Thirteen

Jane guided Mitch, Averil’s son, to the edge of the pool as Averil came out of her parents’ house with two glasses of iced tea.

“You thirsty?” she called over.

Jane wasn’t thirsty; she was anxious. After Averil had told her Talulah had been injured, she wanted to call and check on her. But she knew if she did, or left Averil’s too soon, Averil would feel she was choosing Talulah over her and would be offended. This was a test of her loyalty, one she hadn’t faced before because Talulah had never come back to Coyote Canyon. Although Averil knew they got together once a year in Seattle, and Jane could tell she didn’t like it, it wasn’t quite the same as flaunting their continuing friendship under her nose. “Not right now.”

“It’ll be on the table when you’re ready.” Keeping her own glass, Averil sat in one of the wicker chairs in the shade of the patio, propped her bare feet up on the glass-topped coffee table and took a sip.

“You’re not getting in the water?” Jane asked. Swimming had been Averil’s idea.

“In a minute.” Sliding her sunglasses higher on her nose, Averil checked her phone.

“You’ve been tethered to your phone ever since I got here,” Jane said. “What’s going on?” She was afraid Averil was sending scathing texts to Talulah, so she was somewhat relieved when Averil put her phone aside, leaned back and said, “Fighting with Cash—as always.”

Cash was her ex-husband. Averil had met him at Montana State University and they’d settled in Bozeman where, after they graduated, he’d worked as a physician’s assistant. “What’s going on now?”

“He hasn’t sent his child support this month.”

“Why not?” Jane asked. “He knows perfectly well that he owes it.”

“Claims he doesn’t have the money.”

“I thought he had a good job.”

“Not anymore. He couldn’t get along with the doctor he worked for, so he quit.”

“How long ago was that?”

“Maybe...two months?”

“Why didn’t you tell me?”

“I didn’t realize I hadn’t. I didn’t keep it from you on purpose.” She adjusted the straps on her blue-and-white-striped bikini. “It’s just one more thing in the ongoing saga between us. To be honest, I try not to think about him anymore. But now that he’s not paying his child support, I have no choice.”

“He hasn’t found another job? How’s he been living since he quit?”

“My guess is that he’s found another woman and she’s supporting him. Or he’s working construction with his brother and getting paid under the table.”

“I can’t believe he’s not more of a stand-up dad.” She jerked her head toward Mitch, who was holding his breath and putting his face in the water. Averil’s son was still wearing floaties, but he was super proud of the way he was “swimming.” “This is one special kid.”

“Watch me, Aunt Jane!” Mitch said as soon as he came up for air.

She’d been watching him since she got there, but she smiled anyway. “I’m watching, buddy. Great job.”

“Cash doesn’t care about anyone other than himself,” Averil complained once her son’s head was under water again. “That’s why I had to leave him.”

“Is he still going to have Mitch come to Bozeman for a week before school starts?” She’d heard Averil mention that several times. They’d even discussed taking a weekend girls’ trip to Vegas while Mitch was away, since it would be Averil’s first opportunity in ages.

“Not if he doesn’t pay me.”

Mitch came up sputtering and splashing, and Jane smoothed the wet hair out of his face to keep it from dripping into his big brown eyes. “This kid deserves more.”

“Cash never was big on responsibility. I should’ve seen the warning signs before I married him.”

“How were you to know everything would turn out the way it did? He made it through college. That shows some dedication and hard work. What went wrong after that?”

“Being a full-fledged adult—and marriage. He hates being responsible for anyone else.”

The sliding door opened and Charlie stepped out of the house wearing chinos, topsiders and a golf shirt. “Where’s Mom and Dad?” he asked his sister.

“At a doctor’s appointment,” Averil said. “They haven’t been home all afternoon. Why?”

He shaded his hazel eyes against the sun and dipped his head when he noticed Jane. His medium-blond hair was starting to recede in front at the temples, but he was still generally handsome, with a decent build and a ready smile—the quintessential real estate agent. “Mom wanted me to get something out of storage for her so Dad wouldn’t have to.”

“Hi, Charlie!” Mitch yelled, excited to see his uncle even though Charlie’s appearance at his parents’ house certainly wasn’t a novelty. It seemed to Jane that she saw Charlie every time she visited.

Charlie mustered a smile for his nephew. “Hey, bud. You having fun?”

“I’m swimming! Watch me!” Mitch said and stuck his face back into the water.

“Looks like you swim at least as well as Jane does,” Charlie teased when he came up for air.

