Authors: Carlene Thompson
Share No Secrets (46 page)
“I thought you really didn’t want to put me through an abortion because you knew I hated the idea. And I thought you could come to love the baby,” Vicky said weakly.
“Love?
Her?”
Philip almost snorted. “Every time I looked at her, I thought of what you’d done. You had
me,
Philip Hamilton, and you still turned to another man. I didn’t know it was Lucas, but I knew it
had
to be someone inferior to me.” Or
superior,
Adrienne mused, because he could father a child. “And then came the most galling part of all,” Philip went on. “Watching another man’s child grow into something special. Beautiful. Intelligent. Someone who excelled at almost everything. Music. Tennis.” He laughed harshly. “Even that damned rifle team she was on for a while.”
The rifle team, Adrienne thought. She’d forgotten all about how worried Vicky had been that Rachel would get hurt handling the guns. But she’d been a champion. A champion who had shot at Lucas and at her at Lottie’s cabin. A champion who could have killed both of them if she’d really wanted to.
“Daddy,” Rachel said pathetically, “I tried to excel at everything because of
you.
I thought if I could just make you proud enough of me, you’d finally love me.”
“Love you?” Philip scoffed. “You killed Claude and Margaret and, worst of all, Julianna. Julianna was the only person in my whole life that I
loved!”
Vicky swayed as if she were going to faint, but Philip didn’t even glance at her. “You tried to kill Gavin Kirkwood, didn’t you? I remember that call you got from Bruce right before you went tearing out of the house, then claimed you’d had a fender-bender and your car was in the shop. It was Bruce calling you to say he’d gotten some information out of Kirkwood, wasn’t it? Information you thought might hurt you. And where the hell is Bruce, anyway? Have you dispatched him, too?” “No … I—”
“I don’t
care!”
Philip screamed at her. “I was right about you all along, right not to love you because you were a mistake of nature. You are despicable! You are an abomination!”
“No, Daddy,
please
…” Rachel sobbed.
“I-am-not-your-father,” Philip spat. “Thank God I am not your father because I will hate you to the depths of my soul until the day I die!”
“Philip!” Vicky cried, but he went on ranting at the girl who stood before him, shaking, crying, seeming to crumble right in front of them.
Lucas stepped forward. “Rachel, don’t listen to him,” he pleaded. “You are not an abomination. You’re a beautiful, talented girl who is troubled. We’ll get help for you. I’
ll
get help for you. I am your father, not Philip Hamilton. And I love you, no matter what. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
Shaking violently, Rachel looked at him wildly. “Get help for me? Like what? I’ve killed people. You all know it I’ll be put in prison for the rest of my life. I’m not a juvenile. I’ll get the death penalty! The
electric
chair!”
“No,”
Lucas said desperately. “There are other ways this can be handled.”
“A mental institution. You’ll put me in a crazy house and I’ll live there until I rot. Well, I won’t do it! I’d rather die. I
will
die! It’s the only way. But I’ll do it on my terms!”
Rachel raised her pistol and shot at the ceiling. Everyone recoiled and she took advantage of their temporary shock to dash past them, out of the room and down the hall. Lucas was the first to move, tearing along behind her as she ran to the stairs. The stairs leading
upward.
Drew followed Lucas as Adrienne went to Skye, stooping and trying to scoop the girl into her arms. But Skye fought her off. “She’s gonna kill herself, Mom!” she shrieked, then with amazing speed stood and ran out of the room. Stunned, Adrienne struggled to her feet as Vicky too ran from the room. Philip stood perfectly still, his expression vacant, as Adrienne pushed past him and followed the others.
She could hear Lucas yelling for Rachel to stop. She could hear Skye crying, calling to Rachel that she loved her. She could hear Drew shouting for Lucas to catch Rachel and get the gun away from her, as if Lucas weren’t already trying his best to catch up with a fleet young woman over twenty years his junior. But Vicky was silent except for her rasping breath.
