Chapter 14 Digging Up The Dead
digging up the dead
Paula watched in horror as the red and orange flames engulfed the mountain home she loved so much.
Her jaw slacked, and her mouth opened in disbelief.
Her body was unable to move, her mouth unable to form words, but her brain was in overdrive as she stood in the kitchen of her Beverly Hills home, watching her laptop on the granite countertop. Who would do something like this?
She couldn’t peel her eyes away from watching the carnage unfold as firefighters struggled to get the fire under control.
The first person she wanted to call was her mother, but after Kayden revealed the unbridled truth about what she’d kept from them, that Kayden is her half-brother and her Dad killed himself because of it, she wouldn’t.
The house was destroyed, beyond repair, just like it seemed her family was destined to be.
She reached for her cell phone, knocked over a glass with her hand, and it sailed to the floor, the shards scattering on the marble floors.
“Shit!” Paula yelled.
She carefully stepped over the glass to retrieve the broom and dustpan from the pantry near the stove.
She leaned them against the cabinet and reached for the kitchen towel to soak up the juice mixed with tiny daggers first. As she laid the towel over the liquid and the fibers absorbed the mess, she couldn’t help the sick feeling deep in the pit of her stomach.
The feeling that somehow, Kim had something to do with the earlier vandalism and the fire.
Who else had a motive? Who else wanted to see her family hurt, besides Kim? But that made no sense, not when she had an ankle monitor watching her every move. The Capshaws had enemies, naturally, but nothing to this extreme before.
This thought gave Paula heart palpitations as she let her terror of the words sink in.
She’d have to call everyone to let them know what was happening.
Paula scooped up the glass, dumping them in the trash receptacle in front of her.
She finished cleaning up the mess, sweeping up the remainder as best she could, then picked up her cell phone and swiped through her contacts for her mother.
Something had to be done, whether it was Kim’s doing or not, and although she didn’t have proof now, she was sure it wouldn’t be hard to find.
KAYDEN HELD LANA in his arms as they lay in bed. The room was dark and cold, prompting them to snuggle up even tighter. Lana wished they could stay in that bed for eternity and shut the world out forever—no fights, no craziness, just them.
“Hungry?” Lana asked as she gently rubbed his chest.
“A little, I guess,” Kayden responded, his eyes glued to the ceiling of her room.
Lana started to climb out of the bed, but Kayden pulled her into him and kissed her on the tip of the nose.
“You know we have to talk about this, right?” he asked.
The look in his stormy eyes was stern, and she knew she wouldn’t be able to slither out of bed or the situation. She settled back down and took a deep breath, bracing herself.
“I know you don’t agree with me, Kayden, but something’s telling me it might do us some good,” Lana replied.
“I don’t understand how us being apart yet again is going to help either of us,” Kayden shifted in the bed, sitting up, the impressive collection of muscles on his stomach flexing.
He tilted her face to his, and they locked eyes.
“I just, I just don’t know how to act anymore or what to do,” Lana said, her water-filled eyes searching his.
“I wish I could go back to Hamby and pretend the last couple of months didn’t happen, but they did.
How do we just pretend that your mother isn’t at the center of everything that’s happened? ”
“We have to actively decide to move on. I don’t want to push you away by not respecting your wishes, but I also don’t want to lose you again. I can’t.”
The tears streamed down his face next and almost shattered her to pieces.
“You will never lose me, Kayden, never,” Lana replied.
“So, this means you’re definitely still going to go?”
Lana took a deep breath. As hard as it was for her to admit, and as much as she didn’t want to hurt him, she promised not to keep any more secrets from him. Being honest and truthful with him was the best policy.
“My flight is already booked. I’ll only be gone for three months, and then I’ll be back. It’s not that long.”
Kayden shook his head slowly and jumped out of the bed.
“You’re letting them win,” he said, as he pulled his boxers back on.
“Kayden...” she started, and he shot her a look she’d never forget.
Heartbreak. She’d seen it before. It was the night in front of the fireplace all over again. The night when he first dared to let her into his dark thoughts about his brother all those months ago.
“Come back to bed,” she continued.
“I need some air,” he replied as he walked out of the room.
She fell back on the bed, her body shaking, and she cried. What’s happening, she thought as the tears flowed freely.
