Crazy For You (38 page)

Beach house. She’s at the beach
? “Oh, no…”
Frank said aloud. Had Frankie been right all along? “Just how long
has she been at your beach house?”

Jason sighed heavily. “About seven months.”

Frankie knew
. Frank closed his eyes.
And I
didn’t listen
. But Frank didn’t have time to beat himself up
over that. Right now he had to deal with the two men standing
before him. They’d let the whole family believe the worst of
Roxanne’s condition. Never mind him and Candy, they’d put a child
through holy hell.

The old Frank would have seen to it that they paid
for that, but the new Frank had more important things to consider.
He opened his eyes and tossed a hard glare at Jason and Jerry.
“After what you’ve put my son through these past few months, it
wouldn’t take any effort from me at all to kill you both.” He shook
his head and collected his anger. “There’s only one thing that’s
stopping me…you know where she is. But you’re going to take me to
her.”

“Yes, we are.” Jason nodded. “But only because she’s
ready to see you now.”

“Wait a minute!” Candy shouted. “Jason, how could
you do this to me? How could you, of all people, lie to me?”

“Candy, it wasn’t something I took great pleasure in
doing,” he assured her.

“But you did. You let me think my sister was lying
somewhere helplessly in a coma. You let me think that for months.”
Her tone stayed calm, but contempt carried her words. “I’ll never
forgive you for that.”

“Candy…I truly am sorry.”

His apology didn’t carry much weight with Candy.
She’d been betrayed by both Jason and Jerry. She vowed never to
forgive either of them as long as she lived.

R
oxanne had told herself
that even though Candy and the others were on an airplane right now
headed for Jamaica, that eventually, maybe after she’d eaten, she’d
calm down. That didn’t happen.

She began pacing the length of the patio. It
wouldn’t be long now. What was she going to say to them? How could
she possibly explain herself?

“Just try to remember,” Kirk said. “They all care
about you.”

“I keep trying to tell myself that.” She laughed
nervously.

“Do you want me to leave?” he asked. “Before they
arrive?”

“No.” She shook her head. “You can’t leave.”

“All right. I’ll stay with you if that’s what you
want.”

Kirk was the only comforting thing she had to hold
onto from a totally foreign past. She told herself she couldn’t
face any of them without Kirk to fall back on. She hadn’t
considered how Frank might react when he found out Kirk Bronson was
there, too.

***

Chapter 33

T
he library was Roxanne’s
favorite room in Jason’s house. Maybe because of all the books.
Thousands of them lined the walls, and she felt she could somehow
identify with each and every one. It wasn’t hard to make the
decision to wait for Candy in the room that brought her so much
comfort.

Anxiety rippled through Roxanne as Candy came in and
closed the door. They looked at each other and Roxanne studied
Candy’s face intently.

After a brief moment of hesitation, Candy rushed
toward her. “Rocky...” She embraced her. “Thank God you’re
okay.”

“Candy…” Roxanne’s voice was weaker than she’d
anticipated. “I’m sorry,” she said. “I really am.”

Candy backed up a couple of steps and dragged her
hair out of her face. “You can’t remember anything?”

Roxanne shook her head. “No.” She really wanted to
change the subject. “How are you though?”

“I’m good.” Candy smiled. “Rich and I got married.”
A look came over her that said she’d realized, a little too late,
that the info probably wouldn’t mean much to Roxanne.

“Are you happy?” Roxanne asked, because that was,
after all, all that mattered.

“Yes.” She nodded. “We are.”

“Is he worthy of my sister?”

“You’d be really happy about it...if you could
remember him.”

“Speaking of husbands...” Cautiously, Roxanne
brought up the subject of hers.

“You want me to tell you about Frank?” Candy asked
knowingly.

Roxanne nodded. “Did I love him?”

“Yes. More than you knew how to deal with.”

“And did he love me?”

Candy’s reply came quickly and definitely. “Frank
loves you more than anything in this world.”

“Then—” Roxanne chose her words carefully. “—why did
I try to kill myself?”

