Chapter 23 - Zoe
My heart is in my throat as Ethan parks the car in front of Dominic and Mara’s house. He grabs my hand and we hurry to the front door together. I glance up at the windows, trying to glean some sense of what’s going on inside. Most of the windows are dark, like black eyes staring out at us in the night.
“So why did Margaret McCoy leave again?” I ask, breathless, as we head towards the door.
“She tried to use Mara as a bargaining chip in one of her business deals by marrying her off the highest bidder. Dominic had to go all the way across the country to get her back.”
My eyebrows shoot up, and I look at Ethan. His face is dark, and he squeezes my hand. We step into the lobby and I expect to hear shouting and fighting, or at least raised voices.
Instead, I hear nothing.
The whole house is silent. Ethan pauses long enough to glance around as his brows draw together. He slips his hand out of mine and a sense of dread starts seeping into my heart
I shouldn’t have come. This is a family issue. Why am I here?
Ethan nods his head towards the front door, taking a deep breath. We stand on the front stoop and still, I can’t hear anything. Ethan looks at me. I raise my eyebrows in question and he shrugs.
Raising a hand, he raps his knuckles lightly on the door.
“Come in,” Mara’s voice floats through.
Ethan wraps his fingers around the door handle and takes a deep breath before pushing it open. My heart is thumping, and I’m not even sure why. I brace myself for what I’ll find on the other side of the door, peering around Ethan’s body through the opening.
It’s not what I was expecting.
Based on Aiden’s tone before, and Ethan’s reaction, I was expecting something… I don’t know… morbid? Some sort of fight?
Instead, Margaret McCoy is sitting on a rocking chair with little Hailey in her arms, cooing gently at her granddaughter. Mara is tidying up the baby changing table. I look around for any sign of the older Clarke brothers, but they’re nowhere to be found.
Mara sees me and smiles. Her face looks drawn, but there’s nothing in her demeanor that would say that something is seriously wrong.
“Zoe! Come in. Hi, Ethan,” she adds with a nod of the head. “You guys want some tea or coffee?”
“No thank you,” Ethan says in a low voice. “I was actually looking for Dominic.”
“He’s at the workshop,” she answers. I glance between Ethan, Mara, and Margaret, not understanding what is going on. There seem to be layers and layers of history between these people that I can’t even begin to comprehend.
Mara’s mother looks up from the baby and glances at Ethan. I see something flash across her face–a look of pure disgust mixed with anger–and a shiver passes down my spine. Her look is gone in an instant, and I’m left wondering if I imagined it.
It could be that I’m just taking what Ethan’s told me about her and projecting it onto her. From where I’m standing, she looks like a doting grandmother.
“Ethan Clarke,” she says slowly, looking him up and down. He freezes beside me, and I can sense the tension emanating from him.
“Margaret,” he replies through clenched teeth. I’m afraid to breathe, afraid to move, afraid to do anything that might get in the way of this meeting. Mara glances at the two of them but avoids my eye.
“What are you doing here?” Ethan continues.
“I heard I had a new granddaughter. Can’t a grandmother come visit her first and only grandchild?” She clutches the baby closer to her chest and I feel Ethan tremble beside me. The baby starts fussing in her arms and Margaret shakes her head. “Go find your brother,” she says sharply. “You’re upsetting the baby.”
“I’m upsetting the baby?! I’m nowhere near the baby!” Ethan says a little too harshly, and Hailey starts crying. I put my hand on Ethan’s arm. He looks to me, and I give him a loaded look. His shoulders slump and he stalks out the door.
I watch him leave, wondering if I should follow. Mara clears her throat and forces a smile.
“Uh–Zoe, this is my mother, Margaret.” She gestures towards the older woman and I nod.
“Nice to meet you,” I reply mechanically.
Margaret McCoy tilts her head to the side and stares at me through slitted eyes. An eerie smile floats over her lips and she nods. “Nice to meet you too, Zoe. How did you come to stay in our little town?”
“I’m here for work,” I explain. I glance at Mara, trying in vain to read her expression. Surely she would be upset that the mother who abandoned her last year would suddenly reappear? Why would she welcome her into her house and let Margaret hold her newborn baby?
I clear my throat and nod to them. “I have an early morning tomorrow,” I say by way of ending this awkward encounter. I feel oafish and out of place in the room, like I’m definitely intruding where I shouldn’t be. Mara smiles at me kindly.
