CnC 5 One Hex of a Wedding (11 page)

And grown I had. My shop was thriving. I was in love with, and beloved by, a good man. My children were growing and evolving along their own paths. What more could I ask for? And if ghost-busting and falling over dead bodies was part of the process, then who was I to say the universe had it wrong? I’d finally given in, accepted my place in the scheme of things, and was over and done with freak-out city. Well, in the long run. In the short run, I was still at the mercy of caffeine and panic.

Cinnamon motioned to my office. “The invoices are in there, as well as the new shipment from Amberlane China. I think you’re going to go nuts over it. I doubt the pieces will sit on the shelf for more than a day.”

I settled into my chair. It felt good to be back, even if it was just for an hour or so. As I cautiously opened the first box from Amberlane, my pulse quickened. Their teapots and cups were made by hand and, as such, were terribly expensive. But the glaze shone with an opalescence that reminded me of the full moon on a summer’s night, and the delicate attention to detail was obvious in every curve of the pot. I’d ordered four of the teapots, knowing full well that if they were as beautiful as I thought they might be, I’d be buying one myself. Thank heavens I’d planned ahead.

I picked out my favorite, then jotted a note for Cinnamon to display the others, making sure they were on one of the protected shelves. I had four shelves specifically glassed in for the extremely expensive pieces. Though not foolproof, it at least lessened the chance some bull might come into my china shop and break them.

After turning my attention to the bills and assorted admin work, I leaned back, staring at the phone, a plan formulating in my mind. I had no doubt that Murray and her crew would do their best to find whoever had taken aim at Joe, but I knew the odds and they weren’t good. However, with my abilities, I might be able to ferret something out. I grabbed the phone and put in a call to Jimbo.

“Yeah?” His usual greeting, but I was used to it.

“Yo, dude, I want to come out and walk your property like I did when I was looking for Scar. I thought I might be able to pick up something on the frootloop who took a crack at Joe. You up for visitors?”

Jimbo cracked out a laugh. “You take the cake, O’Brien. But I owe you one. You just won me twenty bucks.”

I rubbed my forehead. “Say what?”

“I bet Anna twenty bucks that you’d be asking to come out here before the week was over. She said you’d be too preoccupied.”

With a snort, I said, “Uh-huh. By the way, how’s she doing?”

His voice dropped into scary mode. “If I ever catch whoever ripped up her house, he’s dead meat. O’Brien, I’m worried about her, but she won’t even think about leaving for a few days. White Deer’s staying with her, but neither one of them are strong enough to KO some pervert. I’m going to camp out there for the next few days. I’ll be at home tomorrow though. Eleven A.M. work for you?”

I jotted a note to myself. “Sounds good to me.”

“Cool beans. I think I’ll call in some of my buddies from the enclave to search the property for me. Make sure no psycho’s hiding out in the back forty.” Jimbo’s buddies from the Klickavail Valley bikers’ enclave were a formidable crew. I wouldn’t want to be any trespasser they might catch.

“Good thinking. Okay, well, I’m outta here for now. See you tomorrow.” As I hung up, I turned over several thoughts in my head. One was flashing a neon red alarm, and I had to put it to rest, one way or another. Might as well grit my teeth and get it over with. I grabbed my purse, stuck a Post-it on the teapot I’d chosen for myself, and headed out. With a wave to everybody and a slew of good wishes following me out the door, I jumped in my SUV and pointed myself in the direction of the Four Seasons Motel where Roy was staying.

 

 

THE LOOK ON Roy’s face when he opened the door was priceless. Made me wish I had a camera. Before he could ask what I was doing there, I pushed my way into the room, tossed my purse on a chair, and perched my ass on the desk.

“Okay, let’s get this over and done with. I’m ready to hash it out once and for all. And I’m sure you want to go home.” I’d be able to tell whether Roy had been the one who shot Joe. He wasn’t good at hiding his feelings, even though he’d been an excellent liar during our marriage. I’d been in such denial, I’d ignored every warning sign until I couldn’t turn away anymore. After the last blow up, ending with me starting a fire using his clothes as fuel, and him giving me a black eye, I knew it was over. From then on, I never had a problem pinpointing his lies.

Roy stared at me, uncertainty clouding his face. “Fine. What exactly are we hashing out?”

