Dragonfly Creek (21 page)

Sarah got a chill up her spine, and she rubbed at the gooseflesh that broke out on her arms. “What’s in the folder, Byrdie?”

Byrdie handed it to her. “That’s the reason Ainsley married Doug. She’s been searching for it ever since we got here. Of all the files Geneva kept, about forty all told, it was the one Ainsley cared about most. The one she was desperate to get her hands on so she could destroy it. She found it this weekend. She’d just about given up hope.”

The first paper on top of the stack inside the file was a letter addressed to the board of directors at the library. As Sarah read the contents, her body went numb, and every hair stood straight up. Without a word, she passed the letter to Owen, then started skimming the next.

All in all, only three letters filled the file. But Sarah knew how powerful people in Geneva’s position worked. Cronyism and favors to cancel debts were commonplace, particularly in small towns, and especially if big money was involved. If Geneva Brewer was as vicious as Byrdie and Jonah were saying, Sarah had little doubt the folder and its contents could be wielded as a weapon—a very effective, destructive weapon.

“I don’t understand,” Owen said. “This is ludicrous. No one would believe this.” He looked at Sarah, clearly confused.

“It’s not about getting people to believe it. It’s about hitting as hard as possible, as quickly as possible, in every area. If she’d used this, it would have destroyed us. Our lives would have become a circus, and by the time the dust cleared, the damage would have been done.” She looked at Byrdie. “Could you point me to a restroom?”

“Of course. Right down here.” Byrdie led her down the hall. “Are you all right?”

“I just need a few minutes.” In the bathroom, she braced herself against the counter and fought down the nausea. As soon as she’d read that first letter, she’d understood the threat. It all would have come out. Rachel and Amelia, who were also shifters, would have been in danger. The whole family would have been subject to ridicule and speculation, and there was enough truth hidden in between the lines of the letter that some of it would have stuck.

The letters calling in the favor to get Jack fired and the one accusing Gilly of fraud were as damaging. But for the grace of God, and the courage of a young girl, everything they had worked so hard to build and the family they’d fought so hard to protect would have been torn apart. They’d come so close to disaster, and hadn’t even known it. That knowledge shook Sarah like nothing had in years.

When she went back to the kitchen, Owen was standing next to the glass wall, staring into the yard as he and Jonah made small talk. He turned to her, concerned. “Sweetheart?”

“I’m okay.” She resumed her seat. “Could I have some water?”

Jonah got up. “With or without ice?”

“With, please.” She took a long drink when he handed it to her, closing her eyes as the cold liquid hit her churning stomach. “How old was Ainsley when she married Doug?”

Byrdie answered as Owen sat back down. “Nineteen.”

“Dear, God. Nineteen years old.” Sarah swiped at a tear. “How’d Geneva use that folder?”

“She gave Ainsley a choice. Marry Doug and stay away from Ben for the rest of her life, and Geneva would leave you all alone. Refuse to marry Doug or even try to warn Ben? Geneva would do her worst. And her worst was about as bad as it gets.”

Jonah ran a hand through his hair. “Well, she used Ben’s other girlfriend as a weapon, too. Or what Ainsley thought was Ben’s other girlfriend.”

Owen sat forward. “Explain.”

“Like I said, Geneva made it her mission to learn everything she could about anyone she could exploit. And she knew Ben met every Wednesday with his brother and sister-in-law for lunch. Somehow, she learned that Ben would be meeting with just Zanny, and she put Ainsley in place so that she would see them together. She planted enough doubt in Ainsley’s mind that, when she saw them playing around with each other, she interpreted it as a romance. She didn’t know who Zanny really was until she ran into her in town a few weeks ago.”

“Oh, no. It’s shades of what had happened with John and Zanny all over again. So Ainsley thought he’d been toying with her, that he hadn’t been serious. And that low self-esteem played into it,” Sarah guessed. She had a sneaking suspicion she knew the source of Geneva’s information, and the knowledge made her shudder with anger.

“That’s exactly right. And Ainsley knew her mother. Geneva didn’t make idle threats. So she married Doug.” Byrdie wiped at her own cheeks. “She would have given up everything to be with Ben. The money, the social standing, none of that ever mattered to Ainsley. But she didn’t get that choice. She did the only thing she could to protect him.”

