Chained Guilt (Hidden Guilt (Detective Series) Book 1) (23 page)

“Just take it slow, David. You’re still a young man. No need to rush.”

I nodded, but Tom continued before I could reply.

“And make sure she loves my granddaughters as much as she loves you. Do you know much about her? Her past and so forth?”

Tom spoke softly, and his words sounded sincere, not angry as before.

“Not sure what you mean about her past,” I said. “I mean, we all have a past. I know she’s a small town girl, a college grad, a nurse, and she was a foster child.” I glanced at him. “How’s that for starters? Oh, and she’s an ex-softball player, hence the coaching.”

“Any run-ins with the law?”

“Really, Tom? The law?” I shrugged and shook my head. “Hell, I dunno. I didn’t run a criminal background check on her, if that’s what you’re asking. For what it’s worth, I didn’t run one on Miranda either.”

As quickly as the words spewed out of my mouth, I wanted to yank them back in. Tom shot me a go-to-hell look I felt all the way to my bones.

“It’d just be nice to know more about someone who could potentially be spending lots of time with my grandkids,” he snapped.

“I’m a pretty good judge of character, Tom,” I said, trying to keep the peace. “She’s just a normal girl, as far as I can tell. I am a detective, you know, and a pretty good one.”

Back at the house, Hilary had taken her grandmother up to her room and told her all about her mix-up with Stacy.

“So all you did was give him a little peck, and she acted all crazy? And that’s it, Hilary?”

“Yeah, I swear to it, Grandma. And Dad wouldn’t even let me tell my side of the story.”

“Well, dear, your dad is a good man and a good father. I don’t want to get in the middle of how he decided to handle this.” She frowned. “And it’s not that I don’t believe you, because I do. It just wouldn’t be fair to your dad.”

“I understand. I just don’t want that cow moving in with us and marrying Dad.”

“Moving in? Marriage? What are you talking about, Hilary? How long have they been dating?”

“Well, she said she knows Dad’s
the one
,” Hilary said, rolling her eyes. “And she claims she loves me and Karen and wants to be a part of our family. I think Dad is lonely, and I really liked her at first. I mean, I even pushed Dad to go out with her in the beginning, because he wasn’t sure. Boy, do I regret that now.”

“You’re young, Hilary, but this can be an important life lesson for you. Sometimes you get something you really wanted, only to find out it’s not what you needed after all. I love you.”

Hilary knew her grandmother was right. She had really wanted her dad and Stacy to start dating, but now that it had become a reality, she second-guessed the idea. Too bad the wheels had already been put into motion.

I walked into the house with Tom not far behind and saw my mother-in-law standing at the bottom of the staircase.

“Good conversation I just had with Hilary there, David,” Grace said, cutting her eyes in Stacy’s direction.

“Well, that’s good, I think,” I replied, though I had an inkling the conversation hadn’t been good at all.

I took the meat I’d just bought into the kitchen. To my surprise, Hilary walked in behind me and made a beeline for the spice cabinet.

“What’s up, Hilary?”

“I’m going to season the meat and get it ready for the grill. That okay with you, Dad?” Her unexpected smile blinded me.

“Uh . . . yeah, I guess.”

Her mood change took me by surprise, but I quickly recovered. “I mean, that’s a good idea. Thanks. I’ll go out and get the pit ready then.”

What exactly had my mother-in-law said to her upstairs? Maybe she should drop in more often
, I thought. As I passed through the living room, I wondered if I should invite Tom out to help me with the preparations. After glancing at the awkward stares between Tom, Grace, and Stacy, I opted for it.

“Tom, wanna grab a couple cold ones and help me tackle the pit?”

Tom looked a bit dumbfounded but appeared to welcome the idea. I headed outside, Tom not far behind.

“Nice day,” Tom said as he stepped outside with two frosty longnecks.

I nodded as I scraped the grill. “Yeah, it’s a gorgeous day.”

“Nice grill you got there, David.”

“Yeah, well, it hit my pocketbook pretty darn good, too. The salesman did his job, I guess. Maybe if I was in a cooking contest somewhere I would use all these bells and whistles, but I hardly cook on this ol’ girl at all.”

I finished cleaning the grill, and then the two of us sat around making small talk for a while. We stuck to work and politics and steered clear of personal stuff. I enjoyed our talk; in fact, it was probably the longest, most normal conversation the two of us had ever had.

Just as I was thinking I should go inside to see how the ladies were doing, Hilary walked out carrying a tray loaded with seasoned meat.

“Wow! Good job, Hil,” I said. “It looks great, and I bet it’ll taste even better.”

Tom and I grilled the ribs while the ladies prepared side dishes to go with the meal. I thought maybe things might turn out okay after all.

We all sat down at the dining room table, which Hilary had set, and I blessed the meal. As we ate, everyone was on their best behavior. The conversation was civil, and, surprisingly, no one threw any barbs.

“Hilary, have you decided on a college major yet or where you want to go to college?” Tom asked.

“Not sure on either,” she said. “I mean, I want to go, I think. Just haven’t been putting much thought into it lately.”

“Ever thought about nursing?” Stacy asked. “It’s a great career with a high demand and pretty good pay.”

“Not really,” Hilary replied. “Like I said, I really haven’t thought about any of it in too much detail.”

“Well, there are classes you can take now, while you’re in high school, to get a head start on college. If you’d like, I’ll help you look at some of them,” Stacy said.

Hilary stared at her a moment, then frowned and glanced around at the table. She caught my eye.   I looked at her as if to say
answer the woman
.

“Yeah, maybe,” she finally muttered.

“David, I think Grace and I are going to go into town and catch a show,” Tom said as they finished eating. “The food was great. You ladies did an excellent job on the sides.”

