Next Door Secrets (Secrets Series Book 2) Read online

  “That’s terrible.” She was starting to realize that Kaylee’s mom was probably not an Indian princess like Pocahontas. “And so she could’ve broken her arm and her mom didn’t take her to the hospital?”

  He nodded. “Yep.”

  Then it hit her. Kaylee needed Beth just as much as Beth needed her.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  After he made sure Hannah was settled into the guest bedroom for the night, Parker tried to sleep. He stared at the plaster ceiling while his mind considered the events of the last few hours. His daughter had come to visit him for the first time. He’d been to her place in Texas a few times and now she felt comfortable enough with him to stay here. He could take Hannah skydiving and maybe show her the Studebaker Museum while she was in town.

  And what about his Bucket List? It was time to seriously consider what should be on it and make those things happen. After Hannah returned home, he could find out if volunteering for the Peace Corps was a real possibility.

  He’d had an uncle that’d volunteered in Africa years ago and filled his young mind with visions of lions and elephants roaming free. With his face lit up, his uncle relayed the immeasurable satisfaction he felt while helping those less fortunate. His uncle had taught AIDS information to the village people, who had all sorts of erroneous ideas about its spread and treatment. Anyway, Parker had grown up idolizing his uncle for his Peace Corps service. If he hadn’t married Ivy while in college, he probably would’ve volunteered years ago.

  Now was definitely his last chance before the Huntington’s disease progressed any further. What better way to take his mind off of his impending doom than by focusing on the needs of others?

  That was it. He tossed the covers off and climbed out of bed. He went to his laptop and went to the Peace Corps website. He re-read the requirements: minimum age of 18, no age limit, bachelor’s degree required for most positions. So far so good. Clicking on “Volunteer Opportunities” he felt his heart speed up. He could go to 70 different countries and could choose from helping with health, education, environment, agriculture or economic development. In Kenya they needed someone to help artisans market their handmade items and teach them business skills. Quickly he scanned the requirements. Excitement coursed through his veins when he saw they wanted someone with a business degree and two years of experience.

  Now how was he going to find out who had called Ivy’s place? Breath moved in and out of his nostrils quickly while he considered this. He searched for a “Contact Us” link. As he looked, he kept finding other links that he wanted to check out: profiles of Peace Corps volunteers and how they benefited from the experience, the history of the Peace Corps, Frequently Asked Questions. An hour slipped by before he reminded himself that he needed to reach a live person. Finally, he found an e-mail address and sent a message about the fact that he’d already applied and was ready for the next interview. The site said the process could take between nine months and a year, but he wondered if his application had somehow gotten lost in the shuffle. It had all worked out for the best, it seemed, because he was more motivated than he had ever been before.

  After reading about all of the volunteer opportunities around the world, he realized it was two a.m. and he still didn’t know if he could get in without an updated medical exam. Finally he found that after his interview and invitation to participate, he’d have to get dental X-rays and some basic lab work and immunizations. Hmmm. Maybe the basic lab work wouldn’t reveal his Huntington’s. He didn’t know, but he was willing to find out.

  # # #

  Bethany dressed early the next morning and called Parker while she threw a clean sports bra and towel into her gym bag. No answer. She paced, anxious to see Hannah while she was in town. She dialed again. Still no answer. She tried his cell, but it went to voicemail.

  What was going on? She made herself the cup of coffee she’d planned on skipping and sat down in the living room to wait. Every twenty minutes she dialed his number again. “Where are you? I thought we were going to spend the day together with Hannah.”

  After three hours, her phone rang. “Hello?”

  “Good morning,” Parker said. He sounded a little groggy. “Sorry I didn’t hear my phone. I was up late.”

  Jealousy twisted in her gut that he’d already had a fun night with Hannah while Beth hadn’t even seen her. “Does Hannah still want to go to the Y?”

  “Actually I let her take my car so she could go work-out while I slept in.”

  “But I thought we’d go together. I need to get some exercise in, too.” Otherwise, last night’s pizza would solidify on her hips.

