21
Even though she was sandwiched between Jackson
and Rob, Ally managed to wiggle out of the bed and head for the
bathroom in Rob’s part of the house. She studied her ravaged and
swollen face in the mirror and wanted to groan. She also surveyed
her clothes. How the hell could she go straight to work wearing a
pair of shorts and a thin top with no bra?
She shut the door to the bathroom and
turned on the shower, waited until the water ran hot, and stepped
inside. How she had ended up back in Jackson’s bed with both men
making love to her was still a mystery. The last thing she
remembered was trying to sleep and fighting off the desire to crawl
back to the guys. Maybe that was what she’d done? But, no, she had
a faint memory of Rob carrying her, his voice soothing as he kissed
away her tears.
Ally closed her eyes and rested her
forehead against the wall, letting the water stream down her back.
She’d woken up from a hot dream of them fucking her and just
carried the dream into reality. Their lovemaking had been as fierce
and raunchy as she wanted, both men responding to her desire to
blot out the fear and take her to another place where all she’d
been able to think about was what they were doing to
her.
Someone tapped on the glass door, and
she jumped and spluttered in the water.
“Ally, you okay?”
It was Rob. He was naked and tousled,
his blue eyes full of concern as he studied her.
“I’m fine.”
He nodded and pressed his palm against
the glass as if he wished it weren’t separating them. “I’ll take
you home so you can check out the damage, okay?”
She nodded at him, too overwhelmed to
speak, and for once he didn’t press her. Ally finished her shower
and got dressed in the only clothes she had. When she reached the
kitchen, Rob was making breakfast. He pointed at a seat at the
table.
“Eat.”
Ally sat and he put a mug of coffee and
a piece of brown toast in front of her. She concentrated on forcing
the toast down while Rob took another mug of coffee that she
assumed was for Jackson back through the house. She swallowed hard.
Jackson probably didn’t want to see her after the awful thing she’d
said about him last night.
Rob came back in and buckled on his
heavy belt. “You ready to go?”
Ally managed to speak. “I’m supposed to
be at work.”
“I know. Jackson’s going to talk to
Lauren before he clocks in for his shift.”
Ally stood up and looked uncertainly
down the hallway. “Is Jackson okay?”
“He’ll get over himself.”
“I didn’t mean what I said,” Ally
blurted out.
“I’m sure he knows that, honey.” Rob
held the back door open. “Are you coming?”
There was nothing else to do but follow
Rob out into the bright morning sunshine and get into his truck.
Ally huddled down in the seat and watched the houses pass by.
Someone in Spring Falls didn’t want her there, and it could be
anyone. A rock could come right through Rob’s windshield at any
moment.
Ally shivered and Rob’s narrowed gaze
flicked over her again. “You cold?”
“A little.” She tried to smile. “I’ll
need to get some clean clothes before I go on to
work.”
“Sure.”
Ally tensed as they pulled into her
driveway. From the front, the house looked its normal shabby self.
Rob shut off the engine and walked around to open her
door.
“Do you want to stay in the truck? I
can check out the damage and get you some clothes if you give me
your new keys.”
Ally fished out her keys. “Oh, God,
Rob, we changed the locks. That’s why the person couldn’t get in
and smashed the glass instead.”
“Yeah, that makes sense.” Rob held out
his hand. “You coming?”
Ally took a deep breath. She refused to
let this beat her. She took Rob’s proffered hand and he
smiled.
“Good girl.”
She ignored him and went toward the
side gate, her fingers entwined with his, her heart beating
erratically. She could hardly bear to look.
“Yeah,” Rob said. “Someone couldn’t get
in and pitched a hissy fit all right.” He walked closer and removed
the plywood that was duct-taped over the gaping hole in the back
door’s glass panel. “Threw one of your plant pots right through the
glass to try and get to the new lock.”
Ally peered over his shoulder. “At
least the damage isn’t too bad.”
“It isn’t. You’ll be fine once you’ve
cleaned up a bit and I fit the new glass.” Rob nodded at the door.
“Why don’t you open up so that we can see the damage?”
With shaking hands, Ally unlocked the
back door and let it swing open. Rob touched her arm. “Let me go in
first. I’ve got boots on. I’ll get the vacuum and brushes,
okay?”
Ally let him crunch through the broken
glass to her storage cupboard and waited until he returned with the
cleaning stuff. She moved forward to help, and he held up his hand.
“Look, let me do this while you go get dressed.”
“Are you sure?”
His smile made her heart turn over.
“It’s the least I can do.”
“Are you going to check for
fingerprints or anything?”
Rob was crouched down on his haunches,
the dustpan and brush in his hand. “Jeff checked the outside last
night before he boarded it up, but I’ll see if there are any
fragments of the flower pot big enough to dust.” He cleared his
throat. “Trouble is, there’s soil on everything and it’s extremely
hard to get prints off terra-cotta anyway.”
