There was no possible way on earth she was going to let Silver live with a friend or with Tommy’s mother. “What’s going on, Ruben? What’s happened?”
Ruben glanced at Gloria, who was watching the whole proceeding avidly. “Can we go back to your office to discuss this somewhere more private?”
“It doesn’t matter where we are,” Silver said, her voice vibrating with emotion. “You can tell Gloria and everyone else. I don’t care.”
“Tell us what?” Dani asked, her sense of foreboding increasing.
“I’ve been suspended from school and now Ruben is going to arrest me.”
14
Dani wasn’t sure which was louder, her instinctive gasp or Gloria’s sudden curse word, which wasn’t at all fit for children’s ears.
“Sorry. What?” She couldn’t have heard Silver correctly. She couldn’t have.
“Why don’t we move this to your office,” Ruben suggested again.
Through her shock, Dani looked at Gloria and then toward the front windows, where she could see a car pulling into the parking lot. Most likely it was McKenzie Kilpatrick with her beautiful standard poodle Paprika. Dani did not need the mayor of Haven Point hearing about Silver being in trouble, at least not until Dani herself knew what was going on.
“Gloria, will you please tell Mayor Kilpatrick I’ve been delayed but I’ll be with her momentarily.”
Dani’s stomach curled with nausea as she led the way back to her small office. As usual, Ruben filled any space he occupied, but she didn’t have time to focus on that.
She shut the door behind them all. “What is this about? Will someone please tell me what’s going on?”
Silver only sobbed into her hands and Dani put an arm around her daughter’s shoulders, giving Ruben an expectant look.
He sighed, his expression difficult to read. “Someone took a collection jar intended for disaster relief from the front office today. After the vice principal received a tip, he searched Silver’s locker and found the jar there. I’m afraid she has been suspended for now and will likely face other disciplinary action when the principal returns after the New Year.”
Dani felt as if someone had just touched dry ice to her insides. Everything seemed to shrivel and burn. First graffiti, now stealing a collection jar for charity. What was happening to her child? Was this the way Tommy had started? A poor choice here, a disastrous one there? First stealing spare change from school then moving on to a bank robbery and an eventual shoot-out with police?
The thought left her nauseous, grateful she was sitting down.
She thought when she came to Haven Point she was doing the right thing for her children, trying to carve out a happy, warm life for them. Now everything was falling apart.
Dani looked at Silver’s downcast head against her, the purple of her colored hair in vivid contrast to Dani’s white lab coat.
No. No, she couldn’t believe it. Emotions rose in her throat and as they did, she had a sudden unmistakable assurance.
Her daughter would not have done this.
She didn’t care what kind of evidence Ruben thought he had against her. She knew her child and knew without any measure of doubt that Silver would not have stolen a collection jar intended for charity.
She would never believe it.
It wasn’t simply that her daughter had a generous heart and always tried to help those in need, though she did. Silver was always the first one to make sandwiches and hand them out to the homeless or to empty her piggy bank to help out a cause she was passionate about.
Beyond that, Dani couldn’t believe it simply because her daughter was entirely too street-smart to be part of something so ridiculously stupid, to think that she could get away with that kind of half-assed crime in full daylight, in a crowded school.
Dani had never wanted to be one of those parents who would never think ill of their own child and believed the whole world had it out for her. But in this case, she had to stand by Silver. She just couldn’t accept it.
Her gaze shifted to Ruben and initial shock and dismay began to transform into something else—a deep sense of betrayal. He knew Silver. He had to know she would never be involved in something like this, no matter what kind of evidence he found.
“Honey, I need to speak with Deputy Morales out in the hallway,” she said, careful to use his official title, not Ruben.
This man with a badge on his chest was not their sweet, kind friend who had taken them on boat rides and held her while she cried and delivered gifts to neighbors in need. This was a hard, immovable law enforcement officer.
Would it make a difference if I tell you I’m falling in love with you?
He had obviously come to his senses, as she had fully expected. He wouldn’t be here, otherwise.
Pain and loss, her old familiar companions, sliced through her but she did her best to ignore them for now.
He followed her out into the hallway, his features remote.
Dani closed her office door with Silver on the other side and tried to keep her hands from trembling as she faced him. “You think she did this.”
A muscle in his jaw flexed. “It’s a little hard to defend her to the vice principal when the jar and the money were found in her locker.”
“I can’t believe you would let this happen.”
“What was I supposed to do?” His voice had a bite to it but she ignored it and plowed forward.
“Have a little faith! You know Sil. You know she would never do this. This is exactly what I was afraid would happen! I should never have told you about her father.”
On some level, she knew she was being unfair, taking out her fear and frustration on him because she didn’t know what else to do. In some strange way, his uniform had come to represent everything that seemed out of reach to her.
Security. Comfort. A safe haven.
She wanted that here in the aptly named Haven Point, but, as usual, she had screwed everything up. She was in love with Ruben and her heart ached at the impossibility of it all, the happiness that apparently would always remain just out of reach.
