East of Easy

by Linda Bleser

  Max took a deep breath. “Okay.”

  Kate looked out the window toward the boarded-up snack bar. “When I left your truck,” she said, “I hung around at the snack bar waiting for you to come apologize. Some of the gang was there…including Ed. I waited and waited, but you never came. Finally Ed offered to take me home. He could see I was upset, and that’s when he started telling me you weren’t the person I thought you were, filling my head with his lies.

  “He came around every day for the next week, chipping away at my trust in you, convincing me you’d betrayed me over and over again. He even had friends back him up, swearing they’d heard it out of your own mouth.”

  She looked at him, her eyes pleading. “And you never once called, never came by to see if I’d made it home all right, never said you were sorry. After awhile, I started to believe them.”

  The heartbreak in her eyes nearly did him in. He pulled her close, feeling her body tremble. She tucked her head under his chin and he buried his face in her hair, losing himself in the scent he remembered so well.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered, knowing it was too little too late. “I’m so, so sorry.”

  A shudder rippled through her body. He ached to hold her tight, to make up for all the hurt he’d caused. They’d been kids—innocent kids caught up in a web of lies and deceit. He shook his head. All the wasted time—time they could never get back again.

  With an obvious effort, Kate pulled herself together to continue her story. “I was numb,” she said. “He knew all the buttons to push, tearing down my defenses one by one all week long. When he said you’d already asked someone else to the prom, I agreed to go with him. It was awful. I kept looking for you, but you never showed up. Instead of taking me home afterward, Ed said we were going to an after-prom party. But there wasn’t a party. Just a sleazy motel room where he thought he’d finally reap the rewards of all his hard work.”

  Max’s fists clenched tight. He wanted to smash something…or someone.

  “I fought him,” Kate said, her voice a monotone as she remembered. “I threatened to bring charges against him.”

  She grew quiet. When she spoke again, Max could only imagine what she must have gone through that night trying to fight off a bully who was bigger and stronger and more determined than she was.

  “He was furious,” she said. “I’ve never seen so much hate in someone’s eyes before. But he seemed more upset about you. He asked, ‘What does Max have that I don’t?’ He said I’d be sorry, that he’d have the final laugh.”

  “And that’s when my sister saw you leaving the motel with him.”

  Kate nodded. “I know how it must have looked.”

  “Shhh,” he murmured, smoothing her hair. “I wish I’d known.” But it was too late to come to her defense. The damage had already been done.

  “That summer was the longest summer of my life,” she said. “Everywhere I went there were whispers behind my back. I saw the way the boys in town looked at me, sneering and confident that they could get lucky too. Why not? In their minds, everyone else had. It didn’t matter that I didn’t date, never went out with anyone after that night. No one wanted to be the only boy who couldn’t make it with the easiest girl in town, so they added more boastful lies to the growing pile.”

  Max had heard them all. Worse yet, he’d believed them. He was no better than anyone else in that respect, condemning her with his silence.

  “I tried to pretend it didn’t matter,” she said bravely. “As long as I knew the truth, I thought I could hold my head up high. I still had my pride, if nothing else. But even that didn’t last long.”

  Her shoulders slumped, as if burdened with the weight of the world. Max almost stopped her then, knowing that the worst was yet to come. “The pageant,” he said, finally understanding.

  “Yes. The pageant. I was counting on that scholarship. It was all I had left to hang on to.” She raised her eyes, pleading with him to understand. “It was my last chance to regain my self-respect.”

  Max remembered that night. She had no way of knowing he’d been there, hiding in the wings to watch her. She’d been so beautiful, radiant in a way none of the other contestants could hold a candle to. His heart had swelled with pride when they’d placed the crown on her head. He’d closed his hand around the ring he still carried in his pocket like the remnant of a shattered dream.

  “Then why did you give it up?” he asked. She’d left town almost immediately and the title had gone to his sister. That he remembered clearly.