Jane scowled at him. She wasn’t in the mood to joke around. She was too mad at him for what he’d done last night. “I swim better than you do,” she grumbled.

“Mommy, I have to go pee!” Mitch cried, and Averil jumped up, grabbed a towel and scooped him from the water.

As she hurried into the house with her son, Charlie helped himself to the Doritos Averil had carried out earlier, as well as Jane’s iced tea. “How was Glacier?”

“Incredible. If you’ve never been, it’s definitely a bucket list item.”

“When’d you get back?”

“Yesterday.”

“And rushed right over to see Talulah?” She and Charlie hadn’t interacted at Hank’s Bar and Grill last night, but he’d obviously seen her with his ex-fiancée.

“Why wouldn’t I?” she said, challenging his statement.

“Because she’s not a nice person,” he said simply.

“According to you.”

He popped another chip in his mouth. “I have reason to feel the way I do.”

“Is that why you threw a rock through her window after I dropped her off last night?”

He lowered the bag. “What are you talking about?”

She rolled her eyes. “You know what I’m talking about. I can’t believe you’d do such a thing. That could’ve hurt her much more than it did.”

Tossing the bag of chips back on the table, spilling several in the process, he walked closer to her. “Talulah got hurt last night?”

Jane blinked in surprise. Was he playing her? “Yes! When you threw that rock through the window, she was hit by a piece of glass. She had to get seventeen stitches.”

His eyebrows shot up. “What?”

Jane peered at him more closely, trying to read his eyes, his expression. If he was lying, he was damn good at it. “You’re telling me you don’t know anything about it?”

“I don’t!” He spread out his hands as though that might somehow convince her. “Where’d she get cut?”

“On the arm. Averil was the one who told me about it.”

He stepped back. “And how did she know?”

The door opened and his sister stepped out.

“Why didn’t you tell me what happened to Talulah?” he asked her right away.

Averil stopped long enough to let her son slide down her body to reach the ground, at which point he rushed over to get back in the water. “Because I thought...” She looked to Jane for support but Jane remained silent. “We all thought—”

“That it was me?” He brought a hand to his chest. “I didn’t do it!”

Jane was beginning to believe him. “Then who did?”

“I have no idea!” he replied.

Averil came to the pool and got in, although she stayed on the steps. “I’m so glad. I was afraid you’d get in trouble.”

“I’m glad, too,” Jane said. “But...who else would be mad enough to throw a rock through her window?”

“It could’ve been anyone,” Averil said with a shrug. “We’re not the only ones who hate her.”

Charlie seemed genuinely bewildered. Averil did, too—or so Jane thought. But then she realized something that made her slightly uneasy. While Charlie was full of questions, it was Averil who had all the answers. That would’ve been fine; after all, she’d talked to Brant this morning, and he’d probably told her what had happened. That was how she knew. She’d even seen Talulah and the bandage on her arm.

The problem was...something about her manner just didn’t seem right.

Paul still wouldn’t answer his phone. He wouldn’t even respond to Talulah’s text messages.

Was he going to leave the staff high and dry at the diner with no manager? Did he feel what had happened warranted that reaction? If so, why? Personal aspects aside, the diner was his business, too.

In spite of the worry and the upset—and the constant checking of her phone—Talulah had cleaned up the dishes and started on the carrot cakes she planned to serve for dessert at the funeral dinner.

She wished she didn’t have to bake today, however. There was too much going on in her life. And although the weather outside had cooled slightly, having the oven on for so long heated the kitchen until it was as sweltering as it had been during the heat wave.

Fortunately, she had Brant’s portable air cooler. She’d never been more grateful for it. She also had his flowers. After she’d gotten home this morning, she’d taken them from the living room and set them on the windowsill over the sink where she could see them while she worked. She’d told herself she’d done that because she needed the positivity and encouragement they offered, but she knew that wasn’t all of it. She just didn’t want to examine her motives any more closely.

After mopping the sweat from her face with one of her aunt’s many flour sack towels, she turned her fifteenth and last cake round out of the pan and onto the counter. She could’ve chosen to do a simple one-layer oblong cake. That would’ve been easier to make, transport and serve. But she’d decided to do the food for a reason, so she was making the same tall, triple-layer round cake that was so popular at the diner. Because there was no more room in the fridge, however, she had to wait until after the sun went down to mix the cream cheese frosting. Otherwise, it might melt and the cakes wouldn’t show well, even after all the extra effort.

