by Sally John
“No.” She grinned. “I was just thinking how comfortable you are in your skin and wondering how you could get mixed up with someone who wasn’t exactly the best influence on you.”
Maiya frowned.
“Hey, aunts are allowed to poke their noses into nieces’ business. It’s in the rule book.”
Maiya’s frown deepened.
“My weird look was because I remembered feeling comfortable in my skin when I was your age. I was athletic and a surfer. I made good grades, I was class president, blah, blah, blah. Not a huge feat with only fifty-eight in a class. Anyway, guess who I had a crush on and invited to the winter Sadie Hawkins dance our senior year?”
Maiya’s face smoothed out. “A loser?”
“The biggest. Actually, it was Will’s brother, Cody, who I might add is now an upstanding citizen. So you never know how they’ll turn out. Oops, don’t tell your mom I said that. She’ll think I’m rooting for—what’s his name?”
“Jake.” Maiya grinned. “Thanks for not lecturing me.”
“Why would I? I suspect you know J-A-K-E spells trouble.”
Maiya shrugged and nodded.
“End of discussion. Speaking of your mom, is she okay? She’s been on the phone since you two got here.” Lacey looked over at Teal, huddled at a table strewn with papers.
“That’s just Mom on a new case. River says she’s like a bulldog that won’t let go of a bone.”
“I thought only retailers like us worked on Labor Day. She didn’t have to come to the shop with you.”
“She said it was easier than sitting still in the twelve-inch square in the cottage that holds cell reception. And her Bluetooth doesn’t work there at all.”
“Oh. That’s going to be a problem for her.”
“It’s going to be a problem for you if she gets ticked off at whoever she’s talking to.” Her brows went up. “If you get my drift.”
Lacey got her drift, all right. Choosing to overlook Teal’s abrasiveness came with the territory of hero worship, but she did not deny its existence. “She’ll growl and disturb the customers.”
“Yep.”
“She’s got to be an amazing lawyer. She always could argue the wallpaper off the wall.”
Maiya giggled. “River says the paint.”
Lacey laughed. “Do you want to go help those ladies over there?”
“What do I say?”
“They’re looking at the myrtlewood kitchen products. Maybe they have questions. Since Uncle Will told you all about the wood, you’ll have the answers.”
Maiya tilted her head and began reciting. “The myrtlewood tree is a broadleaf evergreen, native to the southwest Oregon coast. The leaf can be used as a substitute for bay leaves in cooking. The wood varies in color from blond to black with shades of reds and greens and grays. This is due to the different minerals in the soil where the trees grow. The myrtlewood tree is even mentioned in the Bible—for example, in Isaiah 55:13. And we have, like, a hundred million thousand number of products made from it.” She bowed.
Lacey clapped her hands. “You’re hired. Go do your job.”
She scrunched her face and clenched her fist. “I think I can. I think I can.” She walked off toward the shoppers.
With no other customers in the gift shop area, Lacey took advantage of the opportunity to walk over to Teal’s table and sit down. “Hey.”
Her sister looked up, no longer on the phone. “Hey, yourself. You look exhausted.”
“I’ve been ill. What’s your excuse?”
She smiled. “You’ve gotten snarky.”
“Cancer will do that to a person. Are you all right?”
Her smile faded. “I have a young mom who needs to get a restraining order against her child’s biological father.”
“How sad.”
Teal nodded and glanced across the room with its chairs full of patrons. “I forgot how tourists overrun the town on Labor Day.”
“It’s great for business. Slow season starts promptly tomorrow at 8 a.m.”
“Maiya and I can skip dinner at your house tonight.”
“It’s not a problem, really.”
“We’ll do takeout, then.”
“You also forget there is no such thing as fast food within forty miles, and the local restaurants will close up early for the holiday. Will promised Maiya his famous hamburgers.”
“You’re absolutely sure we are not a burden?”
“Are you kidding? We love having you two here.” She saw the hesitation on Teal’s face and figured she might be searching for a way out. “Teal, don’t worry. Mom and Dad are not coming.”
