Cricket Cove (16 page)

Amelia couldn’t help but laugh. “Oh, this is going to be fun to watch,” she murmured. She could imagine him running his hands through his hair, frustrated, trying to figure out how to react to insubordination. She wasn’t sure if he was serious or not, but just picturing Logan’s fierce scowl as a student did something out of turn, then leveling the punishment on the hapless kid, had her holding her stomach with the giggles. Once they died down, she finished the rest of the letter.

I’ll close for now. You don’t have to write me back unless you want to. Please don’t feel obligated. Writing letters is something I got in the habit of doing in the military, and it’s something that I still do late at night when I can’t sleep. So let me know if you don’t want me to write you again, or I might get a wild hair and repeat this venture.

Take care of yourself down there in London.

With regards,

Logan.

Amelia folded the letter carefully. She wasn’t sure what to think, so she put the letter in the stack with the rest of the correspondence and tucked it all in a drawer. She’d let it sit for a while and come back to it later. For right now she was going to go downstairs and spend some time with her grandmother. She’d leave answering him or not up to how she felt later.

Chapter Twenty-Three

L
ogan swung by the post office Monday evening after work. When he saw the letter on the top of the pile of mail, his heart stuttered. He recognized the handwriting as Amelia’s. Sure enough, when he checked the return address, it showed London.

“That was fast.” He estimated that she would have received his letter Saturday. She must have responded and written back that very day. Logan wasn’t sure if that was good or bad.

He had to stop at the grocery store after work and he hurried through the aisles, eager to get home so he could read the letter. He picked up some ready-to-eat food from the deli, and as soon as he was finished with that, settled in on the couch to see what her response was. He was half-afraid to learn, but being meek had never gotten him anywhere, so he opened the letter.

Logan,

I was a bit surprised to receive your letter, I have to say. And I’m still torn as to how to respond. Part of me wants to tell you to take a long walk off a short pier, but part of me also realizes it couldn’t have been easy for you to put pen to paper and admit what you did, although I’m not sure which of you I believe—the man who was spouting off in the barn or the man who apologized so nicely. So for now I think our truce can continue. That’s as much as I can promise.

As to me wondering if you’d left in the middle of the night, no. I was awake when you left. You’ve done that before, unless I miss my guess. You were too good at it. Tsk, tsk, tsk. I shall henceforth call you Casanova.

Logan was surprised to find his face heating with embarrassment, and he shook his head, chagrined. No matter how he looked at it, slipping out as he had did not reflect well on him. Amelia’s teasing notwithstanding, he read between the lines and saw the lecture contained within. It was no less than he deserved.

So, Cas. This apology of yours… I’m not going to comment beyond this. As I said, I’ve not made my mind up whether you’re sincere or not. I appreciate that you made it, and we’ll leave things there for now.

Roger and Lori… what a mess. What a damned mess. I don’t feel as guilty about leaving town as I think I would have a few months ago, and of course, I feel guilty about that. I used the new number-block feature to keep the phone number off her caller ID and called her this afternoon. She thinks I’m in Georgia with one of Eli’s granddaughters. I asked her about the missed dates and she brushed me off by saying she’d been with her parents. Maybe she was. I don’t know. Maybe I’m just paranoid now, expecting everyone to lie about everything. I resent the hell out of that new view on the world, just in case you wondered. I don’t like being cynical. But there was a tone to her voice that made me wonder.

On the other hand, the good news was that Roger has upped her weekly allowance. He’s giving her enough money now that she can buy the groceries she needs and wants. She was so damned excited about that, it just destroyed me. I’m relieved that I don’t have to worry about her going hungry or doing without now that I’m not there, but at the same time, I know he probably only did it to keep me away from her. Regardless, I’m glad.

Beating the shit out of Roger… If I thought you all could get away with it and not have repercussions? I’m not a big enough person to say I would ask you to stop. But there would be a cost to you all and I’d hate to have that on my conscience, or for you to have it on yours.

The other, less-stressful topics. Your poor students. I have to say that I’m imagining your classes, and I’m in tears laughing at what I’m coming up with. You do a stern face very well, and you’re quite intimidating physically. Though not as intimidating as Archer… I’ve seen him scare the pants off more than one person when he’s concentrating. He’s the biggest teddy bear in the world, but he can also come up with a good frown upon occasion, come to think of it. In any event, as long as I don’t hear about you on the news I will assume things are going well.

I’ve not decided if I’m going to write you again or not. I’m no more eager to put myself out there where you’re concerned than you are with me. Getting burned hurts, and I’d just as soon not do it again.

I suppose I’ll make my decision if you respond.