Ally inched past him and headed to her
bedroom. As she changed, she could hear the sounds of Rob clearing
up, the clattering of glass, the low hum of the ancient vacuum
cleaner. She repaired her face as best she could and brushed out
her hair before braiding it again. She put on her jeans and a
stouter pair of shoes and went back to join Rob in the
kitchen.
He looked up at her from his position
on the floor. “You got any gallon-size ziplock bags,
Ally?”
“Sure.” She maneuvered around him to
the right drawer and handed him the box, noticing that he’d pulled
on a thick pair of gloves he must have gotten from his truck. “What
did you find?”
“A few big fragments of clay pot. They
might yield nothing, but at least we can have a look.”
The kitchen clock chimed seven times,
and Ally winced. She was almost two hours late for her shift, and
Lauren was not the most forgiving of employers.
“Ally, why don’t you go on in to work?
Take my truck. I’ll finish up here and bring your keys back to the
diner.”
She spun around to stare at Rob.
Sometimes it seemed he could read her mind. “Thanks, but it’s okay.
You’ll need your truck. I can walk in.”
He frowned. “Are you sure, honey? I
could ask one of the guys to drive by and pick you
up.”
She met his stare head-on. “I think I’d
like to walk. It’s only ten minutes. I can’t hide
forever.”
Rob stood up and walked across to her.
“You’re a brave woman, Ms. Kendal.”
“No, I’m not. Look what I did last
night, running to you and Jackson like a screeching
baby.”
He kissed her nose. “I’m glad you came
to me and so is Jackson.”
Ally hesitated. “Look, if there really
is something serious going on between you guys, I’m okay with it.
Jackson’s always wanted you, and I’m kind of glad that he’s finally
getting what he wants.”
A smile kicked up the corner of Rob’s
mouth. “I’m kind of glad too.”
Ally patted his smooth cheek. “To be
honest, I never thought you’d go for it.”
Rob shrugged. “Jackson’s a special
case. I guess I knew what he wanted all along, but I could never
get my head around it until you came back.” He paused. “It’s like
something inside me knew it would work if we were all together
again.”
“That’s great.” Ally tried to keep her
voice from trembling. She would be glad for them, she would.
“I realized a lot of things.” He
lightly kissed her lips. “We’ll be talking about some of them as
soon as this case is cleared up, so don’t even think about leaving
town.”
“But if I went, you and Jackson could
be happy together.”
“Yeah, right.” Rob’s faint smile died.
“We’ll talk about it, okay? Now get to work before Lauren gets on
my ass.”
Ally stood on tiptoe to kiss him and
then turned away, her thoughts in turmoil, her emotions completely
gutted. Could she really walk away and leave Rob and Jackson to
their happy ever after? She put on her sunglasses and walked down
to the corner of the street.
She should leave. Maybe her presence in
Spring Falls had done some good after all. But what about her?
Where would she go, and what did she have to look forward to? Ally
swallowed a lump in her throat and looked resolutely toward the
town center. She had friends. She had a place at college, and she
would make damn sure she passed every single exam and aced every
paper to fulfill her dream of becoming a teacher.
Jill would welcome her back to New York
with open arms and put her up for as long as she needed. She could
even look up Dave and go backpacking around the country. Surely
after facing Spring Falls, she could face anything?
By the time she reached the diner, she
was way too hot and glad to duck inside the kitchen, which was hot
in a different way, but at least had some air-conditioning. Fig
waved his spatula at her, his face flushed as he flipped half a
dozen pancakes.
Ally put her apron on and headed for
the front of the diner. She hated how vulnerable she suddenly felt,
like any of the folks eating their breakfast might jump up and try
to throttle her.
“Everything all right,
Ally?”
Ally almost jumped out of her skin as
Lauren came up behind her. “I’m sorry I’m late.”
Lauren frowned. “Jackson said someone
smashed your kitchen window in.” She touched Ally’s shoulder. “Are
you okay?”
Ally blinked at Lauren. “I’m . . .
fine, thanks. I can work the two extra hours after the end of my
shift.”
Lauren waved a hand. “There’s no need.
You go home and rest up, okay?”
Ally stared after her boss. What had
just happened? Had Lauren actually been pleasant to her? She
grabbed her spray bottle and hurried toward the first
booth.
“Good morning, Ally.” She turned to see
an elderly couple who lived down the street from her ensconced in
the next booth. They came in every weekday morning to take
advantage of the senior specials. “You’re late today. Did you have
an appointment?”
“Morning, Mr. and Mrs. Ford.” Ally
smiled. Living in a small town meant any changes in your routine
were always noted and commented upon. “Just a problem with some
broken glass I had to clean up before I left the
house.”
