If You Only Knew (Harper Falls Book 3) (3 page)

Tyler picked up her welder’s torch, flipping down a
protective visor over her eyes. She lit the torch and went to work. Yes, in all
likelihood, history would forget. Unfortunately, she never could.

ELEVEN YEARS EARLIER

HER PARENTS WERE fighting — again. No, that wasn’t right. Her
mother didn’t know how to fight. She whispered, cringed when her husband raised
his voice. That was something Tyler never understood. Martin Jones was a bully
but to her knowledge, he had never hit his wife. He didn’t loom over her in a
threatening manner or pull his hand back, an instant away from slapping her
face. Why then did Anita Jones cower before he even opened his mouth?

Because she was meek — and not the kind that would inherit
the earth.

Tyler longed for her mother to stand up for herself — just
once. She wanted to scream at the woman to get a backbone, to stop letting not
only her husband but also her two sons walk all over her. As frustrating as it
was to watch the woman let herself be used as a doormat, Tyler loved her
mother. She refused to be just one more person exerting her will on that sweet,
timid soul.

All Tyler could do was ease her mother’s burdens as much as
possible. Right now, that meant keeping her worthless brothers occupied and
away from the family drama playing out in the living room. Martin Junior, or
M.J., and Kyle loved nothing more than joining in on chipping away at their
mother’s self-esteem. It must have been genetic — passed down to the male
members of the Jones family. If they could catch the scent of weakness, they
moved in like a pack of hungry wolves, tearing away until there was nothing
left but bloody bones. Or in her mother’s case, a too-thin body. Her once
pretty face looked perpetually haggard and ten years older than her forty-three
years.

Today, thank goodness, Anita only had to deal with her
husband’s censure. Tyler had slipped both her brothers a twenty. With money
burning holes in their lazy-ass pockets, they called their one friend in town
who owned a car and headed for the big city. Tyler almost felt sorry for the
residents of Spokane, but they would have to fend for themselves.

Who knew, maybe she and her mother would catch a break and
the idiots would get themselves arrested. Nothing too serious, just enough to
keep them in jail for a few days and out of their mother’s hair.

The noise volume from the living room increased. That meant the
end was near. Martin Jones would soon storm out of the house, off to drink with
his buddies. And Anita Jones would head to church to pray for…? Who knew? Her
mother had followed the same pattern for as long as Tyler could remember. Take
verbal abuse from her husband and sons — talk to God. You had to admire the
kind of faith that had you coming back, seeking comfort, even when you never
received any.

Tyler heard the front door slam and sighed with relief. Her
bedside clock read three o’clock. Not too soon for her father’s first drink of
the day — he’d started earlier. Right on cue, only minutes later, she heard her
mother’s less volatile exit. Martin would have taken the car — Anita would
walk. Again, the same moves in the same pattern.

Certain that everyone was gone, Tyler slung her backpack
over one shoulder and slipped out of the house. She didn’t have a lot, but what
she had was always clean. Her sneakers had seen better days. The shorts that
covered her long, tanned legs were getting a bit threadbare from all their
washings. She had filched one of her father’s t-shirts; he liked to keep
himself looking good so his clothes were always new and perfectly pressed. It
hung on her, but she didn’t care. Being a fashion plate had never been a life’s
ambition and the thought of taking something from her father gave her a twisted
kind of pleasure.

Martin Jones made plenty of money. He traveled, selling
insurance. And he was good at his job. Charming, persuasive. When he poured it
on, her father could get almost anything he wanted. But for some reason, it was
never enough. Dissatisfied with the life he led, convinced he had been destined
for greatness, he took his frustrations out on his family. He needed a new suit
or new golf clubs. His wife and children could get by another year with the
perfectly good clothes they already had — clothes that his hard work had put on
their backs.

Her father’s chintzy ways had been why they had taken Rose
O’Brian in as a boarder. Tyler imagined it hadn’t taken much persuasion. One
little girl wouldn’t get in his way and the extra money would keep more of his
salary in his pocket.

