I Want Candy (31 page)

She nodded. “I promise.”

Turner pulled her close to kiss her but Candy resisted. “One more thing,” she said. Her eyes clouded. “It’s about Junie again.”

“Okay,” he said.

“Well, Junie and me.”

“All right.” Turner gave her a smile of encouragement. “Tell me what’s on your mind.”

“Well, she was so … people remember her as a firecracker, you know? She had standing in the community. She was a really good person.”

“She was definitely all those things,” Turner said, and he realized that he felt peaceful inside as he talked about her. For the first time since her death, Turner felt more peace and acceptance about Junie than grief.

“I’m not her,” Candy whispered, biting her bottom lip.

Turner smiled sadly. This had turned out to be one hell of a morning-after talk, and it was because Candy had been game to go there. He loved her for being so open, so willing.

“No, you are not Junie and Junie was not you, but hear me when I tell you this, Candy—you are not a replacement for someone else. I love you for
you
. I want you, Candy Pants Carmichael. I want everything—your zest for life and your courage and your caring spirit. You make me laugh. You make me insane with lust. You make me happy to be alive. All that is uniquely you. I want
you
.”

Candy nodded, her chin trembling as the tears welled in her eyes. She threw herself in his arms and hugged him so tight that she cut off his air supply. He barely heard it when she whispered, “I love you, too.”

*   *   *

Once the breakfast rush was over, Candy had the strangest feeling someone was watching her. She tried to shake it off, but it wasn’t until she was in the prep kitchen that she could relax. She almost mentioned something to Lenny, but didn’t—she’d been a drama queen lately at work. She didn’t want to push it.

Turner called about eleven, telling Candy he couldn’t make it in for lunch. She was disappointed. “I’ll miss you,” she told him.

“I’ll miss you, too, baby. But I’ll see you at home tonight.”

The idea of that made Candy so happy that she convinced herself the feeling of being watched was a product of her imagination. It was unnerving, for sure, and it had come back as soon as she’d finished in the prep kitchen and returned to her post behind the counter. But there was no reason for it. She’d gone out into the parking lot and she’d checked the restrooms and even looked under the booths—there was no one lurking in the shadows. She drank a cup of coffee and told herself to snap out of it.

Lunch was crazy. It was probably for the best that Turner couldn’t come by—she wouldn’t have had time for him. They sold out of every dessert in an hour an a half, and Lenny later told her that his daily receipts had increased twenty-seven percent since Candy started baking. He asked if she’d be willing to work the counter only at breakfast and spend the rest of her day baking. Of course, she accepted.

So at about two o’clock, when Candy found the note propped up near the cash register, she was baffled. How had she not noticed Gerrall in the diner? Was that why she’d been feeling so creeped out? But where had he been? When had he been here?

When she read the letter a second time, she noticed her hands trembled.

My sweet Candy,

I have been watching you. Don’t worry if you did not see me because I am in disgize. Some day soon you will see me, tho. We are going to be together.

You are so beautiful that you have to be mine.

Sinsearly,

G. Spivey.

Chapter 22

Turner welcomed the federal agents into his house and told them to make themselves comfortable. He handed the letter over to O’Connor, who immediately slipped it into an evidence envelope. Candy sat on the couch and answered their questions, and Turner could tell she was trying to be calm but was terrified.

Part of Turner was relieved to see she was finally taking this seriously enough to be scared. He couldn’t
believe
she didn’t tell him that Gerrall had come into the diner the previous week and threatened her. The other part of him wanted desperately to protect her from any fear, any discomfort.

But all that took a backseat to the fact that Gerrall Spivey was fuckin’ with her
at all,
and it made him want to smash walls and break heads. Where
was
that little bastard?

“Miss Carmichael, we appreciate you contacting the sheriff right away,” O’Connor said.

“And you’re sure you didn’t see him?” Marshner asked for probably the fourth time. “You have no idea if he might have been disguised?”

Candy shook her head. “Like I said, I didn’t see anybody that stood out in any way. But it was insanely busy today, so I wasn’t really paying attention.”

