by A. D. Roland
“We’ll see.”
Mattie met his gaze with equal strength before turning and hurrying toward the door. “Matilyn?”
She paused, one step away from the hallway, and turned toward the desk. “Yes, sir?”
“Be careful. There are secrets in this family that needn’t see the light of day.”
“So I’ve heard.” Mattie stepped into the hallway, eager to be able to breathe again. ‘Secrets that needn’t see the light of day.’ Was he serious? Justine’s ramblings were bad enough, but this guy’s were worthy of a corny gothic romance novel. Way too dramatic.
She brightened. But at least he’d warned her to be careful.
Mattie wandered the house for a while, then decided to head to the riverside public playground that took up the lot next door to the McKendrick house. Being smack-dab in the middle of a high-class neighborhood, not many people used it except for the children of the residents of the fancy homes along the road.
It was a nice place to go and think, especially at night. Romantic, even.
She went to the swings, avoiding going anywhere near the dock. West and Emeline were in the middle of an intense discussion. Definitely not one she wanted to be involved in.
***
“West, listen,” Mattie said, trying to keep up with the distraught man as he paced during his tortured monologue. He paused at the sea wall and stared into the water. “Are you listening?”
He’d been pouring out his problems for the last twenty minutes. McKendrick was demanding a huge sum of money, payment of his own loans plus those McKendrick had extended to his father. He’d hoped his relationship with Emeline would be enough to get McKendrick to extend his deadline.
An idea popped into her head. A way to keep K off her back, away from Molly, and maybe even gone for good. She watched West sit down in the grass, a broken man, and wanted to help him more than anything. “Maybe I can help you.”
“How?”
“Well, I’ve got those trust funds.” He stared at her with confusion for a second, then frowned when understanding kicked in.
“Not until they prove who you are.”
“You can doubt me all you want, by Ruth Ellen and I both know Karen was my mother. That gets me at least one of the trust funds automatically.”
“How does that help me? You can’t touch that one until Ruth Ellen dies.”
“My grandfather set up another one, one that I can have access to within a few months.”
He cocked his head at her. “Wait…that one’s set up to help the Carruther grandkids get their lives started when they get married.” She waited, wishing he’d figure it out himself. He could be dense.
“Exactly.”
“You have to get married to touch the bulk of the money. Emeline’s got the same stipulations.”
Mattie nodded. “You’ve been my only friend since I got here, West. I want to help you. That’s the only way I can.”
And the only way to keep K’s filthy hands off that money.
“I get it,” he said slowly. “If we got married, you would have access to that trust fund. When the DNA results come in, you’d get the others, if you’re not lying about who you are.”
Embarrassed, she nodded. “The only stipulation is we have to be married for a year. We don’t have to be together for the whole year. Just a few months, long enough to get enough of the monthly allowance to pay back your debts. When the year’s up, we’ll get divorced and I’ll go…away.”
He shook his head. “I don’t know, Mattie. I don’t really know you.”
“Thirty-five thousand dollars, West. Don’t be stupid. It’s what, like, four months of your life? You said yourself, you only need another six months or so before you start making a real profit. I can help you get those distributors you need. You don’t want to lose your business. Think about what your dad would want. I want to help you. Please.”
She knelt next to him. Grass was thick and lush beneath her knees. “You’re a good man, West. I don’t want you to lose everything you’ve worked for. I’ll give you as much as you need to pay back the debt and to make your business what your dad would want it to be.”
“This is crazy, Mattie. Why would you do that for me?”
Her cell phone vibrated in her pocket. A tremor of fear shot to her heart. K wanted to know what was going on. The five thousand dollars hadn’t done anything except excite him further. He’d left message after message on her voicemail.
“It’s absolutely insane,” she replied. “But what will it hurt? When Emeline sees you with me, she’s going to want you back. When the year’s up, she’ll be putty in your hands.”
“That’s pretty weak.”
“It works. Emeline will fall for it. You know how much she loves those stupid Lifetime Channel movies about this sort of thing. Think about it, West. A year with me, and you’ll be free of your debt, and you’ll end up with Emeline.”
A fish leapt out of the water and splashed back down, fracturing the reflection of the full moon. “A year of you, huh?”
“Yeah. I’m really not as evil as all those moral compasses in there think I am.” She put a hand on his knee. “I want to help you. You’re too good a guy to get screwed over by those assholes.”
He scowled at her. “How would you know? You don’t know me.”
Hurt by his sharp tone, she drew back. She held her hands up in front of her in surrender. “Sorry. I just assumed you were a nice guy, you know, from the way you’ve been nice to me and even sort of made friends with me.”
“I don’t know.”
“Let’s work the system, West. You’re going to come out on top, and with nothing to tie you to this fucked-up family.”
He got to his feet and walked away, towards the parking lot.
Mattie sighed. He’d have to figure it out on his own, then. She’d done all she could.
The phone in her pocket vibrated once more. She made sure she was far enough away from West before answering. “Hello?”
“I’ve been calling you for three days straight. I’m about an hour away from jumping on a plane and coming down there!” K’s angry voice chafed at her nerves.
