Because I'm Watching (23 page)

“Yes, I'm taking the hot yoga class tonight because Archie pulled his hamstring. Is it your birthday?”

“No. Archie pulls a lot of muscles, doesn't he?”

At last Kateri had pried Charlotte's attention away from the delivery. She planted her hands on her skinny hips and said hotly, “I tell him and tell him not to overstretch in hot yoga, but when there's a handsome man there, he must show off!”

Lacey barked and nudged her bowl with her nose.

Good dog.
“I've got to feed Lacey, and you'd better hurry or you'll be late.”

Charlotte's gaze snapped back to the box. “But—”

Kateri used her walking stick to gently shoo Charlotte out. “Thanks again! Don't be late on my account! See you later!” When she got the door shut, she thankfully leaned against it. If she hung around that young woman for long, she'd be talking in all exclamation points, too.

She fed Lacey—for such a girly dog, Lacey had a good and insistent appetite—then poured a can of soup into a pan and put it on the stove. While it heated, she ignored the cardboard box, and when that didn't work, she removed it off the coffee table and placed it beside the couch, ripped the return label off, and tossed it into the garbage. Then she used her foot to nudge the box as far behind the couch as possible. Which wasn't enough, because it was still visible.

Charlotte was right, it was heavy, and Kateri felt certain she knew what it contained and what it meant. She didn't care. She did. Not. Care.

She tried to eat her soup and couldn't, tried to ignore the memories that whispered cruel things in a kind, overly patient tone.

The phone rang.

She jumped, glanced at the caller ID, picked up, and said, “Rainbow, I'm really tired and want to get ready for bed.”

“It's not late,” Rainbow said. “Do you know what that old fart Mr. Caldwell said to Luis?” Her voice made it clear she had the juiciest gossip ever.

No, no, no. I left so I wouldn't be involved.

“He said the only reason Luis got the position was because he's a Mexican.”

Kateri thumped her head against the wall. “I didn't want to know.”

“Then Luis said the only reason Mr. Caldwell was ever elected state senator was because he was white.”

Kateri groaned. “Oh, Luis.”

“The old guy threatened to beat Luis up.”

“Luis is fifty years younger!”

“Didn't matter. Dax had to come out of the kitchen and tell them to take it outside. And they did. Now stay awake because I'm coming over.”

“No, Rainbow! I really don't want to know.”

The doorbell rang.

Lacey barked.

“Too late, I'm here,” Rainbow said.

Kateri had been sucked into the maw of curiosity. She limped over, opened the door, looked at a grinning Rainbow, and hung up the phone. “Then what happened?”

Rainbow killed her phone, too. She petted Lacey and held up a pizza box. “Have you eaten?”

“Yes!”

“What? A can of soup?”

Kateri hadn't really eaten it, so she said, “Soup is very filling.” At the smell of garlic, cheese, and basil, her stomach growled.

“Heh!” Rainbow pushed her way inside.

Lacey pranced after her. Like most people in Virtue Falls, she adored Rainbow.

Of course, Rainbow immediately spotted the shipping box. “What's that?”

“God, you're nosy.” Kateri should have flung an afghan over it.

“That's how I know everyone's business. What did you get?”

“Maybe it's your birthday present.”

Rainbow spun to face Kateri. “When's my birthday?”

Damn.
“Um, August?”

“April.” With great ceremony, Rainbow put the pizza and her beer down on the coffee table. “My birthday is in April.”

Did Kateri get points for guessing an “A” month? “Did I miss it again? I mean, I'm a lousy friend and I wanted to make up for my negligence so I bought you this great…” she gestured at the package.

“Thank you, Kateri Kwinault, and I will open it now.”

“No. Come on. I need to wrap it…” Kateri watched as Rainbow tromped—yes, tromped—over to the box, picked it up, and carried it to the breakfast bar. “Okay, it's not a present. It's something from—”

“Baltimore. Your father. I can read the postmark, you know. You'd think a high roller like him would send packages FedEx overnight.”

“You'd think.” Kateri watched morosely as Rainbow ripped all the tape away from the package, pulled out the textured black box, and raised the lid.

Lacey subsided on her bed, put her head on her paws, watched the two women as if puzzled by the tension.

