Saving Simon (Tarnished Saints Series Book 5) (28 page)

“Like what?” she asked. “That I scream when I have an orgasm or that just looking at his tattoo makes me horny?”

“Uh, that’s more information then I need to know, Piper. I just meant like . . . maybe he was about to say he loved you or . . . I don’t know, maybe he was going to ask you to marry him.”

“He had plenty of chances to say he loved me and didn’t, so I don’t think that’s the case. And if he doesn’t love me than why in the world would he ask my to marry him when we’ve basically just met?”

“Well, maybe to get his inheritance like the rest of his brothers. After all, that’s the whole reason James agreed to marry me in the first place.”

“Since when do you call your husband James?”

“I don’t. I’m talking about his twin brother.”

“You were going to marry his brother?”

“Yes, and he was going to marry me just so he could get his lake cabin and piece of property.”

“You’ve got me all confused, Cat. What are you talking about?”

“Okay, forget the whole part about me almost marrying James, cuz this is about you. I’m only telling you because I think it’s important. When the Taylor boys’ mother passed away a few months ago, there was a will put into effect. It said that their parents left them each a plot of property and a lake cabin on Thunder Lake. But in order to get it, they had to marry within one year of whichever parent died last, and they had to stay married for a year or give it up.”

“That’s silly,” she said, closing the suitcase and pushing on it, trying to lock it. “Why would their parents have made a will like that?”

“I guess it’s because their father wanted lots of grandchildren someday and he figured if he didn’t force his boys into marriage and make them stay married a year, none of them were ever going to have wives or families.”

“I can’t blame them, after what Simon told me about their father.”

“What’s that?” asked Cat, and for a second she was going to spill all Simon’s secrets just like he did to her. But then she thought of how hard it had been for Simon to tell her about his parents, and how Thad or some of the others might be affected by this if the secret got out. She couldn’t do that to Simon, even if she did hate him right now. She wasn’t usually a spiteful person, and if she told Cat, she wouldn’t be any better than Simon right now. She was better than that, and she decided to just keep it to herself.

“Oh, nothing. Just forget I said anything. Well, goodbye, Cat, I’ll miss you. You have been a close friend to me since I’ve been here. Closer and more real than any of the people I know back home.”

“Please don’t leave, Piper. Give Simon another chance. I know he’ll call and explain everything, just wait for a while, please.”

“He’s in jail, Cat. I saw his own brother put the cuffs on him, and I know my father won’t drop the charges, so it might be a while before he’s out.”

“I’m sure that’s not the case. Judas is Simon’s brother.”

“Didn’t he put Levi behind bars for something like seven years?”

“Okay, you’ve got a point. Well,” she said with a smile, “he gets one phone call, so I’m sure he’ll call you.”

“Do you really think so?” Maybe Cat was right and she should give Simon another chance. After all, he said he would never hurt her, and she believed him. Maybe he was going to say something else to her father and was just leading up to it and hadn’t had the chance. She knew Simon wasn’t the best at expressing his feelings or at being subtle. Possibly she was wrong about him, and her anger just got in the way like his did as well.

“I know so,” Cat said with a nod, sounding so sure of herself that Piper figured maybe she should listen to her in this situation. After all, she was married to a Taylor man and maybe she understood them better than Piper did right now.

“All right. I’ll wait for a few hours, but if he doesn’t call, then I am going back to Chicago and never returning to Sweet Water or Thunder Lake again.”

* * *

Simon paced back and forth in the holding cage, stopping every now and then to slam his fist into the jail bars.

“See, I told you he’s an animal. He’s hitting the bars with his bare hands,” said Howard Westbrook, sitting at Judas’s desk waiting for him to fill out the report. “Don’t you have a sturdier cell you can put him in? I don’t want him getting out of there and going after my baby.”

“Like you care what happens to her,” growled Simon. “You’ve made her life miserable. You’ve even paid her off and made her feel guilty so she stays with you. You disgust me.”

“Simon, keep it down,” Judas warned him, but he didn’t care.

“So, what do you think your daughter will do after you cheat Mrs. Glover out of her money and sell the marina?” Simon continued. “She’ll end up hating you, you know, once everyone in town loses what they worked so hard for their entire lives.”

“Why should she care? She’ll be back in Chicago with me.”

“She’ll care because she’s made a lot of friends while she’s been here, and most of them are related to me.”

“Just like Officer Taylor here?” asked Howard, looking at Judas. “You’re just going to let him go since he’s your brother aren’t you? Well you know I have two eyewitnesses right here, and they’ll vouch for everything, so don’t try anything funny.”

“You’re talking to an officer of the law, Mr. Westbrook,” Judas reminded him, “so watch what you’re saying. I know my job and abide by the rules. I’m not going to give Simon any kind of special treatment, so don’t worry.”

“Yeah, just ask his brother Levi who he put behind bars for seven years and he’ll vouch for that,” spat Simon.

“Oh, so there are more troublemakers just like you, boy?” Howard Westbrook curled his lip as he spoke.

“Don’t call me boy!” Simon let out his anger by shaking the bars to the holding cage so hard he thought they were going to break.

“Mr. Westbrook, I suggest you leave now before I put you in the cage with him for harassment,” Judas warned him.

“I’m going.” He shot up out of he chair and motioned to his lackeys to follow. “Come on, now that I’ve got Beatrice Glover’s phone number we’ll get her back here in the next day or two to sign the papers and we’ll be headed back to Chicago in no time.”

“Arrrrrgh,” Simon shouted, shaking the bars again, just so he could see the bastard running away with his tail between his legs.

“Simon, take it easy,” said Judas. “You know this won’t stick, and I’ll have you out of there in no time. But you’re going to have to calm down before I let you out or you’re just going to land your ass right back in jail. If that happens it’s going to be harder to smooth things over next time.”

