Withholding Secrets (25 page)

“Well, I may not be as good as she is, but let’s see what you are working on.” Just like that, the mother instincts kicked in and she had taken a seat next to Sky without causing a wrinkle in her pants or shirt. “Oh! History! My favorite.”

“There’s no way that I can remember this stuff.” She pointed at her notes and the tears filled in her eyes. “Keri is showing me how to learn by creating a game, but I just … This is too hard. I just get everything mixed up.”

“Let’s see what we have here.”

Watching my mother reading through the book, her lips pursed and her eyes raking in all the material, it was a sight that I hadn’t seen in years. Placing the book closer to Sky, she went through the sections, trying to have Sky tell her what each one was about.

“I just can’t do it!” Sky cradled her arms on the table and pressed her face down.

My phone rang, finally, when Mom had gotten up and returned to the kitchen. Pressing it to my ear, Keri said something before I made out that she was on her way. Giving her directions, I hung up and looked over at Jordan writing his paper. “She will be here in a few minutes.”

And she was. The butler led her in, showing her straight to us. She brushed the loose strand of ashy brown hair from her face, tucking it behind her ear.

“I am so sorry. Ben’s meeting ran late.” She looked over Sky’s notes. “Okay.” As she began to explain the civil war to Sky, Sky listened to every word. They were right. Keri had a way of explaining things in a perspective that Sky could understand. When she had gotten done, she pointed to the questions at the end of the chapter. “Go ahead and work on those. If you don’t remember one, look back where the section is and reread it.”

I smiled as I picked up my juice and winked at her, causing her cheeks to darken.

Rolling her look over to Jordan, she groaned after seeing the report he had to write up. “I hated those.”

“It’s not too bad. I’m just having an issue with algebra right now and I could sure use the help in that area.” He smirked as he pointed at his book that was laid out on the table, next in line for his full attention.

“Come on. It’s not that hard. I do that stuff in my sleep.” She nudged Sky, not causing the girl to lose her concentration.

“She’s amazing, Coach Kane.” Jordan grumbled as he went back to work on his report.

“I already know that.” I rested back, folding my hands behind my head as I just watched Keri. She was amazing, purely amazing, bouncing back and forth to help both of the kids out with their studies. Instead of giving them answers, she led them into figuring it all out on their own.

“When Keri…” My mom stepped out with the pot holders covering her hands. “Oh, you must be her.”

“That I am. It’s nice to meet you.” Keri stood as her face turned beat red. Drawing her bottom lip in, she cupped her hands together, trying to hold back her nerves and show off the more business-side of herself.

“Just have a seat, dear. Dinner will be done soon.” Mom smiled, glancing back at me and raising her brows again. As my mom filled the table with the salads and the plates, the kids stayed focused on working and Keri was going between them on their math, not missing a beat.

“Here.” Jordan said a long problem as my mom brought the glass dish to the table, reaching around me.

“I hope that you all are hungry.” Mom pointed at the books and motioned for them to be removed from the table. “You can get to that after dinner. The table is filled with dinner.”

Jordan repeated the problem and Keri nodded, her lips moving ever so slightly.

“Keri, tomorrow, Coach Ben said that the listing will be up for who made the basketball team. Do you think that I made it?” Sky closed her book and slipped it into her bag, which was carefully placed against the foot-rung of her chair.

“Keri, honey, what would you like to drink?” My mom interrupted as she pointed at Jordan’s books again. “Remove them now, young man.”

“Just a glass of water would be fine. Did you need any help? I’ve been pretty rude, and I am sorry.” She started to get up when my mom cupped her shoulder and damn near shoved her back down into her seat.

“No, dear. I have the kitchen. You have a job to do.” She grinned as she started walking past.

Jordan spouted off the problem again, and Keri shot the answer right to him. He let out a cry and slammed the book shut. “How come I can’t get that on paper, and you can do it right in your head?”

“Because I am smart. I…” Her eyes shifted over to me just as I brought the glass to my lips. “…have the
big box of crayons
.”

