Fort Lupton (26 page)

She felt her exhaustion and sorrow transform
to rage. Rather than scream at him, she spun in place and went into
the bathroom. She slammed the door and sat down on the edge of the
bathtub. He opened the door.

“
What are you doing?” she
asked.

“
What are
you
doing?” he
asked.

“
I’m hiding from you,”
Sandy said.

“
Why?”

“
Because you piss me
off!”

“
Why is that?” Aden
asked.

Her mouth opened and closed like a fish
before she stalked out of the small bathroom. When she passed him,
he grabbed her shoulders and held her in place.

“
Why are you angry with
me?” he asked.

“
By your own admission,
you gave no thought to your own safety or our family’s financial
life,” Sandy said. “You just sprang into action to catch a shooter
and save the day, leaving the rest of us to pick up the pieces
again.”

“
I stopped them!” Aden
said.

“
For who?” Sandy asked.
“For Noelle? No, she was there bleeding on the ground while the
police detained you to chat about what you’d done.”

Aden let her go and looked down at the
ground.

“
You’re off playing hero
while we’re . . .” Sandy shook her head and went
into the bedroom. “AGAIN!”

“
We’re?” he asked. “We’re
what?”

She threw her hands over her head and
plopped back down on the bed. He stood in the doorway staring at
her.

“
I can’t believe you’re
mad at me for stopping the shooter,” Aden said. “How hypocritical
can you be? You jump at any chance to help anyone anytime. Now
you’re pissed at me for . . .”

His voice faded, and he stared at the
ground.

“
For what?” Sandy asked.
“What am I angry with you for?”

He scowled at her and tried to remember what
she was mad about.

“
For risking yourself,”
Sandy said. “That’s reasonable.”

He gave a slight nod of his head.

“
For wrecking the car,”
Aden said.

“
For making things
harder,” Sandy said. “Everything just gets harder and harder and
harder. First there’s that stupid detective and then Charlie, and
now Noelle and you! Isn’t it hard enough? Aren’t things hard
enough?”

He gave her a long look.

“
We’re completely broke,”
Sandy said.

“
We could use the money we
get from your father’s pension,” Aden said.

“
Charlie and Sissy need
that for college!”

“
Sissy’s not going to
college,” Aden said. “No matter what you think, Sissy is not going
to college. And we need the money now. That’s what his pension is
for!”

“
And what? When Charlie
gets to school, we say ‘Tough luck, Charlie. You shouldn’t have
been beaten up?’” Sandy asked. “It’s bad enough that we mooch off
my best friend for a place to live!”

“
We stay here because of
me.” Aden shook his head.

“
Yeah, right,” Sandy
snorted.

Aden opened his mouth to argue with her but
she turned away from him.

“
I can’t work more!” Sandy
said. “I can’t work more! I . . .”

“
You don’t have to!” Aden
said.

“
Yes, I do,” Sandy said.
“You make less than half what you did when I met you.”

“
The
state . . .” Aden started.

“
I know!” Sandy said. She
took a breath and slowly let it out. “I know. The state, the
bullies, the feds, the people who beat up Charlie, and the asshole
who shot Noelle. I know.”

She flopped back on the bed.

“
The game is rigged
against people like us,” Sandy said. “They screw us and there’s
nothing we can do about it. They get away with it
and . . .”

She covered her eyes as the tears came.

“
I think we should have
another child,” Aden said, revealing his bright idea.

Sandy threw a pillow at him.

“
I see you agree,” Aden
said. “Would you like to get started?”

Sandy couldn’t help but chuckle. She leaned
up on an elbow to look at him.

“
People who screw people
have to live with the ugly nature of their own actions,” Aden said.
“They are awful, ugly people who never know the smallest moments
of . . .”

“
Joy, laughter, and love,”
Sandy said. She gave a slight smile. “‘Ugly, awful people never
know the small, wonderful moments of joy, laughter, love, and
music.’ Andy wrote that on the cover of each of her
journals.”

“
She was right,” Aden
said.

“
She was killed by that
stupid detective,” Sandy said. “Thrown off a building.”

“
After her fondest dream
came true,” Aden said.

Sandy scowled.

“
She and I have that in
common,” Aden said.

“
What?”

“
You are our fondest
dream,” Aden said.

Sandy gave a small smile. She wiped her
tears.

“
I have
to . . .” Sandy started.

“
You don’t really,” Aden
said.

“
But . . .”

“
It can wait,” Aden
said.

Sandy sat up to look at him.

“
What?” Sandy
asked.

“
We’re okay,” Aden said.
“You’re okay. I’m okay. The kids are okay. Everything’s changing,
that’s true. But all in all, we’re okay.”

“
Noelle’s going to have to
leave town,” Sandy said.

“
Nash too,” Aden
said.

“
And Charlie,” Sandy said.
“At least until they testify.”

“
What about Ivy?” Aden
asked.

“
No one’s said anything
about her,” Sandy said. “I don’t think anyone considers
her.”

“
She should probably go
too,” Aden said.

“
Sissy’s going to New
York,” Sandy said.

“
That’s why we need
another child,” Aden said.

Sandy groaned and flopped back on the
bed.

“
What?” Aden grinned. “Why
did you groan?”

“
Just because they are
gone, doesn’t mean they won’t need us,” Sandy said. “They will need
us more than they do even now!”

She lay staring at the ceiling for a
moment.

“
If we’re going to do
this, we need to do it on our terms,” Sandy said.

“
What does that mean?”
Aden asked.

“
The DA wants to meet with
us tonight,” Sandy said.

“
And?”

“
We need to have the kids
out of here by then,” Sandy said.

“
Can we do that?” Aden
asked.

“
Just watch me,” Sandy
said.

