“You’re happy now? Doing this?” Heather said.
“I’m happier,” Kelly admitted. Despite her heartache at Will, she had grown to accept what had happened to Norbert. In fact, he had pushed her to accept it. How could she preach to him to move on past Matt’s death, without taking her own advice? She cleared her throat. “I’ve been thinking.”
“Oh boy.”
“What if I went back to school?”
“For?”
“Paramedic.”
Heather faced her with a smile. “Seriously?”
“What do you think? I could transfer a lot of my credits and bypass a lot of EMS-1.”
“I think it would be awesome!” Heather pulled her into a one-sided hug. “I was so worried I was going to come down here and find you all depressed. New job. New man…”
“Uh, no. No new man.”
Heather shook her head. “The mechanic hunk always running on the beach, that’s Will?”
Kelly winced at Heather’s question.
“It has to be. He’s always watching you.”
Kelly squinted at the waves on the shore ahead.
“And only I could know how hard you’re trying not to look at him,” Heather said and elbowed her.
Kelly pushed off the counter.
“I know. I know. It hurts,” Heather said. She stood and played with her keys. “I still don’t get it though.”
Kelly faced her and waited.
“John was a handsome guy. A loser, but he looked nice. And he played nice, polite in public.” She held her hand up as Kelly opened her mouth. “Now the neighbor, Clay? He’s hot. Sexy fuck-me-now hot. Like a model. Then the curly-haired blond? Randy? Adorable. So sweet and nice. Like the All-American boy next door. Those are your types, Kelly. Those are the kind of guys you used to like. Will? I know you didn’t go out looking for him.”
Kelly struggled for a wise word to say. “What’s the punchline, then?”
Heather paused. “Fate?” She walked for her car.
“Fate?” Kelly called out. “My fricking fate is a broken heart?”
***
Kelly was helping Randy rip out carpet at his house. Will knew this but didn’t want to. It seemed he was always informed of her whereabouts because Randy and Clay wouldn’t shut up about her. He was thankful they didn’t ask him any questions.
At night he tried to watch the waves from the front porch of the stone house but stared at the townhouse instead. Has she moved on to Randy? He took a drink of beer. It burned. She had been spending a lot of time with Randy, but Will wondered if he was trying to distract her.
Randy would be a nice mushy guy for her. He’d coo and shower her with crap about love and destiny and all that bullshit. But Randy wasn’t right for her. Can’t she see? She needed tough, not mushy, and he couldn’t imagine how Randy would handle her damn sarcasm.
Earlier in the day, Randy had borrowed Clay’s truck to haul away carpet from his house, and left his car at the townhouse.
Will took a swig of beer and studied the moon’s reflection in her bedroom window.
Clay worried she was sad. Randy worried she might be crying, wished she wouldn’t mope so much.
Sure she had been divorced, and had a rough time at her job. But Will couldn’t understand why she seemed so sad. He Googled her a few nights ago, curious about the patient who had died on her. After browsing the articles about Norbert, he still didn’t understand why it affected her so much. Part of the job, right?
The obituary stated the demise of one Norbert King, age sixty-five. He had been worth a few million. One deceased daughter. One ex-wife. Please leave contributions to St. Joe’s Hospital. Nothing about the estranged daughter threatening hospital staff afterwards.
He finished the beer, rocked on his chair.
Someone walked around Randy’s car in the drive, then onto the porch in the dark, heading for the front door.
Will snorted with jealousy. Another one for Clay.
Eddie barked and the person left. Maybe they should put a light over there for the traffic at night.
Not drunk enough to sleep, Will opened another beer and tried not to think of Kelly.
***
Standing in front of the kayak hut the next afternoon, Kelly watched Delores Downs walk on the sidewalk with a couple prim old ladies. They paused at the deli and had a sandwich to eat on the bistro tables out front. None of them ate more than a couple bites. The starvation diet of the vain.
