Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
~MAGGIE~
I don’t want this.
I do not want her here.
I back up until I bump against Cameron’s chest, and he grips my shoulders to steady me. I can’t hear over the rush of blood in my ears. My heart feels like it might pump out of my body.
This is worse than when I found out that Joey was dead.
“Easy,” Cam whispers in my ear. His hands skim up and down my arms soothingly. “You’re okay.”
“I want her gone,” I say as I shake my head in denial. After everything I’ve already gone through, this can’t be happening.
“Please,” Heather pleads. “I only want to talk to you. I didn’t know about you until about three months ago, I swear. He lied to me, too. I only want to talk.”
Heather’s eyes fill with tears.
“I came from Texas. I’ve been trying to reach you by phone, but you always hang up on me.”
“So, you just show up? Me hanging up the damn phone should have been a hint that I don’t want to talk to you.”
“Just give me fifteen minutes,” she says. “Please?”
“Let’s go inside and not give the neighbors anything to talk about,” Cameron suggests, leading me toward the front door. “I’ll escort her out after fifteen minutes if that’s what you want.”
I don’t know how my numb legs carry me up the front steps. I feel disassociated from the rest of my body.
And I’m so damn angry.
Cam helps me unlock the door when my fingers tremble, and I miss the keyhole, then waits while we—Heather and I—walk into the living room and sit in opposite chairs.
I saw her the other night at the pub, but I didn’t really take her in. She’s pretty, with red hair and blue eyes, and she’s petite. Much shorter than I am. And curvy. I can see why Joey was attracted to her.
“I don’t want to hurt you or bother you,” Heather begins. “I just need some answers, that’s all. I didn’t know that Joey was married.”
I roll my eyes, and Heather shakes her head.
“I didn’t. I met him…oh, God, eight years ago? And I’ll spare you the details, but I ended up pregnant fairly quickly. Joey was thrilled. He even proposed to me. For three years, we lived together as a family, completely normal.”
My hands fist in my lap, but she keeps talking. When the plumber knocks on the door, Cam excuses himself to take care of it.
What would I do without him?
“After I had the baby, my Constance, things got…weird. He was gone more. He was always gone a lot because he had a job that took him all over the place. He traveled a lot, right?”
I nod but don’t say anything.
“It got to where he’d come home for one day a week, and then even less. And he became abusive. He didn’t want to have much of anything to do with the baby, and he said he’d come around more if I dropped some weight and didn’t look like a cow.”
I close my eyes and take a long, deep breath. God, he was a piece of shit. I mean, he was cheating on me with this woman, but still a piece of shit to speak to her that way.
“He ended up calling off the engagement, and Constance didn’t see him often. He promised to come around but always broke those promises. He missed birthdays and holidays. Of course, now I realize that he was spending the holidays with you.”
“Sometimes,” I whisper as Cam sits next to me once more and holds my hand. I turn to him. “Is the plumber doing his thing?”
“He’s already gone. Turned out to be an easy fix.”
“Oh. Okay. Sorry, go ahead.”
“A few months ago, Constance asked if she could call her daddy. I called his number, and it had been disconnected. I don’t know why, but I had a bad feeling and decided to do some digging.” Heather rubs a hand over her face. “I found his obituary. And my God, it was all about a man I didn’t know. The name fit, but the details? Everything was wrong. I couldn’t imagine how he could have a life in Washington. A wife . I was just…stunned.”
“It took you months to try to find him? You have a child. Are you saying that it never occurred to you that you hadn’t heard from him or received any money?”
“No, it didn’t. He didn’t pay child support, and like I said, we would go months without a word. I moved on with my life, and Connie and I are doing well. I even met someone. But when I found the obituary, I just couldn’t stop thinking about it. I slept with a married man. I had a child with him. And all the while, he was lying to me.”
I take a long, deep breath and glance over at Cam and then back at Heather.
“What do you want to know?”
