Secrets (3 page)

He clicked off, uncomfortable in his jeans.
His cell rang again. This time when he looked at the caller ID, he
scowled. He let it go to voice mail. Why was his mother calling
him? They hadn't spoken in years. Four years, to be exact. When
he'd needed her most, she'd showed her true colors and betrayed him
in a way he’d yet to forgive. Although, she’d tried to repair the
breach, he'd cut off all communication with her. But after
receiving the missive regarding his uncle’s affairs, he'd decided
to call a truce to make sure his uncle’s final wishes were carried
out.
Damn.
He grabbed his cell and returned her call.

“Kenton, oh thank God. Are you here?” His
mom gushed.

“I’m headed to Philly. I have a date with a
friend later on.” He refused to be cordial. A truce wasn’t
forgiveness, didn’t mean things were back to normal.

“You've come at the right time.
I
had
a meeting earlier and things went well. Soon I’ll be rid of that
dreadful girl.”

A sliver of unease rolled down his back.
“What dreadful girl?” He hoped this wasn’t about his uncle’s
ward.

“The one that’s stealing from my brother.
She ruined his affairs, I think she ran off with his business, and
that old fool still left almost everything to her. Well, I’m not
going to stand for that bullshit. Now that you’re here, you can
help me set the record straight. I know how close you were with
him. I’m sure he meant to leave us…I mean you, more money in his
will.”

Everyone, including his mom, knew Uncle
David didn’t like her. He'd never leave her much of his money if
anything at all. “If I were you, I’d leave it alone.”

“But…but, it’s millions of dollars.”

“Maybe. I don’t know, but it was his to give
away. He didn’t give it to either of us and you need to be okay
with that. Respect his wishes.” Hearing her heavy breathing, he
knew the idea of all that money slipping through her fingers like
grains of sand sent her heart racing. Money had been her god for so
long, greed ruled her life. Family meant nothing, he'd learned that
lesson well.

“I’m thinking of taking this to court.”

“You’ll lose.”

“How can you be so sure?”

“Uncle David was nobody’s fool. If you push
it, he’ll make you look like one. Besides, you have no grounds to
move forward. I’m telling you it’s a waste of time.”

“I think I might have something.”

Another shiver ran down his spine. He
white-knuckled the steering wheel. “Let it go. Can’t you respect
his wishes just this once?”

“No,” she snapped. “That asshole won’t win
this time. Since that incident with his wife, all those years ago,
he’s treated me like last year’s trash. Every time I tried to
make-up for my mistake, he’d tell me to fuck off. How can anyone
hold a grudge for forty years?”

“Well, you were supposed to tell him his
wife called and needed to speak to him, that it was urgent. You
forgot to tell him.”

“I know that, damn it.” She paused. “I know,
and I hate that I forgot with every fiber of my being. It was an
accident. I just forgot to tell him she called. How was I to know
she was sick? Was it my fault the next day when he got home, she
died?”

“Uncle David thought — “

“I know what that asshole thought. He never
let
me
forget it. The doctors were wrong; she would’ve still
died had he gotten there earlier.”

His mom always skewed the facts so she could
live with herself. All the medical professionals agreed his aunt
would’ve survived if she’d gotten treatment earlier, instead of
twenty-four hours later. His uncle blamed his mom for not taking a
minute to call him.

“Hmmm. So this is about revenge against
Uncle David and you’re using Chastity?”

“Well, they were pretty cozy at that
ranch.”

His unease upgraded to a tremor. “I believe
she worked there.”

“Hmpf. That’s what she wants everyone to
believe. I think she fed him something over the years to bend him
to her will. The man left her everything, for goodness sake. Why
would any man do that unless there was something more to their
relationship? She was his mistress, and she killed him for his
money.”

“That’s some conspiracy theory you got going
there. You’re forgetting one thing.”

“What?” She snapped.

“Uncle David was nobody’s fool. If he left
her everything, he wanted her to have it and nobody, including you,
will be able to snatch it from her. Despite his seventy plus years,
he still worked as a consultant to top government agencies with a
high security clearance. He wasn’t senile; the man was a genius
who'll beat you down from the grave.”
And I'll help him if you
don't back off Chas.