“First—what the hell were you thinking when you showed up at the party? You’re lucky that I sent the kids home early, but they sure got an eyeful when the paper came out with Ingrid’s article in it. They—and everybody else in town—now knows what a drunken buffoon you are. Not only that, probably half the town thinks you shot Joe.”

His eyes narrowed and he let out an exasperated sigh. Typical. The martyr rode again.
Oh poor me, my ex-wife just won’t quit ragging on me
. “I didn’t intend on losing it.”

“Then why did you show up? You know you aren’t going to control yourself. What on earth possessed you to open your mouth when you know it always gets you into trouble?” I shook my head. Maybe this wasn’t the best idea, but we’d been round and round for the past five years, and I was tired of it.

Roy leaned against the wall. He was still a handsome man, that I’d give him, but his arrogance had grown to outshine the charm that had snared me in when we first met. Five-ten, with a curly mass of strawberry blond hair the same as Kip’s, he’d kept himself trim. For just a moment, I flashed back to the good days, before the kids and I’d become burdens to him rather than joys. We’d had some good times, a fact that I conveniently tended to forget.

“Emerald—oh never mind.” He suddenly slumped. “You wouldn’t understand.”

“Try me,” I said softly. “Talk to me like a human being for once and maybe I’d surprise you. Surprise
me
, Roy. Be a man instead of a spoiled brat who throws a temper tantrum when he can’t get his own way.”

And to my shock, he took me up on the dare. He slid down to the floor, hands clasped between his knees as he stared at the floor. “What can I say? What do you want me to say? You want me to be happy for you? Well, I am. So there. All better now?”

I decided to take a chance and sat on the floor next to him. “No, not all better. Yes, I want you to be happy for me, just like I’d like to think you’re moving on with your life and not holding the kids’ feelings hostage. Why are you so mad at me? I’m not the one who—”

“Who cheated. I know—you never let me forget. Will I ever be forgiven for that slip?”

I stared at him, aghast. “Slip? You call it a slip? Roy, think for a moment. Put yourself in my place. Your slip ended our marriage and you traumatized Randa. Why the hell did you decide to fuck Tyra in our daughter’s bed? I’ve never understood. The day I burned that bed on the front lawn, along with your suits and everything else I could find of yours, I burned up any chance of forgiving you. You don’t deserve it.”

Roy blinked—one long, slow blink that drew me in. A whirl of sorrow, a vortex of tangled feelings slid over me and I realized that he would never have an answer. That
he
didn’t even know why he’d done what he did.

“You have no idea why, do you?” I asked.

He slowly shook his head. “No, I’ve never been able to figure out why I acted like such an idiot. You think I wanted to hurt you? To hurt Randa? I didn’t.” A pause. “Maybe I did, but I don’t know why. There’s something you don’t know about that time. I never told you because I knew you’d use it in court.”

My stomach lurched. Had he hurt one of our children? Surely he wouldn’t admit it to me now if he had. “What? What were you doing?”

“At that time …” He paused, and for the first time since I’d known him, I saw fear on his face. “Emerald, I was strung out. I was hooked on cocaine. That’s where the money was going that you thought I spent on Tyra.” He wouldn’t—or couldn’t—look me in the eye.

I turned away, staring at the bed, at the dresser, at anything but him. So, that’s what had been going on. “And when you hit me that night? The last time?”

“Higher than a kite. I never said I was sorry. I know it won’t do any good, but I want to say it now. I’m sorry, Emerald. I’m sorry I hurt you. I’m sorry I hurt the kids. I know I can’t ever make up for it.”

He caught my gaze and held it. I blinked and looked away, a flurry of confusion raced through me. I’d spent so many years hating him, hating what he’d done to us, that I didn’t know how to handle his confession, nor his apology.

“Roy, I don’t know what to say,” I stammered out.

“I didn’t expect you to say much of anything, actually. In fact, I thought you’d laugh in my face.” He bit his lip and I saw a few drops of blood dribble down the corner of his mouth.

“Are you clean now? You know I can’t let you see the kids if you’re still using.” I focused on practicalities, trying to navigate the mine-filled territory into which I’d just been thrust.

He rubbed his chin, a stubble of growth caught my notice. “Yeah, I’ve been going to NA for two years, though I still have a hard time with alcohol when I get upset. I backslide a lot with booze. Tyra said she would leave me unless I joined NA, so I gave it a shot.”

