ONE SMALL VICTORY (25 page)

Ralph gave them another speculative look.
“You two got something going besides work?”

The question was absurd, yet so close to a
truth she’d entertained on more than one occasion Jenny gulped
again. She saw a faint stain of red on Steve’s neck, but otherwise
he didn’t react.

“Don’t be ridiculous, Ralph.” Jenny gave him
a moment to bring his mind back around.

Steve made a production of pouring more
coffee. Jenny appreciated the distraction, but couldn’t imagine
drinking any more. Ralph took a swallow, then looked up, chin
raised in defiance. “I’m not going back.”

“Staying at the house is not an option.”

“I have a right to spend time with the kids,”
Ralph said. “So it’s up to you. We can do this hard or we can do it
easy.”

When he got that edge in his voice, Jenny
knew it was fruitless to continue the battle. Not if she wanted to
emerge somewhat intact. She sighed. “You’re right. I can’t fight
you on that.”

She took a sip of the coffee, setting off a
roil of protest from her empty stomach. “But you can’t stay at the
house. It just wouldn’t work.”

“The kids might like having—”

“I said, no, Ralph.” She thought for a
moment. There had to be a way to satisfy him without increasing any
of the risks. Then it hit her. “Maybe you can take them away for a
few days. Until the weekend.”

He looked like she’d sucker-punched him. “Are
you serious?”

His question gave her pause. Was she? She’d
never spent more than a day without the kids in the years since the
divorce. And she’d never let them go with Ralph on the rare
occasions he’d requested it. No way would she allow them to fly
halfway across the country and then maybe get hurt.

But it was different now. Hell, everything
was different now. And maybe it would even be good for the kids.
She sighed. “Yeah. I guess I am.”

CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT

“I get to go away with Daddy?” Alicia dumped
her backpack on the floor and sat down at the kitchen table. “For
three whole days?”

“Yes.” Jenny poured orange juice and set a
glass in from of her daughter. “We talked about it last night.”

“What about me?” Scott grabbed the box of
Cheerios off the counter and slid into a chair.

“You can go, too. It won’t hurt either of you
to miss a couple of days of school.”

“I can’t skip now. Got an English paper due
Friday and exams coming up next week.” Scott poured a tan stream of
cereal into the bowl and topped it off with milk.

Jenny set the juice pitcher down. “We didn’t
think of that.”

“You’re the one that was all over me about my
grades.” Scott picked up the Cheerios that had escaped over the
edge of the bowl and ate them dry.

“Don’t be smart with me.”

“Finish your paper today,” Alicia said. “Mom
could take it in for you tomorrow.”

Jenny thought of all the things she had to do
the next day. Show up at work for a few hours. Meet with the task
force. Give Carol hell for calling Ralph. There just might be time
somewhere in there to go by the school and be nice to Miss Brenda
Ames of the pinched lips. “I guess I could do that,” she said.

“Won’t work,” Scott said, talking around a
mouthful of food. “Paper’s not even started. Besides that—” He
stopped to shovel another spoonful of cereal into his mouth. “I’m
not sure I want to go off with Dad for a few days.”

Jenny caught her coffee cup before it crashed
on the counter. “What about ...? Thanksgiving? What you said?”

She hadn’t intended the sharp edge to her
voice, but it had snuck in anyway. She tried for a smile to dispel
the shadow of alarm that crossed Alicia’s face. “What’s the matter,
Mom?”

“Nothing, Honey.”

“But you’ve got that look. You both do.”
Alicia flung her napkin down and pushed away from the table with
such force the juice glass tumbled over, spreading a pale orange
puddle across the dark wood. “That’s the way it starts. Angry
faces. Then all the yelling.”

Jenny moved toward Alicia, but Scott was
quicker. He grabbed his sister and held her. “We’re not going to
yell. Are we, Mom?”

“No.” She grabbed a handful of paper napkins
and dropped them in the middle of the spilled juice, then sat down
in Alicia’s chair.

Alicia disengaged herself from Scott and came
over. Jenny pulled her onto her lap and pushed a wisp of blonde
hair off the girl’s damp cheek. “You can go with Dad by yourself,”
she said. “It’ll be fun.”

