Celia's Puppies (23 page)

“
I’m sorry I said all
those things last night,” she said.

“
You have a right to say
and feel what you feel,” he said.

“
You’re right. I stayed
with Trevor because of me.” Jill shrugged. “Now he’s gone. And
I...”

She shook her head. Turning away from him,
she wandered to the front windows.

Jacob let out a breath as a wave of
insecurity came over him. Had he lost her to Trevor? He’d loved
Trevor’s wife for so long that he couldn’t keep the bone crushing
defeat out of his mind. Hoping the feeling would pass, he rubbed
his forehead.

When he looked up, Jill was standing in
front of him.

“
I know what you’re
thinking,” Jill said. “You’ve been… so positive, and so wonderful.
And I... I have compartments… inside. It’s hard to
explain.”

“
I’m listening,” Jacob
said.

“
You and I met when we
were in high school,” Jill said. “You don’t remember. But I do. You
ran track and played football. Right?”

Jacob nodded.

“
I ran track too,” Jill
said. “I mean until I married Trevor and all that stuff. Trevor
didn’t like me to associate with other guys… well, people really.
You ran the four hundred at state.”

“
My sophomore and junior
year,” Jacob said. “I blew out my knee my senior year and couldn’t
run.”

“
I ran hurdles. I sat
behind you on the bus to State my sophomore year. We didn’t have a
lot of people going so...”

“
Machebeuf came with us,”
Jacob said. “I...”

“
You had a girl on your
arm, were flirting with a girl in front of you and talking to the
guys around you. I don’t think you even looked at me,” Jill
said.

“
I was quite an asshole
when I was in high school,” Jacob said. “Val hated me.”

“
Actually, I thought you
were amazing.” Jill blushed. “I got stuck in the press of big guys.
You yelled at some guy to stop trampling me. I was small, like Katy
is small. The guy...”

“
Picked you up and set you
in front of me.” Jacob chuckled. “That was you?”

Jill nodded. “He made us kiss.”

“
I remember, the tiny
dancer and her prince,” Jacob said. “I... Wow. You won that
day.”

“
So did you,” Jill
said.

“
I looked for you...”
Jacob and Jill said in unison then beamed at each other.

“
My family was there,”
Jill said. “I went home with Meg.”

He stroked her cheek.

“
I recognized you when I
saw you with your mom at Pete’s that day. But... I...” Jill shook
her head. Her eyes welled with tear. “I was married… holy
sacrament… I... I made myself forget you… put you away in a little
compartment...”

“
Like the
wizard?”

“
I didn’t remember you
when you asked me to dance at Trevor’s party,” Jill said. “I… I
know you think I want Trevor. I don’t. I didn’t. I… I can’t believe
he’s gone. He’s been the one constant in my life since I was
fourteen years old.

“
I am going to have to
take care of all of this mess,” Jill said. “Trevor’s parents
aren’t… well. I’ve paid for their care… forever. They think Trevor
pays for it, but… I always have. They believe Katy is his only
child.

“
I am going to have to
take care of his estate, have a funeral, make sure his parents are
all right and bury him. I have to do it alone. I’m sure Meg will
help me with Katy, but other than that... His parents hate my
family and my ‘slutty friends.’ They believe Trevor and I split up
because of me.”

“
You could tell them the
truth,” Jacob said.

“
How? Tell an insane woman
and a sick old man that their beloved child was a monster? I… I
can’t do that.”

“
He is married to someone
else now,” Jacob said.

“
Was,” Jill
said. “She’s in jail. Anyway, you know what she’s like? She’ll
divorce him the moment she’s sure no money is coming her way. Plus,
Trevor doesn’t… I mean,
didn’t
do paperwork.
I’m sure I’m still on his life insurance and in charge of his
estate.”

“
Jill, you should do
what’s best for you. You don’t owe Trevor or anyone else anything,”
he said.