Tired of being on her feet all day, she was sitting at the dining table eating a caprese sandwich, with olive oil and fresh herbs and spices drizzled over the buffalo mozzarella, when she finally heard her phone ping with an incoming text.

Assuming it was from Paul, she felt her stomach tense. “Here goes,” she whispered to herself. But when she picked up the phone, she saw that it wasn’t her partner. It was Brant.

Dared she answer him? It would be smarter to break contact completely. Today, she’d thought of him almost as many times as she’d thought of Paul, and she knew that wasn’t a good sign. But a simple text exchange seemed innocuous enough.

This was the real question. She believed Brant was concerned about her arm. He’d taken care of her last night. But they both knew chances were the wound would heal without a problem. What the past few days might mean to her future was the bigger issue.

He won’t respond to me, she told him.

She only regretted the consequences. That was an important distinction. But telling him so felt as though it would put her at risk for backsliding. I’ll deal with the fallout. You have your own problems. Have you heard from Charlie?

He was direct, as usual. She felt the revelation tear out more of her resolve and struggled to galvanize herself against an entire unraveling. We always knew it was temporary, she wrote. How do you feel about Averil?

After a few moments, her phone dinged with an addition to his response. Do you wish I was?

No, but she knew he was trying to get her to admit that she still wanted to see him. And she couldn’t do that. Even if she was willing to face the disapproval of everyone in Coyote Canyon while she was here, she had to protect what was left of her relationship with Paul, as well as their business. She’s going to blame me, and I don’t want her to hate me any more than she already does.

Because it was one thing to wonder if their relationship had crossed certain boundaries, something she definitely felt when they were making love, and quite another to drag what she was feeling out into the open. She’d never been able to fully trust her heart when it came to men. Her track record proved that. The last thing she needed was to start something serious with Brant only to realize she’d ruined her life in Seattle for nothing.

Her heart started to beat harder. She should say no. “No” would put an end to whatever was going on between them. But she couldn’t bring herself to lie.

When he sent her a heart emoji, she nearly dropped her phone. He didn’t mean anything by it, she told herself. She couldn’t get hung up on a man who struggled with commitment himself. And she couldn’t establish any more ties to this area. She’d broken away from Coyote Canyon, moved on and built a life somewhere else—and she would return to that life once she finished settling her great aunt’s estate.

And yet she kept picking up her phone to stare at that heart.

“You’ve lost your mind,” she muttered and ate her sandwich. Then she went back into the kitchen and finished the cakes. It was midnight before she drove the last one to the church so she could squeeze it into the refrigerator. She didn’t have enough space to fit all five, even using the church fridge, so she was counting on the cooler night air to help keep the ones she had to leave on the counter fresh. Sarah Carrier had asked several members of Phoebe’s church to come before the funeral to transfer the rest of the food. That would help.

Talulah had to be up early. She still had to prepare her remarks, which was the most daunting aspect of the funeral. She had no idea how to eulogize a woman she’d respected and admired but also feared and never truly understood or connected with. And doing this in front of her greatest critics... But she refused to think about that right now. After she cleaned the kitchen, she went out to sit on the porch because she needed a few minutes to decompress before going to bed.

As she rocked in her aunt’s swing, she twisted around to frown at the broken window, which she’d covered with cardboard until the replacement she’d ordered online came in, and kept an eye on the driveway in front of her, too, just in case Charlie returned.

Fortunately, she didn’t see any sign of trouble. Steering her mind away from him, she breathed in the familiar scent of the dust that covered everything in late summer and the Mimosa Tree near the porch that still had its pink blossoms. It was beautiful in Montana. She had to admit that. She’d forgotten just how bright the stars were in her hometown...

Her phone buzzed in her lap. Again, her mind jumped to Paul. He hadn’t shown up at the diner tonight. Three staff members had to muddle through without him. But Selma, who was in her fifties and their most experienced employee, had assured Talulah that all had gone well.

Bracing for an argument, she picked up her phone. But once again, it wasn’t Paul. This time it was her mother.

Talulah had put too much work into the funeral to tolerate any disapproval from Carolyn. And yet she knew her mother couldn’t be happy with what she’d heard since Talulah had returned to town. Talulah didn’t want to explain the rumors—or admit that they were true.

Listening to the creak of the wooden swing, she considered ignoring the call. It’d been a hard day. Why not let her parents think she was asleep? She could contact them after the funeral and provide the recap they’d be looking for.

