help us. He’s a good friend.”
Jacob gave her a weak smile and nodded.
“Are you going to be all right here alone?” Leah asked. “You could come and stay at Susie’s tonight, until the windows are secured.”
“No, I’m fine. I’ll turn on the security system after you leave.”
“OK, I’ll call you later,” Leah said.
“Leah, I think we should break off our engagement. I never could have married you. I don’t feel anything but friendship for you. I know you feel something for Dean; and he already declared his love for you. Why don’t you go to him?”
“I would, but I think it’s too late.” Leah said.
She gave him a kiss on the cheek. He walked her to the door, and she heard the click behind her as she went to the van.
Leah drove back to Susie’s house. She wasn’t sure she could face the tavern and Dean tonight. She called Susie when she saw she wasn’t home yet.
“Do you need me to come pick you up?” Leah asked.
“What happened? You flew out of here and didn’t even take the supplies.”
“I needed to see Jacob. I forgot that I told him I’d come over tonight. Is Dean still there?”
“Dean? No, he left awhile ago. Why?”
“No reason, I just wondered if he took the supplies.”
“On his bike? No, I don’t think he took them. What’s going on? You sound funny.”
“I’ll be there in a minute then. I need to talk to Reggie.”
“OK, but I drank your merlot. It was pretty good.”
When Leah made it back to the tavern, the place was almost empty except for Susie at the same stool with a glass half-filled with wine in front of her. Reggie stood behind the bar. He straightened up when Leah walked toward them.
“Leah, I didn’t think the meatballs were that bad,” Reggie said when she hopped up on the stool next to Susie.
“I’m sorry. Are there any left? I haven’t eaten anything today, and I’m starving.”
“Sure, I can get you a plate,” Reggie said. “I’ll be right back.”
“What happened?” Susie said as soon as Reggie walked in the back. “Why did you leave?”
“Dean. I caught him and Sally Jean in the storeroom. He was buckling his belt, and she was buttoning her blouse.”
“That’s why she left so suddenly,” Susie said. “I thought she didn’t want to see me because she’s been flirting so much with Reggie.”
“I went to see Jacob,” Leah said. “I really need some advice from Reggie.”
“And here I thought I was your best friend,” Susie said. She raised her glass for a sip. “What’s going on? What happened with Jacob?”
“Nothing. He told me something.”
Reggie came bearing a plate heaped with spaghetti and meatballs. “Now you tell me if this isn’t the best thing you’ve eaten in awhile.”
“It’s the only thing I’ve eaten in awhile, so it’s bound to be the best,” Leah said as she stabbed her fork into a meatball. She chewed for a few minutes, while Reggie watched.
“It’s the best meatball I’ve ever had,” she said, and Reggie grinned.
“Do you want that glass of wine now?” he asked.
“Better not. I need to ask your advice.” She swirled spaghetti around her fork and stuffed it in her mouth before continuing. “Remember when you said Geraldine threatened you back when Dean left town?”
“Sure, she came at me with all her claws out.”
“What did you do? Did you report her to the police?”
“No, I just kept my mouth shut. Why?”
“You know about the will, right?” When Reggie nodded, she continued. “Afterwards, she told Jacob she was going to kill Dean, him, and me. Jacob’s spooked but thinks it’s useless to report because she’s friends with the Sheriff.”
“Not anymore,” Reggie said. “I heard she tried to have Dean arrested when he came back, and the Sheriff refused. She threatened him, too, and he had her thrown out of his office, telling her he’d arrest her if she ever came back.”
“Then he’d probably take the threats she made seriously?” Leah asked.
“Probably so. I think you’d better get it on record,” Reggie said. “I’ll be staying at the house with you two, but what about Dean? We should probably warn him.”
“Let Sally Jean tell him,” Leah said with her mouth full of another meatball.
Reggie raised his eyebrows, and Susie shook her head.
“I’m going to call him,” Reggie said. “Don’t you two leave here until I close up. I’m going to follow you back to the house.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
When Leah came to the barn the next afternoon to work, Dean and Stan stood at one of the counters looking over the plans.
“Hello,” she said as she joined them. She nearly winced when she saw Dean’s bare chest. She should be used to seeing his pecs, since he worked most days with his shirt off, even though the heat pump went in the week before and made the place cool. She wondered if he did it on purpose to throw her off.
“Hi Leah,” Stan said. “I was just showing Dean the plans for the loft area.”
“Are we going to be ready to paint soon?” she asked
“You could start down here any time,” Stan said. Dean kept his eyes focused on the plans.
