Authors: Fern Michaels

Finders Keepers (4 page)

BOOK: Finders Keepers

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“Yes, it was.” Jessie heard him chuckling as he made his way to the library.

Her face gleeful, Jessie ran to the kitchen. “I'm eating with you in the kitchen tonight, Miss Ellie, because I don't look good enough to sit at the table.”

“Mercy,” was all the old housekeeper could think of to say.

“What is it this time, Thea?”

“It's Jessie's birthday party. Jessie said her classmates won't come, so I went to see Miss Primrose and asked her why. I insisted she speak to the girls' mothers, and she refused. Then, Barnes, she told me I might be happier placing Jessie in another school since I'm so unhappy with her school. She was referring to the next term. I'd do it in a minute, but there are no more private schools in the area. We have two alternatives, neither of which is acceptableâpublic school or boarding school. Tomorrow I want you to set the wheels in motion to buy that school. We'll hire a new headmistress, and we will be the ones who say who goes and who stays. I mean it, Barnes. She told me in that flat voice of hers that I coddled Jessie. She looked down that long nose of hers at me. I was so humiliated. She said Jessie was the sweetest child but entirely too shy and that she needed to interact more with her classmates. She also said I was an
obsessed
mother. Do you believe that, Barnes?”

“There are two sides to everything, Thea. I'm sure Adele Primrose's version will be slightly different than yours. She owns the school. It's her life, and she isn't going to part with it.”

“She will if the price is right. Money can buy anything, Barnes.”

“Are you sure you want to open that can of worms? It could lead to all manner of things. Adele Primrose could turn vindictive and start an investigation. She's lived here all her life. Her roots are here. We've only been here a few years. She could look into that Atlanta business, our early years in California. If she doesn't do it herself, her attorney will. I'm not saying that will happen, but it is a possibility. What that means is she has a certain amount of social backing whereas we are relative newcomers to the area. Records and credentials could come under close scrutiny if you push too hard. What we have are very good, but those records aren't perfect. How could they be, they're forged. An apology would not be out of line, Thea. I would not disturb the status quo if I were you, dear.”

Thea sat down with a thump. “Are you saying that old biddy would . . . go to those extreme lengths. Everyone knows adoption records are sealed.”

“For God's sake, Thea, Jessie wasn't adopted. You've been using the term so long you've come to believe it. The case is not closed, nor will it ever be closed. Let sleeping dogs lie.”

Thea's voice was a hushed whisper. “Eight years is a long time, Barnes. She's mine. I'll never give her up. That child is my reason for living.”

“Then first thing tomorrow morning you had better start mending your fences. If that doesn't work, I'll step in.”

“She wouldn't . . .”

“She would, Thea. If you try to rip that school away from Adele Primrose, she'll fight. You need to know that. There are some things money can't buy.”

“Speaking of buying, Barnes, what in the world were you thinking of when you purchased those . . . those ugly dungarees?”

“The look of happiness on Jessie's face. Stop being such a fuddy-duddy. Let the child be a child. She needs friends, playmates. Let's invite Sophie for the summer.”

“I don't think that's a good idea. The whole summer, Barnes! What in the world will I do?”

“Try knitting. Let Jessie be Jessie with a child she can relate to. You're smothering her, Thea. It's the last week of school. Let her walk. Take her shopping and let her pick out the things she wants. If you don't do it, Thea, I will.”

“I can't believe you're saying this to me. All right, Barnes. There is one other thing we need to talk about. Jessie said you promised her a phone. I want you to tell her no.”

“I will not break a promise, Thea. It will be installed tomorrow, and it will be a private number. That's so you won't listen in on her conversations. I understand how much love you have for the child, but it isn't healthy for either one of you. Loosen the reins, Thea, before it's too late.”

Thea buried her face in her hands. “Barnes, I don't know what I would do if something happened to Jessie. Perhaps you're right. I have devoted every minute of my life for the past seven years to the child. How do you expect me to stop doing what I love doing?”

“You'll do it because it's best for Jessie. If you really and truly love her, you should want to do what will make her happy. When was the last time she smiled when you were with her?”

“She never smiles. She's always so solemn and obedient. Sometimes I think she remembers. I swear, Barnes, I think she does. All those bad dreams she had in the beginning had to take their toll on her. She always has the same dream. She screams for jelly. That must be all those people gave her to eat. She won't eat it for me, though. I don't know what any of it means. Every time I think about it I get a headache. Tell Ellie I'll take a tray in my room. Let Jessie eat in the kitchen in those . . . ugly trousers you bought her.”

Barnes watched his wife leave the room. His shoulders felt suddenly pounds lighter. He called the phone company. A promise was a promise. He headed for the kitchen.

“Let's have a picnic outside, Miss Ellie,” Barnes said. “I'd like a hamburger, some real greasy french fries, no vegetables, and Jessie and I will each have two slices of that very fragrant rhubarb pie sitting on the counter. Miss Thea won't be joining us. She'll have a tray in her room. You can give
her
the poached fish and lima beans.”

“Oh, Daddy, you are so funny.”

Eleven-year-old Sophie Ashwood arrived in Charleston with a bikini, a diary complete with key that was chock-full of secrets and boys' names, the monthly curse, and
breasts
.

Immediately the girls raced to the playhouse, leaving Thea alone on the screened verandah. Barnes garaged the car, then took his place on the verandah next to his wife. He rattled the newspaper he was holding. His stomach started to tighten at the intense look on his wife's face. “Leave the children alone, Thea. You're scheming already. I can see it.”

