Susannah's Garden

“I’m sorry for your loss.”

Tears welled up in Vivian’s eyes. “It wasn’t the same with us, either…after we lost Doug.”

“I’m sure it wasn’t.”

The tears ran down her face and she used one hand to wipe them away.

“Now, you listen,” George said gently. “You tell that daughter of yours that you talked to George—and you did.”

Vivian sniffled. She was willing to listen, but only because she was growing desperate. “What should I say?”

“Tell her that whatever your husband did was for her own good.”

“Are you sure about that?”

He nodded emphatically. “Sure as anything. Will you do that?”

Vivian said, “Yes,” in a small voice.

“Good.” George gave her a satisfied grin. “Now, I think it’s time we both went back to our rooms.”

Already Vivian felt better. Susannah would, too, as soon as they had a chance to talk.

CHAPTER 20

On Monday morning, right after her first cup of coffee, Susannah reached for the kitchen phone. With her fingers trembling and her heart beating frantically, she pounded out the long-distance phone number Carolyn had gotten off the Internet.

In less than a minute she learned that this Jacob Allan Presley wasn’t the boy she’d once loved. The retired telephone lineman who lived in Texas simply told her that the country was filled with Presleys. He wished her luck in locating the Jake she was searching for and that was the end of that.

She replaced the receiver, figuring she was going to need a lot more than luck.

“Any reason you’re looking glum?” Chrissie asked twenty minutes later as she strolled into the kitchen in her shortie pajamas. Without waiting for a response, her daughter walked over to the coffeepot and automatically grabbed one of the few mugs that hadn’t been packed.

Not wanting to discuss the matter, Susannah shook her head and cradled her cup with both hands as if it was a source of needed comfort. This was not the way she wanted to start her morning. It was barely after eight and she was already depressed.

“Troy asked me to ride into Spokane with him this morning,” Chrissie said. She opened the refrigerator and took out a small carton of cream; standing there with the door still open, she added it to her coffee. She returned the cream and closed the door, all without glancing in Susannah’s direction.

Chrissie was spending the day with Troy again? Objections stumbled over the tip of Susannah’s tongue, but she bit them off. “Oh?”

“Yeah!” From the way Chrissie answered, Susannah could tell that her daughter wasn’t asking permission. It was a foregone conclusion that she intended to go.

“What time did you get in last night?” As soon as the words were out, Susannah realized the question would have been better left unasked.

“I’m not a child.” The disdain in Chrissie’s voice wasn’t even slightly disguised.

Rather than argue, Susannah pointed out the obvious. “I assumed you were in Colville to help me.”

“I’ll do my share. Don’t worry about it.” With that, Chrissie walked out of the kitchen, clutching her mug of coffee.

Susannah might not be a contender for any Mother of the Year award, but she knew her daughter and suspected Chrissie was up to no good with Troy. Chrissie was definitely feeling guilty about something. Susannah didn’t want to consider what, although several possibilities loomed large.

After taking a moment to collect her thoughts, Susannah walked down the hallway to Chrissie’s room. Tapping on the door, she opened it and found Chrissie cross-legged on the bed. She was staring blankly into space and didn’t acknowledge her mother.

“Are you feeling okay?” Susannah asked, leaning against the doorjamb.

Chrissie kept her gaze trained away from Susannah. “Why shouldn’t I be?”

Susannah shrugged. “You don’t usually snap at me this early in the morning.”

“You don’t usually drill me about my friends, either. I’m sorry you don’t like Troy, Mom. But I do. In fact, I like him a lot. He’s not like any other boy I’ve dated. He’s a man, and I’m tired of dating boys.”

Chrissie had that right; Troy was certainly no Jason O’Donnell. It was clear to Susannah that Troy’s attention was giving her daughter a way to cope with the pain and rejection she felt because of Jason. This wasn’t a good situation and she needed to tread lightly, but before she could even suggest that Jason might be a factor, Chrissie said, “You aren’t going to give me a hard time about driving into Spokane, are you?”

Susannah didn’t have any choice other than to let her daughter go. She didn’t like it, but she didn’t have the energy to fight Chrissie. Joe seemed to think their daughter was old enough to make her own decisions. Although she usually agreed with him, in this instance she didn’t. Still…

“Are you sure this is what you want to do?”

“Yes,” came her instant reply, “and before you say anything about Jason and me, you should know this has nothing to do with him. Jason was a boy. Troy is a man.”

Susannah opened her mouth, but the disdainful look was back in her daughter’s eyes. “You aren’t going to guilt me into staying,” Chrissie muttered. “This is the first fun I’ve had all summer.”

Susannah didn’t understand why everything had to be about fun. Chrissie would experience a rude awakening when she discovered that there was more to life—that fun was meant to be a diversion, not the main activity.

“I’m not really that much help packing up Grandma’s stuff, anyway,” Chrissie added, as if that excused her behavior.

