Next Door Secrets (Secrets Series Book 2) Read online

  Parker shrugged. “Sounds like he’s hiding from someone.”

  “What?” Her fork lingered in mid-air. “That’s ridiculous.”

  “Or maybe he just doesn’t have any friends.”

  “Like father, like daughter.”

  He sipped his wine, which he knew someday would be forbidden. Another reason to put off taking any medication for his condition. As the wine lingered on his tongue, he savored its crisp, pear flavor. “What does your neighbor do for a living?”

  “He’s a truck driver.”

  “That can be a tough job. Every truck driver I’ve ever met at the Mall Land distribution center keeps a gun in his glove compartment.”

  “Really?”

  “Sure. They might have to drive in a bad part of town or sleep in their cab.” He put down his wine, trying to figure out how to focus on this conversation when all he could think about was Africa. “How often are you going to watch Kaylee?”

  “On school days.”

  “I hope he’s paying you well.”

  “He tried to pay me, but I wouldn’t let him.”

  “Why not?”

  She dabbed a napkin at the corner of her mouth. “Because I like watching Kaylee.”

  “Or maybe you like Kaylee’s dad.” He smirked.

  “I do not. In fact, he and I barely exchanged a civil word until lately. He’s still never thanked me for giving Kaylee shelter when she locked herself out during that storm. Instead of thanking me for taking her to the hospital, he yelled and accused me of reporting him to Child Protective Services.” Her hands flailed about as if she were getting riled up just remembering their encounters.

  “Report him for what?”

  “Neglect, I guess. Trust me, if it weren’t for Kaylee, I’d never speak to the guy. He acted like he hated me until a few days ago.”

  Did the lady protest a little too much? He’d just been toying with her, but now he started to wonder. The twinge of jealousy he felt bothered him. “That’s how it always works in the movies. First the couple hates each other, then they become friends and next thing you know, they’re in love.”

  She wadded up her napkin and threw it at him. “Don’t be ridiculous. Name one movie where that happens.”

  He scratched his chin. “When Harry Met Sally.”

  “Never seen it.”

  “What? You’ve got to be kidding me. It’s a classic.”

  “It’s also old.”

  He shook his head. “I can’t believe you’ve seen every Star Trek movie ever made and you’ve never watched When Harry Met Sally.” He pointed his fork at her plate. “Finish up. We’ve got a movie to rent.”

  “You mean you’re not going to work on your computer all night?”

  Guilty as charged. He tended to obsess over things—usually Mall Land, but now it was the Peace Corps. “I don’t see why I can’t sit next to you watching the movie while checking e-mails. It’s called multi-tasking.”

  “It’s called ignoring your girlfriend.”

  He swallowed. There it was again, a reminder that she was too attached to him. How exactly did you break up with someone you still cared about? He wished he could just look her in the eye and tell her. Beth, I’m leaving the country. You’re better off without me and you know it.

  After they finished eating, he found the romantic comedy on-line and streamed it through his TV. They sat side-by-side on the soft leather couch, with Beth’s head resting on his shoulder. She laughed at all the famous lines: “Men and women can never be friends because the sex part gets in the way,” “I’ll have what she’s having,” “Waiter, you put too much pepper on my paprikash.” Just as Harry ran to Sally on New Year’s Eve to declare his love, Hannah stumbled through the front door.

  Drunk.

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  Beth jumped up from the couch and rushed over to Hannah. “Are you drunk?” She put her arm around her daughter’s back and helped her walk into the living room.

  Exhaling a sweet liquor scent, Hannah giggled. “I may have had a little too much to drink.”

  Parker helped Beth wrangle the teenager onto the couch. He rose to his full six foot height and pointed his finger at Hannah. “You’re not old enough to drink. Who gave you alcohol?”

  Her head swayed from side to side. “I don’t want to get anyone in trouble.” She smiled. “Am I in trouble?”

  “Was it the restaurant?” His face turned red with anger. “Tell me. Was it one of the interns?”

  “Nobody. I’m not drunk.” A high-pitched giggle bubbled up inside of her.

