After It's Over (19 page)

Kade reflexively checked his holster. His Glock 9mm was loaded on his right; his badge was displayed on the left. He stepped around the angry Agent Smith and tore through the front yard, ignoring the legion of police officers agents. Agent Smith hollered at him as he kicked in the front door. Kade burst inside the house and ran from room to room until he saw her.

Marie, dressed in her nightgown, lay slumped against the wall. Blood seeped through the thin material and dripped onto the white carpet. Her eyes were closed, she was very pale.

“Marie!” Kade knelt down at her side. She opened her eyes and looked at him with the saddest expression he’d ever seen.

“I should have left,” she murmured.

“You had no idea this would happen.”

Kade took off his jacket, doubled it over and held it over her wound. Marie’s breath was labored. Glancing around, Kade took stock of the situation. A police officer lay unmoving on the floor behind the front door.

“Where’s the mayor?”

“He’s here somewhere. He’s quite mad. I thought…” Marie gasped and clutched at her chest.

Kade searched her eyes. “Don’t speak. I’m going to get you out of here.” He scooped her up and carried her to the front door.

“I hoped that deep down he loved me.” Marie looked up at him and smiled. “Now, I see the truth.”

“He didn’t deserve you.”

Marie’s eyes fluttered and closed.

“I’m coming out!” he hollered.

Kade felt Marie go limp in his arms. “Stay with me! Stay with me! I need help!”

He ran out onto the front lawn. Paramedics raced to meet him. They took Marie from him and laid her on a board.

“She’s not breathing,” one paramedic said to another.

“We need to defibrillate. Officer, you need to step back,” the paramedic said to Kade.

The world around him went strangely silent. The only sound was his heart pounding in his ears. He nodded and stumbled backwards as SWAT appeared. He watched as they entered the house.

“Are you crazy?” Agent Smith poked him in the shoulder.

“Back off,” Kade said.

“I’m going to have your badge for impeding a federal investigation!” she snapped.

He didn’t look at her; she wasn’t worth the effort of turning his head. The paramedics exchanged a look between them as they tried repeatedly to restart Marie’s heart. One of them shook his head.

“You have to keep trying! Marie! Marie!” Kade called out, but his voice was lost amidst the din of chaos that surrounded them.

Marie’s skin was marked with faded bruises; her short hair looked like curly silk against her face. Her white satin nightgown was fanned out beneath her body on the green grass.

She looks like an angel.

Kade’s chest felt tight; he labored to catch his breath.

“I’m sorry. There’s nothing more we can do. She’s gone,” a paramedic said.

He sank to his knees at Marie’s side. “I’m sorry. I’m so sorry I let you down.”

“They’ve got him!” a voice cried out from the crowd.

Kade turned to see the mayor being dragged out of his house in handcuffs. He was dressed in pajamas and bathrobe, but there wasn’t a single hair out of place. He was an immaculate-looking murderer. Kade’s vision blurred. Rage welled up inside of him.

“I’m innocent! I’m innocent of all charges! I’ve been framed!” the mayor called out to the press. Reporters clamored to ask him questions.

In two long strides Kade crossed the front lawn, stopped the agents that held the mayor and punched the man as hard as he could in the nose. The mayor crumbled to the ground, wailing like a baby.

Instantly, hands grabbed Kade on both sides. His arms were twisted behind his back and he felt the bite of plastic zip ties across his wrist.

“You’re under arrest, moron,” a male F.B.I. agent said.

“Walk him to his car and let him go. We don’t need the hassle of filling out the paperwork,” Agent Smith ordered.

Kade shot her an unapologetic look as the other agents hustled him away from the prying camera lenses.

“You know that’s the end of your career, right? No one wants to deal with a sheriff who punches a prominent politician in front of fifty news cameras. You’re nothing but a liability now,” she called out.

“It was worth it!” Kade shot back.

The F.B.I. agents practically dragged him to his truck. Relief washed over him when they clipped the ties and let him go. When they were gone, Kade wiped his eyes and looked back at the scene.

I can’t do this anymore. I shouldn’t be doing this anymore. I can’t save anyone.

***

“I saw you on the news,” Joan said. She stood in the doorway of his office. “I told you to leave that mess alone, but you just had to go and stick your hand in the hornet’s nest.”

“Yeah, I know.” Kade held an empty box in his hand. He set it on his desk and opened his top drawer.

“What’re you doing?” Joan frowned.

“I’m resigning. Do you want this?” He held up the white elephant gift he got at the last office holiday party.

