On the Line (6 page)

She put her head down, didn’t look at anyone, and only spoke to Veronica in hushed
tones as they made their way through the line. They were walking through the double
doors of the chapel when Janelle finally looked up and saw Richard’s sister, Martha,
barreling toward her with a scowl on her tear-stained face. The anger in her cloudy,
blue eyes matched what Janelle had often seen in Richard’s.

Janelle swallowed the lump in her throat and fought the urge to run in the other
direction.

“How dare you?” Martha whispered loudly. “How dare you show your face here after
everything you did to my brother?” Her hands trembled as they rose to her hips. Janelle
imagined Martha was resisting the urge to hit her and took a step backward.

“I came to pay my respects—”

“Respect? Don’t make me laugh,” Martha spat. “You didn’t respect him while he was
alive, I think it’s a little late to start now.”

“Martha—”

“I don’t want to hear it, Janelle. My brother loved you.” Martha’s eyes became watery
and Janelle had to look away. “He treated you like a princess. He worked his way
up in one of the state’s largest companies. He slaved away every day for you, so
he could give you everything you could possibly want. He did everything for you,
and how did you thank him? You made him take in your sister’s bastard. And while
he was working hard to support the two of you,
you
were having an affair. Richard
was third in line at a very prestigious company, and you were sleeping with,” Martha’s
lip curled in disgust, “
a cop
.”

Janelle opened her mouth to defend Nathan’s character to her arrogant accuser, but
Martha continued to berate her.

“Then you were careless enough to get pregnant,” Martha shook her head, “and you
made poor Richard raise that child as his own too.”

“It was—” Janelle started again, only to be interrupted as Martha continued.

“And you had the audacity to accuse him of abusing you so you’d have an
excuse to
leave.” Martha took a step closer, and Janelle pulled her shoulders up and met her
angry stare. “You abandoned him a long time ago, you have no right to be here now.”

Janelle closed her eyes against the furious tears. The words were true, even if the
reasons weren’t as cut and dry as Martha wanted to believe. When Janelle opened her
eyes and looked around at all of the faces staring at her, a mixture of anger, pity,
embarrassment, and disapproval in the crowd, she realized that none of her reasons
mattered. She wasn’t about to try to explain things with this audience watching.
She met Martha’s irate gaze and nodded.

“I’m so sorry,” she said quietly.

“You should be,” came a quiet, unsteady voice from behind Martha.

Martha stepped aside and her frail mother moved forward.

“Gladys,” Janelle greeted her former mother-in-law. “I’m—”

Crack!

Janelle’s cheek stung as the older woman’s hand collided with it, and her head snapped
to the side. Janelle heard gasps from the onlookers and felt Veronica’s hand on her
arm as she immediately put her palm up to her burning cheek and turned her wide-eyed,
teary gaze on Gladys.

“You selfish whore,” Gladys spat, her soft words stabbing Janelle in the chest. “You
meant the world to my son. He gave you everything he could and how did you repay
his affection? You forced him to raise two brats that weren’t his, and when that
wasn’t enough you left him with nothing. You took everything he had to give and threw
it in his face. All he ever wanted was to make you happy. You can bitch and complain
all you want about him being a bad husband, but perhaps you should examine what kind
of wife you were to him.”

Janelle lowered her hand and closed her eyes. Had Richard really felt that way about
her? She hadn’t felt loved and adored by him. After Zach came along, she’d felt largely
ignored and unwanted. Had she brought that on herself ?

“You should leave now,” Gladys continued. “Those of us that truly loved him don’t
want you here.”

Janelle stared at Gladys, at her red-rimmed, tired eyes, her messy, long, graying
dark hair and the determined press of her lips and looked for the kind woman she’d
once respected and loved like a mother. As her eyes traveled
over Gladys’s shoulder,
her jaw dropped. Coming up the aisle toward them all was
her
mother.

Mary Morgan’s blue eyes were bloodshot and her cheeks tear-stained as she fixed her
glare on her daughter. As she stepped between Gladys and Janelle, she said, “Well,
I hope you’re happy now.” She frowned at Janelle. “They’re right. You should have
been a better wife. I’ve been telling you that for months. And now you come here
and cause a scene in front of all of these people who actually cared about the man
you married more than you did.”