“
I know.” Jill held her
hands up over her head. “I need to finish this thing with him. For
me, I need to. I would love to have you with me every step of the
way, but you or Sandy or Meg would make it harder. I can’t deal
with the level of crap that would come with having anyone with
me.”

“
How can I help?” he
asked.

“
Will you be my constant?”
Jill asked.

Jacob’s face flushed. He pulled her into his
arms.

“
I won’t be able to wear
your beautiful jewels. I don’t know if I’ll be able to stay here.
I’ll just spend your money… on him, and them. I probably won’t see
you, maybe days at a time. I’ll have to take him back to their
family plot in Ohio. I... When I come back, will you be here for
me? For Katy?”

“
Oh Jill,” he whispered.
“Do you have to ask?”

Jill’s eyes filled with tears. She kissed
him.

“
Val gave me money for the
diamond sets and I have money from the modeling. But the checks
were so big, and my credit isn’t great. The bank held the
money.”

“
I’ve set up joint
accounts for us...”

Jill shook her head. “It has to look like my
money or I’ll pay hell for it. I just want to get this done, over
with. I...”

“
I’ll take care of it,”
Jacob said. “What ever you need, I’m here for you. I’d like to be
your constant.”

“
Will you make love to me
one more time before I have to go?” Jill asked.

Jacob took her hand and led her to the
bedroom. Very slowly, very carefully, he touched, caressed, kissed
and loved her body. He wanted to taste every inch of her beautiful
skin. Jill responded in kind. Opposite of last night’s haste, they
languished in the touch of each other. Dancing in sensation, they
rose to climax. In a toe curling flash, the world stopped and the
lovers held on until, in a breath, the world began again.

The rest of the morning was a blur.

At some point, Jill got up to bring Katy
back to bed. The little family lay snuggled together on the safe
big bed. The world invaded in the form of a telephone call from the
Denver Police. While Jill showered, Jacob helped Katy get dressed.
Together, Jill and Jacob packed Jill and Katy’s few possessions in
an old backpack so she could move back into her apartment. Going
down to the Castle, Jill and Katy said a tearful good-bye to Mike
and Val. Sandy and Jill sobbed and clung to each other until Jill
had to go. Jacob helped them through the tunnels. Because her Lexus
was too fancy for what she had to do, and she couldn’t drive his
Jeep, he gave her Mike’s Bronco.

Katy cried when she said ‘good-bye’. He held
her close. They had dreamed of this when they practiced dreams with
Delphie. But knowing what was going to happen was of no comfort for
the little girl and her father.

Standing on Detroit Street, Jacob watched
everything he’d ever wanted, everything he loved, drive away from
him. His eyesight blurred, he turned to make his way back to the
Castle. When he opened the Castle door, his father stood on the
other side.

