Hidden Summit (7 page)

Greg stiffened indignantly. “Threats, Paul. People get in trouble for talk like that.”

“If I have to drive all the way to Grants Pass,” Paul added. “Get outta here.”

Then Paul went to the trailer, opened the door and stepped up. Before the door closed Conner heard him yell, “Don’t shoot!”

Conner chuckled and went into the new construction to gather up his belongings and lock up.

Yeah, there were things about this place to like.

The showdown with the ex put Conner in a very social mood, and he went to Jack’s Bar. He happened to run into Paul Haggerty, which was just perfect. Since Paul had seen Conner standing in the doorway of the house in progress, Conner asked after Leslie. “I didn’t have any details,” Conner said. “But the idea of this guy I’d never seen before going into that trailer where Leslie was alone, well, I decided to stick around to be sure everything was all right.”

“Thanks for that, Conner. Around here it just doesn’t occur to me we have to be watchful. I guess I forget there are people around we shouldn’t trust.” It didn’t take Paul long to spill the basics of Leslie’s story, not knowing Conner heard it. “That was her ex-husband and he’s one of the reasons she preferred working in Virgin River to staying in Grants Pass, which has always been her home. He just won’t go away quietly.”

Jack put a beer on the bar for Paul. “Shot him but he just won’t die?” he asked.

“Something like that. But I ran him off and checked on Les. She was a little pissed, but fine.” He grinned. “She turned the fire extinguisher on him.”

“No kidding?” Jack asked with a laugh. “I knew I liked her.”

During the course of the conversation, Paul mentioned that he’d rented Leslie a little house he’d fixed up and it was just a couple of blocks from the bar. And then, beer done, it was time for Paul to get home to dinner.

Conner had his dinner at the bar, and when he was finished and it was time to go home, he just couldn’t shake off that social mood. He had an irresistible urge to check on Leslie himself; he just couldn’t talk himself out of it. He drove around town, and it didn’t take long to spot her yellow Volkswagen SUV in front of a small house. He parked on the street behind it and went to the door.

She opened it and tilted her head at him. “What are you doing here?”

“I was watching the trailer today, making sure the guy in the shiny Caddy wasn’t giving you any trouble.”

“You were?”

He nodded. “I was headed over to ask you something when he pulled up and went inside.”

She hesitated for a second. “Come in, Conner,” she said.

“I don’t want to impose,” he said. But he entered the little house quickly, before she could change her mind. He was quite impressed. It was a very homey, attractive place that seemed perfect for her, and it was completely settled, pictures hung, framed photos on the buffet, a dried flower arrangement and place mats on the dining table, a throw on the end of the sectional sofa. He followed her into the kitchen where he could see Dan’s handiwork in the granite countertops and darkly stained oak cupboards.

She had been sitting at the kitchen table with the newspaper spread out and a cup of tea beside it.

“So,” she said. “That was him—the cheerful ex, wondering why we can’t be more chummy.”

“He came out of the trailer with some white foam on his pretty shoes,” Conner said, and he couldn’t suppress a grin.

“I lost it. His utter lack of remorse, the way he takes so little responsibility for what happened, like we should all be grown-ups and overlook it. ‘But Leslie,’” she mimicked. “‘I can’t help what I feel. It’s not as if I planned for my feelings to change.’” She snorted. “Is that accurate? That we can’t help what we feel?” she asked Conner, an imploring look on her face.

“Probably,” he said. He hooked his thumbs into the front pockets of his jeans. “But we can help what we do.”

She took a breath. “Would you like some tea?”

“No, thanks. But I’ll sit a minute if you feel like talking. If you want to get it off your chest.”

She indicated the chair opposite hers, and she sat down. “I don’t know if this will make sense, but one of the reasons I took the job down here is so I could
stop
talking about it. Well, that’s not true at all—I was far from done talking about it, but my friends and family were done listening. Who can blame them after a year and a half? You know, I have friends who divorced, who have kids they have to co-parent with the ex, who have very manageable relationships with exes, and I admire them for it! What is wrong with me? Why am I not the least bit grateful that Greg wants us to be friends?”

Conner shrugged before he said, “Maybe because he considers himself totally justified?”

“You’re right. That whole business of how he just couldn’t help himself, he had no control—that’s what makes me feel like crap!”