“It’s only natural that you would invite them.”
“But I didn’t. Your visit yesterday was hard enough.” Neither Teal nor Maiya had said much about it, which spoke volumes. “Besides that, it’s a holiday. They’ll be bombed out of their minds by four this afternoon.”
Teal grimaced. “I’m sorry you have to live with that.”
“Well, I don’t so much anymore. I have enough of my own problems to deal with. Somehow they both still manage to work. Once in a while they stop in here, sober. I can fix food for them, but I can’t fix them.”
“Whew, that’s the most candid you’ve ever been on the subject.”
“Snarky and candid.” Lacey smiled. “Okay, I like it. Thank you for coming to Cedar Pointe.”
Teal’s eyes filled.
Lacey felt her own sting. She looked over the low wall into the gift shop. Maiya was holding court with the ladies in kitchenware, showing them two small bowls as if comparing the beautiful colors for them. Another customer dawdled near the checkout counter. “I better go help Maiya.”
“Is she doing all right?”
“She’s amazing. She’s so much like you.”
“Yeah, right. She can’t be both.”
Lacey hesitated. They had stumbled into new territory. Never in her life had she candidly told Teal how she felt. Now because of the joy her niece had awakened, words popped out. She’s amazing . . . so much like you? But it was true. Why not speak it? “You are amazing.”
“Come on, Lace. Candid means just say what’s on your mind and tell me to deal with it. We both know I made a mess of my life. Maiya is amazing in spite of me.”
“You don’t see it, do you? Teal, you’ve been my role model for as long as I can remember. I swear I can still picture you peering over the crib at me, singing songs and making faces. You were there in ways Mom should have been. I practically worshiped the ground you walked on.”
“Why would you do that?”
“Because you’re my big sister. You used to make me cry, but I idolized you. You were always so full of life, so beautiful inside and out.”
Teal swallowed. “I treated you like dirt.”
“Yes, you did, but in the big picture, that didn’t matter. I wanted to be like you when I grew up. Well, minus the grating personality that still puts my teeth on edge.”
They stared at each other for a long moment. Teal’s eyes grew wide and the corners of her mouth went up and down.
At last Lacey grinned. “Do you think I’m there?”
“Snarky and candid?” Teal laughed. “Yes, you just might be.”
Lacey’s eyelids grew heavy, but she refused to give up. So what if it was after ten o’clock? Her niece wanted to talk.
The two of them sat in her living room, Lacey in the recliner tilted back. Maiya sat cross-legged on the floor beside her. Teal had left soon after dinner. Will was in his man cave, formerly the back bedroom, watching the History Channel on his big-screen television until Maiya was ready for him to drive her to the cottage.
“Aunt Lacey, is this you in the hooded wet suit?” Maiya pulled a photograph from the pile on the floor and held it up.
“That’s me. Do you surf?”
“No way. I like hiking with River when we camp, but that’s it for being athletic.” She held up another picture. “This looks like Uncle Will. Who are the
other guys? They all kind of look alike.”
“It’s the Emerson blond hair and hazel-green eyes, on Will’s mother’s side. That’s his younger brother, Cody, in the middle and their older cousin, Dylan, on the right. He died in a car accident when he was in his early twenties. It was so sad.”
“Is Cody the wild one you had a crush on?”
“Briefly had a crush on, before his brother decided to notice me. Actually, I liked Dylan, too, but that was before I noticed Will.” She pointed to a photo lying in the box. “Those are my in-laws, William and Nora. They’ll be in town next week. You’ll get to meet more family.”
“They’re not my family.” A new despondent tone filled Maiya’s voice. “I mean, Uncle Will is the bomb, but technically, he’s not family. Only you and Mom are. Well, not counting Randi.”
Lacey found it curious that her niece seemed bothered by a lack of blood relatives. “Technically, that’s right. But having River for a stepdad has worked pretty well for you, right?”
