The Sharpest Edge (18 page)

He sighed and rubbed the back of her hand with his thumb. “Are you going back to L.A. now? Since we’ve caught John Ramsey? The threat’s over.”

She lifted an eyebrow. “What if Alan’s telling the truth? What if he didn’t do it?”

“Do you really believe that’s possible?”

“Yes.”

He didn’t understand her. “How can you have such loyalty and confidence in a man that you’ve known for a year and a
half, yet refuse to forgive your own father? Reject your own family?”

She frowned. “It’s not like that—”

“Yes, it is.” Sean pressed harder. “Alan’s guilt is practically a given. He’s John Ramsey. He visited Jimmy in prison. Yet your only evidence on your dad is what your mom wrote in that note and what she told you.”

“Leave me alone.” She yanked her hand off his, jammed the gearshift into Reverse and began backing up.

Sean stepped back, even though a part of him wanted to reach through the window, yank out the keys and force her to stay. Make her face him and what was going on between them. But he didn’t. He wouldn’t know what to say to reach her. To bridge the chasm between them. “Where are you going?”

“Somewhere. If you’re right and Alan’s the bad guy, then I’m not in danger anymore, am I?”

She had him there. But if he was wrong…

“See ya.” She pulled away and left him standing in the parking lot. He had a feeling he’d just screwed up again and he wasn’t sure what he’d done or failed to do. All he knew was that the clock was ticking on Kim staying in town and he was getting less and less happy about the notion of her leaving. His chest felt heavy and tight, and a heaviness weighed on his shoulders.

Like he needed to be thinking that way. He wasn’t going to let her break his heart twice. She was the one who hadn’t loved him enough to try. Not before, and not this time. She was running, and he couldn’t stop her. He stalked back into the station to talk to Ramsey, passing Didi on the way out. Her cheeks were flushed and she looked agitated. “Didi.” He caught her arm as she brushed by.

She jumped at his touch, then looked at him. “Sean.”

“I’m sorry about this. We had no idea that Alan was John Ramsey.”

Didi nodded. “Me, neither. Guess Carl’s no longer a suspect, huh?”

“No, he’s not. I’m really sorry,” he said again. Guess he’d been right to worry about Didi’s safety, even though he’d thought the danger would be coming from Carl instead of Alan.

She lifted her chin then. “I’m not sorry.”

Okay, so he was confused now. “What do you mean?”

“Alan’s a good man, and I believe him. Just because he was born related to some psycho doesn’t automatically mean he’s bad, too.”

“Kim said the same thing.”

“I like Kim.” She met his gaze. “You don’t believe him, though.”

“No, I don’t.” He’d been getting a vibe from Alan all along and now he knew what it had been. “Alan’s a smart man. He’s manipulated Kim and he’s using you. Don’t get sucked in, Didi.”

“I’m going to go post bail for him.”

He grimaced. “Don’t let him fool you. He’ll burn you in the end.”

“No, he won’t. He loves me.”

“He doesn’t love you! He’s known you for two days and you’re his key to getting out of here.”

“He loves me, and I love him,” she insisted.

What did they know about love? “You don’t love him. You just met him.”

“And I was with him all night last night.”

A ping of warning sounded in Sean’s head. “But he said you weren’t together the whole evening.”

“He was trying to keep me out of it, but I won’t let him protect me. I was with him, so you’ve got nothing to hold him on. He’ll be out by the end of the day, and if he’s not, I’ll bail him out.”

He cursed under his breath. So much for matchmaking.
It was seriously backfiring. “Didi, lying to provide an alibi can get you thrown in jail.”

“I’m not lying.” She met his gaze and didn’t flinch.

Damn. Was she fibbing or not? His instincts seemed to be shot to hell in this case.

She was covering for Will’s death. She had to be. Alan was not the good guy in this mess. He’d been manipulating for too long to be considered an innocent.

“Don’t jeopardize your future for the wrong man.”

“I’m not. Good day, officer.” She flounced down the steps toward the parking lot and Sean had to let her go.

It was time to talk to Alan and get some answers. He thought of Kim out there by herself and a trickle of fear gripped him. If he was wrong and Kim got hurt, he’d never forgive himself. If he was right and Didi got injured… He shook his head. Now was no time for ambiguity. He had to find out the truth before anything else could happen.