Conner smiled at her.

“Should you smile at me when I say I feel like crap?”

He shook his head, but the smile remained. “I was just thinking, I’m not making any excuses for him—he’s a dog—but that feeling? That you just can’t help yourself? That’s a feeling I like.”

“Is that a fact?” She braced an elbow on the table and rested her chin in her hand.

He nodded. “Yeah, it’s good. I can still control my actions when I feel that way, however.”

“And you do that, how?”

He leaned toward her. “By being strong.” He leaned back. “There’s something I thought you’d want to know—I don’t think it’ll be a problem for you, but Paul told me and Jack that the guy who came to the trailer today was your ex and that you shot him with the fire extinguisher.”

“Swell,” she said.

“Jack was impressed. Paul didn’t give any more personal details and I didn’t let on that I knew anything. But jeez, Les, it really made me want to be a chick.”

She lifted her eyebrows. “How so?”

“That was awesome. A guy couldn’t get away with that. I wish I could’ve hosed down my ex, but I had some serious training in how women had to be treated, even if they were very bad.”

“I guess I’m going to have this reputation now....” she speculated.

He gave his head a little shake. “I think you’re going to have admiration. Paul obviously feels very protective of you.”

“The whole Haggerty family has been really good to me, especially through this. Paul’s dad, the founder of Haggerty Construction, is a tough old bear of a guy who adores his wife. They’re the most wonderful grandparents, and I take it they have very strong feelings about loyalty and commitment issues.”

“I hope most people do,” Conner said.

She reached across the table and touched his hand lightly. “Conner, I don’t think most people do,” she said. “I think maybe it’s a rare and admirable quality.”

He felt a surge of heat at her soft touch, and he looked down at her hand. It was so perfect, her nails bleached white and filed short. Her skin was flawless. He wouldn’t mind feeling those perfect, soft hands all over him.

“Here’s something you might get a kick out of,” Conner said. “Paul got right up in your ex’s grille and told him he was going in the trailer, and if you were upset he was going to hunt him down and beat the shit out of him, even if he had to go all the way to Grants Pass to do it.”

Leslie smiled happily. “He did?”

“He did. I haven’t known Paul very long, but I’ve never seen him look so scary. I thought it was a great idea.”

Leslie laughed lightly. “And to think I almost opened fire on him!”

“I heard him yell ‘Don’t shoot!’”

“I wasn’t putting that fire extinguisher down until I heard Greg’s car drive away. I should have done that a long time ago. It was the first time I got so angry.”

“If he comes back and bothers you again, he’s mentally challenged.”

“You’d think so, huh?” she said. “Conner, I think Greg is a narcissist. He’s not a mean guy, at least not overtly. But everything is all about him, I see that now. He pays a lot of compliments, sucks up a lot, strokes a lot of people—influential and even not so influential—and it’s all so he gets what he wants.”

“And what the hell could he possibly want with you?”

“The perfect divorce. He has lots of image concerns. While we were married he wanted everyone to think we had the perfect marriage. He said he hoped to be a role model, to be admired, in business, in relationships and hopefully one day in a larger political arena than even the City Council. It’s very important to him to be respected. When I caught him cheating, he fessed up at once and all within the course of one hour explained how he’d fallen in love despite his intentions, he couldn’t help it, would be divorcing me and marrying her but that we would always be best friends because he would never stop loving me. He would just have to stop being married to me because his feelings had changed and he was going through a life transition. Oh—and as he put it—I wouldn’t want him to live a lie or be unhappy for the rest of his life, would I?”

“Wow.” Conner thought he couldn’t be more surprised by things like this, especially after what he’d gone through with Samantha. “Do you mind if I ask you? If it’s none of my business, just say so. But how’d you catch him?”

“Modern technology and celebrity gossip. I thought the whole idea that someone who was cheating on his wife would have a lot of incriminating texts on his cell phone was completely ludicrous. Especially famous someones. It actually made me laugh! How could anyone be that stupid? So just out of curiosity while Greg was in the shower, I read his texts. I didn’t expect to find anything. A lot were from me and his office and bingo, a lot of sexy snippets with someone named Allison. While he was blow-drying his hair, I texted her from his phone. I told her I wanted to lick her whole body, and she texted back that it was right where he left it, waiting and ready.”