To Adrienne, the trip up the stairs seemed to take an hour. The hotel had become a nightmare full of shouts and yells and shrieks and people running frantically after her niece who carried a gun. They bypassed the third floor and stumbled up the stairs to the fourth. Adrienne and Vicky had just reached the top when they saw Rachel near the end or the hall. An outside light shone brightly through the great, arched floor-to-ceiling window and for a moment, Rachel stood several feet in front of it, bathed in light, a beautiful, tragic girl who only hours ago had seemed to have a wonderful life ahead of her. She turned, looked at her mother, and said, “Tell Daddy good-bye for me.”
Vicky screamed at the top of her voice as Rachel ran toward the window. She was fast and strong, and the glass crashed into countless pieces as she hurled herself against the old, thin panes. Lucas sank to his knees, his face contorted in silent horror when his daughter landed with a body-shattering thud on the concrete walkway below.
“It’s only late August, but I’m sure I can smell autumn in the air,” Kit said.
She, Adrienne, Drew, and Brandon sat in the gazebo at The Iron Gate. At eleven
A.M
., a cloudless sapphire-blue sky hung over them and a warm breeze wafted through the gazebo, a breeze rife with subtle smells that sent Brandon’s nose twitching furiously. Looking at him, Drew said, “I wonder if cats have as many olfactory glands as dogs.”
Kit laughed. “I have no idea, but speaking of cats, I really miss Calypso. I never wanted a pet, but I got used to her after just a few days. I didn’t tell Lottie that when I took Calypso home, though. I know Lottie and she’d want to give me the cat, but she needs Calypso for company more than I do right now.”
“At least Lottie’s safe. And unnecessarily apologetic for the shooting incident at her cabin. After all, she didn’t tell me where she was, but she did tell me absolutely not to look for her.” Adrienne sipped her mimosa, feeling relaxed and almost decadent Skye was at Sherry’s for the day. With Sherry’s help, and that of the good-looking Joel on whom Skye had developed a crush, she slowly seemed to be emerging from the depths of depression over her cousin’s death five weeks ago. “I’m surprised poor Lottie didn’t die hiding out in the woods for days. Instead, she came through it with only a case of bronchitis.”
“I told you she was tough” Drew said, smiling. “You’ll probably turn out just like her.”
“Living in a cabin by myself in the woods and having visions?” Adrienne asked in mock horror.
“Tough and wily,” Drew corrected.
“I don’t feel tough and wily. I feel like one big, dumb bruise. I can only imagine how Vicky feels, but she refused to let me go to Canada with her. She said if I was along, we’d just talk about Rachel and she wouldn’t even begin to heal. She thought she needed time alone.”
“And where is the ex-gubernatorial candidate?” Kit asked. “I know he fled town right after he made an obligatory appearance at Rachel’s funeral.”
“He’s touring Europe,” Adrienne said. “In his public statement he made a big deal about being unable to stay in the town where his ‘darling though troubled daughter’ had met her death, but he’s really just hiding.”
Drew scoffed. “Hiding from the Allards, no doubt. They want to sue him for the pain and suffering his daughter caused dear Bruce.”
“He’s alive, isn’t he?” Adrienne asked sarcastically.
“But she shot him in the leg. He might walk with a limp.”
“Which will no doubt affect him drastically when he takes over his father’s businesses, including the newspaper.” Adrienne grinned at Drew. “Just think of it. Someday Bruce will be your boss.”
“That is the day I resign as editor and begin work on the Great American Novel.”
“It’s too bad Miles didn’t fare as well as Bruce,” Kit said sadly. “But at least he’ll live, although his recovery will take months.”
Adrienne didn’t know what to say. She now knew Kit had loved Miles and she always would. Maybe someday Miles would turn to Kit, but the shadow of Julianna would always hang over them.
“But there’s one bright note,” Kit said suddenly. “Gavin’s
near death scared my mother into realizing how much she still cares for him. They’re like teenage lovebirds. It’s almost sickening, except that I’m glad to see Mother so happy. I didn’t realize how much
her
depression affected
me.
Even considering all the awful things that have happened lately, not having to worry about her constantly has made my life easier.”
Brandon raised his head and barked. They all looked around to see Lucas Flynn walking by. He smiled, raised his hand in greeting, then continued along the sidewalk. He looked tall and handsome in his uniform, but even at this distance, Adrienne had seen the sadness in his gray eyes.