I nearly choked on the juice as I put my glass down, shaking my head. I loved her even more and that smart mouth she had.

“How about this one?” Jordan flipped the book open and read off a longer problem, causing my mom to snap her fingers.

“Young man, the dinner is on the table now. Homework away.
Don’t
make me say it again.” Her eyes shifted over to Keri, who was focusing on the boy across from her.

“You got in trouble.” She hadn’t seen my mom looking at her, and when she did, she covered her mouth quickly to hide her giggles, her face filling with the beautiful shade of red.

“No more homework until after dinner.” Shaking her head, my mom let out a little smile as she walked around the table to take a seat next to Jordan. “This really brings back memories.”

Keri nodded as her hands sat on the table, her right index finger tapping ever so slightly while her lips moved barely enough to be noticeable. Her eyes widened as she pointed at him. “You little… There is no answer because it’s a bad question. You either read it wrong or you are playing me.”

My mom’s eyes opened wide as she looked at Keri. Jordan straightened up as he shrugged slightly, trying to pass the whole innocent kid act across the table. “That is what it was in the book. Would I try to fool you?”

“Would I keep you from practice tomorrow?” she challenged him right back. “Pretty sure
that
math adds up.”

“Keri!” he whined.

“Jordan!” She gritted her teeth as she spouted off the equation, remembering what Jordan had given her, and then she corrected it with the answer that it should be. “Don’t test me!”

“How about this…?” Jordan leaned over, cracking his book just enough to give her another and a harder equation.

She stared at him, and he stared right back at her in a challenge. Her finger twitched a little and her lips moved slightly.

“You two…” My mom pointed at the dinner. “We do not do homework when the table is full.”

“If I get it right, you are doing the dishes.” Her jaw flexed slightly and then eased.

Jordan leaned a little closer to my mom. “She’s not going to get this one. Just watch.”

Keri’s finger tapped.

“Usually, she has to have the equation read to her three times and she will know it in a second. She’s not going—”

Keri rattled off the answer and corrected the problem, causing Jordan’s jaw to drop. “I told you. You have to do dishes.” Cockily, she picked up her glass of water, bringing it to her lips in triumph. “It’s dinner time. No more homework until after.”

“Hmm … I see that someone else has broken the rules also. I would…” My mother switched her looks between the both of them. Placing her elbows on the table, she pointed her elegant fingers at Jordan and Keri. “…highly suggest you two figure out which one will wash and which one will dry.”

Keri’s mouth fell open as she looked at my mom, surprised.

“Pick your chin up, dear. That’s how it goes in this house.” Smiling, Mom dished out the food to her plate and shrugged. “This will be nice for a change. I resisted the thought of having the traitorous job of doing them tonight.”

I laughed, feeling the burning of Keri’s eyes on me. I could have stopped her, but I was sick of helping with the dishes. I just did it because I loved my mom.

Through dinner, the conversation was pleasant and I could tell that my mom really liked Keri and the kids. Just like clockwork, after dinner, they all arose from their chairs and helped clear the table, impressing my mom more. As the bustle calmed and Jordan and Keri were in the kitchen, Sky brought out her math and started working on it. Taking a seat next to her, I tried helping her, but it was no use. I didn’t remember that stuff and I couldn’t believe that Keri was able to do that in her head.

Finally, my mom closed the book and rested her hand on Sky’s shoulder. “Give it a rest for now and take a break, honey.”

“I have to get it done.” The tears came back to Sky’s eyes.

“The problem is…” Pulling the chair out, Mom had taken a seat on the other side of the younger woman. Her arms rested on the table as the compassion filled in her face. “…you get too frustrated, honey. When you get too frustrated, you shut down. You need to stop and clear your mind.”

“I know, but Mr. Donaldson…”

“Clear your mind. You know this, and I know that you do. You need to learn how to focus from the distraction.” She glanced up at me. “Is she always like this?”