  “Sorry. She should be back soon and then I thought we’d go skydiving.”

  “Skydiving?” Beth didn’t even have time to absorb his apology. “Are you kidding? Connie would kill us if we let Hannah jump out of an airplane. The woman is very protective of her only child, remember?”

  “Oh. I hadn’t thought about that. Hannah said she wanted to go and I have a friend with his pilot’s license. I thought it would be fun.”

  Beth shook her head. “Don’t you need training to know when to pull the chute?”

  “We could do tandem. That’s when you’re strapped to someone who’s trained.”

  “Well, I’d clear it with Connie first and I’m pretty sure she’ll say no. So, what else does Hannah want to do? Anything less death-defying?”

  “Why don’t you come over and we’ll decide together?”

  “I’ll be there soon.” She hung up and grabbed her purse.

  As she walked through the sunny parking lot, she waved at Kaylee. Kaylee was walking on the sidewalk with a woman pushing a baby stroller. The woman had her hair in a ponytail and big sunglasses blocking her eyes. They were too far away or Beth would’ve asked if this was her aunt. Instead, she climbed into her car and headed for Parker’s place, happy that spring had finally pushed aside winter.

  When she pulled up to the small cottage, she saw Parker’s white SUV just returning. She got out of her vehicle and waited for Hannah to do the same.

  A long leg stretched out of the driver’s side door first, followed by a lean teenaged frame carrying a gym bag. Her brown hair was in a long, wet braid down the back of her T-shirt. Beth rushed over to her with her arms wide, hoping Hannah was receptive to a hug.

  “Bethany!” Hannah smiled and reached in for the hug.

  Inhaling a whiff of vanilla perfume mixed with chlorine, Beth still couldn’t believe this was her flesh and blood, nearly grown, and taller than she was. “So good to see you. How was your flight?”

  “I was a little nervous switching planes, but it wasn’t bad.”

  Nodding, she walked with Hannah into the house where they found Parker at the kitchen table eating a bowl of Cheerios. Beth checked her watch and saw that it was nearly noon. “It’s a little late for breakfast. What’d you two do last night anyway? Hit some clubs?” She smiled to let them know she was teasing.

  Still gripping her duffle bag, Hannah leaned against the kitchen counter. “After dinner, we talked a little and I went to bed. I’m not sure what this guy did all night, but he left a note on the table with directions to the Y and his car keys. I couldn’t pass up a chance to drive a Porsche—even if it is an SUV.” She laughed. “Where can I hang my suit to dry?”

  He pointed down the hall. “In the shower.” She walked in that direction.

  As soon as Hannah was out of sight, Beth leaned in to kiss him on the lips. “So what were you up so late for?”

  He shrugged and finished off the last of his cereal. “Just stuff on the computer.”

  “I brought my overnight bag.”

  “I’m not sure if that’s such a good idea.” He nodded toward the hallway into which Hannah had disappeared.

  “It doesn’t make sense for me to drive home only to come back tomorrow.”

  When Hannah returned, she eyed them as if she suspected something was going on. “Do you two love birds want to be alone?”

&nbs
p; Rising, Parker cleaned up his dishes. “I told Hannah we’re seeing each other.”

  Beth blinked a few times, not sure what to say. “How do you feel about that, Hannah?”

  “Whatever.” Her tone betrayed that it was merely an attempt at apathy. “I already know you had sex or I wouldn’t be here. What should it matter to me if you hook up again?”

  Beth squirmed at her reference to sex. Her strict religious upbringing still haunted her with guilt. If she had listened to her father’s teachings and not had premarital sex, she never would’ve gotten pregnant at eighteen and been forced to give away her only chance at being a mom.

  Hannah patted Beth’s back. “I’m teasing. I’m happy for you. Why wouldn’t I be? I wish my mom could find someone, too, now that my dad has passed away. Maybe she’d get off my case then.”