Janelle stepped back, feeling Veronica’s hand tightening on her arm to steady her
and the other hand pressing comfortingly on her back, as tears trickled slowly down
her cheeks. She shouldn’t be surprised by her mother’s words, but they still stung
deeply. Her mother had never publicly scolded her for her behavior. She’d always
been concerned about the image they portrayed and had always wanted people to believe
they were a happy, peaceful family. Mary took a step closer to her daughter and leaned
in.

“Go home.” Mary stepped back and gave Janelle a look that almost dared her to defy
her.

Janelle looked around the crowd and studied their faces. Some of the angry and disapproving
faces now had a touch of pity in them, the pitying looks had only grown more sorrowful,
and the embarrassed couldn’t make eye contact. There was one face, however, that
met and held her stare. Mason Harris’s green eyes held a look of pity and determination,
but also support and strength.

As he turned to the woman by his side, Janelle pulled her shoulders back and held
her head high. Veronica took her arm and, without another word for her mother, they
turned and walked away, Veronica supporting her as her knees began to weaken as they
exited the chapel. As soon as they were outside of the building, Janelle collapsed
with her back against the side wall.

“Who were those women?” Veronica asked, staring back at the door of the funeral home
with a frown.

“Martha is Richard’s sister, Gladys is his mother,” Janelle replied automatically.

“And the other one?” Veronica questioned slowly, and Janelle had the feeling she
already knew the answer.

Janelle looked squarely at Veronica. “My mother.” Veronica pressed her
lips together
and looked away. Janelle laughed without humor. “You mean Kelsey didn’t talk about
her? I can’t imagine why.”

The door opened and Mason came out, followed closely by his wife, Charlotte. He glanced
at Janelle and held her gaze for a moment before nodding and looking away. Charlotte
looked too and gave Janelle a sympathetic smile and a brief wave as they strolled
away.

“Who are they?” Veronica asked, nodding to the couple walking away.

Feeling slightly bolstered by Mason’s acknowledgment and the sympathy in his wife’s
eyes, Janelle stood. “That is one of Nathan’s brothers with his wife.” Janelle stepped
onto the pavement and began walking to the van.

“Is he leaving because of what happened with you in there?” Veronica got into step
beside Janelle.

“I don’t know. I’m actually surprised he was there at all,” Janelle answered as she
fished in her purse for her keys. “The Harris boys were never huge fans of Richard’s.
Nathan and I were friends long before I met Richard, and when they met in middle
school they just never really hit it off. And I figure that Mason and Jackson simply
followed suit; Nathan didn’t like Richard, so they didn’t like Richard. If there
is another reason they didn’t like each other, I’m not aware of the cause.”

“I would think it obvious,” Veronica stated, and Janelle dropped her keys on the
ground. Veronica laughed. “Look, I don’t know what it’s like in small towns like
this one, but I do know that when I was in middle school and high school, liking
the same girl was plenty enough reason for boys to fight. Perhaps some of them never
grow out of it.”

“Veronica,” Janelle bent down to pick up the keys, stood back up, and stared at her
sister’s friend, “Nathan and I didn’t have that kind of relationship until a few
years ago.”

“I never said you did, but I remember what happens when boys like the same girl.”
Veronica raised an eyebrow as she pursed her lips. “Whether the girl knows about
it or not.”

Janelle’s mouth opened, but no words came out. She tried to stretch her memory but
couldn’t recall any signs that should have told her how Nathan felt when they were
younger. All she knew was that he’d always been there when she’d needed him and she’d
taken advantage of that. She didn’t know how he’d felt about her twenty years ago,
but she did know that he’d cared
about her when they’d had the affair. And she’d
ruined it, and hurt him in the process.

Her shoulders slumped and tears sprang to her eyes again as she pictured the look
of betrayal on his face at the hospital. She’d put that there. Martha and Gladys’s
words replayed in her mind. She was selfish, too caught up in her own problems to
pay attention to how her decisions affected others. Maybe she had done that with
Richard. She knew for sure she’d done it with Nathan. And now he’d probably never
speak to her again.

Maybe he shouldn’t.

