Wish You Were Here, page 18
“What the hell are you talking about?” Richard said, his voice tight. “What cabin?”
This took a moment to absorb, and then Malcolm realized—the daughter hadn’t told Richard about the fire. Malcolm raised his eyes to heaven. A little help here?
“You should call your girl and ask her about it, Richard. Ask her how it felt to fry on the bathroom floor before my nephew broke in to save her. But maybe don’t waste a lot of time. You’ve got some errands to run.”
A long silence ticked by, and for a moment, Malcolm feared that Daly might hang up again, but finally the old bastard’s voice came through the line. “What do you want?”
Finally. Some goddamned respect.
“That’s more like it,” Malcolm said. “I’m gonna text you an account number. You’re going to move two million into it. Meanwhile, your daughter and I are gonna spend some quality time together.”
“It takes time to get those kinds of resources together,” Richard said. “I can’t just—”
“Despite all evidence to the contrary, Richard,” Malcolm said, “I think you’re a smart man. Smart enough to figure out how to transfer large amounts of cash to an offshore account, anyway. And you’d better get on that. I’ll be waiting here for your arrival, with your daughter. Then you’ll charter the three of us to a destination of my choice and then... well. We’ll just play it by ear.”
“If you touch her, I will put every resource I have into making you pay,” Richard said. “And since you’ve done your research, you should know the kind of resources I have.”
“If you do as you’re told, I won’t have to touch her,” Malcolm said. “But if you don’t, you’ll have the rest of your life to know it was all your fault for not taking me seriously from the start.”
And this time, it was Malcolm who hung up.
It felt pretty damn good, he had to admit.
***
Freya sat on the porch swing on the front deck of Nate’s house, staring out over the horizon. The peaks of evergreens reached into the sky, cutting into gray clouds that were turned warm at the edges by the morning sun. The air was crisp and fresh, smelling of pine and fresh-mown grass, and she breathed in deeply, exhausted but at peace.
Well. Sorta at peace.
At three in the morning, she’d given up on the idea of getting to sleep and had slipped downstairs to make coffee and think, and that was when the idea had hit her, so obvious, and yet, she hadn’t seen it until right then. She quietly got the laptop Flynn had sent her out of the bedroom and padded downstairs to work. By six, she’d had a business plan all set out for him, complete with luxury cabins and a golf course where the RV park was and all the media contacts Nate would need to get the word out that the latest and greatest in luxury getaways was nestled away in these quiet Idaho woods.
And, the best part of all, the whole place would revolve around a swank restaurant that would have people driving from hours around just to taste Nate’s food. All she needed was to copy the files to Nate’s computer and print them out. Then, when she left, she’d know that she had left something helpful behind, which would make it a lot easier to go.
At least, she hoped so.
“Morning.”
Freya turned to see Piper standing in the doorway, squinting in the morning light.
“Do I still have pneumonia?” she asked.
“Whooping cough.” Freya took another sip of her coffee. “Do kids your age get whooping cough?”
Piper sat down on the swing next to Freya. “What’s whooping cough?”
“I have no idea,” Freya said, “but it sounds more fun than pneumonia.”
Piper nodded, staring at her feet. They weren’t kicking out from the swing, just hanging.
Wow, Freya thought, that’s not good.
“My mom’s in jail, right?” Piper said, angling her head to look at Freya.
Freya had to take a moment. Where the hell was Nate when you needed him? Yeesh.
“Ye-esss,” she said finally, watching Piper carefully for her reaction. The kid’s eyes were still big and brown and pretty, but they were tinged with a distinct sadness that made her look like she’d aged five years in just the past few days. There was a woman lurking inside the cocoon of that little girl, and Freya felt a surge of strange, maternal panic: Not enough time.
And then she realized that it wouldn’t matter how fast Piper grew up. She was leaving, and she wasn’t going to get to watch it happen.