KAYDEN WANTED TO scream at the top of his lungs for her not to go, but he didn’t want to be that guy, either.
He walked into her sparse kitchen and leaned against the wall, wiping his face.
He had to be unselfish and give this to her if it was what she really needed.
Lana had been through a lot; there was no doubt, and many women would’ve left already.
He turned around to go back into the room, but she was standing in the hall. Wearing his shirt, her face crumpled in pain. He reached for her face, cupped her chin in his hand as the tears flowed from his eyes, leaned in, and gave her another sweet, soft kiss on the lips.
“If this is what you need, I’ll be at our home in Hamby when you get back.”
Lana continued to cry, and he held her in the quiet dark space and prayed that they could survive whatever was to come next.
EVERYONE SAT IN the library for yet another of Josh’s council meetings.
Aunt Mae was in the front row using one of her old menus to fan herself as everyone chattered amongst themselves.
The topic of the evening was the fire that nearly burned Paula Capshaw’s house to ash.
She wondered how they’d spin this story to blame it on Kayden.
He and the rest of the Capshaw Crew had been out of town for a week, and Kim was locked down on house arrest, so it’d be interesting to watch at the least. Josh approached the podium, tapped the makeshift gavel, and cleared his throat to bring everyone’s attention to the front of the room.
When everyone settled down, he tried his best to look serious, but you could tell he was enjoying this far more than he should.
“I hate to say I told you so, but... I told you so,” Josh said, as his lips twitched in enjoyment.
A woman stood up in the crowd. She worked at Fresh Picks Supermarket in town and had lived there just as long as everyone else. Aunt Mae recognized her because she always brought her two sons in for the lunch special whenever she could. She was a sweet woman.
“So, this is another Kayden-bashing meeting, then? Is this why I received emails, calls, and reminders to be here? He’s not even here,” she spat, annoyed.
“This goes to show you that it’s more than just Kayden. It’s the family. His poor sister had nothing to do with any of the things that happened here, but she was still a target,” Josh replied.
“Don’t you actually have to be someplace physically to be a target?” Mr. Spence asked.
“Of course not, you don’t have to be there, and I believe that was the point. This was a warning.”
Everyone in the room was abuzz now, speaking over one another, worried about what exactly, Aunt Mae wasn’t sure. Finally, she stood up, still fanning herself in the too-hot room, and spoke.
“A warning about what, Josh? It seems the only person in town who’s been doing any sort of warning has been you. Did you try to burn down that house?”
Audible gasps rang through from the crowd as everyone looked at Aunt Mae as if she had just accused him of shooting JFK.
“Of course not! I had nothing to do with any of this. I just think it’s time we take our town back and run the Cap-shaws out of here.”
The buzzing quieted down, and she could tell people had started to agree with him by the scowls on some of their faces.
“What is it going to take? When Kayden burns down your diner?” he asked, pointing at Aunt Mae.
“You mean the same diner that he just spent the last few months renovating and fixing? How does that make any sense?” Aunt Mae pressed.
He stood there looking bewildered for a moment, visibly uncomfortable with all the eyes watching him. He inhaled deeply, determined to win the small group of ten over again.
“All I’m saying is, as long as they are around, there’s always going to be something happening here.
Before he got back in town, there were no accidents, so there was no need to renovate in the first place.
There was no crazy girlfriend here stealing cop cars and trying to commit murder.
We need to be vigilant, and if we want this to stop, we need to do something about it now. ”
As he gave his long-winded speech, Aunt Mae rolled her eyes at every word. Although some of it was true, it didn’t make it right that he was trying to turn Kayden into some doomsday omen.
“Well, if we go with that sort of logic, then that means we should’ve run you out of town, too,” she started.
His face was instantly maroon-red as she spoke.
“You know, when you approved the building inspection for the library addition six years ago. Then it collapsed, causing millions of dollars in damage and the death of one of the contractors. Remember that?”
If an ant coughed, you’d hear it; the room was so quiet.
“Shut up,” Josh sneered.
“That was the same night your mother drove her car into Deleveaux Lake,” Aunt Mae continued.
“I said shut your mouth!” he screamed.
“Should we blame you for all of that, too?”