Mrs. Ford nudged her husband in the
ribs. “I told you I heard something last night. I thought about
calling that nice sheriff. Did you get burgled, dear?”
“No, thank goodness. I had new locks
installed last week.”
“Now that’s an excellent idea.” Mrs.
Ford nodded and poked her husband again. “We should do that,
George.” Mr. Ford grunted something and returned his attention to
his eggs. “Well, I’m glad that you’re okay, Ally dear. We wouldn’t
want anything to hurt you. It’s always a treat to see your smiling
face.”
Ally turned back to her work, aware all
at once that no one in New York would ever notice or care if she
came into work on time or not. Spring Falls had its downside, but
perhaps everyone wasn’t out to get her after all.
Ally left work around one and walked
back through the mainly deserted streets. It was approaching
ninety-five degrees, and most sensible folks had retreated into
their air-conditioned homes and cars. She couldn’t begin to imagine
how anyone had survived out here back in the gold rush days of the
last century.
Rob had left word with Lauren that it
was all clear to go home, although he hadn’t left her back door
keys. As she walked up the street, she studied the bland façade of
the ranch house. Did it feel like a home? She felt as unsafe and
unsettled there as she had when she was a kid.
Outside the
actual house, there had been good times with Rob, Jackson, and
Lauren. She’d been lucky to have them as friends. They’d been her
family, and they’d made her life far more bearable. Ally gripped
her keys in her fist and approached the peeling cream paint on the
front door. The door opened easily, and she went into the cool
darkness of the hallway.
The house would have to
go.
The thought crystallized in Ally’s
brain, and she let out her breath. Even if she kept a base in
Spring Falls, she couldn’t live here. With the money her mom had
left her in the bank, she could put the house on the market and
take the best offer available without worrying about every cent. It
was time to call a Realtor and talk about putting it on the
market.
Ally progressed farther down the hall
and into the kitchen. The glass in the door had been repaired, and
there was no sign of any damage. A note from Rob was propped up
against the ancient toaster. She read it out loud.
“ ‘All clear here. But come over and
spend the night anyway—Rob and Jackson.’ ” He’d added three
Xs and three interlinked hearts; that made
her smile, which was probably exactly what he’d
intended.
She propped the note up on the table
and hesitated by the phone. Hadn’t Jane said something about having
a friend who was a Realtor? Maybe she should call Jane and get the
number now while she was still determined to sell the place. She
looked around the countertops. Where the hell was her cell phone?
Had Rob put it somewhere safe for her? After a quick fruitless
search, she used the landline to dial Jane’s number, which she’d
found stuck on the refrigerator under the pizza delivery service
flyer.
“Hey, Jane?”
“Yes, it’s me. What can I do for you,
Ally?”
Ally propped her hip on the edge of the
table. “I was wondering if you had the number of that Realtor
friend of yours handy.”
“Alison Haymore? Yes, I’m sure I have
it here somewhere.” There was a rustling sound. “Have you decided
to sell the house already?”
“I’m thinking about it.”
“You’re leaving town?”
Ally smiled at the hope in Jane’s
voice. “Well, I’m not sure about that yet, but I really want to get
rid of the house.”
“Why’s that?”
Despite the heat, Ally shivered.
“Because it’s full of ghosts.”
There was a pause before Jane replied,
“Darn it, I can’t find the number. I’ll go look for it, and then
I’ll bring it over, okay?”
“Sure. I’m not going anywhere until
nine tonight.”
“Great, well, I’ll drop in later, then.
Bye!”
Ally disconnected and then got herself
a cold glass of water. She’d shower, finish reading Ruth’s journal,
and wait for Jane to turn up.
Two hours later, Ally was almost
finished reading. Ruth’s struggle with the cancer that had
eventually killed her made Ally sad. She was just about to close
the book when she noticed there was another page of text, and it
was addressed directly to her. She turned the page and started to
read.
Dear Ally, I hope you
get to read these journals of mine and don’t just throw them in the
trash. There’s a lot of junk in this house, and I can’t seem to
stop it growing. My friends want to help me clear it out, but if I
let them do that, things might emerge that I’d rather not deal
with. I’m hoping you’ll deal with them for me, Ally, which is a lot
to ask from a mother who sucked at mothering and let you down. But
then, I’ve always been a coward. Perhaps you can set things right.
Do you remember when you were a little girl and I taught you how to
play hide-and-seek with that favorite teddy of yours? You didn’t
realize I’d stuff my drugs in the back of the teddy so that if we
got busted, the cops wouldn’t look there. Pathetic, I know. I’m
almost ashamed to write it. But there it is. Find the teddy, find
the truth, and do what you think best.
