Chapter 19

"Is Ava asleep?" Linette asked, as Wiley slipped back into their bedroom and closed the door.

He nodded. "Yes, curled up in her covers. All you can see of her is from the nose up. Do you think your parents liked us?"

Linette patted the empty side of the bed. "Lord yes. Mother is besotted with you. You have charmed her straight to hell and back. Daddy begrudgingly approves of you, but he'll die before he admits it, because he's jealous. But Mama will take the starch right out of him for his attitude tonight, and the next time you see him, he'll be your long-lost friend."

Wiley laughed as he crawled into bed beside her. "Well, that's quite a lot to live up to."

"You don't have to worry about them another second. I'm the woman you need to please, and it would please me greatly to die a little bit in your arms tonight."

He reached across her and turned out the lights. "I hear and obey," he whispered as he slipped his hand between her legs.

***

"They're happy," Angela said, as she pulled back the covers and crawled into bed.

Chuck Elgin sighed. "I saw that."

"He's different, Chuck. Different from any men I've seen in years. Like a throwback to a different time. He's not pretending to be something he's not, and he's a bona fide hero. Did you know about that hospital lockdown?"

Chuck shrugged. "She talked about it tonight after they put Ava to bed. It's the first I knew."

"He saved her life in that bank robbery, and he saved her life in that hospital. All you have to do is see the way he looks at her to know she is his heart. He is loyal to the core. I am never going to worry about our daughter again."

"I don't know about all that," Chuck muttered. "A father is always gonna worry about his daughter."

"Well, that's your prerogative, if you feel the need. But Linette is a grown woman, and the man who will look after her and love her now is Wiley Pope. I can't wait to meet the rest of the family."

"Is that tomorrow?" Chuck asked.

"Yes. Tomorrow is Saturday. We're having lunch—they call it dinner—at his mother's house. Apparently, his immediate family will be there," Angela said.

"Good. You can tell a lot about a man by the woman who raised him. I'll reserve judgment," he muttered.

Angela plopped down into bed beside him and turned off the light. There was a brief moment of silence before she fired her last shot in a voice devoid of emotion.

"Charles Elgin. You do not go up that mountain with judgment on your mind. You will pretend you are not an occasional bigot. If you see something that you disapprove of, you will keep it to yourself, or you will answer to me when we go home, and it is a long-ass drive from here to St. Petersburg. Do you get my drift?"

Chuck hadn't heard that tone in her voice in years, but he knew what it meant.

"Yes, honey. I didn't mean anything I said as an insult to the man. I'm just—"

"You're just jealous. So, grow up. We made her. We loved and raised her, and she'll always be our daughter. But she is his now. He cherishes the ground she walks on, which is more than I can say for how you treat me."

"But, honey—"

"You take me for granted and you know it," Angela said. "But I love you, so I put up with it. Now shut up and go to sleep. Tomorrow is an important day for Linnie, and we aren't going to embarrass her. Understand?"

"Yes, ma'am."

Angela snorted beneath her breath, then rolled over on her side and closed her eyes.

***

Shirley Pope knew Linette's family was coming to visit, and that they were coming to her house for dinner tomorrow. Even B.J. was taking off a day, leaving the assistant pastry chef in charge. Aaron and Dani were coming. Amalie was closing her office for the day.

Shirley had also invited Cameron and his family, Aunt Annie and Uncle John Cauley, Marcus Glass, and Ray and Betty Raines and their son, Charlie. It was the first get-together she'd hosted since Aunt Ella's passing, and her absence would be felt by the people who'd loved her.

Shirley had baked a ham yesterday and would make the beef roast and vegetables today, along with a half-dozen sides to go with it. Amalie and Sean had helped her last night and were at it again this morning, and Aunt Annie was bringing desserts from the bakery. It was also Shirley's first big meal to cook since she'd gotten rid of the walking cast, and it felt good to be whole again.

As always, family began arriving early, women bringing a side dish and an extra pair of hands, while the men were shooed out of the house onto the long front porch to swap stories to their hearts' content.

Sean had an ice chest full of cold pop and bottles of water, and the ceiling fans on the porch stirred the air enough to keep them cool, while the women had the air-conditioned house to cool their labors.

Aaron and Dani arrived, with B.J. right behind them, and then Cameron, Rusty, and Mikey came after, while the rest came stringing in. Finally, the only people left to arrive were the guests of honor.

