Lover's Lane (33 page)

Anna turned to Jake. “Don’t think whatever you’ve got in that envelope is what changed my mind, either. If Arthur had done what I asked him to do, this would all be over by now.”

Briefcase in hand, Litton fought to salvage his position, although his gaze kept cutting to the envelope in Jake’s hand.

“We may be filing for dismissal of the guardianship petition, but Mrs. Saunders will definitely want visitation rights. We are prepared to file a new petition.”

“Arthur Litton, you’ve no idea
what
I definitely want. As soon as you file for a dismissal, you’re fired. In fact, you can leave right now. I’d rather call a cab than ride all the way back to the airport with you.”

Litton stormed past them all. The screen door rattled and slammed behind him. Carly was suddenly all alone with Jake and Anna, the three of them enveloped in a chilly, awkward silence.

Carly tried to grasp what just happened. She looked at Jake.

“It’s over?”

He smiled and took her hand. “It’s really over. The past is finally behind you where it belongs.” He turned to Anna and handed her the envelope. “I’m glad I didn’t have to use this.”

Ignoring Jake, Anna requested of Carly, “I’d like to speak to you alone, if I may.”

With the realization that the threat of losing Christopher was finally over, the world slowly began to right itself again.

“Fine,” Carly told her. “Anything you have to say can be said in front of Jake.”

She could see in his eyes how much the gesture meant to him, but he gave her hand a squeeze and said, “I’ll go outside and keep an eye out for Chris. Will you be all right?”

“Of course.”

Anna glanced around the small living space not much larger than her kitchen.

The odor of linseed oil and paint lightly tinted the air. There were a few toys here and there on the floor, little boy things made of plastic and movable parts. The kitchen counter was clear except for a few glasses and a bright ceramic mug. An enclosed porch was visible through an open door on the back wall. She saw a lopsided sofa covered with garish prints.

Tense, silent, Anna waited for Jake Montgomery to leave, but he hovered beside Carly Nolan like a rottweiler. Anna was still shaken, the envelope he’d given her heavy in her hand. She didn’t have to look inside to know what it contained, just as she was sure that he wouldn’t have hesitated to use the information against her at the hearing.

The brief but telling exchange between Montgomery and the young woman was so touching that Anna felt a twinge of jealousy and wondered if the two of them even recognized the deep intensity of the feelings they shared for one another.

“I’ll be fine,” Carly assured him. She gave him a tremulous smile. “Everything will be fine now.”

Anna could see how badly he wanted to stay, but he confined his touch to her arm and gave it a reassuring squeeze before he let himself out.

Carly didn’t take her eyes off of him until Jake had cleared the porch, then she indicated the sofa with a wave of her hand.

“Please, have a seat.”

“Thank you.”

Anna made herself comfortable on the small love seat and set her purse down beside her. When she realized she had given into an old habit of rolling her rings around her fingers with her thumbs, she clasped her hands in her lap.

Carly sat on the edge of the wicker rocking chair not far away. Anna had thought that the young woman would be jubilant upon hearing that the guardianship petition would be dropped, but thus far Carly had shown very little emotion at all.

“This meeting certainly didn’t start out the way I planned,” Anna sighed. “I’m just thankful Christopher wasn’t here.”

“So am I,” Carly agreed. “I . . . I must say I’m in shock. What made you change your mind?”

Anna thought back to the evening when she’d turned on the news. “The night Christopher ran away I was beside myself with worry. I didn’t have your number and couldn’t get it. I left calls with Montgomery’s partner, but she didn’t return them, nor did Jake.

“I should have changed my mind the moment I met Christopher that day in the park, but you see, Carly, I had made my husband a promise, and I didn’t want to betray it. I loved Charles most of my life. He took me out of a situation that was almost too horrible to bear, and for that I am forever grateful, but Charles is gone now and life is for the living.

“I already love Christopher, even though I don’t know him well. I’ve imagined what it would be like to have a grandchild for so long that I don’t think I could bear it if you refuse to let me see him again. Trust me when I say that I would never want that precious child to suffer because of something I did.” Shame sluiced through her, shame that brought tears to her eyes.

“If anything had happened to Christopher because of me, I would never have forgiven myself,” she whispered.

She rarely if ever gave into sentimental emotion, but the tears had been building since the moment Chris had slipped his little hand so trustingly into hers.

Anna felt the sofa sag, then a tentative touch on her shoulder. She realized Carly was seated beside her, trying to explain.

“Christopher ran away because I told him we were moving out of Twilight Cove. After we met you in the park, I was tempted to leave town, to disappear again—until I realized running wasn’t the answer anymore. I didn’t have a chance to tell Christopher that I’d changed my mind before he got it in his head to take off. If anyone is to blame, it’s me.”