The Governor’s wife. Kelly scoffed. It turned out Mr. Downs had been the previous governor, not even in office anymore. But the family was like royalty in Churchston. The townsfolk still called him “the Governor”.
“You’re not fond of her, are you?”
She turned to Randy who stood next to her. “Is anyone? Other than the governor and the people she pisses money on?”
He leaned his elbows back on the counter, mimicking her. It was a busy day but a slow hour. “She’s always been full of herself.”
“Aren’t you supposed to talk nice about her? Relative and all?”
“Distant relative. My mom is Bruce’s sister. We’ve never liked her much. She’s always been about power and money. Why she left Dennis and snatched up Bruce. She wanted authority and prestige.”
Kelly sighed and gazed at the water.
“Looks like you’re stuck on something,” Randy said.
Will.
Perplexed, Kelly faced him, squinting in the sunlight. “Why was Matt so important to him? Didn’t he hate everything to do with Delores?” She didn’t have to clarify who she meant. Will was all she talked about with Randy. She was thirsty to know everything about the man she loved and couldn’t have.
“He did. They never really met until later,” Randy said. “Matt went to a Catholic school and the rest of us went to public. Matt and Will didn’t meet until junior high and they hated each other on sight. No mystery there. But they were so alike. They both tried out for football. Will was like an Olympian, even back then. And Matt wasn’t much weaker. Two strong bull-headed boys. They fought at tryouts, physically and verbally. It never would have worked.”
“So what happened?”
Randy smiled. “Coach P. was a smart man. See, they tried out for football at the beginning of summer so the team would already be picked by the time school started. He cut them both. They were the two best players and he cut them both.”
“Because they couldn’t get along?”
He nodded. “And he told them they weren’t man enough to play football. Hearing that at eleven? Talk about a low blow. So they took it literally, each of them going to the gym, pumping iron, running, jumping ropes.”
Kelly saw it clearly. Will as a little boy lifting dumbbells with his scowl of concentration.
“It put them in the same place, every day. I think it was Matt who started it, but he told Will he was locking his arms when he bench pressed and would never get strong. Then Will told him he was doing lunges in the wrong form. They meant it as put-downs, but they were actually helping each other. So they bonded through weights and running. They were so alike, they had to be friends. They were inseparable.”
Kelly nodded and paid attention to her toes in the sand.
“They had something important in common, too. Delores. She didn’t love Will. She abandoned him. But she never loved Matt either. She portrayed the image of the perfect mom to the perfect son because image was all that mattered to her. And it ended up bonding the boys. They were so alike. Will valedictorian, Matt salut—”
“Will was top of his class?”
“Yeah.”
Me too.
“They were both rebels and the best of friends. I used to envy how tight they were. They made their dreams, enlisted together, made it through boot camp at Parris Island, trained for SOC in North Carolina. They walked in on a suicide bomb. Will carried him out.”
They stood in silence save for the children squealing with delight in the water.
&nbs
p; “You saw what he was like. It killed Will for Matt to die. He kept going because the memory of Matt. Why he’s still like He-Man. Lifting and running even with his knee. It was their ritual, working out in the morning.”
Kelly nodded, but still couldn’t face Randy. Her heart squeezed painfully for Will.
“Kelly, what happened?” His voice was soft as he put his arm around her.
They must know. If Will didn’t brag about it to his pals, then they could put one and two together and get three. Clay and Randy were there for her as friends, but she was appreciative they never asked.
“It was like he was human again. I know it pissed him off to smile again but you made him—”
She shook her head.
“Kelly—” He squeezed her shoulder.
“He’ll never love me.” Her eyes burned with salty tears and Randy slipped into a fuzzy blurry image.
He pulled her in a hug.
On the public beach she knew her sobs had to attract the attention of the lot, but it felt too good to get the awful loneliness off her chest. “He’ll never love me. It doesn’t matter how much I do, he never will. I’m not good enough…” She lost the rest of it to sappy sniffles as Randy rubbed her back.