Heather blinks at me and then laughs a little. “You know, you’d think I would have made a list by now. I’ve had so many questions pop into my head over the past few months, and now that I’m sitting here with you, not even one of them comes to mind. Any except how . How did he do this for so long?”
“Okay. First of all, I’m just going to tell you what I know, which is both a lot and not enough all at the same time. I know that doesn’t make any sense, but it’s true.”
“Well, I know nothing , so I’m all ears.”
“I married him just out of high school. You probably met him that summer.”
“So, he wasn’t twenty-two when I met him.”
I blink at her and then laugh. “No. No, he would have been eighteen. He must have had a fake ID. How old were you?”
“Twenty-five,” she says.
“From what I can tell, Joey had girlfriends all over the country. He did travel for work, although given everything, I don’t know what that work was. Maybe it wasn’t work at all, who knows. He traveled, and he fucked around. After he died, I found roughly twenty-five women for sure that I know he was with during our marriage, and there may be more. Hell, one of them even showed up to the funeral and accosted me after it.”
“Oh my God,” Heather whispers. Her blue eyes round in horror, and her hands shake as she presses them to her mouth. “Maggie, I’m so sorry.”
“I’m fine,” I say honestly. “I really am. Now, how have you been getting by if Joey never gave you child support?”
“I have a job,” she replies. “And I have family. My fiancé is amazing. Once we’re married, he’ll adopt Connie.”
“Good.” I nod slowly. “That’s good. I’m glad for you, I really am. Heather, Joey left you money.”
Her hands fall to her lap. “What?”
“He hid money. A lot of it. And on all of the accounts, he listed you and Constance as the beneficiaries.”
She frowns and shakes her head. “He never said anything about any money. Is it a small life insurance policy or something?”
“No. It’s several accounts of no less than two hundred thousand dollars each.”
I watch her face carefully. I want to see the reaction.
I want to see if she already knows.
Her mouth opens, and then she simply reduces to tears. She folds in on herself, sobbing, and before I realize what I’m doing, I hurry over to her and pat her back.
My eyes find Cam’s. He looks frustrated, like I shouldn’t have told her everything I know, but what do I have to lose?
“Why didn’t he tell me?” she sobs. “Why save that money for our baby and not tell me about it? There were months that I had to ask my parents for help because I just couldn’t make ends meet. And all this time…”
She breaks down again, and all I can do is rub her back. Cam passes us a box of tissues.
“Okay, I’m okay.” She wipes at her face and sits back, dabbing at her eyes some more. “I’m sorry, I wasn’t expecting that. I didn’t know he was rich.”
“He wasn’t,” I reply simply. “I don’t know how he got the money. But it’s yours. I’ll get you the information so you can claim it.”
She blows out a breath, and I return to my seat next to Cam.
“How are you so calm?” she asks me.
“I’ve had two years to get used to this,” I remind her. “Two years to heal. You only recently found out about it all.”
“Did he hit you, too?” she asks me and then looks at the floor.
“Did Joey Lemon hit you, Heather?”
She bites her lip and then nods, turning her blue gaze back to me. “Yeah. Yeah, he did. But when he did it in front of Constance, I stood up for myself and told him I wouldn’t put up with that from him.” She shrugs. “We never saw him again. My baby lost her father because of me.”
“Bullshit.” I say it hard and firm. “Her father was an abusive prick, and she’s better off without him, no matter if he was still alive or not. And I’m not sorry for saying that.”
“I know.” She sighs again. “I know it. But I still feel guilty. And I know that’s stupid, too. If my best friend told me any of this, I’d tell her the same thing. So, why does it feel different when it happens to you?”
“Because the abuser makes you feel like it’s your fault. Joey was a master manipulator. He could be a complete jerk and then turn around and charm you.”
“That’s true.” She checks her watch. “I took up longer than fifteen minutes.”
“It’s okay. Now that I’m calm, it’s okay. I’m just anxious not to have reminders of that man popping up every single day of my life.”