Without another word, Susannah walked out of the bedroom, gathered up clean clothes and quickly showered. Afterward, feeling refreshed, she dressed and blow-dried her hair and decided to talk to Chrissie again, but it was too late. Her daughter had already left the house.

So much for that.

At nine-thirty Carolyn phoned. “Was it him?” she asked after the briefest of greetings. Her enthusiasm for this project was just the solace Susannah needed, especially after her initial caution about looking for Jake.

“No,” Susannah said. “Someone altogether different.”

“I have a little time this morning. If you stop by the mill, I’ll do some checking on the computer here.”

“Will I get a chance to meet the lawn-maintenance guy you mentioned? You did say he’d be mowing the grass outside your office, didn’t you?” she said mischievously.

“No.” Carolyn’s response was adamant. “And no.”

“I’ll try not to be too snoopy.” A renewed sense of hopeful anticipation filled her. “I’ll be there in about an hour.” Susannah felt like dancing as she hung up the phone.

She hurriedly ate a piece of toast, then drove to Altamira to see her mother. Vivian was tired and listless, insisting she’d spoken to George, who’d apparently visited in the middle of the night. The conversation delayed her an extra ten minutes while her mother repeated word for word the entire exchange with her dead husband. When Susannah finally left the complex, Vivian seemed grateful to return to her morning nap.

On her way out the door, Susannah made an appointment with the nurse. She felt it was time to discuss the state of Vivian’s mental health.

From the assisted-living complex, Susannah drove directly to the mill. She parked in front of the office in the vacant visitor’s slot next to Carolyn’s truck. As she parked, a battered pickup pulled out. It had to be the lawn guy. She tried to get a look at him, but failed.

Carolyn was waiting for her in the outer office.

“Who was the guy I just saw leaving?” she asked casually. “In the beat-up blue truck.”

“That was Dave,” her friend said, glancing around self-consciously.

“Any reason he stopped by?” She wanted to hear every single detail. “You told me he wasn’t working here today.”

“He came to get an update on Grady, the man who had a heart attack last week.” She paused, taking a deep breath. “I’m supposed to meet Dave later this afternoon to go over some ideas for my new flower beds.” Carolyn said this stiffly, as if she regretted ever commenting on her plans. Then she got up from her desk and closed the door.

“You really are keen on him, aren’t you?” Susannah asked.

Carolyn hesitated. “Is it that obvious?”

“Not really, but I know you.”

She exhaled sharply. “Call me a coward, but I’ve decided against the new flower beds. I…don’t think I’m going to go through with it.”

Susannah had hoped that Carolyn’s attraction to Dave would overcome her shyness and her fears.

Carolyn sat down at the computer. Purposely changing the subject, she said, “Like I told you, I had a few extra minutes this morning and logged onto the Internet. I found six other Jake Presleys.” With her eyes on the computer monitor, she reached for her mouse and hit the print icon. The hum of the printer started immediately.

“Six!” Susannah felt exhilarated, despite her nagging concerns about Chrissie.

Leaning back in her chair, Carolyn gazed up at Susannah. Her eyes narrowed slightly. “So how’s everything with you this morning?”

Susannah merely shrugged.

Carolyn gestured for Susannah to sit down, which she did.

“When we were in France,” she said, “I could always tell when you were unhappy. You get this look I can read a mile away.”

Susannah couldn’t see any reason to hide what was happening. “Chrissie and I had an argument this morning,” she confessed. “She’s spending the day with Troy. He’s driving into Spokane and she’s tagging along.”

“They’re together again?” Carolyn straightened, frowning slightly.

“That’s not all. I went to see Mom before I came here.” She mentally reviewed the disturbing conversation. “Mom insisted she talked to my dad again last night. Apparently he had an important message for me. She claims my father loved me deeply. Mom said Dad would never do anything to hurt me. He wanted her to tell me it was because he loved me that he got rid of Jake.” Susannah found it impossible to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.

“Ask your mother to have him check up on my parents,” Carolyn teased.

“Very funny.”

“You notice I’m not laughing all that hard. In a few years that could be us, you know.”

Susannah sighed. “I know.”

The phone rang, reminding her that the mill was a busy place.

Carolyn grabbed the sheets from the printer tray and handed them to Susannah. “Good luck,” she said.

“Thanks. I’ll see you later.” She walked out the door with a little wave. The fact was, Susannah already had an alternative plan, although she was keeping it to herself for now.

One thing was certain—she intended to find Jake no matter what it took.

CHAPTER 21

None of the six Jake Presleys on Carolyn’s list turned out to be the Jake Presley from Colville. Susannah and Carolyn spent Monday and Tuesday evening trying various Internet search engines, but to no avail. When she wasn’t on Carolyn’s computer or the phone, searching for Jake, she was making detailed notes about her father’s cash withdrawals from the bank statements she’d found.