Secrets (37 page)

Sarah stood in the foyer. She should go over and slap Vanessa Peters across the face.

“As far as I knew that was it. I swear to God. I didn’t know Giovanni had taken the picture and put it on her doorstep. I didn’t tell him to do any of it. He kept calling. He seemed to develop some kind of perverse fun from it. I thought, well I thought he’d do it for a few weeks and then stop. I didn’t know it was going on like it was until you suddenly had Sarah here that night after the thing with her car. I swear. I didn’t know he was still doing it.”

“You think that somehow excuses you?” Scott’s voice was neutral, careful almost in its smoothness.

“I thought it was nothing. That he was having a little weird fun with a woman I hated. I didn’t know he was going to escalate, or keep on like he did.”

“At any point you could have told me. I don’t give a flying fuck how you felt about her. You let a woman be terrorized for months. How could you not have come to me?”

Vanessa had tears welling up in her eyes. Sarah had never seen true emotion, beyond anger, come out of Vanessa. “Because once I realized it was going on, and getting worse, I knew that you’d hate me. I couldn’t face it.”

“You could have done anything but do nothing. You chose to do nothing. You decided to give this bastard my cell phone.”

“No. I didn’t. He must have used it when I had it on me. I left it with him on accident a few times. You know how careless I am with those things.”

“What is wrong with you?”

“I didn’t mean for it to get like this.”

“Really? What did you think would happen?”

“I just meant to scare her. I didn’t dream it would ever go so far. What are you going to do?”

He looked up at Vanessa, his eyes gleaming with restrained fury. “That’s what you’re worried about? What will happen to you? My God, everything I’ve tried to convince myself and Angie, about you is completely wrong. Sarah was always right about you.”

“I didn’t mean any of this.”

“Shut up.”

“What are you going to do?” she asked, as her eyes rose up with Scott as he pulled himself to his full height, glaring down at her.

“What do you think I’m going to do? Turn your pathetic, bitter, sorry ass over to the cops who think I’m the one doing this.”

Vanessa frantically grabbed at Scott’s hand. “Please, Scott. It’s still me. I’m not that bad. I may have started this, but I did not condone it going on like it has. I did not actually terrorize her.”

He shook off her hand. “You don’t really expect me to believe that, do you?”

Scott turned and started for the front door. Sarah hadn’t yet spoken as she assessed what all this meant. She was having a hard time believing this had all started over her and Vanessa’s petty, instant, and mutual dislike of each other.

“Wait, Scott,” Sarah said suddenly. He stopped, his hand on the door knob, looking back at her puzzled.

“I kind of believe her.”

Vanessa blinked at Sarah.

Scott shook his head. “What do you want to do? Forgive her? Do nothing? We have to turn her in.”

“No, I’m the victim of her little joke, I think I should have a say.”

Vanessa’s eyes had dried up as her gaze narrowed on Sarah. “What did you have in mind?”

“Well, we’ll not tell about your involvement if you agree to one thing.”

“What’s that?”

“Divorce Scott. Now. Not two years from now. You let him out of your deal, and I’ll let you go free and clear of all this.”

Vanessa’s mouth dropped open. She hadn’t expected that. Or for Sarah to know about her and Scott’s marriage.

“You bitch. You’re blackmailing me.”

Sarah grinned and crossed her arms over her chest. “I am, Vanessa. I’m totally blackmailing you.”

Scott frowned. “What she did has criminal implications. We have to let the cops deal with this.”

“Oh, they will definitely get her boyfriend.”

“Giovanni is not my boyfriend. I haven’t seen him in weeks.”

“Whatever. Look, I believe her as far as she didn’t mean for it go as far as it went. Simply, because that drew you to me, when I think she first did it to make me look like a hysterical idiot in front of you.”

“She’s right. I didn’t want her coming to you for help. I certainly didn’t intend for her to live here.”

“Besides, Angie just had a baby, we can’t have her come home tomorrow to her mother, such as Vanessa is, being hauled up on charges. We can’t do that to Angie. Not right now.”

Vanessa looked like she was ready to spit at Sarah. “Always with my daughter.”

