by Brenda Novak
He knocked on Phoenix’s window.
She looked completely baffled as she rolled it down. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I ordered a coffee,” he told her. “Would you mind going inside to wait for it while I pull across the street to get gas?”
“You want coffee in the height of the afternoon?” she asked. “Aren’t you hot enough?”
“It’s been a long day at work. I need the caffeine.”
She unlatched her seat belt. “O-ka-ay...” She stretched out the word as if she thought he was crazy to stop for something so inconsequential when they were anxious to get to Jacob’s game.
Riley waited for her to go into the restaurant before dumping the bad cookies in the nearby Dumpster and filling her plastic container with the ones he’d bought.
Fortunately, he had a full tank, because she was coming out with his coffee when he pulled closer to the door. “All set?”
“If you are.” She handed him his coffee before taking the passenger seat.
He hoped she wouldn’t decide to have one of her own cookies and notice the difference. He wasn’t sure what he’d say then.
“We’re getting a late start,” she complained.
“We’re on our way now.”
“What is it?”
He was having a hard time stifling a chuckle, but after going to all that last-minute effort, he wasn’t about to give himself away. Sobering, he shook his head. “Nothing. Just relax and enjoy the ride.”
* * *
Once they arrived at the ballpark, Phoenix grabbed her cookies and hopped out of the truck. Her experience at the last game she’d attended hadn’t been a good one, but Ponderosa was far enough away that she couldn’t imagine there’d be many people from Whiskey Creek—just the parents of the players. And she hoped they’d be blissfully unaware of her identity and background, or at least mind their own business.
Someone she didn’t recognize stopped Riley as they approached the stands. From what she could gather, it was another player’s dad, eager to analyze what the Miners had to do to beat the opposing team.
When Riley paused to chat, Phoenix kept moving. This was her chance to put some distance between them and, if she was lucky, avoid becoming a point of interest. If it didn’t look like she was with Riley, she probably wouldn’t even be noticed in such a neutral place. So she acted as if it was mere coincidence that they’d been walking beside each other.
Because the home side was packed, she changed her mind about sitting there and climbed into the mostly empty bleachers on the visitors’ side. She wasn’t planning to approach Jake with the cookies right away. That would have to happen after the game, while the team was—hopefully—celebrating a win.
Selecting what appeared to be an unobtrusive spot, she sat down. Then she slowly released her breath. No one was staring at her. For the moment, she felt safely anonymous and thought she might be able to watch Jake without incident.
But the next thing she knew, Riley was making his way up the stands, coming toward her.
She gave him a subtle shake of her head to let him know she didn’t expect him to keep her company. She actually preferred he sit somewhere far away. But if he recognized her attempt to dissuade him, he ignored it, even waved to various people who greeted him as he climbed up, which only attracted more attention.
Obviously, he was as popular as ever. It didn’t help that Jacob was the team’s starting pitcher. That came with its own cachet.
Eventually, after making sure he’d greeted everyone, he sat down beside her.
“What are you doing?” she whispered, since the people who’d said hello to him were now craning their necks to get a good look at her.
“What do you mean ‘what am I doing’?” he asked.
“I understand that you’re trying to be kind by befriending the outcast and all that. It’s a noble thing to do, and if it involved anyone but me, I’d admire it. But I’d rather you didn’t draw any more attention to me. So...could you please move somewhere else?”
“No,” he said. “People have to get used to your presence. Might as well make it obvious, while we’ve got a small group to start with, that you’re back and attending the games.”
But he wasn’t the one who should be making that decision. “I’d rather not be so...conspicuous, thanks.”
“Just smile. You’ve served time. There’s no way to avoid being conspicuous.”
“I was managing it quite well a minute ago.”
“Only because people didn’t realize who you were. But they would if we were playing at home, and you want to be able to come and go as you please there, too, don’t you?”
She clasped her hands tightly in her lap. “I’m hoping that will come with time.”
“This is like a Band-Aid, Phoenix. Might as well rip it off and get it over with.”
“You can rip off your own Band-Aids,” she grumbled. “Leave me to mine.”
He nudged her. “I won’t let anyone mistreat you.”
She looked at him, then glanced away. “There’s no reason for you to be involved. Who said you should have to protect me?”
“I wish I’d done a better job of it seventeen years ago, I can tell you that.”
She studied the ball field so people wouldn’t know they were talking about anything more important than the game that was about to start. “You couldn’t have stopped what happened to me.”
“I didn’t have to add to your problems.”
“You fell in love with someone else, a better candidate. Lori was prettier, more popular, more successful in school. She had the right family, too—one that was close to your own. Those were the best credentials for a boy like you.”
“Credentials?”
“What else would you call them? Attributes?” She pictured Lori walking along the side of the road in the minutes leading up to that terrible, fateful event and cringed, as she always did. It had taken her a decade not to feel nauseous. Just being in the car was bad enough, but to be blamed...