And then it dawned on me—why we were having this conversation. Why he was here. “You’re going through the steps aren’t you? You came here to apologize?”

He shrugged. “Maybe. I don’t know. All I know is that when Kip told me you were getting married again, that you were marrying a man ten years younger than you and that you were happy … something cracked. After Tyra left, all I could think about was how bad I blew it. Both times.” He hesitantly held out his hand. “I don’t know what happened. But I’m tired of fighting. I’m tired of being enemies. I’m tired of blaming you for my own screwups.”

It was what I’d waited years to hear, what I’d hoped for. So, why did I feel so cold? So aloof and alienated? I stared at his hand, at the fingers that had once caressed me, then bruised and blackened my skin. And I knew deep in my core that I’d never be able to believe Roy about anything. He’d broken my trust so painfully that I couldn’t take the chance.

I swallowed the lump that had risen in my throat. “I don’t want to fight, either. The kids need you in their lives, and I want them to find this part of you—the part of you that won’t rag on Kip and deride Randa. Do you understand? They’re the ones you need to focus on. Not the broken remains of our marriage.”

Roy dropped his hand. For a second, I saw a look I knew only too well flash in his eyes and then he let out a rough laugh. “I should be grateful you’re even still speaking to me. Okay, I’ll try to be a better father to the kids, and I promise I won’t turn them against this guy you’re marrying.” He gave me a long once-over. “Joe’s a lucky man. I know I’ve said a lot of rotten things to you, but you’ve still got it going on.”

I didn’t want Roy looking at me that way ever again. “Joe loves me, and he loves the kids. So, you’d better not do anything to destroy the rapport they’ve built up. But you’ll always be their father, Roy, and even though I’ve wished you’d burn in hell, I’ve never done anything to make them hate you.”

I unfolded my legs and pushed myself to my feet. After dusting off my jeans, I added, “However, and you had better listen to me—if Kip or Miranda ever come back from a visit and tell me you were drunk, or acting weird, that’s it. I’ll take you to court for full custody. Got it?”

He stood up and stretched. “Got it.”

As I headed for the door, I stopped and turned. “Answer me one thing, Roy. And look me in the eye when you speak.”

He tilted his head, waiting.

“Did you try to shoot Joe? And did you ransack Murray’s house?”

Without missing a beat, he shook his head. “No, I don’t even own a gun. I’m bad, but not that bad and you know it. And as for Murray—no, not interested in anything to do with her.”

I knew he meant it. I opened the door, pausing. “Roy,” I said, not looking at him. “Thank you for apologizing.”

His voice echoed over my shoulder. “Yeah, well, I guess it was time.” As I left, I wondered just how long it was going to be before he was back to his old antics. But for a moment at least, I’d seen a glimmer of the old Roy and hoped with all my heart that he’d be able to retain a hold on the man who had at one time made me the happiest girl in the world.

 

 

ON MY WAY home, I stopped at the station to talk to Murray. Chiqetaw’s police department was small, but this wasn’t Mayberry, and Tad Bonner didn’t allow any Barney Fifes on the force. Oh, some of the guys were pretty stuffy, but for the most part, the cops in Chiqetaw deserved the respect they commanded.

A clerk I didn’t recognize sat behind the counter. I smiled at her and gave her my name. “You new here?”

She nodded. “My name’s Tansy. Detective Murray will see you now. You know the way?”

I nodded and headed back to Mur’s office. She was sitting behind a large stainless-steel desk, staring at the pile of folders in front of her. They looked in danger of toppling over and burying her. Had Chiqetaw been besieged by a crime wave in the past few days?

“Good God, what is this?
Cops Gone Wild
?”

She set down her pen and closed the file she was perusing. “You’d think so, huh? Maybe I should flash my boobs and they’ll go away?”

I slid into the chair across from her desk and let out a little snort. “Just make sure there aren’t any hidden cameras in your office. What’s all this?”

“We’re going through some cold cases, seeing if there’s anything that’s begging to be reexamined.”

“I see you have a new clerk out front.”

Mur nodded, frowning. “We finally hired someone to replace Rusty—remember that creep?” The last clerk had tried to sabotage Murray’s job when she didn’t respond to him the way he thought she should have.