Caught Between a Lie and True Love (Caught Between series Book 1) (25 page)

“Fine,” he growled as he backed toward the door. “But don’t come running to me when he’s done with you.”

And then he was gone, leaving her alone and lonely like they’d just broken up.

She sank against the bed, exhausted.

The nurse came in to check on her, fussing until Matilda wanted to scream at her to get out. When she was alone again, she let the tears come.

God, she missed that man. He might be an ass sometimes, but he was
her
ass.

Tuesday and Thursday nights were hardest. He was like a bad habit that needed breaking.

Right or wrong, she was holding fast to her resolve to out-stubborn him.

Outside the room, Brody's quiet voice rumbled through the closed door. “Get in there, Hope.”

The ultimate whiny voice of the teen carried clearly through the door. “I don’t like hospitals and I don’t like sick people.”

“Neither do I, but this is what we do for family. We do things we’re not always crazy about doing and we do them without complaining.”

His words surprised Matilda.
He
surprised her. After all she’d said to him, all she’d done.

She squeezed her eyes shut and held her breath, straining to hear.

“Fine, have it your stupid way. I’m sick and tired of being grounded.” A moment later, Matilda heard the girl schlep into the room, stop by the bed, and whisper, “She’s sleeping. Can we go now?”

Matilda opened her eyes and the girl froze.

Beside her, Brody, looking uncomfortable, smiled. “How are you doing, Matilda?”

She kept her voice steady. “Improving. They pumped my stomach and said I’ll be back to normal in a few days.”

“Good.” He glanced down at the top of Hope’s head. “Hope’s been worried about you, haven’t you, Hope?”

Bless his soul
. Matilda wanted to hug him for his effort to be kind.

With a shuffle of her feet, Hope shrugged. “Sure, what he said.”

Brody’s expression turned pained. “If it’s okay, I’ll leave you two alone so you can visit.”

“Thank you, Brody,” Matilda said. As he quietly left the room, her gaze centered on her granddaughter. She was beautiful, like her mother had been, and it made Matilda’s heart squeeze in pain. “Thank you for coming, Hope.”

The girl shifted. “Dad made me. I don’t like hospitals.”

“I don’t either.” Matilda glanced toward the chair in the corner of the room. “Why don’t you bring that closer and make yourself comfortable?”

The teen hesitated and Matilda could practically read her thoughts. If she sat down, that meant she’d have to stay for a while.

Matilda gave her a shrug and a disarming smile. “Or not. You can stand if you’re more comfortable that way.”

Hope relaxed a little and leaned one hip against the edge of the bed. “So you’re not going to die or anything?”

“No. I’m going to be around for a very long time, dear.”

“Oh goody.” She almost sounded disappointed.

Matilda kept her dismay at bay. “You’ve been a busy girl. What have you been up to?”

Hope picked at the top sheet and shrugged. “Delivering newspapers. Hanging out at the beach.” Her head popped up and she looked at Matilda with concern. “Don’t tell Dad. I’m supposed to be grounded.”

“Sneaking out behind his back, eh?” Matilda grinned. “I used to do the same thing whenever my mom grounded me.”

Hope studied her with doubt. “Really?”

“Believe it or not, I’m not so old that I don’t remember what it was like to be young.” But the girl didn’t respond, simply went back to picking at the bed sheet. Matilda squished back a sigh. Kindly she said, “I’m sure your dad is wearing a hole in the linoleum. You should probably go before he gets too impatient and leaves without you.”

The teen perked up and smiled her first smile since she’d entered the room. “Really? That’s okay with you? Are you sure you don’t want me to stay longer?”

She was already backing toward the door. Matilda gave a weak smile. “I don’t want you to stay if you don’t want to be here.”

“It’s not that, Grandma—”

“Never mind. No apologies necessary.” She gave a wave of her hand toward the door, but just before her granddaughter disappeared through the opening, she called her back. “Hope?”

The teen froze, her escape cut short. “Yes, Ma’am?”

“If you come visit me again, I won’t make you try on your mother’s ugly clothes.”

“Oh, that’s not why—”

Matilda cut her off before she could make up some lame excuse. “In fact, I’ve decided it’s time to give them away to someone who needs them more than you do. Would that be okay with you?”

The girl straightened. “Sure, that’s a really good idea.”