It was so much worse than Sarah had expected. So much worse. Looking at Owen, she saw her own distress reflected in his eyes.

“How could she do that to her own child?” he asked.

“There’s more. You need to know it all,” Jonah told them quietly. He put his arm around Byrdie’s shoulders and took a deep, bracing breath. Sarah
was sure that she didn’t want to know what was worse, but she didn’t have much choice. They’d started this; they had to finish it.

“Ainsley didn’t know she was pregnant when she married Doug. When she found out, she was so happy. And then reality set in. She wanted to tell Ben. Had to tell him. But Geneva’s threat was still looming over them. It wasn’t a good time for anyone. Doug understood her need to tell Ben about the baby, but you all weren’t the only ones who would face dire consequences if the truth came out.” Byrdie gave him an encouraging nod, and he continued.

“Doug was gay. He and I were more than just friends.”

Sarah winced, her heart going out to the young man. “Oh, Jonah. He married Ainsley to hide the truth?”

He nodded. “People were starting to talk. His family was scared. They’d never really supported him, even though they loved him, and they had business interests to protect. So they arranged the whole thing with Geneva. They were thrilled to find out Ainsley was pregnant. It would put one more stamp of validity on her marriage to Doug.”

“Even though they were forced to get married, Doug and Ainsley liked each other from the beginning. Over time, they ended up best friends, supporting each other. Love, but not romantic,” Byrdie explained. “He wanted her to be happy. But they were fighting, and the stress was getting to them both. Jonah suggested they go to Mexico, get on neutral ground, and try to figure out what to do.”

“I wish to God I’d never made that suggestion.”

She chided him. “Sweetie, you know it wouldn’t have made a bit of difference. What happened would have happened, no matter what. You see, when Ainsley found out she was pregnant, she called me, here. And I gave Geneva my resignation that day, packed my bags, and went to my girl. I knew she’d need me,” she told Sarah and Owen.

“What we hadn’t counted on was that Geneva was hell-bent on destroying Ainsley’s every chance at happiness. Her passport was still here, and Ainsley didn’t want to come back for it. Doug drove down and got it. He didn’t know at the time just how twisted and sick Geneva was. None of us did. She knew they’d be flying out, and she knew Ainsley had problems with flying. She gets migraines. Geneva gave him some pills to give to Ainsley, assured him they wouldn’t hurt the baby, and that she wouldn’t want to take them.” Jonah halted, looking away. Sarah saw a muscle tick in his jaw, and his cheeks flushed. She realized he was fighting tears.

“When they landed in Mexico, she was so sick, with the headache and morning sickness together. So he gave her the pills. The medicine wasn’t anything to do with airsickness, however. Geneva had found something to cause an abortion. Excuse me. I need to check on Ainsley.” He left quickly, but the sound of him sniffling back tears followed him from the kitchen.

Byrdie also stood. “I’ll give the two of you some privacy.”

Owen moved closer to Sarah and pulled her into his arms. He quietly held her as she cried softly. She could feel the fine tremors that coursed through him every so often. They matched the ones running through her.

“Those poor kids never stood a chance, Owen,” she finally whispered. “Not against someone like that. How in the world are we going to tell Ben? This will kill him.”

“You believe the story, then?”

She pulled back so she could see his face. “I do. Those letters… they’re so cold. And you and I both know that people can be that cruel.”

He rested his forehead against hers. “I know. Ben’s going to blame himself. Assuming we can get him to listen.”

“Can you imagine what she must have gone through? Nineteen years old. And her own mother destroyed her. Tried to, anyhow.”

“It took a lot of guts for her to do what she did.”

Sarah nodded. “I’d like to see her before we leave, even if she’s asleep.” She got up and carried the mugs to the sink, then rinsed them out, just to have something to do. Byrdie came back in as she was finishing up.

“You don’t have to do that.”

“I know. I needed something to do, though. May we see Ainsley?”

Byrdie searched her face. “All right. Just please, be gentle with her.”

Sarah touched Byrdie’s shoulder. “I won’t hurt your little girl. I promise.”

