And yet no one said a word.
Gwen eyed her friends carefully, schooling herself in patience. They'd been more generous than she'd had a right to expect, but dammit, shouldn't someone be about to crack? Shouldn't one of them at least look guilty for trying to destroy her family?
Jacie shifted uncomfortably under that same stare that Gwen had been giving everyone all weekend. It was creepy and weird, and she was tired of it. "If you think it would help relieve a little of your guilt for me to punch you in the nose, Gwen, I'll make the sacrifice," she said gamely, a tiny bit of irritation coloring her words.
Nina smiled a little too sweetly, though her eyes didn't convey true malice. "I'll help."
The message was clear. While old grudges might be allowed to wither and die, no one was about to forget anything.
Gwen could live with that. "Gee, thanks," she deadpanned, edging her way off the coffee table in case someone else decided to "help" her.
Jacie wanted to let go of the fear that Gwen still had something up her sleeve, but after everything that had transpired between them, she found herself unwilling to trust blindly. And so she resolved to throw some light on what mystery remained. She stood along Gwen, but addressed Katherine. She needed to get everyone but Gwen outside for a private talk. "So, was that your ugly Karmann Ghia in the garage?"
Katherine was a little startled by the graceless change in subject, but she smirked when she thought of her much-beloved car. "You're just jealous because your truck and its big manly tires practically scream ‘I have a really small penis!'"
Nina started laughing, eager to join in the banter and be finished with this draining, emotional chat. "So small it's almost non-existent!"
"Jesus Christ, what do you mean almost?" Jacie crowed, bending over to pinch Nina in the thigh before offering her a hand up. "And I need my truck for work." Then she wrapped her arm around Nina's waist and began steering her toward the door.
"Wanna see it up close?" Katherine asked, stretching arms over her head and then quickly following Nina and Jacie.
"You have up close photos of Jacie's penis?" Audrey enthused, as she pushed off the sofa and eagerly cut in front of Katherine. "Cool! I wanna look first."
Jacie's eyes narrowed at her friends' teasing. "I do not have a," she shivered hard enough for her teeth to rattle, "penis. You've all seen me naked a hundred times. You know exactly what I've got."
They all hummed their frank appreciation, with Nina letting out a low wolf whistle to boot.
"Very funny, guys," Jacie groused, even as her ego let out a contented purr.
"You can strip down any time you'd like for verification purposes, sweetheart." Nina wrinkled her nose playfully. "I won't complain."
"Aww… sweetheart," Katherine taunted as the foursome exited the room. "Ouch, Jacie!" she complained loudly from near the front door. "That's going to bruise!"
Gwen was left standing alone in the parlor with no answers and a birthday cake that looked like someone had tried to write her name in the snow on top of it. She waited a few moments, hoping someone would return to the room to talk to her. But no one did. Then, in growing desperation, she scrubbed her face with both hands. Her head was still pounding from her headache, and she was pretty sure it was only going to get worse.
She vowed, right then, that the sun wouldn't come up again without her knowing the name of her blackmailer. If she was lucky, the three women who weren't loathsome snakes would side with her and help her end this nightmare once and for all. If she was unlucky… her train of thought derailed there.
Gwen prepared herself to make her own luck.
* * *
Jacie, Audrey, Nina, and Katherine trotted towards the garage to avoid the worst of the light rain.
"Whew," Jacie could see her breath when she pulled open the old carriage house door. "Was it this cold in October when we were kids?" Some well-maintained horse tack from another lifetime had been hung on the walls, partly because it had always been housed in this building, and partly for decoration, a gentle reminder of a slower time. Jacie examined it with interest.
Audrey blew on her chilled fingers. "No. This is unseasonably cold. Looks like we just got lucky like always," she said sarcastically, deciding to stuff her hands into her pockets. "Hey," she spun in a circle. "Where's Katy?"
"She ran back inside for her car keys." Nina sucked a breath of cool air, glad to be out of the house. Her mind drifted to Robbie and she hoped that her mother was insisting he wear a warm jacket. Then she laughed a little, realizing that what her son was probably wearing was a permanent scowl because his grandmother had not only insisted on jacket, but on gloves and one of those goofy hats with a fuzzy ball on the top that only a granny could produce. Still, there were better ways to stay warm. "Hey, Jacie Ann?"