She shrugged a shoulder. “He can’t even adopt me.”
“But he’s been there for about five years now.” Lacey forged ahead. “He’s your true dad in spirit. And if I know William and Nora, you’ll have them for grandparents the instant they meet you, even if it’s not all official.” She looked at Maiya’s bent head and busy hands riffling through photos. “Honey, are you looking for something in particular?”
“Oh . . . I don’t know.”
“I have more boxes.”
Maiya looked up at her. “You do?”
“They don’t seem organized, but there is a method to my crazy filing system. If you tell me what you’re interested in, maybe I can help.”
The girl’s shoulders slumped. “I’m looking for my dad.”
Her dad? No wonder the sudden interest in old photos and talk about family being official or not. “I don’t, um—”
“You don’t know. Nobody does except Mom, and sometimes I wonder if she even knows.”
“That’s hard, Maiya. Um, at least you’ve got River. Who needs a piece of paper? From what I hear about him, I might ask him to be my stepdad too.”
“I would too if I were you. I mean, don’t get offended, but I wouldn’t want Owen for a dad. I got freaked out yesterday because I thought he might be.”
Lacey felt a sudden hollowness. “Why did you think that?”
“His earlobes.” She yanked on one of hers. “They’re attached like mine, and Mom’s aren’t. It’s a hereditary thing.”
“Did you ask her?”
“Yeah, and she said it was not a possibility, no way.”
Whew. Thank You, Lord. “I’m glad to hear that. I didn’t think he . . .” But how could she know for sure? Owen treated Teal so horribly. “He was not at all kind to her.”
“He scared me to death the last time we were here. What was he like to you?”
“Oh, normal, I guess. As normal as any run-of-the-mill dysfunctional dad can be. I sensed that he loved me because I was his daughter, even if he couldn’t show it. There were no major traumas. He clearly resented your mom, maybe because she wasn’t his. After she left for college, he seemed less angry, but then he drank more.”
Maiya busied herself with the photos. “River’s cool. But inside I feel like something’s not . . . finished.” She gazed up at Lacey, her eyes unblinking. “You really don’t know who he is?”
“No. Your mom never told me.”
“Don’t you have a clue? Who were her boyfriends? Who did she hang out with?”
“Honey, I was twelve when she left for college. I seldom saw her after that. She stayed up in Portland most holidays and summers, working and going to school. Then she moved to LA before you were born.”
Maiya looked down again and her hair fell about her face, hiding it. “She had to have some friends she kept in touch with here.”
Lacey leaned back in her chair, unsure what the aunt’s rule book said about revealing a sister’s flaws.
To her knowledge, Teal did not have friends to keep in touch with. She never spoke of anyone close at home. If she hung out with anyone, it was with other outsiders. They were like shadows to Lacey; town gossip labeled them wild. The adjective seemed to fit her sister. They came from nearby towns, were older, and had cars so Teal was able to hitch rides and spend very little time at home.
She had been an unhappy, prickly loner who pushed people away. Lacey figured no one was born like that. Owen probably mistreated her from the start, beginning when she was only four years old.
That Teal would get pregnant out of wedlock seemed a given. The shock was that it didn’t happen until she was in college. To everyone’s further surprise, she graduated from college six months before Maiya’s birth, went on to grad school, and got a great job. At some point she proclaimed a newfound faith in God. Afterward she seemed happy and settled, although still relationally distant from Lacey and their mother.
Lacey shut her eyes and listened to the clock tick. A faint sound of Will’s voice drifted down the hallway. Who was he talking to at this late hour? A familiar fear niggled at the back of her mind. Given their nightmare of a year and an uncertain future, she couldn’t blame him for looking elsewhere for companionship.
A sudden hopelessness filled her. Why, why, why?
She heard a sniff and a soft splat. She opened her eyes and saw Maiya wiping a photograph across her sweatshirt.
“Sorry.”
“Oh, Maiya. Come here.”
The girl scooted closer to the chair and laid her head on the armrest.