“Keri can calm her down most of the time.” I nodded as I glanced to the kitchen doors hearing the roaring of laughter coming from Keri and Jordan. What a perfect life this was. This was more satisfying than anything I ever had.

When the two came out, Keri’s smile dropped as she saw the look on Sky’s face. She instantly went to the girl, pulling her to her chest. Getting her calmed down, she smiled and rubbed Sky’s back. “Try it again, and just remember what I told you. The beach, the waves, the palms.”

“And all of us there, dancing, singing, and together.”

“Of course.” She hugged Sky again before letting her return to her math. And Sky was able to return to her book and finish her homework.

Pulling Keri to my lap, I directed her to sit on my knee as I wrapped my arms around her waist, holding her to me. I was never going to let this one go. Never in a million years.

My head was pounding. Work had been more hectic through the week, and Saturday I had to get to Jordan’s game. If I missed it, I wasn’t going to be happy. When I left Kane’s, I had driven past our house just as another car slowly driving by also. One that I hadn’t seen it before. But something caught my attention about it. Something wasn’t right.

Hitting the brakes, I flipped on the blinker and looked into the mirror, seeing the red lights come on, on the back of the car. As I started to turn into my driveway, my heart stopped when I saw the other car coming to a full stop. Instead, I steered back onto the road and drove away. Someone was watching our house.

As soon as I got to work and into my office area, I slid into my desk chair and logged into my computer. My hands trembled as I glanced around to see if anyone else was in yet. One of the cubicles had the desk lights on, and I could hear a couple people typing away, but for a Saturday, there wasn’t going to be much activity anyway.

Unlocking my computer, I pulled up two screens. One as a block and the other so I could do some searching. Keeping my eyes open and my hearing on the world around me, I flipped back and forth through the screens. Hearing the footsteps, I spread out my papers, pulled up the report that was the first thing to accomplish today, and straightened my black blouse.

“Good morning, Keri.” My boss, Mr. George, smiled as he leaned against the cubical wall with the cup of coffee in his hand. His hair was combed back and dressed in jeans and a polo shirt. He was a handsome looking older man. And such a help in these past few weeks, being so easy on me. “Listen, I know that your son’s game is today, but I really need those reports to hand in.”

“I will be sure to get them done today. It shouldn’t take me too long.” My heart beat hard. I needed him to leave so I could finish out my little research project. I needed him to go away, but he just stood there.

“I just wanted to let you know that if you need anything, let me know. I know what it’s like to worry about the missing girls. I have one of my own coming up on that age and it’s pure hell, I tell ya.” He rubbed his forehead as he looked at his coffee. “I’m working on getting you home more. If we can get the clearance, that means that you can do a lot of this at home where you can be right there with the kids.”

“That would be great.” Working from home would be wonderful. The kids could be there, and I wouldn’t have to worry so much. And this summer, having them home meant more time we could spend together on fixing up our house, redecorating it as we liked, and we could even spend time planting some flowers, and maybe a garden for some fresh vegetables.

“Good. As soon as I get the word, we will get you set up at your house with everything.” He nodded as he sipped his coffee, still not making a motion to head down to his office. Maybe he was wanting me to complete these reports with him hanging over my shoulder. “I really appreciate all the work that you are doing. It’s really saving this company’s ass.”

“I try to do my best for you, seeing as how much you’ve been helping me get everything taken care of with the kids.” And that wasn’t a lie.

He’d been letting me go when I needed to tend to the kids and the school. But, the buzz around the office was getting heavier, wondering why I had to run out all the time and they didn’t have the luxury. Even with my job being ten times more than theirs, I still completed the majority of it before I left for the evening.

The Saturdays were only to fill up some more time and get a little time and a half to have extra spending cash. Seeing as Sky was set on making this Christmas special, I would need that extra money to use in order to do so. Kane would be more than happy to toss me some extra cash, but I wanted that to end. My relationship was with him, not his wallet, and he had to stop spending so freely on us.