“I live with one,” she says kindly. “And while I wouldn’t trade her for anything in the world, she is a daily reminder. She looks just like him. And, speaking of, I have to get home to her. I’ve been here on the island for three days. I just mustered up the courage to come by this morning, and it’s a good thing I did because my flight to Dallas leaves later this afternoon.”
“If you leave me your email address, I’ll get all of the banking information to you.”
“Call her with it,” Cam suggests. “You shouldn’t send banking information through email. It’s not secure.”
“I’ll call you with it,” I amend. “Oh, and here.”
I hurry into my little office-slash-storage room, where I keep my files and grab a file folder.
“You’ll need an official death certificate, I think, to claim the accounts. I have about fifty of them. Here you go.”
I pass the certificate over to Heather, and she stares down at it.
“He’s dead,” she says simply.
“And buried.” I tilt my head as I watch her, an idea forming in my head. “Do you want to see where he’s buried?”
Her head comes up and she nods. “You know what? I do. Yes, I do.”
I turn to Cameron, who’s been quiet this whole time. I’ll ask him later what he’s been thinking, but for now, I’m going to finish this.
I’m going to finish it all.
“Come on, let’s go.”
“I’ll see you later. I’m going to Kane’s,” Cam says and leans over to kiss my cheek. “Call me when you’re done.”
“Okay. Thank you.”
“Thank you,” Heather echoes.
“I don’t have a car,” I announce after Cameron leaves.
“I do,” she says. “I’ll drive. You give directions.”
“Deal.”
“We have to park here and then walk the rest of the way,” I tell Heather as I point to the best space for her to pull off the single-lane road that winds through the cemetery. “He’s just over there.”
We get out of the car, and I breathe in the clean spring air. I love springtime on the island. The worst days of clouds and rain are starting to dissipate, and I’ve been promised at least a couple of months of sunshine.
Today is one of those sunny days. The sky is clear, and we can even smell the salt water from here. I lead Heather through the gravestones toward the plot that I haven’t visited since the day of Joey’s funeral.
But if I’m going to wrap this all up today, this is a good way to do it. I’d thought yesterday was the last of it, but I was wrong.
And, as horrified as I was when I realized who Heather was, I’m not sorry that she’s here. It’s one more thing to wrap up.
Hopefully, and I’ve got my fingers crossed, this is the very last thing.
“Some of these stones are beautiful,” Heather says as she drags her fingertips over the top of a grave.
“Joey’s parents went all out,” I inform Heather as we approach the grave we’re looking for.
“Whoa,” Heather says.
The headstone is at least five feet tall, with a photo of Joey inlaid in it. His full name, birth date, and death date are engraved, and below that is a damn long epitaph.
“Why does it look like they worshiped him?” Heather asks.
“Because they did,” I confirm. “They hated me and blamed me for his death. He was an only child.”
“He told me that his parents were long dead,” Heather confides. “I asked him if Constance should meet his parents, and he said they died when he was a kid.”
“Ever the storyteller,” I say, shaking my head. “His parents are very much alive. Last I heard, they moved off the island, though. And if you want my advice?—”
“I do.”
“I wouldn’t tell them about Constance. They’re controlling, and I think they would try to interfere in your life in ways that you wouldn’t welcome.”
“But she’s their granddaughter. ” Heather scrunches up her nose. “It feels wrong to keep her from them.”
“Your call,” I reply, my hands up in surrender. “But they raised Joey, and I’m not sure that’s a good thing.”
“Yeah, well, you’re not wrong. I’ll think about it, do some research. I don’t usually make rash decisions.”
Heather squats next to the stone, just inches from Joey’s picture.
“You were a son of a bitch, Joey Lemon. I’m not sorry you’re dead, and that makes me feel guilty because I was taught better than that. You didn’t deserve Constance. She’s so much better without you, and Rob is going to be an awesome father to her. The father you never could be.”
Heather stands and takes a couple of steps back.
“I don’t know if he can hear me, but it feels good to say the words.”
