Winds of Heaven (5 page)

“No, I did not do anything wrong.” Casey eyed the martini. “Did you make enough for two?”

“I made enough for four,” she said. “And by the looks of you, you need them.”

Casey walked over to the bar and poured the martini into the stemmed glass, adding several olives. Meredith said nothing as she watched her granddaughter sit once again on the couch. Casey took a long sip and let out a deep sigh.

“I think we’ll stay in for dinner,” Meredith said evenly. “You don’t look like you’re in the mood for Charlie Trotter’s.” She kicked off her shoes. “Come with me.” She picked up her glass and started down the hall. “Bring the pitcher,” she called over her shoulder.

 
“You don’t have to make dinner, Gram.” Casey dutifully followed down the hall with the martini shaker in hand.

“I’m not. You are.” Meredith sat at the kitchen table. “Maria just went shopping. The fridge is stocked. Have at it.” She raised her stemmed glass, then took a sip.

“Gram, I don’t cook.”

“Still? How on earth are you going to get someone if you can’t boil water? Sit down.” She watched Casey as she sat at the kitchen table, sipping her martini. Meredith stuck her head in the refrigerator. “What do you have a taste for?”

“How about a thick steak?”

“Something light and Italian. Now tell me what’s wrong.”

Casey groaned as Meredith gathered the fixings for an antipasto salad. “I got a call from Roger.”

“I gathered that, what for?” She placed the meats and olives on the table, along with the cheese and tomatoes. “Cut the cheese.”

“Very funny,” Casey mumbled and took the offered knife. “It seems my past is coming back to haunt me.”

“How so?” Meredith asked. “Don’t tell me you got someone pregnant.” She smiled sweetly and batted her eyelashes.

Casey glared at her. “Can we cut the Marx Brothers routine for a minute? It seems an ex-lover of mine has passed away.”

“Oh, sweetie. I’m sorry.” Meredith turned around and placed the olive oil on the table along with the loaf of crusty bread.

“It’s okay. I haven’t seen Julie in five years. We, well, we weren’t a good match. She wanted kids.”

“And you didn’t?” her grandmother asked. “I thought you liked children.”

“I do. It’s just that Julie wasn’t equipped to handle the responsibility. And at the time, neither was I. So it was a deal breaker for her. I couldn’t see bringing a child into this world under the conditions Julie and I found ourselves in.”

Meredith arranged the plate and drizzled the oil. “Which were?”

Casey took another sip of her martini and contemplated the question. Meredith waited while she sliced the thick bread.

“I was back and forth from Chicago to LA. Julie was a pilot, or co-pilot, at the time and flying all over the place. She was living in Colorado, but I’d fly and meet her on layovers wherever she was. We had a very Bohemian lifestyle.”

Meredith nodded in understanding. Casey glanced up, looking apologetic. “I know you don’t approve of my lifestyle, and I’m not apologizing for it.”

“Casey, I told you many years ago when we sat in the living room with your mother, I don’t pretend to understand your being gay, but through the years, seeing you grow into a mature, caring, and talented woman, I’m hard pressed to find a reason to argue against it.” She arranged a small plate and handed it to Casey. “And as for living a Bohemian lifestyle, let me fill you in on something. Your grandfather and I were not always old and stodgy.”

Casey had a mouthful and looked up. “What do you mean?”

Meredith smirked and sat back with her martini. She popped an olive in her mouth and grinned. “We too were quite the Bohemians when we were young.”

Cocking her head, Casey playfully glared at her grandmother. “C’mon. Give.”

Meredith laughed. “I met your grandfather when I was sixteen. He was nineteen and in college.”

Casey’s eyes bugged out of her head. Meredith nodded. “Yep. I fell in love with that nitwit George Casey and never looked back. I finished high school and married him when I was seventeen. Had your mother a year later. We traveled all over the country with his small band. You know your grandfather was a musician, played the clarinet.” She sighed and munched on the cheese. “That’s what got me, damn it.”

“What?”

“The clarinet. The minute he started, I was hooked. He played that thing like a lover, and he would serenade me until I was weak in the knees.” She laughed and ate another olive. “He was a devil.”

Casey laughed along. “I only remember him as a music teacher. Why didn’t you tell me this? And why did you always want me to go to a fancy college?”

“I suppose I wanted more for you than I had and your mother had. You had such a talent. We saw that when you were so young.”

Casey reached over and took her hand. “I have what I want, Gram. I’m happy and content. And I haven’t sold my soul for the dollar.” She sat back and frowned. “I thought I was happy with Julie. But when she threw the curve at me about having kids, I-I don’t know. Warning bells went off and I needed to make a decision.”

They sat in silence for a moment or two before Meredith spoke. “What does Roger have to do with this?”

Casey, broken from her reverie, looked up and blinked. “She had bone cancer and died a couple weeks ago. She left behind a family, who has little money, and she asked for my help.”

“Wow.”

“Yeah, wow.”

Meredith appraised her only granddaughter. “How big of a family?”

“One kid and one on the way, it seems.” Casey refilled her martini glass and plopped several olives in to emphasize.

