Vegas Sunrise (16 page)

“I'll have the same thing.”

Libby shivered inside her heavy sweater. “I like your sweater with all those reindeer prancing about,” Birch said “It's unusual.”

“That's because I made it. I ski when I can. Do you ski?”

“Oh yeah. Maybe we can find a place and do it some Sunday. I haven't skied for a long time. Sage does it every winter. Iris skis, too. They're teaching the kids. They do everything together as a family. I like that.”

“I love Iris. She's so
normal
. I don't think I know anyone, and I know a lot of people, who could have stepped in and adopted kids and loved them like they're her own. You have a very nice family. At first Sunny used to break my heart when she'd talk about her family. She's okay with it now, though. Working for your uncles is the best thing you could have done for her. Harry too. He loves your sister so much. It's so good to watch the two of them as they help each other make up for their shortcomings. All we're doing is talking about me. Tell me about you. Come on now, share, what would it take to make you really happy?”

“Okay, but this is off the top of my head. To feel at peace. To wake up next to someone I knew would be waiting for me at the end of the day.”

“Like someone who would make you stay in bed when you have a cold, someone who would bring you chicken soup and who would keep the kids quiet and the dog off the bed?”

“Yeah, yeah. Exactly.” Birch felt like she'd just given him the answer to life's problems. “How did you know?”

“Sunny told me. She said you just didn't know it yet. She loves you very much. You shouldn't be so tormented where Sunny is concerned. She picks up on it.”

“I feel like I let her down. I should have been here for her, but it was at a time in my life where I was having trouble helping myself. I regret it now. God, it's great having her here. Sunny could always run circles, physically and mentally, around Sage and me. Things are so limited for her now. Is she truly contented?”

“Look at me, Birch. We are on a first-name basis, right?” Birch nodded and grinned. “Sunny is happy. Sunny is contented. She deals with everything right up front. Now, if things change somewhere along the way, I don't know what she'll do. I tend to think she'll deal with it then in her own forthright way. Every day I try subtly to reinforce that in some way. Someday I might leave, and Sunny would have to deal with that loss.”

“You wouldn't do that, would you?”

“I might. It isn't the best-paying job in the world. I'm also on call, so I can't moonlight. I don't want to get burned out. My white knight might appear. Sunny and I have discussed all of this. She's okay with it; so is Harry. Would you look at the size of those platters? Do you think we can eat all of this?”

Birch stared first at Libby and then at the seafood platters. She might leave. At some point in time. For a single second he thought his heart stopped beating.

“What's wrong?”

“This is weird. I started to miss you.”

Crab leg in one hand, crab cracker in the other, Libby stared into Birch's eyes. She didn't mean to say the words. They just tumbled out. “Then I won't go.” She looked away to cover her confusion. “I did say that, didn't I?”

“Uh-huh. I feel a lot better now.”

“I feel kind of foolish,” Libby said.

“Is something happening here?” Birch asked softly.

“I'm not sure,” Libby said.

“We should probably eat this mountain of food in front of us.”

Libby nodded.

“Who named you Libertine?”

“Sunny. It's a joke. My name is Liberty. I named myself when I was seven years old. Someone just . . . dumped me off in a basket at the front door. Liberty seemed appropriate at the time.” She cracked one of the crab legs. Juice spurted across the table and onto Birch's face. “Oh, God, I'm sorry.” A second later she was on her feet, leaning across the table, wiping Birch's face with her napkin.

Birch's heart thundered in his chest. He could smell the sweet soap and water scent of her, smelled the ocean in her hair and the fish on her fingers. He wondered if Libby could hear his heart beating. He reached for her hand. “It's okay. Really, it's okay.” Flustered, Libby sat down and stared at her plate.

“You're married,” Libby said bluntly.

“Yes,” Birch responded just as bluntly.

“These crab legs are probably the best I've ever eaten,” Libby said.

“I'd say so,” Birch said.

“Neither one of us has tasted them yet,” Libby said.

“I know. I'm assuming they're good.”

“Oh,” Libby said.

“Would you like to walk on the beach? It's cold but we're both dressed for it.”

Libby had her jacket on before Birch finished speaking.

Birch laid some bills on the table. He followed Libby from the restaurant.

Halfway down the beach Birch said, “Sunny told me you were my destiny. Are you?” His voice was so hoarse and gruff-sounding, Libby shivered as his words were carried away on the wind.

“You're married.”

“I know. You didn't answer my question.”

