Lost and Found (21 page)

“What does Dan have on you? I’m trying to help
.
You
can’t go at this alone. You know him, what he’s like
.
Do
you honestly want to stay in business with this guy? Why are you protecting him?” Sam yelled.

He
stepped closer to Sam
.
The
tightness strained his back as he fisted his hands. “Look. You have no idea how tied up I am. He won’t sell. The only thing I can do is sell the houses, finish building
,
sell my share
—
at a loss, but with the money out of those houses, at least I won’t lose this place. I took a mortgage out when I bought the property with Dan five years ago. I took a second mortgage out right before the market crash to build the houses. I have no equity left.”

Sam’s face appeared to soften.

“Don’t pity me.”

“Hey this isn’t pity, I do understand. But I have to ask. The property you have zoned as a mobile home park, how is it you can build a house and sell it,
and
charge a pad rent
?
And don’t give me this crap about different framing. You’re ripping innocent people off.”

Richard couldn’t hold back the sarcasm as he laughed so hard his stomach ached. “You’re kidding right
?
You know who the real crooks are. The municipality for allowing Dan to find this loophole in their official community plan. The state for having legislation that conflicts with rural municipalities. You’ve already seen it, no one works together. They’re not sharing information. Unless it’s black and white and falls within their rules, they don’t care. Dan’s smart. He put this together
.
Actually
he had some broad put together this amazing proposal. Building on site, but the loophole was in the construction. If he used smaller framing, he could make it fit as a manufactured home. And you’re right
,
it’s not. But those government people bought it.”

“So when someone who buys one of these homes pisses Dan off, he can evict them at any time
,
and then they have to find a way to move a house
?
A house
they can’t just up and move to any mobile home park
?
Sounds like people being screwed to me.”

He
felt the heat rise in his face. For some reason
,
he’d managed to block out the faces of people. He took the personal out of it. But Sam just
ripped
open that wound and was not allowing him to sit quietly by on the sidelines. “Fuck Sam, what do you want from me?”

“Can you honestly tell me you’ll be able to sleep at night knowing
you’re
responsible?”

“I’m not responsible. I didn’t set out to screw people. I’m just trying to get my money back and protect my family. And sleep? I haven’t slept since my little girl was
mangled
on
the
road in front of my house.” His voice cracked
,
and he turned his back on Sam to pull it together. He focused on the
shuffling
behind him as Sam cleared his throat.

“Richard, if you sit by and allow a bully to hurt innocent people and do nothing to set the record straight, you’re just as guilty as Dan.”

He
didn’t turn around as Sam’s heavy footsteps echoed across the concrete and out of the barn. He balled his fist and then slammed it into the cover of the electrical panel. “Fuck
!
”
he
yelled
and
shook his scraped up knuckles. Why did Sam have to put this on him? Rage seeped through him
,
and with one angry sweep of his arm
,
he sent a handful of tools
flying
off the workbench. He yelled and pounded the electrical box again and stumbled against the wall
,
sagging to the floor
with
no choice but to face the truth.

Maggie stood alone on the dark porch as Diane left with Sam, Marcie
,
and a sleeping Kyla.
When
Sam returned from the barn, his face held an edge
she
hadn’t seen since first meeting Sam at the hospital after Marcie’s accident.

Sam didn’t reply when
she
asked
him
if he found out what was going on with Richard and Dan. He only nodded,
and
then packed Marcie and Kyla up, and gestured to Diane
in
their cop talk
way
of knowing what each other was thinking.

As
she stood watching the light drift out of the barn,
she
understood Sam’s frustration. Richard could be
a
stubborn jerk. And he’d always been a secretive
and
selfish bastard
who never shared
when it came to handling his problems. And those were the words he always used, “his problems.” He’d never ask for help—ever. And even when something came back to bite him in the ass, he still wouldn’t ask for help.

She
went inside and closed the door. It was after
nine
on
a school night, and Ryley should be in bed. She kicked off her shoes and treaded over the
Berber
carpeting
the hallway and stairs. As she approached Ryley’s closed door,
her heart was pounding so hard
she found it difficult to breathe. She stopped and peeked at the light flickering from under the door,
and
then it suddenly went dark.
He knows I’m standing outside his door
.

She shuddered through her fear and made herself knock softly
.
 
Without
wait
ing
for him to answer,
she
opened
the door
and stared at the huddled form snuggled under the quilt. “I saw your light go out
,
so I know you’re still awake.”

He didn’t answer.

“I love you
,
Ryley
.
I just came to say good night.”

