Lost and Found (19 page)

She
wandered through the kitchen and caught site of a
doe
grazing in her bed of winter kale. Then
a
fawn trailed after her. She gazed at Maggie through the window. Those bold brown eyes widened, blinked
,
and in a flash
,
she darted back into the forest with her baby. And it was pure instinct when she picked up the phone and punched in the familiar number
.
It
was answered on the first ring.

“Hey sugar.”

“I think Richard
’
s in trouble
.
Dan’s back.”
She squeezed the receiver breathing in the stony silence that rippled across the line.

“Where’s Richard now?”

“He went to get Ryley at school.”

He let out weary sigh. “I’ll come as soon as I can
,
Maggie.”

“Sam, thank you.”

“Great dinner
,
Mom.”

“Yeah Mom
,
good job.” Richard winked from where he sat across the table as he shoved a fork full of spaghetti and meatballs into his mouth.

Richard remained distant when he arrived home with Ryley. He hovered in the background with Ryley. But
now
appeared to have shaken off the unease that had lingered. How’d he do that? Maggie was the opposite
;
she had a hard time shaking off anything hurtful. Her heart ruled her head
,
so it was no wonder she struggled to let things go.

“While you guys were out having fun
,
I made blueberry pie for dessert.”

“You made
it
from scratch?” Richard
asked
like an excited boy.

“Hmm mmm.” Their eyes appeared to
fill
with pleasure. After discovering the frozen berries buried in the bottom of the deep freeze
r
, the thought of making one of their favorite pies struck
.
Now as she thought about it, it
was
her
peace offering.
The
softness
filling
Richard’s heavenly blue eyes was a small step in their reconnection.
She
had to glance away when
an
awkward
feeling
of nerves hit, as if she and Richard were dating. So she grabbed her empty plate and started to get up.

“Ryley
,
come on bud
,
help me with dishes.” Richard rested a warm hand on her shoulder. “Sit, have some tea, we got this. Then he leaned in and touched her lips with his, leaving Maggie breathless as she sank back in her chair.

A vehicle rumbled down the driveway. Richard lifted his head and wandered to the back door, but Ryley beat him
to it
.

“Hey Dad, look
.
It’s
Diane.”

“Maggie, did you know Diane was coming?”
The way
Richard watched her
made her think
he was suspicious.

“No.”

She
pushed away from the table and followed Richard to the door. Diane’s blue SUV parked beside Richard’s truck. She climbed out and waved just as Sam and Marcie came out
of
the passenger side. Sam reached
into the backseat and pulled back out
holding
Kyla.

“Hey guys. Nice surprise
,
didn’t know you were coming.” Richard started out the door.

“Richard
,
how’s it going? We’re completely invading you guys, hope it’s all right
.
” Marcie sounded a little breathless as she
led
the way, her long brownish hair
hanging
in waves over her heavy wool sweater.

Richard wrapped his arm around Maggie’s shoulder
s
and pulled her close to him.
She
glanced up
;
Richard’s gaze lingered
on hers for
a few seconds. The teasing spark there moments ago, vanished.

“You’re just in time for dessert
.
Maggie made a pie. Got some left over spaghetti too if you’re hungry.”

“If you have enough spaghetti
,
we didn’t have dinner yet
,
and I’m starved.” Sam snuggled Kyla in his arm and
hung a
diaper bag over his shoulder.

“Maggie
,
how are you?” Marcie
,
in scuffed hiking boots
,
stepped in front of
her
and pulled her close
.
Richard moved aside. Arms linked
,
Marcie led
her
into the house.

“Ryley
,
you’re doing dishes in here all by yourself. Come over here give me a hug.” Marcie didn’t acknowledge his awkward hesitation when he froze, instead she walked right over pulling him into a strong bear hug rubbing his back
.
Stepping
back
,
she held both
of his
shoulders and studied him
,
making
Ryley beam. “You’ve gotten so big
,
and you are becoming as handsome as your father. Your
dad
said there’s some left over spaghetti
,
and I’m starved
.
Lead
me please.”

Marcie had a way of breaking through Ryley’s awkwardness—the awkwardness that had him
appear
ing
to blend into the background and then quietly slip away
. Maggie could feel annoyance bubble up because it should have been her putting Ryley at ease, not Marcie. And right now
,
Ryley was happy to help her, so much
so
he was beside Marcie heating up the spaghetti. The screen door clattered shut as Diane, Sam
,
and Richard wandered in.

Diane sniffed the air. “Don’t heat any for me
,
I already ate.”

