Cold Hearts(48)
“Oh, it doesn’t matter whether I knew beforehand or not,” she said. “I’m just hopeful the shock factor knocks at someone’s memory.”
“Yeah, that and the ten thousand dollars,” Mack added.
Lissa sighed. “True. Money talks.”
And then she heard the rumble of a crowd and turned toward the door. “Here they come. Are you okay?”
Mack leaned over and lightly kissed her on the cheek. “Yes, and thank you.”
“For what?”
“For forgiving me for breaking your heart and still loving me anyway,” he said softly. Then he stood as the first wave of people approached. After that, time seemed to fly.
Someone brought Lissa a piece of pie and, at her request, a glass of iced tea. She ate a few bites and then handed the rest to Mack when there was a lull.
He ate standing up, but with an eye on her pale face. “Are you okay?”
“I think I need to lie down,” she said.
“Then, we’re out of here,” he said, setting the plate aside. He waved the pastor down as he gathered up her purse and took her by the arm. “Lissa needs to rest. Please give everyone our apologies.”
“Absolutely,” Farley said, and he patted Lissa’s arm. “I wish both of you the best.”
“Thank you for everything,” she said.
Mack wound his way through the crowded dining hall, saying goodbyes, nodding and smiling, all without pausing. Lissa’s exhaustion was evident. What wasn’t bruised and purple on her face was ghostly white.
Mack got her in the SUV and then headed home.
“You should have said something sooner, honey.”
“No, it wasn’t that. It sort of hit me all at once,” she said. “I’m sure I’ll feel better once we get back to the house. I already feel better just being away from that noise.”
Mack reached for her hand and held it all the way home.
Once inside, he paused in the living room to see what she might need.
“Do you need a cold drink or anything?”
“No, sweetheart. I just want to lie down. Will you help me out of this dress? My arms feel like lead.”
He hurried her down the hall, and then had her undressed and in bed within minutes.
As soon as she was comfortable, he began to change out of his suit, talking to her as she watched him.
“Tomorrow we go home. When you feel like it, we’ll get a moving crew to your house and pack up everything you want to bring with you.”
“I’m leaving all the furnishings with the house. There are some keepsakes I want, some of the dishes and such, but all I’ll really need are my clothes and laptop.”
“You want to sell the place?” he asked. “If you do, we’ll list it when we list this one. I don’t have any desire to keep it without Dad in it.”
“No,” she said as she rolled the pillow beneath her neck and shifted to a more comfortable position. “The substitute teacher who’s handling my class is probably going to be hired in my place. She needs a house for herself and her two girls. I offered to rent her mine if she was interested.”
Mack paused and then smiled at her. “That was very generous of you.”
Lissa shrugged. “She needs something that I have and no longer need. It seemed the logical thing to do.” She watched him for a few moments longer, thinking to herself how blessed she was that he was back in her life. “Hey, Mack?”
“Yeah?” he said, as he began hanging up the suit.
“Do you want a big wedding?”
He stopped. “I want what you want.”
“We don’t have any family. We have friends, but that’s not the same thing.”
“Agreed,” he said.
“How would you feel if we just got married one morning by a justice of the peace and then went about our day as if nothing had changed?”
He smiled. “No honeymoon, either?”
She yawned. “We couldn’t afford one the first time, and I don’t feel much like a honeymoon while your Dad’s murder remains unsolved.”
Mack sat down on the side of the bed and then scooped her up and into his arms.
“You’re going to hurt yourself!” Lissa cried.
“But I didn’t,” he said. “I just had to hold you. You are, without doubt, the most precious thing in my life. We always were on the same page. It’s nice to know some things never change.”
Then he leaned down and kissed her, first on the lips until he heard her groan, and then the top of her head where the curls were the thickest, taking care not to get too close to the healing wound.
“One of these days, when we no longer have staples or sores, or scabs or black eyes, I am going to take you to bed for a week. Think you can handle that?”
