Broken Pieces (8 page)

“What’s his name? Maybe I know his dad.”

“Ryan Kent.”

Mariah frowned. “I remember a Doug Kent who was two years older than me.” What Mariah remembered about Doug was that he had been mean to her in high school, always glaring at her or bumping into her accidentally on purpose. “I wonder if Ryan is his son.” Kelsey shrugged. “So, what did you say to him?”

“That I didn’t even know my grandpa, but what I knew of him I didn’t like too much either.” She shrugged. “It wasn’t a big deal.” She raised the soda can to her lips and took a long drink, then scooted back and got up from the table. “I’m gonna take a shower. I’ll be down in a few minutes.”

“I’ll make us some sandwiches for supper,” Mariah said. “And we have some leftover potato and green bean salads that Finn brought over earlier.”

“Sounds good,” Kelsey said as she left the kitchen.

When she was gone, Mariah leaned back in her chair and wondered why she had a feeling that having Jack over to dinner wasn’t a great idea. What point was there in getting close to anyone here?

Oh, and Mariah, I still want to kiss you
. His words echoed inside her head.

She jumped up from the table and got to work setting the table for dinner, refusing to spend another minute thinking about kisses and Jack.

As she and Kelsey ate, Kelsey talked about the kids she’d met and how she and Katie almost seemed like sisters. They liked the same music and television shows; they were both good in science and hated math. Katie even liked to cook, although not on the same scale as Kelsey.

Kelsey started talking about a couple of the boys she’d met and Mariah saw a spark in her daughter’s eyes as she talked about a particular young man named Justin. Thankfully they had already had their talk about dating and had agreed that when Kelsey was sixteen, she could date. Until that time she could go out in a group, but not with a boy alone.

After dinner Kelsey went up to her bedroom to listen to music and talk on the phone to Katie, and Mariah cleared off the table.

She’d just finished in the kitchen when a knock fell on the front door. She peeked out the side window and saw that it was Marianne Francis.

“Marianne,” she said as she opened the door.

The pretty woman smiled with a touch of apology.
“I’m sorry to drop in without calling, but I was driving home from the store and passing right by and just decided to stop on impulse.”

“Please, come in.” She opened the door to allow the petite brown-haired woman inside. “Come on into the kitchen. Would you like a glass of iced tea or a soda?”

“No, no thanks. I’m fine.” She sat at a chair at the table and smiled. “I just wanted to stop in and tell you how much I enjoyed seeing you again last night. It made me remember school lunches with you and Clay and Roger and me.”

Mariah remembered and returned Marianne’s smile. Clay and Charles and Roger had all been best friends in high school, so it was only natural that when Mariah started seeing Clay, she starting hanging out with Marianne. The two might have become best friends if fate hadn’t intervened.

“I know Sherri was kind of tough on you last night,” Marianne continued.

Mariah smiled wryly. “If she thinks I’ve come back here to claim my long-lost high school sweetheart, she’s definitely mistaken.”

“I know, but Sherri has been feeling bad about herself since her last baby. She gained more weight than usual and hasn’t been able to take it off. She’s prickly as a pear these days and you were just an easy target for her unhappiness.”

“You and Sherri are friends?”

Marianne nodded. “Sherri and I have been friends since seventh grade, when my family moved here. Even then she was crazy about Clay. It nearly broke her heart when he got so serious with you. Anyway, that’s not why I’m here. I wanted to tell you that
anytime you feel like having lunch out and want company, just give me a call.” Her gaze went to the nearby window and she stood. “I’ve got to get home.”

“You don’t have to rush off,” Mariah exclaimed, jumping to her feet as Marianne headed for the front door.

“But I do,” she replied. “Roger wasn’t kidding last night when he said I see boogeymen in all the shadows.” A tiny frown danced across her forehead as she looked to the west where the sun was quickly sinking into the horizon. “I don’t like to be out after dark. I try never to be out after dark. Call me,” she said as she went out the door.

“I will,” Mariah promised. She watched as Marianne hurried toward her car. She half ran with her keys at the ready, as if frantic to beat the sun to bed.

