In Shelter Cove (3 page)

Colin’s fuse
did
seem shorter, but wasn’t that to be expected? “He just needs time to adjust. He’s confused, Kara. Three months passed for us while he was frozen in time. He doesn’t even remember being shot. Nor does he realize how close he came to dying. He expects to be able to do everything he did before, but he can’t, and it’s frustrating him.”

“You’re right. I need to be more patient. It’s just not one of my strengths.”

“No kidding.” He looked past Kara as the door opened and Colin stepped onto the porch, wearing navy sweatpants and a white T-shirt with the Angel’s Bay Police Department insignia.

Colin gave Jason a quick nod, then told Kara, “The baby is crying. She’s probably hungry, and I can’t do anything about that.”

“I’ll get her. Thanks.”

As Colin moved toward the porch bench, Kara gave Jason a pointed look and then disappeared into the house.

Colin let out a sigh as he sat down and stretched his legs out in front of him. He’d regained some
color in his face the past few weeks, but his clothes still hung loosely on his big frame.

“How are you feeling?” Jason leaned against the porch railing. “I have to tell you that you look like shit.”

“I had a workout this morning. I’m a little tired.”

“Maybe you should take it slower.”

“Did Kara tell you to say that?” Colin demanded, a fire in his usually calm green eyes.

“I can speak for myself,” Jason replied, unintimidated by Colin’s bad mood. They’d been friends since the third grade. Neither of them had siblings, and in each other they’d found a brother. They’d grown up together, joined the force, and worked side by side. They’d shared good times and bad. He’d hoped the bad was over, but it looked as if there were still some issues to work through. At least Colin was alive. Everything else could be figured out.

“I don’t want to take it slower,” Colin continued with a frown. “I need to get in shape, so I can go back to work and support my family.”

“You will, but in the meantime you can be home with your daughter and with Kara. What’s wrong with that?”

“Nothing is wrong with that.” Colin ran a hand through his hair in irritation. “I’m not complaining.”

“Aren’t you?”

“Look, I know I have a lot to be thankful for. I just want to be the man I was. I need to take care of my wife and my child. It’s bad enough that Kara had to go through labor without me.” He shook his head,
anger etched in every line of his face. “I don’t want her to worry about money and working part-time at the quilt store or the real-estate office. I want her to stay home with Faith, the way we planned.”

“You’re the one who needs to stop worrying about money and work. All Kara needs right now is you at her side.”

“She needs more than that,” Colin argued.

“No, she doesn’t. She’s tired, Colin. She sat by your bed every damn day for three long months and prayed for you to wake up. The whole town thought she was chasing a dream, but she wouldn’t give in. She wouldn’t even go to the hospital when she went into labor; she was so damn determined to be with you when she gave birth to your daughter. She put you first, above herself. You’ve got a hell of a woman for a wife.”

“You think I don’t know that?” Colin asked, clearly pissed off. “You think I don’t wonder if I’ll be enough for her now? I’m
different.
My mind is muddy. I can’t find words. I forget things. I don’t feel like myself, and who knows if I ever will? I hate feeling weak, out of control. I saw Kara taking out the trash earlier. I
always
took out the trash. It’s my job, not hers.”

“I’m sure she’ll be happy to give you back that job. Stop pushing yourself so hard. You’ll be the man you were and more. Kara has been in love with you since you were kids. She’s seen you at your worst. She’s not going anywhere.”

“I don’t want her to stay because she feels sorry for me.”

“From where I sit, you’re the only one feeling sorry for you.”

Colin sucked in a sharp breath. “Why don’t you tell me what you really think?”

“Fine: I think you should get your head out of your ass.”

“If I wasn’t so tired, I’d take a swing at you.”

Jason grinned. “You’d probably fall over.”

“Yeah, probably.” The anger faded from Colin’s eyes. “You’re the only one around here who isn’t afraid I’ll break. Everyone else treats me like I’m fragile.”

“If you didn’t break after what you went through, I think you’re good to go for another fifty years. I have every confidence that you’ll return to normal. So take a breath and enjoy the day—because in spite of everything, you’re still alive.”

Colin nodded. “I hate to admit that you’re right.”