  Beth didn’t want to egg Hannah on to complain about Connie, so she decided to switch topics. “How’s your year going? Do you still like school? Do you have a boyfriend?” She knew she should slow down, but she couldn’t help herself.

  The teenaged girl blushed. “My boyfriend’s name is Ryan and he’s a senior. He wants to major in business, like you, Parker.” Her face glowed. “In fact, that reminds me. I’d like to see Mall Land. We don’t have them in Texas, you know.”

  Parker nodded. “Yes, I know. Do you think there’s a market for Mall Land in the south?”

  Beth crossed her arms, frustrated that he was always thinking business, even when their daughter was visiting.

  “I don’t know,” Hannah said. “I need to see it first. And did you get a hold of your friend with the plane?”

  “I’m going to call Connie first to make sure she doesn’t mind.”

  “What made you think to do that?” Hannah’s gaze landed on Beth and her expression turned sour. “Oh.”

  Parker tried to defend his girlfriend. “Beth wisely suggested I check with your mother before I let you put your life at risk.”

  Hannah rolled her eyes. “Don’t bother. She’ll say no.”

  “Sorry.” Parker went to the fridge and poured himself a glass of orange juice. “What else do you want to do?”

  “I promised Mom I’d look around Notre Dame while I’m here. Part of her wouldn’t mind moving back to Indiana, so if I went to college here, it would give her an excuse to relocate.”

  “Well, let’s go. The day’s half over.” Beth hated the snippy tone she allowed her voice to have. But Hannah was only here for a few short days and she’d already missed some of those precious hours because Parker wouldn’t answer his phone. They left the house and loaded themselves into his vehicle.

  They spent the early afternoon admiring the stained glass windows and Golden Dome of Notre Dame before walking through Mall Land, famous for providing free daycare for shoppers’ kids.

  Hannah’s brown eyes opened wide as they looked at the two-story kid zone with corkscrew slides and ball pits. “I wish I were little again so I could go in there.”

  Parker smiled. “Well, I have connections. I could sneak you in after the mall closes.”

  They all laughed and watched a little boy driving a pedal car that looked like a fire engine. Through the glass wall that separated the stores and the daycare, they could see his mouth forming the words “Vroom! Vroom!”

  Gesturing with his hands, Parker encouraged them to keep walking. “As you can see, we have everything from Macy’s to the South Bend Chocolate Company here.”

  Hannah gazed at the shoe store they passed. “So this is how you made your fortune.”

  Parker’s face turned red. “I don’t know if ‘fortune’ is the right word. It’s how I make my living.”

  “A very comfortable living,” Beth added. “He’s so modest, it’s unbelievable. There are Mall Lands in thirty cities across the Midwest and they just keep expanding.”

  Parker looked away as if he were still embarrassed by his success. “Is anybody hungry? There’s a good Japanese place nearby.”

  # # #

  Later that night when they returned to the cottage, Parker begged off and went to bed right away. Thinking he’d done it to allow her some quality time alone with Hannah, Beth forgave him for hogging their daughter earlier. The two women sat on his worn leather sofa watching a Lifetime movie about a mother searching for her kidnapped child. Beth didn’t usually watch these kinds of shows, but she’d let Hannah choose.

  Hannah tossed a popcorn kernel into her mouth from the microwave bag in her lap. “I love these based-on-real-life movies, don’t you?”

  “They’re all right.” The truth was, thinking of a woman losing her child was almost unbearable. “What other kinds of movies do you like?”

  “Horror. Sci-fi. All kinds.”

  A smile spread across Beth’s lips. “Sci-fi? I love sci-fi, too.”

  At the end of the movie, words appeared on the screen telling of the real life fate of the man who’d kidnapped the girl: in jail for 15 years. The girl: returned home to live with her parents. The mother: went on to petition Congress to strengthen child abduction penalties and wrote a memoir about the experience.

  Hannah turned off the TV and sat back. “Wow. That woman was tenacious. She never gave up—even when her husband said it was time to move on. Even when she had to quit her job in order to follow-up leads. Even when the police said there was nothing else that could be done.”

