To Honor Page 13

  Jesse’s surge of relief brought an urge to laugh, but Carla’s reaction was far different. Her fear instantly morphed into anger. “That’s not funny!” Her shout was loud enough to echo over the water. “I thought you were dead!”

  “Take it easy, she didn’t mean to scare you.” He swam up beside Carla, putting a hand on her arm.

  “No, I won’t take it easy.” She shook him off and glared at Cass. “She did intend to scare me, or she wouldn’t have pretended to be floating like a dead body.” Her gaze bored into Cassie’s. “Don’t you ever do something like that again. And you’re grounded for a full week, understand?”

  Cassie’s face fell. Alecia was looking just as guilty as if they’d hatched the plan between them, but Carla kept her attention on their daughter.

  “Stop yelling at me. I don’t wanna live with you anymore. I’m going to live with Dad!” Cassie quickly swam away from them toward the boat.

  Jesse winced at the child’s response. Even he knew her desire to live with him was nothing more than a way to lash back at her mother. Carla’s face was pale and set in stone as she swam back toward the boat as well with Alecia lagging behind.

  He wasn’t sure which way to go with this situation. Okay, yes, Cassie shouldn’t goof around like that, yet on the other hand, he and his brothers had done much worse. Although most of the time they’d managed not to get caught, like when he’d sneaked out at night to visit Carla, which almost made him smile again.

  The worst part of all was the way Cassie hadn’t hesitated to play one parent off the other. Something he and his siblings had never done because his parents weren’t separated or divorced and had always maintained a united front.

  Which is what he should have done. He inwardly winced. Big mistake. No matter how he’d thought Carla had overreacted, he should have followed her lead in scolding Cassie for her prank.

  “Let’s eat lunch,” Jesse said, trying to break the strained silence.

  “I’m not hungry.” Cassie pouted beside Alecia on one side of the boat, both girls wrapped in large brightly colored beach towels.

  “That’s fine, but I’m sure Alecia is.” Jesse gestured to the food Carla had unpacked. “Help yourself, Alecia. There are brownies for dessert.”

  “Brownies!” Alecia’s eyes lit up, and she eagerly went over to where Carla was making sandwiches. “Yum.”

  Cassie’s sulk lasted for a good five minutes before she caved. “Can I have a sandwich?”

  Jesse didn’t answer, deciding this was between Carla and Cass.

  “First, you need to apologize,” Carla said. “I thought you might be dead, Cassie. Do you have any idea what that feels like? What you did was not one bit funny.”

  “I’m sorry.” Cassie’s expression was contrite. “I didn’t mean to scare you or make you jump into the water with your clothes on.”

  “But you did. Not just me, but your dad, too.” Carla let out a heavy sigh and gestured toward the food. “Apology accepted. Do you want ham or turkey?”

  “Ham, please.” Cassie leaned forward to snatch a grape from the fruit bowl.

  “I’ll have turkey,” Alecia piped up. “Thanks, Ms. Templeton.”

  “You’re welcome.” To her credit, Carla didn’t hold a grudge but made the girls sandwiches, added fruit to their paper plates, and provided them each a soft drink. The girls dug into the meal as if they hadn’t eaten in weeks, making him smile.

  Carla shivered a bit despite the warmth from the sun. He draped a towel over her shoulders. She nodded in thanks but didn’t meet his gaze. Maybe he was wrong about her not holding a grudge.

  She appeared to still be upset with him.

  Because he hadn’t instantly supported her. He wanted to explain that he was new at being a father but figured that could wait until they were alone.

  “You want roast beef?” she asked him.

  “That’s great, thanks.”

  She made two more sandwiches, handing him one that was extra thick.

  “When we’re finished eating, we should head back,” Carla said as she began closing up the food containers.

  He hesitated. It was early, they’d only been out for ninety minutes, yet he understood she probably didn’t want to sit around in wet clothes. He didn’t mind stripping down to just wearing his swim trunks but sensed that wasn’t going to fly with Carla.