O’Connor and Marshner shook Candy’s hand and thanked her for her cooperation. Turner showed them to the door.

When he joined Candy on the sofa once again, she looked exhausted. “C’mere,” he said, sighing with relief when she fell against him. Turner kissed the top of her head and couldn’t help but smile when he caught a whiff of chocolate cake and grilled cheese.

Though Candy snuggled against him for a moment, she was soon restless. She popped up and frowned. “Okay. What’s going on? That DEA agent was at Cherokee Pines the night I got stuck in the window. Why?”

Turner nodded, trying to give her a reassuring smile. “First, please understand that I’m putting my ass on the line telling you this, and I’m only doing so because you are in danger. Candy, you cannot share what I am about to tell you with anyone—not even Cheri and J.J.
Especially
not them.”

“Why?”

Turner rubbed his chin. “If the newspaper ran a story about this too soon it would jeopardize a large-scale investigation and might even get an undercover agent killed. I hate to put you in a position where you have to keep a secret from your best friend, but it’s very important that you give me your word you will not share this information with
anyone
.”

Candy pursed her lips. “I understand. You have my word. But what does this have to do with Gerrall Spivey?”

“It’s about his daddy, Bobby Ray.”

“Oh!” Candy said, perking up. “Lenny told me all about him the other day.”

“What?”

“Lenny said Bobby Ray Spivey was crazy and had physically abused Gerrall over the years.”

Turner sighed, relieved that was the extent of Lenny’s knowledge. “True. Gerrall was one of Junie’s students the year she died. She tried to help Gerrall, but Bobby Ray was a real bastard. But nowadays he’s manufacturing and distributing methamphetamine. It’s a pretty large operation.”

“What?” Candy’s lips parted with shock.

“Gerrall has been working for him as a kind of errand boy. But the really bad part is they’re now mixed up with a couple dangerous international drug cartels. We think the boy who was killed out at the Tip Top got caught between the feuding organizations.”

Candy’s eyes went huge. “Oh, my God! I thought that kind of stuff only happened in big cities!”

“Maybe fifteen years ago, but not anymore.” Turner took her hand. “We are real close to making arrests, and here’s how you can help me—are you listening?”

She nodded.

“I do not want you to be alone at any time, except for here in this house, and only for short periods of time. I’ll be dropping you off and picking you up from work. This will be just for a few days. Promise me you’ll cooperate with me on this, not put up a fuss.”

Candy nodded slowly, her eyes not yet back to their normal size.

“I won’t let anything happen to you, baby.”

“I know you won’t.”

She opened her arms and was about to hug him when Turner stopped her. “There’s something else you need to know.” He figured he might as well tell her the whole story. Her own safety depended on Candy knowing what the Spiveys were capable of. And besides, she’d trusted Turner with her ugliest secrets. Now it was his turn.

“The night Junie crashed her car and was killed, she’d just left Bobby Ray’s place. Another teacher told me she’d planned to stop by on her way out of town. She didn’t tell me because she knew I didn’t want her going out there.”

“Why didn’t she tell you?”

Turner shook his head. He grabbed Candy’s hand in his and concentrated on the lovely sight. He needed it to ground him while he got the rest of it out. “I told her never to go out there. Spivey was an ignorant and violent man and a racist on top of it all. But she went anyway.”

Candy squeezed his hand. “What are you saying?”

Turner looked up into her intelligent, serious blue eyes. “I have never been able to prove anything, but my gut instinct has always told me that Bobby Ray had something to do with her accident.”

“Oh, my God, Turner.”

He nodded. “Junie was three months pregnant. I’ve never told anyone that. Not even my mother and brother know. And I had her autopsy sealed so no one ever would.”

There. He’d said it. He waited for the gut-wrenching pain to slam into him, the way it always did. But something different happened this time. He felt Candy’s soft lips on his cheek, and she pulled his head down to her breast. She held him there, breathing softly, saying nothing for a very long time. Eventually, she released him and looked deeply into his eyes.