“I’ll let Joshua know,” she said. “He’s going to organize that part. What’s going on with the loft?”
“We need to install two ceiling fans up there to help circulate the air,” Stan said. “We also need to put in insulation. Dean and I were just discussing how we want to do that. It’s a shame to hide those beams, but I don’t think we have much choice.”
“Whatever you two decide is fine,” Leah said. “If there’s nothing more
for me to do here, I’m going down to the river to talk to Joshua and Carol about painting. Do you think we’re on schedule for August?”
“We are, if your folks can do their jobs in time. We’re at the point where most of what remains are the finishing touches. Once the painting is done, we’ll start laying the wood floor down here in the open area.”
“Thanks, Stan,” Leah said. “You’ve done a great job. I’m thrilled with the kitchen.”
Leah turned and walked out without saying a word to Dean. But then again, she noticed he hadn’t said anything to her either.
As she walked toward Deer River, she heard someone yell her name. She turned around and saw Dean running toward her.
“I want to talk to you,” he said. “About last night.”
“You don’t owe me an explanation. We’re not exclusive.”
“That’s right, we’re not exclusive. All the time you’ve been seeing me on the sly, you’ve been engaged. Or did you forget that one little thing?”
“I wasn’t screwing him in the storeroom at the bar,” she said. “Dean, who are you that you’d do that kind of thing several hours after you’d been with me.”
“I told you last night that nothing happened. I got drunk and Sally Jean was there wanting me with no complications. And she loves me.”
“She loves you? She loves half the town. And what did she mean by ‘he’s all yours’ when she ran out?”
“I said your name when we were hugging.” He looked away and down to the river. “She was a little pissed.”
“You’re really a piece of work,” she said.
“Me? What about you? Every time you leave me, you go back to being Future Minister’s Wife.”
“Not anymore. Jacob and I officially broke it off last night.”
“Why?”
“Because Jacob and I like one another, that’s it. We like one another. After I saw you last night, I ran to the parsonage and decided Jacob and I should do the same thing I thought you did. Talk about stupid.” Leah looked down at her hand that Dean had just grabbed.
“And?”
“And nothing. It didn’t happen for several reasons, but most importantly it didn’t happen because we don’t love one another, and I’m in love with someone else who’s bull-headed, mean, and impatient.”
“Wonder who that could be?” Dean grinned down at her as he pulled her close. “I know what I did was wrong, but you’ve had me tied up in a million knots. I shouldn’t have gotten drunk, but I stopped it before anything happened. I could never be with Sally Jean or with any other woman besides this little do-gooder who’s pushed her way into my life. I’m hoping she’ll forgive me.”
“She’s going to have to think about it,” Leah said, as she smiled up into the face of the man she loved.
“Stan said good-bye right after you left. Let’s go back to the motor home and talk. We can sit out front in the lawn chairs if you want.”
They walked with their arms around each other’s waists. Leah rested her head on his chest.
“Let’s go back to the barn—to the place where we first . . . ,” she said. She left the sentence unfinished.
“Where we first made love?” He looked down at her. “Leah, I’m sorry about last night.”
“Let’s not talk anymore.”
They entered the barn where cool air greeted them. Leah pulled a quilt out of one of the closets.
“I put this here a few weeks ago,” she said. Dean helped her lay it out on the floor.
“What? You don’t like my jeans for a cushion?”
He came toward her then and leaned down to kiss her. She reached up and put her hands in his thick hair, massaging his scalp with her fingertips. They swayed together as they kissed doing the dance of lovers performing on a stage for two.
“I love you,” he said as he pulled his lips from hers. He looked down into her green eyes and she gazed up into his crystal blues.
“I love you,” she said. “I think I’ve always loved you.”
He picked her up in his arms and gently laid her down on the quilt.
“You better be sure, because I’m not going back now. You’re stuck with me,” he said as he brought himself down on top of her.
“Aren’t you overdressed?” Leah asked.
“Aren’t you?”
They laughed, as they began pulling at their clothes. Dean kneeled next to her and helped pull the tank top over her head. As he began fiddling with the snaps of her bra, the barn door slid open.
“Well, well, now isn’t this a cozy scene,” Geraldine said.
Leah and Dean looked up and saw Geraldine leading a gagged Jacob into the big room. His hands were tied behind his back and a .22 was pointed at his head.
“We can have a family reunion,” Geraldine said. “But I bet this wasn’t the way you envisioned it was it, was it, Leah? You wanted to keep my boys to yourself while stealing everything you could from me. Now, you’re all going to pay.”
Leah scrambled for her tank top as Dean leaped to his feet.
