Chapter Ten
Nadya felt a flush creep up her cheeks as every woman on the playground stared at her. There was absolute silence, and she had no idea how to fill it.
“Lordy, I wouldn’t mind a bit if he used those handcuffs on me,” Opal said.
“Opal Miller, you’re a married woman!” Mary Ellen replied.
“But she’s not dead,” Jemma said. “I don’t know how you’re sitting there cool as a cucumber, Nadya. When he swooped in and planted one on you, it got my panties wet all the way over here. It’s been years since Rob kissed me like that. I may have to remind him tonight how it’s done.”
She was so embarrassed she wanted to crawl in a hole and die. Next thing you know, they’d start calling her gypsy whore.
“I can’t believe he just did that in front of everyone.” She put her face in her hands.
“Honey, that man just claimed you as his in front of three of the worst gossips in Dale.” Mary Ellen gestured to where Lydia and her friends stood in a cluster, their mouths practically hanging open. “He might as well have hung a sign on your neck that said Property of J.T. McBride. He was trying to protect you, not embarrass you.”
“He can protect me any time,” Jemma said with a hoot of laughter.
Nadya couldn’t believe it. This definitely wasn’t the reaction she’d been expecting. Had she been so blinded by what happened with the Campbells that last day in Dale that she’d let it paint all the people of Dale negatively? Was she really that narrow minded?
“Is his body as good as it seems under that uniform? I was passing by the bathroom at work one day—you know, I’m the department secretary, at least part-time secretary, right?” Opal paused while Nadya shook her head. “Anyway, I had to bring something to the chief and was going right by the men’s washroom when someone walked out. J.T. was changing his shirt, and I caught a two-second glimpse of his chest. Made me glad to be a woman so I could appreciate it.”
Nadya thought about the way his muscles had rippled as he drove into her last night, the feel of his iron-hard body under her hands as she held on to him, and couldn’t control the shiver of delight that tingled over her. She closed her eyes as a bolt of heat shot straight to her core.
“I’ll take that as a yes,” Opal said, fanning herself. “I think Junior’s getting lucky tonight.”
“I can’t believe I’m sitting at a park with kids all around talking about sex. Shouldn’t you be discussing, I don’t know, parenting strategies or something?” Nadya asked.
Mary Ellen snorted. “Sure. And when we’re not talking about nap time, we’re discussing the bake sale and how to get stains out of our husbands’ shirts. Get real. This is the twenty-first century, not the 1950s. Opal even had a sex-toy party a while back.”
“What?” Nadya couldn’t stop the image of an orgy slash barbeque from popping into her head.
“Not using them, buying them. There’s a catalogue that has everything from porn to vibrators to lubricants in it. I got me some of that tingling lube. It was hot,” Mary Ellen said with a wink.
“Please stop. I really don’t want to think about you and Bill having sex.”
Peals of laughter rang out, and Nadya found herself joining in. Jemma got up to stop her boy Luke from eating sand, and Mary Ellen gave Hunter a sippy cup of water. It was all so normal and yet not at all what she’d expected.
When they’d first gotten to the park and the other women had moved away, Nadya had been pissed, but it was what she’d expected. Then J.T. had come and forced her to confront them. Instead of being met with universal scorn, she’d been welcomed by at least some of the women. Sure, Lydia and her group had gone off and ignored her, but so what? Lydia and Pansy were best friends, so her behavior wasn’t unusual for their ilk.
Had Dale changed that much, or had she just remembered only the bad things?
“Mama, can we get ice cream now?” Billy asked.
Mary Ellen looked at her watch. “Sure, honey. Then we better head home so I can start dinner. I didn’t realize how long we’d been here.”
Opal and Jemma gathered their kids as well. “How long are you in town for, Nadya?” Jemma asked.
“I’m not sure. I’m still trying to finalize some details.”
“If you’re still around on Wednesday, a bunch of us are going to Canton to the petting zoo and then out for lunch. I know it’s not exactly entertainment like you’re used to, but it’s a day out and we usually have fun.”
Nadya’s heart melted. “Thanks. If I’m around, I’d love to come. The only animals I see in the city are pigeons and squirrels.”