Lacey drew her fingers through Maiya’s long, dark hair. “Have you told your mom how much it hurts not knowing?”
“Yeah.” She took a shaky breath. “She says she’ll tell me when it’s time.”
“Then we have to wait.” Lacey leaned over and kissed the back of Maiya’s head. “Life stinks, hon. No two ways about it. It just does.”
Lacey felt Will’s weight sink into the mattress beside her but did not have the energy to open her eyes. “Hi.”
“You’re supposed to be asleep.” He reached for her hand and held it.
“Maiya get home okay?”
“Yes, worrywart aunt. I walked her inside the cottage like you ordered. Teal was still up, working on her laptop.”
“What are we going to do about her cell and Internet service in the cottage?”
“Happy Grounds Coffee Shop opens at six thirty with free Wi-Fi and great cell reception.” He kissed her cheek. “Maiya says you’re awesome.”
“She thinks you’re the bomb, Uncle Will.”
“That’s good, right?”
“Almost as good as awesome.” She smiled. “Isn’t it wonderful having her here?”
“Yeah. She’s easy to be with. She seems so familiar.”
“She’s a Teal clone.”
“It’s not just her looks. There’s something about her.” He yawned. “Maybe it’s because she’s your niece. ’Night, Lace.”
“’Night.”
His breathing evened out.
Lacey’s did not.
She opened her eyes. The bathroom night-light filtered into the room. Will’s face was at rest. He was such a good guy. Steady and solid.
Her doubts made no sense.
But cancer taught her to live in the moment. There were none to waste, none to fritter away with fear and worry. What was there to lose? It was already gone.
“Will.”
His eyelids blinked open. He was instantly alert. “What?”
“Were you on the phone tonight?”
“Phone? Oh yeah. Holly called. She’s got next Monday off too. She offered to fill in for you. I said you’d get back to her.”
It wasn’t the first time her friend had called in the evening after what had become Lacey’s normal bedtime.
Holly and Will? Stories like that abounded. The sick wife’s best friend and husband get it on. It was almost too hackneyed to consider. Almost.
“Lace, you’
re shaking. What’s wrong?”
“I’m so cold.”
He pulled her to himself and held her close. “You’re overtired, sweetheart.”
Her teeth chattered. She felt herself falling as if into a dark abyss.
“Shh.” Will kissed her forehead. “It’s okay. I’m here.”
Chapter 28
LOS ANGELES
Talking on the phone with Teal, River stood in the garage where the month before he had lain under a pile of bins. “You’re going to love them.” He referred to the newly constructed wooden shelves secured to the wall.
“How did you finish them already?”
“It’s Labor Day. What can I say?” He walked to the doorway, switched off the light, and went into the house. “How was your day?”
“I said, ‘How did you finish them already?’”
“Had help.” Tucking the phone between his chin and shoulder, he crossed the kitchen, grabbed a piece of cold pizza from a box on the counter, and pulled a plate from the cupboard. “I want you to know I am using a plate for my pizza.” He took a soda from the fridge. “And I am going to sit at the table, like a civilized person.”
“Why do you keep changing the subject?”
“I’m tired and hungry and would prefer to ease into a touchy subject.” He set his things on the table, took a bite, and sat.
Teal did not say anything.
He chewed and swallowed and took another bite.
“Oh, River.” Her edgy tone said it all. Disbelief, disappointment, a hint of anger. She had figured out the touchy subject.
He swallowed and plunged into it. “Jake’s a good worker and he was available. The school guys were committed to a slew of projects there. You and Maiya weren’t here. I saw no problem with him helping me.”
“No problem? He gets to carry on his relationship with you and be in our home while Maiya and I have to run away? That’s a problem with me.”
River shoved pizza into his mouth rather than vent his retort; he popped open the soda can. Running away had been Teal’s choice. Understandable in a wacky sense but still, in his opinion, unnecessary . . . if not downright idiotic.
She blew out a breath. “I cannot believe you did that.”