  Beth nodded. “I’m sure Connie would do all of that if you went missing.”

  Hannah rolled her eyes, which seemed to be her usual response whenever her mother was mentioned. “My mom wouldn’t have ever let me ride my bike into town in the first place.”

  The need to defend Connie burst inside of Beth, but she took a breath instead. “I’d like to hear more about your childhood. What were you like as a little girl?”

  She curled her legs up under her in what looked like some kind of yoga maneuver. “I don’t know what to say. I was just like any other typical girl. I took ballet and piano lessons. I can’t even remember a time when I didn’t know how to swim.”

  Good. A normal, middle-class upbringing was exactly what she’d wanted for her. “When did you start racing?”

  “I have blue ribbons from when I was seven years old.”

  “And when did you start taking pictures?” She frequently checked Hannah’s website to see her latest photography. Thank God for the internet, which made her feel more connected to the baby she’d given away.

  “My dad was an amateur photographer, so he’d take me on walks in the park and I’d always beg him to let me use his camera. He had a pretty expensive one, so he finally broke down and bought me one of my own.” She grinned at the memory.

  “Were you closer to your dad or your mom?”

  “My dad definitely. He was always pushing me to stretch my limits. Mom was always the one holding me back.” She sighed. “I guess they balanced each other out, but now that Dad died, it seems like Mom’s holding me tighter and tighter. It’s like she doesn’t want me to grow up.”

  Beth could kind of understand. Part of her regretted that Hannah was nearly an adult. “She loves you and she’s going to miss you, that’s all.”

  “But she’s driving me nuts. She won’t even let me go to the post-prom party that everybody in the entire school is going to.”

  “Are you going to prom with Ryan?” Excitement zipped through her at the thought of Hannah wearing a formal gown and hanging with the popular crowd. Those were experiences Beth had missed out on.

  Turning toward her, Hannah grew more animated. “If Mom doesn’t keep me locked in the basement. I’ve picked out this black dress. I usually hate dresses, but Ryan said this one makes me look sexy.” Her cheeks brightened with a glow. “Wanna see a picture?”

  “Of course.”

  Hannah pulled her cell phone out and showed her a screen shot of her in a strapless, form-fitting black dress with a white bow at the waist. “Isn’t it gorgeous?”

  Beth nodded. “Tell me more about Ryan
. Does he treat you right?” Her mother bear tendencies came out of nowhere.

  “He doesn’t open doors and stuff like Parker does, but that’s so old-fashioned, nobody does that kind of stuff anymore.”

  Those gentlemanly traits were just one of her favorite things about Parker, but she kept her mouth shut. “Why doesn’t your mom want you to go to the party?”

  “Because she knows what everyone does on prom night.”

  The hairs stood up on the back of Beth’s neck. What did she mean? Drink? Have sex? She took a breath and waited for Hannah to share.

  “You know. Lose their virginity, assuming they haven’t already. I’m sure you did it at your prom. It’s the perfect night to do it.”

  At this topic, Beth could feel her face warming. “Actually I didn’t have sex on prom night. I waited until college and I wish I would’ve waited until I was even older.”

  “Because you got pregnant with me.”

  “Right.”

  “But I’ll be smarter than you were. I’ll use protection.”

  Beth cringed at the insult. “You’re right. I wasn’t smart enough to assert myself. Don’t ever sleep with a guy just because you want him to like you.”

  “I already know Ryan likes me. We love each other. I’m the only one of my girlfriends who hasn’t already done it and I’m starting to feel like a freak.”

  Fidgeting, Beth took a slow breath and tried to choose her words carefully. “I know how it feels to be the last one to have sex. It’s like everyone knows this secret except you. Once I joined the club, though, I soon regretted it.”

  “Don’t even tell me I should wait until I’m married. My mom already gave me that line. Give me a break. Nobody waits until their wedding night anymore.”