"Hmm," Jacie answered as she poked inquisitively at a sturdy-looking saddle.
"Can I put my hands in your pockets?"
Jacie's eyebrows crawled up her forehead, and she rushed over to Nina so quickly that Audrey burst out laughing.
"Shut up, Audrey," Jacie mumbled.
* * *
On the front porch, Katherine slipped on her jacket and began dialing her cell phone. She kept her voice low and her eyes riveted on the front door in case Gwen decided to make a surprise appearance. "Hey, Tuck–" she stopped talking, her shoulders slumping when she realized that it was a new message on Tucker's voice mail she was listening to and not him.
The message she left him was short and to the point. "I'm through doing this to your mom. I'm telling her everything tonight. Show up here by six, Tucker, or I'll do it alone. I'm sorry and I love you, but I… I just can't."
She pressed 'off' on the phone and stepped out into the air, whispering a quick, "Please don't let me down," before jogging towards the garage.
* * *
When Katherine arrived, Jacie reluctantly pulled away from Nina and poked her head outside to make sure that Gwen hadn't decided to join them. Gwen had always detested any talk of cars and Jacie was nearly certain that she'd decide to stay inside while they discussed Katherine's unfortunate choice of vehicles.
Jacie yelped when she felt a pair of hands grasp the back of her jeans and pull her inside.
"You're getting soaked," Nina said, clearly exasperated.
Unable to stop herself, Jacie gave Nina a sexy, lopsided grin.
Much to Nina's annoyance, for the second time in one day she felt her cheeks heat wildly. "Oh, God."
Jacie grinned, finding it impossibly endearing that one minute Nina could be brazenly kissing her senseless in front of their friends and the next minute blushing at some simple innuendo.
I have it so bad.
"Your eyes look more green than blue today," Jacie commented, affectionately plucking at the sea-green fleece that Nina was wearing. She was finding it so easy to get lost in Nina that she was having trouble concentrating on anything else. "Pretty."
So bad.
Audrey sighed, knowing very well the sweet flood of emotion that came with being in love. But this was too much. "At first this was cute, now I'm just going to throw up."
"Yeah, yeah," Nina grumbled, waving her off. "So why are we out here to look at this ugly car?"
"Hey!" Katherine complained. "It's not ugly!"
Jacie cut off any car talk. "We're not here to look at her ugly car. What did you two come up with last night about those files? You were going to do some spying?"
"What did you come up with?" Audrey shot back, not wanting to admit that she'd gone up to her room the night before and collapsed on the bed, sleeping until morning. Mata Hari, she wasn't.
Jacie bit her lower lip. "Nothing," she admitted, shaking her head and realizing she'd just set herself up again. "We… I mean, I…"
"Ha! You were too busy getting it on with Nina to do any spying yourself!" Katherine accused, pointing a finger at Jacie and then Nina.
Jacie's mouth dropped open. "I was not!"
"Mostly," Nina added devilishly, enjoying her revenge as Jacie's face burned.
Katherine smiled triumphantly.
Jacie ground her teeth together. "Well, none of us are busy now, are we?" She didn't wait for Audrey to answer. "Good. Then let's get to work. Let's do something and let's do it now."
Instinctively, the women gathered in a small circle, crouching down into a huddle as they'd done as children, their hushed voices whisked away by the brisk autumn wind.
* * *
Audrey tucked her feet up underneath her and patted the sofa set to her right. "C'mon Gwen."
"How was Katy's horrible car?" Gwen joined Audrey on the couch.
Katherine scowled.
"Horrible," Audrey dutifully replied.
Gwen's gaze strayed to the door. "Where are Nina and Jacie?"
"They went to the kitchen to get a snack…"
"They went to take a nap," Katy said at the same time.
Audrey glared at her cousin.
Gwen scratched her jaw. Something was up. "They're doing both?"
"Yup," Katherine confirmed, taking the seat on the other side of Gwen. "They sure are. Not at the same time, of course."
Thoughtfully, Gwen nodded. "I think I'll go see if they need any help in the kitchen." She started to get up.
"No," Audrey and Katherine shouted in unison. Audrey put her hand on Gwen's chest and pushed her firmly back onto the sofa.
Gwen's eyes popped wide open. "Why shouldn't I?"
