Cathryn Parry - The Secret Between Them

Kyle pinched the bridge of his nose between thumb and finger. He should have known that Joe would pull something like this on him.

Under the table, Kyle moved his leg. He should also be thankful that Joe hadn’t known about his injury. If he had, Kyle doubted he would’ve wanted him managing the place at all. Joe had no patience for people who didn’t show full competence at their job.

Kyle put his head in his hands. Until these last few days, he’d never thought too much about his relationship—or lack thereof—with his stepfather, but in truth, Kyle probably had joined the military just because Joe had been so down on it. A Vietnam vet, Joe hadn’t had a good experience, or so Kyle assumed. He really didn’t know much, because Joe refused to talk about it. Joe just raged. Foul moods. Brooding. With Kyle, he’d been brutal.

With women—Kyle’s mom, with Jessica and Jessica’s mom—he’d been the perfect gentleman. It was all an act, though.

Kyle had never known his own father. He’d died in a snowmobile accident when Kyle had been a baby. His sled had fallen through lake ice up in Maine. Kyle’s grandmother, before she’d passed away, had told Kyle that the authorities hadn’t found the body until the spring thaw. Kyle’s mother had met Joe when Kyle was really little. His mom had doted on Kyle. Her life was wrapped around his. It had actually taken her a few years of grieving for her deceased husband and then careful, platonic dating before she’d trusted Joe enough to marry him.

Those first years had been great. But Joe’s darkness came out after Kyle’s mom died.

He felt a lump in his throat. He remembered his mom as gentle and fragile. When he’d lost his leg, he’d felt glad that she wasn’t around to see it. It would’ve devastated her. Still, he had no doubt she would’ve supported him no matter what he did with his life. He’d supported his mom, too, in all her decisions. He remembered the day she had asked him what he thought about her marrying Joe.

“He has an ice rink. Marry him, Mom.”

So she had. And for a while everything had been good. But after his mom got sick and passed away, everything about Joe turned bitter.

If it weren’t for the rink, who knew what would’ve happened to Kyle? He’d always felt the rink had saved him after his mom’s death. Now he wanted it to save him after losing his leg.

Natalie returned, shuffling her folders. Busy and official, she sat and looked brightly at him. “So, after reading the documents, tell me what you think?”

Kyle hadn’t touched Joe’s letter, still on the table. He hadn’t even glanced at the will.

Kyle leaned forward to face the lawyer. “I don’t care what you have to do, Natalie. Whatever you have to promise Jessica to make this deal happen, please just do it.”

“You don’t have any questions for me?”

“No. Get Jessica on board any way you have to.”

“All right.” Natalie nodded as she pushed back her chair. “Let me talk with her and I’ll get back to you in a few minutes.”

Kyle nodded. He had a good idea of Jessica’s thoughts regarding partnering with him. “You’ve got your work cut out for you.”

Natalie tilted her head. “Why do you say that?”

He couldn’t explain years of history to her, ending with the guilty fact that he had caused Jessica’s career-ending injury. He just shook his head. “Honestly, it would be a lot easier if you could help me put together a deal now to buy the rink behind the scenes. Somehow that has to be possible.”

Natalie shook her head. “No, it’s not viable, Kyle, because at this point, if the rink goes up for sale you’d be competing with land developers with deep pockets. The land alone is what makes the property quite valuable. And at this point, I’m bound to take the highest bidder. That isn’t the case in six months. In six months, if the business is profitable, then we can arrange for you to achieve financing and buy out Jessica’s share. But first you need to partner effectively with her.”

Partner effectively with her? Frustrated, he sighed. “Maybe you should just let me talk to the bank?”

Natalie reached over and put a hand on his arm. “As a member of this community, and one with a child who I hope will someday use the skating rinks, I’m heartened that you want to keep the facility open. However, without a track record of running a business, I don’t see the bank giving you such a large loan, under any circumstance.” She smiled. “Let me talk with Jessica. I’d like to hear what she has to say before we make any plans.”

Kyle shut his eyes. He was doomed.

JESSICA UNZIPPED HER coat and unwound her woolen scarf from her neck. The law office felt stifling. Sebastien seemed comfortable, though, strolling around, hands in his pockets, checking out the framed old postcards on the walls. They’d been in the conference room for twenty minutes now.

“Do you still think this will is about you getting a nothing piece of jewelry?” Sebastien asked. “This seems like too much of a production, asking you to show up here, then waiting like this. Maybe you’re inheriting something that’s worth some money?”

“I honestly don’t know.” Jessica sighed. She was starting to feel guilty about not attending Joe’s funeral. Once he’d been the closest thing to a father figure that she’d had. Then, after she’d left skating, she hadn’t even wanted to see him. He reminded her of those other, more painful times. And she hadn’t wanted to be his physical therapist at first, either. “I don’t know why he even chose me.”

“Joe never said anything to you? Never a hint?”

“No. He just made that offhand comment about his ring that one time.”

“Well, did he have a lot of money? Because this law firm doesn’t look cheap.”

Jessica had to admit, she liked the vibe of it more now, with the daughter running it, than when she’d consulted with the father. Today, the decor was homey and inviting, a mixture of modern and antique, but with renovated and restored architectural features. Really, this whole town had so much historical character—she’d fallen in love with it at first sight.

She and her mother had shown up one cold February, similar to this one, and they, too, had taken a winter rental near the beach. Not as nice a place as where Sebastien lived, but the raw beauty of the New England beach in winter had made an impression on Jessica. She’d wanted to stay in Wallis Point forever. She’d begged her mom. She’d been so tired of moving around.

Natalie came into the room, a folder in her hand. She wore a cute light-gray suit and black pumps. Jessica rarely got to dress up anymore. As a physical therapist, she wore a T-shirt, jeans and sneakers—the uniform of her trade.

Natalie smiled at her. “Hi, Jessica. Thanks so much for coming today. I’m sorry I left you waiting.”

“This is my friend, Sebastien. Sebastien, this is Natalie Kimball.”

“I was admiring your postcards,” Sebastien said.

“Thanks,” Natalie replied. “I collect them. I love learning about the local history.”

“It’s interesting that the beachfront arcades look nearly the same a hundred years later,” Sebastien remarked.

“Take a look at the panels with the turn-of-the-century citizens strolling the boardwalk.”

“I saw them.” Sebastien smiled. “Great old bathing suits.”

“I sometimes wonder what people back then would think if they were transported here to modern times,” Natalie mused. “Bikinis. Flip-flops.”

“Tattoos,” Sebastien added, laughing.

Natalie smiled. Jessica sincerely doubted that Natalie had any tattoos. Jessica had a small one, well hidden. She wanted another, but it seemed as though Sebastien was sort of horrified by the idea.