Chapter 17
seventeen
. . .
Indi
A loud, angry knock wakes me from a deep sleep. It takes me a second to shake my hand awake and to figure out where I am. Last night, Jameson and I talked for hours, before stretching out on the couch and falling asleep. Jameson is tucked behind me, and his bandaged arm is draped heavily over me. I can still feel the warmth of his hand between my thighs, and it makes me blush as I sit up groggily on the couch. The blinds are open, and sunlight streams through the windows.
"No, don't go. I need you here pressed against me," he mumbles without opening his eyes.
Another knock startles him awake. He presses his hand against his forehead. "Shit. Did I get hit with a train during the night? Feels like it." Another knock clears his head more. "Probably Zander wanting his truck."
Jameson plods, shirtless and barefoot, to the door. A cool sea breeze flows through the house as he opens it. "Nicole," he says curtly.
"What the hell happened to you? You look like shit. Where's Rio?" The woman swishes past him, nearly elbowing him out of the way. She's wearing a skintight dress and platform shoes that seem to be too small for her feet. Her stubby toes hang over the front edge.
Her platforms stomp the hardwood floor in an obnoxiously loud cadence. She makes sure to sway her hips exaggeratedly as she moves across the floor. The woman, Nicole, I presume, stops a few steps into the living room. "Who the hell are you?"
My tongue disappears at her brazen attitude.
"Indi is a friend," Jameson says angrily. "Now it's my turn to be obnoxious. Rio hasn't heard from you in sixth months. She spent her entire twelfth birthday clutching her phone, waiting for your call. She hurried out to the mailbox the second she saw the mailman. Just like she was sure you'd call, she was sure you'd at least send her a fucking card. So why the hell are you here, Nicole?"
She waves a long pink nail at him. "Oh no, don't give me the guilt trip. I was busy improving my life, and I thought my little girl was in good hands. I arrived unexpectedly, so you wouldn't put on a show for me." She grins at him. "Seems my plan worked. Here you are, beaten to hell, arm in fucking bandages, and there's some two-bit?—"
"Uh, I don't know you, and you don't know me," I say sharply.
She sneers at me. I'm relieved Rio got Jameson's side of the gene pool instead of hers. "Whatever. If you are fucking women on the couch, then I need to get my kid out of here now. Where is she?" She moves her Frankenstein-style shoes in the direction of the hallway. "Rio! Mom's here. Let's get your stuff."
Jameson's expression turns from rage to anguish. "She's not here, and you'll have to get yourself a lawyer if you think you're taking her from me."
She turns around and laughs. It's an ugly sound. "You didn't even know you were a father until three years ago. I raised her all by myself."
He moves closer and stares hard at her. "That was your decision, and I will never forgive you for that. Like I said, get yourself a good lawyer cuz she's not leaving."
Jameson's phone rings on the coffee table. I glance at it and see the name Mrs. Everett on the screen. Jameson walks over and picks up the phone. "Hello, Mrs. Everett, I'll be over in five minutes to pick Rio up."
I'm tired of having the woman glare at me. I'm in the middle of personal business here, and I'm sure Zander needs his truck back. As I pull on my sandals, I hear the pitch in Jameson's tone change.
"Please, Mrs. Everett, I can't understand?—"
I can hear sobbing on her side of the call.
Jameson's face turns white and smooth like stone. "What do you mean you can't find her?"
I hop to my feet. Nicole stomps over. "What the hell is going on?" she asks. There's more anger than fear in her voice.
"I'll be right there." Jameson hangs up and starts searching frantically for his shoes. I find them for him.
Nicole is hovering over him like a rabid raccoon as he hurries to put them on. I anticipate that he'll be looking for his shirt next. I'm holding it out to him the second he finishes with the shoes. The despair and worry emanating from him is palpable, whereas Nicole is using Rio's disappearance as a cudgel to badger him more.
"You're pathetic," she says as she follows him to the door. "I can't believe I let you watch her all this time."
I grab the keys off the coffee table and sidle past her to Jameson's side. What I really want to do is knock her so hard she flies off her ugly shoes. "What did Mrs. Everett say? I'll drive you over in the truck. I want to help."
"We don't need you, honey. Move along." Nicole is vile. How the hell did she raise such an amazing kid?
Jameson sends off numerous texts as he heads down the driveway. The anguish in his face, in the way he's holding himself, makes my throat tight.
"Get in and you can tell me where to go," I say. He slides into the truck without a word. Nicole gets in her gray sedan and follows. I can see her checking her hair and makeup in the rearview mirror as we pull out of the street.