“I overheard Dad talking on the phone.” Piper sat straight up as she talked. “Something about stealing people’s identities or something. What does that mean?”
“It’s complicated,” Freya said.
“Did she... hurt people?”
“Oh, no. No. I mean, yes, but in a stressful, money way, not in a beat-you-up way.” If you exclude trying to kill your great-uncle, which I personally give her a pass on.
“I’m never going to see her again, am I?” Piper asked. Freya’s heart tugged in her chest, and her eyes started to water as she watched this sweet little girl wrestle with the fallout that came from being born to Nikkie Cooper.
“I don’t know,” Freya said. “But there’s always a chance.”
“She doesn’t love me, does she?” Piper asked, her chin trembling.
“That’s not true,” Freya said. “She does.”
“No.” Piper wiped her face on her sleeve. “She was only here for a day, and then she ran off and she didn’t even say goodbye.”
“I know,” Freya said, “but it’s complicated, you know?” She hesitated for a moment, not sure what Nate wanted Piper to know, but to hell with him. This was what happened when you slept in.
Freya put her arm around Piper. “You know that night of the fire?”
Piper sniffled. “Yeah.”
“Well, someone set that fire. And your mom, she thought that person was going to hurt you, so she ran off to stop him. That’s how the police got her. So your mom knew that protecting you could mean going to jail for a long time, and she chose to protect you anyway. That’s love, honey. It’s screwed-up love, but it’s real.”
Piper’s chin trembled even more, and then she burst out into hard sobs.
“Oh, no,” Freya said, pulling her arm back and patting Piper on the knee. “Oh, god, I’m so bad at this.”
“I didn’t even get a chance to say goodbye,” Piper squeaked.
“I know, honey,” Freya said. “I know.”
Piper leaned her head against Freya’s shoulder, and for a moment, Freya wasn’t sure what to do. Then she tightened her hold on the girl and smoothed her hair and let her cry. It was such a simple act, holding a child while she wept for her lost mother, and yet something about it calmed Freya inside. She kissed the top of Piper’s head and inhaled. Piper’s hair smelled of strawberry shampoo, and for that moment, it seemed like the most glorious scent in the world.
“I believe that your mother loves you,” Freya said quietly, “because you’re her daughter, and it’s natural. But even if she didn’t, even if she’d just met you for the first time a few days ago, she would love you, because you’re an amazing kid. I want you to remember that always, okay? You’re too great not to feel loved every minute of your life.”
Piper pulled back and looked up at Freya. “Okay.”
Freya smiled. “Good.”
Piper hesitated for a moment, nibbling her lip. “Do you think Dad would take me to see her? You know, to say goodbye?”
Freya thought on this for a second. “Tell you what. Go on upstairs. Get dressed and cleaned up, and then ask him. If he says no, send him to me, and I’ll argue your case for you.”
“Okay.” Piper started toward the front door, then stopped and looked at Freya. “Would you come, too?”
“Oh, honey, I can’t, I have to—” Freya cut herself off before she said “pack.” The kid had enough to think about right now. “I think it’s best if it’s just you and your dad on this one.”
Piper nodded, then ran into the house. Freya sat outside staring at the horizon, swinging gently on the porch swing. In a few minutes, she was going to have to call on old Freya and shut herself down emotionally long enough to do what had to be done. She could pack while they were gone to see Nikkie, then have a quick goodbye and get on the road before nightfall. She knew it was what she needed to do in order to get her head on straight, and she knew it was probably the best thing for Nate and Piper as well. She was resigned to it; the decision had been made, and now it was just a matter of seeing it through. But for a few more minutes, she could sit and look at the beautiful landscape, and remember what it felt like to wake up in Nate’s arms, to sniff the clean strawberry scent of a little girl’s hair.
And that’s exactly what she did.
***
“So,” Nate said, glancing at Piper in the passenger seat. “How are you doing?”