“Hey. I understand completely. You job here is secure, Keri. Don’t ever worry about it. Just make sure that your daughter is safe. I wouldn’t want anything to happen to her.” He tipped his head and walked away with his shoulders slumped.

Locking my computer, I followed him to his office where he plopped down in his leather executive chair. Picking up the picture of the young dark haired girl with beautiful blue eyes, he caressed the brass frame and sighed heavily.

“Mr. George, is everything okay today?” I leaned against the doorway, making sure that my blouse hadn’t risen over the beige hips of my pants to bare anything. Last night, Kane tackled me to the bed and left marks all over with his mouth. I had been mad at first, though seeing how he claimed to be ‘
marking his territory’
, I was more turned on. He just assured me they were in places that wouldn’t be seen.

“I just worry, that’s all. Those girls were closer, Keri. Those two girls that were taken were so close to here.” The glass filled over his eyes as he put his picture back. “If anything happened to her … If it was her…”

“She’s home and safe. All you can do is keep her guarded and with someone at all times.” Being a parent was tough, but I felt his pain. It was nerve wracking worrying about letting the kids go to school when the safest place was the school.

“Yeah. With Melinda gone…” He slumped forward, almost knocking over his coffee. I jumped and moved the cup out of the way and placed it beside the picture of his daughter. “It’s just so hard.”

His wife died of cancer a couple years ago and he had just the girl. It was him and his daughter. When I came to his office after Joe left, he was the one who helped me get everything straightened out and who to talk to about the kids. Without him, I never would have known what to do. And his patience with me having to leave early sometimes really helped.

“Are there any clues or anything that the cops have with any of the missing girls? I mean, is there anything that can pin them all together?” They could be mixed up with some runaways, but with all of them twelve and thirteen, it had to be a ring that was targeting these girls.

“No. Nothing except for their ages. All twelve to thirteen.” He let out a breath. “All I heard was that they are thinking that it is part of that underground sex slave trade out east where they are selling these girls for money to people who are buying them to act as sex slaves. They haven’t had any leads on who it is or if it’s a group. I would like to find the bastards and kill them.” He balled his fists tightly as he eyed the picture. “I’m trying to dig up anything to see if I can find out anything. Just don’t worry about your daughter, because they will have to go through me first. I know what it’s like to worry, Keri. I got your back.”

“Thanks. And if you need anything, just let me know.” I nodded, the muscles in my chest were pulling together. I needed to find out more about this. And I knew who I could call, but I didn’t want to. If this was a ring in the eastern part of the states, my brother would have heard about it for sure.

Getting back to my computer, I pushed out one of the reports and checked the screen for my information. Nothing there, but that wasn’t where I was going to stop. Bringing up another page, I waited and went through the other report, double checking the numbers that weren’t adding up. Something was way off.

Switching the screens, my heart stopped. I blinked, not believing what I had seen. I needed some more information, but I couldn’t use the work computers. I knew that our computers and activities were monitored, and I couldn’t risk getting fired. I had to find someplace to use the computer and figure this out, and what I needed to do was going to be very illegal.

Fixing the report, I gave them to Mr. George and headed out as fast as I could. I needed to talk to Kane, and now. Waiting for the game to be over was going to take too long.

I got to the ice rink right before the game started. I didn’t make it to talk to him, but maybe I shouldn’t tell Kane. Maybe I should figure this out first. If he knew about this, he would walk away in an instant, and I couldn’t have that happen. Finding Ben dressed in his usual jeans and long-sleeved t-shirt, and sitting in toward the top of our team’s bleacher section, I slid onto the bench next to him and glanced at the two girls seated down a row, right in front of us.

He rubbed the stubble on his jaw as he watched the players getting ready on the ice. “I was hoping that you weren’t late. This is going to be the game. If they win this—”

“Ben, I’m still married.” My heart rapped hard, wanting to fall out of my chest. How could this have happened? I filed the paperwork just as I was told and the divorce was never pushed through.

His soft blue eyes popped open as he looked at me. “What?”

