by Diane Moody
“Keri—”
“And if he’s like me, he keeps extras in his pocket or on his wrist . . .”
Bud came around the desk and held his palm in her face. “Keri! Listen to me!”
She blinked, snapping her head up to face him.
“The Blankenships haven’t talked to Matt in years. They’re estranged. Some kind of huge fight they had years ago. He’d threatened his mother, and his father kicked him out.”
“But why was he . . . oh. Oh! Oh my gosh—he burned their house down.”
“I think we’ve found our guy.”
Keri rushed after the sheriff as he hurried out the door, barking orders at his deputies.
“I’m coming with you.”
He turned and grabbed her by the shoulders. “No ma’am, you most certainly are not. Your father would have my hide if I put you in any kind of danger. You either sit tight here or go check in on your father. But whatever you do, do NOT interfere. And that’s an order.”
She bit her lip as he turned to leave, knowing he was right. “Be careful, Bud. I’ll be at the hospital with Dad. Call me if you find him.”
He nodded just before ducking into his cruiser.
A few minutes later, Keri stopped by the paper to talk to Grant. As she walked up the back steps of the building, she remembered he’d headed out to Shep’s boat after leaving her at the lighthouse. She tried to call him on his cell but it went straight to voice mail. Instead of leaving a message, she called her aunt, assuming she’d be at Shep’s side and maybe she’d know where to find him.
“Hey sweetie. No, he’s not here. He called from Shep’s place with a couple of questions for his dad. Then he said he was going by Chandlers to pick up some of Clara’s meatloaf and mashed potatoes for Shep. Our patient is a bit cranky about the hospital food he’s been served here.”
“Okay, tell you what. If you hear from him, tell him I need to talk to him as soon as possible. He’s not answering his cell.”
Nita hooted. “That’s because he dropped it in the john in Shep’s bathroom here at the hospital. I couldn’t help laughing but he was not happy about it. Oh what a sight that was!” Nita continued to chuckle. Keri could hear her chatting with Shep in the background.
“AUNT NITA!”
“What? Good heavens, Keri, what’s the matter? You sound upset.”
“I’m fine. But I’ve got to talk to him. In fact, I think I’ll stop by Chandlers and see if I can catch him there.” She hurried down the steps and back into her car.
“All right, sweetie. I’ll tell him in case you miss him.”
Keri snapped off her phone and turned her key in the ignition. A few moments later, she pulled up in front of Chandlers, disappointed she couldn’t find Grant’s car in the parking lot.
That’s when she saw it.
The dark pickup parked toward the back of the lot. A navy blue pickup.
Her heart raced. She knew she should wait. She knew she should call Bud. But without a second thought she got out of her Jeep and hurried to the front door. When she entered, she spotted him immediately, sitting up at the front counter.
What should I do? What should I say? Oh God, help me out here.
“Hi Keri,” Clara called from the window to the kitchen. “How are you?”
Matt turned, looking over his shoulder at her. He nodded, studying her as he continued to eat.
She was quite certain he could see the fear in her eyes, hear her heart pounding in her chest. He knows that I know. There’s no way that he knows that I know. But he knows. I’m sure of it.
But it made no sense. She told herself to calm down, breathe normally, and stop acting like such an amateur. Even if she was one.
“Hi, Matt. Nice to see you again.”
He just nodded then took a sip of his Coke.
“Keri, are you here to pick up that order Nita called in?”
“Uh, yeah. That’s why I’m here.” She shot Matt a plastic smile. “Picking up food. For a friend.”
He took another bite of his burger, indifferent.
She slowly made her way to his side, biting back the huge lump of fear in her throat before climbing up onto the stool. She left a stool between them. “I haven’t seen your folks yet, Matt. Did they make it back yet?” She prayed he didn’t hear that nervous crack in her voice.
He didn’t turn to look at her, instead focusing on the fries he was pushing through a puddle of ketchup. “Not yet.”
“Really? I would have thought they’d made it home by now. I mean, it can’t take that long to fly home. Even with the storms. I read once where—”
“They’ll be here soon enough. Why?”