Rainbow looked inside and gasped. “Wow. Wow, this is … gorgeous. I've never seen anything like it. You know what it is?”

“A raven, right?”

“A raven?” Rainbow sent an incredulous glance at Kateri. “A piece of art! Nineteenth-century black cast iron, eighteen inches tall, weighs”—she lifted it from the box, unwrapped it from the bubble wrap—“a hefty twenty pounds.”

“Been watching
Antiques Roadshow
?”

“That. And my parents are artists. Textile artists, but they know their way around the field.” Rainbow placed the statue on the counter and stepped back. “Look at those eyes. They watch. They know. This is brilliant.”

Kateri remembered how the raven watched, what the raven knew. She remembered being transfixed by that fixed, beady-eyed gaze.

“Ravens are great Native American icons of magic and transformation. Your father must have sent it to you because—”

Kateri interrupted. “It's got nothing to do with Native American culture. This is Edgar Allan Poe's raven.”

Hand on chest, Rainbow staggered back. “
The
raven?”

“Evermore.” It was almost funny to see Rainbow's awe.

“So not just art. Art with a history. This thing must be worth—”

“A lot.” Memory swamped her.
Don't touch that, Katherine. It's not a toy. It's valuable, it's been in this well-respected family for a hundred years, and you are … Just don't touch it.

Rainbow checked the postage again. “At least he insured it. Generous gift. You going to call him and thank him?”

“No.”

“Someday you're going to have to let go of your father issues.”

“No.”

“Hm.” That single word held a world of judgment. Rainbow looked around Kateri's tiny living room. “Where are you going to put it?”

“Back in the box to send it back.”

“Right.” Kateri had never told Rainbow—had never told anyone—about her time in Baltimore, but Rainbow knew better than to argue. “What about the photo album?”

Kateri froze. Her lips barely moved. “What photo album?”

From the bottom of the box, Rainbow lifted an old-fashioned leather-bound photo album with black pages and stick-on photo corners. She opened to the first page. “Family photos. Wow. I took that picture. Your dad and your mother. At the beach. She looks so happy.”

Disbelief. Anguish. Rage. Her father had sent Kateri
that
? The
bastard.
In a guttural tone, Kateri said, “Get rid of it.”

Lacey lifted her head and growled.

Kateri's voice rose. “Get rid of the whole thing. The raven. The album!”

Hackles raised, Lacey raced to stand between Kateri and Rainbow, then looked between them, obviously bewildered. She knew Rainbow. She liked Rainbow. Why was she protecting Kateri from Rainbow?

“Don't you want to see…?” Rainbow saw Kateri's expression. “No. You don't. So … send it back?”

Kateri's chest hurt. “Throw it away. Dump it.”

Rainbow looked into the open album, then back up at Kateri. In obvious distress, she said, “Listen, I'll take it, keep it until you—”

“Leave it here.” Kateri put on a pleasant face, moderated her voice, called her dog to her side, and leaned down to rub her ears. “I'll … deal with it.”

“Right.” Rainbow shut the photo album, plopped it in the bottom of the box, wrapped up the raven and placed it on top, put the lid back on. She took the box back to its spot beside the couch, grabbed the pizza and beer, and brought them to the kitchen counter. She managed to sound almost prosaic when she asked, “Want to hear what happened with Luis and Mr. Caldwell or not?”

That was Kateri's cue to be normal. And be normal she would. If she didn't, Rainbow would start talking about cleansing Kateri's aura with crystals to remove the poisonous hate that corroded her soul. There had been times when that hate had given her backbone, kept her alive. “Sure. Let me get the plates.” She gave Lacey one last pet and urged her toward her cushion on the kitchen floor. “So Luis and Mr. Caldwell took it outside and…?”

“Deputy Bergen came out of city hall and across the street at a run—”

“How did
he
hear about it?”

“I called him. Jeez, like we need your Coastie boyfriend in jail just when the affair is getting interesting.”

Automatically Kateri said, “We're not having an affair.”

“Whose fault is that? Anyway, Bergen towed Mr. Caldwell away. Mr. Caldwell was shouting at him.”