Tom and Grace excused themselves from the table and soon left the house. David, Stacy, Hilary and Karen stared at each other in silence, a blanket of uncertainty threatening to smother them.

43

David, can I talk to you for a minute?” Stacy said as she moved her chair back from the table.

I nodded and we stepped into the kitchen. With the door closed, Stacy spoke quietly.               “David, I want to take the girls out shopping and maybe get our nails done or something. I want to show them I’m just as dedicated to them as I am to you.”

She reached down to touch me seductively. I instantly backed up.

“Whoa,” I said. “As much as I’d love to, that’s out of the question. I’m not sure about taking the girls out either. I mean . . .”

“David, trust me. The girls and I need some bonding time. We have to build a relationship. They have to be able to trust me.”

“I’m just not sure about Hilary right now.”

“David, relax,” she said, smiling. “Trust me on this. It’ll be fine.”

Stacy leaned in to give me a kiss.

“You’ll have the house all to yourself. We’ll be fine.”

She left me standing there wanting more. I followed her back into the dining room.

“Girls, I had to beg, but your dad finally gave in to the three of us going into town to do some shopping.”

I stood back and waited to see their response.

“Really?” Hilary said with a confused frown. “You want to take us shopping? Why?”

“Of course I do.” Stacy grinned. “Why not?  Go get ready so we can get out of here before he changes his mind.”

Moving slowly, as if in disbelief, Hilary trudged up the stairs to her room, Karen dancing along ahead of her. Stacy looked over her shoulder at me. I was still concerned, but perhaps it would work out.

“See? I told you it would be fine,” she said.

“Well, you haven’t returned in one piece yet, so let’s reserve the verdict until later.” I grinned back at her.

What a turn of events. I had gone from a house full of people—in-laws, two kids, and a soon-to-be-live-in-girlfriend—to just me in under two hours. I sighed, shaking my head. I glanced at the dining room table, which still needed to be cleared, and knew the kitchen was a mess as well. I’d keep busy.

As I stacked the plates and headed to the kitchen, I spotted the package I’d left on the table in the entryway. I’d forgotten all about it in the hustle and bustle following Tom and Grace’s arrival. I tried to recall if I’d ordered anything recently. Perhaps Hilary had. I set the dishes in the sink, grabbed the package from the table, and sat down on the couch to open it. It was lightweight, about the size of a cell phone box. I frowned. If Hilary had ordered a new phone without asking me first, she’d be in trouble. As I ripped open the box, a Ziploc baggie tumbled out. I opened it and removed the Bubble Wrap inside. As I unrolled it, something pale and familiar-looking tumbled onto the couch beside me. It called to me, taunted me to touch it. My heart pounded, and my stomach rolled as a cold sweat enveloped me. I sat in frozen horror, transfixed by what rested on the cushion beside me.

44

The girls were quiet on the ride to the mall, so Stacy decided to attempt some small talk.

“So, what fun things did you guys enjoy doing with your mom?”

Both girls seemed hesitant to answer. Stacy glanced in the rearview mirror and saw them exchange a puzzled look with each other.

“I don’t know . . . I mean, regular mother-daughter stuff, I guess,” Hilary said. “Softball practices, soccer practices, movies.” She paused. “That’s kind of a weird question to ask.”

“I didn’t mean anything by it,” Stacy said, glancing between the road and the rearview mirror. “I’m just trying to see if I can come close to doing as good a job as she did. I know I can’t replace her. I mean, not that I’d even want to. But I want to do the best job I can.”

“You don’t have to worry, Coach Stacy,” Karen said. “Just be yourself. That’s what Mom always used to tell us.”

“About that . . . Coach Stacy, that is,” Stacy said. “I don’t want you to call me that anymore. I mean, you don’t have to call me that. Call me Stacy. Stacy is fine. Maybe one day you’ll even call me Mom.” She smiled at them in the mirror. “I plan on being around for a long time, if that’s okay with you guys.”

For some reason, the girls did not respond. Stacy wasn’t sure if she’d done more harm than good with her little chat. She considered pushing the issue, but they arrived at the mall before she got the nerve.

“Listen, girls,” she said. She pulled into a space, put the car in park, and turned off the ignition. As she slipped her keys into her purse, she twisted in her seat so she could look at them. “Let’s just go in here and have some fun. Some girl time. We’ll buy some clothes, get some make-up, maybe get a pedicure. Sound like a plan?”

Hilary and Karen nodded, climbed out of the car, and followed her into the mall without a word.

As they walked through the mall, Hilary passed several people she knew. She gave them a friendly wave but didn’t stop to talk or to introduce Stacy to them. She saw them watching, though, and it made her uncomfortable. She knew they probably wondered who the lady was, and it didn’t take a far stretch of the imagination to figure it out. Most of her friends had known her mom and liked her, which made being with Stacy all the more awkward.   Hilary felt like she was betraying her mother by socializing with Stacy. And why did Stacy have to look so pleased about the three of them being out together? Hilary frowned and held back, allowing Stacy and Karen to take the lead.  Stacy noticed.

              “Hil, you okay?” Stacy said.

“Yeah, I’m fine.” She gestured toward a nearby store. “I think I ate too much. I’m going to go in there and see if I can find some new jeans.”

Hilary ditched Stacy, more than aware the woman continued to eye her. She imagined her staring holes into her back. Her heart sank. Deep down, she knew something wasn’t quite right about the woman. She heard Karen urging Stacy to move.

“Stacy, come on! Coach Stacy? Can we go to the toy store now?”

Hilary glanced once over her shoulder in time to see Karen take Stacy by the hand and tug her toward the store on the other side of the large, crowded aisle. She also noted the undisguised glare Stacy sent her way before she turned to follow Karen into the toy store.