He’d waited for her to start the conversation for almost the entire drive back, but she’d stayed quiet, just staring out the window. She’d spent less than five minutes with Nikkie, and from what Nate could see through the one-way glass, they hadn’t said much at all.
“Pipes?”
She turned her head and looked at him. “Sorry. What?”
“Talk to me,” he said. “Tell me how you’re doing.”
“I’m fine,” she said simply.
“You don’t seem fine,” he said. “You’re pretty quiet.”
“I’m just thinking.”
“About what?”
“I wished for my mom to come back,” she said. “On this magic Irish coin that Ruby gave me. And at first I thought it had gone all wrong, that I’d done it wrong, because she didn’t come back the way I wanted her to come back. But now I think it’s good.” She went quiet for a moment, then nodded. “I’m sorry she’s going to jail. She said she’d write me, though.”
“Yeah?” Nate pulled up to the gate, reached out his window, and punched in his code. “So, you’re doing okay?”
Piper smiled at him. “Yeah. I’m okay.”
The gate lifted and Nate drove down the dirt path toward their house, enjoying a momentary sense of peace until he saw Freya’s rental car, the trunk open just enough for him to see the packed bags inside. He pulled up quietly next to the rental in the driveway, and Piper had her seatbelt off before he came to a full stop.
“I’m gonna go play Playstation, okay?”
“Yeah,” Nate said, still staring at Freya’s car. After a few minutes, he pulled the keys out and headed up to his room to face reality.
She was going.
He found Freya sitting on the edge of his bed, dressed in jeans and a light sweater, her rental keys in her hands and a flight pass printout sitting next to her on the bed. Nate stepped closer, angled his head to read it. Her flight to Boston left in eight hours.
“Right,” he said.
“Nate—”
He looked at her. “It’s okay. I just thought...”
“What? That I would change my mind?”
He looked at her and realized yes, that was exactly what he’d thought. Dejected, he sat down on the bed next to her. “I thought there’d be more time.”
“Oh,” she said, and he reached for her hand. She didn’t look at him, or even squeeze his fingers back. She just... allowed it.
“I did want to talk to you,” he said after a moment, “before you went. Figure out what you wanted to do about this whole thing with Malcolm and your dad.”
“There isn’t anything to talk about.” She pulled her hand from his and stood up, her expression oddly unemotional and businesslike. “Call the police, hand this whole mess over to them.”
“I can’t,” he said. “Not yet.”
“Why not?”
“Because...” He stared at her, not sure how to process the sudden coldness coming off her. “If your father is involved... I mean, it’s your father. I can’t just hand everything over to the police, not without talking with you about it first, knowing how it’s going to affect you.”
She shrugged. “Whatever he did is his responsibility. It’s not my problem. But Malcolm, out there on the loose, that’s a problem. Just call the police, give them the information Jake got for us, and if anyone needs to talk to me —” She grabbed a business card out of her purse, jotted something on the back. “The office number isn’t good anymore, but I put my home number and address on the back for you.”
He flipped the card over, then looked up at her. “Okay.”
She shifted her eyes toward the door. “I also, um, I had some ideas about what you might want to do with the place. You know, to make it profitable. I left a folder for you in your office, on the desk. If you have any questions, please feel free to call me.”
“Feel free to...?” He stood up and stepped into her line of vision, forcing her to look at him. If she had to leave, fine, but he was damned if he was going to let her leave like this. “Freya, what the hell is wrong with you?”
“Nothing.” She reached behind him and picked up her boarding pass from the bed. “I have a flight to catch, and it’s two and a half hours to Spokane, so...”
She put her hand on his shoulder, kissed him awkwardly on the cheek, and then started toward the door, but he grabbed her hand and she stopped, her eyes on the floor.
“Nate...” she said, almost in a whisper.
“I’m not going to stop you,” he said. “I’m a man of my word. But you could at least look at me when you say goodbye.”
He watched her, waiting, and finally she raised her eyes to his. They were tired, cold, and dry. She squeezed his hand and let go.