  “Why don’t we go back for dry clothes, then spend more time on the lake?” he suggested. “I have the boat all afternoon.”

  “I don’t think so.” Carla’s tone was firm. “Cassie has some chores to do around the house.”

  “Chores?” Their daughter let out a squeak of outrage. “Since when?”

  “Since now.” Her tone brooked no room for argument.

  Cassie opened her mouth to argue, but Jesse shook his head at her with silent warning. This was not the time. Especially not in front of their guest.

  He swallowed his own disappointment and nodded. “Whatever you say.”

  Carla shot him a quick, surprised glance, then continued with her task of cleaning up.

  The picnic was quiet and subdued, the only lightness coming when the girls oohed and ahhed over Daisy’s rich chocolate brownies.

  When they were finished, he pulled up the anchor and started the boat. Once they were back in the McNally Bay Marina, Carla didn’t hesitate to disembark, making sure Cassie and Alecia came with her.

  He followed more slowly, not willing to let the day end on a sour note. Carla and Cassie walked Alecia home, before turning toward her mother’s house.

  Once Cassie disappeared inside, with strict instructions to clean her room, Carla finally turned to face him.

  “I’m sorry,” he said quickly. “I should have supported you from the very beginning.”

  “Yes, you should have.” She clutched the edges of the towel together as if she were still chilled. “You can’t allow Cassie to play us off each other, like good cop, bad cop.”

  “I know, I get that.” He spread his hands wide. “I’m learning, okay? I don’t want to come between the two of you.”

  Carla stared at him for a long moment. “I think it’s too late. She already knows hurting me is easy enough, all she has to do is threaten to live with you.”

  Their daughter’s thoughtless words had struck deeper than he’d realized. “She didn’t mean it.”

  Carla let out a harsh laugh. “Oh yes, she did. You’ve proven to be the fun one, while I’m the one forcing her to toe the line.” Without saying anything else, Carla turned and went inside the house.

  Leaving Jesse with the sick knowledge that he’d just lost a good portion of the ground he’d gained in the past five days with the two most important women in his life.

  Carla changed her clothes, then did a small load of laundry with the towels and her wet things. Cass stomped around in her room, making a ton of noise while allegedly cleaning as she’d been told.

  It was disheartening to know this was Carla’s new reality. The beginning of Cassie playing one parent off the other. The back-and-forth of a co-custody arrangement and an ongoing comparison of parenting style.

  As a single mother, there were plenty of times she’d wished for a second adult to help, someone to bounce ideas off of and to talk things through with. It wasn’t easy to handle everything alone. But in the end, every decision she’d made, right or wrong, had been hers alone. Surprisingly, her mother had gone along with that approach, playing the role of grandparent rather than trying to step in as someone in charge.

  Now she had to find a way to add Jesse to the mix. Sure, he could claim to be new at parenting, but he should have followed her lead rather than once again try to undermine her authority.

  It almost made her wish Jesse would move back to Chicago, keeping his visits here in McNally Bay to a minimum. It might be less disruptive all the way around.

  She thought about talking to him later on, trying to set some things straight.

  “Cass?” She poked her head into
her daughter’s room. It looked neat and clean, although Cassie’s sullen expression hadn’t changed. “I need you to fold the clothes and towels when the dryer is finished. After that, the dishwasher needs to be emptied, all the clean dishes put away. I’m heading back to the store.”

  “Fine.” Cassie lifted her chin defiantly. “Just call me Cinderella.”

  “Okay, Cindy. Be back later.” She turned and left the house without a moment of hesitation.

  Cinderella. For the first time since she’d thought her daughter had drowned, a smile tugged at the corner of her mouth. The few chores Cassie had been told to do were nothing compared to what some kids her age were responsible for.

  Although she knew plenty of others who weren’t held accountable for anything.

  Middle of the road, she decided. That was where she wanted Cassie to be. Not in grades, but in having responsibility. Like walking Bucky and doing chores while being grounded.