“Not this time. I have something on him.
Even if I don’t win, his name will be damaged. I'll knock him from
his high pedestal. There’s winning and there’s winning.”

“Whatever. Just so you know, I’m not going
to be a part of this plan of yours to strip my uncle’s will. I plan
to pay my respects and offer any assistance needed to clean up the
mess you wrote me about. Other than that, I plan to leave his
estate alone.”

“Are you going to the ranch?”

“Probably,” he hedged.

“Good. Let me know what you see there so—
“

“No.”

“No?”

“I’m not telling you anything. Go to the
ranch yourself or send dad.” His dad lived with his mistress in
another county, except on the weekends. Everyone knew, but no one
talked about it.

“David banned me from the ranch years ago,
they won’t let me in.” She ignored the comment about his dad. No
surprise there.

“Tough, gotta go. Someone’s expecting me.”
He clicked off.

****

A loud squeal from Ms. Cook, the
housekeeper, rang in his ears as he walked toward the front
entrance. Swinging open the screened door, her arms opened,
offering a motherly embrace. Careful of the sling on his right arm,
he allowed her to hold him tight as she rocked from side to side.
Her head only reached to his chest, her slight frame radiated
warmth. Gray hair floated around her shoulders as the smell of
lemon and vanilla accosted his nostrils. The woman smelled like
home and he held on a few seconds longer, savoring the genuine
welcome. If only everyone would be as happy to see him.

“It's so good to see you, Ken. You've gotten
taller and much bigger. How've ya been?” She pointed to his obvious
injury. He didn't want to talk about that. “You want something to
eat, drink?” Some things never changed, she always tried to feed
him.

After he set her down inside the hallway,
she moved back, pushing strands of hair from her lined face. He
took a quick look around the foyer. He'd tossed his hats and gloves
on the solid wood hat tree, lost many toys in the large ceramic
umbrella urn, left his new jacket on the coat hooks lining the dark
paneled walls. Each item sparked memories from his childhood.
Relief spread through him that things remained the same.

“No thank you. I'm good. Sorry I missed the
funeral. It took the note a while to find me.”

She patted his arm. “That's okay, you know
your Uncle had everything picked out and planned, all the way down
to the catered repast. Everyone just followed his instructions, as
usual.”

Her last words caught his attention. His
uncle was a precise and strategic man. “I can only imagine. How was
he at the end?”

Ms. Cook walked into the living room.

He followed. They sat on the beige and brown
swirled sofa. Her smile dropped as she gazed out the large picture
windows facing the mountains. A look of sadness replaced her
earlier joy. “He cheated the diabetes and lived longer than the
doctors expected. I don't think he was in a lot of pain. He wheezed
some, coughed a little, but mostly he worked.”

“Worked?”

“Yeah. Strange, huh?” She sighed, holding
her clasped hands on her lap. Her black and white plaid dress hung
loosely around her shoulders, she’d lost weight since he saw her
last. He wondered, not for the first time, what his uncle’s
relationship had been with Ms. Cook. She’d been around since he was
a small boy.

“It was like he knew time was running out
and he had to finish whatever he was doing. Him and Chastity stayed
locked up in that room for hours. Sometimes Sven or his attorney
would visit and talk to him. But mostly, it was just the two of
them.”

He frowned, not sure he understood the
implications. “Chastity’s still here then?” His mom made it sound
like she'd ran off and left his uncle's estate in a state of
disarray.

Her eyes latched onto his, as she tilted her
head to the side. “Of course she’s still here. Where else would she
be?”

He shrugged, more confused by his mother’s
rant. “So, she helped in the office?”

“Yeah. She's a smart girl. Got her a college
degree in business. I seen it myself. She worked hard for it. We’re
proud of her.”

He didn’t know that. “How'd she help him? I
mean, what did she do?”

“Well, I don't rightly know. She's got all
that college education. Baxter asked her to work for him and she
did.”

He scratched the five o’clock shadow on his
face. “I didn't know she went to college. I guess I've been gone
longer than I thought.”

“Yeah, lots of things changed.”