“What are you going to do?”

Casey took a deep breath before answering. “I’m going to let this Liz Kennedy stay at my cabin. She’s going through some trimester thing, and she’s due in December.”

Meredith frowned, then laughed. “Trimester thing?”

Casey turned bright red and ran her fingers through her hair. “So you see how stupid this is? What the shit do I know about kids?”

“First off,” her grandmother said. “You’ll have to stop swearing. When do Liz Kennedy and her family get to Wisconsin?”

“I’m leaving in a couple days. She’ll be there by late afternoon.”

“So she’s agreeable to this, to travel being pregnant and with a small child?”

“Well, she’s probably used to being taken care of. And if she thinks I’m gonna wait on her hand and foot because she got herself pregnant, she’s mistaken.”

Meredith raised her eyebrow at the outburst. Casey sat back and folded her arms across her chest in a childlike manner. “Don’t judge too quickly, Casey. You don’t know the whole situation.”

Casey grunted. “I know the situation, Gram. It’s the one I avoided. Two irresponsible women having babies. Only one of them dies, leaving behind a mess for someone else to clean up.”

“That sounded very cruel, Casey Bennett.”

“Probably. But very true.”

Meredith heard the bitterness in Casey’s voice. She wondered what this Liz Kennedy was really like. Whatever she was like, she had to be an improvement over the cellist.

Chapter 4

“Are you sure you want to do this, Liz?” Elaine asked. She sat on the couch and accepted the glass of wine Liz offered.

“I have to, Elaine. Joanne said she had a friend who could rent this place furnished. I’m hoping once the baby is born and I can get back on my feet and get a job, I can come back here.” Liz looked around the apartment and sighed. “Though Julie was gone most of the time, there are memories here.” However, the stream of endless nights, lying alone in bed, flashed through her mind.

“Won’t you let me help you?” Elaine said. “I can help with—”

Liz shook her head. “No, please. You’re so busy at the hospital and you have your own family and bills to pay. You’re doing enough just to take the few things and store them for me.” She sat down with a tired sigh and patted Elaine’s knee. “I’ve thought this through so much since meeting with Julie’s lawyer, I can’t think anymore. I have no job, and I have no money really to pay for this apartment. Skye needs stability, and before you know it, this little one will be here.” She ran her hand over her belly.

“I do see your point. And if this woman knew Julie, perhaps it will work out. It’s awfully generous of her to help.”

“I feel like a charity case. Thank God, Julie’s lawyer has a nephew who bought the car. I needed that extra cash.”

Elaine raised her glass. “Well, sweetie. If you ever need anything, you know I’m here for you.” Elaine raised her glass. “Here’s to Wisconsin and a new beginning.”

Liz smiled and offered her iced tea glass. “Let’s hope so.”

As they got off the bus in Wisconsin, Liz held on to Skye’s hand. She groaned as her back ached horribly.

The hot August sun beat down on her daughter’s head. “Mama, I hot,” Skye complained as she rubbed her eyes.

“I know, sweetie. Somebody will be meeting us,” she said and patted her head.

The driver helped unload her few bags and walked with her into the terminal. He set the bags down and Liz felt horrible. She opened her purse and held the ten-dollar bill in her hand. Having nothing smaller, she just couldn’t give all of it to him.

“Don’t worry about it, ma’am,” he said with a wink and tipped his hat, then walked away.

She eased herself onto the bench, and Skye crawled up next to her. “I tired,” she grumbled, her cheeks flushed from the heat.

“Ms. Kennedy?” a woman’s voice called out.

Liz looked up to see an absolutely stunning woman standing in front of her. Tall, tanned, and scowling. This must be Casey Bennett, she thought.

“Yes. Ms. Bennett?”

Casey nodded. “I…Let me help you. We can get out of this infernal heat,” she said and looked down at Skye. Liz hid her grin as Casey Bennett smirked when Skye looked up.

“Hi,” Skye said with a giggle.

Liz looked away, trying not to laugh as Casey frowned.

“Hello,” she said gruffly and picked up the bags.

Liz was amazed as she picked up all three, including the diaper bag. “I can take one,” Liz offered.

Casey looked at her stomach. “I…You probably shouldn’t be carrying anything.” This came out as a question and Liz raised an eyebrow at the confused look on Casey Bennett’s face. She nearly missed the next comment. “Or riding a bus. Why didn’t you take the plane tickets?” Casey asked, scowling. She turned and started out the terminal.

“Mama say no!” Skye put her hands on her hips.

Liz’s eyes widened in horror as she looked down at Skye, who looked very much like Shirley Temple.

Casey raised an eyebrow and gave Liz a smug grin. Liz turned bright red remembering how adamant she was about taking money unnecessarily from this woman. It was hard enough to leave New Mexico.

“Well, whatever Mama says,” Casey grumbled and headed out the door.

Liz sneered and held on to her daughter. She proudly tried to keep up with the long strides, but after two or three, she gave up and followed.

“You don’t have a car seat?” Liz asked.

Casey packed the trunk of her shiny Lexus and slammed it. “Nope. Sorry. It’s a short ride.”