Aden grinned.

“
What?” Sandy
asked.

“
That’s my girl,” Aden
said.

“
And the hopeless,
overwhelmed me?” Sandy asked. “Who’s she?”

“
Oh, she’s you,” Aden
said. “Learned helplessness.”

Sandy scowled at him.

“
You can’t let the
bastards beat you,” Aden said.

Sandy grinned.

“
What?” Aden
asked.

“
You think Mike will let
me take his Bronco?” Sandy asked. “So cool.”

“
It’s
dangerous!”

“
You should have thought
of that before you wrecked the Saab,” Sandy said.

Aden scowled and nodded.

“
Val’s Mustang is pretty
sweet,” Aden said.

“
Oooh Celia’s Mercedes!”
Sandy said.

“
It will be hard to be a
bad ass in a diesel Mercedes tank,” Aden said.

“
Just watch me,” Sandy
said.

Aden laughed.

Chocolate chip
cookies

Saturday afternoon — 1:37 p.m.

Sandy looked down at her iPhone and back at
the address stamped on the curb. She couldn’t see the house through
the tall juniper bushes and Colorado blue spruces that surrounded
the large property. She checked her iPhone one last time. This was
the address. She watched the heavy Monaco Boulevard traffic in her
side mirror until there was a short break. She jumped out of
Celia’s old diesel Mercedes and jogged around the car. She went to
old red flagstone front walk.

Even though the day was warm, the dark
foliage of the trees cast a chilling shadow. Sandy instinctively
shivered against the cold. She went to the low chain link fence
gate and opened it. Stepping through the gate, she felt like she’d
stepped into a foreign land. The sun was shining. The grass was at
a perfect height. Even the garden beds had the look of having just
been attended. to

There was a beautiful white marble statue
with a fountain surrounded by a purple flagstone patio just in
front of the house. Two teak rocking chairs looked as if they’d
just been set there. There was a pitcher of lemonade with at least
a dozen fresh ice cubes floating in it. Two tall crystal glasses
sat on the low table between the rocking chairs.

Sandy glanced up at the house. Wearing jeans
and a deep purple silk shirt, Bestat stood on the porch with her
infant daughter, Neuth, on her hip. Bestat waved to Sandy. An older
woman wearing the traditional dress of Bestat’s native Egypt came
out of the house and took Neuth. Bestat said something to the woman
in a foreign language and came down the steps.

Bestat kissed Sandy’s cheeks before
gesturing to the chairs.

“
It’s warm today, sunny,”
Bestat said. “I thought we could pretend it was spring.”

Sandy sat down in the rocking chair Bestat
indicated. Her host sat in the one closest to the path. They had
just gotten settled when a young man dressed in traditional
Egyptian clothing brought them genuine sheep-fleece blankets, and
another elderly woman came out with a plate of chocolate chip
cookies. Overwhelmed by the attention, Sandy blushed and
smiled.

“
Was that too much?”
Bestat asked.

“
Um,” Sandy
scowled.

“
Like you, I have a few
very close friends. I don’t do . . .” Bestat waved
her hand between them, “ . . .
this . . . well, ever, really.”

“
I don’t either,” Sandy
said. “But I’m glad I came. Thank you for taking the
time.”

“
Of course. It is my
pleasure,” Bestat said. “Cookie?”

She held the plate out to Sandy. Not wanting
to be rude, Sandy took a cookie. She didn’t really like chocolate
chip cookies. She thought they were bland. Smelling something
divine, Sandy sniffed the cookie and took a bite.

“
Decadent?” Bestat
asked.

“
They look like regular
cookies!” Sandy said.

“
They do.” Bestat nodded.
“Those usual cookies — slabs of salty butter and
chocolate . . .”

Bestat wrinkled her lip and gave a shake of
her head.

“
I don’t like them
either,” Sandy said. “But these . . . what’s in
them?”

“
Cinnamon, cardamom, love
— oh, and that sugar you call ‘natural sugar,’” Bestat said. “Sugar
crystals give them crunch.”

“
Great ideas,” Sandy
said.

“
My cook is very good,”
Bestat said. “I bring her with me everywhere I go. She has been
with me all of her life. Her mother was also my
cook . . . uh . . . when I was
young.”

Sandy smiled and felt a little fuzzy, almost
drunk. She rubbed her forehead. When she looked up, Bestat gave her
a long lashed bat of her almond-colored eyes.

“
How is Noelle?” Bestat
asked.

“
Good,” Sandy said. “My
husband is bringing her home from the hospital right
now.”

“
She is a wonderful girl,”
Bestat said.

Sandy nodded. Needing to enjoy a simple
quiet moment, Sandy focused on her cookie. Bestat poured the
lemonade and let her think.

“
I need your help,” Sandy
said.

“
Yes,” Bestat
said.

“
Yes?” Sandy
asked.

“
I will help you with
whatever you need,” Bestat said.

“
Why?” Sandy asked, and
then instantly felt embarrassed.

“
Because you were my
Zack’s friend in one of the darkest moments of his life,” Bestat
said.

“
He really saved me, not
the other way around,” Sandy said.

“
You saved each other,”
Bestat said. “And then, you could have taken him, kept him, but you
let him go — for his benefit and for yours.”

Sandy blushed and looked at the gorgeous
white statue and fountain in front of her. There was a ribbon of
marble fabric around the woman’s middle and between her legs. She
held a basket above her head and the water dribbled off the side of
the basket into a pond filled with koi. The fish peeked over the
edge of the pond to look at Sandy.

“
He is handsome, funny,
and loves you,” Bestat said.

“
He and I aren’t
meant . . .”

“
Yes,” Bestat said. “It
takes an old, wise soul to know something like that.”