Lake Effect (6 page)

His most trusted ally and friend, James was the only person Wyeth considered to be his equal at Packard. When the old man had passed away so suddenly from a heart attack, James had been there for him, leaving a promising law career of his own to help a friend. They'd stood up to the old guard and made their way together. Somewhere along the line, James and Janele had fallen in love and were married, and now their bond of brotherhood was sealed for good. Wyeth owed him more than he could ever repay.

He'd dropped everything and flown back to New York so they could face together whatever it was the SEC had to say. He hadn't even taken the time to call Shelby. He would, though, just as soon as this damned business was out of the way.

“Mr. Packard?”

“Yes.” Wyeth turned away from the view. If he hadn't known the man worked for the government, the clothes would've been a dead giveaway. Dark suit, white shirt, black tie, regulation hair cut. He couldn't have been any more obvious or stereotypical.

“My name is Kennedy, Sterling Kennedy. I'm with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission. I need to ask you a few questions.”

“Certainly, Mr. Kennedy, I'm more than happy to oblige. I appreciate your keeping this low key.” Wyeth shook the hand that had been extended and after studying the credentials presented to him, motioned for his guest to have a seat.

“No problem, sir. As I told your attorney, this is simply a preliminary investigation based upon a complaint filed with the SEC office here in New York. We are merely gathering facts at this time. Would you like me to wait until your attorney arrives?”

“Yes, Mr. Kennedy. He should be along momentarily. In the meantime, can I get you a coffee or soda?” Wyeth extended the offer as a courtesy and, as he assumed he would, Sterling Kennedy politely refused. “I'll be honest with you, Mr. Kennedy. I've no idea why you're here and, frankly, it's a bit unnerving.”

“Well, Mr. Packard, a lot of what we do at the SEC is routine follow ups and such. As I stated earlier, this is one of those visits. We are first and foremost a law enforcement agency, so your reaction is quite normal. I assure you, however, this visit is informal, and no charges have been filed.” His words didn't exactly make Wyeth feel any better.

James entered the office with apologies for his lateness and the meeting began. The questions were, as far as Wyeth could tell, routine. The SEC wanted a list of all of the company officers and stockholders, and their names and addresses; beyond that, nothing out of the ordinary. It seemed odd to him that they would bother to send a man out in person if it was simply routine. Then again why not? Given all that had transpired in the world financial markets these days, his company could be investigated as easily as anyone's. Besides, he'd done nothing wrong.

“I'll have my assistant e-mail those lists to you this afternoon.”

“Very good. Mr. Packard, Mr. O'Toole, it's been a pleasure. I'll be in touch. I assume, Mr. Packard, that you'll be available and in New York for the next week or so should we need to speak with you again?”

“Why would you need me if this is routine, Mr. Kennedy?”

“Formality, really. We just find it easier to deal with the CEO directly when we investigate these sorts of things.”

“I hadn't planned on staying, but it can be arranged if that would be better.”

Wyeth and James waited until the door closed before they both breathed a sigh of relief.

“Wyeth, I'm sorry I dragged you back here for that. I really had no idea what they were going to ask.”

“It's no big deal, James. I'm just as glad I was here; put my fears at ease a bit. What I don't understand is why he couldn't have asked for all of this over the phone.”

James stood up from the conference table and gathered his papers, nodding in agreement. “Well, since you are back in town may I assume we'll see you at dinner over at your mom's? There will be hell to pay if your sister finds out you're here and you didn't stop by.”

“I wouldn't miss it for the world. Tell her I'll be over around seven. Mom says she's having a rougher pregnancy this time.”

“It's different than the last one, that's for sure. Keeping her from chasing after little James or doing more than she should has been a problem. I was thinking when this business settles down, I'd like to bring her with me to the island for a few days rest. If the doctor says it's okay.

“I'd love that. There's someone there I'd like you both to meet.” Wyeth ignored his brother-in-law's questioning look as he left his office.

