Heavenly Honeymoon (Zoe Donovan Mysteries Book 15) (15 page)

After wiping down the dust-free surface I turned toward the antique hutch I’d bought at an estate sale and considered which place settings to use. This was a special occasion. Perhaps I should use Mama’s china. And then again, I didn’t want to have the girls feeling awkward by making a fuss. Perhaps the everyday dishes would be fine.

“Can I help?” Pepper asked as she entered the room through the kitchen.

“I’m trying to decide which dishes to use for our dinner.”

“Does it matter?”

“No,” I admitted. “I suppose it doesn’t.” I held up two dinner plates. “Which shall it be?”

“The ivory with the small blue flowers.”

“There are linens in that drawer behind you. Why don’t you pick out some placemats and napkins and I’ll fetch the silverware.”

Pepper chatted about the food at the last school she’d attended while we worked together to set a beautiful table for our first meal together. When the table was ready she followed me into the kitchen, where she continued to ramble on about various subjects while I prepared the vegetables. Pepper informed me that she too liked to cook, which she proved by preparing a colorful salad while I saw to the beverages. I found I rather liked preparing a meal alongside another person.

“I really love your house,” Pepper complimented. “When Mr. Zimmerman pulled up to the front and I saw those blue shutters and all those beautiful flowers I knew I was going to be happy here.”

“I’m so glad you like it. I’ve always liked to garden. Perhaps you’d like to help me when you have some free time.”

“I’d like that.”

“Tell me about yourself,” I urged.

“I’m not sure what there is to tell. My full name is Prudence Partridge Pepperton. It’s a mouthful, I know. When I was a baby my nanny began calling me Pepper and it stuck. My father is the only one who ever calls me Prudence.”

“And your mom?” I asked.

“She’s dead. She committed suicide last winter, after my father left her for one of his creations.”

I frowned. “Creations?”

“My father is a plastic surgeon in Beverly Hills.”

“I see.” Pepper’s announcement didn’t quite fit with her airy tone of voice. At first I thought she was pulling my leg, but the tension around her eyes said otherwise.

“I am so sorry,” I replied. “I really had no idea. That must have been an incredibly difficult time for you.”

Pepper shrugged. “Yeah. I guess.”

She looked away, struggling, I think, to maintain her composure.

“And why did you decide to attend Zimmerman Academy?” I changed the subject.

“I didn’t decide. My father did. He left my mom, and then he didn’t want me.”

“Oh, I’m sure that isn’t true.” I couldn’t imagine a parent not wanting his child.”

“No, it is,” Pepper assured me in a very matter-of-fact tone. “When my mom told me that my dad had taken off with one of his creations, I thought there would be a messy custody battle over me, but my father sat me down and told me that he had a new wife and a new life and he thought I’d be better off staying with my mother. I thought he’d visit, but he never did.”

I put my hand to my heart to try to keep it from breaking.

“After Mom died I had no choice but to go stay with my father,” Pepper continued. “I thought he would be happy to see me, but I could tell I was cramping his style. He knows Mr. Zimmerman somehow, and when he found out about the Academy, he asked if I could attend as a boarder. Mr. Zimmerman said he was thrilled to have me, so here I am.”

“Well, I am thrilled to have you as well.” I offered her my warmest smile. “I think the five of us are going to have a wonderful time this year.”

“Five of us?” Pepper asked.

“You and me, Brooklyn, Eve, and Charlotte.”

“Charlotte? I haven’t met her.”

“Charlotte is my cat. She decided to hide, but I’m sure she’ll make an appearance once she gets used to all the commotion.”

Pepper smiled. “I always wanted a pet. My father isn’t a fan of pet dander, so I was never allowed to have one. Do you think Charlotte would want to sleep with me?”

“Honestly,” I replied, “probably not. She’s an old cat and set in her ways.”

Pepper’s smile faded just a bit.

“But perhaps Zoe can find a younger cat for you. She runs a shelter, you know.”

Pepper grinned. “Really? A cat of my own?”

“I can’t promise that you’ll be able to take it with you when you leave here, but as far as I’m concerned the cat can be yours while you’re here.”

Was I crazy? Charlotte was going to have kittens. Not literally. She was too old for kittens, but I could guarantee she’d throw a diva kitty tantrum.

“Of course you must promise to take care of it,” I added. “Having a pet of your own is a big responsibility.”

Pepper ran across the room and wrapped her thin arms around my waist. She hugged me harder than I’d ever been hugged, and I felt my heart warm in a way it never had in all the years I’d resided on this planet. I hugged Pepper back and thanked the universe for the momentary insanity that had brought Pepper and the others into my life.

“I’ll take care of all her needs. I promise,” Pepper assured me.

I smiled. “It’s late today, but we can call Zoe tomorrow to see what she has available.”

Later that evening I decided to stop in to say good night to Eve. I’d actually managed to discover a fair amount of information about the other two girls, but Eve had been characteristically quiet for most of the evening. I felt that, more than any of the others, I understood Eve. I too was the type to use my words frugally when in a new social situation, but that didn’t mean I didn’t have anything to say or that I didn’t want to feel included.

I knocked on Eve’s door. The light was still on, so I knew she was still awake.

“Come in,” she called.

I slowly opened the door. Eve was curled up in the big chair near the small wood stove with a book.

“I just wanted to say good night and to make sure you didn’t need anything before I retire for the evening.”

“Thank you. I’m fine.”

I smiled. I really didn’t know what else to say, so I began to close the door.

“I love your book collection,” she added. “I hope it’s okay that I borrowed one.”

“Of course.” I opened the door wider and stepped inside the room. “Please feel free to read anything you like. I was concerned at first that I should box them up because I was going to have boarders.”