“Yes. And we can do nothing about it.”

“I know,” Birch said. He reached for her hand. She clasped it tightly in her own.

“It's getting late. We should be getting back.”

“Is that what you want?”

“No, but it's what we're going to do. Until you can tell me your middle name is Liberty, the way mine is, it's the way it has to be. Liberty means free, did you know that? I don't think I could live here year-round. I miss Nevada and the desert.”

They were back on safe ground. “You adjust. I didn't think I would ever get used to living in a Third World country, but I did. Race you to the pier!

“You beat me!” Birch growled, startled at Libby's athletic ability.

Panting, Libby said, “Sunny said you were a fast starter and played out quickly. She said the secret to beating you was to take it slow and steady. The sand was a hindrance, and you're wearing those cloppy work boots. I'll give you another chance to beat me someday.”

Someday.

 

“Oh, Ruby, I'm so glad you came. I need to talk to you,” Iris said as she fell into Ruby's outstretched arms.

“Iris, nothing is so bad that it can't be fixed. Honey, all you have are suspicions. You need to talk to Sage. Why are you being so stubborn?”

“Ruby, Sage came home last night smelling of perfume. It's the same kind my mother-in-law uses. Sage hasn't seen his mother. Why would my husband smell like perfume? Give me one reason. Just one, Ruby. He's not coming home tonight. He called earlier. Do you know what I did an hour ago, Ruby? I called Celia. Just to chat. She was very pleasant on the phone. My blood ran cold. I managed to work my way around to perfume and what do you know, she said she bought a bottle of the same stuff. I can't pronounce it, and neither could she. She knew exactly what I was talking about, though. She even described the damn bottle.”

“What if you're wrong, Iris?”

Iris burst into tears. “That's why I can't say anything to Sage until I'm one hundred percent certain. He knows something's wrong. I'm having a hard time pretending. I'm blaming everything on this pregnancy. I'm buying emotional time, Ruby, because I don't know what else to do. If I'm wrong, I don't want Sage ever to know I doubted him.”

“Oh, honey, honesty is always best. I've seen a lot of bums in my day, but your husband isn't one. All you have to do is look at that sweet guy to know he'd never do anything like that.”

“Sage is his father's son. I can't discount that either. There is such a pile of incriminating evidence. The perfume was the clincher. He isn't coming home tonight. It isn't as though he works at a job that would keep him in overtime, much less double overtime. Be honest, Ruby, this whole thing is suspect. If there was a problem, Sage would have confided in me. He always likes two minds that come to the same conclusion.”

“You could go to town. Or, we, as in you and me, could go to town and do some spying on our own. Two sets of eyes are better than one. It has to be your decision, Iris.”

Iris started to whimper. “What if . . . what if we . . . find out something that's conclusive? If that happens, I have to make a decision. I could never stay with a man who cheated on me. Where am I going to go with the kids? I can't get a job now because I'm pregnant. I want to be with my babies when they're born. I could never go off and leave them with a sitter. I'm between a rock and a hard place.”

“So what you're saying is you want to stay here and be miserable and believe the worst rather than deal with it?”

“It sounds terrible when you say it like that, Ruby.”

“How else can I say it, Iris? Why don't we talk to Fanny?”

“Fanny has more on her plate than she can handle right now. Something's going on with Jeff Lassiter. I heard Sage on the phone with Birch. Whatever
that
is, it involves Fanny. I don't need to add to her problems.”

“Then why don't I go to town and do some spying on my own. I'll do anything not to deal with those chickens. If I leave now, I can be in town by ten-thirty. Things just start to heat up around that time.”

“If you find out anything, will you tell me the truth?”

“Of course I'll tell you the truth.”

“Even if it's bad?”

“Even if it's bad. I'm going to stop by the medical center. Things always seem really bad at night when you're waiting for word the way Fanny is. Do you happen to know if anyone called Billie Kingsley or Bess?”

“I don't know. I think Fanny would have called them. Those three women are like the Three Musketeers. When one is in pain or trouble, they appear. It's the way it is. I want you to know, Ruby, I would have gone down, but Sage forbade it. I'm sorry to say I listened to him. Some days I think I don't have a mind of my own anymore. Will you tell that to Fanny for me?”

“I'll tell her, Iris. Now, tell me exactly what you want me to do?”