  Carla came to an abrupt halt when she saw Dean Thomas standing on the corner of Main Street and Elmhurst, the street Templeton Grocery Store was located. The second he saw her, he took a step back, putting his hands up as if declaring his innocence.

  “I’m not waiting for you, I promise.” His face looked haggard as if he were still feeling the impact of his inebriated state from the night before. Honestly, she was surprised he’d been released from jail so soon. “I’m standing here, minding my own business.”

  She wasn’t sure she believed him, although really it wasn’t as if McNally Bay was a large city. Hers was the only grocery store in the area, so it was highly likely they’d continue to stumble across each other on a regular basis. She lifted her right wrist and ran the tips of her fingers over the bruises he’d left behind. “Good to hear. I’m sure you’ll understand if I prefer not to have any more interactions with you.”

  His gaze tracked her gesture, and when he realized what he’d done, his face reddened with guilt. “I’m sorry.”

  She lifted a brow. “You should be.”

  “I was drunk.” His tone sounded pitiful and a bit surly, and she knew then he wasn’t nearly the man she’d thought he was.

  “That’s no excuse.”

  “I know.” Without saying anything more, Dean quickly turned and headed off in the opposite direction from the grocery store. She watched him, hoping that he wasn’t planning to return to the Bombay Pub and Grill for a repeat performance.

  Maybe being arrested had scared him straight. She hoped so. She wanted this to be the end of his weirdly obsessive behavior toward her.

  All this from one measly cup of coffee. No wonder she hadn’t dated in the years since she’d given birth to Cassie.

  Although, deep down, she knew the real reason was that none of the men around town lived up to what she had with Jesse.

  The store was unusually busy, but with Sheryl’s help, things went far more smoothly than usual. Once again, Carla felt she’d made the right decision to promote Sheryl to the assistant manager role.

  Her mother was right, the third time was the charm.

  When they’d finished going through the produce, weeding out the stuff that looked pathetic enough to never sell, Sheryl turned toward her. “Should we start working on the schedule now?”

  “Not yet, let’s finish up the inventory and purchase orders first. I can always spend time drafting a schedule later.”

  If Sheryl was disappointed, she didn’t let on. They worked until dinnertime, then Carla told Sheryl to head home.

  “We’ll take turns staying late, so why don’t you enjoy the evening with your boys? I’ll stay late tonight, wrapping things up.”

  “Are you sure?” Sheryl looked torn. “I can stay tonight if that’s better for you.”

  “You can stay tomorrow.” When she realized that the following day was Saturday, she quickly added, “Don’t worry, next weekend, we’ll switch it up so you don’t have every Saturday. I want this arrangement to work out for both of us.”

  “Me, too. Okay, thanks, Carla.”

  When she was alone in the office, she called home, but Cassie didn’t answer the phone. Because she was still mad? Or because she’d disobeyed and left the house despite being grounded.

  Muttering under her breath, she tried her mother’s cell phone. Thankfully, she picked up. “Hi, Carla.”

  “Mom, are you with Cassie?”

  “Yes, we’re at Daisy’s for dinner. Why?”

  “I suppose Cassie didn’t mention she was grounded.”

  “No, but she did mention all the chores were done that you’d asked her to do, so I thought that was the end of it. Besides, I hardly think having dinner at the diner with her grandmother is the same as hanging out with friends.”

  So now her mother decides to interfere with how she raised her daughter? Great, just great. “Fine, but afterward she needs to stay home, okay? I’m going to work late tonight but call if you need something.”

  “We’ll be fine,” her mother assured her.

  “Where were you today?” Normally she didn’t pry into her mother’s personal life, but she was curious if she was still chatting with Leon Tate.

  “Out with friends.” Her mother’s response sounded evasive. “Nothing for you to worry about.”

  “I’m not worried.” What Carla really wanted to know was more about what Leon Tate had thought of Justin McNally’s letter to Lucy, but it was clear her mother wasn’t interested in sharing the details. At least, not in front of Cassie. “See you later.”

