Home to Whiskey Creek (25 page)

“Right before you came here.”

“Of course. Wouldn’t even let me take the dogs.”

“What about the money you spent on me?”

At this, she smiled. “He hasn’t made it to the bank yet to close our checking account.”

Addy put a hand to her head. “I was afraid of that.”

“Don’t worry. The bastard owes me for putting up with his son for so long. Spending a little on
my
daughter was the least he could do.”

“So what are you doing next?”

She took a deep breath. “What I always do. Move on.”

“Have you ever really been in love?” Addy asked.

“I’m not sure I know what love is,” she said.

Addy was pretty sure
she
did. But she wasn’t convinced that made her position any better than Helen’s.

* * *

“You do realize what’s happening?”

Recognizing Derek’s voice, Kevin held the door for his wife and kids as they trooped into Any Way You Slice It to order a pizza. He stayed outside so he could talk on his phone without being overheard. “What are you talking about?”

“Adelaide’s seeing Noah.”

“I know.” He checked to make sure he was alone before continuing. “I’ve been watching her. I’ve put a couple of notes on her car, too, reminding her to keep her mouth shut and warning her to stay away from him. But...the one telling her to stay away hasn’t done any good. I found his truck at her house last night.”

“Maybe the other one hasn’t done any good, either. If she tells him we raped her—”

“Kevin? Aren’t you coming in?”

Kevin glanced up to see his wife poking her head out of the restaurant. “In a sec.”

“Who is it?” she asked.

“Just one of my players who can’t make practice on Monday. Go ahead and order. I’ll be right there.”

“
That’s
so important you have to take the call outside in the cold?” she grumbled, but disappeared inside.

“Addy won’t tell Noah,” he said to Derek.

“You can’t be sure. If he’s getting in her pants—”

“It won’t last. You know him. She’s just the flavor of the month.”

“It doesn’t have to last. If they get too close, she might decide to tell him despite your notes
and
the warning you gave her when you threw her back in the mine.”

“I told you,
I
didn’t throw her in the mine.”

“Then who did?”

“How the hell should I know? Maybe
you.
Or one of the others. It wasn’t me.”

“It wasn’t me, either,” he insisted.

“Then forget about that and listen.” He had no time to wrangle over who’d done what. If he didn’t get inside the restaurant soon, and help with the kids, his wife would be irritable for the rest of the evening. “She hasn’t said anything yet, so maybe she’s not going to.”

“That’s leaving a lot to chance, buddy. Because if she tells him—and he believes her—we’re screwed.”

Noah had a lot of credibility. Kevin felt the same fear, but he couldn’t go anywhere near Addy again. Not after Noah caught him there last night. And he couldn’t trust any of the others not to make the situation worse. “He won’t believe Cody was part of a rape any more than his old man believed it.”

“What are you talking about?”

Audrey kept craning her head to look out the window at him. He waved to let her know he’d just be another minute. “Someone sent the Rackhams an anonymous letter the summer we graduated, telling them what happened.”

“What?”

“You heard me. I’m guessing it was Tom. Had to be. Who else would do it? But no one knows for sure. The note wasn’t signed and had no postal markings.”

“Mr. Rackham asked you about it?”

“He came to see me, even showed it to me.”

“What’d you tell him?”

“That we had sex with her at the mine, but it was voluntary.”

“And he believed you?”

“Of course. In his mind, someone was trying to play a cruel trick on him. His son could never be guilty of something like that, which gives the rest of us a pass, too. Anyway, I told him she’d been following us around for a year. That she wanted to do the whole team to celebrate graduation but only some of us participated.”

“Why didn’t he contact me?”

“I don’t think he talked to anyone else. I told him what he wanted to hear, and he accepted it. He was already suffering because his son was dead. It wasn’t as if he wanted any doubts about Cody’s integrity. Brent Rackham’s a proud man. He prefers to believe he and his family are above question.”

