Happily Never After

“I think he is, but I just want to be sure. Tom is—” She was silent a moment, watching the commercial buildings give way to masonry cottages, and then to elegant brick houses with wide, well-manicured lawns. Jacob and Lillith had been able to buy in one of the best Cathedral Cove neighborhoods. Not the truly elite old-money enclave by the river, where the Mellons still reigned, but close enough.

“Tom is what?” Brian sounded grumpy. He had moved to Cathedral Cove and opened up his sporting-goods store only about six years ago, and, like many newcomers, he seemed to think the story of Sophie’s wedding was about seventy-five percent trashy fiction.

And even if it was true, his sympathies naturally lay with Tom Beckham—one, because Tom was just a regular guy, comparatively speaking, and two, because everyone knew those Mellons were a bunch of inbred freaks.

Kelly sighed. “Well, after what he did to Soph—”

“It was ten years ago, for God’s sake,” Brian broke in. “You don’t know what the guy is anymore.”

“Exactly,” she agreed, not in the mood to fight. Besides, Brian’s down-to-earth practicality had always been his most appealing quality. She had felt very comfortable, very safe, in the two years of their marriage. “He’s an unknown quantity. That’s why I want to check.”

“Fine. We’ll check.”

But when they got to Jacob’s street, she could immediately see Tom’s expensive silver sedan in the driveway. She knew it was his because it had been the only car remaining on the street when she had left Jacob’s house after doing the dishes. Also, it had Atlanta license plates, and it just screamed overpaid big-city lawyer.

Tom must have pulled it into the driveway sometime after she’d gone. That had a settled-in feeling, and she relaxed a little. Jacob was probably fine for tonight.

“I guess Tom did stay,” she said softly. “Good for him.”

“Of course he did,” Brian said. “Guys don’t walk out on their buddies.”

She glanced at him with a wry smile. “Just on their women? Well, you should know.”

“That’s right,” he responded archly, and she could see the white of his teeth as he grinned in the darkness. “Especially if their women are cold-hearted bitches.”

She chuckled. This was an old joke with them, as comfortable now as a well-worn sweater. After two years of a pleasant but fire-free marriage, Brian had confessed that he’d fallen in love with Marie Eller, his lovely, loyal accountant. Kelly had been sad but not quite heartbroken. She knew Brian deserved a passion she simply didn’t feel—and apparently Marie could give him that.

What she’d told Tom today was true. She and Brian had divorced without acrimony, and they’d never stopped being friends.

In fact, right now Marie was the one who was giving Brian a hard time. Last month, she had asked him to move out, telling him she needed “space” and time to think. He was pretty upset, but handling it in his usual sensible way, working hard and hoping for the best.

“Okay, boss-lady, now where? Shall we do the official Sophie’s Wedding World Tour? We’ve checked on the runaway groom. Shall we go by the House of Usher and see how the rest of the weirdos are doing?”

Kelly had heard people call Coeur Volé “the House of Usher” before. She supposed it was inevitable. The Mellons were reclusive, the structure was Gothic and Sophie’s story offered such great fodder for the imagination. But it always seemed a bit cruel to her. It made a joke of things that she knew weren’t funny.

But she decided to ignore it. He didn’t mean anything, really. The working class always bashed the snobbish old guard. She’d done it herself, before Sophie had picked her for a friend.

“No, thanks,” she said. “I’ve had enough drama for one day. Did I tell you Samantha came by to see Jacob? She wasn’t at the service, but she stopped in at the house afterward.”

“Yeah? Did she bring her crazy brother?”

Kelly settled onto the truck’s sensible cloth seats and shut her eyes. Brian had owned this pickup ever since she first met him, and the familiar smell and rhythmic rocking were relaxing.

“You mean Sebastian?” She shook her head sleepily. “No, Sebastian lives somewhere in North Carolina. He’s not even in town.”

“Yes, he is.”

She opened her eyes. “What are you talking about? Sebastian is back in Cathedral Cove? How do you know that?”

“I saw him. Today, in the store. I sold him a hunting knife and a pair of sneakers. Too bad he didn’t want to buy a gun. I would have loved to do a background check on that one. I’ll bet we’d find that he’s been in more loony bins than his sister.”

She sat up straight. “Sebastian is back?”

“That’s what I said, like three times now.” He cut a quick glance her way. “What’s wrong with that? He’s weird, but no weirder than the rest of them.”

“But…” She felt a tightness in the pit of her stomach. What a coincidence that Sebastian should come home right now, just when Lillith died, just when Tom showed up for the first time in ten years.

And Lillith had told Kelly that Sophie was back, too. If all of it was true, this would be the first time the whole Mellon family—and Tom Beckham—had been in Cathedral Cove together since the wedding.

She braided her fingers in her lap. It just didn’t feel right. It felt downright unnatural, as disturbing as if she had looked up and seen the stars crawling out of their prescribed places, sliding slowly into some new, mysterious configuration.

Could this be what Trig had meant when he’d said, “He’s dangerous when he’s angry”? Could he have meant Sebastian? Kelly had seen Sebastian angry only a few times during their teenage years, but it had been a sight to remember. Trig, living next door, might have seen even more.

Was it possible that, in his foggy, incoherent way, Trig had been trying to tell her something important?

“Talk to me, Kel. What’s the big deal about Sebastian being home?”

She tried to focus, to articulate her vague anxieties. “It’s just that…if Sebastian’s here, and Tom’s here…” She paused. “I wonder if he knows Tom’s here?”

“So what if he does? You think Sebastian will hunt down Tom Beckham and kick his ass for what he did to sister Sophie ten years ago? Cripes, will you people ever let that damn story go? It’s over, for God’s sake. Get a grip.”

She told herself that Brian probably was right. Even lava-hot emotions could do a lot of cooling down in a decade. At the time of the jilting, Sebastian had been very defensive for Sophie. But though Sebastian and Sophie had been inseparable as young people, they must have grown apart through these past few years.

Sophie had spent so much time in institutions. And Sebastian, Kelly had heard, had married out in Raleigh. He had children and a career, stockbroker or something. Obviously, at least to some degree, he had moved on.

They were nearing the Mellon house now. She could see the tower from here. It was completely dark tonight. But that didn’t mean it was empty, only that the lights were out. She shivered, thinking of someone standing up there, in the shadows, looking down.

How much could you see from there?

Could you see the foot of the East River Bridge?

“Brian,” she said suddenly. “Will you sleep at my place tonight? I’ve put a bed in the guest room, so you wouldn’t have to take the sofa.”

He tilted his head, smiling. “Spooky old dump finally starting to give you the creeps?”

“No,” she said quickly. “It’s just that—”

She thought of the waiting, silent trees around her studio. She thought of Lillith’s face covered in blood, and Trig standing in Jacob’s kitchen, talking cryptically about God and danger.

To heck with saving face. Tomorrow she’d be strong. Tonight she needed a friend. “Yes.”

Brian drummed his fingers on the steering wheel and clicked his tongue against his teeth. “Well…. Marie won’t like it.”

“Oh.” She tried to control her disappointment. But the idea of being out there alone tonight, with no car… “Never mind, then. I wouldn’t want to cause trouble between you two. If you think you shouldn’t—”

“I never said that. I just said Marie wouldn’t like it. Maybe that’s a good thing.” He waggled his eyebrows. “A little jealousy might be exactly what the doctor ordered.”

“Thanks,” she said, almost ashamed of the relief that coursed through her. She definitely had to get back to being tough tomorrow. “I appreciate it, Brian. I really do.”