Double Dip Dilemma: A Cozy Mystery (Caesars Creek Mystery Series Book 5) (6 page)

BOOK: Double Dip Dilemma: A Cozy Mystery (Caesars Creek Mystery Series Book 5)

4.77Mb size Format: txt, pdf, ePub

ads

Patsy Morgan found out, not from Joshua, but from an old friend who still lived in Caesars Creek. Her son hung around with Joshua and knew of his love of cars. And although Joshua appeared to like Sandra, that wasn’t the case. He would complain to Patsy all the time about how she was treating Jeremy and how much he hated it. He wanted his mother to come back to Caesars Creek so he could live with her, but by that time Patsy had found a dream job. She tried to get Joshua to come live with her, but like Jeremy, he didn’t want to leave the only home he ever knew.

So Joshua concocted the idea that if he scared Sandra enough, she’d leave. Now most of us would see how flawed this plan was, but to a 13-year-old boy, it seemed perfectly logical. He’d scare her by messing with the car’s brake line, steering and maybe she’d leave, and his mother and father could mend fences. That was his best-case scenario but one that wasn’t likely to happen. What he hadn’t counted on was her blaming Jeremy. This made him very angry. She and Jeremy already had a tumultuous relationship, and now Joshua made it worse.

He knew she took sleeping pills so he decided to crunch up a few and put it in her lemonade. He wasn’t trying to kill her, just make her ill. For some reason he thought that scaring Sandra would drive her away. Who knows what goes through the mind of a young boy who’s desperate to rid his home of someone he considers an outlier, a person who doesn’t belong.

Patsy wanted to get the boys away from here for the night. She thought that by taking them to a neutral place, like a cabin in Stone Mountain Park, she could get them to talk. Jeremy had no idea what his brother had done, but he did help his mother to get Joshua to confess. It was a sad state of affairs, but somehow the truth came out. Patsy called her ex-husband and had him meet them at the cabin to talk things out….without Sandra.

First they contacted a lawyer and then the prosecutor. Sandra did not want to press charges, but the prosecutor wanted Joshua sent to a mental facility for 60 days to work out his anger issues. Joshua was upset, but his father told him they would visit and that it was better than being charged for a crime. He told him he had to own up to his actions, but that the family would be there to support him, even Sandra. The prosecutor couldn’t order this, but he suggested the family get counseling as well.

“Wow,” Stormi replied. “I’m flabbergasted. I would never have suspected that sweet boy. Just goes to show you never know what’s going on in someone’s mind.”

We all nodded in agreement. I was happy this mystery had been solved, but sorry it happened in the first place. Hopefully, with counseling and therapy the young boy could work through his problems and have a healthy relationship with his step mom. Maybe he’ll mature and understand that there are some things you have to accept in life. I didn’t want to divorce my husband. I tried to make it work, but sometimes you have to let go.

But what I’ve come to realize is that letting go doesn’t mean giving up. If I hadn’t let go of my marriage when I knew it was dying, I would never have the man sitting beside me today. I knew in my heart Brandon was my destiny. I wasn’t for sure if he felt the same way though. We’d found a comfortable groove that suited us both, but I wanted more. I wanted the home with the picket fence and someone to grow old with.

However, maybe Brandon was content with how things were. Maybe he’d never want to move past where we were. I felt my stomach churn with the realization that this may be it for us. Perhaps I would have to take me own advice and just accept our relationship for what it was.

As the fire turned to embers and the cold night set in, I gathered up Winchester and Brandon and I made our way to his truck. He opened the passenger side door and I scooped Winchester inside. Before I knew it, Brandon put his arms around me and turned me around to face him.

“Do you know how beautiful you look in the moonlight?”

I put my arms around him. “You’re such a charmer.”

He took my face in his hands and said, “I love you Tara. I want you to know that.”

I could feel tears well up in my eyes. “I love you too Brandon.”

We kissed under the moonlit sky.

My stomach no longer churned. I told myself to be patient. Baby steps.

*****