“Sorry, K. I’ve having to keep a really low profile.” She turned around and watched West check his phone.
“What’s going on? Have you got the money yet?”
“No, K. It’s not that easy. You got me into a very complicated situation here. I’ve got to have time to work it all out. Give me some more time.”
“Whatever. How much are you looking at getting?” I can’t tell him about the trust fund! “I don’t know, K. It’s a couple hundred thousand, I think. Plus there are stipulations on the estates. This is a big reunion for them. I can’t just start asking for money!”
“That family is loaded, Mattie. You got that five thousand, didn’t you? You can get more. They gotta have something. Some jewelry you can steal, artwork, anything. You know who to contact for a good price.”
“Yeah. I’ll do what I can.”
K was silent for a second. His silence unnerved her. “Yeah. Don’t screw this up, Mats. A lot is at stake here.”
“K, I’m doing the best I can. I don’t know what you want from me.”
“Get me the money, Mattie. You’re not on vacation down there in sunny Florida.”
“I’m doing all that I can, K.”
He hung up. Mattie sucked in a deep, river-scented breath,
Mattie headed for the house, pausing at the length of chain link fence. She hated having to swing herself over the three-foot drop to the river, but she didn’t have much choice. The only other way to get back to McKendrick’s property meant a long walk along the fence, then down the road to the main gate.
She gripped the wide round post and swung one leg around. As she settled her foot on firm ground, a shadow detached itself from the thick hedges a few feet away and rushed toward her.
She uttered a short, sharp screech before something heavy smashed into her skull and knocked
her into the cold river.
***
West imagined what his mom would say to Mattie’s unorthodox proposal and laughed softly. Moira West would have thought the girl was craxy.
Crazy like a fox, West.
She was offering him money. Cold, hard cash. She wanted to pay his debts for no reason other than she thought he was a good guy.
Was that the only reason? Who did that? Who helped somebody else to the tune of thirty-five grand, just because?
Either Mattie was the greatest woman on earth, or she was up to something. He owed it to Ruth Ellen--to Elaine, the real Elaine--to find out what her deal really was.
He jogged across the sandy playground and the city-maintained grounds to the fence. Halfway there, he heard a yelp and a splash. Hanging on to the fence post, he leaned out and looked down. “Mattie?”
There was silence, then a little splish-splash of water. “West?”
“Yeah. What’re you doing down there?”
“I think I fell.”
“Obviously. Can you stand up?”
She sounded weak and dazed. He heard more water sloshing before he saw her head rise over the edge of the seawall. She had one hand to her forehead. “I hit my head, I think. There’re rocks down here.”
“Yeah, water’s low this time of year.” West straightened up and tried to figure out the easiest way to get Mattie out. She was a good-sized girl, probably weighing in around one-sixty or one-sixty-five. Hauling her up the wall, especially in her dazed state, might be difficult.
“All right, Mattie, give me your hands. I’m going to pull you up. While I’m pulling, walk up the wall.”
“’kay.”
She reached up and he grasped her cold, wet hands. He pulled back with all his weight, straining with the effort. Little by little he managed to drag her over the seawall.
He took a deep breath and hauled her up with all of his remaining strength. She flopped over the edge. “Grab that pole, now, so you don’t slide back in.” He lay back on the grass, panting. “What happened?”
“I was crossing over and I swear somebody pushed me.”
West sat up and looked around. “I think we’re pretty much the only people out here. Are you sure?”
“No. Yes. I can’t remember clearly. All I recall is seeing a shadow rushing toward me, and then I fell into the water.”
West tilted her face up to the moon. She had an ugly knot on her forehead. Even in the wan light, he could see the darkening bruise. “Yikes. That is a nasty knot. Doesn’t look like it broke the skin, though. Come on, let’s get you inside. Bet you’re cold.”
“Yeah.” Her hand was ice-cold in his. Normally, early September in Florida was as hot as mid-July most days and nights. An unseasonal cold front had moved through earlier, leaving the temperatures in the low seventies. The water was even cooler.
At the patio door she turned to him, troubled. “I’m positive somebody pushed me, West. I think they hit me with something. I landed on my back in the water, not front.” She probed the knot on her forehead.
“It’s crazy to think that somebody would do that to you, Mattie. We’ve all looked for you for twenty-plus years. Nobody wants to lose you again. You had to have imagined it.”
She didn’t look convinced. “I don’t know. Maybe.”
Chapter Eight
Shivering beneath a blanket and a pair of sweats, Mattie curled up on her bed. West returned with an ice pack and clonked it against her forehead. She whimpered and shuddered.
“Sorry,” he murmured.
“It’s not the first time something weird has happened,” Mattie said. “When I fell up the stairs, I slipped in something. When I checked the next morning, there wasn’t anything there.”
“Somebody’d spilled something on the stairs, then after you fell, they wiped it up? Come on, Mattie. Listen to how that sounds.”
“I’m not making it up, West.”
“I didn’t say you were making it up. I said, listen to how crazy that sounds.”