“I get it.” Her voice sounded as cold as the rest of her felt. “Her dad is the worst sort of criminal, so of course Silver must be, too. She must have bad blood.”
He continued to look down at her with stony features. “I never said or implied that.”
“You didn’t have to. I’m sure that’s what you’re thinking. The first moment anything goes wrong, it must be Silver’s fault. Who else could be responsible?”
“You have a damn chip on your shoulder as big as Idaho, Dani. This has nothing to do with freaking Tommy DeLuca. The stolen money was in her locker. That’s tough to explain away. Even you have to admit that.”
For a moment, doubt flickered through her. Was it possible Silver had staged the whole thing knowing she would be caught? Was this some convoluted, underhanded way she had come up with to force Dani’s hand and make her send Silver back to Boston or to New York and her grandmother?
No. She couldn’t believe it. Sil would never do something like that. Her daughter was not her father, trying to manipulate every situation to her advantage.
Dani would never believe it and it hurt more than she ever imagined to discover that Ruben could.
“I know. You’re only doing your job. I get it. The evidence was against her, plus there’s the minor little matter of her father being a vicious cop killer. Why would you believe her when she said she didn’t do it?”
“Can you just put down that chip and trust me for five freaking minutes?”
If her emotions weren’t such a tangled mess, she might have laughed. Trust him. He had no idea what he was asking of her. She had spent her entire life trusting people, only to face betrayal after betrayal.
She couldn’t have this out with him right now. She had a patient waiting. Unfor
tunately, McKenzie would simply have to wait a few moments longer. First, Dani had to do her best to comfort her heartbroken and frightened daughter.
“Thank you for bringing Silver here. I’m sure you didn’t have to. I could have gone to the school to pick her up.”
“The vice principal wanted you to, but I thought it would be better if I broke the news to you first myself.”
She wanted to be grateful to him for that, at least, but she couldn’t manage anything more than a stiff nod. “You’ve done that. Thanks. You can go now. I’ll deal with things from this point.”
“Dani—”
She didn’t want to hear his apologies or explanations. Not now. He should have stood up for her daughter. He had assured her that her past didn’t matter a bit to him but at the first opportunity, Ruben was as quick as everyone else to judge and condemn.
“Under the circumstances, I’m afraid you’ll have to take care of your own Secret Santa tradition tonight. My girls and I will be busy with other things.”
Oh, she sounded like a bitch. She heard her own clipped words and wanted to call them back but this was for the best. Better to cut ties with him now, once and for all.
“I’ll have Mia run over the rest of the gifts for the Larkin family and leave them on your porch. Excuse me, Deputy Morales. I have to focus on my daughter now.”
She walked into her office and closed the door, feeling as if her heart had been sliced to pieces and was now lying on the floor under his boots.
* * *
A dark cloud seemed to have descended on their little house by the lake.
Silver had stayed in her room since the previous afternoon, periodically coming out like a shadowy wraith to use the bathroom, pick at her food, grab a drink, then return.
Mia didn’t quite understand what was going on. Neither Silver nor Dani felt like she needed to know, but it was clear she sensed something serious was wrong. She was subdued, quiet, without her usual excited Christmas chatter or the songs she had been singing nonstop since her school program the day before.
Dani didn’t sleep well, tossing and turning while she tried to figure out what she could do to clear her child’s name. Silver had told her all she knew, that someone she didn’t know had told her a counselor wanted to see her. She had gone to the office, only to find out the message had been in error. Next thing she knew, the vice principal had been yanking her out of class and hauling her to the office to find Ruben there.
For reasons Dani didn’t understand, her daughter didn’t seem upset at Ruben. Far from it. She said he had tried to reason with the vice principal but the school had stood firm.
Perhaps Dani had been too hard on him. She remembered her bitter words and the abrupt way she had kicked him out of her office. He had asked her to trust him but she still didn’t know how she could possibly do that.
She only knew this was the worst possible thing that could happen to Silver when she was trying to adapt to a new school. Guilty or not, she would be the subject of gossip at school. It was inevitable. She would be tried and convicted by all her peers. Dani was certain of it.
Maybe they would be better off picking up and going somewhere else. She was licensed to practice veterinary medicine anywhere in Idaho. They could move to a large community like Boise and she could practice there—or she could take the necessary licensing tests in another state and start over somewhere completely new. Maybe somewhere warm and beachy like California would be a nice change.
Some part of her was very much afraid that wouldn’t do any good. How could they ever escape Tommy DeLuca’s grim legacy? The past would follow them wherever they went.
She finally rose well before sunrise. After letting Winky out to do her business and then opening the door so she could come inside again, Dani sat with her dog in her lap next to the Christmas tree Ruben had helped them put up.
There, alone, she wept for the mistakes she couldn’t change, the decisions she couldn’t undo and the ripple effect those choices continued to have in the lives of those she loved.
At last, she brushed herself off, dried her tears and rose. Her daughters needed her and she needed to focus on that.
