Julie Garwood - The Ideal Man

Ellie’s parents were sitting at the kitchen table with William’s aunts, Vivien and Cecilia, when she walked in with Max.

“I don’t think it will rain tonight,” William predicted.

“It wouldn’t dare,” Ellie said. “This is Ava’s big night.”

“No, dear, the wedding is her big night. This is her second big night,” Claire said.

Ellie was about to laugh until she realized her mother was serious. “Does Ava have a list of big, bigger, and biggest?”

“Don’t start, Eleanor.”

William introduced Max to his aunts. He shook their hands and smiled while they talked over each other greeting him and telling him their plans for the day. He caught the words museum and boutique, nodded because they looked expectantly at him, and laughed out loud when Aunt Cecilia patted Ellie’s hand and asked her how she was doing in school.

“You remind me of my late husband,” Cecilia told Max.

“I was thinking he looks more like my late Edgar,” Vivien said. “He was a handsome man.”

Max wasn’t sure how to respond, but Ellie saved him from having to say anything when she asked the aunts, “Did you have a restful evening? I hope you were comfortable upstairs.”

“Oh yes,” Vivien declared. “It was so nice of Annie to give up her room for us.”

“It’s such a lovely room,” Cecilia interjected. “The new color is just beautiful.”

Ellie shared a quick smile with Max, then said, “Where is Annie?”

“She left early this morning,” her father said. “Poor thing looked exhausted. She was white as a ghost.”

“She just took the bar,” Ellie said. “She should be exhausted. She probably studied night and day for months.”

“That’s right. Of course, she’s tired. She took that exam.”

“Where did she go so early?” Ellie asked.

“Ava picked her up at eight, and Annie took her dress for the party with her.”

“Why?”

“The hem was torn,” her mother explained. “Ava has a seamstress on call for her boutique. She’ll mend it for her.”

“Shouldn’t we get going, Claire?” Vivien asked.

The three women stood and headed to the door.

“We’ll be back at four,” her mother said. “We’re deliberately going to be gone all day so that the cleaning people and the caterers Ava hired can get their work done. We’d only be in the way.”

“Won’t you come with us, Ellie?” Vivien asked. “We’re going to have lunch at that new restaurant downtown. We’d love your company.”

“I’m sorry. I can’t,” she said. “I’ve got too much to do,” she lied.

“We’ll bring you two a little treat,” Cecilia promised.

Her aunt acted as though Ellie were still eleven years old, but she wasn’t offended. “That would be nice.”

“Do you have a dress to wear tonight?” her mother asked.

“Yes, I do.” She actually had brought two dresses, one that was periwinkle and a bit snug and another that was pink with a full skirt.

“Because we could take you to the boutique, and Ava could find something for you to wear.”

“I have a dress, Mom,” she repeated. “When will Annie be home?”

“Ava wants to make an entrance, and Annie will ride with her and John. They’ll be here promptly at seven forty-five.”

“The party starts at seven.”

“Yes, that’s right.”

“Ava wants to be late?”

“Fashionably late,” Claire explained. “That’s what she told me.”

“But it’s her party.”

“I mentioned that to her, dear.”

“Shouldn’t she be on time? And Annie’s hosting the party. She certainly should be here to welcome guests.”

“Ava has two sisters. You can welcome guests until Annie gets here.”

“Aha,” Ellie said. Of course. Now she could see the plan. Those vicious rumors would go away if Ellie greeted the guests and welcomed them to the party. Ellie would be letting everyone know that she approved of Ava and John. Oh yes, Ava had it all figured out.

“Aha, what?” her mother asked.

“Never mind.”

Time to let it go, she decided. No more resentment. No more anger or embarrassment. Ava and John belonged together, and it was time for Ellie to be happy for them. She was never going to have a great relationship with her sister because they were so different, but she was okay with that. And she would try to get along.

“Tonight has to be perfect for Ava,” Claire said.

Ellie knew her mother’s comment was a warning. “Why are you frowning at me? I’m not going to do anything to ruin her perfect evening.”

The Pattersons weren’t pleasant people.

After Hershey and Clark arrived at the Sullivan house late in the afternoon, Max gave them instructions and made Ellie promise she would stay with them, then walked the few blocks to the Patterson home.

The couple opened the door together, but neither invited Max to come inside. Resentment etched Mr. Patterson’s face, and anger radiated from Mrs. Patterson.

Max showed them his badge and said, “My name is Agent Daniels, and I’m with the FBI.”

“Why don’t you people leave us alone?” Mr. Patterson demanded.

“I want to talk to you about your son.”

The couple edged their way out onto the porch, and Mr. Patterson pulled the door closed behind him.

“What is it you want with him this time?” he asked.

“First of all, I want to know where he is,” Max said calmly.

“Why?” Mrs. Patterson asked in a gravelly voice. “So you can harass him again?”

“Or do you want to lock him away again?” Mr. Patterson asked. He folded his arms across his chest and glared at Max. “Evan hasn’t done anything wrong, and I know the law. You can’t touch him.”

“He was a good boy until she came along,” Mrs. Patterson said. Only the slightest hint of disappointment flashed across her face before the anger took over again. “We had such high hopes for him. He was going to make something of himself. He was so smart and clever. All the teachers told us so.”

“She ruined his life, getting the police involved and all. He didn’t mean any harm.”

Max wanted to argue, to remind them that Ellie was eleven years old the first time their son attacked her, but he knew it was useless to point out the facts. They had already twisted them to fit their agenda, and nothing he could say would change their minds. They wanted to believe their son was a victim.

“I’m not here to talk about the past,” Max said.

“We don’t know where Evan is. We haven’t seen him in months,” Mr. Patterson insisted.

“If we did know, we wouldn’t tell you,” his wife muttered.

“Your son tried to purchase a gun yesterday,” Max told them.

“I don’t believe it,” Mrs. Patterson scoffed. “You FBI agents always lie.” She pulled a pack of cigarettes out of her pocket and elbowed her husband for his lighter.

“Did that woman call you and tell you the lie about a gun so you would come here and harass us?” Mr. Patterson demanded.

“We know she’s back in town. We read it in the paper. She’s behind this.” Mrs. Patterson lit a cigarette and inhaled. “She won’t rest until she’s destroyed our boy.” Smoke billowed out of her mouth as she spoke. “She ought to be the one locked up is what I think. I hope she gets what she deserves.”

Max was through being diplomatic. “I’m putting both of you on notice. If your son gets hold of a gun, and you do nothing to stop him, you’re as responsible as he is if someone gets hurt. I’ll lock you up, too.”

They gave no response to his threat, but as he was walking down their porch steps, he heard their front door slam.