Scott stepped forwarded so suddenly both Sarah and Vanessa startled. He grabbed Vanessa’s arm and shook her. “You don’t utter another word about Sarah. You will be smiles and understanding to my niece when she comes home tomorrow. You will wait on her until she’s feeling better. You will tell her nothing of what you’ve done. But you will do everything in your small minded brain to be a good mother to her. Do you understand me, Vanessa? One wrong word, one wrong look toward her, and I will make sure you pay for everything you’ve done. Do you get me?”

Her eyes were rounded with near fright at Scott’s vehemence, at his uncharacteristic tone of ruthlessness. She finally nodded, as if too choked up to talk. Scott stared into her eyes long and hard before he finally pushed Vanessa away, disgust emanating from his body language, from his gaze, and in the curl of his lip.

“What about us, Scott?” The near whispered plea from Vanessa was shockingly compliant.

“As usual, you get to stay here because of your daughter. You will do everything in her best interest the next two years, to get her through high school, as unscathed as she should have been to start with. You’ll get a job, keep it, and pay for your own God damned bills. I won’t be your bank any longer.”

“But Angie—”

“Angie will have my support, my insurance, my protection over her until the day I die, Vanessa. What changes is you no longer have it.”

“Scott, please, I’m sorry.”

“Not as sorry as you’re going to be the next few years. I mean it, Vanessa, one slip up and I’ll make sure you pay for what you did.”

Sarah waited for the D-word, hoping, praying, nearly begging Scott to demand it of Vanessa. But he didn’t. Did Scott intend to live there? Go on as usual with Vanessa and Angie?

“I only did it because I love you. That’s all I ever wanted was for you to love me back, not just love me for Angie.”

Sarah couldn’t take it any longer. “And divorce, Scott! You have to divorce her.”

“But you promised me, until Angie graduates.”

Scott looked from one woman to the next. Silence was thick and heavy. Finally, he shook his head. “No. You and I are done. Divorce is the least you can do for me.”

Vanessa’s posture sank with disbelief and defeat. “Are you kicking me out of here?”

Scott shook his head. “No, this is your home more than it’s mine anymore. And it’s Angie’s.”

Scott glanced at Sarah, his gaze deep and searching. “I’ll be making other plans. I’ll bring Angie home tomorrow. You make sure you’re here when I do. Understood? I’ll talk to her. And you go along with whatever I say, got it?”

Vanessa nodded.

With that, Scott took Sarah’s hand and pulled her out the front door. They went over to Detective Swanson’s car, parked across the street. Scott gave him the details of Giovanni’s involvement. The only half-truths or outright lies were related to how Vanessa knew what she knew.

Detective Swanson didn’t seem convinced, but they were done worrying about it. By silent agreement they got into Scott’s car, Cookie included, and went to Sarah’s apartment. They were going back to the hospital to check on Angie, but they needed a few moments to themselves first.

Sarah sighed, glad to be home. It was almost over. She was okay, and about to get her life back. Only better, because she was not alone anymore.

Scott looked around her apartment. “So, Sarah, I was wondering since you like my dog so much, could we stay with you for a while? Seems I’m homeless, and you’d hate for Cookie to go cold and hungry, wouldn’t you?”

Sarah smiled, happiness squeezed her heart. “Well for Cookie, I guess I could let you stay here. Are you really going to let Vanessa keep your house?”

“Somehow Vanessa usually wins. She still gets my house, and my time.”

“Because of Angie?”

“Yeah, because of Angie. Can you live with that?”

“Depends. Are you committed to me?”

“I thought that part was obvious.”

“The last thing you’ve been is obvious with me.”

“Okay, how about I spend the rest of my life trying to make it obvious to you?”

“Okay, then I can live with Vanessa and Angie getting half of you. I love Angie too, you know.”

“I know that. It’s part of why I love you. I gather you love my dog, my niece, my truck, but do you love me?”

Sarah smiled her gaze locked with his. “I thought that part was obvious.”

“Maybe I’d like to hear it just once from you.”

“I love you.”

“Well, good. I didn’t want to think you’d been using me all this time.”

She punched him playfully on the shoulder and he smiled down at her, suddenly free and happy in ways he’d never thought possible.