Maintaining what she hoped was a nonchalant tone, she said, “Sometime when you have nothing better to do, perhaps you’d like to come over and help me pack up the things. You know, in case there’s something in your mother’s belongings that you’d like as a keepsake.”

All of the stuffing seemed to go out of the girl. “I’d like that, Grandma, I really, really would.”

“Then it’s a date,” Matilda said.

She watched Hope back out of the room and disappear. Something in Matilda’s insides eased and the tightness in her stomach started to go away.

The first thing she’d do when she got out of the hospital was stop by Brody's house to say thank you. It was the least she could do to make amends for her bad behavior.

And then she’d see if it was too late to get Brody voted for Mayor.

CHAPTER THIRTY-FIVE

After last night’s debate, there’d been no time for damage control. With the voting booths closing in just a few short hours, Paige wandered through the house in search of Starr. By the time she reached the kitchen, she realized that the teen wasn’t anywhere to be found.

Gram sat at the table surrounded by her money jars, dumping them out one by one, counting each bill and coin, then recording the amount in a large ledger book.

Paige stopped beside her and examined the ledger. “When are you going to put that in the bank?”

The elderly woman huffed out a breath. “Maybe I would if you came with me.”

That momentarily shut Paige up. She stared down at the top of her grandmother’s head and finally said, “Well, maybe I will.”

“Good.” Gram made another notation in her ledger. “If you don’t hurry up and get changed, I’ll be late to vote. I don’t know why you want to come anyway. You’re not a permanent resident, so you can’t cast a ballot.”

“I want to be there to support Brody,” she explained as she peered past the screen door into the back yard. Still no sign of Starr. Arms folded across her chest, she turned back to face her grandma. “Have you seen Starr?”

“Your brat left early this morning with Brody’s brat.” Gram picked up a piece of paper from the pile and with a frown, studied it. “Thanked me for the gardening lessons, then grabbed her backpack and headed down the street.”

“Thanked you? That’s odd.”

“Odd isn’t the word I’d use. Never thought that girl would amount to a hill of beans in the garden, but it appears she inherited my green thumb.”

“I was sure Hope would be with Brody today. The two of them seem to be getting along better, don’t they?” When Gram didn’t respond, Paige frowned. “Did the girls say where they were off to?”

“Not a word.” Gram waved the slip of paper in the air. “Could have something to do with this though.”

Paige took the paper and recognized Starr’s handwriting.

Dear Olivia, IOU $100. Thank you for not sicing the police after me. Your beloved—and may I respectfully remind you that I’m your only—great-granddaughter, the Brat
.

Gram tsked. “Greedy child. Takes after her mother. From the moment she set foot in my house, I knew she was trouble.”

Paige sighed. It seemed she was always apologizing. “I’m sorry, Gram. I’ll make sure she pays you back.”

The old lady’s bushy eyebrows raised. “With interest.”

“Of course.”

Gram pushed to her feet and started across the kitchen. She paused at the doorway. “There’s something I should have told you ages ago. That I knew it wasn’t you that pulled the scam on the good folks of Serendipity Island.”

Paige gaped at the old woman. “Then why didn’t you say anything in my defense?”

Gram turned and folded her hands at her waist. “You needed to learn a lesson, girl. Your daddy, well, he may be my only child, but I know he’s no innocent. You needed to learn a hard lesson about standing up to him,
and
about right and wrong.”

“Seriously?” Paige couldn’t help it. She laughed. “I guess I should thank you because I learned those lessons loud and clear.”

“Better to learn as a juvenile than end up in the big joint with all those criminals.” Gram nodded once. “You’re welcome.”

Footsteps clomped up the back steps and Gram said, “Come in.”

Brody pulled open the screen door and stepped into the house. “Morning, ladies. Is Hope here?”

“Gone with the brat.” Gram glanced at Paige and smirked. “I wish the others would take the hint.”

Paige smirked back at the old lady, suddenly realizing that the crustiness was all an outer defense. “You know, I’m beginning to think you don’t really mean that.” She turned her attention to the man at the door. “Brody, did Hope tell you anything about her plans today?”

“No, but if she’s with Starr, I’m sure they’re just off doing teenage stuff.” He shrugged and looked disappointed. “She did say she wanted to come with me when I headed down to vote. I guess there are more important things than her old man winning or losing the election.”