“No.” Joan sighed and wiped the mascara under eyes with her index finger. “You know it’s going to take them at least a month to fire you. Maybe longer if you get your union rep involved.”

“I don’t want to do this anymore.” Kade dumped one drawer after another into the box.

“Oh.” Joan scratched her head. “You tried, Kade. You did more than most people in your position would have done.”

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

“Okay, then what will you do now?” Joan sat down in the chair in front of his desk. She rifled through the box.

“Don’t know. Go build the deck I’ve been meaning to build since I bought the house five years ago.” He turned on his computer. “Maybe go do some volunteer work at St. Paul’s cathedral. Father John could use the help.”

“I wouldn’t know. I’m a Methodist.” Joan smiled at Kade.

“Right.”

“Who’s this?” Joan held up an old photo of Paige. “Is this that girl you stood up that night a little more than a year ago?”

“I didn’t stand her up. That was the night there was that double homicide out in Lakewood. A couple of gang bangers got into a fight and we had to hunt down the one that got away because he promised to kill an entire family out of revenge. Besides, I tried to call her later that night and every night afterwards for a straight month. My calls just went to voicemail.”

“So, what does she think happened to you?”

“I don’t know, but I’m not sure it matters because I heard she ran off and married some guy not long after that.”

“You two were high school sweethearts, yes?” Joan smiled. “I remember my high school sweetheart. You never forget your first love. You should reach out to her.”

“Why?” Kade rubbed the back of his head.

“Because you owe her an explanation. For all you know, she felt rejected and married the first yahoo that came around.” Joan stood up and sighed. “I will miss you, but hopefully the next sheriff has the good sense to listen to me.”

“How would I find her?”

“Why on Facebook, dummy. You did sign up after all.”

Joan left the door open behind her. Kade sat down at his desk; he took in the sound of the busy office—the phones were ringing off the hook. He turned his attention to the computer.

I guess it’s now or never.

Kade opened up his email account to find a long list of friend requests from Facebook. At the very top, was one from Paige Birch.

What are the odds that she’d reach out to me on this thing? Maybe it’s a sign. What do I say…?

Kade had never learned to type so he pecked out a very short message.

Sorry I missed our date. I want to explain why and there’s something I need to tell you. Call me.

He left his phone number and stared at the screen for a minute. Then he shut the computer down, picked up his box and put his hat on. He didn’t look back as he walked out of the station.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Paige stared at her computer screen. She’d received an email alert from Facebook on her phone. When she saw Kade’s name, she dropped her briefcase and hurried to the kitchen table to set up her laptop. Paige had alternated between staring at the screen and pacing around the kitchen for more than twenty minutes. She read his message over and over again.

Sorry I missed our date. I want to explain why and there’s something I need to tell you. Call me.

She’d waited more than a year to hear why Kade missed their date. A million scenarios had run through her mind about why he hadn’t shown up or even called. Paige had finally settled on the idea that she just wasn’t worth showing up for. So she left Kade behind, and moved on with Ben. It was a mistake to stay with her husband; he barely acknowledged her existence most days, but on some level Ben was what she felt like she deserved.

Do I call Kade? Would it be wrong to hear what he has to say?

The front door opened and Bianca rushed into the kitchen.

“I’m so late for the dance. I spent way too much time at Madison’s.” She stopped and looked around. “Wow, it’s so quiet here without Bev and Billie.”

“It is. I was just enjoying the solitude.” Paige closed the lid on her laptop. “How’s Madison? Is she excited for the dance?”

Bianca shrugged. “Where’s my dad? Shouldn’t he be here?”

She pulled off her jacket and threw it at the back of the chair next to Paige; she missed and the jacket landed on the floor.

Like father like daughter.

Paige frowned and picked it up. “I’m not sure where your dad is. He hasn’t answered any of my texts, and he didn’t make it home for dinner.”

“But he’s still going to chaperone the dance, right?”

“Absolutely! He wouldn’t let you down.”

At least, I don’t think he would. That man is so hard to read lately. He’s just all over the place.

“Hmm…” Bianca pulled out her phone and texted. “I’ll just remind him—”

“Remind me of what?” Ben asked, emerging through the door from the basement.

“Have you been home this whole time?” Paige asked.

“I don’t know. How long have you been home?” he replied. He climbed the stairs and walked into the kitchen.

“For an hour. I made dinner, but you never…” Paige shook her head and pointed to the plate of food sitting on the counter. “I made a really nice dinner.”

“Sorry. I didn’t see you when I got home, so I went down to the basement.”