“Well, I’m not going to lie to you and tell you that
your relationship with Frank was picture-perfect. It wasn’t. There
were misunderstandings between you two, and things got really
complicated … but I think you should probably get these answers
from Frank.”

“I’m afraid of him.”

“Afraid of Frank?” Candy flashed her a puzzled look.
“Why?”

“Well…something about him made me crazy.” She voiced
her fears. “What if it happens again?”

“It won’t happen again,” Candy said.

“You sound so sure of that.”

“I am.” Candy paused, thinking. “Can I ask you a
question, though?”

“Sure.”

“Why didn’t you at least let
me
know you were
awake?”

“It wouldn’t have been right for me to put you in
that position.”

“Why?” Candy seemed to be struggling with that
notion. “I would have kept your secret.”

“I know you would have. And that wouldn’t have been
fair to you and your loyalty to Rich, or Frank for that matter.”
Roxanne pushed aside her anxiety. “From what I understand... I’ve
already put you in that position too many times in the past, and
I’m sorry I did that to you.”

“I did what I did.” Candy accepted full
responsibility for her actions. “I did what I had to do.”

“I’m sorry if I’ve hurt you.”

Candy wasn’t going to spend too much time fretting
over things that had already happened. Instead, she preferred to
seek out a way to bring Roxanne’s memory back. “What’s the last
thing you remember?”

“The last thing I remember is that you and I were
getting ready to leave Tennessee to start a new life somewhere
else.”

“You don’t recall the trip to Florida?”

“I don’t remember leaving Tennessee,” Roxanne said.
“I only remember preparing to leave.”

“Well…I will tell you this much about Frank
Garrett,” Candy said. “The first night we were in Tampa, we went to
this club called The Other Place. You met Frank that night…and to
be honest with you...you two were smitten with each other from the
very beginning.”

Roxanne tried to imagine what it might feel like to
be so infatuated with someone. Sure, she’d loved Chuck, but keeping
their hands off one another had never been an issue for Roxanne and
her first husband.

“I wish I could remember,” Roxanne said. “But Jerry
says too much time has gone by. He says it’s not likely that I’ll
ever regain the memories I’ve lost.”

“Then make new ones,” Candy suggested simply. “And
you can start now. Cause if I know Frank, he’s probably out there
having a hissy-fit right about now.” She laughed softly. “Are you
ready to see him?”

“Well I guess I’m about as ready as I’ll ever be,”
Roxanne said with little enthusiasm.

F
rank had been pacing the
living room ever since Candy had disappeared into the library. He
was tired of waiting for his turn. “What the hell are they doing in
there? Is Candy giving her a play-by-play account of the past eight
years, or what?” He spat his frustrations out at no one in
particular. “I’m her husband. I’m the one who should be in there
with her.”

“Keep your shorts on, Frank.” Candy came in. “She’s
ready to see you now.”

He looked at Candy, already regretting his outburst.
“I’m sorry.”

“Don’t give it a second thought.” Candy latched onto
his arm and led him into the hallway. “Frank…If you want to keep
Roxanne,” she advised. “If I were you, I’d tell her the truth when
she asks you for it. And believe me, she will ask.”

“Okay,” he said somberly.

“And just remember one thing....”

“What’s that?”

“She doesn’t remember you.”

That notion scared Frank. “Candy...?” he said with
uncertainty. “If she doesn’t remember me, then she doesn’t love me
anymore, does she?”

“But if she loved you once, Frank,” Candy said. “She
can love you again.”

Frank tapped on the library door, waited a couple of
seconds and then opened it. Seeing Roxanne standing on the other
side of the room with her back to him—she was looking out the
window—he sighed, relieved.

He stood in the doorway for a second and thanked his
lucky stars because he’d been so afraid she would never wake up.
Finally, he moved halfway across the room and stopped, leaning
against the edge of the desk.

She made no attempt to move or turn around to
acknowledge his presence. Did she hear him come in? Frank cleared
his throat.

Roxanne was well aware that he was there. She was
afraid to turn around to look at him. Terrified that with one look
she might revert back to her old self again.

But she had to look at him sooner or later. She
really didn’t have a choice. When she finally did turn around, she
saw a smile cross his face.