“But if Noah saw that letter—”

Kevin could see Audrey giving the kids some quarters for the video games in the corner. “He didn’t. Brent said Mrs. Rackham found it under the doormat and brought it to him. If Noah knew about it, he would’ve asked us to confirm or deny. The only other person who knows is Shania.”

“You gotta be shitting me. How did
she
find out?”

“I thought whoever wrote that letter might send others. So I told her Addy got drunk and kept coming on to us and things got out of hand.”

“But why bring Shania into it?”

“Because she wouldn’t believe it of Cody, either. We need to ally ourselves with whoever will work hardest to protect him, because that means they’ll protect us, too.”

There was a slight pause as he absorbed this logic. “And? Did she buy it?”

“That Addy
wanted
to have sex with us? Hook, line and sinker. What was her alternative? To think Cody didn’t really care about
her?
That he’d cheat on her without a second thought? It’s always easier to blame the other woman.”

“Damn it, man. That was taking a risk. And you did it without even talking to the rest of us.”

Kevin ignored the sulky tone that had crept into Derek’s voice. “I knew what I was doing. I think strategy for a living. That’s what football is, right?”

“This is a little more serious than a game.”

“I was protecting myself, protecting all of us, in case the truth ever came out.”

“It was brilliant, actually. You’ve destroyed Addy’s reputation, at least with certain key people. Now they’ll never believe a word she says.”

“Exactly.” It wasn’t a lot on which to hang their hope, but it would certainly give them a better chance of avoiding prison. Addy had been gone for thirteen years. He didn’t know a soul, besides Milly, who’d be on her side.

Provided Noah stayed out of it, of course.

26

A
ddy didn’t have the heart to tell Gran about the state of her mother’s most recent marriage. She figured Gran would learn soon enough, if she hadn’t already guessed.

After a quick shower, she took Helen to the restaurant, where she tried to deal with the tension between her and Darlene by ignoring it, as she had before. She planned to pull Gran’s manager aside eventually, but she was looking for the right time, and that wasn’t easy to find with Helen around. Addy didn’t want Darlene to feel they were ganging up on her. She just wanted to have a quiet discussion and agree on some kind of compromise so they could continue working together—at least for the immediate future.

But it wasn’t long before Helen approached Addy, visibly upset. “What’s wrong with
her?
” Her mother jerked a thumb at an irritable Darlene, who stood at the other end of the breakfast bar, pouring coffee.

Addy had just rung up some customers. She waited until they were out the door before responding. “Maybe she’s having a bad day.”

“It’s more than that,” her mother complained. “She gives me a dirty look whenever we pass each other. She
definitely
doesn’t want me here.”

“It’s not just you,” Addy said. “She doesn’t want me here, either.”

“But she’s always liked you. You’ve worked with her before.”

“When I was a teenager! There’s a big difference between ordering me around and taking orders
from
me.”

“She thinks you shouldn’t have any say?”

Addy gazed over the tables that had customers. Thankfully, all seemed to be going well. “I guess. Although I’ve tried to make it clear that I’m stepping in for Gran. I have some ideas for modernizing the place and getting it running more efficiently.” She didn’t admit why—that it would make the restaurant more enticing to a buyer. “But she doesn’t want
anything
to change, and she’s let me know it.”

“Who does she think she is?”

“Mom—” Addy started, but it was too late. Helen was already marching over to Darlene.

“What’s
your
problem?” Helen’s voice seemed to echo through the whole dining area. It was between breakfast and lunch—not their busiest time—but Addy didn’t want a scene in the restaurant.

“Save it for later or go out back.” She hurried after her mother, but Helen didn’t stop, and if Darlene heard Addy, she was upset enough to ignore it. She’d been dying to air her discontent, and Helen had given her the perfect opportunity.

“
My
problem? What’s
your
problem?” she responded. “I’ve been here day in and day out for the better part of two decades. Where have you two been? In all that time, you’ve hardly stopped in long enough to eat. And Addy hasn’t walked through those doors since she graduated from high school. Now that she smells an inheritance, she wants to take charge?”

“You’re fired!” Helen snapped. “Do you hear? Grab your coat and get your ass moving!”

