Past Due (25 page)

“My family built a wall she couldn’t scale. Jenna tried, but evidently my mother decided it was her place to choose whether or not Jenna was good enough for me.” Tres’s words belied all the venom he couldn’t shake—even with her recent assistance.

Sam closed his eyes and was quiet several minutes. He opened them and spoke, his voice quiet, “Don’t be too harsh with your mother, son. She was only doing as I ordered. I only wanted to protect Jenna. And after losing Angel, I couldn’t bear the thought of not protecting my remaining child. I didn’t want her to suffer over a broken heart.” Sam laughed, though it was more like a noisy smirk, “and by interfering I did just that.”

“I loved her, Mr. Privett. I would never have hurt her.”

“I never knew. Angel told me she saw Craig with Jenna. She was certain of it. So certain in fact, she said she was cutting all ties with her sister.”

“She was wrong. Jenna never met Craig.”

Sam’s face drained of color as the truth washed over him. His folded hands were squeezed together so tightly his fingers left red marks in his pale flesh. “Oh, son, how do I say I’m sorry? I told your mother I’d put her boy in jail if I saw him near my daughter. I couldn’t stop Angel, she was eighteen, but Jenna was a minor. Oh, dear God what did I do?” His eyes were glassy with tears.

Tres felt instant pity on Sam– so suddenly old and frail. Tres’ animosity melted as he assured Sam in a voice tender with empathy, “Mr. Privett, I’m quickly learning in the past twenty four hours that nothing can be done about history. No amount of tears or anger will change any mistakes we’ve all made. I need to concentrate on now. I want what should have been mine fifteen years ago.”

Sam wiped his eyes with his hanky. “Whatever I can do, I will.” He turned his gaze to Maureen, “And Maureen, I believe I owe your son an apology; I always thought Jake got Jenna pregnant. Couldn’t understand how he could do that if he loved Angel so much. I have said such hateful things...”

“Shush, Sam. We’re going forward.” She took a deep breath, “Isn’t that right, Tres?”

Tres nodded.

“And I hear from Tanner that you will be staying on, at least for a while?” Maureen asked.

“I don’t see how I can leave right now.”

“Well, then first things first, we need to find you a place and I know the perfect piece of real estate. It just came on the market.”

Chapter
18

Tres signed the last document needed to spring Jenna from her hospital stay. He glanced over his shoulder expecting someone to accuse him of fraud, signing as her next of kin when he knew she’d probably rather be released to the care of the devil himself. But Maureen insisted. She didn’t feel up to making the trip off the island two days in a row. And Sam, though he wanted to go, didn’t think it wise after so long a separation. Tres offered to bring Tanner along, but Maureen insisted he had to go to Sunday services.

Tres paced the lobby until the metal door swung open and out walked Jenna in her hospital grey fleece. Her sun dress had to be cut down the front in order to monitor her heart rate in the ambulance. The dress dangled from the edge of her purse like a wrinkled hanky. She held the kitten heeled sandals in front of her and asked in lieu of a greeting, “Do you think they match my outfit?”

Tres shook his head, jaw clenched. He had been busy this morning scheduling a time for Maureen’s car to be towed home, working out the traffic violations Jenna would have faced, and making the arrangements with Milo to cover the rental repairs and tow charges. He thought he had dealt with the gamut of problems and found no pleasure in realizing he had left a stone unturned. “Ah, damn. What the hell was I thinking? I was so busy...” He stopped short; Maureen had cautioned him not to let Jenna know he had paid her bills and fixed her tickets. He scratched his head and chose to simply apologize, “I’m sorry, Jen. I never thought to bring you a change of clothes, or shoes. I guess I was in a hurry to get here. We’ll stop at a store on the way home.”

“No, I’m fine.” She laughed. He was tight as a fiddle string. She squeezed his arm gently, her voice sympathetic, “I was joking, Tres. I wasn’t trying to make you feel bad. Besides, I’d much rather you arrive quickly, than with shoes.”