“Then come with me. She’s up. She’s having a hard time letting the medicine work this go round.”

“Should I wait here?” Owen asked.

“You don’t have to. She’s dressed and on the patio. She’s just a little drowsy.”

They followed her to the patio door. Ainsley was sitting on a lounge chair, a pillow pressed to her stomach, Jonah beside her. Sarah’s nerves jumped back into her stomach and crawled up into her throat. Owen sensed her anxiety and reached for her hand.

“Baby girl, feel up to some company?” Byrdie asked.

“Of course.” Ainsley’s eyes were hidden behind a large pair of sunglasses. As Sarah and Owen drew up alongside her, she pulled off the glasses. Lines of strain were etched around her eyes, and white brackets around the corners of her mouth told Sarah more than words that she was suffering.

“It’s been a long time since we’ve seen each other,” she said softly, pulling up a chair next to Ainsley. “I hear you haven’t had a good week, to say the least. I’m sorry.”

Ainsley studied her without speaking, then lifted her gaze to Owen. “How is he?”

“Upset.”

“Jonah said he broke his wrist?” she asked Sarah.

“He did. Stayed out in the woods after dark, tripped over a log. But he’s okay. No lasting damage.” Sarah wanted to pull her close and hug her. She didn’t think Ainsley was ready for that. “I need to ask you something. Feel free to tell me to go jump in a lake. But I have to ask.”

Ainsley was wary now. “Okay.”

“Do you love my son?”

She didn’t answer for a long, long time. Sarah could see her gathering her courage.

“I do. Always have, and I think I probably always will.” Her smile was beautiful and heartbreakingly sad. “For all the good it does me.”

Sarah smiled back. “Things are quite the mess, aren’t they?”

Ainsley laughed soggily. “You could say that.”

“You probably think Owen and I are the nosiest people in the world, barging in here like this, sticking our noses where they don’t belong. But my husband, in all his wisdom, thought we needed to. Turns out he was right. So I have one more question for you. A request, really.”

“Okay.”

“Don’t give up on Ben. Not yet.”

Tears sprung into Ainsley’s eyes, and she took the tissue Jonah handed her, winding it around her fingers. “I don’t know if I have the strength to face him again.”

“I understand you’ve been through a lot. And I’m not asking you to go to him. To be honest, he won’t listen to you if you do. He’s too angry, too hurt. But if he comes to you, don’t shut him out. That’s all I’m asking.”

“I won’t. If he comes to me, I’ll do what I can.”

“So will I,” Sarah assured her. “I’m hoping I can influence him a little. Get him to at least consider that what he’s been told is not true and come talk to you about it. I can’t guarantee he’ll listen. He’s stubborn, like his father. But I’ll try.”

“Hey, now.” Owen laid a hand on her shoulder. “I’m not stubborn. That, he gets from you.”

Ainsley smiled, and this time the expression was more natural. “He’s so lucky to have you two. All of you, really.”

Sarah couldn’t stand it. She leaned in and hugged Ainsley tight. After a startled second, Ainsley hugged her back. Sarah kissed her temple.

“Thank you for protecting him. Protecting us,” she whispered. “I can’t imagine how hard that was for you. You never should have had to make that decision. I’m sorry.”

“It was what had to be done. But he won’t see it that way.”

“Oh, I don’t know. We’ll see what we can do about that.”

“Byrdie gave you the file?”

Sarah nodded. “She did.”

“Take it with you. It should be with you all.”

After she and Owen left, all the energy drained from Sarah’s body. She kept fingering the papers in the file.

“Where to, ma’am? Home or work?”

“Home, please. There’s no way I can go in today.” She undid her seatbelt and slid across the bench seat, buckling the lap belt once she was seated next to Owen. “Can we just hold each other when we get home? Go to the studio and lock out the world?”

He put his arm around her. “Of course. That sounds like a wonderful plan to me. We’ll figure this thing out, Sarah.”

“Promise?”

“One way or another, I promise. I can’t guarantee it’ll turn out the way we hope, but it will turn out.”

She leaned her head against his shoulder. “That, my dear, is exactly what I’m afraid of.”