Kim walked into her dad’s hospital room. The curtains were open, letting in the afternoon sunlight. Despite the flowers and the cards, there was no cheer here. Just stupid machines beeping and her dad looking pathetic and weak.

She practically threw a chair down next to the bed and sat down, glaring at him. “What happened with Mom? I need to know.”

Silence.

“Did you know Sean loves you more than he loves me?”

Silence.

“I don’t think he even loves me. It’s the same thing as before. Sean loves you, not me. I want Sean to love me and you wanted Mom to love you.” She frowned. “Or did you even care if she loved you? I don’t know.” Kim realized what she’d said. Did she really want Sean to love her? Like really love her?

It wasn’t even worth thinking about because it wasn’t going to happen. Why torture herself?

“I loved her.”

Kim’s gaze snapped to her dad’s face at the sound of a very rusty and gravelly voice. His eyes were closed, his lips still. Had it been her imagination? “Dad?”

“I loved her.” He said it again, and this time she saw his lips move.

“Dad!” She grabbed his hand and squeezed it, tears blurring her vision. “Oh, my God. You’re awake!” Tears gave way to heaving sobs as she clutched his hand to her chest. “I thought I was never going to talk to you again.”

His hand twitched in hers and then squeezed ever so slightly. “I felt the same way.” A single tear trickled out of his eye and she cried for both of them.

After she ran out of tears—and energy—she sat there quietly, gripping his hand as though she’d never let go. He’d fallen asleep without saying anything else, but he was back. She knew he’d returned to her.

They had so much to talk about, so much to say.

A light tap sounded at the door. “Kim?”

She blinked to try to clear her vision, then turned to the door. “Hi, Helen.”

The older woman took in Kim’s tearstained expression and her face literally crumpled as she clutched the door. “What happened?”

Kim managed to smile. “He talked to me.”

“He…woke up?” Helen stared at her. “Don’t lie to me.”

Kim shook her head. “He’s asleep now, but he woke up.”

“Oh, God.” Helen fell to her knees beside the bed, tears streaming. “Max, Max, Max. Can you hear me?”

He moved his head slightly and a faint smile curved his lips. “My love.”

Kim decided to give Helen some privacy. Or was it she who needed the privacy? The tears were starting again and she wanted to be alone. She slipped out of the room and shut the door behind her, giving them a moment.

How could she have doubted Helen? Maybe there was stuff going on, but it certainly didn’t include Helen stealing from Max or trying to kill him. She leaned against the wall and wiped her cheeks.

Her dad was awake.

Soon they would get a chance to talk, really talk, about
things that should have been discussed a long time ago. It was time.

But before she did anything, there was someone she needed to tell. She pulled out her cell phone and made a call. “Sean? It’s Kim. My dad’s awake.”

S
EAN EASED HIMSELF
into Max’s hospital room while Kim and Helen waited outside, giving him a chance to be alone with Max. He paused when he saw Max’s eyes open. “Hi.” His voice felt rough and sounded strange, so he cleared his throat. “Good to see you, Max.”

“Don’t be a fool…. Come hug me.” The words were slow and halting.

Sean blinked hard. “Yes, sir.” He walked across the room and did as ordered. He felt sort of awkward until Max held him tight and didn’t let go. After a few moments, Sean gripped the older man right back. When they finally released, Sean was annoyed to find the old man’s tears reflected on his own face.

He wiped them off and sat next to the bed. “How do you feel?”

“Like hell.” He paused to take a few breaths. “How did you get Kim…back here?”

“She came because of your accident.”

“Really?” Max rubbed his chin and it seemed as though that small action took so much effort.

“You haven’t asked her why she’s here?”

“Doctors have been…bugging me…since I woke up.” His voice faded by the end of the long sentence. He lay back on the pillow and closed his eyes. After a few moments of silence, he spoke again. “You going to…marry her…this time?”

Sean studied his fingernails. “No.”

“Why not?”

“Because.” He wasn’t about to tell Max that Kim was leaving again. Kim could tell her dad herself. “I’m sorry.”

Max opened his eyes a crack. “Why are you sorry?”

“Because I know you want me to marry her.”

