A Year of You (11 page)

McKendrick sighed and leaned back in his creaky leather chair. “West, you’ve been struggling to make that nursery into something for five years. You’ve done nothing but stay in the red since you opened.”

“This year is different. The weather has been perfect. This is the year I can turn it around. I just need an extension on the loan. I swear, Mr. McKendrick. This time next year I’ll have your money.”

McKendrick pressed his lips together. “This is the third year you’ve told me that, West. I’m sorry. I can’t extend this any longer. This is money out of my pocket. You repay the combined debt of thirty- five thousand dollars by December twenty-fifth, or you will be evicted from the property.”

West stormed out of the study, so angry he couldn’t see straight. Em made a beeline for him, her cell phone clamped between her shoulder and her ear. “West, what’s going on?”

Great. Now she decides to talk to me. He wondered where Mattie was.
“Come on, I need to talk to you.” He grabbed her arm and pulled her out the door.

***

Mattie edged into McKendrick’s huge, intimidated study. The room made her even more nervous than the man behind the monolithic desk.

“Sit, Matilyn.”

She sat down in one of the creaky leather chairs in front of his desk. A life-size painted portrait of the McKendrick family—Elaine included—hung on the wall behind his desk. Beneath it was a decanter of a dark amber liquor, the spotless glasses gleaming in the recessed lighting.

“The results of the blood tests will be back soon.”


“That’s good,” she replied, not real sure what she was supposed to say.


“I advise you to not get too attached to anyone, Matilyn. These tests are going to prove without a doubt that you aren’t my daughter.”


“I know. You weren’t Elaine’s paternal father,” Mattie said, wondering if she should have revealed that wild card.

McKendrick gazed at her shrewdly. “How do you know that?”


“I know a lot of things, Mr. McKendrick.”
He leaned back in his chair.

“You are not wanted here. I don’t know who you are, or what you want, but this charade will only go on until I have the concrete evidence I need to prove that you are not Elaine. My mother-in-law won’t be able to insist you are someone who has been dead for over twenty years any longer.”

“I’m doing this for Ruth Ellen.” Mattie twisted the hem of her shirt between her fingers. “I’m not doing this for any other reason.”

“Ruth Ellen is a sick old woman. She doesn’t have complete control of her facilities.”

Mattie shrugged. “Mr. McKendrick, I promise. When those tests say that I am not Karen’s daughter, I’ll leave immediately. But I promise you, I know without a doubt who my mother is.”

“We’ll see.”


Mattie met his gaze with equal strength before turning and hurrying toward the door.
“Matilyn?”


She paused, one step away from the hallway, and turned toward the desk. “Yes, sir?”


“Be careful. There are secrets in this family that needn’t see the light of day.”


“So I’ve heard.” Mattie stepped into the hallway, eager to be able to breathe again. ‘Secrets that needn’t see the light of day.’ Was he serious? Justine’s ramblings were bad enough, but this guy’s were worthy of a corny gothic romance novel. Way too dramatic.

She brightened. But at least he’d warned her to be careful.

Mattie wandered the house for a while, then decided to head to the riverside public playground that took up the lot next door to the McKendrick house. Being smack-dab in the middle of a high-class neighborhood, not many people used it except for the children of the residents of the fancy homes along the road.

It was a nice place to go and think, especially at night. Romantic, even.

She went to the swings, avoiding going anywhere near the dock. West and Emeline were in the middle of an intense discussion. Definitely not one she wanted to be involved in.

***

“West, listen,” Mattie said, trying to keep up with the distraught man as he paced during his tortured monologue. He paused at the sea wall and stared into the water. “Are you listening?”

He’d been pouring out his problems for the last twenty minutes. McKendrick was demanding a huge sum of money, payment of his own loans plus those McKendrick had extended to his father. He’d hoped his relationship with Emeline would be enough to get McKendrick to extend his deadline.

An idea popped into her head. A way to keep K off her back, away from Molly, and maybe even gone for good. She watched West sit down in the grass, a broken man, and wanted to help him more than anything. “Maybe I can help you.”

“How?”

