Her Sister's Shoes (29 page)

“I appreciate you helping my sister. But for her sake, and ours, I’m glad the shelter thing didn’t work out.”

“I tried to tell her …” Mike winked at Faith. “If you’re fortunate to have people who love you, letting your family support you is always a better choice. So many women don’t.”

Sam eyed the doctor closely. Could it be they were more than just friends? Sam would love for her sister to find a nice husband number two. But first they needed to get rid of husband number one.

Sam spotted Eli making his way through the throng of people gathering on the sidewalk. She was surprised at how happy she was to see him.

“Why didn’t you come in the back way?” she asked, greeting him with a peck on the cheek.

“The trashmen are emptying your dumpster. I had to park across the street at the marina.”

Sam wrinkled her brow in confusion. “But Monday isn’t our normal trash day.”

“Mack called them,” Faith said. “I heard him talking to someone down at city hall this morning.”

Sam shook her head in wonder. “Only a veteran boat captain would realize how rank the odor of rotting seafood could get in this heat.”

“You really should talk to them, you know,” Eli said, motioning at the press. “They’re vultures. If you give them something to gnaw on, they’ll go away. If you keep tempting them, they’ll attract others from their flock.”

Sam sighed. “You’re probably right, but I have no idea what to say to them.”

“I’ll go out there with you. If they ask you something you don’t want to answer, tell them your attorney has advised you not to comment.”

“All right.” Sam straightened, holding her head high. “Tell them I’ll be out soon to make a statement. I just need a few minutes to get my thoughts together.”

She started toward the kitchen, but Eli grabbed her arm, holding her back. “For what it’s worth, Sam. I’m sorry we haven’t arrested Curtis yet. It’s not for lack of trying. I’ve been up all night, driving around, checking under every rock where he might be hiding.”

This was news to Sam. After Saturday night, when he’d told her his darkest secrets and she’d refused to accept his advice, she thought he’d written her off as a hopeless drunk. But he hadn’t given up on her after all. He’d simply found another way to help.

She smiled. “That means a lot, Eli. More than you know.”

Twenty minutes later, Sam and Eli appeared before the press. Just as Eli had predicted, yet another news crew had arrived on the scene. The cameramen shined their lights in her face and the reporters shoved their microphones forward, all waiting for Sam’s answers to Donna Bennett’s questions.

Having previously recorded the introduction, Donna got straight down to business. “Is it true that your brother-in-law is the one responsible for vandalizing your market?”

“I … uh …” When Sam glanced nervously at Eli, he signaled for her to continue. “The police are conducting an ongoing investigation. I can’t comment on any suspects they may or may not be pursuing.”

“Is it true that the
suspect
cut the power supply to your refrigeration units, causing you to lose thousands of dollars of inventory?”

How did Donna Bennett know this? The police were under strict orders to keep all the details about the break-in confidential.

“I’m not sure where you heard that, Ms. Bennett—unless, of course, you are in cahoots with the person responsible.”

Donna didn’t bat an eye. “Considering your recent decline in business, will this drive Sweeney’s into bankruptcy?” she continued.

“Not at all,” Sam said with more conviction than she felt. “It’ll take us a few days, but I hope to have the market fully restocked by the end of the week.”

Donna turned to Eli. “You’ve been here for the better part of the day, Sergeant”—she paused to read his nameplate—“Marshall. Are you spending taxpayer dollars to serve as a personal bodyguard to Ms. Sweeney?”

Eli laughed. “First of all, I’ve only been here for fifteen minutes. Secondly, the Sweeney family has the full support of our police force. We are committed to—”

Sam’s breath caught and all eyes followed her gaze across the street to the marina parking lot where a group of men and boys were gathering. A police officer stepped into the intersection and blew his whistle, stopping the traffic in either direction. The group paraded single file across the street. Each one carried a basket, a bucket, or a bushel, overflowing with seafood and produce—tomatoes and cucumbers and corn. Bringing up the rear was Jamie, Sean, and Mack.

The television crews shifted their focus to Freddy Fisher, the group’s leader, as he brought his troops to a halt in front of Sam.

Sensing a presence behind her, Sam moved sideways to make room for Faith and Lovie.

“What’s all this, Freddy?” Sam asked.

“We heard you were having some trouble,” Freddy said. “The boys and I got together and took up a collection.”

An attractive reporter from the ABC affiliate stepped forward. “Can you tell us more about your relationship with the Sweeney family?”