  Beth crossed her arms. “Connie is going to be furious.”

  Hannah shook her head. “Who’s gonna tell her? Not me. Are you?” Her finger zig-zagged as it tried to aim at Beth. “What about you?” She pointed at Parker. “You guys need to lighten up. I was just having fun. My boyfriend broke my heart and I needed to blow off some steam. No harm, no foul.” Her eyes closed as her head plopped back against the cushion.

  Beth exchanged a nervous look with Parker. After seeing that Hannah seemed to have either passed out or fallen asleep, Beth signaled for Parker to follow her across the room. She lowered her voice to a whisper. “If Connie finds out we let Hannah get drunk, she might not ever let her visit us again.”

  “But we didn’t let her get drunk. I bet it was Larry. I never liked that guy.”

  “It doesn’t matter. We let her out of our sight and Hannah let loose. Maybe it’s because Connie keeps too tight a leash on her—who knows? But we’re just getting to know our daughter. I don’t want to risk losing her.” She was the only daughter Beth was ever going to have. Even though Beth had missed most of Hannah’s formative years, she wanted to develop some kind of a relationship with her now. “Like Hannah said the other day, she already has a mother. She needs something different from us.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “I don’t know. Can’t we try to be her friends? A friend wouldn’t rat her out to her mother. I mean, she didn’t drive drunk. Hopefully whoever brought her home was sober. We’ll have to check into that later.”

  He crossed his arms. “Now you want us to keep Connie out of the loop, but when I wanted to take Hannah skydiving, you insisted we check first.”

  She sighed. “I don’t want to do anything to mess this up. She’s all I have.”

  “Me, too.” He reached out and wrapped his arm around her, emitting the sexy combo of sweat and spicy cologne.

  Hannah’s eyelids flew open. “I’m gonna be sick!”

  Parker pointed her toward the bathroom. Hannah ran into the yellow room and started retching. Following her, Beth clasped the girl’s long hair to keep it out of the way. Hannah alternated heaving and resting her head on the porcelain seat. This lasted for about forty-five minutes, but the smell of vomit in the tiny 1930’s bathroom made it seem much longer. Whenever Hannah rested, Beth stepped into the hall for some fresh air.

  Finally, Hannah’s stomach had emptied and Beth looked up to see Parker standing in the doorway.

  He handed Hannah a wet wash cloth to wipe her face. “Let’s help her into the guest room.” They did just that, with Hannah moving in and out of consciousness.

  Beth wondered if this was Hannah’s first time getting drunk. Whether it was or wasn’t didn’t make the situation any better. “Parker, would you grab a trash can to place by the bed? I’ll take it from here.” Not that Beth had gotten this drunk many times, but her college roommate had and Beth knew the precautions to take. After Parker left the room, she took off Hannah’s shoes and jeans. Digging through the nearby suitcase, she pulled out a pair of sweat pants, which she slid onto the girl’s hips. She decided to leave her top the same, then pulled the covers up to Hannah’s chin.

  Hannah’s eyes squinted open. “Where am I?”

  “You’re at Parker’s place. Get some sleep. Your flight leaves early in the morning.”

  She draped her arm over her eyes to block the light. “Ugh! I don’t want to go back home
. My mom is such a control freak. She won’t let me have any fun.”

  “She’s trying to protect you.”

  “Ha!” She jerked with the laugh. “Oh, I don’t feel so good.”

  Beth moved the trash can even closer. “Do you want to go to the bathroom?”

  “No. The room is spinning. Make it stop.”

  “If you feel like you’re gonna get sick, there’s a can right here.”

  Hannah moaned. “I did something stupid. So stupid.” Then she passed out.

  # # #

  At the O’Hare Airport, Parker hugged Hannah good-bye before she had to go through security. “It was so good to see you.” She smelled of Listerine and vanilla perfume, which was better than how she’d smelled the night before.

  For a moment Hannah squeezed her eyes shut as if the noise of the busy airport was hurting her head. “Again, I’m sorry about last night. I’ve never done something like that before. Please don’t tell my mom.”