Conner couldn’t help it, the laughter rumbled out of him and made his eyes water. “You didn’t do that,” he said.

“I did so. Greg was mortified.”

“Wow,” Conner said again, wiping his eyes. “Yeah. Mortified. He must have wanted to be caught.”

“I don’t know about that, but he was definitely
ready
to be caught. It turned out we had very few assets. And his new wife is an attorney.”

Conner shook his head. “There must have been no sharp objects in the house....”

“I was in shock for a while. I actually thought he’d come back to me. That didn’t last long.” She sipped her tea. “It was nice of you to check on me, Conner. But I’m fine. Totally fine.”

“You’re not in shock anymore.”

“Indeed not. So what did you want to ask me?”

“Oh. That. I was wondering if you were headed to that yoga class tomorrow, since it’s Saturday. Because I could be headed to that coffee shop at about the same time. And maybe this time we could get off on a better foot, as in, you not furious with me.”

“No,” she said. “Tomorrow I’m getting my exercise in the yard. I’m planting flowers. It’s spring. And I’m settling in.”

Five

S
aturday started with a summons to Brie’s house. His landlord, Luke Riordan, the owner of the cabins, knocked on Conner’s door and said, “I have a message for you to call Brie when you’re up.”

“I’m up,” he said. “Is your phone available?”

Brie wanted him to come to brunch. He honestly didn’t know if that was code for something else, he just accepted the invitation. It turned out to be code for something else.

“I’ll give you breakfast,” Brie said. “But you’re going to call Max from my office phone. I spoke to him an hour ago. He just wants to update you.”

Regis Mathis, out on bail and his case in the capable hands of one of the best defense attorneys in the West, seemed to be keeping a very low-profile. When he was seen in public, he had lots of men around him. Bodyguards, perhaps.

“How is it he’s out of jail? I saw him kill a man and then he threatened to kill me. And we know he burned down the store!”

“Unfortunately, we don’t know as much about that as you might think. It’s not his voice on your answering machine, which should come as no surprise.”

“No, the surprise is why he would dirty his own hands in the killing when obviously he didn’t need to. He was locked up when the store burned down, so we know he knows people who could do his killing for him.”

“I have some theories about that,” Max said. “I’m not at liberty to discuss it any further—we’re still investigating. Confidentially, we’re looking into some connections between Mathis and Randolph. But it’s early....”

“When can we get this circus over with?” Conner asked.

“Looks like a trial date of May twenty-fifth if there aren’t any more defense delay tactics, but I think you can count on the defense doing everything they can to slow the process. They’ve already been hammering us with motions.”

“Great,” Conner said.

“Listen, they’re caught and they know it. The blood in the car belonged to the victim, it was a good warrant, there’s an impartial eyewitness, there might have been trouble between the two men—therefore motive… There’s no way out of this for him, Conner. But he’s not going to go down quickly or quietly. You have to prepare yourself for that.”

“How long could it take?” Conner asked.

“I’d hate to speculate. The judge is a hanging judge and won’t tolerate a lot of paper delays, that’s in our favor. Just sit tight and let’s hope for the best. Our biggest problem is going to be jury selection.”

“Why?” Conner wanted to know.

“Because aside from a little legal gambling, this guy is squeaky clean.”

“I thought there were tax issues....”

“Because he’s rich. And he’s been exonerated. But we’re on it—we have top-notch jury consultants.”

Brie was more forthcoming over scrambled eggs. “The reality is, there have been high-profile cases that have taken years to get to trial. This guy of yours, he’s not a big Mafia boss or anything. He must have some interesting underworld connections to get your store burned down and threaten you, but still, he’s a fairly ordinary citizen. Well-known, but not well-known as a criminal. I wouldn’t expect it to be that protracted.”

“What about your defendant?” Conner asked. “The rapist?”

“Hah. Went straight to trial, no bail. He started out with a public defender, then scored a decent pro bono attorney, but he was nailed before they even got started. Even so, the defense had important evidence thrown out or rendered inadmissible, like the fact that I was the A.D.A. who prosecuted him and failed to convict, making him not only a random serial rapist but acting out revenge on an officer of the court. But in the end, they slipped up and that information got in. What I think, Conner, is that it might not get started before June, but I bet your testimony will be done and you’ll be reunited with your family and ready to start over by the end of summer, at the latest.”