“I am so sorry you suffered like that, Turner. I wish there was something I could do to take the pain away.”

He nodded. He even felt himself smile just a little. “You just did,” he said. “And the single best thing you can do to help me now is to take these people seriously. Take your own safety seriously until we get them in custody. Will you do that for me?”

“I will.”

He kissed her then, and felt her surrender to him in trust and affection. It was an honor to have the love of such a wonderful woman. It was his solemn responsibility to keep her safe.

Never again would he fail to keep his woman safe.

Turner excused himself to make a few calls. The first one was to Reggie.

“What’s up, little brother?” Reggie said with a hearty chuckle. “How’s the new roommate working out? She paying her rent on time, man?”

“I need your help.”

His brother went silent for a moment, clearly catching on that this was no time to joke. “Anything you need. You know that.”

“Good. I need you to leave work and come over here. As soon as you can. Just stay in the house with Candy until I get back. No questions. I need you, man.”

“On my way.”

*   *   *

The next few days went by without incident. Turner worked late, and since Reggie had apparently been assigned as her after-hours bodyguard, he and Candy got to know each other well. They watched movies, played Uno, and Reggie filled Candy in on what Turner had been through when Junie died. It broke her heart to learn he’d responded to the scene of the accident and was there to see his own wife pronounced dead. But she was grateful that Reggie and Rosemary had been there to see Turner through the worst of it, and she told Reggie so.

“My brother deserves a little happiness in his life,” Reggie said, an unspoken question in his eyes.

“I know he does,” Candy said.

On Thursday evening, as Reggie sprawled out on the couch watching the news and Candy finished the dinner dishes, she had an epiphany. The very same day Turner lost his wife and unborn child, Candy closed on her first million-dollar real estate deal and marched out with her big wad of cash to buy Sophie, now stashed in Turner’s wall safe.

Why hadn’t she realized this before?
The same day!
She had to stop what she was doing and take a couple of deep breaths. Right then and there, Candy made a promise to herself: whatever she decided to use Sophie for in the future would be in honor of Junie and the baby, if only in her heart. It would be something good and honorable. Something real. It would be a symbol of something more than vanity or material wealth.

On Friday evening, when Candy had to stay at Lenny’s late to finish the engagement party cupcakes, she put Reggie in charge of the sprinkles.

“I’ve never done this before,” he said proudly, distributing the tiny sugar crystals with his giant fingers.

“You’d never know,” Candy assured him. “You’re a natural.”

On Saturday afternoon, Candy and Turner arrived at the lake a good hour before the party was set to start. They pulled the SUV close to the front porch to unload the cupcakes and saw that preparations were almost complete. The band was setting up on the stage. The front lawn was dotted with guest seating, potted plants and flower arrangements, and serving tables. Balloons and streamers were hung on the trees, the porch, and along the dock.

“Need some help with that?”

Together, Candy and Turner looked up to see a man in an eye patch standing near Tater Wayne’s infamous hog-shaped portable barbecue. Candy decided he even looked a little like Tater Wayne. He could have been Tater Wayne’s well-groomed cousin, if he’d had one of those.

She and Turner reached the same shocked conclusion at exactly the same time.
“Tater Wayne?”
they shouted.

“Haven’t seen ya’ll in a while. How’s it goin’?” Tater removed the tray of cupcakes from Candy’s hands and began to carry it into the house.

Turner followed with another tray, wiggling his eyebrows at Candy over his shoulder.

“Oh, my
’effin
’ God,” Candy said under her breath. Just then Cheri came out the door and headed down the porch steps to lend a hand. Candy stared at her with giant eyes.

“Yeah, I know,” she whispered. “Stay cool. I’ll tell you what I know a little later, but I don’t want Tater to feel self-conscious.”

“But—”

“I know. I know. Viv about had a coronary when she saw him, and made such a big deal that he went home real upset. He didn’t even finish his usual chores. I don’t think he wants the attention.”

“But he’s so—”

Cheri elbowed her just as Tater and Turner returned for more. Cheri and Candy handed them each a tray.