“Don’t come any closer, or I swear I’ll blow this one’s brains out,” Geraldine said as she tilted her head toward Jacob whose eyes were bulged. He shook his head at Dean.
“Geraldine, let’s talk,” Leah said after she’d pulled her top over her head and stood. “If you want me to give you the money Big Jim left me, I will. No questions or no accusations.”
“That’s pretty funny for such a smart little girl,” Geraldine said. “I bet these boys, who can’t seem to get enough of you, would like to know how it was when I found you.”
“They already know.”
“They don’t know you were sleeping with the manager of that store so you could keep that job.”
“You’re lying,” Dean said. “Leah’s not like that.”
“Tell him, Leah, tell him the truth,” Geraldine said as she tightened her grip on Jacob’s arm. He winced in pain.
“I never had sex with him, if that’s what you mean,” Leah said.
“Please, Bill Clinton, we all know what you had to do, and it didn’t have anything to do with you standing on your feet.”
“It doesn’t matter, Geraldine,” Dean said. “What do you want from us?”
“I want you to leave town, and I want everything returned to me.”
“What about the letter the lawyer has?” Dean asked. “How will we cover for that? The terms were pretty specific. I’m willing to listen, if you have any ideas.”
“All three of you sign an affidavit saying it’s the only fair thing to do,” she said.
“OK, we can do that,” Leah said. “Right, Jacob?”
Jacob nodded his head vigorously.
“Dean, we can do that, right?” Leah asked.
“Yes, that’s fine. Anything you want, Geraldine. You’ve always gotten your way, you might as well now.”
“Call Harlan,” Geraldine said as she reached in her pants’ pocket for her phone. She threw it to Leah. “He’s in my contacts. Tell him to get out here with a witness.”
Leah reached in her shorts’ pocket for her cell phone. “I have him in mine, too.” Leah hit a number without picking up Geraldine’s phone off the floor.
“Hello, Harlan,” Leah said. “Geraldine is out here at the barn with us, and she’d like you to come out with a witness.” Leah listened for a second.
“Right now would be preferable. Thank you.”
“Give that phone to me,” Geraldine said. Leah handed the phone over to her.
“You stupid bitch,” Geraldine said after she looked at the screen. “Get down there on the blanket.”
Geraldine walked over to a pile of tools, pushing Jacob in front of her. “Get over here, Dean, and pick up that wire. Now go and tie it around your little sweetheart’s wrists and ankles.”
When Dean didn’t move, Geraldine hit Jacob on the side of his head with the gun. As blood ran down the side of his face, Dean moved and picked up the wire.
“Good, make sure it�
��s nice and tight,” she said. “I’m sure Reggie called the cops by now, so I have to hurry. It’s too bad your girlfriend made that mistake because now you’re all going to have to pay.”
“We can still sign that affidavit,” Leah said. “We’ll tell the police it was all a misunderstanding, and then we’ll go to Harlan’s office.
“Shut up, you stupid little whore,” Geraldine said.
Dean kneeled down next to Leah, put her wrists behind her back, and began winding wire. Then he worked on the ankles.
“Did you know that I couldn’t have kids?” Geraldine asked. She started laughing from her belly until the noise reached up through her chest and out her mouth. She leaned back her head and howled. “That’s the biggest joke of all. I couldn’t have children.” She wiped tears from her eyes as she continued making a noise that sounded almost like laughter, but not from a human.
Dean stopped what he was doing and looked at her. Leah turned her head so she could see her.
“Big Jim got some whore pregnant the first year we were married,” she said. “Then he came home and asked me to raise the bastard that Carleen Cornish had. Didn’t you ever wonder why you didn’t look like me?”
“Why couldn’t you have children?” Leah asked more to buy time than to get the truth.
“I’d had too many abortions by the time your father decided I needed saving,” Geraldine said. She directed her comments and her stare to Dean. “I was damaged goods.”
“That’s why you didn’t want me to get involved with Mable?” Dean asked.
“That’s right—she was your half-sister” Geraldine said. “Another whore.”
“What about Jacob? Who’s his mother?” Leah asked.
“I told Big Jim to get someone else pregnant, so we could have a boy and a girl. But Big Jim couldn’t even do that right. He brought us home another son.”
“Why did you do what you did to me?” Dean asked. He’d stopped working with the wire and sat back on his heels and stared at the monster he’d once called his mother.
“It was fun. You were so handsome, even from the time you were ten years old. I waited as long as I could. You know you enjoyed it as much as I did. I bet that’s one part of the story he forgot to tell you, Leah. Dean loved me.”