Broken Trust (25 page)

“I was ashamed I couldn’t quit on my own.”

Nora grabbed a few boxes of tea bags from her cupboard. She caught Cole’s eye and started tossing them to him. “So you kept going to meetings and lying
,
and she knew you were lying.”

He shrugged. “I guess so. She followed me.”

She brought the mugs around and placed them on the table. “And she saw you went to a meeting right? So why does she think you were having an affair?”

Abbey dropped his paw and closed his eyes, still leaning into Charlie. “Because the day she followed me was a big test day. I met my therapist at a bar downtown and she ordered a beer. I had a club soda, which is a poor substitute
, by the way
. We stayed there for a few rounds so I could get a feel for what it was like to say no.”

“And Abigail saw you,” Cole said.

“That would be my guess.”

Nora brought the kettle from the kitchen. “You didn’t talk to her?”

Charlie’s chin fell to his chest. “I didn’t know she was there. When I got home, her bags were packed and she was gone.”

“So tell her now.” Nora picked an Earl Gr
e
y tea bag for Charlie, dropped it in his cup
,
and poured the water.

He wrapped a hand around the mug. “Nope.”

Oh no. Charlie needed to make up to Abigail
,
and the sooner the better. If not, Nora would be stuck living with her in perpetuity. “You have to talk to her, tell her the truth.”

Cole chose orange
-
flavored black tea and steeped it in his mug.

Charlie stared at his tea. “Don’t you see, sweet child? If she doesn’t have faith in me, there’s really nothing for us.”

Cole stared down the hall. “Does it feel cold to you?”

Nora noticed the chill. She stood and started down the hallway to investigate a draft. Cole followed.

She opened her bedroom door expecting to find Petal curled up on her bed. Instead, the bed held nothing but a pile of rumpled blankets. The curtains billowed with the storm blowing in the open window.

thirty-seven

Nora raced to the
window and scanned the balcony that ran along the second floor of the building. Most of the well-lit parking lot was visible from that vantage point. Snow accumulated where it caught in ridges and tiny drifts. The wind caught the bent screen and banged against the building. Nora slammed the window closed.

“Is she out there?” Cole asked.

Charlie appeared uncharacteristically rattled. “She ran from me? Why would she have to steal into the frigid night to escape from me. My Abigail angel.”

Abigail answered from behind him. “I haven’t gone anywhere, you old fool. It’s Petal who’s jumped ship.”

“Thank the morning star you’re safe,” Charlie said. “Who is Petal?”

Abigail now wore one of her velour jogging suits with matching jacket. She’d repaired her hair and makeup. “How long has she been gone? What did you do to her?”

Nora snapped on a bedside lamp but it did little to illuminate the room. She made her way around the rustic log footboard of the bed and squeezed past Abigail to check the closet. “I didn’t do anything. Last I knew, you were napping together.”

“Humph.” Abigail watched Nora as she closed the closet door and scanned the small space between the matching log night stand and the wall, then turned and focused on the corner by the dresser. “You need a bigger bedroom. Or smaller furniture. Or both, would be my opinion. That rustic decor is
…
”

Nora glared at her.

Abigail sounded disdainful. “I suppose you think Petal running off is my fault, as you think everything is my fault.”

Nora held back a retort. She wished she had more light in the dim room.

Cole squinted out the window. “Why would she take of
f ?
” He pulled down the mini blinds.

Now that she looked at her room through others’ eyes, it did feel over furnished and generic. She’d only hung a couple of prints she’d found at Target and the comforter and curtains were a solid shade of light blue. All of it serviceable because, she admitted, not much exciting happened in her bedroom these days. Her eyes strayed to Cole and she blushed.

Abigail knew where to place the blame. “She’s scared to death Sylvia or someone else is going to kill her. And along comes Charlie. He storms into our home. I’m sure she heard his angry voice and fled for her life.”

They all stared at Abigail for a moment
,
then Cole said quietly, “Charlie didn’t sound threatening to me.”

Nora ran a hand through her hair. “
It d
oesn’t matter what set her off. She’s gone.”

“Who is Petal?” Charlie asked again.

Cole started for the door. “Come on. I’ll explain while we
search outside.”

Charlie reluctantly followed Cole out the door, his eyes still pleading with Abigail.

Abigail slammed her hands on her hips. “We should go after Petal. She’s had
a
very rough life.”