“I wish she wasn’t gone, you know. I wish I’d never said a bad thing about her. Never pointed her out. Then maybe Penny wouldn’t have made that joke, and I wouldn’t have laughed, and she wouldn’t have grabbed the wheel, and—and maybe you’d be married to Lori Mansfield today.”
“I wish Lori was here, too.” From the sound of his voice, she could tell that he was also facing forward. “For her sake, her family’s sake, for your sake. But I wouldn’t have married her. I didn’t love her.”
Suddenly, Phoenix wasn’t so concerned about the attention she was attracting. Her heart pounded with the need to proclaim her innocence. Although she’d fought for years to overcome that compulsion, had learned that the longer and louder she protested, the guiltier she looked, the temptation welled up from time to time. It seemed so unfair that no matter what she said, no matter what she did, everyone remained convinced that she’d intentionally harmed another human being.
“I also wish you could believe me,” she said softly. “That you could somehow know I didn’t hit her on purpose.”
She expected the old “I’ll reserve judgment but I’m not quite sure you deserve it” type of response she’d gotten before—not only from him but from others. That hurt almost as badly as open disbelief or even scorn. But she was surprised by his sincerity when he said, “I do.”
She brought a hand to her chest. “Believe me, you mean? You know I didn’t turn the wheel?”
He looked at her. “That’s exactly what I mean.”
“Hey, is that Jacob’s mom?” someone called.
Phoenix had the presence of mind to slide over so they wouldn’t appear too cozy. And while he confirmed her identity and various people came up to meet her, she smiled and nodded and pretended she was just like every other mom. She quickly understood that Riley had sat with her on purpose. He was establishing the tone for how the other parents should treat her, making sure they understood they’d be crossing him if they didn’t accept h
er. That would have seemed monumental on its own, and yet it was dwarfed by her intense relief.
Someone finally believed her. Really believed her. And it wasn’t just anyone.
It was Riley.
* * *
When the game ended, Riley insisted on bringing the cookies to Jake, and Phoenix didn’t argue. He could tell she wasn’t particularly interested in entering the fray. She was happy to stand by the fence and wave at Jake, who acknowledged her with a big smile.
Once Jake took over the cookies, they were quickly consumed, and several of the boys called out to tell her how delicious they were.
Disaster averted...
“They loved them,” she said as he led the way out of the park.
Riley smiled at the wonder in her voice. “The cookies?”
She held up the empty container. “Yeah. They’re all gone.”
“I see. Not a crumb left.”
“I’ll have to bake more for the next game.”
At that, Riley almost missed a step. “Sure. Of course. That would be wonderful. But...maybe next time you can bake them at my place.”
“Why?” she asked, sounding confused.
“So you can show me how it’s done.” And he could make sure they turned out. At this point, he actually had more experience baking cookies than she did.
She seemed flattered. “You liked them that much?”
He liked her that much, or he wouldn’t have gone to the effort of replacing the salty, rocklike results of her own baking. “Yeah.”
“I’ll help you,” she said. “But don’t think I have any special magic. I just followed the recipe on the back of the chocolate chip package.”
“You’ve got a lot of magic,” he joked.
“I do?” She gave him a quick glance. “What kind?”
The kind that had him thinking about her all the time. “You really won’t come to the cabin for my birthday a week from Friday?” he asked instead of answering.
“Will Jake be there?”
She was obviously wondering if it would be a family affair. “No, he’ll be at Tristan’s. This is a...a friend thing.” Technically it was a “friends with dates or marriage partners” thing, but he didn’t want to scare her away.
“With your regular group?”
“Yeah.”
“Where’s the cabin?”
“Near Lake Melones. It’s actually Simon O’Neal’s cabin. You know him, right? The movie star?”
“No way!”
“’Fraid so. You didn’t hear?”
“I’ve been out of the loop,” she said drily. “Actually, I was never in the same loop you were.”
He ignored that. “Gail DeMarco, one of the people I hung out with in high school...”
“I remember her. We had health class together.”
“Well, after college, she went to LA and opened a PR firm. She did really well—had several big-name actors on her roster, including Simon. And they eventually got together.”
She rolled her eyes. “You’d think my mother could’ve shared that with me. That’s kind of big news for our little town.”
“Your mother wrote you while you were in prison?”
She kicked a rock as they walked. “I told you she’s not as bad as she seems.”
“How often did she get in touch?”
“Once a week. She’s about the only person I ever heard from, so...I guess it shouldn’t be any big shock that I’d feel some loyalty to her.”
He winced. “You should hate me.”
“I wish I could,” she said, but she grinned at him as they arrived at his truck.
“So what do you say?” he asked after he unlocked the doors and they climbed in.
“About the cabin? Will Simon and Gail be there?”
“It was their idea,” he replied as he started the engine.
“Lake Melones is quite a drive.”
He backed out of the parking space. “I’d take you, of course.”
“But that means I’d be there for the whole weekend.”
They were coming closer to acknowledging that it would be a date. Riley knew that wasn’t in keeping with his decision to settle for friendship. But she was the one he wanted to take, so it was hard not to ask her. “It’s a big cabin.”