“Great. Maybe we’ll see you then.”
Billy tugged at Nadya’s hand and pulled her toward the Tasty Treat. “I like chocolate the best. Hunter only gets vanilla. What do you like?”
She thought about it for a minute. When was the last time she had an ice cream cone? “I like chocolate-vanilla swirl. That way I get the best of both worlds.”
Billy appeared to think about it for a minute. “I’m gonna get swirl too.”
Nadya smiled and knew she was a goner. Billy’s face was smudged with dirt, his knobby knees were skinned and there was a rip in his shorts, but he was the cutest thing she’d ever seen. Regardless of what happened with the property, she vowed to never let so much time go by without visiting Dale again.
Things got a little crazy at work around the holidays, but she’d definitely try to make it back down for Christmas. It might be fun to celebrate it with Mary Ellen and her whole family. The baby would be here by then, and it would be great to see the boys opening their presents by the tree. Growing up, it had only ever been Nadya and her mama exchanging gifts. Now that her mama was gone, she’d be alone.
A cloud of sadness darkened her mood. When she went back to the city, there’d be no more days in the park or ice cream cones.
“Come on, Auntie Nad, if we hurry we can be first in line.” Billy tugged her along. Nadya let herself be pulled to the window of the Tasty Treat.
It looked the same as she remembered, including a harried-looking teenager manning the cash register. Only this teen had his nose pierced and a hole in his earlobe big enough to fit a dime. Okay, so maybe some things had changed.
Nadya treated the entire Michaels clan to ice cream and tried to ignore the stares cast their way. Many of the people sitting at the picnic benches were way too young to have been around when she made her departure from Dale, so she assumed they were staring because she was a stranger. Still, the back of her neck prickled, and she wasn’t too upset when Mary Ellen hurried them all back to the van.
Hands sticky from rapidly melting ice cream, Nadya sat in the back seat between Billy and Hunter. Christmas was five months away. The boys would change so much by then. Would they even remember her? Billy would, but Hunter was so little, he’d forget all about her. Some of the joy was taken out of Nadya’s day at the thought.
Maybe she’d be able to take some time off around Halloween and come back down. She could help Mary Ellen out with the new baby and spend some time with the boys.
It struck her then that she was looking for ways to come back to Dale. After twelve years of avoiding the place, she was now making excuses for coming back in three months’ time. What the hell?
When she’d been forced to come down to Dale by Hornblower, part of her had resented having to spend her first real vacation in her former home town. Part of her had wanted to flaunt her success to the people of Dale, but more of her had wanted to avoid the place that contained so many painful memories.
The longer she stayed though, the more good things she remembered. Not everyone had hated her and her mother. There had been kindness here too. And friendship. As they drove back to Mary Ellen’s house, familiar memories assailed her from every corner. The high school parking lot reminded her of when Mr. Farley had taught her how to drive. The librarian, old Mrs. Quinlain, had taught her about research and helped her apply for scholarships. The elementary school was where she’d met Mary Ellen on the first day of kindergarten, and they’d been best friends from that day forward.
Of course, there were good reasons for her negative memories too. Not for love nor money would she go into the hardware store or the church. She had no desire whatsoever to run into Pansy or Orleane Campbell, and she hadn’t shed a tear when she’d heard Matt Woodrow had died in a drunk driving accident. And the way the good people of Dale had treated her mother was shameful.
But was Dale the mouth of hell like she’d built it up in her mind? Probably not.
“It’s awfully quiet back there,” Mary Ellen called from the front seat.
“I think we’re all in a sugar coma. I’ve had more fat and carbs this last week than I’ve had in the past five years. I’m going to have to let out all my suits so I don’t split a seam on the subway.”
“Life without ice cream isn’t worth living.”
“I’m starting to see that.”
“What the—?” Bill stopped the van before pulling into the driveway.
Nadya craned her neck to see what had caused him to slam on the brakes.
All four tires on her car had been slashed, the windshield was shattered and her taillights had been smashed.
“Oh my goodness. Bill, call 9-1-1. Who would do something like this?” Mary Ellen’s hands fluttered around her face.