Keep your brother out of trouble, Cas. Try to stay out of it yourself. And thank you for the apology.

Amelia.

Logan fingered the edges of the paper, then traced her signature lightly. The desire to pick pen and paper up and write her back was strong, which warned him that maybe he shouldn’t. But stronger than that was the desire to make her laugh, to connect with her and let her know that he really didn’t see her the way he’d said he did. To let her know that she was more than an insignificant ball of fluff.

He considered her words about Lori, and the suspicions they’d shared. An idea popped into his head and he picked up the phone to call Archer.

Sydney answered. “H’lo? Logan?”

“Hey, Mischief. What are you doing?”

“Answering the phone. What are you doing?” she repeated with a giggle.

Logan smiled. “I’m talking to you. How was your day?”

She sighed heavily. “It was long. We had to do letters in school and I already know mine. Mommy said I have to sit still and behave even if I know stuff already. When are you going to come see me?”

“Soon. Is your daddy around?”

“Uh-huh. He’s laughing at me right now. I gotta go take a bath and then we’re gonna read a new book. Okay, bye!” And she was gone. Logan heard Archer chuckling as he picked up the phone.

“That girl is something else. You’re a lucky man, did you know that?” he asked before Archer could speak.

“I do know that. What’s going on?”

“Not much. I just wanted to run something by you. You have a few minutes, or do you need to go help with bath time?”

“I can give you about five minutes. Is that good enough?”

Logan smiled. “Yeah. So listen. What time does Amelia usually go to Lori’s? That
is
on Tuesday, right?”

“It is. And I think it’s around eleven or twelve. I’ll ask Emma if you need to know exactly. Why? What are you thinking?”

“I don’t know. I guess I’m thinking that it might be interesting to follow her and see where she goes tomorrow. Assuming she goes anywhere. I have a long lunch on Tuesdays, you know.”

Archer was quiet for a minute. “You think that’s wise? What if Roger’s watching her, too, and sees you? He’s done it before, watched her, I mean.”

Logan wasn’t intimidated. “I’m willing to take my chances. I keep thinking about her not being home those days when she knew to expect Amelia. Where was she? If there’s something else going on here, we need to know about it. The best way to help Amelia starts with having all the pertinent information. That could be pertinent.”

“I guess it is.” Archer sighed. “I just don’t know if we could use it against Roger.”

“We might not have to. And I wouldn’t use something that would hurt Lori, but my gut is telling me this is important.”

Logan waited while Archer thought about it, knowing his brother was running through scenarios in his mind. He finally groaned. “You’ve been listening to your gut in a lot of situations that most of us never have to deal with. If it’s telling you to follow her, do it. Do you want some help?”

“No. I can do it by myself. But please do check with Emma on the time. I’d hate to show up ten minutes too late.”

Archer had him hold on while he asked, then came back and confirmed what he’d said earlier. “Pip usually gets there right at noon.”

“Then I’ll go park at the convenience store around eleven.”

He knew the owner was okay with him parking there for a while, as he and Archer had done it a few times now. Archer knew the man from work, and after the first time, when they’d been asked about their presence, the man had let them have carte blanche as far as they needed it, within reason.

“Let me know what you find out.”

Logan nodded, even though Archer couldn’t see him over the phone. “I will. You go take care of my niece.”

“Of course. Come over for dinner sometime? Maybe Wednesday or Thursday?”

“It’s a plan.”

After he hung up, Logan got up and stretched. Though the temptation to write Amelia back tonight was strong, he resisted. He’d wait until tomorrow to see if he learned anything.

Chapter Twenty-Four

A
melia found herself entirely too eager to go to the mailbox in the days that followed her response to Logan. Eliza shook her head knowingly every time Amelia left the house, but she didn’t remark.

When there was a letter waiting Thursday afternoon after her ride with Charlie, Amelia couldn’t suppress her excitement. She practically danced her way back to the horse and hugged him. “I’m hopeless, Charlie. Just flat-out hopeless. He’ll break my heart if I’m not careful, and I’ll be the one handing him the means to do it.”

Eli and Eliza had gone into town, so Amelia had the house to herself when she got back. She headed up to her room and the window seat, opening the letter eagerly. Her excitement died as she read Logan’s words.

Amelia,

I hate writing this letter. I hope that somehow I’m misunderstanding what I learned. I’m afraid that I’m not, however.

After reading what you wrote me, I started thinking that if we find out where Lori is going on Tuesdays, we might get some insight into her relationship with Roger that we can use to leverage him away from you. So I followed her. I am very much afraid we were right about where she’s been going.