"There they come!" Cameron said, pointing at the appearance of Wiley's SUV, and right behind it was a car they didn't recognize. It had to be her parents.

Sean got up and opened the door. "Mom! They're here!" he shouted.

Shirley dropped what she was doing, wiped her hands, and went out to greet them.

***

When the house came into full view, Linette gasped. "Who are all those people?"

"Kin," Wiley said. "You'll meet them all and love them. Anyone I love, they love."

"Will they love me, too?" Ava asked.

"Especially you," Linette said, as she unbuckled her seat belt.

"I'll get her," Wiley said. He jumped out, opened the door for Linette, then got Ava out of her car seat. "Two prettiest girls in the county, and they're mine," he said.

Chuck and Angela got out and hurried up to where Wiley and Linette were waiting.

"Jesus was a carpenter," Chuck muttered. "We just walked into the land of giants."

Angela sighed. "And aren't they something? Lord, but the blood runs true in all of them. I've never seen so many good-looking men, from the youngest to the oldest, with such strong family resemblances."

"Come on, Mom," Linette said, and they headed to the house together.

Shirley emerged from the house as they came up the steps. The strands of gray in her dark hair looked like silver, and her sons wore varying versions of her face. Because her sons were so tall, she never thought of herself that way, but found herself towering over both of Linette's parents.

Linette immediately began introductions. "Mom…Dad…these are Wiley's people, some of whom I have yet to meet. Everyone, this is my dad, Chuck Elgin, and my mother, Angela."

"And for those who have yet to meet them, these two beauties are my fiancée, Linette, and my little sister, Ava."

Cameron's son, Mikey, had been drawing pictures in the dirt when the strangers arrived and had gone back to the porch to stand beside his daddy. But then he saw the little girl with blond hair get out of his uncle Wiley's car, and he stared. And kept staring.

Even after everyone had gone inside and even more introductions were made, Mikey was still and quiet, something Rusty had never seen happen.

"Cameron, look at Mikey," she whispered.

Cameron quickly scanned the room, expecting to have to dig him out of a corner he wasn't supposed to be in, and then saw him sitting on a rock bench in front of the fireplace, staring. He followed his son's gaze, straight to the little blond sitting in Wiley's lap, and sighed.

"Well, damn," he said.

"I've seen that look before, but you were wearing it when we first met," Rusty said.

"He's barely seven," Cameron said.

Rusty shrugged. "So's she, but going into second grade, I hear."

"That doesn't happen this young," Cameron said.

Rusty shrugged. "I'm not advocating for anything. I'm just pointing out the obvious. Pope men love once. You've told me that a thousand times."

Cameron looked down at her, seeing the woman she was now, but remembering the wild, reckless woman who'd chosen undercover work for the FBI as her livelihood. And there was a part of her in their son, too.

"Well, we'll see what we will see," Cameron said, "and I think Shirley just rang the dinner bell. I'll gather up Sir Lancelot, while you go make him a plate."

***

Wiley heard the same dinner bell and scooted Ava off his lap. "Dinner's ready, sugar. Grammy has a whole bunch of good stuff cooked for us to eat. Would you like Linnie to make you a plate? She knows what you like."

"Where do I sit?" Ava whispered.

"I think there's a little table set up on the back porch for you and Mikey. And there are tables set up out in the yard beneath the shade trees, and chairs on the porch, too."

"We don't sit inside?" she asked.

"Not today. Too many people. We took all of the chairs outside to the big picnic tables and put all of the food on the kitchen table and the desserts on the kitchen island. We'll all be outside with you, okay? It will be just like eating lunch with a classmate at school. And Mikey will go to school where you go, too, so you're going to have a friend already on the first day of school."

Ava nodded. The idea of a friend was reassuring, even if it was a boy.

***

Cameron grabbed Mikey's drink and took it and him to the little table. Rusty was right behind them with his plate of food.

"Where's the girl gonna sit?" Mikey asked.

"Right here with you," Rusty said. "You be nice to her. She doesn't know all these people like you do, and she might be a little bit scared."

The little boy's eyes narrowed. "I know how to be good. I'll take care of her, Mama."

"Thank you," Rusty said. "Daddy and I are going back to get our plates, and then we'll be eating out here, too."

They went inside as Wiley was coming out with Ava and her drink, and Linette was behind them with Ava's plate. But before they could say a word, Mikey raised his hand.

"She's a'pposed to sit here, Uncle Wiley. I'll take care of her."