Chapter Twenty-Eight

W
hen the phone rang early Wednesday morning, Ben was awake, but he wasn’t yet out of bed. He didn’t have anywhere to be or anything in particular to do.

“Hey, sweetie. Are you busy this morning?” Sarah asked.

He laughed. “Not unless you count staring at the ceiling. What’s up?”

“I need to talk to you. Mind if I stop by before work?”

Ben frowned and glanced at the clock. It was still a little before eight. “What do you need to talk to me about?”

Sarah was silent for a few seconds. “I think you know.”

“Really? You’re going there?” He half-sighed, half-growled. “Mom, I’m an adult. I can handle my own affairs, no offense. There’s nothing to talk about.”

“I disagree. There’s a lot to talk about. I’ll see you in a few minutes.”

She hung up before he could tell her to not bother. He set the receiver back on its cradle with a muted crash, cursing under his breath. Throwing the sheets back, he got up, then grabbed clean clothes. The drive from the farm to his apartment would take her fifteen minutes. He could be showered and out the door in five.

It was a juvenile move that he would catch hell for later. But he had no intention of sticking around. His wounds were still too raw, and his mother would unintentionally rub salt into them.

He didn’t bother shaving, just showered and brushed his teeth. Four minutes and some change after she’d called, he was pulling open his front door.

“Benjamin Wayne. I’m disappointed.” Sarah slapped his chest with a paper sack, and after a stunned moment, he moved back to let her in. “Not surprised, however. Which is why I called from the library. Donuts are in the bag.” She pulled a cup of coffee from the cup holder she carried and handed it to him. “Have a seat.”

“Mom, really?” He cast her an imploring look. “I don’t want to talk about this.”

“I know. But we need to. There are some very important pieces of information that you don’t know. If I could have waited until you’d healed a little more, I would have. But I think what I have to say is going to save you pain in the long run. And it just can’t wait.”

He sat in the chair adjacent to the couch and put the donuts on the table. “Unless you’re going to tell me that Ainsley didn’t get pregnant with my child and then marry another man, I’m not interested.”

Sarah’s eyes flashed with temper. “Ben, it wasn’t that simple.”

His laugh was vicious and bitter. “Oh, really? And how do you know this? Mom, she’s a devious, conniving bitch. She used me as a sperm donor for all intents and purposes. I was stupid enough to let her. That’s a mistake I’ll not be repeating, and one that I don’t care to be reminded I made.”

Sitting as stiff as though she were strapped to a board, Sarah pulled a folder from her purse and laid it on the table in front of her. “Mind your tone, Ben. I’m still your mother.”

He got up and went to stare out the window. “Do you have any idea how I feel? How much this hurts?”

“As a matter of fact, I do. I have a pretty damned good idea.” She didn’t say anything else, and he turned to look at her. She was gazing at him steadily, an eyebrow quirked in challenge. “Do you think your father loves me?”

Ben’s scowl was immediate. “Of course he loves you. What the hell kind of question is that?”

“There’s no mistaking how he feels? You’ve always known, no doubts in your mind?”

“Mom… no. He’d die for you. I’ve never seen him waver. You, either, for that matter.”

She pulled a faded envelope from her bag and held it out. “Then explain this.”

Wary, he took the letter and pulled it out. It was from his father, dated a few weeks prior to his parents’ wedding. It was short, succinct, and not at all like the long letters Owen was known for writing. In it, he apologized for not writing, but promised to call soon.

“It’s kind of abrupt, but this was while Uncle Eli was recovering from the house fire, right? Dad was busy with things in Laurel County.”

“He was. And I knew that then, but I also knew that I hadn’t heard from him in over two weeks. I had written several times, had tried to call, nothing. The phone number he gave me didn’t work. That letter you hold was in response to my own letter asking him if he wanted me to stop writing him, if he wanted to break things off. He didn’t even sign it ‘with love,’ which he always had in the past. And two days after that letter showed up, Kathy came to me and told me she’d seen him with another woman in London. It was a woman he’d been intimate with before.”

From the faint flush on her cheeks and the stern line her mouth pressed into, Ben understood that even after almost thirty years, the thought of the other woman bothered her.

