The Tea Series Page 32

  “Well, congratulations.”

  “I can’t keep this.”

  “Why not?”

  “Because it isn’t mine.”

  “Sure it is. Your name is right there.”

  “You know what I mean.”

  “You know what, Cara? This is really getting old. You have no problem doing nice things for other people, but when it is other people’s turn to do something nice for you, you spit in their face. Just have a little grace, start a retirement fund, and get on with it.”

  “You really think so?”

  “You spout off about karma and stuff all the time. Maybe this is just the universe paying you back for all you do for everybody else.”

  “Pun intended?”

  “What? Oh, pay you back, check, I get it. Not funny. Cara, just take the check, be grateful, and let it go.”

  “I can do that. Does this mean it is time to spend the first check that I’ve just had sitting in the bank? Considering the interest rate they are paying me, it certainly isn’t making me any money.”

  “Do what Mom always said. Every time you take money out of the bank to spend on something that isn’t necessary, put an equal amount in your savings.”

  “I’ve never understood the logic of that if the money you are taking out to spend is from your savings in the first place.”

  “I really worry about you sometimes, dingleberry. So, what are you going to do? You going to take A.J. on a photo safari? Perhaps see if there is medical intervention for your hairy toes? You do not want to pass that along to your children. Maybe you guys could do a shortened version of Mom and Dad’s trip. I’m sure there are lots of photo opportunities in Ireland, and you could introduce A.J. to the family.”

  “Yeah, that wouldn’t make his head explode. ‘A.J., you want to go meet the family in Ireland?’ You know how they are. The second we get there it will be all about our wedding and babies, and A.J. and I haven’t even really talked about that. Much.”

  “Much?”

  I ignored her question. “I could chip in on your wedding or throw you the world’s best engagement party.”

  “Thanks. That’s a nice thought. But you don’t get to spend one single penny on anybody but you. Allow the universe to pamper you a little bit, Cara. Stop putting everyone and everything ahead of yourself. Really. It’s getting a little weird.”

  “Yes, ma’am. It isn’t an emergency. I’ll talk to A.J. and see if there is something he wants to do.”

  “Nothing practical.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with practical, Teagan.”

  “True, but there is something wrong when it is your only approach.”

  “I’ll think of something.”

  “You could have a bunch of those gowns you always drool over custom-made.”

  “I know you’re kidding, but there is a place in Europe that actually does that. You send them all your measurements, and they can either recreate a favorite or create a whole new look. I always thought if I ever won the lottery, the big one, it would be my first real splurge.”

  “Well, you didn’t win the lottery…”

  “Yet.”

  “Fine, you didn’t win the lottery yet, but you did come into some unexpected money. Have a bunch of those gowns made. They will bring you joy for years.”

  “They are ugly expensive, but maybe I could have one made.”

  “Think big, Cara.”

  “I was! I was thinking gown and robe.”

  “There ya go. Another thing scratched off your list.”

  “You make it sound like I have a bucket list.”

  “Everybody does. They just don’t write it down.”

  “No, not everybody does. I don’t.”

  “You don’t have things you want to do before you die?”

  “I try to do the things that I want to do, but the things I want to do are all small things, not grand like jumping out of a plane — God forbid — or seeing the pyramids up close and personal.”

  “Whatever works for you. I still think everyone should have goals.”

  “I’m not talking about goals. You ask a hundred people what a bucket list is, and very few of them are going to use the word goals. Bucket lists are more like adventures.”

  “And you don’t want to participate in any adventures?”

  “Sure, but the adventures I want are more about raising kids, and a long and happy marriage, and that kind of thing.”

  “Oh my God, you are so boring and old and mature. It just hurts my head sometimes.”

  “Maybe, but think of it this way. I get to live my adventure every day, not just two weeks a year when I’m on vacation.”

  “That was a good one, Cara. Very good. I’m actually going to think about that. Not for very long, but I’ll think about it. Oh, and I have something for you to think about.”

  “What’s up?”

  “Remember the comb-brooch thing you found in the trunk?”

  “Yes.”

  “Can I borrow it?”

  “Of course. It’s in the safe down at the studio. You want me to go get it now?”

  “Slow down. Don’t you ever say no or hold back? I was hoping to wear it for the wedding. I thought I’d do a loose, low updo with the veil low on the back of my head. If I can use that comb or brooch or whatever it is, it would be beautiful.”

  “I agree. Have you decided on the kind of dress you want?”

  “That’s gonna be tricky. I want something classic, and when you think of classic you don’t think of a body like mine. My boobs are too big. I’m short. Anything princessy is going to look stupid. Anything that would look good isn’t going to look classic. I’m stuck already, and I haven’t even gone shopping yet.”

  “Have you guys decided where you are getting married?”

  “Not really. We thought about the place that Liam and Morgan got married, beautiful, but no. Then where Seamus and Valerie got married, again, beautiful, but no.”

  “There is a beautiful little chapel down the river toward that place with the thing.”

  “As insightful as that description is, I don’t think so. I want a place that means something to us.”

