Out of the Shadows (Bellingwood Book 12) (24 page)

Rebecca dropped her head. "Kayla always likes me no matter what I do and Andrew is in love with me, so he doesn't care."

"And it's appropriate to treat your friends and family like that?"

"You all have to love me, don't you?" Rebecca asked.

Polly smiled. "Yes, we have to love you, but I didn't like you very much. And throwing tantrums isn't a good way to keep friends. Did your mother let you get away with that?"

Rebecca gave her a small smile. "She made me do extra chores when I got lippy. She always said that we'd never have a dirty house because I was always going to be working off something I said."

"I like it," Polly said. "We'll put that into practice right now."

"What? That's not fair."

"And your attitude was?"

"Well..." Rebecca slumped down again. "Okay. What am I cleaning?"

"Your bathroom. I was in there the other day. You and Heath have made a complete mess out of things. Bring the dirty clothes and towels out and start them in the laundry, then I want you to wash down the sink and wipe the mirror clean. You know where the Windex is, right?"

"Yeah."

"I'll come in and scrub the toilet, but I'm going to show you how to do that, too. If being lippy and disrespectful to me is something you plan to do on a regular basis..."

"I won't. I really try," Rebecca said.

"I know you do." Polly reached over and drew her daughter close for a hug. "And I will always love you no matter what you do or say. But like my father always told me: I love you too much to let you get away with bad behavior. I want you to learn how to control your anger. I won't tolerate it and you shouldn't either."

"That's what Mom said, too." Rebecca pulled back. "She also said that I had to apologize. So I'm sorry for being a brat."

"Thank you. Now, you get a choice. You can either go in and start on the bathroom now and come out when Heath and Henry get home or we can get something for you to eat now and you can work on the bathroom later."

"Are you really coming in to do the toilet?"

"I am," Polly said.