“Dad was with someone else?” The very idea of it blew his mind.

“He was. It was a few years before we started dating, but you know your father. Sex isn’t something he takes lightly. That isn’t a new phenomenon. He wasn’t in love with her, but he did care about her.”

To Owen’s way of thinking, love should always accompany sex. Ben didn’t think he could have been more surprised if she’d told him his father had been married before.

“This was when the two of you almost split up, wasn’t it?” He sat back down, most of the fight gone. “Right when everything happened with Kathy.”

Sarah’s sister had been married to a man who abused her. When he’d discovered she was planning to leave him for someone else, he’d killed the other man. He hadn’t stopped there, though, but had gone on to kill Kathy’s two small children before killing himself, all in front of her, leaving her alive to suffer the guilt. It had only been in the last year or so, more than twenty years after the fact, that Kathy had started to approach anything near recovery.

“Yes. And even down in London, your father should have heard about what happened. It was a huge scandal. When he failed to show up even after the news broke, I was utterly convinced he had walked away from our relationship. As you can imagine, that was not a good time for either of us.”

Ben carefully placed the letter back in the envelope and handed it to her. “I’m sorry, Mom.”

She shrugged, her smile tinged with sadness as she tucked the letter back in her purse. “I didn’t tell you to make you upset or angry. I told you so that I could demonstrate to you that sometimes, things really are not what they appear. Or what we’ve been led to believe they are.”

He drank some coffee, just to have something to do with his hands. “And you think what I believe and have been told about Ainsley is wrong.”

“I do.” She slid the folder closer to him. “Read the contents.”

He was afraid to open the file. “Can’t you just summarize it for me?”

She sent him a scolding look that told him she was aware of his fear. “Your father and I went to see her Monday. We had a long talk with Byrdie and Jonah, as Ainsley was a bit under the weather. They answered a lot of our questions.” Sarah set her own coffee aside. “How much do you know about Ainsley’s mother?” She clasped her hands together in front of herself and waited as he considered the question.

Ben shrugged. “She and Ainsley had problems. Ainsley hated talking about her, and I always got the impression that Geneva ruled the roost with an iron fist. I met her once.”

“When?”

“The day I found out Ainsley was married.” He picked at the edge of his cast. “She was just about the coldest person I think I’ve ever met. I could almost understand—almost—why Ainsley would do whatever it took to get away from her.”

“Then can you do me a very big favor and read these letters? It’s easier to put things in context if you read them.” Sarah held out the folder, and this time Ben took it.

“Yes, ma’am.”

There were only a few pages, and Ben read them quickly. When he finished, he was outraged. “This is all bullshit. Where the hell did Geneva learn about the shapeshifting and his writing?”

“You didn’t tell Ainsley?”

He shook his head. “No. It never seemed like the right time. I was always afraid she’d think I was crazy and leave. Where’d you get these?”

“Ainsley gave them to us. Those letters…” She looked away, and Ben saw her hands clench. “Those letters are the reason she married Doug Scott. Her mother threatened to use them against us. The only way Ainsley could keep her from doing that was to marry the man her mother picked out and swear to never contact you again—not even to explain.”

“That’s ridiculous. Nobody would believe this bullshit.” He tossed the file back on the table and got up to pace the small living room. “You’re telling me Ainsley fell for that?”

“I’m telling you that if these letters had gotten out, they would have brought us all down. They weren’t an idle threat, Ben. I know the people she would have sent the library letter to. At the
very
least, I would have lost my job. No questions asked. Ditto for Jack. And if it all hit at once? Do you think even Gilly’s family’s sterling reputation could have withstood the scrutiny? Your sisters would have been ostracized. At least some of your father’s secrets would have come out. It would have been a nightmare.”

He wanted to argue. He wanted to tell her she was overreacting. But something held him back. First of all, his mother wasn’t the kind of woman who overreacted. And he’d grown up in Hazard, then lived in Savannah for years. He knew how things worked in small towns, especially if money was involved.

One fact couldn’t be explained away, though. “She swore her mother didn’t know about us.”

Sarah’s smile was full of sadness. “Sweetie, she knew about you from the first time you met each other in the library. She had eyes and ears all over town. And I’m pretty sure I know who those particular eyes belonged to.”