Kateri began to relax and so did Lacey. “Poetic justice. I hope Bergen and his slimy campaign manager are at loggerheads.”

“Luis didn't come out looking too well, either. Insulting people because they're white!” Rainbow stuck out her freckled arm. “Look at that. Certified white bread!”

“Me—I don't have to hate someone because of his language or his skin. There're always enough assholes around I can hate people individually.”

“Truth. Get yourself something to drink.” Rainbow opened up the pizza. The garlicky scent got stronger and Kateri could see what looked like the most delectable margarita pizza ever. “This is from Sienna's Sandwiches. She got a wood stone oven and now she's making dough and gourmet pizzas.”

Kateri popped the top on a bottle of sparkling water and subsided on a bar stool. “Of course she is.” Luis's former girlfriend hid gritty ambition behind a sunny disposition, a peaches-and-cream complexion, and a sweet smile.

“Hate isn't a healthy emotion,” Rainbow warned.

“I don't hate her”—exactly—“I simply don't trust her.”

“Me, either.” Rainbow smirked. “I sure didn't tell her I was sharing the pizza with
you.
”

One bite and Kateri admitted, “Good.”

“Could you say it more grudgingly?” Rainbow leaned forward into her juicy gossip position. “Have you heard Stag Denali is back in town?”

That brought Kateri up short. “I thought he was in prison for … something.”

“He was. For beating up some guy who insulted him. Or maybe for killing him.” Rainbow waved an airy hand. “After a couple of years, his lawyers got him released. He's been out for a while, making money hand over fist.”

Stag was Native American, tall with a build that was, ironically, rawboned John Wayne-esque, with broad shoulders, narrow hips, and long, long legs. Which was about all anyone knew about him for sure. Rumor claimed he was from Alaska. Rumor also claimed he started his career young, moving up from bouncer to enforcer to the guy who developed casinos on the reservations and had connections to the mob.

Kateri sipped her sparkling water. “I haven't seen him in years. Since I was a teen. Did I ever have a crush on him!”

“Join the club. Strip that man down to a loincloth, give him a hatchet, and he can scalp me anytime.… Was
that
racially insensitive?”

“Might have been, Miss Certified Pasty White.”

“He still looks good. Real good.”

“Glad you cleared that up.” Kateri was possibly more glad than she wanted to admit. “Life being what it is, I figured he would develop a paunch.”

“He came into the Oceanview Café for pie and coffee. He looks like a man who works out every day … by running naked through the forest.”

“Insensitive again,” Kateri warned.

Rainbow grinned. “He likes me that way.”

“I don't think Stag Denali has ever met a woman he didn't like.”

“Yes, he's one of the good ones. Do you
still
have a crush on him?”

“I don't know. I'd have to see him again … running naked through the forest.”

Rainbow snorted beer out of her nose.

Kateri pumped her fist in victory and passed her a napkin.

When they settled down, they finished the pizza, and Kateri asked the question she hated to ask. “What's Stag Denali doing in Virtue Falls?”

“He didn't say.”

“You didn't ask?”

“Of course I did. He just didn't say.”

To Kateri, that sounded like trouble had come to town.

Her sense of disaster grew when she took a bathroom run, came out, and discovered Rainbow was gone—and so was the box from Baltimore.

Kateri felt as if an old bomb had started ticking toward detonation; perhaps it had always been there and she'd only now noticed.

*   *   *

Sunday, Luis took Kateri to the movies, bought her a box of Raisinets, and as promised, ate them all.

Monday they drove to the far end of town, grabbed food from Birdie's Fish and Chips, climbed the sand dunes, and ate while watching Lacey chase the seagulls.

Tuesday after work he dropped by and took her and Lacey for a walk down to the marina, newly rebuilt since the tsunami and a burgeoning tourist attraction.

Wednesday it rained, which was okay because Natalie was released from the hospital and sent to a new foster home. Kateri found herself reassuring the terrified child; she promised to e-mail every day and call once a week forever or until Natalie no longer needed her. Then she went home and cried. When Luis showed up at her door she tried to send him away. He took one look at her tear-stained face, charged through the doorway, ordered pizza
not
from Sienna's, sat on the couch, and held her while she told him too much about her childhood … but not all. Not nearly all.