“Yes, ma’am.” Freddy set his bushel of green beans on the sidewalk and removed his cap, holding it balled up in his fist by his side. “Oscar Sweeney was a friend of ours, a fellow fisherman, a brother. In a small community like ours, that makes his wife, Lovie, and her daughters our family. When they have problems, we have problems.”

The men and boys behind Freddy responded at once with hoops and hollers.

Freddy waved his hat at the group behind him. “It ain’t enough to replace everything you lost,” he said to Sam, “but hopefully it will help you get started again.”

Sam took his hand and shook it vigorously. “You’ve made it so we can open our doors tomorrow morning. During our busiest week of the year, that means everything.” She stepped aside so the procession could enter. “Jamie and Roberto will show you where to put everything.”

As the group filed past the news crews, the older men remained solemn while the younger ones hammed it up, smiling and waving and making faces for the cameras. Sam noticed that Donna Bennett had stepped off the curb, away from the action, an irritated expression on her face.

Sam refused to let Mack pass without giving him a hug. “You’re responsible for all this, I know.” She planted a wet kiss on his cheek.

Once they were gone, the focus turned again to Sam. This time her mother and sister stood beside her for support. “Do you have a statement for us, Ms. Sweeney?” one of the reporters asked Sam.

Sam paused a minute. “The last few days have been difficult for my family.” She felt for Faith’s hand beside her. “So much so, I nearly lost my faith.” She gripped her sister’s hand. “But today, I’m humbled by the generosity of these men. Today, I’m reminded of the importance of community, of family and friends supporting one another. I’m proud to be a citizen of Prospect, a South Carolinian. And as we prepare to celebrate our nation’s birthday on Saturday, I’m proud to be an American.”

Sam shepherded her family and Eli inside, then closed and locked the door behind her. Her body began to shake and she leaned back against the door for support. Unable to hold her emotions in check any longer, she burst into tears.

Jamie wheeled over and handed her the box of Kleenex they kept beneath the counter. “Are those tears of joy, or tears of despair?”

Her mouth turned up in a half-smile. “A little of both, or so it seems.”

“Better pull yourself together, Mom,” Jamie said, smiling. “Our shipment has arrived. Looks like it’s gonna be a long night.”

Thirty-Seven

Jacqueline

J
ackie and Cooper
arrived home from Charlotte during the early part of the afternoon on Tuesday. Jackie was sick of cafeteria food and exhausted from the round-the-clock hospital routine and constant parade of medical staff. Emotionally, however, she’d never felt better. Her son had survived a harrowing experience, and the doctors promised a full recovery. While that alone gave Jackie plenty reason to be grateful,the long hours of sitting beside Cooper’s bed had afforded her the opportunity to put her life into perspective. She’d come to realize that she was every bit as responsible for the brea
kup of their
marriage as Bill. The choices she’d made over the years had turned her into a callous, self-centered woman, a wife who was difficult to live with, a mother who put her own selfish needs before her sons’. During the past few days, she’d pondered what it took to be a good mother, and she’d come to the conclusion that, before she could bring any joy into her boys’ lives, she needed to find a little happiness for herself. She contrived a plan that, in the short term, called for selfish measures on her part, hoping that in the long term, her strategy would reunite her family.

Bill met them in the driveway and helped her get Cooper upstairs and into bed. Aside from the intense headache that plagued him, and an enormous amount of discomfort in his arm, Cooper seemed to grow stronger every day. The old Jackie would’ve worried that so many people living in the house might hinder his recovery. The new Jackie realized that family time was just what he needed.

“What’re you looking for?” Bill asked when he found Jackie inventorying the contents of her refrigerator.

“I’m making a grocery list.” She added sour cream and cheese to her notepad and closed the door. “I want to make a nice dinner tonight, something special, for Sam and Faith. For everyone, really. They’ve been working so hard to get the market back on track, I thought they deserved a break.”

“That’s awfully thoughtful of you,” he said.

She ignored the surprise in his voice. The new Jackie understood how to hold her tongue when warranted.

“What can I do to help?” he asked.

“You can cook the tenderloin on your Egg grill thingamajig. I decided to serve beef, since I’m sure they are sick to death of seafood.”

“I’ll do better than that.” He removed the list from her hands. “I’ll go to the grocery store for you.”

“I was going to ask you to stay here with Cooper.”

He folded the list and shoved it in his back pocket. “You shouldn’t go anywhere alone until Curtis is behind bars.”