“But I’ve never been to a cabin before. What
if I don’t like it?”

“You will,” Scott said. “Trust me. I’ve been
there. They have this great lodge. With all kind of games and a
big-screen TV. And the best part ... You know what the best part
is?”

Alicia shook her head.

“They have horses.”

“Really?” Excitement replaced tears in those
incredible eyes. “Can I ride one?”

Jenny didn’t have the heart to tell her that
Ralph was terrified of horses. “I’m sure that can be arranged.”

After the kids left for school, Jenny cleared
the rest of the breakfast mess, then called Ralph at the motel. He
sounded groggy when he answered. Probably still operating on
California time. “You want me to call back later?” she asked.

“No. What’s up?”

She gave him an edited version of the morning
with the kids, and he seemed genuinely disappointed about Scott not
being able to come.

After settling the specifics of picking up
Alicia, Jenny remembered the excitement about the horses. “I told
her you’d take her horseback riding.”

“Why’d you do that? You know I—”

“I did it because this is the first time I’ve
seen her excited in months. Surely you can get past your fear for a
couple of hours.

“Okay. Okay. Whatever.”

“Go back to sleep, Ralph.”

Jenny hung up the phone and grabbed her purse
and jacket. Mitchell always worried when she was late.

~*~

“These bleachers are freezing.” Caitlin
stood, took off her scarf and made a pad out of it, then sat back
down. “Tell me again why we’re out here and not someplace
warm.”

Scott put his arm around her and pulled her
close. “I like the privacy out here.”

Caitlin motioned to the groundskeeper who was
clearing dead leaves that the wind had plastered to the boards
behind the goalposts. “Not totally.”

“He’s cool. He won’t bother us.”

She unwrapped a snack cake and offered him
half. “You looked upset this morning. Something happen?”

Scott devoured the cake in two bites. “You
could say that. My dad showed up last night.”

“Really?”

Scott nodded. “And he seemed really pissed at
my mom.”

“About what?” Caitlin brushed crumbs off the
front of her jacket.

“I don’t know.”

“Did you call him again?”

“I haven’t talked to him in two weeks. That’s
when I told him everything was cool. You know. When Mom and I had
that little talk, and she asked me to chill for a while.”

“Then why did he come?”

Scott shrugged.

Caitlin nudged him with her elbow. “He had to
have a reason.”

“This morning the reason turned out to be a
trip to my grandparent’s cabin.” He paused for a moment, then
continued. “But I don’t think that was the reason last night.”

“Why not?”

“Because of the way he acted.” Scott laughed.
“He looked so much like me when I get in Mom’s face I couldn’t
believe it.”

A gust of wind tossed Caitlin’s hair, and she
snuggled closer. “So when is this trip?”

“Today. He’s picking Alicia up after
school.”

“Just Alicia?”

Scott nodded. “I begged off.”

“Thought you wanted to get away from here.
From your Mom.”

“I did. I do. I think.” He paused and watched
the groundskeeper haul a large trash bag toward the other side of
the field. “Although I’m not always sure about that.”

Scott sighed and turned to Caitlin. “But I
also figured sticking around would solve my other problem.”

“What problem.”

“Following Mom without having to worry about
Alicia.”

“I told you I’d watch her.”

“I know. But this is better. No complications
for you.”

Caitlin was quiet for so long, Scott wondered
if he’d upset her somehow. He didn’t mean to. Ever. But sometimes
she had the weirdest reaction to things. Got mad when he least
expected it.

“You could’ve consulted me before deciding
what’s best for me.”

Oh, God. Here it comes. Scott took a deep
breath. “Think about it, Caitlin. It’s not like it would be a
simple thing to sneak out some night.”

She sighed and wadded up the cake wrapper,
then stuffed it in her jacket pocket. “You could have just asked me
first.”

“Okay. Next time I’ll ask.”

Again a silence strained between them. Scott
scuffed at the edge of the bleacher with the toe of his sneaker
wondering if he’d be better off just keeping his mouth shut. Don’t
pile any more fuel on a potential flare up.

Caitlin leaned back, resting her elbows on
the metal rung behind them. When she spoke, it was without a trace
of anger. “What are you going to do if you find out it’s true? What
you suspect?”