  “Of course.”

  Carla disconnected from the line and stared for a long moment at the stacks of invoices on her desk. Truthfully, she only had about an hour’s worth of work to do before she needed to start on the schedule. But it wasn’t long before she was called over to assist with a customer complaint. After that, she caught two teenagers shoplifting and had to wait for Deputy Garth Lewis to come arrest them. As closing time approached, she waited for all the employees to leave, then locked the door behind them, before returning to her office.

  The invoices didn’t take long, and when she finished, she went ahead and roughed out a schedule of shared responsibilities between her and Sheryl. She was satisfied at the thought of having more free time to spend with Cassie. Rising to her feet, she frowned, wrinkling her nose at the scent of smoke.

  Was someone smoking cigarettes outside the grocery store? And if so, why was the scent so strong inside?

  Carla crossed to her office door. She pushed on the handle, but the door didn’t budge. There was no lock on the office door, she’d never needed one. And the door opened to the outside.

  A shiver of fear trailed down her spine as she tried again with more force.

  The door moved a fraction of an inch, but then stopped. There was something from the other side, something heavy preventing it from opening.

  The scent of smoke grew stronger. She put a hand on the door, and the wood felt warm, confirming her suspicions that the fire was raging inside the grocery store, not outside it.

  A fire that had been set on purpose, with something on the other side of the office preventing her escape.

  She began to cough, wisps of smoke coming in from the gap beneath the door.

  No! She quickly grabbed the phone off her desk and called 911, hoping and praying the deputies and volunteer firefighters would get here before it was too late.

  14

  Jesse walked up Main Street to the corner where the grocery store was located, trying to frame the conversation he needed to have with Carla. He didn’t like knowing they were at odds, and honestly, he wanted to explain to her how much he cared about her.

  How much he loved her.

  Yet just blurting out the truth probably wasn’t the way to go. Carla was skittish about their relationship, and the last thing he wanted to do was scare her off.

  As he approached, he caught a glimpse of something yellow flickering through the window of the grocery store as he approached. He frowned, finding it odd that there may
be a yellow lightbulb flashing on and off.

  The wail of sirens had him glancing around curiously. Hearing sirens wasn’t at all unusual in Chicago, but he thought this was the first time he’d heard them in McNally Bay. He knew from Garth that crime statistics around here were low.

  Just another reason it was a good place to raise a child. To have a family.

  A dark figure ducked out of the store door, wearing a hoodie up and over his head. Since it was well past eight, Jesse sprinted after him feeling certain the guy had been trying to steal something. “Hey! Stop!”

  The figure glanced back at him at the same moment he reached the street lamp. The familiar facial features made him stumble. Brian? What was his partner doing here?

  Jesse continued running, determined to find out. But as he moved past the store, he quickly realized the yellow light wasn’t a bulb.

  It was a fire inside the building.

  Carla!

  As much as he wanted to catch up to grab Brian, he couldn’t leave if there was any chance Carla was trapped inside. With an abrupt move, he spun around and grabbed the door. It was locked.

  He looked around, frantic for something that could be used to break in. The garbage bin! Without a second thought, he lifted the bulky garbage container and threw it as hard as he could through the glass window.

  Glass shattered, and with the influx of air, the fire inside burned brighter. His heart thudded with fear, but he pulled up the collar of his T-shirt so that it covered his nose and mouth and pushed inside.

  The sharp edge of glass cut his skin, but he ignored the pain, trying to see through the swirling smoke. He vaguely remembered Carla saying something about having an office, but where?

  He had no clue.

  The sirens were louder now, and he was relieved to know help was on the way. But the fire was growing bigger, spreading wider, and he feared if he didn’t find Carla soon, it would be too late.

  The fire was located in the paper products aisle, and as he scanned the area, he noticed there was a door almost directly behind the aisle, leading to a space in the back of the store.