“I usually am.”

Colin rolled his eyes. “So what’s up with you?”

“Just checking in,” he said with a shrug.

Colin’s gaze sharpened. “Wait a second. Today is Monday. Tell me you didn’t go to Derek Kane’s funeral.”

“I drove by the cemetery,” Jason conceded.

“Why the hell would you do that?”

“I couldn’t stop myself. It was a remarkably small group for a guy who once had more friends than I could count. It was just his parents, a few relatives,
some of the neighbors. Charlotte and her mother were there. Andrew Schilling did the service. I didn’t go close enough to hear it.” He paused. “Brianna and her son, Lucas, are moving here to be close to the Kanes.”

“I heard something about that.”

“Did you also hear that Brianna intends to prove that Derek was innocent, that I railroaded him to jail?”

“Who told you that?”

“She did.”

“I thought you didn’t get close enough to talk to anyone.”

“She saw me and came over. She was furious that I was there.”

“How did you think she would react?” Colin paused. “Brianna won’t be able to prove anything. You double-and triple-checked your facts. The chief rode your ass every step of that investigation, and you didn’t do it alone. Everyone in the department was involved. No one wanted to believe Derek was responsible, but the facts were the facts.”

“That’s what I keep telling myself.”

“Then start believing it.” Colin’s gaze was pointed and direct. “You’ve always been your own worst critic. Frankly, I’ve never understood why everyone was surprised by Derek’s behavior. He always had his eye on the prize. Even when we were kids, he was hustling at the poker games in the Murrays’ garage. Art was his ticket to the top. With his grandfather’s connections and his own personal charm, Derek had an entrée
into a world of money filled with celebrities and power brokers. There was temptation everywhere he looked.”

What Colin said was true, but there was one big question they’d never managed to answer. “I just wish we’d found the paintings.”

“Stolen art is rarely recovered; you know that.”

“Derek had to hand those paintings off to someone—an accomplice or a buyer, maybe both. I never understood why he’d take the fall. Why didn’t he implicate anyone else?”

“He probably never thought he’d actually go to prison. Derek always believed that he was the exception to the rule.”

Jason cocked his head, hearing an undertone in Colin’s voice that he hadn’t noticed before. “Doesn’t sound as if you liked him as much as I thought you did.”

“He was entertaining. I never thought he had much substance, but you knew him better that I did. I always thought Derek took the easy way out.”

“Well, there was nothing easy about serving time. And now he’s dead.”

“Not because of you,” Colin met his gaze. “You need to get a grip. You didn’t send an innocent man to jail, and you are
not
responsible for his death. Derek’s case is closed. Let it stay that way.”

“It won’t stay closed if Brianna has anything to say about it.” He jerked upright, filled with a restless adrenaline he couldn’t seem to shake. “I can’t believe she’s come back here at all, much less that she’s
going to go on some crusade to clear Derek’s name. It’s been five years. The investigator the Kanes hired came up with nothing. I thought by now Brianna would have finally figured out who Derek really was.”

“So this isn’t about Derek at all—it’s about his beautiful widow,” Colin said with a speculative gleam in his eyes. “You can’t stand that she believed him over you. You’re used to being the hero with women, but with Brianna you’re the bad guy.”

“That’s not it,” he denied quickly, though there was a grain of truth in Colin’s words.

“You don’t think you’ll change her mind, do you? Because it won’t happen. You need to let this go, move on, and stay away from Brianna Kane.”

It was good advice. Jason just didn’t think he could take it.

Brianna gathered up empty glasses and plates and took them into the Kanes’ kitchen. A few neighbors and friends remained in the living room, but the postfuneral lunch was just about over, and for that she was grateful. She didn’t know anyone well, and their polite, meaningless condolences were beginning to wear her down. She was tired of putting on a face, pretending to feel something when most days she just felt numb.

In five years, she’d gone from being a joyous fiancée on the brink of an exciting life to being the wife of a criminal. Now she was a widow, a single mother, and a dutiful daughter-in-law—but who was she really? She never seemed to have time to find out. She was always playing catch-up, taking on a role she wasn’t quite ready for. She needed to take control of her present and her future. She’d let Derek’s life shape hers, because once she’d married him, she’d committed herself to supporting him through his prison
sentence. She’d believed it was the right thing to do, because she was pregnant and their child needed two parents. But in the end, Lucas had still ended up with one parent.