“Let me out. I need to see what happened.” Nadya struggled to keep her voice even. A lump formed in her throat and tears threatened. She’d had the car less than a month. Sure, it wasn’t new, but it was hers.
Which was why someone had trashed it.
“Don’t touch anything,” Bill directed. “The police will want to check it for evidence.”
“Keep the boys in the van. I don’t want them to see this,” Nadya answered.
“Why don’t you wait until the police get here?”
“I need to see it, Mar.”
Nadya climbed out of the van and made a wide circle around the broken glass. The headlights had been smashed as well, and there were scratches along the driver’s door. The extent of the damage overwhelmed her. Anger welled up, replacing the sadness. Good, anger was a strong emotion. Anger she could deal with.
The wail of a police siren caught her attention seconds before the cruiser screamed around the corner. J.T. slammed on the brakes and bolted out of the car before it rocked to a halt.
“Are you okay? Is anyone hurt? What happened?” He fired questions at her even as his gaze took in the scene.
“I’m pissed off, no one is hurt and someone trashed my car while we were at the park.”
Bill had parked the van farther down the street and walked back to them. “Mary Ellen is staying in the van with the boys. Is there anything I can do to help?”
“Don’t let anyone touch the car until Parker gets here with the crime-scene kit. I’m going to check for witnesses.” He turned to Nadya. “Sit over there on the porch until I’m done. I have some questions for you as well.”
Gone was the playful J.T. from the park. He was all business now. Nadya bit back the urge to tell him what he could do with his questions. She was furious and wanted to kick something, not sit on the swing like a good little girl.
Back stiff, she marched over to the steps and sat. Her sandal tapped rapidly in irritation. God, she just wanted to scream.
Stupid, stupid, stupid.
For a brief time, she’d actually thought coming to Dale would be okay. How could a couple hours in the park make her forget everything she’d learned growing up here? Just because a couple of women were nice to her didn’t mean she’d suddenly been accepted.
Tears threatened again, but she fought them back. People congregated on the lawn across the street, whispering and pointing. She wasn’t going to give them any more of a show.
A second police car pulled up a bit more sedately than J.T had. A younger man with bright red hair climbed out and pulled a tackle-box-type case out of the trunk. While he snapped pictures of her car, J.T. ambled over to where the neighbors gathered.
Nadya watched dispassionately as J.T. worked the crowd. She saw lots of shaking heads and shrugged shoulders. Every eye followed him as he made his way from person to person. An older woman smoothed her dress across her hips and several younger women flipped their hair or fixed their lipstick before he got to them.
God, after all these years, he still got every woman in town worked into a tizzy by his mere presence. She tried to look at him objectively. There were a lot of attractive men in New York. She’d dated a few, worked with a few and seen plenty on the streets. One of the biggest modeling agencies in the city used her firm, and some of her clients were male models.
None of them oozed testosterone like J.T.
His muscles didn’t come from a gym. They came from chopping wood and hiking in the forest. There was an element of danger that surrounded him that even his dimples couldn’t dispel. This man was a warrior. He’d faced death when he was in the Marines and come out the winner. That experience had stamped itself on him in some indescribable way. She couldn’t put her finger on what it was, but any woman with an ounce of estrogen left in her body immediately sat up and took notice the second he entered her vicinity. It was like he emitted a pheromone that said, “I’m an alpha male.”
God, she was as pissed off as she’d ever been and he still made her hot for him. The thought didn’t cool her temper any.
Pack it away. Compartmentalize. What do you have to do next?
In her head, she started a list of the things she’d have to do. Call a tow truck —and tow it where? She didn’t think the garage at the gas station would have the parts to fix a BMW. She’d have to call her insurance company, which made her wince. Insurance for a car in the city was astronomical already. This would raise her premiums even higher.
As Nadya organized her thoughts, Mary Ellen made her way through the crowd and across the lawn. Nadya scooched over on the step to make room for her.
“I left the boys with Mrs. Peterson down the street. She’s giving them cookies and lemonade.”
“That’s good. I don’t want them touched by this ugliness.”