“Well, I’ve got those trust funds.”
He stared at her with confusion for a second, then frowned when understanding kicked in.

“Not until they prove who you are.”

“You can doubt me all you want, by Ruth Ellen and I both know Karen was my mother. That gets me at least one of the trust funds automatically.”

“How does that help me? You can’t touch that one until Ruth Ellen dies.”

“My grandfather set up another one, one that I can have access to within a few months.”

He cocked his head at her. “Wait…that one’s set up to help the Carruther grandkids get their lives started when they get married.” She waited, wishing he’d figure it out himself. He could be dense.

“Exactly.”

“You have to get married to touch the bulk of the money. Emeline’s got the same stipulations.”


Mattie nodded. “You’ve been my only friend since I got here, West. I want to help you. That’s the only way I can.”

And the only way to keep K’s filthy hands off that money.

“I get it,” he said slowly. “If we got married, you would have access to that trust fund. When the DNA results come in, you’d get the others, if you’re not lying about who you are.”

Embarrassed, she nodded. “The only stipulation is we have to be married for a year. We don’t have to be together for the whole year. Just a few months, long enough to get enough of the monthly allowance to pay back your debts. When the year’s up, we’ll get divorced and I’ll go…away.”

He shook his head. “I don’t know, Mattie. I don’t really know you.”

“Thirty-five thousand dollars, West. Don’t be stupid. It’s what, like, four months of your life? You said yourself, you only need another six months or so before you start making a real profit. I can help you get those distributors you need. You don’t want to lose your business. Think about what your dad would want. I want to help you. Please.”

She knelt next to him. Grass was thick and lush beneath her knees. “You’re a good man, West. I don’t want you to lose everything you’ve worked for. I’ll give you as much as you need to pay back the debt and to make your business what your dad would want it to be.”

“This is crazy, Mattie. Why would you do that for me?”

Her cell phone vibrated in her pocket. A tremor of fear shot to her heart. K wanted to know what was going on. The five thousand dollars hadn’t done anything except excite him further. He’d left message after message on her voicemail.

“It’s absolutely insane,” she replied. “But what will it hurt? When Emeline sees you with me, she’s going to want you back. When the year’s up, she’ll be putty in your hands.”

“That’s pretty weak.”

“It works. Emeline will fall for it. You know how much she loves those stupid Lifetime Channel movies about this sort of thing. Think about it, West. A year with me, and you’ll be free of your debt, and you’ll end up with Emeline.”

A fish leapt out of the water and splashed back down, fracturing the reflection of the full moon.
“A year of you, huh?”


“Yeah. I’m really not as evil as all those moral compasses in there think I am.” She put a hand on his knee. “I want to help you. You’re too good a guy to get screwed over by those assholes.”

He scowled at her. “How would you know? You don’t know me.”


Hurt by his sharp tone, she drew back. She held her hands up in front of her in surrender. “Sorry. I just assumed you were a nice guy, you know, from the way you’ve been nice to me and even sort of made friends with me.”


“I don’t know.”

“Let’s work the system, West. You’re going to come out on top, and with nothing to tie you to this fucked-up family.”

He got to his feet and walked away, towards the parking lot.

Mattie sighed. He’d have to figure it out on his own, then. She’d done all she could.

The phone in her pocket vibrated once more. She made sure she was far enough away from West before answering. “Hello?”

“I’ve been calling you for three days straight. I’m about an hour away from jumping on a plane and coming down there!” K’s angry voice chafed at her nerves.

“Sorry, K. I’ve having to keep a really low profile.” She turned around and watched West check his phone.

“What’s going on? Have you got the money yet?”

“No, K. It’s not that easy. You got me into a very complicated situation here. I’ve got to have time to work it all out. Give me some more time.”

“Whatever. How much are you looking at getting?”
I can’t tell him about the trust fund!
“
I don’t know, K. It’s a couple hundred thousand, I think. Plus there are stipulations on the estates. This is a big reunion for them. I can’t just start asking for money!”


“That family is loaded, Mattie. You got that five thousand, didn’t you? You can get more. They gotta have something. Some jewelry you can steal, artwork, anything. You know who to contact for a good price.”