"The Everetts live on Pullman Road." He's dialed and redialed Rio's phone a million times, but there's no answer.
"What did Mrs. Everett say when you talked to her?" I ask.
He rakes his fingers hard through his hair. "Uh, she was upset and hard to understand. Something about the kitten getting out of the yard. Her daughter, Bella, ran inside crying about the runaway kitten, but Rio took off after it." A weak smile tilts his mouth. "That's my kid." His moment of pride vanishes. "Fuck, fuck, fuck. And Nicole with her fucking timing. She's going to use this to take her." His voice is hoarse and dry. "She can't take her." He's talking more to himself.
A layer of gunmetal gray clouds has moved in and seems to be hovering directly over Pullman Road. It makes the whole scene more grim. People are walking up and down the sidewalks, some still wearing pajamas and robes as they knock on neighbor's doors and check inside cars and garages. The truck hasn't even come to a complete stop before Jameson jumps down from the passenger side. A black and white patrol car drives along the road at a snail's pace, finally stopping in front of the house where a woman in a blue robe is holding the hand of a young girl. They're both in tears. Jameson runs straight toward them.
Nicole pulls up behind the truck as I'm climbing out. While Jameson's anguish is palpable, hers is not. She stops again to check her makeup before getting out of the car. Her ridiculous shoes hit the sidewalk with loud smacks.
I start walking along the sidewalk. Pullman Road is bordered by a thick forest of evergreens. If you walk far enough through the forest you arrive at some steep cliffs that overlook the ocean. I push the treacherous landscape notion from my head. Rio is such a smart kid. There's no way she'd wander into the dense trees alone … unless that was the direction the runaway kitten went.
A young police officer is getting out of the patrol car with all the urgency of a turtle on tranquilizers. He mumbles something into the radio on his shoulder and then adjusts his gun belt. His sunglasses hang out of his pocket. He's familiar, but I can't think of his name. He apparently recognizes me and smiles, an inappropriate reaction considering the circumstances.
"Is that Indiana Nash?" he asks.
His name comes back to me after hearing his voice. "Oscar? How are you?"
"I'm Officer Roberts now." He looks me up and down apparently thinking his rank gives him the right to do so. "Didn't know you were back in town."
"Well, now you do."
Oscar looks past me. "Great. What's he doing here?"
I look back to see a massive Ford truck rolling down the street. Ronan and Colin are in the back. Like Jameson, they don't wait for the truck to stop before hopping out. Zander is in the passenger seat, and sitting behind the wheel is Finnegan Wilde. I haven't seen him in years. He looks thinner, older, far less Wilde now. He parks and they both get out. I realize then that even though he's frailer and much older, he still pulls all the energy his direction by merely being there. It's as if even the birds that were twittering in the trees have stopped to watch Finn Wilde walk down the paved road in his dusty cowboy boots and dark sunglasses.
Officer Roberts puffs out his chest and takes purposeful steps toward Finn. "I'm sorry but there's a neighborhood search going on right now. I need you and your sons to vacate the area."
Finn lifts his sunglasses and stares hard at the officer. Roberts fidgets nervously with his gun belt and takes a discreet step back. "That's my granddaughter out there, so since my taxes pay your salary, I need to ask why the hell you're standing here in the middle of the road talking to me instead of out there looking for my granddaughter?"
Roberts' chin is practically on his chest. "Your granddaughter?" He chuckles. "Are you serious?"
Finn's beefy arm swings out. "Get out of my way." He and the boys spread out, and I head off down the road. It's amazing to see so many people out looking and frantically searching the area. It never would have happened in L.A. It reminds me of the perks of living in a small town.
"Rio! Rio!" Her name is being shouted everywhere. Officer Roberts is calling out to her through a megaphone. I look back toward the Everett house. A few people are gathered on the front lawn. Rio's mom is walking down the sidewalk on her impractical shoes, occasionally calling her name as if she thinks that's searching. The Wilde army, Jameson, included, is combing the forest and some of the more treacherous hiding areas. I look behind every car, every yard fence, every trash bin, even in trees. A kitten might very easily have climbed a tree, and Rio seems like the type who'd climb right up after it without a second thought.
I glance at my phone. It's a text from Kinsley.
I heard about Rio. I'm heading that way.
Thanks.