“That must have been awkward,” Kit murmured.
Adrienne shook her head. “Actually, it wasn’t. We had a long talk after Rachel’s death.” She looked at Drew. “I haven’t even told you all the things he said, but I think the time has come.”
She reached out and took his hand. “Lucas always knew Rachel was his child, but Vicky didn’t want him, so he went away. He never stopped thinking about Vicky
or
Rachel, though, so he came to Point Pleasant to be near them. He had no hope of Vicky leaving Philip for him, or even of her telling Rachel the truth about her father. He just wanted to be part of their lives.”
Adrienne smiled regretfully. “That’s where I came in. We met and really liked each other. In fact, he came to love Skye and me. Not in the way he loved Vicky and Rachel, but in a warm, caring way. And Skye and I were alone. He thought he could help us, provide us with a more secure life. But his real reason for wanting to be part of our lives was because we were part of Vicky’s and Rachel’s. He didn’t fully realize it at the time, but that’s what he wanted—to be close to the romantic love of his life and his daughter.”
Drew’s dark eyes gazed into hers, full of understanding. And
love
, Adrienne thought joyfully. At one time, Drew may have been selfish and careless, but almost twenty years had
changed him. He was truly a man, now. A man full of generosity and capable of genuine love, both for her and for Skye.
“I’m sorry about Lucas,” Kit said gently. “I know you cared about him.”
“I still care,” Adrienne said. “But I’m not in love with him and he wasn’t really in love with me. He’ll always be a part of my life and Skye’s—I wouldn’t want it any other way and Drew understands—but there’s only one man for me.”
Kit smiled. “No disrespect to Trey Reynolds, Adrienne, but there always has been one man for you.”
Drew leaned over and kissed Adrienne, a gentle yet passionate kiss that didn’t embarrass her one bit even though her mother had always told her public displays of affection were vulgar. Then Drew leaned back, his smile growing even wider. “Hey, kid, we forgot why we came here this morning!”
“I thought it was because you couldn’t bear to go another day without seeing me!” Kit joked.
“Well, there’s that, but there’s also something else,” Adrienne said. “Come out to van.”
“The van?” Kit echoed. “When did
you
get a van?”
“I rented it for a special purpose,” Adrienne said. “It’s the red one at the curb.”
“It’s the
only
van at the curb,” Kit said. She looked down at Brandon asleep on her feet. “I hate to disturb your much-needed rest, but let’s see what Adrienne has hidden in that rented vehicle.”
They walked out to the van and Drew opened the rear doors, then looked at Kit. “I’m afraid I’ll need someone to help me unload this, so for now you’ll have to step into the van in order to view the surprise.”
Kit looked at Drew and Adrienne dubiously. “Are you sure you don’t have something horrible hidden in there? Something to scare the daylights out of me just for fun?”
“I swear,” Adrienne said, placing her hand over her heart. Then she gave Kit a little shove. “In you go!”
They watched Kit carefully climb into the van, then wait until her vision had adjusted to the dimmer light coming in through the van windows and the open back doors. Finally, she spotted a long object covered in canvas. With a cry of joy, she rushed to it, threw back the canvas, and revealed a six-by-three-foot oil painting of la Belle Rivière.
“Oh, Adrienne, it’s
beautiful!”
Kit exclaimed ecstatically. “You haven’t mentioned it for weeks and I thought you quit working on it. Then when Mother had the hotel demolished last week, I gave up all hope.”
Adrienne entered the van and stooped beside Kit, looking at the painting. “In spite of all the bad things that happened there, there were wonderful things happened, too. La Belle was a fabulous old hotel. I just couldn’t let it go unforgotten.”
Kit gazed at the painting, a genuine smile of pleasure lighting her face.
Adrienne stared at the painting, too. She looked at the graceful Georgian lines, the glass cupolas reflecting glints of the sun, the weather vanes, the large rooftop clock tower with its Roman numerals, the long porches with their hanging pots of colorful flowers, the glowing stained glass in the double doors. And for a moment, a moment Adrienne could have sworn was not an illusion, the hotel came alive again, its front doors swinging open as it welcomed guests into its beautiful, haunted halls.