When Marianne’s car had disappeared down the driveway, Mariah locked the door, turned off all the lights downstairs, then went up to check on her daughter.

Kelsey was on the phone and when Mariah came into the room, she cupped her hand over the receiver and looked at her mother with a hint of impatience. “Do you want something?”

“No, I was just going to sit and talk to you for a little while before heading to bed.”

“I’m talking to Katie right now.”

“Okay, then I’ll just see you in the morning,” Mariah said, an unexpected pang resounding in her heart. As she turned away from the doorway, she heard Kelsey whisper, then giggle.

She was growing up, Mariah thought. She didn’t need her mother to tuck her in anymore. She would
rather talk to her friends. And that was the way it was supposed to be, but that didn’t make it any easier.

Mariah went into her bedroom, changed into her nightclothes, then sat on the edge of the bed and used her cell phone to call Janice.

“What are you doing?” she asked when her friend answered the phone.

“Eating a bowl of ice cream and watching some dumb reality show on the tube,” Janice replied. “What about you?”

“Sitting on the side of the bed feeling sorry for myself because my daughter would rather talk to her new friends instead of me,” Mariah said honestly.

Janice chuckled. “Ah, the pains of motherhood. You realize that’s going to happen more and more often. You’ve been a great mother, Mariah, but you’ve pretty much built your life around your daughter.”

“That’s not true.” Mariah stretched out on the bed. “I have my work.”

“True, but most of your time and attention has been focused on Kelsey. You need to get a hobby. You need to get a man.”

“I don’t need a man,” she retorted. “I’ve done very well with my life by myself. I don’t need anyone.”

“Okay, you’re right,” Janice replied. “But as Kelsey gets more involved with her friends and spends more time away from home, wouldn’t it be nice to have a companion? We human beings, we’re social animals. We enjoy the company of others.”

“This conversation was supposed to be about Kelsey, not about me,” Mariah finally said with a touch of aggravation.

“I just want to tell you that I admire you tremendously,” Janice said. “Not many women would be able to do what you did, to have a baby under the circumstances you had and love that baby wholeheartedly.”

“I couldn’t have done it without you,” Mariah replied softly. “If you hadn’t rescued me from that shelter, I don’t know what would have happened to me.”

“You would have been fine. You’re a survivor, Mariah. You’re so strong. And you’ll survive Kelsey’s teenage years just fine,” she finished with a laugh.

They talked a few more minutes, then hung up. Night had fallen outside and Mariah got up and went to Kelsey’s room. She was off the phone and her room was dark except for the small night-light she’d slept with since she was a child.

She was already asleep, her iPod next to her on the pillow and the earphones firmly planted in her ears. Nothing short of a bomb blast beneath her bed would wake her now. She’d always been a hard sleeper and that combined with the music that would play all night in her ear made it next to impossible to wake her up until she was ready.

Mariah stood in the doorway for several long minutes, simply watching the rise and fall of her daughter’s chest, loving the sight of her face in slumber.

Mariah had never regretted her decision to make up a husband, to give Kelsey the comfort of believing that she’d been conceived in love. It was certainly easier to be the child of a man who had been killed in a car accident than of one who had raped and brutalized.

She fought the impulse to walk over and kiss
Kelsey on her cheek and instead returned to her bedroom and turned off the light.

Rather than get right into bed, she walked to the window and stared outside into the darkness. A full moon overhead illuminated the tops of the trees and spilled shimmery silver light to the ground.

Her window was open and the sound of crickets and insects created a rhythmic hum that was almost soothing. Her gaze automatically went to the grove of trees in the distance, the place where she’d been attacked.

In the moonlight the area looked tranquil, almost beautiful, but it was a place where evil had visited. The trees should be misshapen and ugly to reflect the evil that had been in their midst. But instead they were magnificent, beautiful oaks with leafy canopies.

She drew a weary breath and started to turn away from the window, but something gave her pause. She froze, a faint alarm ringing softly in the back of her head.