“I should have thought
…
”

“Tres, stop. It was a bad choice of humor. Please, believe me. I don’t need anything but a way to get home, and unless you intend I walk there? Then I don’t need shoes.”

“Of course I don’t. I just...”

“Good, then let’s get out of here before they change their mind and decide to keep me.” She looped her arm in his and nearly dragged him from the building; she never slowed her pace until they reached the parking garage.

Tres felt her slow and he glanced down and frowned at her slipper socks. Tres shook his head. She met his gaze and smiled. Lifting her off the ground, he carried her across the oil stained parking garage. “You need to eat more. A sack of groceries weighs more than you.”

“Oh my, you sweet talker, are you trying to have your way with me?”

“I’m serious, Jen. You have to take better care of yourself. Tanner was worried sick.”

Tres’s words filtered slowly into Jenna’s brain, awareness grew, “You talked to Tanner?”

Tres nodded. “I gave him and Maureen a ride home last night.”

Jenna nodded. Her son and Tres together felt odd. It was just her and Tanner for so long that she never realized how insulated her life had become from the involvement of others. Even with Jake, he was her son. He acted more like a visiting uncle than a parent. What kind of relationship would Tres expect? She shook the thought from her head. It didn’t matter how she felt about this; she owed it to them both for the time they lost. She swallowed the strange feeling and smiled, “I’m sure he liked that.”

“I think he did.”

“Why did you tell him you were there?”

Tres shook his head and shrugged, but said nothing.

“I’m certain he was curious why a man was suddenly hanging around.”

Tres looked down at her, unsure of the right words. He unlocked the doors with the key fob and pulled it open and set her on the seat. Ignoring her question completely, he pushed her door closed and walked slowly around the car.

When he got in, he asked, “You want to get something to eat?”

“No. I’m fine. But I am curious about how you and Maureen explained why you were around. Oh, goodness, if he remembers you from the gas station, he’ll think I was lying to him about knowing you.”

“You did lie to him.”

Jenna blushed. “Well, yes, but I…”

“And you hid in the gas station to avoid me.”

“I was avoiding any blow ups in front of Tanner. At that time I thought you knew about him and I figured if I came out, then you’d have known he was your son too and that would have been awkward.”

“I see.” His jaw clenched.

“I am sorry, Tres.”

“I get all of that. I can’t pretend that the idea of you thinking I was that shitty of a human being doesn’t hurt, just a little.”

Jenna looked out her window. Her eyes burned with tears.

“I’m sorry. That came out badly.”

“You don’t need to apologize to me.” She tried to smile. “You are absolutely right. I didn’t trust you. If I had then none of this…”

“Stop. Let’s not go there. I started it and I apologize.”

They were quiet for a long time. Jenna chewed on her lip as Tres drove them out of the city and onto the highway home. Jenna wiped her eyes and smiled, “Knowing Tanner like I do, I have to ask, did he try to fix you up with me? It’s one of his hobbies.”

Tres shook his head and frowned. “Tanner was…” Tres paused only a second before he launched his confession. “Ah, hell, Jenna I’m tired of the lies and see no sense in not just being honest. He knows.”

“Knows what?”

“Knows everything. Well, he knows Jake’s not his dad,” he said, boldly allowing the words to stand alone casting only a quick glance at the woman next to him.

She gasped then unleashed a panicked barrage of questions, “What do you mean? How do you know he knows? How the hell could he possibly know anything? Tres, you didn’t? Did you? Why? How could you?” Jenna covered her mouth with her hand. She felt sick. She took several deep breaths as she listened to Tres’s explanation.

“I didn’t start it, Jenna. Town gossip made him suspicious. Then he overheard Maureen and me talking at the hospital. He was angry at first, snuck out of Maureen’s upstairs window, but I found him on the beach and we had a talk.”

“He ran away?”

“He only went about a mile.”

“Still, he was upset enough to leave home?”

“But he’s all right now. I swear to you. I think I handled the situation pretty well. And it gave me some hope. I know I’ll never be his dad, but I think we can have a relationship. At least he’s moved past taking swings at me.”

