Legacy of the Highlands (13 page)

“I hear you. I’m sure he’ll show up in Boston
at some point,” said Francie in a tone that betrayed none of her
anger. She wanted to break Diego’s stupid neck. How could he have
let their friend return alone to the home she’d shared with Will?
And judging by the way Alex described him, it sounded like he’d
tried to seduce her too. He’d supplied Francie with regular updates
on Alex’s condition and he’d promised that when she decided to come
home, he’d be with her. If Alex had been able to convince him that
she was fine, maybe she should go directly to Hollywood to pick up
her Oscar.

“I’m crossing Commonwealth and should be in
front of your door in a minute. Look out the window and buzz me in
when I get there, okay?”

“You’re the best, Francie. Have I told you
that lately?”

“No. But as that hokey song goes, ‘that’s
what friends are for.’ Hey, I’m here but after speed walking I am
so not schlepping up three flights of stairs. I’m gonna wait for
the elevator,” she grumbled, feigning irritation, but was relieved
that she didn’t need to call 911 for her friend.

The women threw themselves into each other’s
arms and held on tight. Then Francie stepped back, took both of
Alex’s ice-cold hands in hers and quickly assessed her friend’s
condition.

“You look terrific! You’re so tan! And your
hair! It’s gorgeous. I wasn’t sure I’d like it short, but I love
it,” Francie exclaimed before choking up with emotion. “I was so
worried about you,” she said as she playfully tousled Alex’s spikey
hair.

“It’s wonderful to see you. I missed you
soooo much.”

“Me too, Alex. I know I gave you grief about
staying away so long, but seeing you now I guess you were right. It
would have been too hard to tackle the apartment and everything
else right away. You look like you’re more together…are you
really?

“Yeah, despite today’s major anxiety attack I
think I am. I mean there are still times when I cry and have
trouble sleeping and can’t even force chocolate down my throat, but
that feeling of being broken is slowly going away. The sadness
never really leaves and it probably never will, but it’s changed.
You know how when you start a new workout your muscles hurt so much
you can barely move, but you force yourself to do it anyway?
Eventually your muscles adapt and one day the pain isn’t so bad.
I’m taking baby steps, but something inside feels different I
guess.”

“You don’t know how relieved I am to hear
that,” said Francie as she hugged Alex again.

“I am too, France. Believe me, I am too.”
They sat quietly for a while, comfortable with the silence as only
friends with a shared history can be.

When the two women met as twelve-year-olds, Alex had
already spent a month in friendless misery after the MacBain family
moved from working class Buffalo to Mamaroneck, a New York City
suburb. No one had bothered to consult her. She was simply told
that her father could earn more as an electrician in wealthy
Westchester County than in economically depressed upstate New York
and that was that.

The business prospered in tandem with a local
building boom and almost overnight the family had money for things
that had been unaffordable, like braces. That’s how Alex met
Francie. They’d bonded over a shared hate for metallic smiles and a
mutual crush on the rock star handsome orthodontist whose work
tortured their fragile adolescent egos, then guided each other
through pimples and teenage heartbreak. When Alex met Will, she
told her best friend that she’d found the man she was going to
marry.

A few years later, Francie had helped her
survive the unimaginable when her father’s sleek new Jaguar crashed
into a concrete overpass on a snowy February night as he and her
mother sped toward Manhattan, late for a Broadway show. It wasn’t a
huge surprise to Alex that her parents’ mangled bodies had blood
alcohol levels well beyond the legal limit. A taste for fine wine
was one of the byproducts of the senior MacBains’ success, as well
as the sense of invincibility that had left their only child
parentless at twenty-three.

“So now that you’re back, will one of your baby
steps be a call to Will’s parents?” Francie wondered.

“God, no. Well…maybe. I can’t stand them, but
Will was their kid and I’m sure they’d like to have some of his
things.”

“And you have to find out why his father was
so anxious to get in touch with you. Even if you’re not curious, I
am. Just do it when you feel less vulnerable. And vodka can’t hurt.
Maybe a little chocolate too,” she said and they began to
laugh.