Mary Ellen pulled her close. “Oh, Nad, I’m so sorry. I should have had you park your car in the garage. I just didn’t think something like this would happen in this neighborhood. We’ve had trouble with teens vandalizing the high school, but nothing like this.”
“No teenager did this. Someone who heard I was back in Dale did it.”
“You can’t know that. Maybe they picked your car because it had New York plates.”
“Mar, be serious. Has any car been trashed to this extent before? Ever?”
“But why? You haven’t done anything to anyone. No one even really knew you were back until today at the park.”
“We were gone a long time. I bet Lydia and her crew texted the news seconds after I climbed out of the van.”
“Maybe it was one of the protesters from the state forest? They could have heard about the offer from the developer and wanted to scare you off.”
“I only just heard about it today, and Hornblower left town right after he gave it to me. I haven’t even had a chance to tell J.T. yet. Only you and Bill know about it.”
“This is Dale. There are no secrets here. I bet you someone saw or heard something and word got out.” She nodded her head definitively, her mind obviously made up. “I’m gonna go inside and make some coffee for everyone. You wait here and I’ll bring you a cup. Or would you rather have tea?”
Nadya sighed. Mary Ellen thought she could solve the problems of the world with refreshments, but some things couldn’t be fixed with liberal doses of sugar. “Tea would be great, thanks.”
She heaved herself up and unlocked the front door. “Sydney, you get back here,” she called as their black lab bolted out the door.
The dog pelted towards the neighbor’s yard, barking furiously at something on the curb.
“I don’t know what has gotten into that dog. She never runs off like that.”
“Stay here, I’ll go after her. I don’t want you falling and having that baby early.” Nadya jogged over to where Sydney sat on the sidewalk, barking for all she was worth. “Come on, sweetie. Let’s go back home and I’ll get you a treat. You want a treat, don’t you?”
The damn dog sat right where she was.
Nadya really didn’t want to drag her by her collar in front of all the neighbors. She looked around hopefully and saw Bill striding over.
“I don’t know why, but she ran over here and now she won’t budge,” Nadya explained.
“Hey, girl, what’s wrong? What are you barking at?” Bill squatted down by Sydney and then stood quickly. “J.T. come over here, Syd found something,”
“What? I don’t see anything.” Nadya searched the ground.
“Look, here’re some slivers of plastic that match your taillight and some blood. I bet whoever did this parked down here so he wouldn’t call attention to his plans. He probably cut himself when he smashed your taillight and brushed off the slivers before he climbed into his car.”
J.T. brought the redheaded police officer with him when he came over. “Parker, get a picture of that before you take a sample. Good job, Syd.” He patted her on the head.
“What are you going to do with that sample? Can you get DNA from something that small?” Nadya asked.
“You can get DNA from just about anything, but I doubt the chief will okay sending it to the lab in Atlanta.”
“What do you mean? Couldn’t they find out who did it from their DNA?”
“Sure, if the sample isn’t contaminated too badly, and if the DNA is on file. Of course, the crime lab in Atlanta has a backlog of murderers and rapists on the books. Chief Daniels isn’t going to spare the expense to send it to the lab when it’s for what basically amounts to a misdemeanor.”
“But someone trashed my car!”
“I know, and when I find them—believe me, I will find them—they’ll pay. But this isn’t Hollywood where the sample is processed and the villain caught by the end of the show. It may take a little time.” J.T. ran his hand across his chin. “Do you have any thoughts as to who could have done this?”
“I didn’t think anyone but you all and Hornblower knew I was in town.”
“I just don’t believe someone would do this much damage over an incident that happened twelve years ago,” Mary Ellen said, handing Bill and J.T. mugs of coffee.
“Is anyone upset with you, Bill? Have you fired anyone or nabbed anyone for poaching?”
“No, not that I can recall. Other than the protesters, things have been mighty quiet this summer.”
“So what now?” Nadya asked.
Before J.T. could answer, a white Mercedes pulled to a halt inches from the curb where Parker was crawling along snapping pictures. All four of them turned to see Orleane Campbell driving with Pansy in the passenger seat.