Max snorted once, so weakly, but it was still a glimmer of the old Max. “I’m too old…to worry about who you marry… I’m just—” he struggled to find the energy to continue “—glad you’re back in town.”

Sean frowned. “You don’t care?”

“You’re here. That’s enough.” Max shut his eyes again. “Glad you’re back, son.”

“Me, too.” They sat for a few more minutes until Max’s even breathing told him the man was asleep.

Son.

Max had called him
son.

And Sean wasn’t even going to marry his daughter.

Suddenly, Sean’s chest felt tight and his eyes started to act up again.

He stood and cleared his throat. Time to get back to the interrogation of Alan, which had turned up not a single shred of usable evidence against him so far. The man was good, Sean would give him that, but he would break him.

T
HIRTY-SIX HOURS LATER
, Kim and Sean were sitting beside her dad’s bed and Alan had been released.

According to Sean, Alan hadn’t coughed up any useful evidence during the interrogation and Didi had been waiting outside to pick him up. Alan seemed surprised to hear that Didi had been so supportive of him, but accepted her ride anyway. Something wasn’t right there, but neither Sean nor Kim could figure out what it was.

Which was why they were in here to grill Max on what he knew. Yeah, he was still weak, but they simply had to find out the truth. Max was propped up, eating Jell-O, and he had some sparkle in his eyes. The doctors deemed him recovered enough to sit for an official interrogation.

Kim watched Sean prepare to begin the interview. He
hadn’t been home in a day and a half, interviewing Alan around the clock to try to get him to admit something. The first time Kim and Sean had seen each other again was outside this room five minutes ago, even though she’d continued to stay at his house. Sleeping in his bed. Wondering when he’d come back and unsure what she’d say when he did. She should have gone to a hotel. But she hadn’t been able to make herself. It felt right to stay at Sean’s place, so that’s what she’d done.

She missed the fool. Or was she the fool? Either way, when he’d approached the hospital room, she’d wanted to throw her arms around his neck and hug him. Oh, sure, he probably would have embraced her if the look on his face was any indication, but what would that accomplish? It wasn’t as if it would change anything, make him decide that she was more important than her dad. Or, at least, equally important. She could settle for equal billing, couldn’t she?

“You guys an item again?” Max asked them.

Kim wrapped her fingers around the arms of her chair and didn’t look at Sean. “No.”

Max didn’t look as though he believed her. “Why not?”

“Because.”

Max looked at Sean. “You not doing right by her?”

Sean shifted in his seat and looked uncomfortable. “I don’t know.”

Max turned back to Kim. “He loves you.”

She met his gaze. “No, Dad. He loves you.” Sean didn’t deny it.

Max grinned. “I love him, too. Great kid.”

“He’s not a kid. And see? That’s the problem. He would choose you over me and I can’t marry someone like that.” She frowned. “I couldn’t before and I couldn’t this time. Last time, Mom was the one who saw it, but this time I figured it out on my own.”

Sean still said nothing, but he was looking at her with a
thoughtful expression on his face. What was he thinking about?

Max’s smile faded. “Helen said you had some questions about Mom.”

Kim hesitated. Somehow, it didn’t seem so important to bring up the past. Except that she still didn’t forgive her father, and the little girl in her wanted everything to be all right with Daddy. And part of her wanted to know the truth. No, she didn’t
want
to know. She
had
to know.

“Show him the letter,” Sean said.

She looked at him and saw in his eyes the same need to get closure on unanswered questions. Just as she had believed her dad was a murderer for so long, Sean had held him up on a pedestal. Maybe it was time for both of them to learn the truth.

“What letter?”

She unfolded the envelope from her purse and gave it to Max. “I received this a few days after Mom died.”

Sean handed Max his glasses. Then the two of them waited while he read. She almost reached out for Sean’s hand but stopped herself. What would be the point? They had to learn to go their separate ways.

Yet when he took her hand, she didn’t resist. They curved their fingers together and waited. Was he also wondering if his world was about to collapse?

By the time Max finished reading, there were tears in his eyes. A month ago, Kim would have dismissed it as show, but now? Maybe they were real. She didn’t know.

Max looked up. “I’m so sorry you didn’t tell me about this. Is this why you left in the first place?”

“Yes.”