“I’ve told him off…I don’t know how many times since he died. It does feel good.”
To my utter surprise, Heather reaches out and takes my hand. We stand, side by side, staring down at what’s left of the man we both loved once.
“I know it’s weird, but I’d like to stay in touch,” she says.
“It’s a little weird,” I admit. “But I think I like you.”
Heather laughs, and I join her. Before long, we’re laughing so hard, we’re both wiping away tears. My side aches. I might pee myself.
But, damn, it feels so good.
“My family has a habit of adopting people,” I say when I can breathe again and am wiping at the tears on my cheeks. “I know that you and Constance would be welcome here any time.”
“Thank you.”
Heather turns away from Joey, and I think turning her back to the man is symbolic.
Yeah, I like her.
“Maybe I’ll bring Connie here someday. When she’s a little older. She asks about Joey. Not often, but sometimes it’s like she’ll have a memory of something and ask questions. When she’s older, I’ll bring her here and tell her the story.”
“When she’s much older,” I advise as we walk back to the car. “Because I’m twenty-eight, and I don’t fully understand it.”
“You’re only twenty-eight?” Heather asks and then laughs again. “That’s right, I was way more of a cradle robber than I thought I was. Just another part of the story. At least, he was of age, and I didn’t break any laws—in that respect, anyway.”
“I don’t think you broke any laws,” I say after we’ve lowered ourselves into the car and fastened our seat belts. “I’m sorry I never spoke to you before.”
“Are you kidding? I would have told me to go fuck myself.”
“I might have said that under my breath when I hung up on you.”
“As it should have been.” She starts the car. “Wanna grab a coffee on the way back to your house?”
“Hell, yes.”
The drive into town is quick, and Heather pulls up to my favorite drive-thru coffee stand. We place our order and then head to my house.
My ma and da are sitting on the porch swing as if they just hang out there every day.
When Heather stops the car, I turn to her.
“Want to meet my parents?”
Her eyes widen, and she snorts out a laugh. “Hell, why not?”
“They’re nice. You’ll like them.”
When we climb the stairs with our coffees, I smile at my parents.
“Hi, guys. This is Heather. Heather, this is Fiona and Tom O’Callaghan, my parents.”
“Oh, darlin’,” Ma croons and stands, but rather than hugging me , she wraps her arms around Heather. “Are you all right, then?”
“I’m…I’m fine, thank you.” Heather pats Ma’s back. “It’s nice to meet you.”
“I told you,” I say as I sit next to Da and rest my head on his shoulder, “we tend to just bring people into the fold. And it looks like you’ve been folded.”
“I would think you’d be angry with me,” Heather says as fresh tears fill her eyes.
“And what for?” Da demands. “T’wasn’t your fault that Joey Lemon was a lowlife, was it? And you have a wee one to care for on top of it.”
“Did you bring her with you?” Ma asks, her voice full of hope.
“No, she’s in Texas.”
“Probably for the best,” Ma says with a nod. “If you come with us to the pub, we’ll feed you full of whatever your heart desires.”
Heather laughs and shakes her head. “I’m sorry, I have to get to the airport. But I’m so grateful that I got to meet you.”
She turns to me as I stand once more.
“Thank you. For not kicking me out and for helping me.”
“You’re welcome. Just call when you get home, and I’ll get you all of the information you need.”
Heather says goodbye, and once she’s driven away, I sit between my parents on the swing. Ma takes my hand, and Da kisses my cheek.
“She seems very nice,” Ma says at last.
“Yeah. She is. And he hurt her like he did me. Worse, really, because she had a baby, and he didn’t care at all.”
I tell them about Heather’s fiancé, and Da nods.
“They’ll be taken care of, and that’s all that matters.”
“I hate to say this out loud, in case I jinx it,” I say and squeeze Ma’s hand, “but I think that’s the last of it. I can finally move on with my life.”
“And it’s about time,” Ma says. “Because you still have a lot of life to live, my sweet girl.”