“Goodbye.”
“Dad, I think my stupid controller is broken,” Piper said, pushing the door to the room open. Freya turned and looked at Piper, who stared back at her.
“What’s the matter?” Piper’s eyes went to the boarding pass in Freya’s hand, then back up to Freya. “You’re leaving?”
“Yes,” Freya said. “I was just coming to get you to say goodbye.”
“But... I thought you two...” She looked at Nate. “You didn’t tell me she was leaving.”
“Piper,” he said quietly, “Freya needs to get going, so it’s best to get your goodbye in now.”
Piper’s eyes went cold and she looked at Freya. “Fine. Bye.”
And she left the room, her feet pounding down the stairs.
Seventeen
Freya stood where she was, between Nate and the open door, feeling sick and weak and almost out of the cold, professional resolve she’d spent most of her morning working up. Across the hall, Ruby’s door opened, and she poked her head into Nate’s room and looked at Freya.
“You told her?” Ruby asked.
“Yes, she—” Freya began, but then the front door slammed shut.
“Piper!” Nate shouted, but Ruby said, “I got it,” and started for the stairs.
“Ruby,” Freya called, running down the steps after her, finally catching up at the front door. “Let me.”
Ruby took a moment, then nodded. Freya went out the front door, tossed her purse and boarding pass into the open front window of her car, and watched as Piper grabbed her bike next to the office.
“Piper!” she called, but Piper either didn’t hear her or ignored her. Freya ran to the office, grabbed the other bike, and made chase through the woods, gaining on Piper until they reached the lake. Piper threw her bike down on the ground and stamped out to the end of the dock. Freya leaned her bike against the shed and followed, settling down on the dock behind her.
“Piper?” she said. “We need to get you back to the house, babe.”
“I’m fine out here,” Piper said, her voice biting. “And don’t you have a plane to catch?”
Freya sighed. “I don’t live here, Piper. I live in Boston.”
“So?” Piper picked up a pebble on the dock and threw it into the water, where it skipped across the dark gray surface, mirroring the clouding sky. “You could move. People move. We moved.”
“It’s not that simple,” Freya said.
“What about Dad?” Piper shifted to look at Freya. “He loves you.”
“He does not,” Freya said, lowering her eyes. “He just met me.”
“So?” Piper said again. “I know my dad. He’s never looked at anyone the way he looks at you. He loves you, and you’re just going to leave.”
“Look, Piper... your dad is amazing. He’s kind and smart and honorable, and he cares so much about you. You’re his world, and you’re lucky to have him. And this is hard to explain but...” She took a deep breath and looked at Piper. “Between the two of us, I don’t want to leave.”
Piper shifted around, hope on her face. “Then why are you?”
Freya went quiet for a long moment, staring out at the water. “People... people are made certain ways, okay? Like your mom, you know? Just... people are flawed. And they need to understand their flaws before they can inflict them on other people.” Freya shook her head and let out a heavy breath. “Okay. See, it’s like this—”
“You don’t even know why you’re leaving,” Piper said.
“No, I do. I know why. I just... it’s complicated, and hard to explain.”
Piper shot her a cold look over her shoulder. “If you had a good reason, it wouldn’t be that hard to explain.”
“It’s... complicated,” Freya said lamely.
They sat in silence for a while, then Freya caught a shadow moving in the woods and she tensed, her heart pounding as she thought of Malcolm. She was about to grab Piper’s arm and make a run for it when Ruby emerged from the path, and Freya relaxed.
Piper looked up, following Freya’s eyeline, then looked at Freya and sighed. “I’m in trouble, aren’t I?”
Freya shook her head.
“No,” she said, “but I think you should go with Ruby.” She scanned the rest of the woods surrounding the lake, and saw nothing, but she still felt on edge. If Malcolm was out there, she wasn’t going to feel comfortable until Piper was safe at the house. “Go on.”