I put my phone back in my pocket. It feels like it's been an hour. It's only been fifteen minutes, but with each passing minute, the voices grow louder and more frantic. And that's when it hits me, one of those moments from the past that is too hard to forget. I turn and hurry back toward the Everett house. Mrs. Everett and Bella remain, unhelpfully sobbing, on the front lawn. They don't notice me as I walk to their side gate and let myself into the backyard. I hear the tiny squeaking sound just after the gate snaps shut behind me. There's a toolshed at the far end of the lawn. I hurry across and step quietly around to the back. Rio is crouched there, clutching the kitten to her chest. Tears stream down her cheeks as she peers up at me.
"Am I in trouble?" she asks weakly.
I shake my head as I crouch down next to her. "You're not in trouble."
She rubs her nose with the back of her hand. I take the kitten from her. Its soft, little nose wriggles up at me.
"How did you know I was here?" she asks.
"I'll tell you a little story, then we'll let your dad know you're safe because he is very, very worried. When I was about your age, I had a big argument with my parents. It was something silly, I think some rhinestone covered sneakers I wanted or something like that. They said no, so I told them I was running away. I never got past Dad's gardening shed. But I sat back there for a long time, long enough to fall asleep. I woke to the sound of people yelling and screaming my name. I was too afraid to come out of hiding because I thought I was in trouble."
She sniffles and rubs her nose again. "I just left the yard for a second. The kitten had climbed up the neighbor's tree. So, I got him down. Then I heard people calling my name and they sounded angry. I returned to the yard and hid behind here hoping they'd stop being so mad. But their voices only got louder."
I push to my feet and offer her my free hand. The tiny kitten climbs up to snuggle against my neck. Rio clutches my hand tighter as we leave the yard.
"Rhinestone sneakers, really?" she asks, crinkling her face in distaste.
"One day, my friend, I will tell you about the wonders of the bedazzling world."
We step past the gate. "Pops is here?" she asks, her voice wavering. "He'll be angry."
"No, he'll be relieved."
We walk across the yard. "She's fine," I call. Rio's mom is one of the first to turn around because she hasn't traveled more than fifty feet in her search.
"Mom?" Rio says quietly.
"I've got her!" Nicole yells. "I've got her!" She hurries toward us. Jameson shoots out of the forest like he's got rockets on his shoes. Nicole reaches Rio first.
"Don't ever do that again," she says harshly, then pulls her into a rough, clumsy hug. "Don't worry. This isn't going to happen again."
Rio sees Jameson and his brothers coming toward her. She pulls from her mom's arms, runs to Jameson and leaps into his arms. He swings her around kissing her forehead a hundred times. "Tiger, you nearly killed your dad, do you know that?" He looks past Rio to Nicole. "Where'd you find her?"
Rio shakes her head. "It wasn't Mom. Indi found me." Jameson gives me a look that nearly tugs the heart right out of my chest.
Zander grabs Rio from Jameson. She squeals with delight as he props her up on his massive shoulders to parade around. Everyone claps and cheers.
Jameson heads my direction, but Nicole steps into his path. "She's packing her stuff and coming with me."
"Over my dead body," Jameson says.
Nicole grins and holds up her phone. "I taped all of this and just sent the whole incident to my lawyer. He says we've got a solid case to grab full custody."
"Have your lawyer call mine, and we'll see about that," a deep, raspy voice says from behind. Finn didn't say it loudly, but everyone stopped their conversations and turned his direction. Nicole's posture looks a little less straight when she sees Finn standing a few feet away with his beefy arms crossed.
"She's my child," Nicole says. "I raised her."
"And you did an admirable job, or maybe the kid is just so great, she grew up amazing in spite of you," Finn says. "If you're going to be threatening to take her from us, then you better be ready for one helluva battle."
I didn't see Kinsley arrive. She's suddenly at my side. "Wow, didn't expect this," she says quietly in my ear. I shake my head to agree.
"You have no right to keep her from me," Nicole says to Jameson. "Right now, you have no legal rights to keep her. I'm her guardian. You're just a name on her birth certificate." Nicole walks away with her phone to her ear.
"Don't worry, son, we'll get this taken care of," Finn says in an ominous tone.
Jameson holds up his hand. "Stop, Dad. We'll do this my way. Not your way. I'll get this straightened out."
Finn shrugs his big shoulders, then looks over at me. His brows furrow. "Is that little Indiana Nash? Zander mentioned you were back in town." He casts a sly smile at Jameson and then spins around. His whistle splits the air and sends birds out of the trees. He doesn't say a word as he opens his thick arms wide. Zander puts Rio on the ground, and she runs straight into Finn's arms.
"Nonna always said we all misjudged the Wilde boys," Kinsley says quietly. "And Nonna was never wrong."