He sighed and leaned back against the pillow, suddenly looking very tired.

She took his hand. “I’m sorry, Dad. I’m sorry for leaving.”

Sean’s grip tightened on her other hand.

Her dad squeezed her fingers. “And I regret so much that I didn’t chase you across the country.” He sighed. “Your mom was clinically depressed. She’d been on medication for years, but sometimes she stopped taking it.”

What was he talking about? “Are you serious?”

“I’d taken her to so many different doctors and we found medication that would stabilize her for a while and then she’d go off again.” He rubbed Kim’s hand, staring off in the distance as if he wasn’t even aware of Kim and Sean in the room. “I loved her so much and I blamed myself for her depression. It was Helen who helped me see that it wasn’t my fault.”

Kim tensed. “So you
were
dating Helen before Mom died?”

Her dad looked at her. “Yes, I was.”

She pulled her hand free, all her old feelings of anger and resentment resurging. “Did Mom know it? Is that why she killed herself?” She caught a glimpse of Sean’s face and he looked absolutely shocked.

Her dad sat up. “I gave everything to your mother until there was nothing left of me, either. Helen saved me. Without her, I would have fallen with your mom. I needed a woman who thought I was actually worth something. You think that letter was awful? Try living with a woman you love more than anything who tells you how horrible you are whenever her medication stops working. She’s the one who killed me, and Helen saved me.”

Kim stared at him. “You take no responsibility for cheating on Mom?”

“Of course I do. It was wrong. I actually broke it off with Helen three months before Mom died. Once Helen showed me I was worth something, I decided I was strong enough to save Mom.” He met her gaze with an unwavering stare. “I wasn’t. No one was. Not you. Not me. Not anyone.”

“So when she died you ran to Helen’s arms without another thought?”

“I had plenty of thoughts, but I’m human. I needed her.” He shook his head. “And now look what I’ve done. I almost lost Helen because I couldn’t stop thinking about Mom and wondering what I could have done differently.” He looked at her. “Helen has stood by me for ten years while I blamed myself for everything. Did you know she was in the process of filing for divorce when I had my accident?”

Sean sucked in his breath, and when she glanced at him, the lines around his eyes seemed deeper than before. “Was she embezzling?” he asked.

Max nodded. “She told me about it. Said you two would figure it out soon.”

Oh,
wow.

“She admitted it?” Sean sounded dumbfounded.

“Yes. After the accident, she realized she didn’t want to lose me, so she figured the only thing that would save me would be to destroy my past and make me live for the future.” He shrugged. “I think she was right.”

“You do? You’re not mad?” She’d been so certain that losing the camp would destroy him, which is why she hadn’t believed that Helen was guilty. “I don’t understand.”

“I’m selling the place. You and Cheryl get first dibs and if you don’t want it—” he looked at Sean “—you can have it. Otherwise, it’s going on the market at the end of the summer.”

Hope flashed across Sean’s face, replaced almost instantly with the heaviness of despair. “I can’t afford it.”

“Don’t be ridiculous. We’d work out a payment plan.”

“Even though I’m not married to Kim?” A hint of fire flashed in his eyes. A fire she hadn’t seen since she’d been back. It was the energy of hope for a future, for a home, for his deepest desires to come true. How could she compete with that?

Max looked aggravated. “Who the hell cares if you’re married to Kim? You’re still my only son.”

Kim stared at her father, her mind reeling. He considered
Sean his only son. By giving Sean the Loon’s Nest, Sean would never need her. He had everything he wanted.

Loneliness surged through her and she fought to keep the corners of her mouth from turning down. She didn’t have to be lonely. Not anymore. She had her dad back, and that was something, right?

In some ways, Max was exactly the man she’d imagined. He’d cheated on Joyce. But he carried so much pain she’d never imagined, she actually found herself feeling sympathetic. He’d suffered as much as the rest of them. She lifted her hand, hesitated, then touched her dad’s shoulder, her fingers lingering for only a moment.

Sean cleared his throat and she glanced at him. His jaw was locked, his eyes cold. His gaze flicked briefly at her and she saw the hurt deep in his soul. She had just learned that her dad wasn’t as horrible as she’d thought, and he’d had the opposite experience. His idol had fallen.