I got to the store across from their house about eleven and she left not long after that. She didn’t go far, less than a mile up the road to an apartment complex. I was able to park behind a big pine tree and watch as she let herself into an apartment. A few minutes later a red truck pulled up outside and parked, and a blond man who looked to be about my age went in. They were in the apartment together for over an hour, and if the way they touched when they came back out was any indication, they aren’t just friends.

I’m sorry. I know this isn’t what you wanted to hear. And I don’t know what to say.

I’ll be here if you want to talk. Feel free to call me, no matter what time it is.

By the way, I haven’t told Archer that you and I have been corresponding. It isn’t that I’m ashamed for him to know or think we have something to hide, but explaining would be a little difficult, I think.

Again, I’m sorry. I hope you believe that.

Logan.

He had written his phone number beneath his signature.

For a long, long time, she sat in the window and stared out at the rolling fields of the farm. A light dusting of snow had fallen the night before, and thanks to the overcast day, it was still on the ground. Everything looked as though it were coated in sugar, but even that whimsical thought did nothing to perk her up. She tried to come up with any other explanation for what Logan had seen but she couldn’t. Even the fact that the apartment was less than a mile from Lori’s house made an odd kind of sense. Lori could drive that easily without setting off Roger’s radar.

Just the thought that her friend had, in all likelihood, been having an affair while Amelia was being stalked by her jealous husband was enough to make her stomach churn. It was one thing to speculate Lori might be cheating, but to have confirmation? Amelia didn’t know how to handle that. While what Lori did in or out of her marriage was her business, if Amelia had known she was having an affair, she would have stopped trying to get her to leave Roger months ago.

“She’s out having a love affair, and I’m stuck with Roger. Oh, God, that’s just too much. I can’t stand the irony.”

Eli’s truck pulled up then and she shoved the disturbing news aside while she went down to help them carry groceries inside. When she opened the pantry and tried to store the milk inside, though, Eli gently took it from her. He steered her to the table and made her sit.

“What’s wrong?”

She ran her fingers around the chrome edge of the Formica table. “Lori’s apparently having an affair.”

Eliza turned from where she’d been unbagging apples, her mouth tightening. “Who with?”

“I don’t know. Logan wrote. He followed her Tuesday, saw her with another man. He said they didn’t act platonic.” Anger was welling up inside her, warring with tears. “I’ve been trying to save someone who doesn’t need saving, apparently.”

Eli and Eliza looked at each other silently as she struggled to regain her composure.

“This changes things a little,” Eli finally said with a sigh.

“Does it make me an awful person that I almost wish Roger would find out?” Amelia whispered. She wrapped her arms around her middle and laid her head on the table. “Maybe I should have told her he was stalking me. At least then she’d have some clue of what I’m going through.”

She heard her grandmother move to the chair beside her, and then her hand was on Amelia’s back. “It doesn’t make you an awful person because you don’t mean that. And telling her wouldn’t have done any good, I don’t think. She’s obviously not been thinking of you and how you feel. I’m sorry, sweetie.”

“I think what ticks me off the most is not knowing how long it’s been going on. What if it began before he started stalking me? All this stress and worry? It’s been for nothing.
Nothing.
” She got to her feet. “I need to go somewhere, get some air. Maybe clear my head.”

“Be careful out there. I know you’re angry, but you need to bundle up,” Eli cautioned her.

She nodded and pulled on her protective gear. “I know. I’ll probably head toward the pond. I think it’s warm enough that Bess would enjoy a ride.”

She rode until her face felt numb from the wind, and she knew her cheeks would be windburned because of it. She didn’t much care. Finding out that her best friend had betrayed her so deeply had broken her heart. It was her own fault. If she weren’t so softhearted, she would have given up long ago, and Roger never would have fixated on her. The irony made her laugh out loud as she curried Bess. She buried her face in the horse’s neck as the laughter turned to a sob.

By the time she went back inside, night was falling. She picked at her food, only eating enough to keep Eli and Eliza from worrying too much. They didn’t try to involve her in conversation, and when she started clearing the dishes without a word, Eliza hugged her and left her in the kitchen by herself.

Much like Sarah Campbell, Amelia cleaned when she was upset. By the time she left the kitchen at ten o’clock that evening, it practically sparkled. Eli had already gone up to bed, but her grandmother was still in the living room working on needlepoint when Amelia wandered in.

“Feel better?” she asked as she set the work aside and took her glasses off. She turned the volume on the TV down to a low hum.

“Some, I guess. No, not really.” She flopped down on the couch with a groan. “I think I’ll run away. Move to Mexico or Australia or something.”

Eliza leaned over and patted her knee. “I guess you’re feeling pretty hunted right now.”