He glanced at her. Once again, the tone of
her comment made him think more was going on than she let on. If
there was a weak link on the ranch, it was Ms. Cook. She couldn’t
hold water. No one else would spill secrets. “Like what?”

“Huh?” She blinked at him.

“You said lots of things changed. Like
what?” He glanced at her sideways.

She smiled. “Well, Mr. Baxter left a ton of
instructions with Chastity and Sven. You know, no one tells me
much. But, the last few years Baxter worked hard with Chastity to
make sure she could handle— “ A loud bang came from the other side
of the house, followed with childish yelling and squabbling.

“Ms. Cook?” Kenton’s brow rose. He didn’t
know there were children on the ranch. She smiled as she stood and
walked slowly to the hall.

“Stop that yelling, I’m in the livin’ room.”
She looked at him. “They’re always ripping and a-runnin' through
here. Probably hungry.”

Curious, Kenton turned toward the doorway.
His mouth dropped open when two small boys rushed inside, stopping
short of knocking the older woman down. They were similar in
appearance, but not identical. The light brown eyes, light toast
colored complexions, and dark wavy shoulder length hair gave
credence to their sibling relationship. He figured they were under
ten, maybe in elementary school. One of them had his permanent
front teeth. The other’s was missing. All in all, two handsome
boys.

“Micah, Jonah, this is Kenton Stone, Mr.
Baxter’s nephew. He’s in the military and just found out his uncle
died, so he came all the way from around the world to make sure
everybody on the ranch is doing okay. Isn’t that great?” Ms Cook
winked at him while the boys stared at him in awe.

“Wow, do you know how to shoot a gun?” The
one without teeth asked.

“Did somebody blow off your hand?” The other
pointed to the cast on his right arm.

“Yes, I know how to shoot a gun. No, I still
have my hand. I got hurt and the cast keeps it safe while it gets
better.” He smiled at the genuine interests in their eyes.

“Before you ask a million questions,” Ms.
Cook turned their attention to her. “Why were you yelling for
me?”

“Oh, that’s right. Mr. Robbie sent us to
fetch some old towels for the stables.”

Ms. Cook nodded and headed toward the hall.
“Mind your manners, I’ll be right back.”

Both heads turned toward Kenton as she left
the room. He had the impression they communicated with each other
in some telepathic way he couldn’t comprehend. He waited for the
inquisition. It didn’t take long.

“I’m going to be a Navy Seal like Uncle Sven
when I grow up and catch bad guys like Bin Laden.” The one missing
his front teeth said.

“I’m going to be a doctor so I can patch up
the horses when they get sick.” The other said pointing to his
chest.

“That’s lame.”

“No it’s not.” He shoved the other.

“Yes, it is.” Both eyes turned toward him.
“Tell him it’s lame to be a horse doctor. It’s more fun to save the
world from evil people.” The toothless wonder sneered at the other
one. Kenton knew they were brothers. They had to be. Only close
relatives would be so mean and loving at the same time to one
another. They waited for him to speak.

He‘d never dealt with kids, but what the
hell. “It’s never lame to follow your dream. Be who you want, do
what you want. If— “

“See, I told you. I’mma tell mama you called
me lame.” He stalked toward the hall.

“No I didn’t. I didn’t call you lame. You
always telling. I said a horse doctor’s lame. You’re not a horse
doctor.” They walked away arguing.

Kenton stared at the doorway. Who were they?
There was something familiar about them, but he couldn’t place it.
The puzzle flew around his mind until Ms. Cook limped slowly into
the room. Concerned, he stood to assist her.

“Are you okay?”

She nodded and sat slowly.

“What happened? You’re limping.” He sat
watching her. Did those boys do something? He hadn’t heard anyone
else in the house.

She chuckled without humor and glanced at
him. “I’m old. That’s what happened. I can’t move like I used to
and when I try, these old bones remind me they’re tired.”

He looked at her, hard. She’d been here some
thirty years. He’d never thought about it before, but she looked to
be in her sixties. “Ms. Cook, sixty is not old.”

“Darn right it aint. But eighty-one is
pushing it.” She moved to the side while he snapped his mouth
shut.

“No way. You’re not in your eighties.” He
stared at the gray strands and moderately lined skin, and wondered
if she had Indian in her lineage.