"Then let's do it now so we can talk to the boys when they get home."

~~~

They'd gotten the bathroom much cleaner by the time Heath and Henry got home. Rebecca hadn't complained about the fact that much of the mess in the bathroom had been Heath's and Polly knew that one of these days, she was going to have to end up using the same punishment on him. It would only be fair. The two kids shared the bathroom pretty well; each had their own cabinets and sink. Polly had considered letting Heath have the bathroom off the media room and Henry's office, but liked the idea of having a relatively clean place for guests. It was working so far.

Heath was starving when he came in, so Polly pulled the artichoke chicken and rice back out of the refrigerator, heated it up and served everyone. Henry came home, sat down and ate with them, telling her that he'd had a long day and an extra meal was welcome. She wanted nothing more than to curl up with him on a couch and tell him about everything that had happened to her that day and then listen to him unwind his day on her, but Heath had homework and Rebecca was wound up after an emotional afternoon.

They left the kids to do their things and Polly took Henry into the bedroom.

"What's up?" he asked. "Don't tell me you're getting frisky while they're still awake."

She hugged him close. "I missed you so much today."

Henry held her tight and they stood in the middle of the room for several moments, relaxing in each other's arms.

"Come into the bathroom while I take a shower," he said. "You can tell me all about your day."

"Tell me about yours first," she replied. "Why in the world were you so late?"

Henry shook his head in disgust. "Wrong deliveries, mistakes on-site. It was one of those red-letter, awful days. It felt like everything I touched fell apart. Heath was great, though. When he showed up, I told him where he needed to go and who he needed to see and he took off and did it." He scowled. "Better than some of the other rummies I have on the crews."

She took his hand. "I'm glad he's working out for you."

"I know I shouldn't keep him out so late," Henry said. "And I had no idea the kid hadn't eaten. I'll make sure that never happens again. Any of the other guys would have demanded their time to eat. But the poor guy is so new that he didn't think he dared."

"He's nothing like that boy we met in August, is he," Polly said.

Henry kissed her forehead before stripping off his t-shirt. "I doubt that he'll always be this good, but he's glad to be safe and in a happy environment."

"Yeah," she said with a laugh. "Even with that, they tend to be normal kids, all belligerent and stuff."

He raised his eyebrows.

"A little altercation with Rebecca. It's fixed and their bathroom is clean due to her punishment. She's going to be a trip, that's for sure."

"Sit," he said. "Tell me what happened today and where's Brutus? Did you already find him a new home?"

"Well, there's a story there," she said. "I should probably start from the beginning."

CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

Standing on a stepstool, Polly held a black scenery flat while Len Specek anchored it into place. Everything was coming together. Lydia wanted to have the Haunted House portion finished Friday afternoon so Jeff could focus on decorating for the Masquerade Ball all day Saturday with them out of the way. There were still plenty of items stacked in the auditorium that needed to be put into place, but they'd not had all hands on deck yet. She had scheduled a bigger crew to come in this evening to work so tomorrow all they would have to do is put finishing touches on the scenes.

Len nodded at her and Polly let go, standing close just to make sure it would hold. He grinned and said, "I got it."

She felt sheepish. Of course he did. "Sorry."

"It's okay." He smiled at her and turned back to his task.

She'd wanted to help today since she hadn't spent much time working on the Haunted House this last week. Lydia tried to assure her that it wasn't necessary, but Polly couldn't help herself.

Stephanie walked through toward the kitchen, carrying a coffee mug. When she saw Polly, she stopped. "I didn't realize you were down here. Do you have a minute?"

"Of course," Polly said. "What's up?"

"Kayla said you're taking Rebecca to Ames this afternoon to look for costume ideas for Saturday night."

Polly hadn't even thought that far out. She was beginning to feel like a lousy parent. These holidays were going to make her crazy. Wasn't it enough that she got the kids off to school every day? "Yeah. If I remember. I was supposed to do it yesterday, but I completely forgot. Would you like me to take Kayla, too?"

"Well..." Stephanie edged her way toward the kitchen and Polly followed. "I talked to Sylvie this morning and she said that Andrew didn't know what he was going to do either."

"I can take all three," Polly said. "It's no big deal."

"The thing is, I don't have a costume for myself."

Polly chuckled. "I'm running out of space in the truck."

"That's the thing. I also talked to Jeff and he said I could leave early. Is this something you want to do with Rebecca or would you care if I took the three kids to Ames and we looked for costumes?"

"That would be wonderful," Polly said. "I'd love to let you do that. Could I send money so you can all go out for dinner when you're done? You're doing me a huge favor."

Stephanie poured out a cup of coffee and then looked at the ground. "I hate to let you. I can afford to take the kids to McDonald’s or something."

Polly took Stephanie's arm. "I know you can. But if I don't have to do this today, I'd be grateful. Take them somewhere nice. Don't even tell them that I'm paying for dinner. Just let me, okay?"

Stephanie nodded her assent. "Okay. Thank you. We'll have a good time. We always do."

"Poor Andrew might be overwhelmed by the girls. Don't let him whine too much," Polly said.

"Do you think he really minds it?" Stephanie asked.

"Of course not. He just likes everyone to think so. But wow, Stephanie, thank you. And Rebecca will have so much fun with all of you."

It had been fun to watch Stephanie come alive in the last months. Much of the fear was gone from her eyes and she took pride in her job. Jeff and she had a great relationship and little by little, her sense of style had transformed into that of a young woman who cared about her appearance. Her clothes fit and she began wearing brighter colors, leaving behind the dull browns and grays that she'd hidden in when she first came on board. There had been several all-girl makeup sessions at Jessie's apartment with Kayla and Rebecca dragging Stephanie along. Polly had hoped that Jessie had a light touch and she did, showing the girls how to use makeup to enhance their beauty, not change it. With Stephanie, the changes had happened slowly over time, but she exuded much more confidence now. Polly watched Stephanie walk back to the office, her back straight and head held high. The things that girl had gone through before escaping with Kayla would always be part of who she was, but Stephanie was learning to accept that she was worth so much more than her father ever allowed her to believe. She still met with a therapist regularly, and maybe she would for a long time to come, but seeing her embrace life was pure joy for Polly. She wished she could give that gift to so many people.

"Hey Polly," Rachel said, coming in the back door of the kitchen.

"Hey girl, how are you doing?"

"Good. I catered a meeting over at the Lutheran Church."

"The ladies didn't serve it themselves?"