But it had to be painful for her mother to miss Phoebe’s funeral. Carolyn probably just wanted to feel as much a part of it as she could. So Talulah answered in spite of her reservations. “Hello?”

“You’re still up? I thought with the funeral tomorrow you might’ve already gone to bed.”

“No, I just finished up for the night.”

“Finished what?”

“The carrot cakes I made for the funeral dinner.”

“You made the cakes yourself?” her mother asked.

“Yeah.” Talulah didn’t add that she’d prepared the rest of the meal, too. She didn’t want to pander for praise.

“That was nice of you, honey. I know Phoebe would’ve loved that.”

“I hope so. How are things in Sierra Leone?”

“Hot!” she said with a laugh.

“Temps have been hot here, too.”

“Montana can’t even compare to the heat in Africa.”

That was probably true. “How’s Dad?”

“He’s doing great. It’s early here. He hasn’t gotten up yet.”

“What are you doing awake?”

“I couldn’t sleep.”

“Because...”

“I’ve been thinking about Phoebe. In some ways, she was like a mother to me. Your grandma was so often sick with lupus, so Phoebe helped out a lot. And then your grandma passed when I was still in college, so...”

Phoebe had been all she’d had from that point on. “Was she kinder and gentler back then?” Talulah asked.

“I don’t think I’d ever call Phoebe kind or gentle,” her mother said and they both chuckled. “She was gruff. But that was just her way. Deep down, she had a heart of gold and would always come through when you needed her.”

“I found some old photographs in the attic of you and Grandma and Phoebe that you’re going to like. Phoebe’s holding you and looking as excited as I’ve ever seen her.”

It grew quiet and a telltale sniff told Talulah her mother was weeping.

“Thanks for being there for me since I can’t be there myself,” her mother said once she’d regained her composure.

“Of course,” Talulah said. “Are you going to be okay?”

“Oh, yeah. It’s just...hard to lose someone who’s been such a big part of your foundation.”

“The timing hasn’t made it any easier.”

“You’re right. I wish I could be there.”

“I bet.” But then Carolyn would probably feel some guilt and question whether she was as committed to the mission as she should be.

“Have you seen Charlie?”

“As a matter of fact, I have.”

“How’s he treating you?”

Talulah peered under the bandage on her arm. She knew her mother would hear about what’d happened at some point. She might even tell Carolyn herself. But she wasn’t going to do it now. She preferred to give Carolyn time to grieve for Phoebe without making her worry about Talulah’s situation, too. “He’s not friendly, of course, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.”

“You’re such a strong woman. I’m so proud of you.”

Surprised that her mother hadn’t brought up the gossip swirling around her, Talulah stopped rocking. “You are?”

“What mother wouldn’t be?” Carolyn said, sounding equally surprised.

“Even though I walked out when I was supposed to marry the son of one of your best friends?”

“I won’t lie—I wish you’d backed out a little earlier,” she said, “but at least you didn’t marry a man you wouldn’t be happy with.”

Sinking back into the swing, Talulah started to rock again. “That makes me feel a lot better. Thanks, Mom.”

“I love you.”

“I love you, too.”

“I should let you go so you can get some sleep. Tomorrow will be a big day.”

Talulah was about to say goodbye when she saw headlights on the road in front of her aunt’s house. A vehicle was approaching. Normally, she wouldn’t have thought anything of it. Anyone could be passing by, even teenagers out screwing around like she used to do with her friends. But it was a bit late for that. “Talulah?” her mother prompted.

“I’m here,” she said into the phone, but jumped to her feet and hurried back into the house. “I’m heading off to bed,” she added, trying to keep the alarm out of her voice. “I’ll call you after the funeral tomorrow.”

“Don’t worry that it might be late in this part of the world. I’ll be anxious to hear from you.”

“I understand.” She disconnected and pressed her back flat against the wall as she peered carefully around the edge of the small side window next to the one that’d been broken last night.

It was a car, not a truck. She could tell by the general size and shape.

Whoever it was didn’t turn down her drive, like the vehicle last night. It slowed to a crawl as it passed, however, which led her to believe the driver had come by her house intentionally and wasn’t just out driving around.

Who was it? And what did they want? Talulah was afraid to stick her head out too far for fear that whoever it was would see her and decide to turn in and throw something else or terrorize her in some other way. It wasn’t until after the car had passed and started to speed up again that she tried to get a better look.

Then she didn’t know if it was an inability to see clearly or prejudice that made her think it was the same car Averil had been driving when she showed up at Brant’s this morning.