He was quiet for a long moment. “And then where are we going to go?”

“Is going home out of the question? Because once this is over—”

“When it’s over, he’ll forget I testified against him? You stayed here after your trial,” he pointed out.

She let a small huff of laughter escape. “The rapist is a pervert and animal. He wasn’t connected. And this town? My brother, Jack, and the guys around here? Mike, Paul, the Riordans, to name a few? If he even poked his head out from behind a tree, he’d be so dead, so fast. This is a place that takes care of their own, Conner. And it’s not just a place of great loyalty, but of incredible strength and prowess. I think every last one of them is military-trained and at least a marksman if not a decorated sniper. I’m afraid your guy is a little more complicated than that. But still, this is probably one of the safest places I know, just based on the skills of the local population.”

“Hmm,” he said, thinking. “I have an army marksman ribbon…”

“You know what’s wrong with that idea. Right?” Brie asked. When he didn’t answer immediately, she did. “If some stranger wanders into town and looks at you funny, you could get spooked. You could run into him after dark and shoot him just because you’re spooked. I’d rather you rely on us—Mike and I. Please, anyone suspicious turns up, call Mike.”

“I wish I were the one protecting Katie,” he said.

“And the problem with that is that you protecting Katie brings her and the little boys into specific relief, making all four of you stand out. Conner, just build kitchens and bathrooms for a couple of months. Huh? You and Katie and the kids will be together again soon. Right now, having you here and Katie on the other side of the country just makes sense.”

After breakfast Conner drove to Ferndale, a beautiful little Victorian town full of bed-and-breakfasts and shops. He sat on a bench on the main street and had a conversation with Katie, who was at the YMCA with the boys in a town very far away. Conner resisted the urge to tell her about his conversations with the D.A. and Brie. All that was important to him was hearing the happiness in her voice. She liked her job, she had friends, she thought maybe she had a crush on her boss who had taken her to dinner, and the boys were having so much fun at their new school. Andy was a little too shy and Mitch a little too not.

“Sounds like you’re getting along fine,” he said.

“Are you so disappointed that I’m not sobbing myself to sleep every night?” she asked him. “I do miss you, Danny.”

“Names,” he reminded her.

“I’m sure we’re fine. I do miss you. The boys miss you and love talking to you. I’d put them on right now, but they’re tumbling. They were on the trampoline and now they’re on the mats. Are you getting along all right? Having fun, like you promised you’d try to?”

“Well…there is this girl....”

She choked. “Girl?”

“Woman,” he corrected. “Woman. I met her at work and she’s nice. Pretty. Funny.”

“Well, my God, a girl,” Katie said and burst into hysterical laughter.

“And this is so goddamn funny?” he asked indignantly.

“Because it’s just what you need and I never thought you’d have the guts. Oh, go for it!”

“She doesn’t like me that much yet,” he said. “Which is probably just as well. I’d end up just leaving her high and dry with no explanation,” he returned almost angrily.

“Now, calm down, that isn’t what’s going to happen at all. Not only will there be an explanation when you finally do your thing, there will probably be newspaper accounts and TV coverage. By the time all this is resolved, you’ll be able to tell her everything and bring her along with the happy party that includes me and two tumbling-soccer-T-ball players! Even if it makes more sense for her to let you go, it’s still a very good idea to enjoy yourself a little right now. You have no idea how happy that makes me.”

“Because if I could just hook up, you wouldn’t have to be stuck with me?” he asked her.

“Oh, my God, you can be such a drama mama. I have never been stuck with you—it’s been quite the opposite and you know it. Nothing would make me happier than to hear you’d given it up to some pretty, funny small-town woman. I’m on board with that. I just wish it would go as well with the dentist.”

“Are you getting involved?” Conner asked.

“Oh, no. It’s very professional,” she assured him. “I wasn’t the only employee he took to dinner. He also invited the office manager and his sister. It’s just friendly. But I think he’s the kind of guy I like. Stable and reliable. He loves children.”

“Don’t leave him alone with the boys!”

She chuckled again. God, how he missed her laugh. “Ah, I don’t think I’m going to be asking my boss to babysit.”