It didn’t take Ben more than a few seconds to put it together, and it hurt. “Callie?”

Sarah nodded. “She’s always been a terrible gossip, and she knows that information can be a commodity. I can’t prove it, but if I were a betting woman…”

“Damn it.” He ran his uninjured hand into his hair and tugged hard. “That doesn’t change that she was pregnant when she left here, and she still married another man.”

“She didn’t know she was pregnant. When she found out, according to Byrdie, she started trying to figure out how to get word to you without her mother knowing.” Sarah’s gaze dropped to her hands. “But her mother wasn’t stupid, and she realized as soon as she found out that Ainsley would try to get to you. She couldn’t let that happen.”

A very bad feeling crawled into Ben’s gut and dug its claws into him. “Mom?”

Sarah drew in a long breath and let it out slowly. “You’re a botanist. You know about natural medicine, both the good and bad it can do. Apparently, Geneva knew about it, as well. And she tricked Ainsley’s husband into giving her something that would cause an abortion. The miscarriage wasn’t natural, Ben. Geneva caused it.”

Ben stared at her in horror. He couldn’t speak or move. He could hardly even breathe. Several abortifacients came to mind immediately, each more potent and damaging than the last. To cause the degree of symptoms Ainsley had described, he suspected her mother had used pennyroyal.

Bile rushed into his throat, and he nearly toppled his chair as he got up. He rushed to the bathroom, barely managing to make it to the toilet before he violently threw up.

Sarah was there a minute later, wetting a washcloth and gently wiping his mouth. “Oh, my baby. I’m so sorry. So very sorry.”

“It can’t be true,” he rasped.

She rinsed the cloth and came back, this time wiping the tears that ran unheeded down his cheeks. “I believe it is.”

He leaned into her, and they sat on the cold tile for a long time. Sarah’s soothing voice washed over him, much as it had when he was a little boy and was hurt or sick.

“I don’t want to believe you,” he admitted in a low voice. “I’d rather think she’s shallow. Because if I believe you, that means she’s been through hell because of me. And I don’t know if I can live with that.”

“Benjamin, the only thing you’ve ever done to Ainsley is love her. All the harm was done by someone else, and I hope sincerely that Geneva is burning in the deepest pits of hell.”

“I could have stopped her. Somehow, some way. If she’d come to me, we could have figured it out.”

“If she’d come to you, Geneva would have used the letters. That was how she got Ainsley to comply. Her choices were to let her mother destroy us or to marry someone else. She did the only thing she could.”

He got to his feet shakily, then helped her up. “I’m not sure I believe that.”

Sarah followed him into the kitchen. “I understand. I don’t expect you to just take my word for it, not on something this important. But you see now why your father and I thought you needed to know?”

“Yeah.” He got a glass down and filled it with water, then rinsed his mouth and spat into the sink. “What does Dad think about all this?”

“He’s torn. He believes Byrdie’s version of things. Said it speaks to his gut instinct. But he’s concerned, too. Ainsley’s not without some baggage, and that worries him.”

“You mean her addiction?”

Sarah was clearly surprised. “You know about that?”

He nodded. “She told me about that when she told me about the miscarriage, week before last. Of course, she didn’t tell me—deliberately, I guess—that the child she lost was mine. She knew I wouldn’t take it very well.”

“Jonah said she’d been sober for two years.”

“Twenty-three months. She was very proud of that,” he admitted softly. “I’m going to have to go talk to her, aren’t I?”

Sarah hugged him. “I think you should. I think the two of you deserve a chance to sit down and be open and honest with each other for once. That’s something that was taken from you. You need to take it back.”

Ben rested his head on top of hers. “I’m sorry I was trying to run away earlier. And that I got short with you.”

“I know. I understood it wasn’t me personally.” She half-smiled up at him. “I need to get to work.”

“What are you going to do about Callie?”

Sarah sighed. “I’m not sure. I’ll let you know when I do decide.” She bent to pick up the file, but Ben stopped her.

“Do you mind if I hold on to that? Just for a day or so?”

“I suppose not. Promise you’ll be careful with it?”

“Of course.”