Tyler had her own money now. She and her best friends, Rose
and Dani made a good income doing odd jobs around town. Need your lawn mowed?
Your hedges trimmed? Gutters mucked out? They did it all and were grateful for
the chance. The three of them worked hard and were dependable.

Word traveled fast and soon they were actually turning down
requests, something they all regretted. If there had been more hours in the
day, they would have used them to earn more money. Rose used hers to buy
instruments, guitar strings, and sheet music. Dani spent hers upgrading her
cameras. She would sell the old ones on eBay and use the same website to find a
better model at a bargain price.

Tyler wanted things. A pair of silver earrings she’d seen in
the window of
Jeri’s Jewelry Jamboree.
Molding clay. A set of sculptor’s
tools that, even secondhand, had a price that took her breath away. But she
bought none of it. Her money had one purpose and one purpose only. To help get
her out of Harper Falls. She had been saving every penny, every hard-earned
dime, from the time she was old enough to dream of leaving.

Now, fifteen years, three hundred and thirty-six days old,
she had a very nice nest egg squirreled away in the bank. The loss of the forty
bucks she’d used to bribe her brothers had hurt, but it had been worth it.
Right now, they were miles away, making other people miserable.

Tyler jumped on her well-worn bicycle and headed out, free
for a few hours. She gave a wave at Terry Wilde, happily mowing his front yard.
He and his wife, Bobbie, represented everything that was good in a marriage.
Loving, supportive, a household full of laughter. Tyler didn’t know what the
norm was — the Wildes or the Joneses. She supposed it was somewhere in between.
Whatever the answer, Dani had hit the jackpot — Tyler had rolled craps. And
Rose? Well, her family situation was a whole different kind of messed up.

Luckily for her and Rose, Dani’s parents welcomed them with
open arms and hearts whenever things got too heated in the Jones household.
Terry had even put bunk beds in Dani’s room so they didn’t have to sleep on the
floor. If she were to actually stop and count, Tyler would have bet that as the
years passed, the girls had spent more time “sleeping over” than
staying where they supposedly belonged. Home, such as it was, never felt very
homey.

Any other time Tyler would have sought out her friends.
Today she was on her own. Dani and her mother were in Tacoma visiting Bobbi’s
sister. Rose was at the high school mapping out the school’s big fall musical.
Barely June and she was worried about something that wouldn’t happen until
October. But put a piano in front of her friend and she was in her element. For
Rose, it wasn’t work.

It was one of the many things that the three friends had in
common. They all created. Rose had the ability to make grown men weep and the
melancholy smile. Music and words, words and music. They flowed from Rose’s
brain and onto paper with an ease that was stupefying. She had a gift. She
might not have the whole world singing yet, but it was just a matter of time.

Dani had vision. She looked at what was in front of her and
saw it in a way no one else could. When she picked up a camera, lifted it to
her eye, and framed the picture, it came out telling a story. Her images never
lied.

Tyler liked to think that the time would come when she would
be able to match her friend’s abilities. She knew she was talented. She could
draw anything, put her own spin on it, and remain true to the subject. Painting
came easily. But sculpting was her passion. She had a raw talent that needed
honing. She longed to be where she would be taught — encouraged to spread her
wings.

Rose and Dani were her biggest fans. They believed in her.
Her mother had hope but little else. Her father and brothers, when they could
be bothered, put down her dreams. Name a famous sculptress, her father derided.
M.J. and Kyle barely knew what that was; they only knew that their sister
didn’t have what it took to be one. Others in Harper Falls shared those
sentiments. If they didn’t laugh right at her, they did it behind her back.
Tyler preferred the ones who got in her face. At least they were honest.

None of it mattered. Tell Tyler she couldn’t do something
and it was like throwing gasoline on the fire of her ambition. One day the
faith her friends had in her would be justified. One day she would show Harper
Falls that Tyler Jones was somebody to be reckoned with.

Today, all she wanted was to get away. Find some air —
breathe.

Her first thought was the little cove across the river.