Darlene shoved the coffeepot back onto its burner. “You can’t fire me. Only Milly can do that. So we’ll just have to see what she says.”

The bell went off over the door. Addy glanced up to see Noah’s parents come in and felt a fresh burst of alarm. She didn’t want them to witness this....

“The mayor’s here,” she murmured, trying to get them to calm down.

Her words had no impact. Stiff and unyielding, her mother and the manager continued to glare at each other.

“You need to understand something,” Helen was saying. “If my mother has to choose between you and Addy, she’ll choose Addy.”

“I doubt it. She knows she can’t count on either one of you to stick around.”

Addy forgot about who might or might not overhear. “That’s out of line!”

Her mother pointed at the door. “Get out before I throw you out!”

Red-faced, eyes sparking, Darlene ran to collect her coat and left.

Adelaide exchanged a look with her mother, but they couldn’t discuss what had happened. The hostess was on break. Addy had to seat the Rackhams.

Pasting a courteous smile on her face, she approached them. “Welcome to Just Like Mom’s. Would you like a booth or a table?”

“Is it true?” Noah’s dad asked.

Addy was reaching for their menus but paused. She’d thought they might express some surprise about Darlene’s getting fired right in front of them, but... “Is what true?”

“That you’ll be leaving again in the near future?”

She remembered the many times she’d warned Noah that she’d take off at the first opportunity. “I’m not...I’m not sure of my plans.”

“Does our son know that?” Mrs. Rackham asked.

“Of course, but...Noah and I are just friends,” she mumbled, and waved at the closest booth. “Is this okay?”

“It’s fine.” Mayor Rackham took his wife’s coat and draped it over a nearby chair as they settled in. Addy handed them their menus and hurried to the kitchen, where she notified the waitress in charge of the corner section that she’d seated another table.

Her mother scooped her keys off the desk and tossed them to her. “You’d better get home. I bet Darlene’s gone to Mom’s. I’ll watch the restaurant.”

“I don’t want to put Gran in the middle of this,” she said.

Helen motioned to the door. “You no longer have a choice.”

* * *

Sure enough, Darlene’s Toyota was in front of Gran’s house. Parking on the street so she wouldn’t block Darlene in the drive, Addy marched inside.

Gran and Darlene were sitting in the living room. Darlene’s face was streaked with tears, leaving trails of mascara, but she held a cup of coffee, which suggested Gran had made an attempt to mollify her. Seeing that, Addy was afraid of what Darlene had said. She’d done her best to be kind. It wouldn’t be fair if she’d been represented in any other way, but she knew the nature of this type of dispute. Darlene’s perspective was probably far different, and in her distress she’d no doubt exaggerated.

“I’m sorry, Gran,” Addy said. “I didn’t want you to have to deal with this.”

“I know.” She gestured at a seat. “Why don’t you join us?”

“What’s been said so far?”

“Darlene claims Helen fired her. Is that true?”

Technically Helen had done the firing, but Darlene deserved it. “She might’ve said the words, but I’ve had to threaten Darlene with her job before. I believe Mom had the right of it.”

Darlene’s eyes jerked to her. “You’ve been looking for any excuse to get rid of me! You want the restaurant all to yourself.”

Addy sat back and crossed her legs. “I appreciate what you’ve done for Gran. I just don’t appreciate how difficult you’ve been since my return.”

Gran didn’t comment. She waited for Darlene’s response.

“You’re the one who’s been making things difficult!” Darlene cried.

“How?” Addy countered.

The manager set her coffee aside. She was too wound up to even hold the cup. “You came in and took over as if I haven’t done anything right in twenty years.”

“And what did I change?” Addy asked.

There was a brief pause as Darlene searched for an answer. Finally, she said, “You haven’t changed anything yet, but...you’ve talked about it.”

“So that’s enough to make you belligerent? Unfriendly?”

“I’m not
unfriendly!
”

“That’s exactly what you’ve been. The hostility I’ve felt coming from you has made this transition much harder than it had to be.”

