Into You (27 page)

"Me? I know she was jealous, but I thought he cleared that up when he fired her."

Carter shook his head. "She thought of nothing but hurting him since the moment he chose you over her. She intercepted the food delivery when she went to talk to him last night and saw you walk out of his office. She said she knew the time had come." His eyes bore into mine.

My heart picked up speed. He knew I spent time with his father last night. I wanted to tell him, but how could I? Between Mason, and then his father
there wasn't time to tell him.

"I know what you must be thinking, but I swear . . ."

"What I must be thinking?" His voice rose. "I'm thinking she's lucky she's dead because I'd crucify her."

Hesitantly I moved toward him and wrapped my arms around his waist. He took my hands in his and held them between us. "It's fine. You don't owe me an explanation."

I did. I owed him a big time explanation. I just didn't know how he'd react.

*

I continued trying to wait on Carter, to get his mind off everything, to get him to open up. I wanted to do something for him, anything. As the day lingered on, his grief seemed to ease.

"Liz, I'm fine, really," he tried to assure me when I asked him for the tenth time if he wanted me to leave so he could spend time with his mother.

I don't know why, but I felt like they should be together. I knew she'd be with him if I wasn't there. She called him three times. And each time I heard Carter tell her she was more than welcome to come over, but he wasn't alone.

I couldn't imagine what he was feeling. The grief he carried with him when he walked through the front door seemed to be gone. He was almost back to normal. Almost except that there seemed to be a giant wall between us that grew in width and height with each passing hour.

Knowing he just lost his father, a father he once claimed was dead, I wondered if guilt ate away at him. The ulcer developing in my stomach was my own guilt leaving its mark. But he gave no sign that anything was wrong. Nothing. Except keeping me at an arm’s length.

I wondered if the time he spent with Jamie had him out of sorts. Did he still have feelings for her? I kept telling myself these thoughts were selfish, and right now I needed to be thinking of
his needs, not my insecurities.

It wasn't until the wake that I
knew
I was in trouble. The will hadn't been read yet, but Dr. Penbrook's lawyer was there and planned to distribute the will to everyone named in it between the day and evening viewings. This made my insides shake and jitter like tree leaves in the middle of a hurricane.

I stayed by Carter's side until his friend Trevor showed up. After saying hello, I made my way to the back of the room where my fellow workers were. I didn't expect to see shock and surprise on their faces as they approached to offer their condolences and Carter introduced me as his fiancé.
No one knew. No one suspected.

I felt the inquisitive eyes on us as if we were some celebrity couple, or a car wreck on the side of the road. I hoped they thought of us as
the former and not the latter.

"I am so glad they were all wrong," Diane said as we were whispering in a corner in the back of the room.

"Who is they?"

"You
know, everyone in the office. With you always going into the doctor's office lately, and the way Sandy kept going after you, we all thought you were having an affair. Why didn't you tell me you were engaged to his son?"

"Because I didn't think it was anyone's business."

"But I'm not anyone. I thought we were friends."

We shared an
office, that hardly made us friends.

"I'm sorry." She was quick to apologize. "I'm just really surprised. We all are."

I looked to the front of the room, Carter wasn't there. Jamie greeted the guests by herself. I wondered where he disappeared to, and why he didn't tell me. Not that he needed to, but he knew how worried I was about him. Since when was I so clingy and insecure? And since when did I need for him to account to me for his every move. Maybe he was right? Maybe
I
was the one not dealing well with his father's death?

"I'm sorry Diane. I'm going to go make sure Carter's okay."

"Oh yeah. Of course."

I walked up to the front of the room, exchanged dirty looks with Jamie, and scanned the area for Carter. Not finding him I moved to the back and eventually out of the room altogether. Still, there was no sign of him. I headed for the bathroom, past a small alcove meant for people from another viewing room to hang their coats. Since Dr.
Penbrook's was the only body on display, I didn't expect anyone to be in the darkened area. But when I heard voices, as I passed, my heart sank.

They were positioned to see who was passing from the front, but it was as if they didn't realize there was another opening to the alcove, and anyone coming from the bathroom might see them. I couldn't help myself. I had to watch and listen.

I saw Joanna Shields straighten Carter's tie. "I am so sorry for everything you're going through, Carter. I wish you'd let me help get your mind off things."

He smiled, flashing his dimples at her.
The dimples that were meant for me. "I'm flattered Joanna, but you're a married woman." He said, while taking her hands in his as he removed them from his chest. I couldn't believe he didn't tell her to go to hell, or mention the fact that he was engaged.

"Yes, but Stewart and I have an understanding. We have an open marriage, as long as we're discreet."

Carter smiled, let go of her hands and cupped her face. He took a tiny step towards her. My heart pounded like a jackhammer on asphalt. I thought he was going to kiss the bitch.

"Joanna, you are a beautiful woman, there's no denying that." I watched in horror as he looked her up and down. Her eyes fell for a moment as she played coy. "But the truth is
, I just can't. I'm not a home wrecker. And the fact that I hope to have business dealings with you and your husband puts us all in an awkward position."

She sighed giving him the once over with her hand at his hip. "Well then, as I've said before, when you're serious about the funding, give me a call."

I thought about turning and pretending I never saw the interaction. This wasn't the time or place to make a scene. I was the topic of enough conversations at the moment. How could he do this to me? He was no better than his father or Mason. OMG, he was just like Mason, and we weren't even married. I worried what I'd just witnessed might be a glimpse into our future. What if she was young and single? Would he have taken her up on the offer with me standing only feet away?