“I want you to find out who's in Room 719. Check out Jeff Lassiter. Try to find out where Sage is. He said he might stay with Billie or take a room at Babylon. This is Celia's address and phone number. Check her out, too. Find out about that perfume. If you're going to see Fanny, ask her for the name of it. She only uses one kind, and she knows the French pronunciation. I'll wait up for your call. I appreciate this, Ruby.”

“I know you do, honey. Don't be surprised if I come up dry.”

“I have a feeling, Ruby, in the deepest part of my gut, that you're going to need a heavy-duty raincoat.”

Ruby wrapped Iris in her arms. “My mother, who might have been many things to many people, was the wisest and best mother in the world. She always told me no matter how dark the tunnel was, there was always a light at the end. If you weren't pregnant, you'd be viewing this whole situation differently. I want you to go to bed, and I want you to sleep. Those dark circles under your eyes are not becoming. I'm going to go back to the ranch to change my clothes after I stop to see Fanny. I prefer to look a little flashy opposed to this schoolmarm look I'm sporting. I'll call you first thing in the morning.”

“Thanks for coming to the mountain, Ruby. Thanks for everything.”

In the car with the engine running, Ruby stretched her neck to look into the rearview mirror. “Ruby, you are a fool for getting involved in other people's lives. It sure beats watching the chickens roost,” she answered herself.

Fanny leaned her head back on the chair rest. She made a mental note to write a letter to the board of trustees asking for new comfortable chairs in the waiting room. On second thought, instead of asking, she'd
demand
they order new chairs. She wondered what the theory was behind the chair she was sitting in. Did the purchasing agent deliberately set out to order these miserable chairs in the hopes people would go home instead of staying here for all hours? Or, was he taken advantage of because of the Thornton name? She looked around at the shabby furnishings. The center hadn't looked like this when John Noble was in charge. The two sofas were worn, the armrests frayed the way the edges of the cushions were. The artificial rubber plants were dusty, the artificial Spanish moss trailed limply down the sides of the lopsided wicker baskets. Nothing in the room matched the pictures on the walls whose frames were a mix of metal and wood. The pictures were ordinary splashes of dull, annoying color. The carpet, whose color defied description, had worn paths that crisscrossed. Probably because families paced their way around the room the way she'd been doing for the past five days. Or was it six days? Maybe it was seven. Just this afternoon she'd counted the wet towels in her bathroom at home. Was it six or seven? She couldn't remember.

They wanted her to go home. They kept offering to drive her home. They. The staff nurses, the doctors that were taking care of Marcus. As if she cared what
they
thought. She poured coffee from a thermos she'd brought from home.
They
didn't like that either. They offered her coffee every fifteen minutes. Coffee that looked like colored brown water and tasted like colored brown water.

Maybe she should go home and mow the grass. Fanny's brow furrowed. Did Chue mow the grass yesterday before he came down to visit Marcus? He'd said he was taking the dogs to Sunrise since she spent so much time at the center. He'd brought her rice cakes. Did she eat them? Did she eat at all yesterday? She couldn't remember.

Pull the plug
. Nobody was saying the words aloud, but it was what they wanted her to do. Pull the plug. Couldn't they come up with a better way of phrasing such a horrible thing? You pulled the plugs on lamps, refrigerators, and televisions when there was an electrical storm. Couldn't they say disconnect, turn off the current? No, they whispered among themselves as they covertly looked at her from their two-way windows, mouthing the hateful words.
They
weren't God. Nobody had the right to take her husband's life. Nobody.

Fanny emptied the thermos. She panicked until she remembered she had another thermos in her knitting bag. She closed her eyes, wishing for the miracle of sleep, but it eluded her. Maybe she would never sleep again. Maybe she'd stay in this uncomfortable chair for the rest of her life. She looked around at the empty waiting room. For days now, she'd been the only occupant. She wondered if it was because of the worn, ugly furnishings. Was it possible Marcus was the only ill person in the whole center?

So alone. Was it supposed to be like this? First Ash, then Simon, and now Marcus. Was she meant to live out her days alone? God must think so since He took two husbands from her and was currently working on her third. What kind of God did things like that? Maybe she was only supposed to have one husband. Maybe God thought she was a loose woman. Maybe God didn't want her to have three husbands. Maybe a lot of things.
Please, God, let me sleep. Let me wake to find this is all a bad dream. Please.

Fanny heard whispering behind her hair. God talking to her? She drank the last of the coffee. She didn't think she had the strength to fumble for the second thermos or to open it. “Stop whispering. If You have something to say to me, say it.”

“Fanny, it's Billie. Bess and John are here with me. Fanny, why didn't you call us? How long have you been here?”

