Celebration (20 page)

Jack's somber words ripped through her brain as visions of wide-eyed, frightened children being ripped from their parents' arms surfaced behind her closed eyelids. The vision was so horrendous that she bolted to the bathroom, where the violent churning in her stomach fought with the hammer inside her head.

When it was over, Kristine perched on the side of the bathtub.
What did I ever do to deserves this? What am I supposed to do now? How am I supposed to separate the slave money from the farm money or my family's kennels? Am I supposed to give it all back? What about the money Logan made off with? How can I ever make it right? How in the name of God can I ever earn black eight million dollars? Do I have any options? Moral versus legal. Hundreds of years later there can't be any legal ramifications
, can
there? Slavery is an ugly thing, but back then it was legal.

The headache continued to pound inside Kristine's head. She wanted a drink so bad her hands started to shake.

“Mom? Mom, what's wrong? You look terrible. What is it?” Cala asked from the doorway. “Why are you sitting on the edge of the bathtub like that? You're shaking like a leaf. Mom, what the hell is wrong?” Cala ran to her mother, dropping to her knees.

“I need a drink. Listen to me, Cala, I really need a drink.”

“No, you don't. There's no liquor in the house. You told me that yourself. I'll make you some tea, but first you have to tell me what's wrong. You're scaring me, Mom.”

Kristine started to cry as she blubbered out the story. When the last words tumbled out, she said, “It's not that I want the money. If it isn't mine, I don't want it. How can I make this right?”

“Who says you have to make it right, Mom? Where is that written? You had nothing to do with what happened hundreds of years ago. Who says you have to take responsibility for what happened?”

“I say so. It was my family. How can I live with myself if I don't do something about it? I made a deal with Jackson Valarian. It's only right that I abide by that deal. I suppose I thought he might find out things, like some of our family were horse thieves or something like that. I never for one minute thought about anything like this.”

“What can you do, Mom?”

“Tomorrow, he is going to show me everything. This is something I need to see in black-and-white with my own eyes. I don't have a clear picture in my head of all the things he said. I'll take that tea now, Cala, if you don't mind. Thanks for stopping in.”

“I'll get the tea. Why don't you get into bed and, if you don't mind, I'd like to sleep with you tonight. Do you remember that time in Italy when I had tonsillitis really bad and you slept in my bed with me? Dad was working that night, so you said it was all right. He would have said tough little soldiers didn't need their mommies for a little thing like a sore throat. I felt so much better with you there.”

“Was it only one night, Cala?” Kristine whispered.

“Yeah, but that's okay.”

Kristine wanted to cry at the sadness in her daughter's voice. “I'm so sorry, Cala.”

“I know, Mom. I am, too. I'll be right back. Gracie and Slick are on the bed waiting for you.”

Kristine stripped down and slipped into a sleep shirt. She was cuddling with the dogs when Cala returned with two cups of tea on a tray.

“Mom,” Cala finally said, breaking the silence, “I can stay on here if you need me. I have this feeling you want to dive into the records and bring this to some kind of conclusion. I'm no vet, but I can certainly learn how to take care of the pups. Pete can show me what has to be done.”

Kristine's eyes sparked. “What about your job, honey?”

“I like the job, but there are other jobs. I don't like California the way Mike does. He more or less talked me into it. It was easier to go than it was to argue with him. I'd really like to stay on, but only if you need me. I'm kind of getting used to this old house. It must have been wonderful growing up here.”

“I'd like very much for you to stay on, but only if you're sure. Pete does most of the veterinary work. I deal with the prospective owners and the paperwork when I'm not playing with the pups. It's so hard to give them up. I do an exhaustive background check on all clients. You are going to get attached to the pups and cry when they leave. Can you handle that?”

“Probably not, but I will try my best. Knowing they're going to good homes will make it right for me. I think I'll like working with Pete. He's nice. Really nice. I like him, Mom.”

“I won't be able to pay you much, Cala.”

“As long as the room and board is free, I can handle it. Is it a deal then?”

“It's a deal.”

Cala whooped her pleasure as she hugged her mother.

Kristine closed her eyes. Nothing ever felt as good as this hug from her daughter. Her heart soared.

Cala must have felt it, too, for she nestled against her mother, sighing happily.

“Mom, Mike called while you were out. He said the guy I had the hassle with dropped the charges against me.”

“Oh, honey, that's wonderful. That must be a worry off your mind.”

“It is. California is just too fast-track for me. Mike loves it, though. This is going to work for both of us.”

“Tell me,” Kristine teased, “what does really, really like mean in regard to Pete?”

Cala giggled. Kristine couldn't ever remember hearing her daughter giggle.
Thank you, God, thank you.

“It means he asked me out Saturday night. He said he'll come up, pick some flowers on the way, knock on the door, and take my arm and walk me to the car. If, and this is the big
if,
you say it's okay. He's a little nervous about taking me out. Something about mixing business with pleasure. You like him, don't you, Mom?”

“What's not to like? I offered to make him a partner. That alone should tell you something.”

“We just hit it off right away. I think he likes me.”

“I think he does, too.”

“Mom, do you want to talk about Dad?”

“Not really. I'm getting on with my life. Sometimes I dream about him. Those dreams aren't pleasant. I have to start thinking about filing for a divorce. I thought about having your father declared legally dead, but I don't think I can do that. I keep telling myself I'm going to do it, then something stops me. I guess a part of my heart will always belong to your dad. I know that isn't something you wanted to hear.”