“Why what?”
He chomped down on the messy fries, taking his time to chew. Finally, “Why you need to know where my parents are?”
“Oh. Well. I was just, uh . . . Dad needs to talk to them. He’s got a lot to discuss with them, you know. So many decisions to make now that . . . now that, uh . . .”
He reached for his Coke again, his eyes sliding sideways toward her.
She pushed her hands into her coat pockets to hide the trembling. “Anyway, if you hear from them . . .”
He blinked.
Her fingers grasped something in her pocket. The elastic hair band. She felt the heat creep up her face as an idea immediately took shape in her mind. She swallowed hard again, her eyes briefly closing. Then she locked eyes with him as she pulled the red band from her pocket and placed it next to his plate on the counter.
He looked at it, his brow dipping slightly. “What’s that?”
“What do you think it is?” She cringed, hearing the waver in her voice again.
He pushed his plate back then wiped his mouth with a wrinkled paper napkin. “I don’t have a clue. Why don’t you tell me?”
She leaned to one side for a better view of his hair. “Oh, I think you know what it is. Especially since there’s one just like it holding your pony tail in place.”
He looked ahead, shaking his head slightly. “Okay. What’s this all about? Is this some kind of game? Because I’m really not in the mood.”
“It’s no game, Matt.” She pushed her own hair out of her eyes and leveled them at him. “The investigators found the burned remnants of one of these out at what’s left of your parents’ house.”
He shrugged, his body language saying, “So?”
“Just like the one you were wearing that day I saw you out there. Just like the one you’re wearing now.”
He suddenly spun on the stool to face her. “Are you making some kind of accusation here?”
She stepped down off her stool, backing away. “Maybe.”
“Because you had better have something more than that if you’re saying what I think you’re saying.”
Keri tried to steel her nerves. “You never told me you were estranged from your parents.”
His eyes narrowed almost imperceptively but he said nothing.
“You said you were checking on the house on their behalf. But you haven’t talked to them in years. Not since . . .”
He stood up, nearing her. “Not since what?
Her heart pounded, her chest heaving in response. “Since you threatened your mother. Something about a big falling out.”
“And you think because I had an argument with my parents I would come all the way back to Oregon just to torch their dream house?”
She let the theory hang in the air, knowing it was true. Even his cocky demeanor couldn’t hide the guilt written on his face.
He stepped even closer, grabbing her elbow in his hand, squeezing hard. “I asked, is that what you think?” he growled under his breath.
“Actually, it’s what we all think.”
Matt stepped back, Keri’s elbow still in his grasp. The sheriff and his deputy stood just inside the door of the café, their hands on their holstered weapons.
“Matt, why don’t you let go of Keri and let’s have us a little chat.”
Keri yelp
ed as Matt’s fingers dug into her skin.
“Let her go, Matt. Let’s don’t make this any more complicated than it already is.”
He started to move sideways, his back to the row of stools at the counter, as he drug Keri along with him. “Stay back. You guys don’t know what you’re talking about. I had nothing to do with those fires.”
“Fires?” Bud echoed, emphasizing the ‘s’ on the end of the word.
“Bud, please . . .help me,” Keri croaked, pulling away from Matt.
He tugged harder, jerking her closer to him as he continued moving backward toward the kitchen area.
“You’ve got nothing on me. A stupid piece of a hair band? Are you kidding me? That could belong to anyone. Even your little keystone cop here. Ever think about that?”
“She had no motive. In fact, she had a lot to lose in that fire. Same as her dad. You, on the other hand, have an ongoing feud with your parents.”
As if on cue, a middle-aged couple entered the door behind the sheriff and his deputy. Keri recognized them immediately.
“Matt? What are you doing? What’s going on here?”
Matt grabbed Keri’s other elbow, shoving her in front of him like a human shield. She felt his hot bursts of breath on her neck. Oh God, please don’t let me die.
The man stepped beside Bud. “Matt, let her go. Whatever this is about, we can handle it. You don’t want to hurt anyone else.”