“But if it hadn’t been for
me
pursuing you, hounding you with the guardianship petition, you wouldn’t have felt threatened. I wouldn’t blame you if you refused to ever let me see Christopher again.”

Carly took a deep breath, struggling to find the right words. She took courage from the fact that she was free, but it was hard to believe that Anna would leave the decision about visitations up to her.

“Your lawyer said he was filing for visitation rights.”

“My lawyer, my
former
lawyer, is an idiot.” Anna’s lips curled into a half smile. “There will be no more filing petitions, no more threats from me. All I ask is that you allow me to see my grandson. That you let me give him the things he needs while I’m around to see him enjoy them.”

Carly noticed Anna’s gaze had fallen on Christopher’s team photo on a shelf across the room. She stood up, crossed the room, brought the photo back and handed it to Anna.

“Would you like to have this?”

Anna’s sun-spotted hands closed around the frame and held on tight. “May I?”

Carly nodded. “Back when I ordered the package of photos, I was under the false belief that we didn’t have any family to give the extras to, but since this whole thing started, I’ve come to realize that’s not true.”

She thought of Selma and Joe, Geoff and Etta and the Potters. Family had nothing to do with DNA, or marriage licenses, or court decrees. It had everything to do with love.

Tears blurred her vision, but not so badly that she couldn’t see that Anna’s lower lip was trembling.

“You were Rick’s mother. You’re part of Christopher’s family and always will be. You don’t need a paper to tell you that, Anna, or me to give you permission to see Christopher anytime you want. All you need to do is love him for who and what he is, to be there for him when he needs you, and to respect the fact that I’m his mother.”

Carly reached out to lay her hand atop Anna’s on the photograph. “I know Christopher would like nothing better than to have his grandmother in his life. It’s the greatest gift you could give him.”

46

AS SOON AS JAKE HAD STEPPED OUTSIDE TO GIVE CARLY AND Anna their privacy, he saw Litton in the driver’s seat of the Lincoln, stripping off his tie.

The lawyer reached for the ignition key but Jake was faster. He rested both hands on the lower rim of the open car window, daring Litton to close it.

“If you don’t mind, I was just leaving.” The man glared up at Jake, making a pretense at politeness.

“I do mind.

“What you did today could very well lead to your being disbarred should Carly’s lawyer make an issue of it. What possessed you to try to railroad Carly into giving up rather than to follow Anna’s wishes?”

Litton sneered. “We were so
fucking
close. I knew we stood a chance of winning, even more after the kid took off. Then I got a phone call from Anna asking me to drive her up here to call the whole thing off.” He shook his head. “Charles must be rolling in his grave. I don’t know what the hell she was thinking or why she changed her mind.”

“You have any kids, Litton?”

“Hell, no.”

“Then you’ll never know why.”

Jake straightened and stepped away from the car. Litton started the motor and pulled out, squealing his tires as he rounded the corner.

Shoving his hands in his pockets, Jake stared at the pock-marked asphalt of the parking space.

“Woo hoo! Mr. Mont-gom-ery!”

Jake rolled his eyes before he turned around. Etta Schwartz was standing on her front porch, a wrinkled diva in a silk Chinese robe holding a plate covered with glistening plastic wrap.

“I made some brownies. Would you like one?” Her voice had a sing-song quality that made her sound like a retired preschool teacher stuck on fast forward.

He glanced toward Carly’s, but there was no sign of her or Anna yet, so he gave up and decided to commit suicide by chocolate.

“Is the coast clear over there?” Etta wanted to know.

“Pretty much.”

“I didn’t see that woman come out.”

He sat down on the edge of her porch and took the plate from her hand, slipped off the plastic wrap. His mouth watered when the scent of chocolate hit him.

“She’s still in there talking to Carly.”

“Oh, my. Should I go knock on the door? I could bring out more brownies. Or scones. With currants.”

He shook his head. “No. Anna’s decided to file a dismissal. There’ll be no hearing.”

“Oh! My prayers have been answered.” She lowered herself to the porch. Her poodle slipped through a tear in the bottom of the screen door and bounded onto her lap. It made a lunge for the plate.

Jake smoothly pulled it out of reach.

“Thank you, dear.” Etta smiled up at him and actually batted her false eyelashes. “One bite of chocolate can kill a dog, you know.”

As the poodle wriggled around and started panting dog breath in his face, Jake was tempted to see if that was true. Just then the Potters pulled into the parking space that Litton had just vacated. When Chris and Matt’s faces appeared in the window of the backseat, Jake knew he wouldn’t be eating the remaining two brownies.

Chris decided that this was just about the second best day in his whole life when he saw Jake waiting on Etta’s porch. When Mr. Potter turned off the car engine, he opened the door and hopped out with Matt close on his heels as he ran over to Etta’s.