“I don't know. Six towels. It seems like a long time. I wish you hadn't come. How did you find out?”

“Thad's staff reads all the newspapers. He saw the article on Marcus. I called Bess on the ship to shore phone. Come on, we're taking you home. John's here now. He's going to meet us back at the house. My God, Fanny, you must have lost twenty pounds. When was the last time you ate or slept? Where are the kids?”

Fanny shrugged. “They deserted me.”

“I don't believe that,” Bess said.

“I wouldn't do what they wanted, so they deserted me. It's no big deal. They've done it before. They sent flowers. Do you believe that? Even an idiot knows you can't have flowers in ICU. They smelled sickening, like death. I told the nurses to throw them out. Chue came. Good old Chue. I can always count on Chue. You can never count on your children. All they do is break your heart. Sallie was right. Sallie was always right.”

Billie stopped in mid-stride. “No, Fanny, Sallie was not always right. More often than not she was wrong. Bess, take her other arm. She can barely stand up.”

“How have you been getting back and forth, Fanny?” Bess asked.

“I drove. Sometimes off the road. I got here, didn't I? It doesn't matter. Don't you understand, nothing matters? I give up and want everyone to know I give up. Tell everyone for me. Tell my shitty kids, tell Ash's son and his sister. Tell the whole damn world. Fanny Logan Thornton Thornton Reed finally gives up!”

“Oh, no, that's too easy,” Billie said.

“Billie's right, that's too easy,” Bess said. “Easy, Billie, I have a good grip on her.”

“Where are you taking me? I don't want to go. I want to die in that ugly chair. Don't you get it? I—don't—care.”

“Get in the car, Fanny,” Bess said.

Too weak to argue, Fanny fell across the backseat. Billie started the engine.

“Are you going to talk about me now the way the nurses do?”

“Yes,” Bess snarled. “How did you let yourself get like this?”

“It was easy. When you don't care anymore, everything gets easy. They think it's easy to pull a plug. You have to be tough to do that. You have to have guts to do that. I'm not tough, and I don't have any guts because I don't care. What time is it? What day is it?”

“If you don't care about anything, why do you want to know?” Bess asked from the front seat.

“Just for the record. I don't want you here. Go back on your cruise ship and send Billie back to Washington. Go home.”

“We don't care what you want,” Billie called over her shoulder. “We're here, and we're staying. Get that through your head.”

“I want to be by myself. I have to think about everything and don't want you here pep-talking me. I told you, I give up. When you give up there is nothing to talk about.”

“So think. No one is stopping you from thinking,” Bess said. “Only quitters give up. You're no quitter, Fanny. You worked damn hard to get to this point in time, and Billie and I aren't about to let you give up. Think as much as you want as long as you come up with the right answers.”

Fanny struggled to sit up. “I can't do anything right. How do you expect me to come up with right answers to anything?”

“We're here to help you. We're friends, Fanny. Did you forget that? The answers are there. You simply have to explore all of your options. It's a weeding-out process. You've done it all your life, so you can do it again.”

“That's a laugh,” Fanny snorted. “I don't want to go in there, I hate this house. I sit in the garage with the door open. When I called for the ambulance, I told them my name was Fanny Thornton. Why did I do that? It means something. Stop looking at me like that. I know I look terrible, and I don't care.”

“Why do you hate your new house? You and Marcus built it together. Saying you were Fanny Thornton doesn't mean diddly-squat. You've been a Thornton most of your life. It was a slip of the tongue. Somewhere in your mind you probably thought the ambulance would get here sooner if you used the family name. You were in shock, Fanny. You're still in shock,” Bess said.

“Those are just words. You're trying to humor me. Go away.”

“Why?” Bess asked again.

“Because something will happen to you if you stay. Something happens to everyone who . . . everyone dies. You have husbands who love you. I'm not supposed to have a husband.”

Billie shook Fanny's shoulders. “Who told you something like that?”

“Me. Nobody has to tell me anything. Something's wrong with me. Just go away and leave me alone. I didn't invite you here.”

“Listen to me, Fanny. I want you to sit on this kitchen chair and not move. I'm going to make you something to eat, and you're going to eat every bite of it. Bess and I are here, and we're staying as long as you need us. After you eat you're going to bed to sleep the clock around. Bess and I won't let anything happen while you're sleeping. When you wake up, we'll talk.”