Nora didn’t want to get involved with Petal. It was okay to let her stay the night, to feed her and listen to stories and tuck her into bed. But Nora wasn’t responsible for every stray that wandered into her path. “What did Petal tell you?”

“She grew up poor and her mother is ill. She has an aunt who, apparently, is well off. But she won’t help with Petal’s mother. I think she has some resentment issues with the aunt and she ought to see a therapist. If you don’t take care of negative feelings they can fester
—
”

“Mother!”

Abigail smoothed her jacket. “For heaven’s sake, Nora, she worships you because she thinks you’ve been so kind to her and frankly, you barely notice her.”

“Notice her? She’s living in my home!”

“At
my
invitation.”

“Thank you for finally giving me the sister I always wanted. Maybe we can play Monopoly and read
Teen
magazine together.”

Abigail lasered a withering shot at Nora, creating instant guilt. “What’s happened to you? You used to be generous and kind and giving. Now you’re locked up like a clam, holding back all your
love lest it wither in the salty waves of life.” She pulled her notebook from her pocket, uncapped her special pen
,
and scribbled.

Out of nervous energy, Nora pulled the comforter up and straightened the bed. “You’re nuts.”

“Is that so? I remember a little girl who always included the most forlorn and ostracized child on the playground.”

“That was only because no one else would play with me.” Nora plumped a pillow and tossed it onto the bed.

Abigail tsked. “That’s not true. You were always the leader and the most popular.”

“Whatever.” Nora didn’t like this conversation.

“This’s why you’re so unhappy these days.” Abigail was rolling on the Nora-improvement wagon and there was no stopping her.

Nora walked out of the bedroom. “I’m not unhappy.”

Abigail followed.
“Of course you are. You can’t hide it from me.”

“How could I hide anything from you? You’re living in my back pocket.” Nora stopped in the middle of the living room, not knowing what to do. She stomped to the kitchen and leaned on the counter.

“I know you’re refusing to let yourself care about Petal because of what happened to Heather.” Abigail paused in the kitchen doorway.

Nora froze. They said time would heal but after a year, it still felt like an open wound.

Abigail took out her chisel and hammered away on Nora’s heart. “You push Cole away with both hands
j
ust because Scott betrayed you.”

“Enough!” Nora brushed past Abigail.

Abigail watched Nora pace into the living room again. “You need Petal as much as she needs you.”

Nora walked to a corn plant and held a broad leaf. She wanted to be left alone to take care of Abbey and herself.

Snow swirled outside the window. Petal didn’t have a coat. Nora spun around and searched the side of the couch where Petal had curled up
; her
Chacos peeked from beneath the blanket. No shoes, either. Damn it.

Abigail nudged her. “It’s a nasty night out there.”

“I don’t
even
know where she would have gone.”

Abigail considered. “She talked about wanting to stop Sylvia.”

“Do you think she’d go to the Trust?”

Abigail shook her head. “I think she’d go to Sylvia’s house.”

“I wonder where that is.”

Abigail grinned. “I know.”

“How do you know?”

Abigail rolled her eyes. “There’s this thing called the Google. You might have heard of it.”

“Why?”

“I was curious.” Abigail defended herself. “It’s a swanky neighborhood. When Berle and I lived here it wasn’t much but since then, they’ve scraped off most of the older homes and built new. It’s where
the people with money live. We’ll GPS it.” Abigail grabbed her phone
from the corner of the counter bar. “Got it. Let’s go.” She opened the coat closet by the front door. “I didn’t bring a causal cold-weather coat.” Abigail slipped into Nora’s newest, warmest down coat. Of course Abigail would commandeer that coat and leave Nora digging in the closet for a lighter-weight, beat-up version.

They headed out the door to Nora’s Jeep. Abbey bounded toward them across the parking lot
,
enjoying the
crisp
evening. Abigail opened her door and before she could climb in Abbey scrambled into the passenger seat. Abigail waved him into the back.

“Nora, wait.” Cole jogged from the end of the parking lot.

Nora walked to her side of the Jeep and watched him approach.

“Where’re you going?” His breath puffed in a white stream.

“To find Petal.” Her fingers tingled in the cold.

He stood motionless between her and the car door.

“So we’ll see you later.” She reached behind him for the door handle.

He placed a hand over hers. He gazed down at her, the struggle for words visible in his eyes. Finally he said, “I know you’ve had a rough year and I’ve stayed away because I wanted to give you space, or whatever.”