“I’ll see you tomorrow, right? I have our dinner planned out already,” she says. “I can’t wait to meet your family.”
I relax a bit and nod to my friend. “I’ll see you tomorrow.” I glance at Margaret, who is still staring at me. “Nice to meet you, Margaret.”
“Likewise,” she says, barely moving her lips. I duck out the door and breathe a sigh of relief. Across the lawn, the lights in Dominic’s workshop are on. I cut across the grass towards it, hoping to find Ethan to tell him I’ll walk back to the McCoy Hotel.
When I get closer, I can almost feel the tension sizzling in the air. The brothers are speaking in low voices, and I pause when I get close.
“When did she get here?” That’s Ethan’s voice. It sounds strained.
“This morning,” comes a deep growl. Dominic, I think. It could be Aiden, but I’m not sure.
“Why is she back?”
“To cause trouble. Why else would she be back! All she ever does is look out for herself.”
“Last time she was here, she was exposed for the cheating, manipulative woman that she is. She basically tried to sell Mara off to get married! I thought I’d never have to see her face again,” Dominic says. I can hear the pain in his voice.
“Look,” Ethan says, “try not to freak out. I don’t want her here as much as the next person. The last year has actually been peaceful in this town. But I mean… maybe she is just here to see her granddaughter? If Dad was having an affair with her, she has to have some sort of redeeming quality, right?”
“I’ve never seen it,” Dominic grumbles.
“It’s trouble,” the third voice says. It must be Aiden. “What about your new girlfriend? She was looking into the fire, and now with Margaret Fucking McCoy back in town I’m sure questions will start adding up.”
The voices get lower and I crane my neck to try to hear them. Their voices are muffled, and I take a few steps forward.
The questions will start adding up?
What is that supposed to mean? I still can’t make out what they’re saying. They seem to have moved further into the workshop. I take one more step and the grass ends as my feet crunch on the gravel pathway leading to the workshop. My heart skips a beat as their voices pause, and the door to the workshop flies open.
Dominic’s lumbering body fills the entire frame and I yelp, jumping back.
“I, uh, Dominic!” I exclaim. “I’m sorry! I was just inside, and I’m going home. Ethan… walking.” My face is flushed and I can’t meet his eye. I put a hand to my chest and finally force myself to make eye contact with him. He grunts, and steps aside as Ethan appears.
“I’ll drive you home,” he growls. His face is dark and his eyes are troubled.
I shake my head. “It’s okay, really. I’d rather walk. Enjoy the last of the summer, you know?”
My heart is still thumping, and Ethan stares at me for a few moments. Not for the first time, I wonder who exactly he is, and what happened with the fire last year. Was he telling the truth when he told me he had nothing to do with it?
He nods his head slowly and steps towards me. With a deep breath, he rakes his hand through his hair and shakes his head.
“I’m sorry, Zoe. I shouldn’t have brought you here. I thought you’d be able to tell me what you thought of Margaret, and maybe figure out what her intentions were.”
“It’s okay,” I say. The words hang between us, and he stares into my eyes. He takes another step forward and brushes his hand over my cheek.
“You look beautiful in the moonlight,” he says so only I can hear it.
My heart flutters and I smile for the first time since we left his place.
“I’ll see you tomorrow. Can’t wait to meet Audrey,” he says, leaning down to lay a soft kiss on my lips. I nod, wrapping my arms around his waist and leaning my head against his chest. He puts his hand over my head and holds me for a few moments, and my whole body relaxes.
I have to believe him about the fire. If I don’t, then I’ll lose him.
We pull apart and he kisses me again, squeezing my hand. “Be careful,” he says.
“See you tomorrow.”
I walk away, forcing myself not to look back. My mind is troubled, and I don’t know what to think. Regret starts to seep into the edges of my heart when I think about bringing my daughter across the country to come here. Do I really know these people? Do I really know what happened last year, with the fire or with Margaret McCoy or with any of it?
I take a deep breath and let the clean, cool mountain air fill my lungs. When I exhale, I feel more relaxed. Tomorrow, my daughter and my mom will be here. My mother will have fresh eyes on the situation and as usual, she’ll be able to counsel me. Tomorrow, things will make more sense.