  “I didn’t give it up,” she said, her voice breaking. “The title was taken from me. Someone complained about my reputation. The rumors had come back to haunt me. The committee decided my moral character was in question. There could be no scandal attached to the competition, they said. I was stripped of my crown, my scholarship and what little shred of pride I had left. Can you blame me for running away?”

  “Oh God. And in your mind it was all my fault, right?”

  “Yes.”

  Just that one word, but it was enough to break his heart. No wonder she’d run as far as she could and never come back. No wonder she hated him.

  He cradled her, trying to rock away their regrets. He’d never felt so helpless in his life. There was no way he could ever fix the wrongs his carelessness had set into motion, no way he could make up for the years they’d lost.

  Suddenly he realized where they were. He should never have taken her here. The drive-in was a graveyard of broken dreams and this was the last place he wanted to be, the last thing he wanted her to remember. He was right when he’d said this was where it had all started, but wrong about this being where it would end. It wouldn’t end until he’d found a way to make up for all she’d gone through.

  But first he had a score to settle with Deputy Ed, and it was a long time coming.

  Kate stared out the window of the pick-up truck watching the scenery glide by as Max drove her back to Cheryl’s house. The silence was deafening, each of them caught up in their own thoughts and memories. For a little while they’d been close again. Max had held her while she’d cried tears that had been bottled up far too long. The old pain was there, but knowing how they’d been manipulated and lied to added another layer of regrets.

  And there was a new guilt to deal with. Each of them had misjudged the other. Yes, they’d been young, but no matter how she tried to justify it, Kate couldn’t get over the feeling of betrayal. Max had believed the worst of her. Perhaps a part of him still did. And she had done the same to him. Even though the misunderstanding had finally been cleared up, how could they ever trust each other again?

  She glanced over at him. His face was hard, his jaw clenched. Was he angry with her? Or was he already planning revenge on Ed Tate? She had to know.

  “Max? What are you thinking?”

  He gave a brusque nod. “I’m thinking I’ve got a score to settle.”

  “With me?”

  He shook his head. “No, with Deputy Ed.”

  That’s what she was afraid of. She didn’t want him fighting for her. She just wanted it to go away. “What are you going to do?”

  He glanced over at her as if to say don’t you worry your pretty little head about it, but the look on her face must have changed his mind. “I’m going to handle it,” he said. “Man to man.”

  “Please don’t. It’s too late to change anything now. Can’t you just drop it?”

  But Max wasn’t listening. “This is personal,” he said. “I’ve got a score to settle, and I’ll settle it the only way Tate will understand.”

  She could see by the determined set of his jaw and his white-knuckled grip on the wheel that he was primed for a fight. “What good will that do?” she asked. “It will only dredge up all those old rumors again. I couldn’t stand it. Besides, when this is all over with, you still have to live in this town.”

  He took his eyes off the road for a moment and shot a challenging glance her way. “What do you mean by that? Aft
er all this, you’re still planning on running away? Haven’t you learned that running doesn’t solve anything?”

  She looked away. Yes, that was exactly what she was planning to do. Run. Again. She knew she’d avoid confrontation at all costs, while Max, on the other hand, was ready to face it head-on.

  “Just promise me you won’t do anything stupid,” she begged.

  “I’m sorry,” he said without a trace of remorse. “I can’t promise you that.”

  Maybe not. But there was still a chance that she could talk him out of beating Ed Tate to a bloody pulp. She hoped to enlist the help of Cheryl and Tommy to talk some sense into Max.

  When Max pulled into Cheryl’s driveway, however, he made no move to get out of the truck.

  “Do you want to come in?” Kate asked, her hand on the door handle.

  Max shook his head. “I’ve got some things to take care of first,” he said. “But I’ll swing by your place later, if that’s okay.”

  Kate nodded and opened the door. It was obvious from the look on his face that there was nothing she could do to change his mind.

  Before Kate could step out of the truck, Cheryl came rushing out the front door. “I’m glad I caught you,” she called, running toward the truck. “Max, your sister has been trying to reach you.”