The night breeze fluttered in the window, bringing with it complete silence. Something had disturbed the insects. Everything that had been singing and creaking moments before had stilled.

As she stared at the stand of trees, a shadow detached itself from one tree and ran to disappear into the darkness surrounding another.

The alarm screamed inside her. Her heartbeat crashed in double time.

Somebody was outside.

Was it him?

Oh, God, had he come back for her again?

Chapter 9

“I
f somebody was there, they aren’t there now,” Clay said as he stood in Mariah’s kitchen. “Are you sure it wasn’t some animal? We’ve got good-sized raccoons around here.”

Mariah shook her head and belted her robe more tightly around her. She felt foolish, but she was certain of what she’d seen. “It was a person.”

“Could you tell if it was a man or a woman?” he asked.

“No, it was just a shadow, but definitely a person running from tree to tree.”

Clay frowned. “Did you see where they went?”

She shook her head. “I backed away from the window and called you,” she replied. Her heart still pounded too fast, although she was grateful that Clay had responded to her call as quickly as he had. “I just can’t imagine what anyone was doing out there in the dark.”

Clay leaned against the counter and smiled. “You’ve got a pretty teenage daughter, a new girl in town, who I imagine has all the boys stirred up. It’s possible one of them decided to come out here and
try to get a peek at her through a window, or was lurking out there trying to get up his nerve to knock on the door and talk to her.”

“At this time of night?” Mariah glanced at the kitchen clock. Almost eleven.

“It’s late, but it’s summertime and besides, nobody ever said teenage boys had a lick of sense.”

Mariah felt herself begin to relax at his words. Maybe he was right. It certainly made more sense that a teenage boy was sneaking around to get a peek at Kelsey than a rapist was coming back for Mariah sixteen years later.

“Maybe you’re right,” she agreed. “I’m sorry I called you out here for this. I guess I overreacted.”

“Nonsense, that’s my job.” He pushed off the counter and straightened. “I can understand you being a little nervous out here with it just being you and your daughter. I don’t want you to hesitate calling me if you feel unsafe about something.” He headed toward the back door. “I’ll do one more sweep around the house and the yard before I go.”

“Thanks, Clay,” Mariah said. “I really appreciate it.” She locked the door after him, then leaned heavily against it. Those moments between the time she’d seen the shadowy figure and Clay’s arrival had seemed an eternity.

There was no question that Clay’s scenario of a love-struck teenage boy made more sense than her own fear that her attacker had returned for her.

She shoved off the door and after double-checking that all windows and doors were locked up tight, she climbed the stairs once again to her bedroom.

A view from the window showed Clay with his flashlight searching the general area where she’d told
him she’d seen somebody. She watched until he finished up his final search, then got into his patrol car and drove off.

Thankfully Kelsey had slept through the whole thing. Mariah didn’t want Kelsey to know what a fraidy-cat she was, so she was grateful that her daughter usually slept like the dead.

Getting beneath the clean-smelling sheets of her bed, she tried to calm herself, tried to will her heartbeat to slow. When she’d recognized she would have to return to Plains Point to deal with the estate, she hadn’t really realized how much it would bring back the fear, a fear that she had put behind her over the years.

She swallowed against that fear now and hugged one of her pillows against her chest. She had to fight against it, refused to allow it to rule her during her time here. If she gave in to it, then she wasn’t a survivor—she was a victim once again. If she gave in to the fear, then he won—his words to her were true, that he’d broken a piece of her and she belonged to him forever.

Chapter 10

“B
eef Wellington,” Kelsey said the next morning as they were eating breakfast. “I think that would be good for dinner tonight.”

“Isn’t that kind of difficult?” Mariah asked. She figured anything that had a duke’s name in it had to be hard to make.

“On a scale from one to ten, with ten being the most difficult, it’s about a six. But I’m a seven on the cooking scale, so I should be able to pull it off.” Kelsey flashed her a confident smile. “With it I’ll serve steamed broccoli spears, a corn medley and dinner rolls. For dessert we’ll have to check what fresh fruit they have in the store.”