Darlene turned beseeching eyes on Gran. “Milly, I’ve done a good job for
two decades.
”

Gran lifted a hand. “No one’s questioning that. But is what Addy says true?”

“No! I haven’t done anything wrong!”

“Then why would Helen fire you?”

“Because she...she...flew off the handle!”

“For no reason? And Addy supports her in that?”

Darlene didn’t seem to have an answer.

“Maybe if it was just Helen...but I can’t believe my granddaughter is different from the person I’ve known her to be all these years. I trust her opinion.”

Darlene came to her feet. “So you’re taking her side? You weren’t even there. I think you owe me more than that.”

“I don’t owe you anything,” Gran said. “I’ve employed you for twenty years, as you say. And I’ve treated you well and paid you as much as I can. I’d continue if only you’d be a bit more flexible. But you’re mistreating my granddaughter, and I’m afraid I can’t live with that.”

A vein popped out in her neck. “So you’re letting me go?”

“Unfortunately, I am. Consider this your two weeks’ notice.”

“I’m not coming in again at all.” Darlene pointed a finger at Addy. “You have no right to get involved after so long and ruin everything!” she said and, after purposely knocking her coffee cup off the table, stormed out.

The china broke as it hit the wooden floor. Addy winced at the clatter but she didn’t get up right away to retrieve the pieces and neither did Gran. They sat in silence until Darlene had peeled out of the drive.

“That’s...too bad,” Gran said. “I was hoping for better.”

“I’m sorry,” Addy murmured. “I wish I could’ve come back over the years, Gran. I wish—”

“Addy.”

She stopped talking.

“I came to you instead because I sometimes get the feeling that...something chased you away. And what’s happened since you’ve come home seems to confirm it.”

Addy’s heart was beating hard and fast. For the first time, she was tempted to tell Gran about that graduation party. She might have done it, might have blurted out the truth right then so her grandmother would understand why she hadn’t been able to return.

Except she knew that Gran would insist on telling Chief Stacy, and she couldn’t abide that. Regardless of the statute of limitations, reporting the crime would come too late to do her any good. And she couldn’t bear the thought of Noah finding out she was the reason his brother had died.

“I’m here now,” she said. “That’s all that matters.”

* * *

It was one of the longest and loneliest Sundays Noah had ever spent. He’d been holed up in his house, going back and forth, trying to figure out what to do. He wanted to visit Baxter in the hospital, but doubted he’d be welcome. Would Baxter recover more quickly without him? Or should he try to fix what was broken between them?

He collected his keys half a dozen times, determined to try. But he always set those keys down again.

Eventually, he allowed himself to call. Eve was at the hospital. Ted, too. They asked Baxter to talk to him, but Baxter refused.

“What’s going on with you two?” Eve whispered when she called him back a few seconds later.

From her question, Noah knew Baxter hadn’t admitted the truth. Not to anyone. That was when the reality of the situation hit him. Baxter was obviously planning to go on pretending. But he
couldn’t
pretend anymore. Noah firmly believed that was what had driven him to attempt suicide.

“Nothing’s going on,” he told Eve, and hung up before she could put any more pressure on him. No one would understand until Baxter explained. They looked to Noah for answers, but it wasn’t his place to give them.

Or was it? What would happen if he did the unthinkable? Maybe keeping his mouth shut only enabled Baxter to continue the behavior that was so damaging to him. What if Baxter got out of the hospital but, later, tried to take his own life again?

The prospect of that made Noah’s heart pound, because it was possible that he’d succeed. He’d almost succeeded this time.

Baxter needed help, but he couldn’t get the right kind of help as long as he went on lying.

Noah stood immobile in the middle of his living room. He didn’t want to ruin Baxter’s relationship with his family, but if he kept Baxter’s secret and Baxter died, he’d never forgive himself. And how much could a relationship be worth if it was based on a lie to begin with?

That was the question that got him. That was what made him head out into the cold. He was terrified that he might regret what he was about to do. But he’d kept his mouth shut for Cody. And Cody was dead.