Wiley blinked. What the hell? "Well, that's really nice of you, Mikey."

Ava stared at the little boy with the black eyes and dark hair, and then slipped into the other little chair at the table without an argument.

Linette set the plate of food in front of her, handed her a fork, and then took Wiley's hand.

"Let's go get our food. We kind of need to sit by my folks. Can't abandon them in the middle of a houseful of strangers."

They looked back as they were going inside and saw Mikey eating and staring at Ava as if he'd just found the mother lode, while Ava was primly picking at the food on her plate and eating like a little princess.

"Where the hell did she learn to do that?" Wiley muttered.

"Do what?" Linette asked.

"Flirt. I swear to God, she knows he likes her."

Linette laughed. "We're born with it. Calm down. They're just kids meeting for the first time. I need to go rescue my parents before Dad makes an ass of himself."

Wiley laughed, and the moment passed.

By the time they got to dessert, Mikey was doing his dead-level best to make Ava laugh.

Linette watched Wiley among his family and saw him anew, and by the time they left, her parents were as sold on Wiley Pope and his people as Linette was. They left Jubilee the next morning accepting of the fact that their daughter was marrying into a clan.

***

Wiley went to work. Linette headed for the hospital, and Ava was at Dani's house, talking about a little boy named Mikey who could whistle between his teeth and make himself burp. The ultimate accomplishments for a seven-year-old boy.

Dani didn't know what to think. This was the most interest Ava had shown about anything since Wiley put up her swing set and Aaron bought her the little swimming pool for their backyard. Ava was finally blossoming as the normal little girl she should have been.

***

Corina ended her fourteen-hour shift and dragged herself back to the cabin. The ship was docking in New Orleans tomorrow morning, and she was getting the hell off of it. This was the most miserable seven days of her life. She hadn't been sober this long since she was fourteen. Between her dissatisfaction and the noise, she'd turned into a bitch, and she knew it.

She packed her stuff and then fell into bed without eating or showering. All she wanted was an escape, and that came with sleep. When she finally did sleep, she dreamed of before—of Clyde Wallace, and the times they got high together, and the times he used her for a punching bag. And sometimes, a little face would pop into the dream. Ava. Staring at her. Watching her. Eating the scraps from Corina's plate. Scurrying into the shadows like a little rat. And then Corina would wake up in a panic, thinking the kid was still there, haunting her. Then the dream morphed to Miss Mattie's doorstep. Corina was beating on the door, begging her to open it, when she woke up remembering Miss Mattie was dead. Ava was gone. And Corina was on a return trip from nowhere, coming back to nothing.

Maybe she'd just stay in New Orleans. It held possibilities that Conway, Arkansas, did not. She could start over. No one knew her or her story. She glanced at the time. It was almost 5:00 a.m. She groaned, threw back the covers, slipped down from the top bunk past Patsy's snores, and staggered to the bathroom, stripped, and finally showered off the smell of yesterday.

A short while later, she was dressed and digging in the mini fridge for something to eat. Her hair was still wet from her shampoo and shower when there was a sudden hammering on the door.

Patsy rolled over. "What's happening?"

"I don't know," Corina muttered, and opened the door. Two ship's officers were on the threshold.

"Corina Dalton?"

"Yes, that's me," she said.

"We are your escort off the ship. Get your things."

"Uh.. I'll need my passport and—"

"You will be given what is owed to you. Come with us."

Patsy stood up. "You're leaving?"

"As fast as my legs will carry me," Corina muttered. "I'm not the type to play Jonah in the belly of a whale. This is the worst damn job I ever had, and believe me, sister, I've had a few. I'd rather fuck a duck for free than do this again."

And then she was gone.

Within the hour she was on the streets of New Orleans with her passport in her purse and less than two hundred dollars for the ride she'd just taken. She had no place to live. Next to no clothes. No car, and four thousand dollars in the bank for having sold it. It was time to regroup.

Two hours later, she was in a motel with a newspaper, a breakfast sandwich, and a bottle of beer, going through the help wanted section before heading out into the city, making the rounds of jobs that needed no résumés.

By the time the sun went down, she was in a bar down in the French Quarter. The leather on the barstool was a little cracked on the edge. She could feel it rubbing against the leg of her pants, but her beer was cold and the place was lively. Right down her alley. She was looking forward to getting back to her room. Tonight, she would sleep in quiet, with the air-conditioning blasting cold air. No snoring roommate. No throbbing sounds of the powerful engines below. Just silence.