  He and Beth exchanged knowing looks. They’d made a pact, but they both admitted feeling guilty about it. Hannah deserved to be punished for what she’d done, but they didn’t know how. Hopefully she’d wait until she was twenty-one to drink again. If she didn’t, then Connie could punish her.

  Beth tried giving her a stern look, but with her freckles and perky nose, it didn’t work too well. “I think you have a lot to talk about with your mom. More than just last night. What you and I discussed earlier about Ryan. Remember?”

  Hannah shook her head. “I told you I can’t talk to her. And if she finds out about my drinking, she’ll tell the coach and I’ll get suspended from the swim team.”

  “Maybe she won’t tell,” Parker said.

  “She’s a stickler for the rules.” Hannah scrunched up her face in frustration. “Can’t I ever make a mistake? Can’t I just be a normal teenager for once?”

  “Of course you can.” He patted Hannah’s back. “Just don’t make us regret covering for you.”

  “You’re the best.” Hannah grabbed him for another hug and his spirits lifted. He’d do anything for his daughter. After she released him, she gave Beth a hug, too, and he could see the joy on Beth’s face.

  Then it was time for them to let Hannah go. They waved and watched her roll her luggage toward security. Without saying a word, he and Beth agreed that they’d remain there until Hannah’s body had completely left their view.

  Beth turned to him with tears shining in her eyes. “Want to go to breakfast before heading to work?”

  Trying to comfort her, he clasped her hand. But then he remembered the shea butter company in Togo that needed his help. “I can’t. Too much to do.”

  Her eyebrows lowered and she blinked to hold back the tears. “Just a quick bite?”

  The noose tightened around his throat. He opened his mouth to say, “Of course I’ll go to breakfast with you,” but caught himself. The sooner he started pulling away from her, the easier it would be when he announced he was leaving for good. “I’m afraid I can’t.” He practically choked on the words.

  # # #

  As Beth drove away from the airport, her nails dug into her steering wheel. It broke her heart to see Hannah go and then Parker had given her the brush off. She’d been sure he’d be up for a nice meal where they could debrief about their daughter’s visit. After all, no one else in the entire world knew how they felt about Hannah. How they loved her even though they were still getting to know her. It seemed Parker had come to terms with the fact that he’d never have any more children, but seeing Hannah only reminded Beth what she’d missed. Part of her kept the hope alive that it wasn’t too late for her to give motherhood a go. Another part of her tried to stomp those feelings down.

  The day at work went quickly since she’d taken the morning off. When she returned to the apartment complex, Kaylee sat on the stoop, waving. Smiling as she climbed out of her car, Beth marveled at how wonderful it was to have Kaylee there to welcome her home every day.

  Kaylee held up a basket. “These are for you.”

  As Beth pulled out her key, she hesitated to take a peek. She pulled back a red and white checkered cloth. “What’s in there?”

  “Muffins.”

  “Yum.” She unlocked the apartment and let them both inside. “What kind?”

  “Lemon poppy seed.”

  Beth’s mouth watered. “Those are my favorite. How did you know?”

  “I didn’t. My dad stayed up late making them for you.”

  At that announcement, Beth dropped her purse. “They’re homemade?”

  Kaylee selected a muffin and peeled back the paper liner. “Uh-huh. Dad said they’re to thank you for watching me.”

  Then Beth understood. If she wouldn’t take his money, he’d exchange goods for services. “That’s nice.” Even though she knew they were probably not low-fat, she reached in and grabbed one. She took a bite and the lemon flavor coated her tongue. “Tell him that they’re delicious.”

  “OK,” Kaylee said with her mouth full. She ate the muffin quickly and took another.

  When Beth finished, she poured them some milk. “There are an awful lot of muffins in there for just one person to eat.” Plus she didn’t think she could handle the temptation. “What do you think about taking them to the church and sharing them?”

  Kaylee wadded up her wrapper and left it on the counter. “But my dad made them special for you.”