After sending Mia off to school, Dani persuaded Silver to go into the clinic with her while she worked her Friday half day.
Silver wanted to stay home and hide away by herself but Dani didn’t feel like that would be the best option for her. Better to give her something constructive to do and help focus her attention outward, so she told Silver she would pay her to walk and cuddle some of the dogs and cats they were boarding over the holidays.
It seemed to work. Animals always had a way of working their calming magic and Silver was in a much better frame of mind by the time they left the clinic.
As she and her daughter were driving home through the snow-covered pines and firs that lined the road beside the lake, inspiration struck. “Mia will be getting out early today for Christmas break. I think we should drive to Shelter Springs, finish our Christmas shopping, have a nice dinner somewhere in town and then go to see The Nutcracker. I believe tonight is the last night we can catch the amateur ballet troupe’s production there. What do you think?”
“I guess, as long as we won’t see anybody from my school.”
Dani briefly shifted her gaze from the road, her heart breaking all over again for her daughter. “I can’t promise you that. I’m sorry. There’s a good chance we might see someone from school. I understand why you would want to avoid everyone. Never mind. We can go to the ballet next year. Tonight, let’s just stay home and watch a movie or something.”
Silver chewed her lip, a habit Dani knew her daughter had picked up from her. “No,” she said after a moment, her voice resolute. “I didn’t do anything wrong, so I shouldn’t be the one hiding at home like I’m ashamed or something.”
“Good call,” Dani said around the lump in her throat. “We’ll go and have a great time together, just the three of us. Anybody who has a problem with it can take it up with somebody who gives a rat’s ass.”
Silver giggled, the sound so sweet that Dani didn’t even feel guilty for swearing.
As Dani might have expected, Mia was thrilled with the idea of dinner and the ballet, especially as it meant dressing up a little more than usual.
Dani had just finished putting on her favorite red sweater and piling her hair up into an easy updo when the doorbell rang.
“Who could that be?” Mia asked, dancing to the door with her best ballerina pirouette. She opened it before Dani could make it to the door herself to check the peephole first.
Mia beamed at the person on the other side. “Hi, Ruben! Guess what? We’re going to see The Nutcracker. I watched it once on TV but now we get to see the real thing, with real people dancing. Like this.”
She did another pirouette, twirling her doll around in her arms.
“You’re both very good. May we come in? We need to talk to your mom and to Silver.”
We? Who was here with him? Dani moved farther into the living room, sticking the last pin in her hair. Her hands froze and slowly lowered when she spotted two girls with him, Emma and Ella Larkin.
They were the friends of Silver whose mother had cancer, the family who had been receiving all the Secret Santa gifts delivered by Silver and Mia for Ruben over the past week.
The girls didn’t meet her gaze, just looked down at the ground, and Dani frowned in confusion.
Why were they there? Had they found out about the gifts? Oh, she hoped not. Silver and Mia had taken such care to avoid discovery. It would be too bad if the surprise had been ruined.
It must be that. What else would bring them here, in Ruben’s company? They were certainly having an odd reaction, though.
“We need to speak with Silver, too,” Ruben said. He glanced at her, his features so grim and remote that her heart ached. He was wearing his un
iform again and the silvery badge at his chest reflected the lights of the Christmas tree he had helped them with.
She wanted to tell him no, that Silver was unavailable, but her daughter popped her head out of her bedroom before Dani had the chance.
Silver had the same reaction Dani had to the twins’ appearance. She froze, then frowned in confusion. “Oh,” she said. “Hi.”
Dani could detect no warmth whatsoever in her voice, which surprised her. Until the last few weeks, the three girls had been friends.
“Silver, could you come in here and sit down?” Ruben said. “Emma and Ella have something they need to tell you.”
“It doesn’t matter,” Silver said quickly.
“Yes, it does.”
Though she looked as if she wanted to flee back into her room and slam the door, she finally moved slowly into the living room, her hands curled at her sides and her features tense. She perched on the edge of the sofa and Dani sat beside her.
“What is this about?” she asked.
“Go ahead, girls,” Ruben said, in that same solemn voice.
Dani couldn’t tell the girls apart. She thought Silver had once told her Emma had a mole on her cheek. Or was that Ella? Either way, with their fine blond hair and blue eyes, the girls looked so much alike, Dani wondered if their own mother knew which was which.
Today, they both looked as if they had been crying, she realized. Their eyes were red, with little makeup streaks on their splotchy cheeks.
What on earth was going on?
One of them stepped forward a little. “We...we owe you an apology,” she said, speaking quickly as if the words were being forced out of her. “Emma and I were the ones who stole the spirit club’s donation jar. I stole it, anyway. It was easy, since I’m an aide in the office. I just put it in one of those empty boxes of paper reams from the copy machine, when the secretaries were back in the staff room having a treat. Then I offered to take all the empty boxes to the recycling outside.”
“Except she didn’t,” the other girl said. “El made up a fake note so she could call me out of class and I opened your locker and we put it in there. And we’re sorry.”
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