"No, this was a bunch of pastors." Rachel dropped two totes beside the sink. "I drove by the Springer House. There are a ton of cars over there now and it takes forever to get through the street. They're going to have to do traffic control or the people who live there are going to be mad."

Polly sighed. "It's got to be getting worse. Saturday's the big day, isn't it?"

"Yeah," Rachel said, nodding. "The neighbors should totally charge for food and drinks. They could make a killing."

"What a racket. I'll be glad when this is all over and the weird people leave Bellingwood," Polly said. "But I hope Aaron discovers who killed those two men soon. Unless the killer already left town."

"I drove by Mr. Bridger's house, too. His daughter or granddaughter must be there or something."

Polly's head snapped up. "His daughter?"

"Or granddaughter. That's what she said."

"Who?"

"I was talking to one of his neighbors - Mrs. Cooley. She was outside raking up leaves. She was my second grade teacher."

"And she told you that his granddaughter was there?"

Rachel put the last pan into the dish washer and turned it on. "Yeah. She's come into town to take care of his estate."

"Did Mrs. Cooley say where she was from?"

"Indiana maybe? Or Illinois? She wasn't sure which."

Polly walked through the kitchen to the back, lost in thought.

"Is something wrong?" Rachel asked.

"What?" Polly turned and smiled. "Oh. No. It's cool. Thanks for everything you do here." She went upstairs and waded through the animals to get to her dining room. They'd done a quick cleanup this morning after breakfast, so she dropped into a chair. Leia and Luke jumped up on the table, and one by one, she put them back on the floor.

"Not now, kids. I need to decide whether I tell Aaron what's going on and fess up to all that I've done or get myself in further trouble before calling him."

Leia rubbed against Polly's leg and then sat down to clean her back paw.

"Thanks for the advice," Polly said. "I'm glad I can count on you."

When she'd told Henry about her day yesterday, he'd not been surprised, though the screaming episode at the Springer House unnerved him. His first thought was that as soon as someone could get in there and clear out brush, overgrowth and any trash, the place would start looking more normal. Fixing windows and the sagging foundation would be another step toward bringing it back, too. Polly didn't dare ask why he was even considering these things. They had no need of another house - especially one with the history that Springer House had. When Henry was ready to tell her what was on his mind, he would. Until that point, she was hoping to ignore the whole thing.

Luke jumped up on the table, nudged Polly's arm and when she scooped him up, purred against her chest. Then she said, "You're right. That's what I'll do." Polly put him on the floor and headed for the back door. Obiwan followed, looking hopeful. She smiled and bent over to hug his neck. "I'm sure she'll love seeing you."

Han was out with Henry again today. Those two couldn't get enough of each other. For as much as Henry hadn't been a dog person, he certainly liked having a buddy in the truck. Polly teased her husband about the additional blankets he carried, making a nest for Han wherever they were. The young dog was still enough of a puppy that he didn't spend much time sleeping whenever they were at a work site. He followed Henry everywhere and was up and running at a moment's notice.

Polly let Obiwan run in the back yard before loading him into the truck. He spent a few minutes checking out the tree line at the edge of the creek behind Sycamore House. The leaves had been steadily falling and the dogs loved playing in them, digging down to the ground, hoping for some new, exotic scent. She looked over to her sycamore trees. They'd lost their leaves and the bark was giving way to their white winter trunks. It was quite beautiful now, but Polly had planned for long into the future, when those gorgeous trees would spread their branches across the driveway.

"Let's go, Obiwan," she called and the dog gave one last look to a pile of leaves and then dashed toward her. She opened the truck's door and after he jumped up and in, she followed him, then shut the door. Obiwan climbed into the back seat and settled down on his blanket. Polly looked over her shoulder and smiled. "You are such a good boy. I don't know how I got so lucky."

She backed out and headed down the street. They weren't going far and Obiwan stood up and wagged his tail when she pulled into the driveway. He had his front paws on the console between the two front seats before she unbuckled her seatbelt. "Look," she said. "I know they give you treats here, but you're almost embarrassing."

He licked her cheek and she giggled. "I love you, too."

They got out of the truck and before she knocked on the back door, she opened the door to the shop. Bill Sturtz looked up and waved, then bent forward to turn off his dust collector. "Hi there, stranger. You've been too busy for your favorite in-laws?"

Polly dropped her head in shame. "I'm a bad daughter-in-law. Bad Polly, bad Polly."

Bill strode over and gathered her in his arms. "Marie and I were talking about you last night. We need to have you come for dinner." He poked her shoulder. "But the thing is, you never have to wait for an invitation. You're always welcome."

"I know," Polly said. "But my crazy family keeps growing and I'd hate to surprise even Marie with all of us."

"Aww, she loves it. Your young Heath is a good boy."

Obiwan had sat down at Bill's feet and looked up at him expectantly. Bill reached over and scratched the dog's ears and Obiwan's tail brushed across the sawdust on the floor.

"You have him well-trained," Polly said. "Do you mind if he hangs here for a while so I can talk to your wife?"

Bill walked over to his desk and opened the top drawer. Obiwan followed, his tongue hanging out. "This is why he likes coming to see me. If I thought it was my great personality, I'd get a big head."

Polly smiled and waved as she left and went over to the house. She rapped at the back door and opened it, calling out. "Hello? It's me, Polly!"

The sound of little feet on hard wood made Polly smile. Jessie's daughter, Molly ran into the kitchen, tumbling onto the floor in her hurry to get to Polly. She stood back up, ran a few more steps and then put her arms out.

"Up," she said, reaching for Polly.

This was the age Polly started having fun with children. Two more years and it would be even better, but at least now she could make sense of things with the girl.

"Hello, Molly," she said. "How are you today?"

"Tiss." Molly turned her cheek for a kiss and Polly obeyed.

"Is your mama here?" Polly hadn't seen Jessie in the office of the shop, so assumed she must be at the house.

Molly screwed her face up into a scowl. "No."

"What's wrong?" Polly asked. "Where did she go?"

"She's running errands," Marie said, coming into the kitchen. "Somebody is supposed to be taking a nap right now and she's decided to be strong-willed."

"No," Molly said decisively.

Polly winked at Marie. "If you take a good nap, I'll leave a present for you with Marie."

Molly reached out for Marie. "Nap!"

"You're terrible, Polly," Marie said. "Bribery isn't the best way to get a child to do what you want."

"But I interrupted her schedule. And I do have a silly little gift for her."

"Come on in. Pour yourself some coffee if you like. I'll be right back after I put her down." Marie left the room, smiling down at Molly, but shaking her head at the same time.