“Sounds great, my little Emeril.”

“You know what this means?” Kelsey paused to take a sip of her orange juice. “This means a major grocery shopping trip this morning.”

“We’ll have to wait until Joel gets here before we can leave. He’s going to work some more today on ripping up the carpeting.”

“How are you going to entertain a gentleman caller with the living room all torn up?” Kelsey asked.

“He’s just coming over to eat. Any entertaining I do can be done right here in the kitchen,” Mariah said. “At least Joel hasn’t started on this floor yet.” She looked at the ugly tile beneath her feet.

At that moment a knock on the back door indicated Joel had arrived to begin his work for the day. By ten thirty Mariah and Kelsey were in the grocery store, Kelsey armed with a list the length of her hair.

As Mariah followed behind her daughter, she tried to tamp down the impulse to call Jack and cancel the whole night. What had she been thinking when she’d agreed to dinner? She’d obviously had a momentary lapse of sanity.

What was it about the handsome veterinarian that made her forget that she wanted no ties here in Plains Point? What was it about him that sent her pulse racing in a wild, exciting way? Why did the thought of him kissing her weaken her knees and form a ball of fire inside her stomach?

“I think that’s it,” Kelsey said forty-five minutes and a full cart later.

“If you keep this up, I’m going to have to take a second job to keep you in the gourmet food you like to cook,” Mariah said as they headed to the cashier.

“It will all pay off when I’m writing best-selling cookbooks and have my own show on the Food Network,” Kelsey replied.

They rounded the corner and nearly collided with another cart pushed by Sherri Matheson. “Sorry,” Kelsey exclaimed.

“Hi, Sherri,” Mariah said.

The plump blonde curled up her lip in obvious disdain. “Mariah,” she said with a curt nod of her
head, then pushed ahead of them to a cashier on the opposite side of the store.

“What’s her problem?” Kelsey muttered as they got in the nearest line.

“Ancient history,” Mariah replied. “I think she’s pegged me as a big-city, man-hungry woman who’s after her husband.”

Kelsey giggled. “It would be closer to the truth if she thought you were an undercover nun.”

Mariah slapped her daughter’s arm playfully.

By the time they returned to the house, Mariah’s nerves about the evening to come were in full scream. As Kelsey began the food preparations, Mariah went upstairs and indulged in a long, hot bubble bath.

As she lazed in the water, the scent of jasmine filled the air and she leaned her head back against the cool porcelain and tried to calm herself.

The meal meant nothing. Jack Taylor meant nothing. They’d share some pleasant conversation, a good meal; then it would be over and Jack would go back to his life and she’d eventually get back to hers.

It was silly to stress about a simple meal. By the time she got out of the bathtub, wonderful scents drifted up the stairs from the kitchen. She grabbed a long cotton skirt and a matching T-shirt from the closet and dressed.

At least if the conversation was stilted and awkward, the food would be good, she thought as she put on her makeup. An hour and a half, two at the most, how long could a meal take to eat?

She pulled her hair into a ponytail at the nape of her neck, then checked her reflection in the mirror.
She looked cool and casual, perfect for a simple dinner. But her eyes shone with an anticipation that she tried hard not to acknowledge.

“Something smells good,” she said as she entered the kitchen.

Kelsey closed the oven door and turned around. “You look pretty, Mom.”

“Thanks. How’s it going?”

“All that’s left is last-minute stuff, so I’m going to go upstairs and clean up. Then I’ll finish everything once he’s here.” She scooped up Tiny in her arms. “And since this one doesn’t have very good table manners, I’ll make sure he stays in my room until after dinner.”

As Kelsey disappeared from the kitchen, Mariah glanced at the clock. Quarter till six. Fifteen minutes and he’d be here. She knew instinctively that Jack Taylor was a man who was rarely late.

The table was already set, so she made a pot of coffee and by the time it had brewed, Kelsey returned to the kitchen clad in a clean pair of shorts and a T-shirt.

“Are you nervous?” she asked Mariah.