“What have you done? He’s fighting with you? Physically fighting with you?”

“Look, Jenna, I’m dealing with this as it comes. This isn’t exactly familiar waters to me. I tried to keep my mouth shut, but that only made things worse. I did what I thought was right.”

“But you don’t even know him. You should have...”

“Look, Jen, you’ve got to give me a break here. I did the best I could. Maybe if I’d had more time, say fifteen years, to practice this whole parenting thing– maybe I’d be more adept at handling situations like this, but guess what? I didn’t, so I’m learning and doing as I go.”

Jenna felt the guilt anew. She touched her lip in the same place Tres’s was split and asked quietly, “So, he’s the one you fought with?”

“He took a couple of swings. It wasn’t a fight.”

“I’m sorry, Tres. I never meant for this to happen. I would change all of this if I could.”

“I know you would. And I want you to stop feeling guilty. What’s done is done. Just let me in now. Let me spend time with him and forgive me if I screw up.”

“Of course. I didn’t mean to blame you. I was just shocked and worried. It’s not like Tanner to get emotional. I’m sure you handled everything all right.” Jenna squelched the odd feeling of intrusion and swallowed hard to stop herself from raking him over the coals for every bit of information about what happened. She’d be home in an hour and she’d see for herself. She took a deep breath and looked out the window. She had to be considerate of Tres’s feelings. He had lost fifteen years. He more than deserved total access. She closed her eyes against the pain of their reality and leaned her head against the seat, “Every time I think of what I’ve done... Oh, God, Tres, I am sorry.”

His words were calm, though far from gentle, “No more apologizing ... we’re moving on. I’m glad we’re on the same page about my spending time with him.”

Jenna nodded, though unbidden tears flowed. Tres handed her a hanky and gave her knee a gentle squeeze.

“How did this happen?” she asked.

“Seems we were too caught up in each other to realize our siblings had their own thing going on.”

“Your mom told me. Your brother, Craig?” She asked, Tres nodded. “Craig was dating Angel?”

“Unbelievable, isn’t it?”

“Completely, and I can’t believe my dad never told me about it. Or told me how deep Angel’s troubles were. No wonder it was so easy for me to sneak around with you that summer.” Jenna smiled; misty eyes glittered for a moment with the memory of that summer. But then she frowned, remembering her sister’s hidden pain, “I was so self-absorbed I didn’t see what was happening right under my own nose. I never, not even in my wildest thoughts, would have guessed Angel would harm herself. Never thought she was vengeful enough to try to get your brother jailed with lies. That’s certifiable.”

“I don’t know what it takes to be certifiable, but it seems she was quite obsessed.”

“Why didn’t she come to me? Let me help her?”

“You were the last person she would have trusted. She thought you were moving in on her man. Your dad said Angel was certain you were dating Craig. Evidently, it was the two of us she saw together.”

“So, that’s how I got linked to Craig?” Jenna asked and Tres nodded. Jenna thought a minute, and then her brow wrinkled, “You talked to my dad?”

“Yeah, while I was out hunting down Tanner, he came to see Maureen. And while Maureen was locking Tanner’s window, I was left alone with Sam.”

“Sam, hmm?”

“All right, with Mr. Privett. Seems he and my mother worked together to keep me, A.K.A. Craig, away from you.”

Jenna nodded. Mrs. Coulter had told her that much.

“My mother knew it wasn’t Craig your father was talking about, but that evidently made no difference to her.” He gripped the steering wheel tight, “
A
nd of all that’s happened. Of all the messed up, twisted parts of the tale, that pisses me off the most. Who the hell does my mother think she is to make my damn decisions?”

“Don’t be too hard on her, Tres. She thought she was helping you. You were an adult and I was a minor. My dad threatened to have you tossed in jail. And he might have. Your mother didn’t know what he’d do. And considering how my sister represented the family? If I was your mother, I’d have kept my son away from the whole brood of possible psychos.”