“I'm doing no such thing. I resent you telling
my friend
her daughter could stay here all summer. That was uncalled for, Barnes. Janice and that . . .
hooligan
she's been seeing went off to Europe, so we really and truly are stuck with her child until the end of August. What kind of mother goes out of the country and leaves her daughter with other people?”

“Obviously Janice trusts you implicitly. In addition, Miss Sophie has been going to sleep-away camps since she was five. She's very independent as well as intelligent. She's going to be good for Jessie. You're feeling jealous and don't know what to do about it. I don't want you interfering with the children, Thea. Jessie is growing up and needs to be around other children. These last two weeks have been wonderful. The moment she heard Sophie was coming she turned into a different child. Surely you noticed.”

“She's that way with you,” Thea said. “She's still standoffish with me. I do everything in my power to make her happy, and all she does is say thank you. I would give anything in the world if just once she would throw her arms around me and hug me. She will if I ask her, but she's so reserved. It's almost as if she's afraid of me. She
can't
remember, Barnes, she was too little.”

Barnes folded the newspaper neatly and laid it on the table. “You do everything but breathe for Jessie, and if there was a way for you to do that, you would. Can't you see how you're suffocating her?”

“I'm doing no such thing. Why do you insist on tormenting me?”

“I'm not tormenting you. Let's go into town for lunch, Thea. Get your hat. I'll tell the girls.”

“I'll tell them.”

“No, Thea, I'll do it. Now, go get your hat.”

Thea's eyes filled with tears. “Why are you doing this to me? And if I refuse?”

“Then, Thea, you will force me to take matters into my own hands. I will take Jessie back where we got her. I'm prepared to suffer the consequences. I'm saying this only once, Thea, so I hope you are paying attention.”

Sobbing, Thea ran to her room. She returned minutes later with her floppy-brimmed hat, her face inscrutable. Her long, slender fingers with their perfectly manicured nails dug into the palms of her hands when she heard her husband's jovial shouts to the girls. “Jessie, Mama and I are going out to lunch. You girls behave yourselves and don't get into any trouble while we're gone. Ellie is in the kitchen if you need anything.”

“Daddy, can we make telephone calls that cost money?”

“Sure, honey. Can I bring you girls anything from town?”

“Daddy, do you think you could get me a diary? With a key. Sophie has one. She said all the girls in Atlanta have them. You write secrets in a diary. I might get a secret someday. Sophie's is almost filled up.”

“Show me what it looks like, Sophie.”

Sophie ran into the playhouse and returned with a flowered book.

“I think I might be able to find one like this. What will you do if you don't have any secrets to write down?”

“Then you have to wait until you do have a secret. Sometimes I write other people's secrets when I don't have any of my own,” Sophie confided.

Barnes nodded sagely. He supposed in a cockamamie way it made sense. “We'll see you later. Have a good time, girls.”

“We will, Daddy.”

“Good God, Barnes, the girls are in their bare feet. I cannot believe my daughter is wearing a . . . beanie. And you bought it, Barnes!”

“Sophie has one. It seems all the girls in Atlanta wear them. Those same girls all have diaries with keys. Thea, open your eyes. The girls are having fun. It's you that's miserable. I could probably pick you up a cap at Berlin's if you want. That would surely set this town on its ear. We can start socializing again, Thea. We could invite some of our old friends from Atlanta. I miss our bridge games. Dinner a few nights a week at the Yacht Club would be nice. You and I need to do things together for a change.”

Thea dabbed at her eyes. “I feel so lost. I even feel sick to my stomach.”

“Get over it, Thea. Think about how that mother and father in Ashton Falls must feel.”

“We agreed never to mention places and things like that aloud, Barnes.”

“That was then, this is now. I had another reason for wanting you to leave the house. Lunch was just an excuse. Let's sit here by the water and talk. No one can hear us.”

“I'm not up to any more bad news, Barnes. If this little talk has something to do with Jessie, I'm not interested. Miss Primrose accepted my apology, and Jessie will return for the fall term. I groveled, and I'm not proud of it. Miss Primrose did not apologize. I had to accept that, too. I was never so humiliated in my life.”

“Do you want to move back to Atlanta?” Barnes asked.

“Good God, no. Perhaps when Jessie is older. I'll give it some thought. Charleston is charming and the perfect place for a proper young lady to grow up. Now, Barnes, what is so important that we had to leave the house to talk about it?”

“Have you noticed a change in Ellie?”

“What kind of change? She's certainly grumpy lately. She's been very short with me of late now that you mention it. I assumed her arthritis was bothering her. She is sixty-eight years old, Barnes. She's worked for my family all her life. Does she want to retire and go back to Atlanta? Is that what you're trying to tell me? What will we do without her?”

“I think she overheard our little discussion a few weeks ago. Her attitude toward both of us changed after that. She is a fine Christian woman. Knowing a secret like ours will not be something she can accept. I believe she's searching for a way to do something about it.”

“Searching? Barnes, you know as well as I do that Ellie can neither read nor write. She has no family left except a few distant cousins five or six times removed. To my knowledge she has never been in touch with any of them. She never gets mail or phone calls. I understand what you're saying, though. What should we do?”

“We need to keep her with us so we can be aware of any . . . change. She adores Jessie. She won't do anything knowingly that will hurt her. Which brings me to another point, Thea. What did you do with that religious medal Jessie was wearing when we . . . took her?”

“I have it locked safely away. I would never throw away a religious item. Why are you asking?”

“I'm asking because Jessie was a Catholic. We are Baptists. We robbed her of her religion among other things.”

BOOK: Finders Keepers

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