“Yeah. I’ll do what I can.”


K was silent for a second. His silence unnerved her. “Yeah. Don’t screw this up, Mats. A lot is at stake here.”


“K, I’m doing the best I can. I don’t know what you want from me.”

“Get me the money, Mattie. You’re not on vacation down there in sunny Florida.”

“I’m doing all that I can, K.”

He hung up. Mattie sucked in a deep, river-scented breath,

Mattie headed for the house, pausing at the length of chain link fence. She hated having to swing herself over the three-foot drop to the river, but she didn’t have much choice. The only other way to get back to McKendrick’s property meant a long walk along the fence, then down the road to the main gate.

She gripped the wide round post and swung one leg around. As she settled her foot on firm ground, a shadow detached itself from the thick hedges a few feet away and rushed toward her.

She uttered a short, sharp screech before something heavy smashed into her skull and knocked her into the cold river.

***

West imagined what his mom would say to Mattie’s unorthodox proposal and laughed softly. Moira West would have thought the girl was craxy.

Crazy like a fox, West.

She was offering him money. Cold, hard cash. She wanted to pay his debts for no reason other than she thought he was a good guy.

Was that the only reason? Who did that? Who helped somebody else to the tune of thirty-five grand, just because?

Either Mattie was the greatest woman on earth, or she was up to something. He owed it to Ruth Ellen--to Elaine, the
real
Elaine--to find out what her deal really was.

He jogged across the sandy playground and the city-maintained grounds to the fence. Halfway there, he heard a yelp and a splash. Hanging on to the fence post, he leaned out and looked down. “Mattie?”

There was silence, then a little splish-splash of water. “West?”

“Yeah. What’re you doing down there?”


“I think I fell.”


“Obviously. Can you stand up?”

She sounded weak and dazed. He heard more water sloshing before he saw her head rise over the edge of the seawall. She had one hand to her forehead. “I hit my head, I think. There’re rocks down here.”

“Yeah, water’s low this time of year.” West straightened up and tried to figure out the easiest way to get Mattie out. She was a good-sized girl, probably weighing in around one-sixty or one-sixty-five. Hauling her up the wall, especially in her dazed state, might be difficult.

“All right, Mattie, give me your hands. I’m going to pull you up. While I’m pulling, walk up the wall.”

“’kay.”

She reached up and he grasped her cold, wet hands. He pulled back with all his weight, straining with the effort. Little by little he managed to drag her over the seawall.

He took a deep breath and hauled her up with all of his remaining strength. She flopped over the edge. “Grab that pole, now, so you don’t slide back in.” He lay back on the grass, panting. “What happened?”

“I was crossing over and I swear somebody pushed me.”

West sat up and looked around. “I think we’re pretty much the only people out here. Are you sure?”

“No. Yes. I can’t remember clearly. All I recall is seeing a shadow rushing toward me, and then I fell into the water.”

West tilted her face up to the moon. She had an ugly knot on her forehead. Even in the wan light, he could see the darkening bruise. “Yikes. That is a nasty knot. Doesn’t look like it broke the skin, though. Come on, let’s get you inside. Bet you’re cold.”

“Yeah.” Her hand was ice-cold in his. Normally, early September in Florida was as hot as mid-July most days and nights. An unseasonal cold front had moved through earlier, leaving the temperatures in the low seventies. The water was even cooler.

At the patio door she turned to him, troubled. “I’m positive somebody pushed me, West. I think they hit me with something. I landed on my back in the water, not front.” She probed the knot on her forehead.

“It’s crazy to think that somebody would do that to you, Mattie. We’ve all looked for you for twenty-plus years. Nobody wants to lose you again. You had to have imagined it.”

She didn’t look convinced. “I don’t know. Maybe.”

Chapter Eight

Shivering beneath a blanket and a pair of sweats, Mattie curled up on her bed. West returned with an ice pack and clonked it against her forehead. She whimpered and shuddered.

“Sorry,” he murmured.

“It’s not the first time something weird has happened,” Mattie said. “When I fell up the stairs, I slipped in something. When I checked the next morning, there wasn’t anything there.”