“Hey! Jake! What are you doing here? Hi, Mrs. Schwartz.”

“Hello, boys. Want some brownies?”

The Potters walked up behind them. Just as Chris would have predicted, Matt’s mom said, “They just ate Happy Meals. They probably don’t have room for brownies.”

“Aw, Mom.” Matt started whining on cue, and two seconds later, Mrs. Potter changed her mind. He had told Chris he had been getting his way ever since they ran off. Lately at school, Matt had been taking credit for the whole thing.

They sat beside Jake eating two brownies. Mrs. Schwartz went back inside to get some more. Chris stuffed half a brownie in his mouth and watched Jake get up to talk to the Potters.

The three grown-ups looked over at his house, then Jake walked a little ways away and started talking really softly to Matt’s mom and dad. Chris started to worry until he heard Mr. Potter say, “That’s great! That’s absolutely wonderful!”

Then he knew that whatever Jake was talking about was okay.

Suddenly it hit him that maybe Jake was telling the Potters that he was going to marry Mom, but he didn’t let himself get all excited. Jake hadn’t been coming over much lately. He decided they were probably talking about the house that Jake was fixing up. The Potters were always talking about houses.

Chris finished his brownie and looked at Matt and started laughing at the crumbs all over his blood brother’s face. He didn’t think it was possible that this day could get any better.

Mr. Potter came to stand at the edge of the porch.

“Come on, Matt. We’ve got to go. Tell your mom hello, Chris.”

Chris jumped up, too full to eat another brownie, but he took an extra to carry home with him.

“Thanks, Mr. Potter, for taking me to the movie and for the Happy Meal. Thanks, Mrs. Potter.” He knew if he thanked them, he was more likely to get invited again. At least that’s what Mom had taught him, and so far it was working.

He stood beside Jake and watched them drive away.

“D’you have fun?” Jake kept looking over at the house like something was wrong, but Chris didn’t think things could be wonderful and wrong at the same time.

“Yeah. The movie was way cool. It was about some kids who ended up stranded on a faraway planet. Where’s Mom?”

“She’s inside. Your grandma dropped by.”

“My
grandma
? You mean Grandma Anna? From Long Beach?”

“That’s the one.”

“Oh, wow! Did you bring her?”

“No. She came on her own.”

“Where’s her car?”

“She got a ride. He left.”

“Is she spending the night?”

Jake messed up his hair. “Why don’t we go see?”

By the time they got to the front door, Beauty was there with her nose pressed to the screen whining and wagging her tail about a hundred miles a minute. Chris opened the door and let her kiss his face, forced to hand Jake his brownie so she wouldn’t gobble it down. Etta warned him never, ever let Beauty eat chocolate.

Sure enough, his grandma was sitting on the sofa with Mom.

“Grandma Anna!” He raced over to her, not sure whether she’d like him to hug her or not, especially since he had crumbs on his hands.

“Hi, Mom.” He hugged his mom because he knew no matter how dirty he was, she still loved hugs.

“Hi, Chris. Did you have a good time?”

“Yep.” He was staring at his grandma, waiting for her to say something, but she looked like she was going to cry or throw up, he couldn’t tell exactly which.

“Are you okay, Grandma?”

“I am now.” Her lips wiggled like she was trying to smile.

He didn’t wait for her to ask, he just leaned over and gave her a big hug and then a kiss on the cheek. She smelled really good, like flowers.

“Are you spending the night?” he asked.

That made her laugh. She looked at Mom who was smiling, too. Grandma shook her head no. “Not tonight. I hadn’t planned on it.”

“You can sleep in my room with Beauty. I’ll sleep on the sofa,” he offered.

“No, thank you, sweetheart. I think I’ll go back to Long Beach and get my guest room ready for you and your mother. She’s promised to bring you down for a visit very soon.”

He looked at Mom, not quite ready to believe it.

“Really?”

“Really,” she assured him.

“Wow. Way cool.”

Carly left Chris on the sofa with Anna. The two of them had their heads together discussing the advantages of having a dog while Carly walked Jake to his car.

Her whole life had just turned on a dime, and instead of being elated, she felt no different than she had an hour ago when Litton had knocked on the door.

“Shouldn’t I feel really happy right now?” she mused aloud. “I think I should be jumping for joy, but I just feel sort of numb.”

She closed her eyes for a second and shook her head.

Jake was at his car door now, his hand on the handle. “Does Anna need a ride to San Luis?”

Carly shook her head. “No. She’s called for an airport limo. It’ll be here in awhile.”

He hesitated, as if awkward, at a loss for words. Then he said, “You’re free now.”

The words still didn’t quite register. Maybe if they celebrated . . . she decided to take Christopher over to the Plaza Diner. He’d eaten, but he wouldn’t turn down dessert. She couldn’t wait to share the news with Selma and Joe. She’d call Geoff and tell him to join them.