Carter dug the heels of his hands into his eyes. I saw his body shake, and I wondered if he was crying. Without thinking I stepped in front of him and pulled his hands from his face, ready to give him hell.

"I said ‘No’ . . ." Carter snapped, his voice hard and angry. His face changed, it softened as he realized it was me standing in front of him. He pulled me close to his chest and held me tight. "Elizabeth, just stay with me. Please, don't leave my side."

"Of course."

I didn't know if I should be relieved or not. If she made him uncomfortable, why flirt back? Why not remind her of our engagement? I remembered a very important fact, she held the purse strings. She decided if they were going to fund his project. At the end of the day he said ‘No.’ Did it matter why? Or what excuse he gave? The tumbling of my belly told me it did.

Chapter 62

Carter

I said goodbye to the last of guests. It was time for the intersession. I felt like such a hypocrite playing the part of a grieving son when two weeks ago I wished he'd disappear from the face of the earth. And to be trapped in the same room with Jamie all this time, God I hated her. Why couldn't she have been the one Sandy poisoned?

A bunch of people from his office came to pay their respects, and with them came the whispers. I saw the shocked looks, when they saw Elizabeth standing with me, heard the things they were saying about my father and her.

"She must have been doing him, why else would she be standing with the family up front?" followed by, "You'd think she'd show a bit of discretion with his wife right there." I did my best to introduce her to each and every one of them as my fiancé; that only spurred speculation that she was sleeping with us both."

I had to get out. I just wanted a minute to myself in the bathroom, and then that cougar attacked. Heartless bitch. I wanted to tell her to fuck off, but I couldn't, not yet. I had to play nice until I knew where I stood financially.

I never wanted my father's money, never wanted anything from him, but now that seemed the only way I'd be able to open the center. That is if he didn't leave the wench every last cent. I wanted it all to be over already.

Albert Banks, my father's attorney closed the doors to the viewing room after the last person left. We sat in the back of the room. Elizabeth and I turned a couple of the folding chairs around so we could face the two large high backed chairs where he and Jamie sat.

"Thank you for staying. This should only take a few minutes. I am disappointed that your mother wouldn't come," he addressed me. "I'm going to drop off her copy when we're done here."

I nodded. What did he want me to say? I tried to get her to come, but as she said, she had no use for my father in life these last five years, she had even less use for him in death.

"Okay, it's self-explanatory. Jamie," She sat up expectantly, her chest puffed out. "You have one week to move out of the house, taking nothing more than you brought when you moved in. At which time you will receive five thousand dollars in cash."

"What?!?" she squealed. I couldn't help the smile that spread across my lips. I'm not usually a mean person, but she got fucked in the end, and having a front row seat for that felt good.

"Once Jamie is out of the house, the dwelling will revert back to your mother." He addressed me.
"Along with half a million dollars. She is also the beneficiary of his stocks and mutual funds."

"That's not fair!" Jamie shot up out of her chair, "I'm married to him now."

"Yes, but she was married to him for over twenty years before you came along." I answered.

"Carter. You are entitled to all his worldly possessions, including but not limited to, his jewelry, artwork and furniture. You are also the named beneficiary on an insurance policy worth fifty thousand dollars."

That was it? My mother got half a million and I only got fifty thousand? Did he allow Jamie to spend all that he stashed away over the years?

"And now for Elizabeth."
Did he just say Elizabeth? Why the hell would my father leave her anything? "Elizabeth, to you he left the proceeds from two insurance policies worth half a million dollars each."

"What?!?"
This time it was my turn to act outraged. "Is this some sort of joke?" I looked at her sitting in silence with her head down. The traitorous bitch wasn't even surprised.

"See, now do you believe me? I told you there was something going on between them." Jamie sobbed. "And now she gets everything.
Her and your mother. He took it all away from us, left us out in the cold together."

Instead of telling her to shut the fuck up I chose to ignore her. I knew being irrelevant would hurt her more. "There must be some sort of mistake."

"I'm sorry, Carter, but these were your father's wishes."

"Fuck!" I closed my eyes and rubbed my forehead. That son-of-a-bitch! Even in death he fucked me over. I knew I shouldn't have given him another chance, shouldn't have gone to the hospital. I stood and headed for the door. Elizabeth jumped up and followed close behind. It took every ounce of self-control I had not turn around and shove her hard, into a wall, or the floor, anywhere that would push her further away from me.

"Carter, wait. Just listen."

I shook my head. I couldn't be near her, my hands were balled into fists, muscles I didn't even know I had were tense and shaking. I wanted to lash out and physically hurt her, big time. I'd never been the type of guy to lay my hands on a girl, but if I didn't get awa
y from Elizabeth, I would have.

"No. I knew I shouldn't trust you. You're no better than her." I motioned toward the door. "I knew you'd stab me in the heart. And what hurts the most is that knowing everything you did, how broken and destroyed I was, you went ahead and did it anyway."

"You don't understand. You need to stop and listen to me." Her eyes were watery. Turning on the tear factory wasn't going the get her anywhere.

"I don't need to listen. I just need to get the hell away from you.
From you. From her. From him."

I stomped out of the funeral home, got in my car and with the wheels screeching sped away.

Chapter 63

Elizabet
h

"Don't expect him to forgive you. It's not in his nature." Jamie smirked.

"Are you alright?" Albert asked.

"Fine."
I wouldn't give Jamie the satisfaction of seeing me cry, but I was far from alright.