But they had Zoe to consider. Nathan would be a good father to her—of that Janelle
was certain. If he could never forgive her, perhaps she could at least convince him
to be civil so he could have a relationship with his daughter.

“I need to go see my sister,” Janelle said as she turned and quickly walked to her
van. She hoped Kelsey would have an answer to her problem. Or at least be willing
to mediate for her until Nathan was willing to talk to her directly.

“Awesome,” Veronica stated as she ran to catch up to Janelle.

Five

Janelle and Veronica were walking toward Kelsey’s hospital room as two men in suits
walked out of it.

“Can’t talk about it, my left foot,” Janelle overheard Kelsey say as Janelle reached
the door. “Call him and find out what’s going on. I don’t like this, Patrick, something’s
not right.”

“Sweetheart, relax,” Patrick soothed Kelsey as Janelle walked into the room. “Remember
what Helen said about you keeping calm.”

“What’s going on?” Janelle asked, stopping at the foot of the bed. Kelsey looked
at her and smiled widely as she held her arms open to her sister. Janelle laughed
at the resemblance she saw to Zoe and complied with her sister’s unspoken request
for a hug.

“Is the funeral over already?” Kelsey asked after pulling away.

“We didn’t stay for the funeral,” Veronica stated as she seated herself on the air
conditioning unit.

“Why?” Patrick looked at Veronica. “Cameras?”

Veronica shook her head. “Mothers.” She gave Kelsey and Janelle a pointed look.

“Oh, you met our mother,” Kelsey said calmly, leaning against her pillow. “Isn’t
she delightful?”

“Not an adjective I’d use to describe her,” Veronica muttered as she picked her hand
up to study her fingernails.

“What did she say?” Kelsey looked at Janelle with a wrinkle in her brow. Janelle
waved her question away as she sat on the edge of the bed. “Nothing that wasn’t true.
You know how she is.”

Kelsey narrowed her eyes on her sister and Janelle looked away. Janelle
wasn’t about
to repeat what had been said in front of Patrick. It was bad enough that Veronica
had heard it. Oh, and half of the town.

“I know exactly how she is, and how you try to blow it off even if it hurts.”

Janelle felt her sister’s hand grasp her wrist, and she looked down at the connection.
She slowly nodded. “It’s nothing I can’t handle,” she said. Once her features settled
into her natural, relaxed façade, she looked at Kelsey. “Who were those two men that
just left?”

Kelsey’s lips pressed tightly together and she released Janelle’s wrist. “Detectives.
They’re investigating what happened in the cabin.”

Janelle’s breath suddenly escaped her lungs. “What? Why?”

Kelsey gave Patrick a pointed look. “Patrick was just going to call about that.”

“Kelsey, I don’t think it will work. I’m sure the station won’t tell us anything
more than what they,” Patrick pointed toward the door, “told us.”

“What did they tell you?” Janelle asked as she turned to look at Patrick. Except
for the dark circles under his eyes and the five o’clock shadow on his jaw, he was
just as handsome as ever. Janelle knew he hadn’t left this hospital room for the
four days Kelsey had been here.

When Patrick looked determined not to answer her question, Janelle turned to her
sister.

Kelsey sighed before quickly answering, “The older one did most of the talking, and
I didn’t really like him very much. All he would tell us was that Nathan was no longer
on the case, but he wouldn’t tell us why.”

“And neither will the police station,” Patrick stated as he looked at Kelsey.

“That’s why I suggested you go right to the source,” Kelsey said as she rolled her
eyes. She turned her sharp stare toward Janelle. “Unless you know?”

Janelle shook her head. “I haven’t seen Nathan since he left me here,” she answered
softly and cursed the tears that suddenly stung her eyes.
In for a penny . . .
“And
he’s not returning my calls.”

“Oh,” Kelsey gasped and covered her rounded mouth with her hand. She slowly lowered
her hand and turned her gaze to Patrick again. “Please call him.”

Patrick nodded and walked to the window as he took his cell phone out
of his pocket.
Veronica hopped off of the air conditioner and sat down in the chair next to the
bed. Janelle watched as Kelsey slowly turned her attention from Patrick to Veronica
then started to turn toward Janelle, who looked away as her sister’s gaze fell onto
her face.