She started to resist, then stopped herself. The old Jackie would’ve resented the house arrest, but the new Jackie considered it a chance to reconnect with her family. “In that case, I’ll take you up on your offer. It’ll give me a chance to unpack and get some laundry started.”

“Your sisters are not the only ones who have been through a lot in the past few days. The chores can wait, Jack. Why don’t you take a bath and relax for a while.”

Jackie thought the idea of a hot bath sounded heavenly. “Maybe I’ll just do that.”

He headed for the stairs. “I’ll let myself out, and set the alarm behind me.”

After checking in on Cooper, making sure he was asleep, Jackie readied her spa tub for her bath. She slipped out of her clothes and eased into the hot water. She leaned her head back against the marble and let the lilac-scented water soothe her stiff muscles.

She found comfort in the neutral territory she’d discovered with Bill. For the past two nights, they’d talked on the cell phone until the wee hours of the morning. He congratulated her when Finley Hall called on Monday morning and officially offered her the job as interim dance instructor. And he agreed to move back in the house with the boys so she could spend her weeknights in Charleston once school started. Not only did he support her plan, he helped her devise it. He would stay in the guest room, letting her keep the master bedroom for the weekends. She would come home after her last class on Fridays, so as not to miss Sean’s football games on Friday nights. Cooper’s skull fracture had ended his career as a linebacker, although he didn’t seem too upset about the prospect of having more time to fish and hunt in the fall.

On the way home from Charlotte, she completed the first item on her checklist by calling Clara Graves, who sounded thrilled at the prospect of having Jackie rent her cottage. As soon as the Curtis crisis ended, she would focus on her second agenda item, which was finding a new housekeeper to help with the cooking and cleaning during the week.

Working part-time in Charleston would give her a chance to ease her way back into society, to reestablish contact with old acquaintances and make new friends. After her temporary dance job ended in December, she would move ahead with plans to start her own design firm if she felt the opportunity existed.

Somehow, someway, she would make it work.

She had yet to discuss the last item on her checklist with Bill. She would wait and see how the next few days went before she called Barbara the Barracuda to put the divorce proceedings on hold.

She had drifted off to sleep when the sound of the alarm chimes woke her up. She threw on a clean pair of shorts and a fresh T-shirt and went to help Bill with the groceries.

“Why’d you buy two tenderloins?” she asked, not in the old-Jackie accusatory tone but in the new Jackie genuinely curious tone.

“One isn’t enough, when you consider three teenage boys, plus Mack.”

“Mack? You mean Captain Mack?”

“He’s the one. He’s been sleeping on the sofa in the guest cottage.”

“Goodness. We really are feeding a crowd. I guess we’d better get busy.”

Bill went outside to light the charcoal in his Green Egg while Jackie set things in motion inside. She put the potatoes in the oven for baking, and set the dining room table with her white china, royal blue placemats, and red-checkered napkins. She sprinkled red-white-and-blue star graffiti down the center of the table and placed her flag-motif candles in her wooden pillar holders. She took her clippers outside and made Bill hold her bucket while she clipped red roses, white hydrangeas, and sprigs of lavender from her garden.

Jackie spent the rest of the afternoon in preparation for her dinner party. She was putting the finishing touches on her cheese platter when the others got home from work about six-thirty.

Sean came flying up the stairs ahead of everyone else. “Where’s Cooper?” he asked, kissing his mother when she pointed to her cheek.

“He’s been asleep all afternoon,” she said. “Why don’t you go wake him up?”

Lovie came around the kitchen island to give Jackie a hug. “I can’t remember when I last saw you smile like this.” Her mother whispered in her ear. “It’s a good look for you. I hope you’ll keep it.”

“What’s all this?” Sam asked, peeking into the dining room. “Are you having a party?”

Faith nudged Sam with her elbow. “A homecoming party for Cooper.”

“And an overdue celebration of the reopening of Sweeney’s, which I should have thrown for you back in June.”

“I hope we’re not having seafood,” Sam said, with the hint of a smile on her lips.

“Far from it. We’re having beef tenderloin, garlic bread, a green salad, and potatoes.” Jackie waved her cheese knife at the pan of twice-baked potatoes on the counter.

“If that’s the case, I’m going to take a shower and put on a dress. I’m sick to death of these clothes,” Sam said, and disappeared down the stairs.

“What can I do to help?” Faith asked.

Jackie glanced around the kitchen. “Everything’s about ready. Why don’t you get changed so we can catch up. A lot has happened around here since I’ve been gone.”