“Did Pippa call wanting to talk to me?” he asked.

“No, not that I know of.”

“Well, does she even know I’m in jail?”

“I made sure to tell Cat, so I’m sure Piper knows. I had to make it sound like just concern for a brother or I’d be siding with the enemy.”

“What enemy? For God’s sake I only punched the idiot because he deserved it.”

“And if you could have controlled that temper of yours for another minute, he would have punched you first and it would be him sitting in the cage right now instead of you. Did you ever think of that?”

“Judas, let me out of here, already. I’ve got to get to Pippa before she leaves for Chicago and explain to her that I only said those things because I was leading up to telling her father that I loved her.”

“And I thought I was the king of making wrong choices,” said Judas shaking his head. “No, Simon, I can’t let you out until someone springs for your bail and you know it.”

“Well, get Zeb down here with some money then and tell him to hurry.”

“He left for St. Louis this morning with Cat’s brother, Lorenzo. They’re taking care of some last minute business for his firm. I’m not even sure where they went or when they’ll be back.”

“Then call his cell phone.”

“Now Simon, you know I can’t do that, but you can. You get one phone call.” He held out his cell phone though the bars. “Zeb is number three in speed dial.”

“One phone call? Come on, get serious. You know I need one to call Zeb to bail me out and act as my lawyer and one to call Pippa and try to patch things up.”

“One,” was all Judas said and Simon was about ready to punch him next.

“You bastard,” he said, turning on the phone and then realizing he didn’t even know Piper’s cell phone number anyway. He’d been with her all the time and never had a need to call her. He could ask someone else, but the only person who would probably know her number was her father, and he would be the last person in the world to give it to him right now. So he figured he’d call Zeb and get out of jail first and then he’d call Piper later. He had no other choice.

He hit the speed dial and got Zeb’s voice mail immediately. He left a message and handed the phone back through the bars, and sat down on the bench running a hand through his hair thinking he’d just lost the woman he loved and it was all because of his uncontrollable temper. For all he knew, Piper would never talk to him again. He couldn’t forget the look of hurt he’d seen in her eyes out on the dock. Nor would he ever forget her screaming that she hated him and never wanted to see him again.

* * *

Piper waited for hours, and when Simon didn’t call, she knew it was over between them. Her father had checked into a hotel in Benton Harbor with his accountant and his attorney after they’d gone through the books and ledgers. He’d told her that the marina wasn’t making enough money to stay open past this summer and he’d convinced Mrs. Glover to sell.

Now they were just waiting for the woman to return and sign the papers, and also to finalize everything that was going on with Simon. He’d pressed charges and they were waiting for Simon’s lawyer to talk to her father’s lawyer before anything was decided. She was sure money would be exchanged and things would turn out in favor of her father in the end.

She started feeling bad for Simon, but she knew he deserved being locked away. He had anger issues and needed professional help. And though she knew he would never hurt her or any woman, she wasn’t so sure that he wouldn’t do things to end up hurting himself.

She pulled her car into the marina on her way out of town that evening, wanting to have one last look at it before it was sold and torn down. She also wanted one last look at Simon’s sailboat. She’d left her shoes on it this afternoon, and tho she didn’t really need them back, she was using it as an excuse to show her face here right now.

She got out of the car and walked into the marina to see Thad shutting off the lights  and getting ready to lock the door.

“Piper?” he asked in surprise. “You’re the last person I expected to see here.”

“I forgot my shoes on the boat,” she said, and just stood there staring at Thad waiting for him to say something. Anything. She wasn’t sure what, but she kind of hoped he’d say something about Simon so she wouldn’t have to ask.

“Oh, did you want me to get your shoes for you?” he asked, instead.

“No, I’ll get them,” she said, hoping to go on the boat one last time. So many memories lie there, and all of them having to do with her time with Simon. She turned to go, but something shiny on the counter caught her eye. She walked over to look at it, and realized it was Simon’s Bosun’s Whistle.

“What’s this doing here?” she asked. “I thought the kids had it now.”

“They did,” he said, “but they returned it a little while ago. Eli said he wanted Simon to have it in jail so he wouldn’t be lonely.”

“Oh, how sad,” she said, picking it up and holding it in her hand. She knew how much this meant to Simon and she never had the chance to find out why.

“I’ll be right back with your shoes,” Thad said, heading toward the door.

“Thad?” she asked, and he turned back toward her. “Why did this whistle mean so much to Simon?”

“Didn’t he tell you?”

“No.”

“He used it when he was an officer in the Navy. He also played it for Ma in the nursing home the last time he saw her alive. It cheered her up and made her remember who he was, even if she no longer remembered the rest of us. Ma had always told Simon how proud she was of him. Simon always loved anything to do with sailing or the water, and when he got back from his trip around Lake Michigan that he’d gone on all by himself when he was younger, he and Ma had a heart to heart talk. He’d told her his dream of joining the Navy and making a career out of it. She thought it was a wonderful idea but Pa told him he didn’t want any of his sons in the military forces.”

“Why not?” she asked.

“I think it was because he didn’t want to lose any of his twelve apostles to war. He wanted us all to follow in his footsteps, which I guess you can see by now never happened.”

“Maybe it did,” she said thinking about Simon’s story of his father’s anger and how he had the same problem now. He looked to be following in his father’s footsteps after all.

“What?” he asked.

“Never mind.” She played with the whistle in her hand. “So if he loved the Navy so much, why did he leave?”

“He didn’t do it by choice. He saw an officer one day treating one of the female recruits really bad and he kind of just went crazy. He jumped atop the man and beat him to a pulp. The poor guy was in the hospital for weeks. Simon was court-martialed and dismissed after that.”