When they hung up he spent two minutes feeling ridiculous and twenty minutes remembering how level she had always made his life. And then he saw a shop owner putting out flats of flowers across the street. It had been a very long time since he’d taken a girl flowers.

Leslie had bought a flat of peonies and a bunch of starters of Hearts and Flowers ground cover, which were sitting on her front porch. She had just begun to till the ground in front of the porch when one of her neighbors stopped by to say hello. Mrs. Hutchkins had lived in the neighborhood for thirty years and had been widowed for only two. She was a spry seventy-six who reminded Leslie of her mother, and she walked a little white Shih Tzu named Puff.

While Leslie leaned on the hoe and visited, the last thing she expected was Conner, pulling in front of her house in his big truck. He jumped out. Smiling again. Funny, when she’d first met him, one of the things that had had an impact on her was how serious he usually was. He’d seemed almost brooding. Either that or he was smiling inappropriately, like when she said she felt like crap. Now every time she saw him he was grinning like a fool.

“I know I wasn’t invited to the planting,” he said as he came around to the rear of his truck. He wore a cap over his short, thick, unruly brown hair, and he touched the bill with a nod to Mrs. Hutchkins. “Ma’am,” he said politely.

“Young man,” Mrs. Hutchkins returned. “I’ll talk with you later, Leslie. Come along, Puff,” she said, moving down the street toward her house.

Leslie went to the back of Conner’s truck just as he lowered the hatch. The bed of the truck was filled with flats of flowers. “God above,” she said. “What have you done?”

He pulled off his hat and scratched his head. “I might’ve gotten a little carried away.”

She rolled her eyes. The truck was full of blossoming blue, yellow, red, purple, lavender, white.

“Daisies, wildflowers, peonies, lavender, garlic, bachelor buttons, poppies, lantana in three colors,” he said. “I didn’t get any roses or tomatoes. Roses and tomatoes are trouble.”

“Are you some kind of landscape expert or something?”

He let a huff of laughter loose. “Not before this morning.”

“I’m not mad at you anymore,” she reassured him. “I’m over it. I was a little insulted, but then I started to think—I have my reasons for being offended that you would think I was fooling around with a married man and maybe you have your reasons for springing to that conclusion.”

“Something like that,” he said.

“Who’s going to plant all this stuff?”

“I figured you and I would do it. And I was hoping it would take most of the day.”

She put a hand on her hip. “You’re getting a little obvious. Are you flirting with me?”

“Absolutely not,” he said. “I’m not a good flirt. I brought my own gear. Shovel, spade, aerator. I also brought mulch and fertilizer. I assumed you weren’t prepared for me to show up with, ah, stock.”

She couldn’t help but laugh at him. “What makes you think I want to spend the whole day with you?”

“I thought if I brought enough pretty flora, I’d grow on you.”

“Conner…” She shook her head.

“Leslie…” He just smiled at her.

“All right, you can do the hard part. Make the ground ready.”

“See, I haven’t lost my touch after all.” And he hefted a big flat of daisies out of his truck and followed her.

Several hours later Conner found himself making Leslie smile a lot, making her laugh, making her think he was a regular prince with his hard work on the yard and his flowers. It was just like riding a bike. They broke for lunch and Leslie fed him a sandwich, though she barely nibbled. When he saw the difference in their lunch plates he asked, “Are you getting enough to eat?”

“I’m a little thinner than is usual for me,” she said. “Divorce diet. I’ve been working on keeping it off. Eating right, yoga and all that.”

“You can take on quite a bit more weight before you’re too fat,” he said.

She frowned. “I don’t know whether to say thank-you or ask you to leave.”

“Are you worrying about your hips? Because a little something to grab on to looks good on a woman.”

“Let me guess—you missed the class on flattery,” she said.

“Seriously, Les. You don’t want to be too thin. Eat. I’ll keep bringing flowers for you to plant even if you grow a butt.”

“Stop being such a guy, Conner,” she said.

“Well, I could try, if that’s what you want....”

But that wasn’t what she wanted at all. Watching him flex his shoulders and arms while digging, watching him crouch so that his hard thighs were emphasized, it was all so much fun. And when he caught her looking, more fun. Leslie loved having him underfoot.