“It’s the same thing!”
“No, it’s not.”
“You think I’m crazy.”
“No, I just think maybe you hit your head too hard. Tonight and the night you fell up the stairs.”
She pushed his hand away and adjusted the cold pack. “Forget it. If somebody kills me, it’ll make Emeline and Justine happy.”
“Why Justine?”
“That woman hates me. Every time she gets a chance she gets all passive aggressive. She flat-out told me the other day that she thinks I’m a slut here after McKendrick’s money. And at the restaurant, she told me ‘this family guards its secrets.’”
“How does your being a slut fit into all that, and what secrets? More stuff like you started to tell me about the night in the Navigator?”
Mattie rolled her eyes at his teasing insult. “Emeline told her she caught me and you doing the wild thang in the backseat. I don’t know what secrets. ”
“Ah. That would explain the cold shoulder from all the McKendricks.”
“I’m offering you a way to get out from under their thumbs.”
“Mattie, it’s not that easy,” he insisted through clenched jaws. She slid her hands down his arms, loving the feel of his warm skin, the crisp texture of his golden arm hairs.
“Make it that easy, West.” She stepped in front of him and made him look at her, indulging in her urge to frame his face in her hands. He gazed at her with the most uncertain look she’d ever seen.
“What’s in this for you?” he asked.
“You’ll be helping me be the kind of person I want to be.” She let her hands slide from his face to his hands. She held them tightly. “We’re just friends. I don’t expect anything more. This isn’t a made-for-tv movie or a romance novel. And if you want it that way, nothing at all has to ever happen between us.”
“I’ll never be able to pay back McKendrick if I don’t accept. Marriage is just such a huge thing. My parents instilled the ‘marriage is forever’ thing in my head.”
“If it makes you feel better, think of this as a business deal. You get the money, I get to try something new for a while, and come out with some money in the end.” Plus I need some time to figure out where the real Elaine is.
West sat down on the bench in front of the vanity. “Just a year, huh?”
“Yeah. Less, even. Once you’ve got enough money to pay back McKendrick, I can leave.”
West let go of her hands and walked to the window, gazing out at the midnight-black river. The lights along the scattered private decks flickered and wobbled with the water’s current as far as he could see. The moon hid behind a thick formation of clouds. A faint halo gave away its position. “I barely know you, Mattie. How do I know you’ll actually give me the money?”
“We’ll open a joint bank account. You can transfer whatever you want to your personal account.”
He leaned on the sill and leaned his forehead against the cool glass of the window. Mattie perched on the wide sill next to him. He was quiet for long, long time.
“Fine. Let’s get married, Mattie.”
Mattie jumped off the sill and hugged him tight. “You won’t regret me, West. I promise. We can tell McKendrick tonight.”
“Yay. I’m excited about that conversation.” He frowned down at his hands and smirked. “What? No ring?”
Mattie laughed and shrugged. “Sorry.”
***
West snagged Emeline out of the state-of-the-art home theater as he and Mattie passed it on their way to the patio, where McKendrick was having his nightly cigar and sipping something alcoholic. Justine sat at the table with him, reading the latest Oprah Book Club selection.
McKendrick glanced up from his PDA when they trooped out to the patio. “What?” He didn’t spare any formality on West or Mattie.
West pointed at Mattie. “We’re getting married,” he said simply.
Emeline squawked and dropped into the nearest bistro-style chair. “What?”
West ignored her, priding himself on the accomplishment. It actually felt good. “We’re going to get married. Any objections?” Justine looked as if she were hyperventilating. She gripped her heavy crystal iced-tea goblet so tightly that her knuckles were white.
“It’s for the money, isn’t it?”
“Of course,” Mattie said.
“West,” Emeline whined. “You just proposed to me!”
“And you said no,” Mattie replied. “Lost your chance, sis.”
“Omigod, are you pregnant or something? I bet you’re knocked up. I’ve been here three whole days.”
“No. I just told you. It’s about the money.”
McKendrick’s mouth finally returned to its naturally closed position. West felt an absurd tremor of fear.
And Emeline tied his stomach in knots. In his heart he knew Mattie was right. Emeline was an obsession. Infatuation. He couldn’t see a future with her. He’d never be able to support her lifestyle of partying and designer fashions.
But she was so pretty, with the moonlight highlighting her skin in faint blue light, tinted golden by the light shining through the windows to her left.
So beautiful. So spoiled. She hated rock and roll. She hated his friends. She hated his singing. She only called when she wanted something. A date to a club—though she promptly left him the second they stepped in the door. He ended up sitting at the bar, drinking himself into something close to oblivion, watching her bump and grind with every guy but him.
There really wasn’t even a spark between them. Suddenly distanced from their relationship, he stared at it with horror. He’d wasted his entire life on the haughty little bitch.
Then she stuck her bottom lip out at him and flicked her hair over her shoulder. He fell for her again. A sharp pain of regret or something stabbed through him. He couldn’t really identify it.
All he knew was it turned Mattie into a gloating bitch, and Emeline into a teary-eyed beauty.