“Why would I be nervous? It’s just dinner with an old friend,” Mariah countered, although she thought the tone of her voice sounded higher than usual.

Kelsey grinned. “Yeah, an old friend who looks like a movie star.”

“But he’s not a movie star. He’s a small-town veterinarian and there’s nothing for me to be nervous about.”

Kelsey checked the temperature on the oven, then turned back to look at Mariah, her brow wrinkled in
thought. “When you met Daddy, did you know right away that he was the one?”

“Not right away, but fairly quickly,” Mariah replied, surprised by the question. It had been a long time since Kelsey had asked any questions about her father. “Why?”

“I don’t know. I was just wondering. When you first saw him, did you feel butterflies in your stomach?”

Had Kelsey met somebody who gave her butterflies? Had she already met a boy here who attracted her? Before Mariah had a chance to find out where the conversation was leading, the doorbell rang and it was Mariah who had ridiculous butterflies in her stomach.

“We’ll talk about this later,” Mariah said as she left the kitchen to answer the door. The butterflies intensified as she pulled open the door to greet Jack.

Wearing a pair of jeans and a short-sleeved blue polo shirt, he looked amazing. He grinned at her and raised his hands, a bottle of wine in each. “I come bearing gifts,” he said as she opened the door to let him inside. “I didn’t know what was being served, so I picked up a bottle of white and a bottle of red.”

“Red would be the wine of the night,” she replied. “And please excuse the mess. As you can see, I’m having the carpeting pulled up in here.”

“Looks like the floors are nice beneath.”

“A little sand and varnish and I think they’ll be beautiful,” she replied.

“Speaking of beautiful, you look great.” His gaze went from the top of her head to the tips of her toes, evoking a heat wave inside her.

“Thanks. Come on into the kitchen. Kelsey has
been slaving over a hot stove all afternoon.” She’d feel more comfortable with Kelsey chaperoning. Then maybe he wouldn’t look at her like he wanted to eat her up.

“Something smells terrific,” he said as they entered the kitchen.

Kelsey grinned at him. “I hope it tastes as good as it smells.”

“Kelsey is my budding chef.” Mariah took the two bottles of wine from him and gestured him into a chair at the table. “Would you like a glass now?”

“Only if you’re joining me.”

Those green eyes of his should be outlawed as too sexy, she thought as she found wineglasses and poured them each a glass. “Thanks,” he said as he took his from her, his fingers lingering on hers a fraction too long.

As Mariah sat in her chair at the table, Jack directed his attention to Kelsey, who was arranging dinner rolls on a baking sheet. “So, you like to cook.”

“I love it,” she exclaimed.

“Janice, my best friend back in Chicago, says that Kelsey learning to cook was a matter of her own survival,” Mariah explained. “She was raised on frozen dinners and fast food.”

“You don’t cook,” Jack said.

“Mom thinks she’s cooking when she makes a box of macaroni and cheese,” Kelsey quipped.

Jack laughed. “I have to confess, I’m not much of a cook either. I eat a lot of meals at the café.”

“What made you decide to be a veterinarian?” Kelsey asked as she popped the dinner rolls into the oven.

“I always liked animals. From the time I was a
little boy. My mother used to complain because I was always dragging home dogs and cats, frogs and whatever else I thought might need some help. Being a vet just seemed natural. And speaking of animals, how’s Tiny doing?”

“Great,” Kelsey said. “I’ve got him locked up in my room right now because he likes to beg at the table, but I love him. He’s smart and sweet.”

“And seems totally devoted to Kelsey,” Mariah added. She was beginning to relax as the conversation flowed easily.

“That’s one of the best things about dogs. They are loyal to a fault,” Jack replied. “What about you? Did you always want to be a teacher?”

“Not really. It wasn’t until Kelsey was a baby that I really started thinking about where I wanted to go with my life. I liked kids, so teaching seemed the way to go. I also knew the hours would be the most accommodating for a single parent. I’d be off work on the same days that Kelsey was out of school and have all summer at home with her.”