While she couldn’t explain it, she felt comforted by
his presence. She felt an uncertain familiarity about him, too. She
could almost swear she knew him from somewhere, but she just
couldn’t place him. Even so, she felt an overwhelming need to go to
him. She didn’t understand that at all because she couldn’t recall
a single memory of him. That was basically it in a nutshell— she
didn’t know this guy. Sure, they all
said
he was her
husband, but she definitely had to take their word for that one.
The only thing she could be truly certain of was that he’d driven
her to the point of suicide. Her better judgment told her she
couldn’t afford to let that happen again. Next time, she might
succeed.

Finally, Roxanne pushed herself to walk toward
him.

“Tell me that you know me?” he said in a pleading
way.

She propped herself beside him on the desk. “I wish
I could.” She studied his face. “But, no—” She shook her head. “—I
don’t.”

“So how are you otherwise?” He turned his concern to
her welfare. “You’re physical health is not in danger, is it?” he
added, clearly needing reassurance.

“I’m okay.” A wave of reticence brushed through her
at the thought of someone being so concerned about her
well-being.

“I want you to come home, Roxie,” he said. “You
belong with me and Frankie.” His words were more of a plea than
anything else. He was not the demanding Frank she’d heard so much
about.

She looked into his eyes, sensing the guilt and pain
he’d burdened himself with. Instantly, she got the feeling she
shouldn’t be able to see his eyes. She peered at him with a
scrutinizing look.

“What’s wrong?” he asked uneasily, picking up on her
anxiety.

“Why do I feel like I shouldn’t be able to see your
eyes?”

“Shouldn’t see my eyes?” he repeated her words,
searching his mind for a reason. Then he remembered his shades. “My
sunglasses. I used to wear them all the time. You could never see
my eyes and that always bothered you.”

Her expression didn’t change, but he got the feeling
she’d accepted his explanation. She sucked in a breath, and asked,
“Do you know why I did this to myself?”

“Yes.” He nodded. “You did it because of me. I drove
you to it…but I swear to you, I never wanted this to happen.”

“I want you to tell me the truth about us. Don’t
hold anything back.”

“All right,” he said. “But first you have to promise
me that you’ll believe me when I say I don’t feel that way
anymore.”

“If you really mean it...then I’ll believe it.”

“When you disappeared without a word, I didn’t know
what to think,” he said. “And while it’s true, we weren’t exactly
happy with one another at that point…but I loved you. I looked for
you, but I couldn’t find you. And Candy wasn’t any help either.”
Frank’s frustration escaped in his voice. “You surfaced through the
press about a year later, and then I heard you’d had a baby, and
Kirk Bronson had publicly claimed to be the father. You didn’t deny
it, so I figured it must be true. I thought you were having an
affair with him behind my back, and that you’d left me for him.” He
paused, trying to cover the hurt he was still feeling over the lie.
“I spent more than four years believing my son belonged to another
man. A man you’d walked out on me for. No hi, bye, kiss my ass, or
nothing…and I hated you for that. I hated you for Kirk Bronson, and
when I found out the truth, I hated you for that, too,” he said. “I
spent five long years thinking you’d betrayed me, and when I found
out differently I felt even more betrayed. I wanted to punish you.
I wanted to make you pay for what you’d done to me.” His jaw
tightened. He wasn’t comfortable with the words he was saying now.
“And when I found out about your mental instability, I decided to
use it in my favor. I had no idea how serious it really was. I just
figured I could use it as a means to get custody of Frankie. I
wanted to take him away from you, just like you’d taken him from
me.” Frank wondered if exposing the whole truth would take Roxanne
too far out of his reach. “But I swear to you, I never wanted this
to happen. In fact, after about six months of being married to you
and trying to punish you, I finally realized I was wrong.” He
wanted her to know he was trying to apologize to her that night
she’d taken the overdose. “I finally accepted the fact that I could
never hate you more than I love you. That night...I was coming home
to tell you how sorry I was. And that I just wanted us to put the
past behind us, and try to be happy with each other again…like we
were in the beginning.” Frank laughed at himself. “But as usual,
I’m always a day late and a dollar short.”