When he stepped back, he tipped her chin up to look at her closely. “It has nothing to do with you, Kelly.”
She sniffed then cracked a laugh. “Right.”
He smiled a little. “He has a hard time letting people in his life. Matt was the only person he ever trusted to take the risk on. His dad, Delores. He’s used to people leaving him. And after Matt died, it’s like a part of him died too. It will be hard for him to ever take that risk again.”
“Why would I leave him?” She blinked her moist eyes. “Why would anyone want to? He’s such a great guy once you get to know him.”
“He’s lucky to have you.” He pecked a chaste kiss on her forehead.
“He doesn’t have me. He doesn’t want me for anything but an easy lay.”
“Maybe he’ll come around.”
“No. I’m not going to wait forever or try and change him. I can’t compete with his past. And I can’t handle putting myself in the vulnerable position to have him break my heart even more.”
Randy watched her with a small smile and she finally sighed.
“What’s with you Randy? You’re so damn nice and considerate. Why aren’t you married with a golden retriever and twins?”
He reddened and rubbed his neck. “Uh, I don’t know. I’m still looking.”
Kelly wiped at her tears, thankful for his embarrassment as a distraction from her sorrow. Randy was a good friend. Comfortable. Reassuring. She frowned, realizing he was probably never going to be able to come out in a small town like Churchston.
Chapter 25
Giddy with anticipation, Emily noted it was a short distance from the bowling alley to Randy’s neat little house.
Good thing she opted for her concoction. The roofies wouldn’t have had enough time to work in the short drive.
She had posed as a middle-aged woman at Alan’s little bar while Randy had babbled about adding on to his kitchen. Kelly had referred to what someone named Sean said.
Sean? Was he Kelly’s other lover? Emily didn’t know of a Sean in Churchston. No matter. Kelly wanted Randy. Randy was the one. Randy was Forty-One. He had to be.
Scraping her finger over the worn patch on her steering wheel, she nodded at her confidence. This time, there could be no mistake.
Emily had seen them on the beach. Randy holding Kelly, soothing her, smiling at her. They had grinned at each other as he ate his dinner. Their fondness for each other could only reinforce Emily’s conviction. Kelly and Randy. Couple of the year.
As she followed him home from the bowling alley, Emily remained alert for any sign of a witness, a noisy dog. She had watched the cops enough to know Fred would be off and Eric would be watching porn on his iPhone in the abandoned lot at the end of Main. It was almost too easy. She smiled as Randy’s brake lights flashed vibrant red like an errant strobe as he zigzagged across lanes and sidewalks of the sleeping neighborhood.
Randy’s car swerved over the curb, smashed the mailbox, and pulverized the bushes, finally stopping in the yard instead of the drive. With a final quick glance around, Emily exited her car, the bat ready in her gloved grip. She pulled him out of the car, his arms and legs heavy as deadweight.
With closed eyes, he groaned as she dragged him to the grass.
Slamming the bat with bottled-up fury, she beat him, breathing in harsh breaths at the strenuous effort to pound his flesh. Up and down, she swung the bat, enjoying the crunches of bone. Crunches like when she had killed Forty. She wished she could have had Randy conscious, a knowing Forty-One meeting his death with the knowledge that Kelly couldn’t have him.
There would be no telling when someone would come.
As if her thought was a jinx, headlights shone at the corner of the intersection.
Careful to the take the bat with her, she ran off, thinking with satisfaction of the tears Kelly would cry when she saw her new lover dead.
***
Will’s summon came from Clay, a rushed and frantic voicemail. As he processed the choppy details of the message, he remembered how he had watched from the garage as Randy held Kelly while she cried a couple days ago. Her crying had tugged at his heart. Was it because of her stupid ex? Still? The loser didn’t deserve her tears. Or was she still hung up over the money bags who died on her? As he tore off his shirt for a clean one, he wondered if Clay had delivered the bad news to her yet.