Ally closed the book and studied the
black cover, her mind scrolling back through the years to picture
the ragged teddy her mother was talking about. It was the bear Ruth
had bought her at the zoo. She closed her eyes and evened out her
breathing. Where had she hidden the thing? Her mother had always
told her the best places, and Ally hadn’t realized
why.
What was her mother talking about
anyway? What had she concealed, and why? Ally raised her head and
stared blindly at the wall. It all made a terrible kind of sense
now. Someone was after something in the house, and her mother was
suggesting she had something to hide, but what?
The doorbell rang, startling Ally. She
put the book away and went to open the front door. Jane was there,
her smile beaming, her flowery pink dress making her look as fresh
and cool as a morning breeze.
“Hey, Ally. I was going out, anyway, so
I thought I’d bring the phone number by.” Jane walked down the hall
and into the kitchen, her head bent as she riffled through her
large flowered purse. “I have a flyer here somewhere with a
discount on it.”
“That’s great, Jane.” Ally followed her
guest, her thoughts still far away.
Jane glanced at the back door. “I see
you got everything fixed up nicely.”
“Yeah, Rob was very kind and did the
glass for me.”
“Rob did?” Jane put her purse on the
table and continued to rummage through it. “Darn it, I know I put
the thing in here.” Her gaze fell on the note Ally had left on the
table. “Oh.”
For some reason, Ally wanted to snatch
the piece of paper away before Jane finished reading
it.
Jane abandoned her search. “Why would
Rob invite you to stay at his house when you’re
leaving?”
Ally shrugged. “He’s just doing his
job.”
“You think he invites everyone involved
in a crime scene to stay over?”
Ally sat down at the table. “Rob and I
have been friends for years. He’s a bit
overprotective.”
Jane took the seat opposite Ally, her
cheeks now flushed, her mouth set in a firm, unyielding line.
“You’re seeing him again, aren’t you?”
“I’m . . .” Ally wanted to squirm in
her seat. “It’s not like we’re going out or anything, Jane. We just
have a few things to sort out before I leave.” Wow, that sounded
lame even to Ally.
“So you’re going to sell this house and
move in with Rob?”
“That’s not what I said. Selling this
house has nothing to do with him.”
Jane fiddled with the handles of her
purse. “I suppose I should’ve seen it coming, really. I know what
you’re doing with Rob, Ally. I’ve seen you.”
“And I know you won’t believe me, but
it doesn’t mean anything.”
“Because it’s just sex?”
“Yeah.” Ally felt awful. “I know for
you there’s probably no difference between being in a relationship
and just having sex, but for Rob and me, it’s
different.”
Jane’s lip wobbled. “That’s a lie,
Ally. The kinds of lies men tell themselves so that they can get
what they want from women. My dad was like that with my mom. I
never thought I’d hear you use the same perverted
logic.”
Ally couldn’t answer. Trouble was, it
was a lie. Ally knew she’d never been able to separate the sex from
the love with Rob or with Jackson. She knew that whatever he
claimed, Rob felt the same too.
She took a deep breath. “You’re right,
Jane. I didn’t come back here to hurt anyone. I came to make
amends, but I’ve realized that I do care for Rob.”
“And now you won’t be leaving.” Jane
opened her purse and pulled out a tissue to dab at her
eyes.
“I’m not sure what I’ll be doing yet.
I’m still intending to go to college in the fall. That’s the truth,
Jane.”
Jane sighed and dropped the tissue back
in her bag. “Well, you’ve made things very complicated for me,
haven’t you?”
“I’m sure if you just talk to Rob,
he’ll tell you how he really feels.”
“It’s not just about Rob.” She gestured
at the note. “That message has two men’s names on it.”
Something in Jane’s tone made Ally look
up from her contemplation of the table. “Well, I know you don’t
approve of Jackson, either, but that doesn’t have anything to do
with your issues with Rob, does it?”
“You’re sleeping with both of them,
Ally. Of course it does.”
“How do you know that?”
Jane made a tiny gesture of distaste.
“I saw them both pawing you through the window of the
diner.”
A cold lump formed somewhere in the
region of Ally’s chest. “You were watching us?”
“I was walking my dog like any other
citizen has a right to do and had to put up with that porn
show.”
Ally felt herself blush. Jane must have
gotten up pretty close to see through the blinds. There was nothing
she could say about that night that wouldn’t infuriate Jane. The
most obvious question as to whether Jane had hurled a rock through
the window to express her disapproval screamed danger.
Needing something to do to stave off
her agitation, Ally got to her feet and went across to the
refrigerator. How the hell could she contact Rob or Jackson without
her cell phone? “Would you like a drink, Jane? I’m
parched.”
“I don’t think so, Ally.”
Ally turned back to Jane, and her
throat went dry. Jane had produced a rather wicked-looking knife
from her purse.
“I think I’d rather you tell me the
truth.”