• • •

Shelby grabbed the phone on the fifth ring. “Hello?” She answered out of breath from having run down the steps in record time, certain it was Wyeth calling her.

“Shelby, it's Niki Miller and I've got some good news for you.” Shelby sat down on the steps, swallowing her disappointment, and listened as her realtor from Bennett's Corners went on about the nice young couple that wanted to buy her house there. “It was the nursery that sold them. So, if you think you can be here tomorrow to sign papers, they've been pre-approved and we'll get the ball rolling. They'd like to take possession as soon as possible.”

“Sure. I can be there tomorrow. What time?” Shelby jotted down the agreed time, hung up the phone, and stood staring into space for five full minutes.

Isn't this what you wanted? It was the nursery that really sold them. Can you be here tomorrow?
Norman came and leaned his full weight against her leg. “You up for a road trip, buddy?”

Bennett's Corners sat high atop the rolling hills of Southern Cuyahoga County. Its mixture of houses and lack of housing developments made it a special place, and one that Shelby would always hold dear. It was as close to Bedford Falls as she would ever get in the real world, and that was one of the reasons she and Jack had made their home there. It was a great place to live, work and raise a family. As she drew nearer to her house, Shelby felt the grip of anxiety tighten around her. She hadn't been back here for some time. She'd paid some good friends to help her move the majority of her belongings up to the island, leaving behind only what she'd intended to sell with the house and a few boxes of personal items. These were what she had come to collect before meeting Niki and the new buyers.

Norman waited patiently in the car as she slipped into the house and took a final look around. Memories washed over her with a vengeance. What would Wyeth think of this place? The thought came unbidden into her head and just as quickly she shooed it out. She hadn't heard a word from him and, quite frankly, she didn't care — or at least that's what she told herself.

He didn't owe her an explanation. He'd left for business, and it was as simple as that. True, they had spent an awful lot of time together in the past several weeks or so, but this didn't mean he had to inform her of his every move. So why was she so disappointed?

Shelby walked through the now empty house one last time. Each room held a different memory of Jack and of what her life was supposed to have been. Now, void of the furniture, pictures, and items they'd used to build that life, the walls rang with a hollow sound.
They fell in love with the nursery
. Her realtor's words echoed in her head like her footsteps echoed in the empty house. They'd planned a much different scenario than the one she was living. This was hell; this was hard. This was the reason she'd left this house to begin with and started life anew on Whiskey Island. Taking a deep breath, Shelby collected the two boxes she'd taken from the closet, locked the door and got in her car. It was time to start over.

• • •

Wyeth hung up his phone. He'd been trying to call her all day. What kind of person in this day and age didn't have a cell phone? He did most of his business on a cell phone — couldn't function without it. He had to admit, it was kind of refreshing, but beyond frustrating. Where was she?

He'd been so focused on his meeting in New York that he hadn't had time to call her, thinking all along that he would call her when he had something more to tell her. Now, he wasn't certain when he'd be back. With the SEC looking into Packard Corporation, perhaps it was best if he stayed close. James had agreed. He had the benefit at the end of this week anyway. Damn, he would've loved for her to be here for that. He put his cell phone back in his pocket and joined the rest of the family.

Dinner conversation was the usual catching up on everyone's day. James and Wyeth filled Olivia and Janele in on their visit from Sterling Kennedy.

“I just don't understand why they're interested in Packard Corporation all of a sudden,” Olivia wondered aloud.

“This is not uncommon, Olivia. It could be any number of reasons and the complaint could've come from any number of sources. The important thing is to not panic and cooperate. We've got nothing to hide so we should have nothing to fear.” James reached for another one of Olivia's southern biscuits only to receive a smack on the hand from his wife.

“Oh, Janele, let the boy eat,” Olivia reproved her daughter and handed James another biscuit.