He arrived at the hospital, his stomach knotted with bad memories. His shoulders tensed at the suffering he expected to see. The sweat from his recent run had dried from the wind on the bike, leaving a starchy sheen of cold on his skin, pricking goose bumps as he ran up the steps to the ER lobby.
Clay paced in the hallway. Daisy and Kendra huddled in a tearful hug on a waiting room loveseat. After the sliding doors swooshed shut, they acknowledged Will briefly. Eric leaned his elbows on the counter of the nurse’s station, yawning as he nodded at the information the doctor provided.
Before Will could interrupt Clay from his pacing, Kelly arrived.
She wiped at her wet red eyes and Will wanted to hold her. He admired the no-nonsense aura she held, with a downturned mouth and the worried crinkle on her forehead. The opposite to the emotional wailing on the loveseat. She sniffled as she scanned the occupants of the room with a determined set of her jaw.
He wanted her to hold his hand. To be strong for him when he was scared for their friend. The nauseating fear crumbled his concentration as he fought back the memories of Matt in the base camp.
As though she sensed his suffering, she met his eyes for a second before focusing on the nurse’s station.
She marched up to Eric. “What happened?”
His mouth twitched. “Looks like everyone’s here for statements.”
“What happened?” Kelly repeated, planting her feet in front of him.
“Easy, Miss Newland.” Eric cast his gaze to the ceiling with a sigh.
“Eric, is he okay?” Daisy waved at Alyssa coming down the hallway.
“Tell me what happened,” Kelly said.
“I’ll divulge details as soon as I’m legally able—”
Kelly shoved him against the wall, erasing his smug look. He straightened his posture, chuckling lightly as though he wouldn’t want anyone to imagine she had really maneuvered him. “Whoa.”
She stepped closer. “Tell me what happened.”
“Kelly—” Clay went for her.
“You better watch your temper, lady.” Eric sidestepped Kelly. He met Will’s eyes before facing her again. He leaned in to whisper and nodded his head to Will. “Don’t let him rub off on you now. I’ve seen the way he looks at you.”
“Scared of a girl, officer?” she said.
Will reached forward and pulled Kelly back. “Eric, tell us what the fuck happened.”
“I ain’t telling you shit, drunk.”
Kelly shoved Eric back against the wall and Will and Clay both took her arms. She shook them free and turned to face Clay.
“Somebody better give me some goddamn answers. What happened? He was just eating at Alan’s and said he was going to go home before the game came on.” She leaned around them for a look at the nurse’s station. “Where’s the charge nurse? Where’s the attending?”
Clay took a deep breath. “I was going to watch the game with him. Found him unconscious in his driveway. Someone beat the shit out of him.”
“Who would hurt Randy?” Daisy whimpered and Kendra pulled her in for a hug. “He’s so sweet.”
Kelly faced Eric and licked her lips. “I saw you smoking dope behind the bowling alley. I’ll take the security video from Alan. You give me details, and I don’t tell my lawyer.”
Eric frowned at her.
“Tell me what happened!”
He held his hands up. “Someone took a bat to him. No witnesses. Might have been wasted.”
“I was with him at Alan’s. Is he unconscious?”
“Hasn’t woken up yet.”
She faced Clay. “Was there any swelling or sign of head trauma? Was he conscious when you found him?”
Clay shook his head. “There was blood everywhere.”
“Maybe he was unconscious from a concussion. Why does the doctor think he was intoxicated?”
Eric flipped open a notepad. “The doctor didn’t say if he was intoxicated. I think he was high. Or drunk. He ran over his mailbox and parked on a shrub.”
“He was drinking Pepsi. I know he was. Did you smell alcohol?”
“Did I smell alcohol?” Eric huffed.
“Are you even a real cop?” She sighed and massaged her forehead. “They’ll detect alcohol in his blood, anyway.”
“Look, I know you think he’s all high and mighty but people don’t swerve around like that sober. Maybe he hit up on the way home—”
“He left at six thirty. Clay, when’d you get there?”
“Six forty-five. We were going to watch the pre-game.”
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