  “How about the church?”

  “After what they did to Liam and Morgan, I don’t think so. Even Mom was mad.”

  “What did they do to Liam and Morgan?”

  “Oh, yeah, you were in the middle of a crisis then. You were so busy running around trying not to get dead, you weren’t in on all the details. Long story short, Monsignor whatever the hell his name is, is an ass.”

  I waited for lightning to strike us both dead.

  It did not.

  God must agree.

  “Cara, Billy was all ready to do the wedding, and for some unexplained reason the monsignor had to step in the middle of it. When he found out that Liam and Morgan were living in sin, he said that Liam would have to move out until the wedding. They agreed. Then Liam said something about Jordan, and they got into the whole history of Morgan and Jordan and everything. Liam assumed it was because the church would want to make sure there wasn’t a previous marriage and all that. Monsignor Ass asked Morgan to produce legal documents to prove that Jordan was the product of rape.”

  “What?”

  “I know. Mom went ballistic. Like I have never seen her, ballistic. The truth be told, I’m sure the only reason that Liam and Morgan were even pushing for that church was because of the family, and then Monsignor Ass does that.”

  “Stop calling him that, Teagan.”

  “You should have heard what Mom called him.”

  “I don’t even want to know.”

  “Anyway, Liam and Morgan walked out of the meeting and haven’t been back to the church since. Mom and Dad are looking for another church, at least until Monsignor dies, and Billy is so embarrassed he doesn’t know what to do with himself whenever he runs into Mom.”

  “It’s not Billy’s fault.”

  “I know. Cara, I have a question.”
>
  “No, there is no way Billy would tell the monsignor that you used to claim that Jessie was gay so that Mom and Daddy would let you hang out with him.”

  “Where did that come from? What I was going to say is that I’ve been thinking a lot about everything going on with Adeline and the break-ins at your apartment and the storage place.”

  “Me too. You want to put on your blinker before you change the subject? That was a really big switch without warning.”

  “Have you ever figured out what was taken?”

  “Well, I know they broke some stuff when they were here, but I haven’t really found anything missing, and Adeline said that they went through every single thing at the warehouse and nothing is missing.”

  “Don’t you think that is kind of weird?”

  “Well, yeah. But the kid did almost cut off his hand, so maybe they just didn’t get around to taking the stuff.”

  “Wouldn’t they have had it lined up by the door or something?”

  “Not everyone is as organized as I am, Teagan. Why? What are you thinking?”

  “Well, if their intent wasn’t to take something, maybe it was to leave something.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “Well, it doesn’t make sense that they would break in just to break some stuff. If they did that, why did they go to the warehouse? They didn’t break anything there, right? You said that they didn’t get any codes or anything from here to get into the warehouse, so that wasn’t their goal for being here.”

  “The only thing found out of place at the warehouse was that rod thing that I grabbed on my way to the car. It turns out that one of the worker guys left that out. He took full responsibility for it. So that had nothing to do with the break-in here.”

  “Then how do they even know that they broke in at the warehouse?”

  “Well, I’m not sure they do. They know that someone got in, but I’m not sure they know who got in, and since the kid was bleeding here, and there was no blood found there, I guess they could be two separate events. I didn’t really think about the whole bleeding thing until just now. That would be a little too much of a coincidence, though, wouldn’t it? They break into my apartment, and all of a sudden Adeline’s storage place gets broken into. On the same day. Only a couple of hours apart. I think there is a lot more going on, but it seems pretty clear they’re connected. The apartment and the storage place, I mean. I kind of figured Roland and his guys would figure it all out.”

  “Yeah, they’re doing an exemplary job.”

  “Don’t be so hard on them. They’re starting from scratch, and they are working with Adeline and the girls, and they have very specific rules. They are trying, Teagan.”

  “So are we. I think you need to ask Roland if there is any possibility that they left something behind.”

  “Like what?”

  “I don’t know. Cameras? They could be watching us right now. You can get a nanny cam or a pinhole camera that even you would never notice.”

  “I’m sure they checked for all of that when they put in the security system.”

  “Why would they?”

  “Another good question.”

  “It’s just a thought. Probably not worth anything, but it wouldn’t hurt to ask.”

  The thought of someone listening or watching kind of killed the mood. Teagan left after a little while.

  An hour later I’d snooped around and found nothing, but got some cleaning done. Not that the apartment really needed it. It’s good that A.J. is almost as neat as I am. It would drive me crazy to live with a slob. Kind of why Teagan and I never lived together. Well, that, and the fact that murder is illegal in the state of Florida, and it would only be a matter of time before one of us killed the other of us.

  For the record, I’m the one that would have cause.

  Bored, I gave her a call. “Back to your wedding, have you given any thought to a ring?”

  Only a sister can take up exactly where you left off without missing a word.

  “Oh, I know what I want. Jessie is having it made.”

  “Wow.”