An hour later, Billie looked at Bess across the kitchen table. “This isn't good, Bess. In all the years I've known Fanny, I've never known her to be anything but strong and positive. The first thing we need to do is call the kids to find out what went wrong. I think we'll have a better handle on the situation once we talk to them. You call, Bess, and I'll make some fresh coffee.”

“That's it, Billie,” Bess said hanging up the phone. “Sunny has retired for the night and no calls are put through after nine o'clock. Birch is out for the evening. Iris said Sage stayed in town. Billie's answering machine comes on, so that must mean she's out for the evening, too. All Iris knows is there is a problem with Jeff Lassiter and the casino. Now what?”

“Now you open the door since someone is knocking.”

“Ruby!”

“Am I intruding? I stopped by the medical center, but they said Fanny left with two women. I was hoping it was you two. How is she?”

“She's feeling down. She hasn't slept or eaten. What's been going on, do you know?”

“I only know what Iris told me. It doesn't concern Fanny, so I don't think I should betray her confidences. It's a personal thing between her and Sage. They're having twins, you know. Everyone gets emotional over something like that.”

“Twins!” Billie and Bess exclaimed as one.

“Yes, twins. Is there anything I can do?”

“No. There's nothing for us to do either. We're waiting for John to come back from the center.”

“Try calling the casino to have Sage paged or ask for Neal and have him locate Sage. Iris said he might take a room or stay with Billie this evening. I'm going to stop at the casino on my way home. If I see Sage, I'll tell him to call. I called the center every day for an update on Marcus's condition. I asked to speak to Fanny, but the nurses said she wouldn't take the calls. The children should be here. I wish I understood this family a little better. Call me if you need me.”

“We will. Thanks for stopping by, Ruby. I'll tell Fanny you were here when she wakes up.”

“Now what?” Bess asked.

“We wait. Gin rummy?”

“Sure.”

 

Jeff Lassiter opened the door to his office. He reached out and yanked Celia Thornton into the room.

“Do you mind telling me what the hell is going on here? Those housekeepers made me move out of the room. I'm lucky I got my stuff out. Now what am I supposed to do?”

“That's only part of it. You're off the payroll, thanks to your brother-in-law Sage.”

“I don't understand. What does Sage have to do with this? You told me you were in total control.”

“He knew about Room 719. The others knew about it, too. It seems they've banded together to get me out of here. They offered to buy out my contract, but I stood firm. At the moment, I'm a figurehead. It's ugly, and it's going to get uglier because they've consulted an attorney. I'm not worried about that, though. I heard just a little while ago that all those fancy things you bought are now public knowledge. Sage has the receipts. I would imagine he's going to present them to your husband. He knows you moved into 719. I don't know how he found out, Celia. I suppose he has spies the way I have spies, the way Neal Tortolow has spies. No one trusts anyone in this business. I think he thinks something is going on between the two of us.”

“He can think whatever he wants. I know how to take care of Sage Thornton. You disappointed me, Jeff. I believed you when you said you were going to own this place someday. Now you tell me you're a mere figurehead. This is not going according to plan.”

“You can't blame me for this. It's a temporary setback, nothing more. Fanny didn't tell me her children held the controlling interest in this casino. It's fine. I have three years to take over this place. It's a wise man who bides his time and strikes when the time is right. It simply means I switch to Plan B.”

“Where does that leave me?”

“Exactly where you were before. You work at your jobs and stay in your apartment. You can win enough at the tables with my system to keep you in the style you wish to accustom yourself to. Just don't get greedy. Your brother-in-law is in the casino. I think it's safe to say he's spying. Let's give him something to spy on. Hit the twenty-one tables. You know what to do. My advice would be to pay off those bills. I have this feeling your brother-in-law isn't buying into that sweet, innocent act you put on when you first got here. At some point he's going to share that knowledge with his brother and sisters. He may already have done that for all we know. Everyone knows what a close-knit little group they are. Sage sees you as the opportunist that you are.”

“Tell me again why I put my eggs in your basket instead of my husband's, Jeff,” Celia snarled.

“You aligned yourself with me because you know I have the capability to take this casino for every dime in its coffers. I also have the capability of making all the other casino owners sit up and beg. It might take me every bit of the three years on my contract, but it will happen. Your take is 10 percent as we agreed. If things change, that percentage can go up or down. Your future will be secure, and you'll never have to worry about money. Did I miss anything? Oh, yes, Celia, what are you going to do about your husband? Your part of the deal was you'd be on the inside and able to feed me information. You got greedy, and now we're in this fix.”