“You like Chicago?”

Why was it that when he looked at her, she felt like she was being caressed? She took a sip of her wine before replying, hoping the drink would lower the spike of her internal temperature.

“Chicago is okay,” she answered. “There are a lot of things about city living that don’t thrill me. But my work is there and it’s been home for a long time now.”

Within minutes the food was ready and they began to eat. The conversation continued to flow comfortably as they talked about movies they’d seen and shared memories of high school.

Kelsey joined in, asking questions about those distant
school days and giggling as Jack teased her about being the new hot chick in town.

The food was delicious and Kelsey beamed beneath Jack’s effusive praise. When they were finished eating, despite Mariah’s protests to the contrary, Jack insisted he help with the cleanup.

Mariah washed, Jack dried and Kelsey put away the dishes. It was during this process that the butterflies began to soar once again in Mariah’s stomach. Jack stood close enough to her that she could smell his scent, a crisp, clean smell that was intensely attractive.

The large, airy kitchen shrank as he filled the space right next to her with his presence. Each time he took a dish from her, their fingers touched and a spark shot off inside her.

Maybe it’s the wine, she told herself. She’d had three glasses, more than she usually drank. But she knew it wasn’t the alcohol. It was Jack.

The minute the dishes were done, Kelsey made a quick exit. “I’ve got e-mail to do,” she said as she headed out of the kitchen.

Mariah wanted to stop her, to insist that she stay in the kitchen, but she knew she was being foolish. She didn’t need her daughter to chaperone her. She was a grown woman, for crying out loud.

“Would you like to take our coffee and sit outside on the porch?” she asked. Surely in the great outdoors she wouldn’t be so aware of him. The night air would diffuse the dizzying scent of him, and the old wicker chairs on the porch were far enough away from each other that he wouldn’t be able to inadvertently brush her thigh or touch her hand.

“Sure, that sounds nice,” he agreed.

They carried their coffee cups to the front porch, where the evening breeze was pleasant and dusk was just beginning to fall.

“These chairs have been on this porch for as long as I can remember, but I don’t think my parents ever enjoyed them,” she said as she sat.

“Too bad, they didn’t know what they were missing.” He held his coffee with one hand and used the other to move his chair closer to hers. He sat and grinned at her, the sexy cast of the smile once again torching her internal temperature to combustible levels. “There’s almost nothing better than sitting on a porch with a beautiful woman and watching the sun set.”

“You’ve certainly overcome the shyness you suffered in high school,” Mariah said drily.

He flashed her a grin. “It was my sophomore year in college when I realized the meek might inherit the earth, but shy people rarely get anything they want. I spent a lot of time watching other guys get the girls and decided it was time for me to get more assertive. I don’t have a problem anymore saying that I want something.” There was a heat in his eyes that made warmth flush her cheeks. “What about you, Mariah? Do you go after what you want?”

“Sure, but before I do, I make sure it’s something I really want and not just a whim,” she replied. She was aware that the conversation had an underlying sexual connotation. How could she not be aware of it with his eyes gazing at her so boldly and that damnable sexy smile curving the corner of his lips.

It was the most intimate conversation she’d ever shared with a man and the fact that she was having it made her wonder if perhaps she had reached a
place in her life where she was open to the possibility of a relationship.

“You have children, Jack?” she asked, wondering if there were little dark-haired tots living with his ex-wife.

“No, no kids. Rebecca and I were busy with our careers for the first couple of years of marriage and at the time we might have started talking about kids, we were talking about divorce instead.”

“I’m sorry,” she said.

He smiled. “Don’t be. We needed to divorce.”

“Is she here in town?”

“No. To be honest, I’m not sure where she is.” A muscle in his chiseled jaw became visible. “I hear from her occasionally, but it’s been a while since last time I heard from her.” He sat back in the chair. “What about you? Any stalker boyfriends I should know about? Ex-husbands?”

She laughed. “I haven’t had time to have either. My priority has always been getting Kelsey raised. I figured there would be time enough for a relationship when she got grown.”