Bianca looked from Paige to Ben and back to Paige, who tried to force a smile.

“You’d think we’re roommates and not a married—” Paige said.

“Hey!” Bianca planted herself in between Paige and Ben. “I’m going to be late for the dance. Dad, you need to change.”

“Let me talk to your stepmother first.”

“Paige?” Bianca waved a hand in front of her face.

“What?” She didn’t mean to snap, but the longer she thought about Ben coming home and saying nothing to her, the more irritated she became.

“Will you help me fix my hair please?” Bianca’s voice was small.

“Yes, I’ll help you.” Paige took a deep breath and held it.

“Okay, I’ll just go change.” Bianca turned and ran up the stairs to her bedroom, two at a time.

Paige folded her arms and glowered at Ben.

“Oh, come on. Don’t be that way. Let me make it up to you this weekend when the girls are gone. We could go do a bunch of fun stuff.” Ben smiled and tried to hug her, but Paige pushed him away.

“I’m your wife, not your roommate. I should know when you’re going to be home, and you should want to tell me.” She paced the kitchen, staring at the floor.

If I had married Kade, things would not be like this. He’d actually want to spend time together.

“Why do you have to make everything so hard, Ben?”

“I don’t know.” He rubbed his head and looked at his cell phone.

Paige sighed. “You and that stupid phone.”

“Look, I want to be a better guy, a better father and even a better husband. Believe it or not, I actually love you. From the moment I saw you in that bar—”

“Don’t bring up the bar, please.”

“Why not?”

“Because,” she avoided his eyes. She walked over to the kitchen table; her hands went protectively to her computer. She picked it up and held it.

“You were supposed to meet someone that night.” A light bulb practically went off above Ben’s head.

Paige nodded. “Yes, I was.”

“So, I won by default, huh?” He shoved his hands into his pockets.

She noted the dark circles under his eyes and the stubble on his cheeks. “It doesn’t matter. We’re married. What’s going on with you?”

And Kade doesn’t really love me or he would have showed up that night.

“Nothing,” Ben shrugged.

“Really? Because you look like you haven’t slept in a while and you always shave.”

“I’m fine. I…uh…I just want you to know that I love you, and I want to be a better husband. I want to be the kind of guy that shows up on time for dinner and takes the kids to school without being asked.” He walked over to Paige and cupped her chin in his hand.

“What’s come over you?” she asked. “You almost never say that you love me and when you do, it’s usually following a good meal and you’re really just saying you love the food.”

Ben rubbed her arm. “Let’s just say I’ve seen the light and I know it’s time to change. And I will. I’m going to be better. Come with me to the dance and we’ll do a little dancing.”

“I don’t know. I was looking forward to some alone time in a quiet house.”

“I’ll take you out for dessert afterwards. It’ll be fun.” Ben smiled warmly at her.

Paige looked down at the computer in her arms.

Ben gets one more chance to turn this around because I really do deserve to be happy. I see that now.

“Okay, I’ll go with you, but you had better not ditch me or even glance at your phone, got it?”

Ben nodded and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. “I’ll go get ready while you help Bianca.”

Paige watched Ben walk up to the stairs. Still dressed in her work clothes, she figured a skirt and blouse would be fine for a high school dance. She drummed her fingers on her laptop; they itched to open up her laptop, see Kade’s number, and call him. Her heart ached to hear his voice.

“Paige!” Bianca called.

“Coming!” She set the computer down on the table and hurried up the stairs.

***

Bianca studied herself in the bathroom mirror. Paige stood in the doorway and watched as her stepdaughter admired her dress.

“You did good, kid. The dress looks great.”

“I know it was pricey,” Bianca said.

“Nothing is too good for my girl,” Paige replied.

Bianca gave her a tight hug. “You’ve done more for me than anyone could have expected, so thank you.”

“You’re welcome.” Paige pushed Bianca’s hair back behind her shoulders. “What brought this on?”

“Well, I was talking to my mom and she pointed out how much you’ve done for us. She was able to get better because there was a good person taking care of us for the last year.”

Paige smiled; tears came to her eyes. “You want to go back to your mom, don’t you?”

Bianca nodded. “If we can. We love you, Paige. Even Billie loves you, but Mom needs us and we need her.”

Don’t think about how much that will hurt. Just focus on the time you have now.

“Okay,” Paige said. She picked up the curling iron. “Curls?”

“Yeah.” Bianca stood still as Paige took a section of her hair and ran it through her fingers. She carefully wound the hair around the hot iron.