He let out a soft sigh of relief. “I don’t
know.”

“What if you get caught?”

“Cha. I won’t do anything.”

She sat up. “Maybe I should come with you.
Just in case.”

“In case what? I’m going to watch her. That’s
all.”

“And what? You’re going to make yourself
invisible so they can’t see you back?”

Her tone rankled, and Scott checked his
rising anger. “Forget it. I don’t want to have to worry about
you.”

“Like I won’t worry?”

He blew out a breath in exasperation. “It’s
not the same.”

“It’s absolutely the same.” Caitlin looked
away quickly. “Honestly, sometimes you just don’t get it.”

“Get what?”

She stood and grabbed her scarf in one swift
move, flinging it around her neck. “Anything.” She stomped toward
the ground, each footstep making the metal ring in the cold
air.

Scott called after her. “Hey, I’m sorry.”

There was the briefest of hesitations in her
stride, then she pushed on.

What the hell was that all about? But even as
the question formed, Scott was pretty sure he knew the answer. Not
that he liked the answer. Maybe Caitlin did overreact because of
the way her mother treated her. Like an imbecile who wasn’t capable
of the simplest responsibility. But that didn’t give him the right
to act like her feelings weren’t as important as his.

“Caitlin. Wait.” He scrambled off the
bleachers, but she was already across the field. “I said I’m sorry.
What do you want?”

She turned to face him. “Sometimes sorry’s
not enough.”

He stopped and watched her disappear through
the entrance. Well, the hell with her. If she doesn’t understand,
then too bad.

He tried to maintain that justification, but
even as the words reverberated through his head, he knew they were
all wrong. He was acting like an ass. Almost like he had to provoke
her just to mess things up.Tears threatened and he swiped angrily
at his face.
No fucking way am I going to cry
.

~*~

Jenny rapped on the door so hard one of her
knuckles split in the cold air. She sucked on the blood while she
waited for Carol to answer. When she did, her face registered a
mixture of surprise and wariness. “I didn’t expect—”

“I’m sure you didn’t.” Jenny pushed past her
friend, then turned to face her in the spacious foyer. “I can’t
believe you called Ralph.”

“I was worried.” Carol let the door close,
cutting off the outside light, but made no move toward the large
living area where the afternoon sun streamed through tall
windows.

“Calling me would have been cheaper.”

“You haven’t exactly been accessible of
late.” Carol pushed past her and walked through the living room
into the kitchen.

Jenny followed. “I answer my goddam
phone.”

Her friend turned and faced her, leaning one
hip against the counter. “Really? The last three times I called the
house one of the kids answered.”

Jenny swallowed, trying not to be the first
to break eye contact. “I go to work every day. You can catch me
there.”

“Oh, sure. Like you’d really love to stop for
a chat about the latest talk around town.”

“What kind of talk?”

“That you’re hanging with the wrong kind of—”
Carol stopped abruptly and shook her head. “Jeez. Listen to me.
That’s something I should be saying to George’s kids. Not to my
best friend.”

Jenny had to stifle a manic urge to laugh.
Should I tell her about George
? “We’ve already had this
conversation, Carol. I’ve told you as much as I can. You’ll just
have to trust me.”

“I was trying to. Until Millie told me her
granddaughter saw you out on the street the other night with some
lowlife scumbags. At first, she wasn’t sure it was you. Didn’t
recognize you. But she was curious and followed. Saw you get into
your car.”

Carol averted her gaze. “You do have to admit
you’re car is very distinctive.”

The words hit Jenny like a blast of winter
sleet, and for a moment she was afraid to move. To speak.
How
the hell do I get out of this one
? “It’s not what it
appears.”

“Then pray tell, what is it?”

Jenny walked over to look out the kitchen
window. Carol’s pool shimmered in the afternoon sunlight, a few
orange oak leaves skittered across the water, driven by the harsh
wind. Why didn’t I just wait until tomorrow like I’d planned? Or
better yet, just skip coming over here at all? She took a deep
breath and faced her friend. “You know I can’t.”

“Then I guess this discussion’s over.” Carol
turned and started walking toward the front door.

Jenny didn’t move. How dare she?