“My divorce should have been granted, Ben. They didn’t do it.” I cupped my head into my hands, the pain hitting straight into my heart and urging the pieces that had mended together to break apart again. If Kane or anyone found out, the kids would be devastated when the child protection services would be rummaging through our lives. “He left us, and they said it would be granted because of abandonment. And it wasn’t. They never granted it.”

“Keri.” His hand came down on my arm as he nudged me toward the staircase into the corner. “This isn’t good. Someone finds out about this and you being with Kane…”

“How …?” My stomach clenched and all the color walked away from my face, leaving me lightheaded and my heart dropping into the bottom of my stomach. “How did you know?”

“The kids.” His eyes softened and his hand rested on my back. “Keri, they will look at that in court and see that as bad. If he abandoned you and left the kids to you, they are yours. If your divorce isn’t granted, then that means that he still has rights to the kids.”

“Ben, please. I am not lying. I filed the paperwork and they told me that I would be divorced. He hasn’t come back and they hadn’t—”

“Settle down. Just calm down.” He cleared his throat, checking on the girls. “Monday, call them and check into it. There has to be a reason they hadn’t passed the divorce through. And they will have records as to why.”

“He left us, Ben. They had to. I filled out everything.”

“I know. Just…” His eyes shifted around before coming to me. “Keep this under wraps. People find out that you’re not divorced and being with him, they will turn you in regardless of knowing the truth.”

“I need to use a computer. Is there one around that you know of?” I bit my lip. I really had to figure this out before anyone found out and talk to my brother. Chuck would be my source for the information on the girls and that whole east coast sex thing. As much as I didn’t want to talk to him, I had to, just in case my house was being scouted for the next missing victim.

The courthouse would have to be my Monday adventure. One I had to figure out before this spread around the city like wildfire. Kane was so good to us, and losing him was not an option. Not when I needed his strength and security until I found out if this car was involved in the missing teens.

“There is nothing that you can do about it right now. Monday morning, you need to go to the courthouse and check on it.”

“Kane’s going to leave us. You know that he will.” Tears blistered my eyes as I watched Kane in the box, shouting to the boys on the ice. If I lost him, I don’t know what I would do. Being with him was the best thing to happen to us. Finding out that I was committing adultery made me a very bad person, someone who my mom would be ashamed of. She must be rolling over in her grave now that I hadn’t followed through on assuring the divorce was handled before jumping in the arms of another man.

“Wait until Monday. Just wait until Monday and find out why they hadn’t granted that divorce.” His thick, large hand came down on my shoulder. “It will be okay, Keri.”

“Do me a favor and really keep Alicia under lock and key. I am thinking that these missing girls will happen here next.” My whole body tightened as I thought about that car this morning. The one person who I had to thank for all his help, may turn out to hate me over this. That one person was coaching the team; the same one who wouldn’t let us even know the alarm code for the house. That was how much he was protecting us. Finding out that I was still legally married would send him running in a heartbeat.

“I will.” Assuring me, he walked me back to the bench and we sat there watching the game. As usual, he told me about the plays and what was going on. I couldn’t keep my attention on the ice when all I could think about was the missing money from our accounts, the break in, that car, and now the divorce. It had to be Joe.

Jordan said he heard that his dad was around and he wanted to protect us. Maybe Joe was around and creating all this, but why? Joe was a moron, but he wouldn’t do something like that. He wouldn’t be able to. He would be the first suspect before anyone else.

That was the thing. No one was looking into the matters. Not the missing money. Not the break in. Nothing. No one was looking in on it. Why would they if we were still married? We were still married, and that was why no one was doing a damn thing.

As soon as the game ended, Ben escorted me and the two girls to the front entrance and waited for Jordan and Andrew. He reminded me a few times that this all would be taken care of on Monday and not to worry.

But how could I not worry? I was still legally married and things had been happening too often to us. It was all a matter of finding out where Joe was hiding. And once I found him, I would make him pay for all of the pain and hurt and fear he put into his two kids.