As the telephone rang, Paige reached for the receiver and put it to her ear. “Hello?”

A sweet concerned voice came over the line. “Olivia? This is Mary Style. My Social Security check arrived in the mail today and I wanted to give your great-granddaughter some more money for her sick puppy.”

Paige’s gaze settled on Brody. “More?”

“Yes. Those sweet little girls were so sad. It was all I could do not to cry along with them.”

Her voice cracked. “Them?”

“Hope Jackson, Matilda’s granddaughter, was helping her raise money.” Mrs. Style sniffled. “I know the first one-hundred dollars won’t go far at the veterinary clinic, and now I can afford to give her another one-hundred.”

“Mrs. Style, Starr doesn’t have a puppy.”

“Excuse me?”

“I’m so sorry, but I’m afraid Starr lied to you.”

“Lied? You mean…” There was a gasp of outrage. “If those girls don’t return my money, I’m calling the police.”

“No, please don’t involve the police. I’ll take care of this, make it ri—” But Paige was talking to a dial tone. She hung up the phone and faced Brody with the ugly truth. “Did Hope take her backpack with her this morning?”

“Yeah, as a matter of fact, she did.” He frowned. “I had the weirdest phone call from Agatha Vaughan.”

“Did she tell you she wanted to give Hope another one hundred dollars for her friend’s sick puppy?”

“Yeah, how did you—”

Paige grabbed him by the arm and tugged him out of the house. Over her shoulder, she said, “Gram, don’t go anywhere without me. While you’re waiting, maybe you could do some damage control.”

Without even being told what was going on, Gram grabbed the receiver. “On it, girl.”

Brody tugged back, slowing her progress. “What’s going on?”

She let go of his arm and trudged forward, knowing full well that he would follow her. “I’m afraid Starr might have gotten Hope into trouble.”

“Trouble is Hope’s middle name. If anything, it’s the other way around.” He tugged on her hand, pulling her around to face him. “What’s really going on?”

She took a deep breath and jumped into the deep end of the truth. “There’s something I need to tell you about my family.”

“Okay.”

“We’re con-artists.” At the look of shock on his face, she quickly backtracked. “Well, not anymore, of course. When I was a kid, I worked cons with my dad.” She crossed her fingers behind her back in case the next part of her statement wasn’t totally true. “And my dad has since retired from the game.”

There was doubt on his face now. “Are you trying to tell me that Starr and Hope conned Mary Style and Agatha Vaughan?”

“Yes. I’m afraid Starr comes by it naturally.”

Brody appeared to take the news in stride, which was a good thing, because she was freaked out enough for the two of them.

“So the girls were going around town trying to get money for an imaginary sick puppy? Why? What do they need the money for?”

“Not only have they taken money from other people, but Gram found an IOU for fifty dollars in one of her money jars.”

“Two hundred and fifty.” With a snap of his fingers, he grabbed her hand and dragged her along with him. “Come on. If we hurry, we can still catch them. The ferry leaves in ten minutes.”

Paige stumbled after him. “The ferry?”

Brody sighed heavily. “Hope has been begging to return to the city and her friends. A ferry ticket back to the Mainland for a youth is $125. I think Starr decided to help her new friend.”

“I’m sorry. This would never have happened if we hadn’t come to town.” She tugged him to a stop. “Have you voted yet?”

“No.”

“You should go. Let me take care of this. I promise to bring Hope back.”

His expression hardened. “I’m not leaving you to deal with this on your own.”

And as she turned her back on him, she realized that the longer her and her dad stayed around town, the worse it would get for Brody and Hope.

“It’s not Starr’s fault. It’s not even Hope’s fault,” he said as though he could read her mind. “It’s my fault. Hope has been unhappy since we moved here. I should have listened and at least taken her back to the city for a visit.”

Paige squeezed his hand. “Matilda and the court order didn’t give you much choice.”

“Screw Matilda. Hope is
my
daughter.”

By the time they reached the ferry, it was pulling away from the dock. Paige swallowed back the urge to cry and glanced at the man standing shoulder to shoulder with her. “Now what?”

But his gaze wasn’t on the ferry. In fact, there was relief on his face.

He directed her attention along the shoreline. “Look.”

Starr and Hope sat together on a park bench. They looked dejected, sadder than Paige had ever seen anyone look. As if they too knew there was more at stake than their own happiness.