Now her main concern was making a good life for her son. She’d agreed to move to Angel’s Bay because the Kanes were desperate to be near their only grandchild, and she’d wanted Lucas to feel part of a normal family. Her parents had turned their backs on her after she’d married Derek, so the only family she had left was in this house.

She loaded the dishwasher, then looked around the cozy kitchen for any other dishes, but the room was neat and tidy as always. Nancy was a first-class homemaker, as well as an avid collector of pig memorabilia, from salt and pepper shakers to dish towels, coffee mugs, and coasters. Nancy had laughingly told Brianna that she couldn’t remember why or when she’d decided to start the collection, but once begun, it took on a life of its own.

Besides the knickknacks, there were memories of Derek all over the house—his carved initials in the round oak kitchen table, the trophies in his bedroom, the walls of photographs marking every year of his life. If there was anyplace on earth where Derek still had a strong presence, it was here in this house. She wondered why she didn’t find it more comforting.

“There you are,” Nancy said as she entered and set an empty tray on the counter. “I was wondering where you’d gotten to. How are you feeling?” Her concerned gaze swept across Brianna’s face.

“I’m okay,” Brianna answered. “You’ve been doing all the work.”

“It helps me to stay busy,” Nancy said with a sad but determined smile. “Everyone is gone except our old friends Bud and Laurie. We’re going to have some tea. Do you want to join us?”

Brianna didn’t think she could take one more second of polite conversation. “Actually, I think I’ll go to my house and get a start on the unpacking.” While Rick and Nancy would have preferred to have her and Lucas live with them, Brianna had drawn the line at sharing a house with her in-laws. She loved them dearly, but there had to be some boundaries, so she’d rented a small house on Drake’s Way just a few blocks away.

“Are you sure you want to do that now?” Nancy asked. “I thought you’d wait until tomorrow. Maybe I should come with you. Rick can keep an eye on Lucas. You don’t want to tackle those boxes by yourself.”

“I appreciate the offer, but please stay here with your friends. I’d like to take a walk around the neighborhood, get my bearings. You can bring Lucas over whenever you’re done here. Or I can come back and get him.”

Nancy gave her a concerned look. “Are you sure you want to be alone, Brianna? It’s been a difficult day.”

She couldn’t think of anything better than being alone. She needed some time to herself to drop the brave smile and just take a breath. “I’ll be fine.”

Nancy hesitated, pursing her lips. “Brianna,
you’re not thinking about talking to Jason Marlow again, are you?”

A tingle ran down her spine at the unexpected question. Seeing Jason at the cemetery had rattled her. He’d gone from being a dim shadow in her mind to a living, breathing reminder of everything she’d lost. Talking to him again was not high on her list. He unsettled her on a lot of levels. There was something about the way he looked at her . . . the way he’d always looked at her.

“Brianna?”

She realized Nancy was still waiting for an answer. “I don’t have any plans to speak to Jason. He’d be the last person who would want to help us find the truth. He thinks he already knows it.”

“I appreciate your desire to continue fighting for Derek,” Nancy said slowly. “We’ve all spent a lot of time and money trying to prove his innocence, but every possible lead has always led to crushing disappointment, and I don’t know if I can do it anymore.” She drew in a deep breath. “Derek is gone, and he’s not coming back. My concern now is for you and Lucas to be happy here. If you start asking a lot of questions, I’m afraid the nasty gossip will start up again. It was hard on Rick and me when Derek was convicted, and I don’t want to live through it again. I want Lucas to go to school without hearing friends talk about his father and for you to have the opportunity to meet other women your age without Derek’s crime hanging over your head. I want us all to live a normal life, to be free of the past.”

“I don’t think that my asking questions will get people talking; I’m sure they already are,” she said, a little surprised by Nancy’s attitude. She would have thought that her mother-in-law would want her to continue the fight. “And how can we be free if we don’t know the truth?”