  “What’s wrong?” he asked, concern replacing the anger in his voice.

  “It’s Bobby,” Cheryl said. “Sue said he’s running a fever. She sounded upset.”

  Kate glanced at Max and saw her worry mirrored on his face. “Do you want me to go back with you?”

  He shook his head. “No.” Then his voice softened and he squeezed her hand. “I know what you’re thinking, but my first concern is Bobby right now. I promise not to do anything tonight, okay? I’ll sleep on it first then decide just what I’m going to do about Tate tomorrow.”

  “Okay.” That was more than she could hope for. She knew his concern over his nephew would put his fight with Ed Tate on hold…for now. Maybe a good night’s sleep would take the edge off his anger. She stood there for a moment then closed the door, knowing Max was in a hurry to make sure his nephew was all right. Already his mind was somewhere else.

  She barely had time to step away from the truck before Max backed up and pulled out of the driveway. She watched him take off down the road, the red pick-up dwindling in the distance.

  After explaining as much as she could to Cheryl, Kate headed home. Her thoughts went out to Bobby and Sue. She couldn’t imagine what it must be like to raise a child alone—especially one with special needs. It made Kate’s own problems seem trivial in comparison. But most of all she worried about Max. Once he was sure Bobby was all right, he might decide to go after Ed Tate again.

  Kate shook her head. Only a week in town and already she was tangled up in everyone’s lives. How had that happened? When she’d left Easy, she’d closed a door on her emotions, putting distance between her new life and the one she’d left behind. Now the door had opened a crack and she found herself caring about people she’d turned her back on—Max and his family, Cheryl and Tom, Nellie and the gang running the shop.

  At Cheryl’s insistence, she’d even considered the possibility of going to the reunion. What was she, crazy? How could she even contemplate that? The last thing she needed was to renew old ties and find more former acquaintances to worry about. She didn’t want to care about their lives. That would only make it harder to leave again.

  Sophie wove in and out between Kate’s ankles, yowling pathetically. Was she hungry already? Kate wasn’t sure how often a cat had to be fed, but she was sure she’d put enough food in her bowl this morning before leaving for the ranch.

  She lifted the cat, stroking the soft fur. “What is it, baby? You miss Mom?”

  Sophie licked Kate’s hand, her tongue rough and raspy, like damp sandpaper.

  “Yeah, me too.”

  At that moment, the sound of Roy Orbison came drifting in from the kitchen.

  “Not that much,” Kate said with a sigh.

  The sound traveled clearly from the other room. Whatever was making the cup sing was obviously getting stronger. She didn’t even have to hold the cup to her ear to hear it this time.

  Kate carried the cat into the kitchen. “At least we have music,” she said. “Now if we could only figure out why.”

  She moved around the kitchen, humming along to a tune about pretty papers. Setting the cat down, she peeked into the freezer, looking for something to microwave for dinner. She pushed aside casseroles the neighbors had dropped off after the funeral. There, tucked way in the back of the freezer, was a package of macaroon cookies.

  Kate was the only one in the family who liked coconut. Her mother must have made those just for her. With a smile, Kate opened the bag and broke a cookie from the frozen mass.

  She nibbled on the edges, not bothering to thaw the cookie first but breaking off little bits of coconut and letting them soften in her mouth. Her mother had made these with her own hands, baked them just for her. It was like finding a treasure.

  “Thanks, Mom,” she whispered, savoring the cookie and the love it represented.

  And just as suddenly the cup stopped singing. Kate turned, staring at the china cup, so delicate and pretty. The silence now seemed heavy with meaning. As if…

  Was it possible? She walked slowly toward the window, holding her breath. She wasn’t sure what to expect, but nothing would have surprised her.

  “Mom?”

  Nothing.

  Now she felt silly. Just what had she expected? A ghost in a teacup?

  She stepped closer, reaching out, her fingertips only inches away from the cup. Her hand hovered there, afraid to move forward, unable to draw back. The air was still, the house eerily silent.