Francie’s personality was as bubbly as
champagne and lifted Alex’s mood better than any pharmaceutical.
They sprawled on the floor, cushioned by the overstuffed pearl gray
pillows that they pulled off the couch and nibbled their way
through a bowlful of peanut m & ms.

“Where are all the yellow ones?” whined
Francie eyeing Alex accusingly. “Did you pick them out
already?”

“Ummm, yeah.” Alex grinned at her friend.
“Diego’s pilot brought a couple of bags on board for me and I
started to eat them on the flight up. You know I always eat m &
ms color by color, first the yellow, then the red, the green, the
blue, the orange and last, but not least, the brown ones.” She
hated when the company began to make special bags at Christmas in
red and green since it was no fun to finish half the package in one
color before starting on the other.

“I’ve always loved this apartment,” Francie
said dreamily. “Will’s parents may have their faults, but they did
okay when they bought this place for the two of you.”

“Yeah, it is pretty nice,” Alex agreed. She
loved the high ceiling with its ornate crown molding and the view
of Commonwealth Avenue from the front bay windows. The place owed
its character to its first life as an elegant mansion before being
converted to three large condos.

She was bursting to tell Francie the news
that Will and Diego were brothers, but she didn’t know if he wanted
to keep that private. She’d always wonder how Will would have
reacted if the DNA test had turned out differently and Ricardo
Navarro had been his biological father and not John Cameron.

“So now what?” probed Francie interrupting
her thoughts. “You know David and I will help you with anything you
need to do.”

“Thanks. I know that.” Alex stood and
stretched her arms toward the ceiling before lowering herself back
to the floor in a lotus position. Watching her, Francie groaned,
“Shit, my legs are too short to ever get them to do that.”

“But they get you where you want to go, don’t
they?” Alex grinned, giving Francie the same response she always
had since they were fourteen and Alex had shot up six inches to
5’10” while Francie’s height froze at 5’2”.

“A minute ago you asked, ‘now what?’ With my
life on hold for a few months, there’s so much to do I’m not even
sure where to begin. I’ll have to write a zillion thank you notes
for donations people made in Will’s memory. And I’ve got to figure
out what to do with all of his stuff, but I can’t face that yet. It
would make it too final, ya know?” As she spoke, her fingers
twisted the sparkling band on her left hand. “And then there are
all the details to settle about Will’s estate.” Her eyes began to
burn as she fought back tears.

“It’s good that David’s your lawyer. He’s
organized all of that for you and he said it’s no big deal. You’ve
been through a horrible time, sweetie, and I think you’re doing
great,” Francie said encouragingly.

Tears began to fall in response to her
friend’s kindness. “No sympathy, please. I can’t take it.”

“I understand. How about this? You can
procrastinate about your to-do list for one more day, but right now
you’re going to shower and get dressed and then we’ll walk over to
the Prudential Center for some major retail therapy. We always have
so much fun playing with the makeup at Sephora!”

Alex was lost in a daydream and didn’t
answer. She was still running her fingers over her wedding
band.

“Anybody home?” Francie said as she tapped
gently on her friend’s head.

“Sorry, I tuned out for a minute. Yeah,
shopping would be great. Let’s spend lots of money at the Pru.”

With Alex out of earshot in the shower,
Francie called Diego, but his phone went to voicemail. “You get
your lying, sorry ass up here as soon as you can. I don’t care what
Alex told you, she shouldn’t be here by herself.”

He returned the call within seconds, panic in
his voice. “What’s wrong? What happened?”

“For starters, she had a major anxiety attack
this morning. I thought I’d have to call 911. You and I knew how
hard this was going to be so why aren’t you here with her? You
promised me you’d do that.”

“Is she okay?” he said ignoring Francie’s
diatribe. His only concern was Alex.

“Yes, for now. She’s in the shower so I can’t
talk long. I don’t want her to know that you and I have been
keeping tabs on her, but you really need to be here, at least for a
few days. She’s already stressing out about going through Will’s
stuff and seeing the in-laws from hell again and…”

“She plans to see the Camerons?” He had his
own questions for John Cameron since Serge had come across more
evidence linking Will’s father to the radical Scottish independence
group. He didn’t want Alex to be anywhere near that man. Until he
was satisfied that John had nothing to do with Will’s murder, Alex
could be a target too. Francie was right. He was an idiot to send
her to Boston alone and unprotected.