“Oh, that’s rich coming from you, Dad. ‘Anyone else’? You just confirmed what I’ve known all these years.”
“Stop, Matt. Just stop it,” his mother begged.
“Yeah, Mom, like that’s gonna happen. You guys crack me up. You come in here like you’re going to rescue the damsel in distress and save the day. Please. Don’t make me laugh.”
But there was no laughter in his voice. Keri could feel him shaking and knew it wasn’t from fear. The anger in his voice was unmistakable.
“We know you burned the house down, Matt,” his father continued, a barely-contained rage edging his voice. “The sheriff told us everything, including your attempt to blow up the newspaper office. You’ve done enough damage for a lifetime. Don’t add more to it. Just let her go.”
Matt kept pulling as he and Keri moved closer and closer to the kitchen. “Sam’s death wasn’t my fault. He jumped off that bridge. I didn’t push him. But you never believed me. He was your ‘sweet Sam’, the good twin. He could do no wrong, and I could do no right. Same as it’s always been.”
“We never said that!” his mother cried.
“You didn’t HAVE to! I got the message loud and clear. But never more obvious when Sam died and you just couldn’t bring yourself to believe it might have been his fault. Oh no, it had to be MY fault.
“Well, to hell with the both of you. The good son is gone. All you’ve got left is ME. And just because my face is identical to his, you couldn’t stand to be around me. Couldn’t stand to even look at your only remaining child. How do you think that made me feel? Huh?
“You ABANDONED me!” he bellowed. Keri heard the emotion overtaking his accusation. “You kicked me out like I was nothing more than a mangy, flea-bitten dog! You closed out my trust fund, made sure I had no way to live and then wiped me from your memory. All because you blamed me for Sam’s death, but IT WASN’T MY FAULT!” He paused, a groan rushing from somewhere inside him. “I LOVED SAM. He was MY BROTHER!”
Keri closed her eyes, praying for an escape. He was out of control, his fury bleeding through every word.” He stopped again, panting hard.
“Well, fine. Just fine. I don’t need you. I don’t need either one of you.” He started moving faster, backing toward the swinging doors into the kitchen. “And who cares about your stupid house? Serves you right. You can go live in a cave for all I—”
WHACK!
The sound reverberated through the café as Matt collapsed in a heap on the ground. Grant stood in the kitchen door, the oversized cast iron skillet still clutched in his raised hands. He locked eyes with Keri, her face still frozen with shock, then dropped the skillet as he stepped over Matt’s body and wrapped her in his arms.
“Grant!” she cried as tears of relief streamed down her face.
He held her so tight, she thought he would suffocate her. “You’re okay! You’re okay. Oh thank God. Keri, I was so afraid he was going to—”
She wept against his shoulder, shuddering in his embrace.
“Shhh, it’s okay. I’m here now, Keri. I’m here.
She said nothing as she clung to him, her face still buried.
“I’m right here. I’ll always be here for you.”
Chapter 14
One week later
“I have an idea.”
“Well good morning to you too,” Grant teased as Keri entered his office. “And congratulations, Miss McMillan. The whole town is buzzing about your cover story.”
Keri grabbed the paper off his desk. Her face lit up as she scanned her story and saw her byline beneath the title. “Wow! This is even cooler than I’d imagined.” She looked up at him, her face glowing.
He laughed, going to her side. “I should hope so. It’s the biggest story this town has seen in decades, and it’s all yours.” He wrapped his arm around her waist. “And I couldn’t be more proud.” He planted a kiss on her head.
“I still can’t believe it. How it all happened. How it all just fell into my lap like this.”
He took her hand, leading her back toward the makeshift kitchen. “Don’t be so modest. You worked hard on the case, you helped crack it, and that front page is just icing on the cake.”
He poured her a mug of fresh coffee then one for himself. The kitchen had suffered damage, but the construction crew was able to salvage most of the cabinets and countertop. The press was another story. Fortunately, a Portland print shop helped them get the paper out on time, putting a rush on the job. Grant was already thinking in terms of replacing the outdated press and moving the Waterford Weekly into the 21st century.