“I look forward to the experience,” she drawled.
Mack threw back his head and laughed, and then was shocked at the joy in his heart on this saddest of days.
“We’re going to live a long and happy life,” he said.
“Just as we always planned,” she added.
He shrugged. “Better now than never?”
She cupped a hand against his cheek as she watched the expressions changing on his face.
“We got our chance, Matthew...our second chance. We owe it to ourselves to live it to the fullest.”
He kissed her again, this time longer. Reluctantly, he finally stopped.
“Rest now. We’ll pack in the morning and sleep in our own bed tomorrow night.”
She grinned. “That bed with all the fertility cherubs?”
“That’s the one.”
“I can hardly wait,” she said softly. When he pulled the covers up over her shoulders, she was still smiling as she closed her eyes.
* * *
The killer grabbed a piece of cake and began forking small bites into his mouth as he moved among the people. He was still reeling from the shock of the chief’s announcement and feeling just the tiniest bit vulnerable. Instead of leaving right away as he’d planned, now he wanted people to remember he was there if the need for an alibi ever arose.
One of the first people he saw was Betsy Jakes, and then he noticed her daughter, Trina, just a short distance away. Betsy was being inundated with people who were both curious and concerned on her behalf. She must have known that announcement was coming, he thought, which meant she had been forewarned, as well. Now there would be all kinds of people helping keep watch on her. He had to act quickly, while everyone was still absorbing the shock.
He casually strolled up close to where she was standing, eating his cake and smiling at people passing by, but listening carefully to everything Betsy said.
Then he heard his name being called and scanned the crowd. When he saw an old friend waving, he headed toward him to visit while keeping an eye on the time. As soon as he’d circled the room at least twice and spoken to a goodly number of the people who were there, he set down his plate, nodded at Mack and Melissa, who were already on their way out, and slipped out of the church by a back door and left town.
He needed to be in place when Betsy and her daughter drove home. It was unfortunate they were together. He had no desire to kill Trina Jakes, but leaving her alive as a witness wasn’t happening.
* * *
Betsy saw Mack leaving and noticed the pallor of Melissa’s face and felt sorry for their misery. They weren’t only grieving a loss, but were trying to heal from their nearly fatal experiences. Another fifteen minutes passed before Betsy began looking around for her daughter. With Mack gone, the other guests had gravitated to her and quickly overwhelmed her with their concern, until she was ready to get away.
When she finally spotted Trina, she was surprised to see her over in a corner talking to Lee, which made her hesitate. If they were trying to work things out, she didn’t want to be the one to mess up a good thing. But she couldn’t leave without letting Trina know and decided she would just text her. It was be less problematic all around.
* * *
Trina was in tears and trying not to break down. The last thing she had expected was for Lee to approach her in public and try to make up, although she should have expected something, since she’d been refusing to answer his calls and texts.
Lee was heartsick. He had known within minutes of their fight that he’d made the biggest mistake of his life, and he desperately wanted her back. He was willing to do anything she asked to make that happen.
“Please, Trina. Can’t we just go get a Coke together? We can sit together and talk. No pressure, and I’ll take you home anytime you say. I made a mistake flying off the handle like that. My jealousy is an ugly fault, and I’ve been working on it all my life. You know my story. You know my mom left my dad for another man when my three brothers and I were just babies. I should have trusted you. I shouldn’t have let that asshole get to me, but I did. I’m sorry. I am so sorry.”
It was everything she’d wanted to hear, but she didn’t know if it was wise to trust him again.
“How can I believe this won’t happen over and over throughout our lives? I work with the public. I interact with people on a daily basis, and I enjoy spending time with my friends. I was trying to tell you that he was just pissed off at me because I kept turning him down. He wanted to hurt me, so he lied to you. You don’t even know him. You do know me. You believed the ranting of a man you barely know by name, but not the woman you’re supposed to love. I don’t intend to live my entire life being afraid of making you mad. Just let it be, Lee.”