“I can be there this evening. I’ll tell her I
had a business meeting in New York and decided to pay her a quick
visit. She won’t believe me of course, but I won’t tell her you
called me. I’m sorry I dropped the ball.”

“Good. I’m going to tell David to meet us
here for drinks and then we’ll all go out for dinner around seven.
Try to make it.” She didn’t wait for his response before ending the
call and muttering, “bastard.”

The phone rang as Alex poured wine for Francie and
David that evening.

“
Preciosa
,” Diego murmured and Alex
imagined him smiling as he used the nickname he’d given her years
ago.

“And hi to you, too,” she replied, the smile
in her voice mirroring the grin on her face. “It’s Diego,” she
whispered to Francie.

“Hi, Diego!” Francie shouted loudly enough
for him to hear.

“Is that Francie with you? Tell her I say
‘hi’ back.”

“I will and you give Luisa my love. I miss
her,” said Alex as she pictured the villa. “Are you sipping a
mojito in the courtyard?”

“No, I’m actually in a car and the driver
says we’re about five minutes away from your house.”

“What! You’re here?” She felt lighter than
she had in the past twenty-four hours. It had been so much harder
to come home than she’d expected.

“I had to fly up to New York for an
unexpected meeting and when I got back on the plane I realized I
could be in Boston for dinner. I hope you haven’t eaten yet.”

Francie and David exchanged a knowing look as
they watched Alex throw herself into Diego’s arms. When she turned
toward them again her face was flushed. As he released her, he
tenderly cupped the side of her face with one hand to study her.
“Let me look at you.” His expression became serious as he recalled
Francie’s description of Alex’s crippling anxiety attack that
morning.

“What do you mean, ‘let me look at you?’ I’m
the same person you said good-bye to twenty-four hours ago.” His
obvious concern and her reaction to him made her uncomfortable in
front of their audience and she removed his hand from her face.

“My turn,” Francie said. She stood on her
toes to hug him and planted a passionate kiss on his mouth. Then
under the cover of protests from her husband and Alex’s laughter
she whispered, “thanks for getting here so fast,” then added
loudly, “God, Diego, you’re yummy! I didn’t think it was possible
for you to get even better looking, but you have.” Coming from
another woman, he might have been embarrassed, but Francie said the
words with her arm once more wrapped around her man’s waist. David
offered a firm handshake, which turned into a back slapping male
embrace.

“Good to see you again,” he said to Diego.
“It’s been too long, but keep your hands off my wife!”

Diego raised his own hands in surrender. “You
have my word, but you’re a lucky man to have a woman who kisses
like that,” Diego teased as he winked at Francie.

“How long can you stay?” Alex
interrupted.

“A few days if that’s okay with you. I’ll
call the Ritz to reserve a suite.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I have a couple of
perfectly good guest rooms. How do you think I’d feel if you went
to a hotel after you opened your home to me?

“Well…” he hesitated, “if you’re sure.”

“I am. It’s settled.”

After a few glasses of wine, Alex reminded
them that they hadn’t eaten. “I know you’re a white tablecloth,
impeccable service kind of guy,” she said turning her attention to
Diego, “but it would be fun to go to Quincy Market and graze
through the food stalls there. Is that okay?”

“It’s been years, but that place is fine. Are
you sure you wouldn’t prefer going someplace quiet, with
waiters?”

“What? You don’t want to serve yourself? God,
you are spoiled!” Alex teased.

“I didn’t say that…I just offered…
Díos
mío
, Alex, give me a break! We Navarros may be used to
servants, but I’m far from helpless. I had to carry my own tray
when I lived in the dorm that first year of college, didn’t I?”

David interrupted their playful repartee.
“Can we go? I’m starving. We can ride in on the T,” he said as he
wrapped his arm possessively around his wife’s waist.

“Or we can take a taxi,” Diego smoothly
countered. “I haven’t been on a subway in years and I’m not sure
whether I want to be squashed against a bunch of strangers’ sweaty
bodies. Now if it was the damp body of a certain beautiful
woman...” he said leering at Alex. The smile he was hoping for
appeared on her face.