Audrey pulled her hand from Gwen and tried to look innocent.
Katherine licked her lips nervously. "Umm… Because–"
"Because Mrs. Artiste is already there to help them," Audrey interrupted, cursing her and Katherine's pathetic attempts at distraction. Even as children they'd always, always, gotten caught while trying to be sneaky.
"No, she isn't," Gwen insisted, looking at Audrey as though she were crazy. "Not five minutes ago she told me she was going to go to her cottage to get some new candles for my birthday cake."
"Oh, well," Audrey dismissed. "Let's sit here and talk. Tell me all about Tucker and Malcolm."
Gwen rubbed tired eyes. Then she reached out and affectionately patted Audrey's arm, pleased that her old friend didn't flinch or move away. "I'd love to tell you both all about them, but my headache is getting worse." Gwen grimaced, fearing she was on the verge of a full-blown migraine. "I think I'm going to go lie down. We'll chat later, okay?"
"You can lie down here," Katy said, getting up and fluffing a throw-pillow for Gwen's head. She patted the sofa invitingly. "It's nice and soft."
Audrey nodded. "Great idea. Here…" She picked up a blanket that had been slung over the arm of the sofa and held it up. "You can cover up with this and we can talk while your eyes are closed."
Gwen regarded them warily. "No thank you. The bed upstairs is much more comfortable."
Katherine was at a loss and it showed. Suddenly, she stretched her arms out in front of her and let out a loud yawn. "I'm tired, too. See ya." And with that, she shot a worried look at Audrey and moved quickly for the stairs.
Wide eyes focused on Audrey. "What the hell is going on?" Gwen demanded.
"Absolutely nothing."
Katherine was practically leaping up the stairs now, her spiky blonde head bobbing with every lithe step.
Gwen lifted her upper lip and showed a straight row of teeth. "Where are you going, Katy?" She took off after the other woman, dodging Audrey's grabbing hands
"Nowhere!" Katherine called back to her as she disappeared at the top of the steps. She rushed down the hall and tapped rapidly on Gwen's bedroom door. "Get out!" she whispered loudly. She tried the doorknob, but it was locked. A glance down the hall told her she was still alone. "Nina and Jacie! Get out now!"
Nina padded quickly to the bedroom door and Jacie fumbled to gather up the files that she'd taken from Gwen's briefcase and had spread out over the bed for her and Nina's review.
Nina threw open the door. "What? Dammit, Katy, you are supposed to be keeping Gwen busy while we–" Her mouth clicked shut when a lightly panting Gwen appeared directly next to Katherine in the doorway.
A few seconds later and they all heard Audrey's heavy footsteps pounding down the hall in their direction.
"While you do what, Nina?" Gwen asked, brushing past Katherine and Nina to face Jacie. Two sets of stony-cold eyes met and held. "How dare you invade my privacy!" She glanced at Jacie's hands and recognized the files immediately.
"How dare I?" Angrily, Jacie threw the pile of files at Gwen's feet, scattering pages all over the floor. "How dare you!"
Everyone's gaze was drawn down to the messy piles as Jacie seethed. "You have information on my daughter's school tuition and what I give my ex every month for expenses?" Jacie took a menacing step closer to Gwen. "And my retirement accounts and my truck payments?" Another step. "Where the hell do you get off spying on me?"
"Spying on all of us," Nina corrected gently, inserting herself between Gwen and Jacie before things could escalate out of control. Then Jacie stepped next to her and she caught sight of her swollen shiner and mentally rolled her eyes at herself. This entire weekend had been nothing but a series of out of control moments.
"I had no choice," Gwen shouted, her temper boiling over and her face twisting in rage. "It was you, wasn't it! I drove Jacie away from you and now you want to drive my family away from me." She was looking directly at Nina. "If you wanted to make me pay, then you fucking have. In spades!"
"My God, what are you talking about?" Nina asked, genuinely confused, her eyebrows at their zenith.
Gwen shook her head fiercely. "I don't know who to trust." She covered her ears, not wanting to hear more lies.
"Trust! " Audrey joined the fray, bending to pick up a file with her name written in black ink across the tab. "That's a good one. You spend half the morning apologizing for being an unholy bitch 20 years ago and neglect to mention that all the while you've been spying on us in the here and now and you are wondering who to trust? You need professional help, Gwen."