Conversation soon turned to the new baby. Would it be a boy or a girl? How would James Jr. accept a sibling? Wyeth sat back and savored the moment. He didn't get to spend that much time with his family — even when he'd lived full time in New York these moments had been few and far between. Little James was already growing like a weed. Wyeth had spent the better part of the evening chasing him through the house, making him squeal with childish delight.
Shelby would love him and so would Norman.

Wyeth watched with envy as James scooped the child up and, with an arm around his wife, headed for home. He'd never thought of himself as a family man; that is, until he'd met Shelby. What was it about her? She'd totally bewitched him.

He dialed the number again, willing her to answer. What if she was hurt, or something happened? That was ridiculous, he told himself. What if she had just decided she didn't want to hear from him and was ignoring his calls? What if she was out with someone else? He put his phone in his pocket and walked out of his father's study.

“Everything all right, dear?”

“Everything is fine, Mom. I'm just tired; it's been a very long day.” He could see that his mother wasn't really buying his story. Nonetheless, she wasn't going to call him on it, and that was good.

“I'm glad you're spending the night with me rather than going back into the city. This big house gets lonely. James and Janele should've stayed too, they usually do.”

He gave her a big hug then headed upstairs to his old bedroom. It had been a very long day indeed and Wyeth reflected on that as he sat on the edge of his old boyhood bed and took off his shoes. He looked at the slim cell phone that now rested on the nightstand. He pictured Shelby as she'd looked that night, standing under the stars, in his arms. It was where she belonged. He'd never felt like this about a woman before. He'd never had to chase a woman before either. Was this the appeal? If it were up to him, he'd have his pilot take him right back to Whiskey Island tonight. He'd knock down her door if he had to and then, by God, she'd speak to him.

Wyeth was up before the sun, ran two miles, had his shower, and was at his desk by eight
A.M.
He immersed himself in work, not even stopping for lunch. This was what he knew; this is how he dealt with problems. He'd tried several more times to reach Shelby and at last, against his better judgment, picked up the phone to dial the Beauchamps, then changed his mind and hung it back up. Dammit! This was driving him crazy. If anything had happened, he'd have known about it. Perhaps she'd gone back to the mainland for something and decided to stay for a while.

Raised voices outside his office door drew his attention.

“He will see me.”

“Miss Newkirk, you cannot just walk in, Mr. Packard is busy.” Wyeth had never heard his assistant raise her voice, much less sound so exasperated.

“Just how long were you going to be in town before you called me?” Abby Newkirk floated across the floor of his office, his secretary in hot pursuit.

“It's fine, Ms. Short, I'll handle it from here.” Gretchen, his usually unflappable assistant, gave him a look of complete exasperation as she closed the door.

“Abby.” He pinned her with the stare he used when brokering business deals, and to her credit, she didn't even flinch.

“Wyeth, why didn't you tell me you were back in town? I had to hear it from my friends. Do you know how humiliating that is?”

Wyeth looked at Abby as if seeing her for the first time: perfectly manicured nails, designer dress, designer shoes, and designer handbag. Her dress clung to all the right places and she looked as if she'd just walked off one of the runways at New York Fashion Week.

Had he ever really been attracted to this? A picture of Shelby floated into his mind, hair escaping its clip, cotton dress, sexy sandals and even sexier bare feet, her glasses, those sexy, sexy glasses, sliding down her nose, and those deep, beautiful, all telling green eyes.

“I thought I made it abundantly clear the last time we spoke, Abby. I don't owe you an explanation beyond that. We are finished. Done.”

Wyeth watched as she gathered her composure. She leaned forward from her chair giving him full view of her cleavage. “You can say that, you may even mean it, but we're far from being done.”

He leaned forward across the desk and watched her eyes flutter. Did she seriously think he was going to kiss her? “Are you threatening me, Abby?”

Her eyes opened wide and he could see what the control was costing her. “It's not a threat darling, it's a promise. I heard you had a visitor yesterday. I know why you're back in town. I hope it all works out well for you.” With grace and composure, Abby leaned back, straightened her jacket, picked up her purse, and walked out the door.