“Oh, no. Don’t do that. Having a room filled with books is having a room filled with friends.”

“I’ve always felt the same way. Not everyone understands the fact that many of the characters I’ve grown to love truly feel like people I know. What are you reading this evening?”

“
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
.”

“I haven’t read that. Are you enjoying it?”

“I am. I actually just started it, but so far so good. What are you reading?”

Eve and I spent the next thirty minutes talking about my favorite subject: books. Although decades separated us in years, I found we’d read and enjoyed many of the same stories.

“I should be heading to bed,” I said with a yawn. “I did want to ask if there was anything you needed, or anything I should know about you other than the fact that you’re vegetarian.”

Eve looked down at her book, but I could tell that she hadn’t gone back to reading. “Not really.”

“What made you decide to attend Zimmerman Academy?”

“I didn’t decide. Attending the Academy was a deal that my court-appointed shrink and my public defender made with the district attorney to get me out of juvie.”

I couldn’t have been more shocked if she’d told me she had just arrived from an alien planet. I was beginning to regret my decision not to read the background information Zak had given me on each of the girls more thoroughly until after I met them. I didn’t want to have what I read affect my first impressions of them.

“You were in juvie?”

“Yeah. I thought you knew.”

“For what?”

“I put my stepdad in the hospital.”

“Was it self-defense?” I had to ask.

“Not according to the judge. He said that adding sedatives to the scumbag’s whiskey in the hope of rendering him unconscious didn’t fall into the category of defending myself. It was the judge’s opinion that I should have gone to an adult I trusted rather than taking action on my own. Of course to this point in my life I’ve never met an adult I trusted enough to share such a big secret.”

I frowned. “Did your stepfather abuse you?”

“Every time he drank, and I have the scars to prove it.” Eve stopped and looked at me. Her voice softened just a bit. “I didn’t mean to actually hurt him; I just wanted to make him pass out. My friend gave me the idea to use the sedatives, so I tracked some down and began adding it to his whiskey. It really seemed to help. Every time he drank he’d fall asleep before he could get nasty. What I didn’t know was that the drug I used builds up in your system over time, and he eventually overdosed. He’s okay now and back at home, and I know I should feel bad about what I did, but all I actually feel is relieved that my plan succeeded in getting me out of the house.”

I found that I was at a loss for words.

“Don’t worry. I’m not dangerous,” Eve promised me. “I just did a stupid thing.”

“I’m not worried,” I assured the girl. “I’m glad it worked out for you to come to Ashton Falls. You’ll be safe here.”

Eve looked down at her book again, but I felt as if we’d made a connection. At least I hoped we had. She, more than the others, seemed to need the kind of environment Zak and I hoped to provide at the Academy.

As I walked toward my room, I had to marvel at the set of circumstances that had landed me as housemother to a sexually active sixteen-year-old, an all-but-orphaned fifteen-year-old, and a fourteen-year-old client of the juvenile justice system.

I entered my room and began my nightly ritual. Charlotte curled up on my pillow as I began removing my makeup and moisturizing my skin. My mother, God rest her soul, had drilled into my head the importance of a proper cleansing and moisturizing ritual when I was still a young woman. She’d taught me a structured routine that I follow to this day.

“I will admit that the day has held its share of surprises,” I began as Charlotte watched me go through the predictable steps of the process.

“Still, I have high hopes that the girls and I will do just fine. Pepper talks a mile a minute, so I know none of us will ever have to suffer the agony of awkward silence when she’s around,” I said aloud, confident that Charlotte actually was listening to my chatter.

“And, although Eve has a tragic past, I’m choosing to leave it in the past. You know, she really is quite interesting, and we like many of the same authors. She’s read so many of the classics. I know we’ll never lack for books to discuss.”

I slipped a flannel nightgown over my head and then began sorting the clothes I had removed. I hung those that could be worn again on hangers and separated those that needed laundering into differing baskets for the laundry service.

“Brooklyn may prove to be a challenge in the long run,” I informed Charlotte as I unwound my bun and began brushing my waist-length hair. “We’ll have to see how things go. It is a bit odd that she’s more experienced with boys and dating than I am. I hope I’ll instinctively know how to handle any situations that may arise on that front.”

After I brushed my hair one hundred times I fashioned it into a long braid that hung down my back.

“I think all the girls are both nervous and excited to begin classes next week. The transitional school Zak has organized for this year will accommodate ten students, five girls and five boys between the ages of twelve and sixteen, with the exception of Alex, who, as you know is just ten. Three of them will be attending the middle school in the mornings and the other seven will attend the high school. Just the thought of high school fills me with terror, but I think our girls will do just fine.”

Charlotte yawned. She appeared to be communicating that she had bored with my chatter. I ignored her.

“I find myself optimistic about the future. We’re being offered not only the opportunity to spend more time with people we already love but the chance to bring wonderful new acquaintances into our life as well.”

I straightened the bathroom and headed back toward the sleeping area.

“Do you think I should dress up or down for my first day at the Academy?”

“Meow.”

“Yes. That’s what I thought as well.”

After I was satisfied that I had done everything I needed to do to prepare myself for bed, I set to preparing the room. I worked my way around the area, straightening already perfectly straight books and knickknacks before opening my window just a quarter of an inch.

“I’m excited for the meet and greet Zak and Zoe are hosting tomorrow. I think it was such a good idea to provide an informal setting where everyone can get to know one another before classes begin. I would think that having an informal social event before the beginning of the school year will ease first-day jitters for students and staff alike. Of course most of the staff already know one another, but it will be nice to give Mr. Danner, the new teacher of mathematics, a chance to get to know everyone else. He’s a widower, you know.”