“Would you like to go to dinner with us?” she asked Jake. “I think maybe a little celebration is in order.”

He shook his head.

“I’m happy for you, Carly, but I’ve got some soul searching to do.” He reached out and cupped her face.

“Jake, what is it? What’s wrong?”

“Go celebrate with your friends. I’ll call you later.”

Despite the fact Jake wasn’t there, joy began to bubble up inside her. So much so that by the time Anna’s limo arrived and she and Chris took off for the Diner, she couldn’t stop smiling.

Carly invited Etta and Geoff to dinner. Etta changed into an orange spandex cat suit that she draped with a calf-length purple vest. Geoff actually closed the gallery for an hour, and Joe promised to have his order ready when he arrived.

It was a quiet celebration since they couldn’t openly talk about everything in front of Chris, but she had an opportunity to take Selma aside long enough to explain how she and Anna had made peace with one another.

The only one missing was Jake and Carly wondered why he had turned down the invitation to be with them.

After dinner she put Chris to bed, checked the cafeteria menu posted on the refrigerator, and packed him a lunch because he refused to eat mystery meat on mashed potatoes.

She was on her way into the studio when she saw the flash of headlights on the cinder block wall outside the window. When she heard a car pull up in front, she went to the door. Beauty came padding out of the bedroom but Carly gave her a gentle pat on the head and sent her back, thinking Jake couldn’t have picked a better dog.

She opened the front door and watched him walking up to the porch. Without a word, she let him in, then reached up and looped her arms around his neck to let him know how glad she was to have him there.

He kissed her without hesitation. She kissed him back hoping that he could tell how much he meant to her, that he would know she didn’t blame him for what happened.

The kiss ended all too soon when he pulled away. He ran his fingers through her long hair, held it back off her face and stared down into her eyes.

“I love you, Carly.”

She closed her eyes, savored those precious words.

“I love you, too.” She had never said them to anyone in her life except Christopher. Never had an occasion to say them to anyone else. When she let go a ragged breath, her heart was full.

“Come on, I want to show you something.” She grabbed his hand and led him toward the studio where she uncovered the painting she had finished that afternoon before Litton and Anna had arrived.

She let go of his hand while he studied the painting.

“Do you think Anna will like it? I have a few more touches to add before I give it to her.”

He nodded slowly. “I think she would feel privileged to own it.”

She crossed her arms and tried to be objective. The woman in the mantilla was still seated alone on the ornately carved bench on the bluff, but now a little boy in a short-waisted jacket, a wide brimmed hat, and pants with silver conchos up the side seam stood before her, holding her hands.

Not far away, a young woman in a gown with a flowing skirt with layers of flounces was setting out a picnic on a bright woven blanket.

Like the woman in the mantilla, the young woman’s face was not completely visible, but there was a hint of a self-portrait there.

“I had just finished working on it before Anna arrived. It wasn’t exactly the vision I had to begin with. I’d painted the older woman sitting alone, but the longer I worked, the more I became tempted to add the other two.” She shrugged. “I’m not sure why. All I know is that something inside me refused to leave the woman mourning on the bluff alone.”

“Do you know why?”

“My life has changed. Maybe my outlook has, too. I want my work to reflect that from now on.” She reached for his hand.

“That’s exactly what I’ve been thinking about, too. My work reflecting my life. Right now I don’t much like what I do.”

“What do you mean?”

“I almost ruined everything for you. And for Christopher.”

“Jake, you know that if it hadn’t been for you, if you hadn’t come to Twilight to find me, to find us, then I’d still be living in fear of Anna, never knowing how or when she might track me down. You’ve given Chris and me a future that I can look forward to. You’ve given me more than I can ever thank you for.”

“I don’t deserve your thanks, Carly. After what I did, I don’t deserve you.”

“That’s all behind us now, Jake.”

He shook his head. “You’re starting over, Carly. That’s what I want, too. I want to start over with you.” He pulled her into his arms, held her tight as he stared into her upturned face.

“Marry me, Carly.”

“
What
did you just say?”

“Marry me. My world turned upside down the day I laid eyes on you. You were wearing an old pink sweatshirt and you’d just walked out of Potters’ real estate office. I was having coffee at Sweetie’s wondering if I’d been crazy to drive up here on a hunch.”

“So you were
looking
at me that day. I couldn’t tell.”

He nodded. “Will you marry me?”

She put her hands on his shoulders, stared deep into his eyes, hoping he could gage the sincerity of her words.

“I can’t, Jake. Not yet.”

His face fell. “Why not? A minute ago you said you loved me.”

“I do, but it’s too soon to think about getting married.”

He started to protest. “It wasn’t too soon for last night . . .”