Nora studied Abbey in the Jeep. He sat in back, staring out the windshield, unaware of her thudding heart and rushing blood.

Cole let out a breath. “Here’s the deal. I understand you’re afraid of commitment because Scott had an affair and you don’t know if you can trust anyone. And you think I kidnapped you and
—
”

“You did kidnap me.”

He flared. “That was be
cau
—
never mind. What I want to say is this
:
I like you, Nora. I mean, probably more than like you.”

She wanted him to stop talking but he kept going.

“The timing might not be ideal for you but I can’t put my life on hold any longer
waiting for you.”

She turned to get in the Jeep.

Again, he tugged her hand so she’d face him. “I’m not asking you to move away with me. I just want to know if there’s a chance for us.”

Why did he force this on her? “I don’t know.”

“What about tonight? I thought maybe you felt
…
”

She jerked her hand away. Jobs, mothers, runaways, discovered fathers
,
weather manipulation. She couldn’t bring anything else into her life. “I’m going to find Petal. If you want me to confess undying love and fidelity to you, forget it. I’m not ready for this. With you or anyone.”

Nora slid onto the icy car seat and started the engine. She refused to make eye contact with Cole, didn’t want to know if he still stood there or if he’d walked away.

Abigail rubbed her arms. “Get that heater going.”

Nora eyed Abigail’s coat with envy. She shivered inside her second-best coat.
And
Petal was loose out there somewhere with no coat at all.

Abigail punched her phone. “Go east from the parking lot.”

Nora started the wipers. Snow stuck in small patches to the pave
ment.

“What did Cole have to say?” Abigail pointed to the left and Nora turned.

“Private conversation.”

“He told you he loves you, didn’t he?” She clapped her gloved hands together. “That’s romantic. He could have chosen a more intimate moment but men don’t always think things through.”

Either Abigail was blind to body language or she hadn’t been watching the exchange. Nora maneuvered down Arapahoe Street, thankful for
the
light traffic.

Abigail’s giddy planning bubbled along. “You’re going to start slowly
,
right? Dinner, outings, that sort of thing. Will he move to
Boulder? He’s not suited to that ranch anyway. Turn right at the next light.”

The Jeep slid at the turn and Nora slowed. The wipers flapped at accumulating flakes. “Cole and I aren’t an item. Let’s drop it. Where next?”

“You should have a
smartphone
like mine instead of that ancient model you have. It’s as bad as Charlie’s. Turn here.”

Nora did. “Charlie has a cell phone?”

Abigail stared out the window. “Of course.”

They hit a puddle and the water splashed on the windshield. By morning it would be ice. “That doesn’t seem like something Charlie would care about.”

Abigail spun toward her. “I suppose you two are simpatico on this subject
too.
”

Let’s jump off one tangent and onto another.
“Don’t know what you’re talking about.”

“The two of you. Always judging me about how I live. Abusing Mother Earth. He wouldn’t get a cell phone because he said it made him too dependent on others. He wanted to commune with nature and rely on his wits. Of course, he didn’t care that I worried day and night he’d get hurt
in the wilderness
, lying on the ground, dying alone. I finally bought him a phone and insisted he carry it.” Abigail pointed.

Nora turned right onto Table Mesa Road. They were heading in a giant circle. Way to go,
smartphone
. “Good. Did he?”

Abigail’s voice faltered. “He said he only did it to humor me. But he never called me and the minutes usage went up.”

Nora squinted against the barrage of flakes in the headlights. “Who was he calling?”

Abigail’s voice hardened. “I did a little research and found out he was calling that woman.”

“What woman?”

“That woman from the bar. Beth Ann Troutman.”

Nora flopped her hand against her thigh in frustration. “Are we anywhere close to Sylvia’s house?”

Abigail exhaled in frustration. “We’re discussing my marriage, my life. Why must it always be about you?”

“You drag me out to save Petal and you’re upset because I won’t tell you that Charlie isn’t having an affair.”

Abigail folded her arms in a huff. “Oh, what do you know?” She pulled one arm loose and
indicated
a right turn into a
n area
with
two
elephant
-
sized sandstone slabs as
neighborhood signs.

Nora slowed and drove through the dark neighborhood, the splash of her wheels on the wet pavement accompanying the wipers.
Nora
had
hit her limit for games.

“He wanted to quit drinking because he thinks it will make you happy and all you can do is ride him and accuse him of things that if you really knew him, you’d know he wouldn’t do.”