“You are a master of understatement, Nonny. I keep thinking that I’m being childish, feeling so betrayed by the fact that she’s having an affair. I mean, maybe she’s happy with this guy. Maybe he’ll finally get her away from Roger, out of danger, and she can thrive. It’s what I’ve been wanting for her for years now. But instead, all I can think of is how unfair it is that I’m stuck with Roger while she’s out getting her cookies with some other guy.”

Eliza choked back a laugh. “I’ve not heard that before, sorry. Honestly, Amelia, who cares if it is petty of you? You have a legitimate outrage here. I’d be spitting nails. You’re showing more restraint than I could.”

“If it weren’t so cold, and we weren’t expecting a lot of rain tonight? I’d drive home and give her a piece of my mind.” She picked at a loose thread on the side of her flannel pants. “I might call Logan. He gave me his phone number. I might call him and see what he says. And I’m curious, I have to admit. I’m wondering who this man is that she’s been seeing.”

“You know you’re welcome to use the phone. Speaking of Logan, what does the family think about you corresponding with him?”

Amelia couldn’t meet her gaze. “I haven’t told them. I don’t intend to. If we end up fighting again, it could damage his relationship with Archer.”

“I suppose that makes sense. At least until you see where this is going.”

That brought her eyes up. “Nonny? What do you mean, where this is going? It isn’t going anywhere.”

Her grandmother raised a brow. “You’re lying to yourself if you think that.” She let out a breath and looked away. Amelia could tell she was hunting for words, and she kept quiet.

“You know I don’t endorse premarital sex. I think that should be reserved for marriage, and that marriage shouldn’t be entered into lightly. These quickie divorces that are becoming so popular, they’re hurting families. Instead of working through problems, people go into marriage thinking they’ll just get divorced if it doesn’t work out.”

“Right. Daddy feels the same way. I’ve always felt similarly myself.”

“Well, sometimes—not always, but sometimes—I think a person should take comfort where they can find it. I’m going to confide in you with something I’ve not told many people. After I went to Georgia, after I lost your grandfather, I met a man. We… spent a lot of time together. For about three years, we leaned on each other. He had lost his wife, and had no desire to remarry. Being with him without worrying that it would turn into something permanent helped me get through those first years without Ira. I can see I’ve surprised you.”

Amelia tilted her head and studied her grandmother. “You have. But I understand the sentiment. There’s a difference in having someone to lean on and running out and having indiscriminate sex with anyone who strikes your fancy.”

Eliza smiled softly. “There is. And I’m not proud of that relationship. Ideally, it never would have happened. But my emotional circumstances back then were about as far from ideal as they could get. Losing Ira tore a hole in my heart that never has healed, really. ‘They’ say people are replaceable, and ‘they’re’ idiots.”

“But you’re happy with Eli, right?”

This time, Eliza’s smile was bright and her cheeks flushed becomingly. “Eli is my true second chance. I’m glad that I didn’t meet him until we were both single. You probably think it’s foolish of me to feel that way, given my age, but the man makes my heart flutter. The first time it happened, I wondered if I was having a heart attack.”

They both laughed, and Amelia reached out to grasp her hand. “I don’t think it’s foolish at all, Nonny. Love should never be considered foolish. I’m glad you found each other.”

“So am I, sweetie. And with that in mind, I’m going to go up and steal a hug from my man. Give Logan a call. I think it will help you clear your mind.” She stood, stopping to place a kiss on Amelia’s head. “Good night.”

“Night.” Amelia watched her go. Even knowing the odds were that they’d only have a few years together, and with both of them knowing the pain of losing a dearly beloved spouse, Eliza and Eli had taken a chance at happiness and run with it. Most of the family approved but Amelia knew some people had their reservations. The newlyweds didn’t care.

“I can only hope to be that brave someday.”

She reached into her pocket and pulled the scrap of paper out that she’d jotted Logan’s number on. The logical thing was for her to pick the phone up and call him. He’d invited her to do so. But she hesitated, the fear of appearing too eager rising into her throat. Hearing him say she was desperate had really knocked her self-confidence down into the basement. Despite his apology, those harsh words still resonated.

“I suppose it’s because I’m afraid it’s true. What if I am desperate? I’d desperately love to be held, to be cherished. I’d give everything I own to have someone care about me the way Mom and Daddy care about each other.”

After a quick trip to the bathroom, then the kitchen for a snack, she settled in on the corner of the couch beside the lamp, her legs tucked under her to the side. She pulled the knitted blanket off the back of the couch and wrapped it around herself, then picked up then receiver.

“He’s just a man,” she reminded herself, glancing at the clock. It was ten thirty. “And he has to work tomorrow, so you need to call him before midnight.” Giving in, she dialed his number.