  “And I definitely appreciate it. Let’s pull out a few to leave here.” Beth checked Kaylee’s expression and saw that the girl had warmed up to the idea. Excusing herself, Beth stepped into her bedroom to change from work clothes to walking clothes. Then she hooked the basket over her arm and headed out the door with Kaylee.

  On the way, Kaylee said, “Too bad I couldn’t get my cast in my favorite color. What’s your favorite color, Beth?”

  “I don’t know. Blue, I guess.”

  “What’s your favorite animal?”

  “Cats.” If she ever got a pet, it would be a cat just because it was low-maintenance. She could go to work all day and not worry about it being left alone. “What’s your favorite animal?”

  “Rabbits.” Kaylee stopped to pick a yellow dandelion. “What’s your favorite flower?”

  “Roses are beautiful, but I like daisies, too.”

  “Mine are dandelions.”

  Beth laughed. “Those aren’t flowers, those are weeds.”

  “You say it’s a weed, but I can see a flower.”

  This struck Beth as extremely profound.

  Once at the church, Kaylee rushed down the stairs in search of Maria. When she found her, she pointed to her name on the cast and Maria smiled. Kaylee handed her a muffin from the basket. After devouring it and dropping crumbs all over the floor, Maria led her to the nursery where they played restaurant with a pretend stove and refrigerator. For them, there didn’t seem to be any language barrier at all.

  Beth shared the basket of goodies with the adults in the classroom before returning to supervise the kids. The visit seemed to fly by and soon it was time to go home. Just as they exited the building, she saw a long-time church member with a little boy in tow. Beth held the door open for them. “Hi, Mrs. Wilson. How are you?”

  “Good.” Mrs. Wilson had hazel eyes and a thin face filled with laugh lines. Today she wore her gray hair tied back with a pink kerchief. “Jamal here just joined our family last week and he is going to help me weed the church garden.” Beth knew the woman not only volunteered to take care of the church grounds, but maintained a large vegetable garden at her home, as well. She often brought extra tomatoes and peppers to share with the congregation.

  Beth bent down to the boy’s level. “Hi, Jamal. I’m Beth and this is Kaylee. You’re lucky you get to live with the Wilsons. They’re so nice.”

  He blinked at her without speaking.

  “How old are you?” Beth held up three fingers in a guess. He didn’t respond.

  Mrs. Wilson put her hand on his head. “The
only one he talks to is his brother, but he had chores to do at home.”

  Jamal and Kaylee stared at each other. Frustrated with the awkward silence, Beth stood. “We’d better get going.”

  “Sure.” Mrs. Wilson passed by them while Beth and Kaylee headed out.

  As they walked down the sidewalk, Kaylee leaned close and whispered, “Is Jamal’s daddy black?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “Why doesn’t Jamal look like Mrs. Wilson?”

  To make sure no one was listening, Beth looked behind her. It was all clear. “Mrs. Wilson is Jamal’s foster mom. Do you know what that is?”

  Biting her lip, Kaylee nodded. “I had a foster mom once.”

  Beth felt her heart stop, but she tried to hide her reaction. “Oh. Was she nice?”

  “She was all right, I guess. It was the other kids in the house that were mean to me.”

  “What did they do?”

  Kaylee’s chest rose with a deep breath. “Remember that picture I showed you of my mom and sister?”

  “Yes.”

  “The first night I was there, I was crying in the bedroom, looking at that picture. Two older girls laughed at me and ripped the picture in half.”

  “That’s terrible.”

  “I told them my mom was going to come get me and they said my mom didn’t care about me. They said I’d never see my mom again. I tried to explain how Mommy was an Indian princess and Dad was a famous baseball player, but they called me a liar. Then they dug through my bag and took my stuffed rabbit and flushed it down the toilet. My foster mom blamed me, made me mop the bathroom floor and didn’t let me watch TV for a week.”

  Beth found it hard to breathe, hard to accept that this poor little girl had suffered so much in her short life. “Where was your sister?”

  “They took her somewhere else.”

  So many questions bombarded Beth she didn’t know how to choose. “How long did you live there?”

  She shrugged. “A long time. Longer than they said when they took me away. Months later, they let me go home to Mommy’s house.”