  “Not really. He said he looked and looked and couldn’t find anything like I’d described to him. It really isn’t any more expensive to have the ring made. You go to a diamond broker, pick out your diamonds, and then a jeweler makes the ring. Because there is less of a markup through the diamond broker than in regular retail, it’s actually cheaper than a couple of the places we checked in town.”

  “Do you have a design you like, or are you making up one of your own?”

  “I found these people online that I love. They have the basic look I want, but I want a couple of tiny changes.”

  “How can you tell what a ring is going to look like on your hand?”

  “I guess I’m just going to have to visualize, because they only have one shop, and it isn’t here.”

  “Where is it?”

  “Some little town in Texas.”

  “Jessie’s on the road all the time. Why don’t you guys just go there?”

  “Not gonna happen. He isn’t into the whole ring thing.”

  “Are you okay with that?”

  “It is what it is. I can’t change the fact that Jessie doesn’t like jewelry.”

  “It isn’t about the jewelry; it is about…”

  “To you it isn’t about the jewelry, and you are going to make it this whole big thing that it isn’t. To me and Jessie, well, it’s fine. Don’t try to start a problem where there is no problem.”

  “I wasn’t trying to start a problem.”

  “You know what I mean. Anyway, Jessie said I could have anything I want; he’d be more than happy to pick up the bill.”

  “That’s dangerous. You? Anything you want? This could get really expensive.”

  “I know. Anyway, I found this place. Now all I have to do is figure out what kind of stones I want, and we’re good.”

  “I assumed diamonds.”

  “You assumed correctly.”

  “Oh, you mean the whole carat, clarity, cut, and whatever?”

  “I mean do I want natural diamonds? Conflict-free diamonds? And if I go with conflict free, how do you know they are really conflict free and it’s not just some marketing thing? Do I want my stones grown in a lab? I already know I don’t want a cubic zirconia type thing, although some of those are beautiful stones, and a lot of people don’t understand the difference between a lab-grown diamond and a cubic zirconia.”

  “Grown in a lab?”

  “Yeah, they literally create a real diamond. I haven’t found any I would kill for. If they are big enough, they are too colored. If they are white enough, they are too small. Maybe I’ll go with yellow. They seem to have figured out how to make big, perfect yellow diamonds.”

  “To think I would have just gone to one of the big box stores and picked something I thought looked good on my finger.”

  “Why a big box store for a wedding ring?”

  “You get more for your money. They always say that it will appraise for more than you spent.”

  “How romantic.”

  “Hey, dink, your husband isn’t even interested in accompanying you to the big box store, so don’t start with me.”

  “You can buy any ring you want; it doesn’t make any difference to me. I’d still like to know where Liam got Morgan’s ring. It is beautiful.”

  “I didn’t ask, but I’m sure he wouldn’t mind telling you.”

  “Yeah, well, that will have to wait. I can’t really call and say, ‘No news, just wanted to know where you bought your wife’s wedding ring.’”

  “Good point. If you’re serious, and Jessie really doesn’t want to be involved with the whole ring thing, and you really are okay with that, maybe we should take some of that found money I have and take a road trip. We could drive. Depending on where the town is, we could get there in a day or two, talk to the ring people, you could try on a bunch, and then we could drive back.”

  “That could be f
un. I could take the time off work without any problem.”

  “Yeah, what’s up with that? We never got the chance to talk about it. All you said was something about Honey making sure that you were good with your job forever, then you said something about Mr. Fisher wanting to make you a partner, but I didn’t get any of the details. You also said you were going to explain to me why you said that Honey smoked herself stupid but that I shouldn’t worry about asking Roland for a job for her.”

  “I swear, every time we start to talk we get interrupted. It’s not my fault.”

  “I agree. Talk. Before someone interrupts.”

  Someone started pounding on my door.

  I swear there are forces against me.

  “Hold on, gotta get the door.”

  “You’re kidding.”

  “Nope.”

  “Talk about coincidence. What are the chances? Dingleberry, check the peephole.”

  I walked over to the door. Looked out the peephole expecting to see Suzi. Instead there was some guy in jeans and a shirt who I’d never seen before. I almost opened the door.

  “Some guy in jeans and a shirt.”

  “Do not open that door, Cara. If you don’t know him, just ignore him.”

  “He’s probably just got the wrong apartment.”

  “Then let him check at the office.”

  “He can hear me talking.”

  “So what? You are not under any obligation to answer your door.”

  “I’m nosey.”

  “Don’t be stupid.”

  The guy pounded on the door again.

  For some reason, the first knock seemed like just a plain old knock, and the second knock seemed more menacing.

  Are Roland’s people supposed to be watching me?

  Aren’t they at least seeing this on the camera outside my door?

  If there are no good guys hiding in the bushes, shouldn’t they at least call me?

  My phone vibrated in my hand. I checked the phone.

  “Roland is calling me. I’ll call you back.”

  “Don’t hang up on me, Cara. Just switch over.”

  “Do you recognize the man at your door?”

  “No.”

  “Don’t answer.”

  “That’s what Teagan said.”

  “Teagan is there?”

  “No, I was talking to her on the phone, and shouldn’t you know that?”