Jacob broke down.

~~~~~~~~

Jill sat with her victim’s advocate in the
lobby of the Denver Police station. They were waiting to view
Trevor’s body. Jill had already arranged for Trevor’s parents
travel to Denver and found a place for them to stay. She was
grateful Megan was willing to take care of Katy today.

Even with the kind advocate sitting next to
her, Jill felt alone. Completely and totally alone.

She was completely and totally alone. She
had lived with this aloneness every single day prior to the
non-date. She was sure that every day between now and when she
returned to the Castle, she would be alone.

Hearing a familiar voice, Jill looked up.
Samantha Hargreaves was arguing with a police detective. Jill
watched the two argue back and forth. When Samantha smiled, Jill
knew Samantha had won. Samantha nodded to the police detective then
came out into the lobby.

Jill was sure that this gorgeous woman, a
Hargreaves no less, wouldn’t even remember her. She was surprised
when Samantha sat down next to her.

“
I guess you’re working a
case,” Jill said. “Sucks to work on a Saturday.”

“
I don’t mind,” Samantha
said.

“
I have to identify
Trevor’s body,” Jill said. “I’ve been waiting for about forty
minutes. I don’t know what the hold up is. How long do you usually
have to wait?”

Samantha’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. Her
pretty blue eyes scanned Jill’s face.

“
I’m here with you,”
Samantha said.

“
But...”

“
Did you honestly think
you’d have to do this alone?” Samantha laughed. “I’ll be with you
every step of the way, Jill. We’ll deal with the police together.
I’ve done estate work. I will help you with his estate… everything.
I’ve cleared my schedule. You are my case.”

“
Why? I mean, how?
I...”

“
You’re part of the family
now, Jill.”

“
The
Hargreaves?”

“
My family,” Samantha
said. “Val means everything to me. She, and those she loves, are a
part of my family.”

“
Because of
Jacob?”

“
Because of you,” Samantha
said. “We don’t leave people hanging out there, Jill.”

Jill nodded.

“
Now,” Samantha’s voice
dropped to an almost whisper, “they want to ask you who killed
Trevor. They’re fairly confident they can get it out of you. But
you have no idea.”

“
I...”

“
You have no idea. You’re
not sure why they would even ask you.” Samantha stood up. Turning
to look at Jill, she said, “Here we go.”

Jill stood as two policemen came to take her
to see Trevor’s body.

Chapter Forty-One
Never give up

Two weeks later

Honey Lipson opened her eyes slowly. Having
just moved here, she wasn’t used to the quiet busyness of Craig
Hospital. Lying in her bed, the shuffling hospital sounds reminded
her of rats scurrying around the house in the middle of the night.
Her earliest childhood memory.

She took sniff. When they didn’t stink of
rot, the flowers on her bedside table yielded a distinctive fresh
odor. Nope just fresh flowers. Today.

She liked Swedish Hospital. She had floated
on a wave of blissful medications.

Here at Craig, someone woke her, took her
vitals, chatted with irritating cheer, then cruelly made her move.
The movement was awful, painful, and more than anything,
humiliating. She wanted the blissful, drug induced dark. Today, the
cheerful bitch told her she had evaluations and physical therapy
and occupational therapy and tests and...

She was grateful for her private room. She
would never admit it but she cried. A lot. Especially at night.

Her mother came every afternoon at two. She
loved her mother. She was enjoying watching her mother blossom as a
person, not someone’s wife, mother or girlfriend.

But her mother’s desperate guilt had to go.
She wanted to tell her mother to just get over it, but she never
did. On some level, she understood Tiffanie. At least her mother
came to see her. She knew her mother refused to even speak to her
sister.

What woke her? Whatever.

Honey closed her eyes intent on slipping
away while she could.

“
I saw your eyes open.
You’re awake,” a male voice said. “Don’t you’re pretend you’re
not.”

“
Michael Scully Junior,
are you holding my hand?” Honey asked.

“
I am,” MJ said. “And I’m
not going to let go.”

“
What happened to ‘I hope
I never ever see you again ever in my whole life’?” Honey
asked.

“
Changed my mind,” MJ
said.

“
Maybe I haven’t,” Honey
said. “Just because I’m stuck in this bed doesn’t mean you can
sneak in here and hold my hand.”

“
I… I… I...”

Stuttering, MJ blew out a frustrated breath.
Honey was the most infuriating person he had ever met. She moved
her fingers and he looked up at her face. She winked at him. He let
out a breath.

“
My brain gets messed up
when I get frustrated or anxious,” MJ said.

She nodded.

“
I understand you saved my
life,” Honey said. “Thanks. I guess.”

“
It’s hard. The first
weeks are so hard that you feel like you’ll always be like this.
But you won’t.”

“
How would you know?”
Honey’s whole body blazed with indignation brought about by weeks
of desperate pain.

“
I was in an accident in
Iraq. Our truck ran over an IED... a bomb. I survived. Almost
unhurt. I was a medic. I went from man to man on our team. I think
I got to everyone. I hope I got to everyone before...”

MJ shook his head. Looking up, he saw
Honey’s pale blue eyes watching him. She nodded to encourage
him.

“
I guess the bomb wasn’t
fully discharged, or there was another one... I don’t know. There
was another blast. I lost my right leg below the knee and my brain
got scrambled.”