“J.T., could you move your car? We need to get down the street to Mrs. Johnston’s house. We’re having a Garden Club meeting and Mama hates to be late,” Pansy said, her sugary tone at odds with the glare she shot Nadya.
Obviously, Lydia had let her friend know Nadya was back in town. From what she could see, Pansy had lost her baby fat and grown into an attractive woman. Her hands glittered with rings, and Nadya was pretty sure those were Chanel sunglasses. Overall, Pansy seemed to have turned out okay. So why was she staring daggers at her?
“Just a second. We’re almost done processing the scene,” J.T. answered, tipping his wide-brimmed hat. He shot the other officer a look, and the younger man scurried off to move J.T.’s car.
“J.T., honey, you’re coming to the church auction tomorrow, aren’t you? They’re offering a day with Officer McBride again. It was one of our biggest money makers last year.” Pansy pushed her sunglasses to the top of her head and leaned out the open window.
“I’m afraid I have to work tomorrow, but someone from the department will be there.”
“I didn’t realize the Garden Club had gotten so hard up it accepted just anyone,” Mary Ellen muttered in Nadya’s ear. “And do you think she could lean out the car window any more without her boobs popping out of her shirt?”
Nadya couldn’t bite back a bark of laughter, so she tried to turn it into a cough. J.T.’s glare let her know she wasn’t fooling anyone.
“Is that Nadya Sarov? I’d heard she was back in town.” Mrs. Campbell curled her lip. Surprisingly, the rest of her face didn’t move.
“Good evening, Mrs. Campbell.” Nadya didn’t offer any further cordiality. She’d been out of the South too long to bother playing those games when she didn’t have to.
“I should have known if there was trouble, you’d be in the middle of it.”
“Yeah, because she just begged to have someone smash her new car,” Mary Ellen stepped in front of Nadya. “Don’t let us keep you—we’d hate for you to miss your meeting.”
Oh God, Mary Ellen was going to get herself ostracized protecting Nadya. She had to stop this.
“I’m feeling a little overheated. I think I’ll go get myself some tea. Why don’t you come inside too? This can’t be good for the baby.” Nadya pulled on Mary Ellen’s arm until she reluctantly turned. Mary Ellen threw a furious glare over her shoulder as they crossed the lawn back to the front porch.
“I hate those two backstabbing bitches. J.T. ought to check out their alibis, although I can’t imagine they’d risk their manicures messing up your car that way.” Mary Ellen slammed the door shut and stomped to the kitchen.
“Mar, be careful. They can make your life miserable. I’ll be leaving before too long, but you still have to live here. I don’t want to bring a heap of problems down on your head. I don’t want the boys to suffer like you did for being my friend.”
“Suffer? How did I suffer? Because I wasn’t one of the popular girls? Please. I had more fun with you and your mama than I would have at one of their stupid sleepover parties. Why would I have wanted to be making crank calls with them when I could sleep over at your house and have your mama teach us how to dance? The only suffering I did was when you left.”
“I’m so sorry I didn’t get to say goodbye. Mama rushed us out the door so fast, I couldn’t make a call or write a note or anything.”
Mary Ellen sat at the table next to Nadya. “I know that. Well, I did after you called me. I was a nervous wreck when I went out to your place and saw what they did to the cabin. Mama called the police, and that stupid Matt Woodrow did nothing but stand there and chew on his toothpick.”
“I never understood why my mama didn’t trust Outsiders, until then. When we were on the road after that, she told me a lot more about growing up as a gypsy. Her family would get chased from place to place. Whenever something went missing or something bad happened, it was always the gypsies. I guess her father was some kind of horse whisperer or something, and different horse farms would hire him, but those jobs never lasted long.”
“I remember things like that happening when we were kids. I just can’t believe in this day and age it still happens.”
“It does, and not only to gypsies. But don’t get me started. I do pro-bono work for a refugee center. You’d be amazed at what some of those people have been through. At least Mama and I had a roof over our heads for eighteen years. And I had you.”
“Don’t you dare make me cry again.” Mary Ellen sniffed. She headed to the sink to wash her hands and splash water on her face.
“So what exactly is up with Mrs. Campbell’s face? It doesn’t move.”