“No, but I understand. I do, Mom. I wonder where he is and what he's doing. Do you think he ever wonders about us?”

The word
no
exploded from Kristine's mouth like a gunshot.

Cala giggled again. “That's kind of my thinking, too. His loss, Mom.”

It was Kristine's turn to hug her daughter. “You got that right, honey. I think we should go to sleep now. Tomorrow is going to be ... I don't know what it's going to be, but it's going to either make or break me.”

“Want to share about Woodie?”

“Yes, but not tonight.”

“How is he in the sack, Mom?”

Kristine was about to pretend outrage. Instead she laughed. This was, after all, the nineties. “Best I ever had.”

Cala bounced on the bed, laughing her head off. “I always wondered if there was life after forty. Now I have my answer. My money is on you, Mom,” Cala said. “I'll take Slick on my side, and you take Gracie on your side. We're finally sharing, Mom.”

“Good night, Cala.”

“Night, Mom.”

Gracie and Slick barked at the same moment.

“Good night, Gracie and Slick.” Kristine smiled in the darkness.

“wool.”

“Woof.”

 

 

Kristine swung her legs over the side of the bed, careful not to wake her sleeping daughter. “Shhh,” she said to the rambunctious dogs as she set them on the floor. She smiled as they raced for the hallway and stairs to their doggy door and the barn. Pete would bring them up for breakfast.

She looked so young, so vulnerable, this sleeping daughter of hers. A fierce protectiveness she'd never felt before washed through Kristine as she watched her daughter's even breathing. “Someday, you're going to pay for this, Logan Kelly, just the way I'm paying. Neither one of us deserves our kids. I'm going to try and make my end of it right. It might take me the rest of my life, but I'm going to do it. Cala was right. You're the loser, not us. Never us,” she whispered.

The breakfast dishes soaking, Kristine cleaned off the kitchen table, her thoughts in a turmoil as Cala and Pete, the two Yorkies on their heels, made their way to the barn.

Jackson Valarian, his hair on end, his eyes red-rimmed and full of grit, stared at her as he tried to figure out what he wanted to say. Finally, he blurted, “You aren't going to let me do the story, are you?”

“That's not true, Jack. I will let you do it, but I can't give you a definite time frame. I didn't expect . . . what I mean is ... I can't just sweep this under the rug. If my family and Logan's did all those things you say they did, then I have to make an attempt to set it right. I don't even know where to start. How do you go back two hundred years and try to right a wrong? I don't know the answer. I can tell you one thing, Jack. In my heart and soul, I believe my parents were ignorant of all this. I don't think those trunks we found in the attic were ever opened. I don't know about what you found in the Kellys' attic. It's possible there was a mistake somewhere along the way.”

“It's in black-and-white, Mrs. Kelly.”

“My parents didn't like my husband. I didn't know that until a few years ago. If both our ancestors were involved in this ugly thing, don't you think one set of parents would have said something?”

“People don't talk about ugly things like that. It was and probably still is the mentality of ‘that was then, this is now.' Saying ‘what can I do about it' is taking the easy way out. Obviously, that's not what you have in mind. I'd like to help you. You're going to need another set of legs and more eyes than you can come up with. I'm willing to put my life on hold to help you with this as long as I get the story. We could be looking at a Pulitzer or a Nobel Peace Prize.”

“I'm not interested in awards or prizes,” Kristine said.

“No, but I am. Listen, I might be young, but this is burning in my gut. I want to do it. If you let me stay here, I'll do all the legwork. I have a small amount of savings. I'll contribute to the food bill. I'll shovel snow in the winter and carry in firewood. I'll do whatever you want. I have a computer in my apartment. I'll bring it here, and we can start to track the financials together. We'll be writing hundreds, maybe thousands of letters. This is not something you can do alone, Mrs. Kelly.”

“I regret the day I met you, Jack.”

Jack sat down on one of the dining room chairs. He finger-combed his hair, his eyes tired and weary as he stared at Kristine. “I understand how you feel. I can't walk away from this. That's not the kind of person I am. I don't think you're that kind of person, either. If we're lucky, together, we might be able to make some of this come out right. I'll give a hundred percent, Mrs. Kelly. Are you prepared to do the same?”

“Yes, I guess I am. How old did you say you are?”

“Twenty-six. Right now I feel like I'm a hundred and six. Is it a deal?”

Kristine held out her hand. “It's a deal, Jack. I think you can call me Kristine from here on in.”

Jack pumped Kristine's hand vigorously. “You won't regret this, Kristine. My mother always taught me that if you do the right things in life, God will smile on you when you get to heaven.”

“You're going to take your turn doing dishes and cooking. You have to do your own laundry and change your bed yourself. You can sleep in Mike's room. If he comes home, you sleep in Tyler's room. If they both come home, you either sleep on the floor or the couch. Keep your savings. You're going to need gas money. What about your job?”

“This is more important than my job right now.”

“One other thing, Jack. We're going to keep regular hours here. That means we go to bed around eleven or twelve. We eat three times a day and walk to the Kelly farm for our exercise.”

“That's five miles! Each way!”

“Invest in a good pair of running shoes,” Kristine snapped. “Now, let's get to it! Just out of curiosity, how long do you think this will take us?”

Jack mumbled something indistinguishable.

“What was that again?”