Sam and Marcie ate while everyone crowded around the table. Finally the pie was
served and
Ryley gobbled down his slice
.
He
slipped away from the table
so quiet
ly
Maggie didn’t know he
was gone
until she spied his empty spot and dirty plate
as she
heard the soft click of his door upstairs. She wondered when he’d started this
.
She rose from her chair to go after him, but Richard laid a gentle hand on her wrist. She looked down into his watchful gaze. He knew.

“Leave him be.”

Maggie felt like such an outsider
.
She
was his mother and she couldn’t shake the fact he’d erected
a
wall
to keep her out.

When she glanced across the table at Sam and Marcie, they
were watching
her with such sympathy
,
she wanted to kick something.

“You’re looking really good
,
Maggie. I’m proud of you for how far you’ve come. You’ve climbed mountains and persevered over obstacles most people don’t endure in a lifetime. Give yourself a break.” Marcie took another bite of pie. “And this is really good.”

“So what brings you and Marcie over from your little island
?
Shopping, supplies?” Richard leaned back and threw his arm over the back of the
Maggie’s
chair, nudging his dirty plate away with the back of his
other
hand.

Sam never
hesitated
when he inclined his head. “Let’s skip all the politically correct small talk
,
shall we
?
We’re here to butt into your business. We heard Dan McKenzie’s back
,
and you’re still his partner.”

“Dammit
,
Maggie.” Richard slammed his fist down on the table, the small plates and utensils clank
ing
. “Did you phone Sam?” He didn’t try to keep his voice down as he leaned
toward her,
his face
just
a few inches from hers.

“Yes I did
,
Richard. And I won’t stop pushing until I know what’s really going on. Please let me help. You need to get him out of your life…all of ours.”

Richard pushed away from the table and stalked toward the door.

Sam was quick
as he
gently passed a sleeping Kyla to Marcie
,
and
he jumped up
to go
after Richard. “Richard
,
don’t walk out. We’re here to help
,
that’s all. Look
,
come back here. This is us
,
and we know there’s something going on. Maybe you’re jammed up, or he has something on you. Whatever it is
,
we can help.”

Richard circled
back
away from the door and leaned heavily on the kitchen island
,
focusing his hard unforgiving glare
on
Maggie. “I still own the property with Dan. I’ve tried to get him to sell me his half, he refused. Then I tried to get him to agree to put the entire property on the market. He again refused. He has plans
,
he said. And expects to create a steady stream of income from this property and have
a
nest egg. We build small affordable houses, sell them to those who wouldn’t otherwise be able to afford a house
,
and rent the land to them. Ready
-
built homes, similar to a manufactured home park, but
they’re
houses. He sees this endless stream of income year after year. So no, he won’t sell. So I offered to sell him my half, he
refused
outright. But the next day
,
he comes back with
a
ridiculous offer of five cents on the dollar. I have a lot of equity tied up in that property
,
and he knows it. So for now, I’m stuck.

“Richard
,
just give it to him. We can start over.”

He frowned and waved his hand in the air as if he
was frustrated he
couldn’t get her to understand a simple problem. “You don’t get it
,
Maggie. We’ll lose this house, this property. And I won’t do that. I had to put a second mortgage on our home. The money we would’ve made by building and selling those homes would have
been our retirement
. It
wasn’t
that much of a gamble when we bought it. But the housing market crashed. So until we finish building
and
sell all the homes
,
I can’t walk away.”

“How many houses have you built
,
Richard?” Sam paced the far side of the kitchen.

“So far ten
.
We
have five more to go. And of those ten, we still have five to sell.” Richard
’
s face appeared to darken.

“Richard
,
is the property legit? You and I both know anything Dan does has some twist
for
being not quite legal. This whole project of yours sounds off. How can local zoning allow you to build a house and sell just the house, and then charge a pad rent
?
It
isn’t a mobile home park. You can’t move a house if he suddenly gets mad and evicts the homeowner.” Marcie shifted a cooing Kyla in her arms, keeping her voice even and calm. She didn’t bother to look at Sam
, but
he appeared to be well versed and on board with her assessment.

“It’s all in the construction
.
By
using different framing we can fit within the definition of a modular home. And Dan did get the design
s
approved by local zoning.”

Maggie didn’t miss the way his eyes shifted. The heaviness in her heart tightened. “You’re lying.”

She had everyone’s attention now. “You don’t think I don’t know when you’re hiding something
?
I know you, just like you know me. What the hell are you doing, ripping off innocent people now?”