“I was a little older than you when I got pregnant,” Paige said. Her voice was quiet. She wasn’t sure why she suddenly felt pressed to tell Bianca her story, but it seemed like a now-or-never moment.

“What?” Bianca tried to turn her head, but Paige held it straight. “You have a kid? Why am I always the last to know everything?”

“Billie is the last to know everything. The youngest is always the least informed. It’s like information trickles down or something.” Paige pulled the curling iron out of Bianca’s hair. Her stepdaughter’s mouth hung open in shock. “It was an ectopic pregnancy and I miscarried.”

“Oh. I’m sorry.”

“Me too. I miss that baby, but having you girls in my life helped me miss that baby a little less, especially since that child would have been about your age,” Paige said. She looked into the mirror and made eye contact with Bianca. She picked up another section of hair and wrapped it around the curling iron.

“That’s really sad.”

“My point in telling you this story is that you’ve got your whole life ahead of you, Bianca. Don’t repeat my mistake and go down a path that you aren’t ready for, okay?”

Bianca looked down and bit her lip. “I was late because Madison had some news.”

“Yeah?”

“Yeah, she’s pregnant and too sick to go to the dance.”

Paige nearly dropped the curling iron. “Your best friend is pregnant?”

“Yep, and her life is over for sure. Plus, her parents are really pissed and blaming each other. I’m really glad I didn’t…” Bianca stared down at her feet. Paige took a step back, lowered the curling iron, and lifted Bianca’s chin.

“You are a smart, beautiful girl with all the potential in the world, you know that?”

“I don’t know.”

“Well I do, and I’m going to tell you what my mother told me on the first day of kindergarten.” Paige cleared her throat and wiped her eyes.

“What’s that?”

“Little girl, you have your whole life ahead of you. Don’t screw it up.”

Bianca laughed. “Your mom was tough!”

“Yes, she was.” Paige laughed and hugged her stepdaughter. As she squeezed Bianca, she felt a twinge of anxiety.

Why in this happy moment does it feel like I’m about to lose everything?

***

“You know you can’t walk in with me, right?” Bianca asked.

Paige watched as her stepdaughter teetered a little in her heels. They were standing on the street outside of Bianca’s high school. Kids piled out of cars and made their way towards the gym; music throbbed from the building.

“I’m a chaperone, Bianca,” Ben said.

“So?” Bianca replied. She stood several feet away from them, acting like they were strangers.

“What your dad means is that eventually we are going to have to go inside,” Paige said.

“I know, but don’t act like you know me or speak to me at all.” Bianca chewed her lip. “Okay?”

Ben grunted and shook his head.

“Why don’t you head inside and we’ll wait out here for a few minutes so no one knows we’re together?”

“Sounds good!” Bianca let out a sigh of relief.

“You look very pretty. Doesn’t she, Ben?”

“Why couldn’t you have found a dress that was longer and had sleeves?” he asked.

“My dress is fine!” Bianca grumbled. “Can you wait at least three minutes before you come inside? That way I can mingle a little.”

“Bianca, it’s cold outside,” Ben protested.

Paige put her hand on her husband’s arm. “Go ahead.”

“Thanks.” Bianca smiled and walked away.

“You were a kid once, right?” Paige said to Ben.

“Briefly.”

“Don’t you remember how much you hated to be seen with your parents?”

“Well, my dad ran off his secretary when I was five and I never really saw him again, so that wasn’t an issue. My mom had to work two jobs to support us so she wasn’t around either.” Ben kicked a small rock with his shoe; he shoved his hands into his pocket.

“Well, let’s allow Bianca to have her moment even if you can’t relate,” Paige said.

Ben nodded. “You’re a great mom.”

“Don’t you mean stepmom?”

“No, I mean mom. You have been amazing with the girls, and I appreciate it.” Ben took her hand and squeezed it.

“Wow. Thank you for that.” Paige was so surprised at the appreciation that she didn’t know what to say.

“I’m going to be a better husband. You’ll see.”

He wants to be a better husband and I just want Kade. I’m not such a great wife, am I?

“Thanks, Ben.”

He pulled her in for a kiss. Just as their lips were about to meet, Paige heard fast footsteps behind them. The footsteps abruptly came to halt. Ben pulled away from her and took a step back. The confusion on his face prompted her to look over her shoulder. A young woman with dirty hair stood behind them.

“Beth? What are you doing here?” Ben asked.

“Beth? As in your ex-girlfriend?” Paige said.

Paige stared at the frazzled woman; her eyes were red, her large coat was stained and she chewed on her lip.