“Oh, she’s had so much Botox her face is probably permanently paralyzed.”
Nadya laughed out loud. “Go, Mama!”
“What? What does your mama have to do with Orleane Campbell’s frozen face?”
“The day Orleane raised such a ruckus at our house, my mama said her spite would stamp itself on her face. Looks like it did.”
Mary Ellen laughed too, then raised her water glass in a toast. “To Miss Tala.”
“To Mama,” Nadya replied, still amused.
Sydney rushed in ahead of the men, who were speaking in low voices.
“All those busybodies and not one person saw a thing. It defies the imagination,” J.T. said as he sat next to Nadya on the bench. He wiped the sweat off his brow then leaned over and stole her glass of iced tea. His throat worked as he drank most of it.
“Most people are at work until around now. And the ones who aren’t are watching TV or whatnot. They aren’t looking out the window. You want a beer, J.T.?”
“No, thank you. I’m still on duty. I’ll take some more tea though.”
“Me too, please. Mine seems to have disappeared.” Nadya elbowed him in the side.
“You’re going to have to make a statement down at the station. Why don’t you get your stuff together?”
“Does she have to do it now?” Mary Ellen asked. “Can’t it wait until after dinner?”
“It would be easier if I just took her to the station with me. Then we don’t have to come back and get her stuff before heading to the cabin.”
“Excuse me? Hello, I’m right here. Don’t I have a say in this?” Nadya pushed him off the bench then slid out behind him so she could stand with her hands on her hips.
“Not really, no. It’s either you come to the cabin with me, or I sleep here with you. I’d rather be at my place where I can hear someone coming five minutes before they get to the cabin and can leave my gun out without worrying about the kids.”
“Your gun? What? Do you think she’s in danger?” Mary Ellen’s hands wrung the dishcloth nervously.
“No,” Nadya said. “Don’t be ridiculous.”
“Maybe. Someone spent a great amount of effort to trash your car and make it appear like an act of violence.”
“Appear like an act of violence? It was one!”
“No. It was cold calculation. The windshield and headlights were cracked using one of those emergency glass breakers.”
“But I saw the brick.”
“The windshield is made of safety glass so it didn’t break all the way. He must have heaved a brick afterwards for effect. It came from the neighbor’s landscaping so he picked it up along the way.”
“Brick or glass-breaking tool, whatever—my car is still trashed.”
“I know, but there’s something hinkey about this. My gut is telling me it’s more than someone being mad you’re in town. Bill told me about the offer Hornblower gave you. Did you tell anyone else about it?”
“No. I didn’t have a chance. Besides, who would I tell?”
“What about your half brothers? Did they know about the offer? It’s a lot of money.”
Nadya felt like she’d been punched in the gut. She hadn’t really processed the idea of having brothers yet. The idea they could hate her enough to trash her car shook her.
“I don’t know. Hornblower said something about meeting with them. They know I exist, that’s about all I know.”
“Look.” He held her hands in his. “I’m not trying to scare you, but I want to keep you safe.”
“I really don’t think someone is out to hurt me.”
“Maybe not, but do you want to risk Mary Ellen and the boys if you’re wrong?”
“Hey! That’s not fair. Don’t use us to pressure her. Bill has a gun—he can protect her too.”
Nadya winced. She absolutely did not want to bring trouble to this house. It would kill her if something happened to any one of the Michaels. There was no way she’d put them in danger. “It’ll only take a minute for me to get my stuff,” she said in defeat.
“But…but…what’s she going to do all day out there alone in the woods?” Mary Ellen wailed.
“I’ll bring her back here on the way to work. It should be safe enough here during the day. Especially if I make it clear she’s coming back to the cabin with me.”
“Oh, great. I can hear it already—like mother, like daughter. I’ll be known as the town whore within the hour.” Nadya tried to convince herself she didn’t care, but her gut clenched all the same.
“No. They’ll know you’re under my protection and they’ll have to go through me to get to you.” He tipped her chin up so she had to look him in the eye. “You’re not alone this time. I will protect you.”
With a certainty she felt straight to her soul, she knew he meant every word.