Scott pulled Sarah’s hand impatiently as she kept talking with Kelly and Cassie. Sarah handed baby Amy into Kelly’s waiting arms. Kelly tucked the now one-year-old baby onto her hip. Amy babbled happily, tugging playfully on her mother’s long hair trying to get Kelly’s attention. Scott felt that same way pulling at Sarah’s hand for her attention.

They were at Amy’s birthday party. Angie was eating cake and talking with Luke. She had finally cut off her hair so her face was visible for the first time in years. She wore make-up and had eventually used the acne creams Sarah helped her get. She had lost the weight Amy had put on her and was now tall and thin, taller now, than Sarah even.

Scott’s heart warmed, looking at his niece. Angie had had a rough few months after Amy was born. But she’d gotten through it, and even the talk at school had finally quit, and the stigma that had made her a self-conscious outcast had died off.

And from there, Angie’s grades had gone up. She’d made a new, nicer group of friends. Sean and she had never managed more than hellos to each other, but she seemed unaffected by him anymore. Sarah and Sean had grown closer, as he was coming to terms with his own paternity.

Vanessa had been better with Angie. She’d had to hold a job. Finally, getting on as a cook for the local diner, work she actually liked and excelled at, which seemed to give her attitude a much needed boost toward the positive.

Scott still watched over them and made sure Angie had what she needed. It had taken a while but he and Vanessa had gotten back to being civil with each other, as usual, for Angie’s sake. They’d finally sat Angie down and told her everything, except for her mother’s part in Sarah’s stalker. Angie had accepted the news that he was moving out pretty well. She’d liked the idea that Scott planned to adopt her, and of course, he would still support her, no matter what.

Thank God, Sarah was who she was and didn’t begrudge the support he gave Vanessa for Angie’s care, along with the use of his house. He was pretty sure Sarah was the only girl alive who would accept all this.

Amy had flourished with the Tylers and Sarah and Scott had been a part of her life ever since. Not to the extreme he had been with Angie, but enough that Amy lit up any time she saw them coming toward her.

It had been a year since Sarah’s stalker, Giovanni, had been caught. It was revealed he had an extensive collection of pictures taken of Sarah, many from the night he’d disabled her car. When she’d been sure he was near, she’d been right. The pervert had used the pictures for numerous paintings. It turned out he was trying to frighten her, to document it and paint it. Somehow, as he’d told the cops, he’d found himself compelled to draw the nature of real fear, and Sarah had been his unwilling subject. There was nothing sexual to his harassing. It had all been for his art.

Sarah had been almost more disturbed by that than if he’d done it for his own sick obsession. Still, it was over and done. Giovanni was in prison and hopefully never to be heard from again.

“Sarah, come on, let’s go,” he whispered into her ear as she kept chatting with Cassie and Kelly.

Her face scrunched up in dismay. But she finally said her goodbyes and followed him to his car, where Cookie cheerfully jumped in. He restrained a sigh. Anywhere Sarah went, the dog went, and Scott had quit trying to explain that Cookie didn’t belong in his car. Now he accepted that his dog was his girlfriend’s dog, and wherever she went, the dog went.

“Why do we have to leave right now in the middle of Amy’s party? And why are you acting so weird?”

“I want to show you something before it gets dark.” He pulled the car out of the Tyler’s driveway.

“Tell me where we are going.”

“No. Just wait.”

She crossed her arms over her chest. Sarah hated surprises. Hated not knowing what was going on. He smothered a smile. She mostly hated not being in control. He loved taking away her control and seeing her get all riled up.

He pulled into the empty lot of his destination. She looked around, puzzled. Before them were dense trees and empty land.

“What are we doing here?”

“Come on,” Scott said, getting out of the car. She finally did too. Her shoulders were rigid in annoyance. He walked and knew she wouldn’t be able to resist following him out of curiosity. He stopped a short distance down the thin trail he was on.

Sarah stared open-mouthed at the view. They stood on a bluff, looking down on a stretch of empty beach with rolling waves splashing into dark sand and a scattering of jagged rocks that at, certain tides, were islands out in the surf. The sun was setting, the horizon was a mix of deep oranges and pinks. The sun burned into the water, the strange pinkish glow of the land making the view even more stunning.

“It’s beautiful,” she said, after a few moments of staring at it. “But what is it? Why are we here? Why did we have to leave Amy’s birthday early?”

He grinned at her impatience. Always down to business for Sarah.