“Wait, what idea? You said you had an idea?”
Keri finished sipping the hot brew as they leaned against the newly refurbished countertops. “I have a great idea. Shep is supposed to get released tomorrow, right?”
“Yeah. It’s about time. They kept him a lot longer than they originally planned. That ticker of his needed some testing. Thank God he’s gonna be okay.”
“I know. Same for Dad. Although I wish they’d kept him longer. Why do hospitals boot the surgery patients a couple days after they cut them open, but keep old guys for days on end running countless tests? We should do a story on that. Investigate the practice of—”
“Okay, fine. We’ll do that. Back to the question. What’s this idea of yours?”
“Oh, right. I was thinking we should decorate his boat. As a welcome home gift for him.”
“Yeah?”
“Well, sure! Think about it, Grant. Your dad has been such a loner all these years. Then he finally works up the courage to come to town and lo and behold, if he doesn’t get a bad case of the schoolboy crush on my Aunt Nita.”
“I’ll admit, they’re pretty cute together. Though I’m still in shock over it.” He threw his head back laughing. “Never thought I’d live to see the day.”
Keri smiled. “Exactly. So it’s really more than just a homecoming. It’s more like—I don’t know, like a new beginning for him. A new chapter in his life. And Nita too. I’ve never seen her so radiant and so devoted. Well, not since Uncle Rafe died. And I’m so happy for her. For both of them. So what do you say?”
“Define ‘decorate’ . . .”
The sun was just setting as they drove the final mile from the hospital to Shep’s boat. Keri sat shotgun up front with Grant, while Nita sat in the backseat with Shep, her hands wrapped around his. Keri couldn’t stop smiling. Watching the two of them dote on each other was one of the sweetest things she’d witnessed in years. Quite the mother hen, Nita hadn’t stopped doting on Shep since the min
ute he came to in the hospital. Sneaking in treats, keeping him supplied with books and magazines, fussing over him all day long until he fell asleep each night—even hanging a fresh pine wreath on his bathroom door.
Not that Shep minded. He followed her every move with those puppy-dog eyes. He never stopped smiling when she was around. Even when she brought her clippers from home and gave his hair and mustache a long-overdue trimming. Everyone stopped and raved about his new look, and Keri caught him more than once sneaking a pleased peek in the hand mirror Nita had brought him.
Keri reached for Grant’s hand, giving it a gentle squeeze as they passed the lighthouse. He tossed her a wink, acknowledging the memory of their stolen moments up there. Had it only been a week since they’d finally shared from their hearts up there?
As Grant made the final turn toward the boat dock, the Sarah Jane came into view. Miniature white lights stretched from stern to stem, accenting every line of the vessel, sparkling in the reflection of the water. An enormous Douglas fir covered in lights stood on the deck, like a beacon of Christmas cheer. A long banner stretched across the starboard side of the pilothouse: “WELCOME HOME, SHEP!”
“Oh my goodness!” Nita gasped. “Shep, do you see? Isn’t it beautiful?”
Keri glanced in the rearview mirror above her, watching Shep’s face. His chin wobbled as his smile disappeared behind his neatly trimmed but still bushy mustache. The lights reflecting in his eyes revealed a shimmer of tears.
Grant squeezed her hand again, his eyes still darting back and forth between the road ahead and the scene in the backseat through his rearview mirror.
Nita buried her head against Shep’s shoulder. “I think that’s just the sweetest thing I ever saw, don’t you, Shep?”
Of course he didn’t respond. At least not verbally. Instead, a tear broke free, cascading down his weathered face before disappearing into his mustache.
Once they’d boarded the vessel, Keri and Grant seated Shep and Nita at a table set for four, complete with tablecloth and small votive candles. The flames struggled in the breeze, but remained lit, thanks to the surprisingly calmer weather. In moments, Grant and Keri brought up the dinner they’d left warming in the galley. Pecan-crusted flounder, baked potatoes, a fresh tossed salad, and garlic bread. They dined beneath the stars, the conversation happy and festive.