Just thinking about it made her feel lighter. Hidden from
the world, no one to answer to. It was her place. It didn’t matter that
technically she was trespassing every time she set foot across the long, wide
bridge that spanned the Columbia River. The only thing on the other side was
Harper House and the surrounding land. It all belonged to the family whose
ancestor founded the town.

Tyler supposed that if she were caught, the Harpers could
have her arrested. She was only fifteen. What was the worst that could happen?
What would the Harpers gain by having the book thrown at a skinny girl of no
consequence? Maybe make an example of her to keep other kids away?

Tyler didn’t know what the Harpers were like; they and her
family didn’t exactly run in the same social circles. But she had seen them.
Every now and then, they actually set foot in the town that bore their name.

Russell Harper III was a handsome man, quiet, dignified.
What Tyler imagined a high priced New York lawyer would look like. His wife,
Regina, was so regal, just like her name — it seemed like she floated instead
of walked. Her clothes were expensive and perfectly fitted. Polly Porter, whose
mother had once worked at Harper House, said Mrs. Harper had all her clothes
custom-made. Couture only.

Then there was Drew Harper. The heir. The only child. He
never socialized outside of his own socially and genetically superior crowd.
Full of himself, Tyler thought. Given every advantage, his every whim catered
to from birth. Who wouldn’t be at least a bit spoiled by all that money and
attention? Rose swore he wasn’t that bad. A year older, they had been in some
of the same classes.

She loved having her friend at Harper High; they and Dani
now walked to school together. Unfortunately, the reason behind the switch was
too disturbing for such a perfect day. Rose was safe — that was all that
mattered.

Getting Drew Harper out of her head wasn’t quite as easy. They
had never exchanged a single word — why would they? He didn’t know she was
alive. When he was in town with his friends, he kept far away from the Harper
Falls crowd. No matter what Rose said, Tyler thought he was a snob. Looking
down his well-bred nose. The luck of the draw had put him on one side of the
river. The better side — in some people’s opinion. He seemed to think he was
doing the rest of the world a favor by just breathing the same air.

And yet.

Tyler sighed. In spite of all that, she had a bit of a
crush.

It was easy enough to justify. In the fall, she would be
starting her junior year of high school. Still a girl, but with so many adult
thoughts and feelings. Drew Harper was the perfect
teen dream
. Tall,
dark-haired. He had an athlete’s body. Better filled out than most of the
seventeen-year-old boys she knew. Then there was that face. He wasn’t pretty.
He was…? Tyler didn’t know except when she looked, she wanted to sigh.

He could have starred in one of the movies she and her friends
watched. Classic. That was the word. Drew Harper had a face for the ages.

Tyler was glad no one was around to see the blush that
covered her cheeks. What silly thoughts. He was just a guy. A little better
looking, true. But just a guy. If he made her heart beat a little faster when
he smiled, so what? Nobody knew, not even Rose and Dani. When the silly crush
passed, as it was bound to, she would be glad she had kept it to herself.

Tyler coasted around the slight bend at the end of the
bridge. It was an interesting spot, one where she sometimes stopped. Like her
little cove, it couldn’t be seen from either side of the river. If you stood
and leaned over the rail, it was a sheer drop-off. Cliffs to one side, air to
the other, and nothing but jagged rocks and water down below. The view was not
for the faint of heart or anyone with even a touch of vertigo.

Tyler’s heart was just fine. As for vertigo? Just a movie
starring James Stewart. When she leaned over, she imagined the bridge gone,
that she could fly. She was just in the mood for that and anticipated the
feeling when she saw him. Drew Harper. The subject of her late night fantasies.
In her spot. Leaning over farther than even she would have dared. Ready to
jump.

Tyler felt her stomach drop and her ears ring. Hadn’t she
read somewhere that you shouldn’t startle a jumper? Yelling could precipitate
his fall. Calm words, easy movements. That was the protocol. Tyler forgot it
all and followed her first impulse — she shouted. Loudly.

“Hey, what the hell do you think you’re doing?”

If he hadn’t been planning to jump, the loud voice from only
a few feet away might have sent him over from pure fright. Luckily, he had a
strong grip on the rail and steady nerves.