  Closer. Almost touching now. A chill crawled up her spine. Goose bumps prickled her skin.

  Then her fingertip grazed the lip of the cup. Gently. Barely touching. And at the exact moment of contact, the air was split by a jarring peal.

  Kate jerked her hand away, her heart pounding in her throat. The cat jumped straight up in the air, all four legs lifting off the floor. It took a moment for Kate to realize the sound she’d heard was the telephone ringing.

  She let out a shuddering breath and reached for the phone.

  “Kate! Kate, you have to come here!”

  It was Nellie and she sounded hysterical.

  “Calm down, Nellie. Tell me what’s wrong.” She was afraid the woman would have a heart attack by the sound of hysteria in her voice. “What is it?”

  “It’s Deputy Tate. He’s here with the electrical inspector and wants to close the shop down! You have to come right now!”

  Tate. Damn him! She should have let Max kill the deputy after all.

  “I’ll be right there,” Kate assured Nellie. She hung up the phone and glanced back at the cup. “Now what?” she asked.

  The cup made no reply.

  *

  Max paced back and forth in the kitchen. Bobby was doing better now. They’d given him children’s Tylenol, made sure he had plenty of fluids and taken turns sponging him down. The fever had broken a few hours ago, allaying most of their fears. Now Bobby was resting comfortably while Sue prepared dinner.

  “Max, please stop pacing. You’re driving me crazy.”

  Max turned, a smart remark on the tip of his tongue. But the look on Sue’s face stopped him. He came over and sat beside her. “He’ll be okay, Sis.”

  She leaned her head on his shoulder. “I was afraid. The fever came on so quickly.” She pulled away and gave him an odd look. “I’m sorry I spoiled your afternoon with Kate, but I didn’t know who else to call.”

  “It’s okay.” Max stroked her shoulder. He hadn’t told Sue how close Bobby had come to being trampled by Venus this morning. Just thinking about it made him shudder. He’d have a long talk with Bobby about going into the barn alone. If anything happened to him…

  “How did it go with Kate today?” Sue
asked. There was something furtive about the question. If Max didn’t know better, he’d almost think Sue was glad she’d had to call him away.

  Max shrugged. He wasn’t ready to deal with all the emotions his conversation with Kate had dredged up. “Seems there was more of a misunderstanding than I realized,” he said. “And Ed Tate seems to be at the bottom of it all.”

  “Ed Tate? I don’t understand.”

  “He’s had it in for me since we were kids. You know how competitive he’s always been. Apparently he saw Kate as one more competition and did everything he could to turn her against me. It would have worked too if Kate hadn’t had to come back. I just hope it’s not too late to make up for the past.”

  “What do you mean? Do you think she’ll stay here in Easy now?”

  “She will if I have anything to say about it,” Max said. “But first I’m going to have it out with Tate.”

  Sue gripped his arm, her eyes wide with alarm. “What do you mean? You’re not going to get into a fight with him, are you?”

  “Only if he provokes me,” Max said then gave a dry chuckle. “By breathing or something.”

  “Max, please. He’s dangerous. You don’t want to mess with him.”

  Max patted her hand. “Don’t worry, Sis. I can take care of myself.”

  “I know you can,” she said. “It’s just…I’m worried about Bobby. What if his fever spikes again?”

  “I’m not going anywhere,” Max assured her. “At least not until I’m sure Bobby’s all right.”

  Chapter Eleven

  Kate pulled up to the shop and saw a crowd milling around outside. Some still had their teacups in their hands. She’d barely stepped out of the car when Nellie came running up, wringing her hands.

  “It’s Ed Tate,” she said. “He’s inside.”

  “Tell me exactly what happened,” Kate said, talking softly to help calm the frightened woman.

  “Well, I was making popovers when I could have sworn I heard your mother’s voice. She called my name, that way she always did when she needed me up front. I turned around but the room was empty. And just then there was a sizzling sound and the lights flashed.” Nellie leaned close, her eyes wide and intense. “It’s as if your mother was trying to tell me something.”