“Where’s Dad?”

It hurt
,
his need for his father. She wondered for a moment if he hated her. He didn’t want to be alone with her. What did she do to him? “He’s in the barn
;
he’ll be in soon. Do you want me to have him come up and say good
night?”

“No.” He released
a loud
breath as if he’d been holding it, something that sounded too much like relief.

Maggie started to close the door. “Mom, good
night.”

Her blood tingled and bubbled up through her heart as she shut her eyes offering up a silent thank
you. Maybe all was not lost after all. “Thank you
,
Ryley
.
Have
a good sleep.”

She left the door open a crack and treaded back downstairs. This time her steps felt lighter
,
as if she’d overcome a major obstacle.

Richard rummaged through the fridge and pulled out a beer.
She
never gave him a chance
to
twist off the cap. She walked right up and wrapped her arms around his waist, burying her head against his chest. The soft cotton of his T-shirt smoothed against her cheek. She listened to the clank as Richard sat the bottle on the counter and held her. “He said good
night to me.” Her voice cracked as she tilted her chin up, and rested it against his chest.

“Who said goodnight?” Richard appeared confused and distracted by her response.

“Ryley
.
He
said goodnight to me.”

Richard swept his fingers through her hair. The hint of
a
smile broke though the heavy strain
visible on his face
.

“Do you really want that beer?”
She
traced her hands lightly up the front of his chest,
and
then
back
down over his waist. His eyes filled with a whisper of light
,
and his touch promised closeness with maybe a moment to put aside their differences.

He shook his head as he reached for her hand and led
her
upstairs to their bedroom.

The cool sheet drifted over her bare skin and slid down to her waist. Richard’s heavy breathing remained uneven.
Maggie
knew he couldn’t sleep
.
His
body remained tight against her. His arm rested above his head
,
and
she
instinctively reached out and linked her fingers with his. She kissed his bare chest. He must not have known she was awake
because
he touched the back of her head and caressed
her in
a tiny circle.

“Where are you?”

“Hmm?” Even in the darkness she could see the distraction in the lines that pulled around his face.

“Go to sleep, it’s late.” He slid his hand away and roughly ran his fingers through his hair. His wall
.
At
one time she believed
it was to
shelter her and the children, but now knew
it was
meant to keep her out.
She
rolled to her side
,
rose on her elbow
,
and placed her hand on his rigid chest.

“Stop pushing me away. What happened with Sam tonight?”

“What did he say?”
He
rolled toward
her
in a
demanding
way, and she sensed
he was
worried
about
what Sam might have said.

“Well
,
that’s the thing
.
He didn’t say anything
. He came in, gathered everyone up
,
and left. He seemed off.”

A sigh escaped as Richard dropped his head down on his pillow.
It
almost sounded like relief
to her
. “Richard
,
please don’t shut me out. At some point
,
you need to trust me again. I’m standing here by you. And yes
,
I called Sam because I know you’re in trouble and because you and your stubborn pride refuse to ask for help. I love your strength, but dammit
,
sometimes you make me so angry with this arrogant attitude
,
like
you believe you can do anything
.
And
if you have a problem
,
only you can fix it
.
You
won’t…”

He pressed his hand against the back of her head,
pulling
her close
, and
capturing her lips with his. His tongue teased her bottom lip
.
He pressed her back
and
followed her down
,
holding his weight above her.
When he slid
his hand over the curve of her hip,
she
slipped a little farther before bracing both hands flat on his chest and pushing him away. “Stop it. You’re not going to distract me this time. I need to know what’s going on
.
”

He rolled away and sat up. His back
stiffened
.

Before
he could leave the bed
,
she
grabbed his arm. “Don’t run away. Please
,
Richard. I’m trying here, but you keep blocking me. Whatever it is, whatever you’ve done
,
it doesn’t matter. I won’t leave you. I won’t turn my back on you. You stood by me, if it wasn’t for you…”

He
lowered his head
like
a defeated
man
. “Maggie
,
what do you want from me?”

“The truth.”

He didn’t turn around
,
but as Maggie leaned against his naked back and slid her arm around his waist, he covered her hand with his. “Okay.”

It was
eight-thirty the next morning
when the car horn honked in front of the house. “Ryley
,
your
ride
’
s here.” Maggie handed Ryley his backpack and hurried him out the door
,
waving
at Mrs. Bellman in her small red sedan. Her daughter was in Ryley’s grade and sometimes they shared a ride. “Don’t forget
,
I’m picking you up from school today.”