She seemed tempted but ultimately shook her head. “No, I’m getting a lot of bracelet orders. I’d better stay home and work. What would your parents think if they heard I showed up at your birthday party, anyway?”
He shrugged. “There’ll be loads of people there.”
“I don’t even have a swimsuit.”
“I’d be happy to get you one.”
She shot him a warning look. “And you know I wouldn’t be happy if you did. I’ll buy my own, when I can afford to spend money on extras like that.”
“Extras? With summer coming on, most people our age would consider it a necessity.”
“I’d rather help out with Jake. I can finally do that, and it feels great.”
“You’re too stubborn for your own good,” he muttered.
After that, they talked about the game, how well Jake had played and how excited he’d been about winning. They’d also talked about whether she’d attend the next one, even though it was at home. She said she’d probably wait, that they should take her inclusion in Whiskey Creek society in stages, and he left it at that. He didn’t like the idea that she might be insulted, and coming to a home game definitely opened her up to certain things he wouldn’t be able to control.
“So when are you going to make Jake and me that spaghetti dinner?” he asked as he pulled up to her trailer.
She opened the door but didn’t get out. “How about on Sunday?”
“I’m free. Jake’s usually available on Sundays, too, but I’ll check with him.” He wanted to have dinner with her regardless, but he hoped she made better spaghetti than she did cookies.
“Let me know.”
“I will.” He put the transmission in Park. “Would you mind if I quickly checked out your trailer?”
She hesitated. “For...”
He thought of the hostility in his earlier exchange with the Mansfields. “I don’t trust Buddy.”
“Everything’s been pretty quiet lately.”
“It’ll just take a second,” he said, and felt much better once he’d walked through her place and saw that it appeared to be undisturbed.
He’d said good-night and was about to return to his truck when she surprised him by slipping her arms around his waist and giving him a quick squeeze.
“Thanks for everything but...I especially want to thank you for saying you believe me about...what happened seventeen years ago,” she said. Then she smiled as he stepped outside and she closed the door.
18
“You’re shopping for a bikini?” Jake asked.
Riley had known Jake was in the kitchen, making himself a snack before bed. But he’d been too immersed in what he was doing to realize his son had come up behind him.
He minimized the website where he’d been browsing for swimsuits, but that left Phoenix’s Etsy site on the screen, which was worse. He was so tired of seeing Jake and Kyle wearing one of Phoenix’s bracelets when he didn’t have one that he’d been tempted to place an order. He’d actually considered placing several orders so she’d have the money to buy a suit and take the weekend off for his birthday. He just hadn’t figured out where he could have those bracelets shipped without revealing himself.
“And aren’t those Mom’s bracelets?” Jake sounded even more perplexed.
“I wanted to see what she’s working on.” He got up to grab a beer. He was hoping to distract Jake from the computer. Closing out of Etsy, too, as if he’d been caught doing something he shouldn’t, would only make his interest that much more obvious.
“So that’s what you’ve been doing all night?”
“No. Of course not. I’ve been working, for the most part.” He had done some work, but he’d also spent more time tha
n he wanted to admit on sites that related, in one way or another, to Phoenix. First, he’d done some cursory searching for Penny Sawyer. He wanted to talk to her, see what she had to say about Lori’s death now that seventeen years had passed. He couldn’t help wondering if she’d change her story.
But he hadn’t found anyone by the name of Penny Sawyer, so he assumed she was married and going by a different last name. Or she wasn’t on Facebook, which was where he’d thought he might be able to track her down.
When he hadn’t succeeded, he’d migrated to Phoenix’s Etsy shop, considered ordering some bracelets, then set that aside to shop for swimsuits. He’d come across several options he thought would look great on Phoenix’s small, compact body, but he wasn’t sure what to do, since she’d made it clear that he’d better not buy her one.
“Mom’s doing pretty well, isn’t she?” Jake asked. “I mean, she left me a message on Facebook that she’s got forty dollars she wants to give me. Do you think I can take it?”
“I don’t see why not. It’s fine to accept a little something every once in a while, if she offers. Just don’t do it often and be careful not to let her give you too much. I’m sure you’ve noticed that she’d be willing to sacrifice everything. But she needs her money—she’s got some serious rebuilding to do.”
“That’s what I was thinking. I told her I don’t need anything, that it wasn’t necessary. But she wouldn’t listen.”
Forty dollars would have been half the price of a swimsuit, and Jake had everything he needed. But Riley understood. Jake was Phoenix’s priority right now.
Jake maximized the swimsuit website on Riley’s computer while Riley leaned up against the counter. “So which one are you going to get?” A mischievous grin curved his lips when he glanced up. “I think you’d look good in the white one, but please don’t wear it in front of my friends.”
Riley scowled at him. “Stop it.”
Jake continued to chuckle, just to needle him, but when he’d had enough of that, he grew serious. “You like her, don’t you?”