***

He'd been watching her all night. She'd had five beers and flashed cash when she paid. She was just shy of too drunk to know where she was going, and he needed a fix, so when she left the bar alone, he followed, staying far enough back in the crowded streets not to be spotted, and kept with her all the way to where she was staying, then into the building and down the hall behind her.

He watched her fumbling for her key card, and then the moment she got the door open, he leaped, pushed her inside so hard she hit the floor face-first.

***

Corina never knew what happened. One moment she was facedown and tasting blood, and then a man was on her back. She tried to scream, but her front teeth had been driven into her lower lip, and all she could muster was a choking moan. The man grabbed her by the hair and yanked her head backward so hard it broke her neck. She was dead before the pain could fully register, and he was already going through her purse.

Fifteen minutes later, he scored what he wanted and headed for his flop. The woman was forgotten. She didn't matter to him. She was just a means to an end, and he was riding out his high.

***

Housekeeping found her body the next morning.

Just another stranger who was now the responsibility of the New Orleans PD. It didn't take them long to find out she had priors. They also found a bar tab in her purse. While they were waiting for the coroner, the team from the crime lab was gathering evidence in the room and found her paperwork from the cruise line.

"She was staff on a cruise ship."

A guy from the lab looked up. "One of the Carnival Cruises docked yesterday morning."

The detective in charge pointed at an officer. "Find the manager. I want the security footage from the time she entered the building to the moment she went into her room."

The police began working the case just like they did every random murder in their city, but the world was through with Corina. Her whole life had been about choices, and she'd rolled snake eyes every time.

***

A couple of days later, Wiley was on patrol. He'd dropped his partner, Doug Leedy, off at a dentist about an hour earlier and was on his own until he got the call to come pick Doug back up. So, when his phone rang, he thought it would be Doug. Instead, it was from the chief.

"Chief, what's up?" he said.

"Wiley, when you get a second, I need you to swing by my office," Sonny said.

"Yeah, sure. Be there in a few," Wiley said. He took the turn at the next corner and headed back to the station.

The door to the office was open, but he knocked anyway.

Sonny looked up. "Come in, Wiley, and close the door, will you?"

Wiley frowned. "What's wrong. What happened?"

"I just got a call from a detective in New Orleans. Corina Dalton was murdered there two days ago. Robbed in her hotel room. They picked up the guy who did it."

Wiley blinked, then took a deep breath, but said nothing.

Sonny didn't know how to read the man. The Pope brothers gave nothing away. He glanced down at the notes he'd made from the phone call and continued.

"They were looking for a next of kin and found the recent court records regarding the legal guardianship between you and her. This is a weird situation. Legally, they have to notify next of kin, but she's only seven. So, I'm telling you. And you can decide when, or if, you ever tell her. They want to know if anyone is claiming the body."

"Hell no, we're not claiming the body. And I know I'm not running home to tell Ava anything. If she ever asks…I might. But honest to God, Chief, she has nightmares about the woman. She got herself killed there. They can bury her there."

Sonny nodded. "They said she'd recently sold her car and banked the money in New Orleans. There's a little less than four thousand dollars in that account."

A muscle jerked at the side of Wiley's jaw. "Then they can bury her with it. Ava's never going to need that money. It's tainted, just like the woman it belonged to. Is that all, sir?"

Sonny sighed. "Yes, that will be all."

"Sir," Wiley said, and walked out, but the moment he got back in the car, he called Linette. She was off this afternoon and had gone to Bowling Green, so he knew he wasn't disturbing her at work. The call rang three times before she picked up.

"Hey, honey," she said.

"Are you where you can talk?" Wiley asked.

"Yes, I'm driving home. What happened?"

"Corina Dalton was murdered in New Orleans two days ago. They were trying to track down next of kin. They saw my name and Ava's connected to her most recent court case."

"Oh my God! So do we have to do anything?" she asked.

"Hell no."

"Are we going to tell Ava?" Linette asked.

"Hell no, again," Wiley said. "Not unless she ever asks about her, and then I'll take it into consideration. That woman gave away her child. That nullifies her existence. She chose the path she walked, and now it's finished."

"Okay, and I agree," Linette said.

"I just needed to tell you now. I don't want to talk about it at home and have her overhear any part of it. You and I are in this together. I'll always have your back."

"And I'll have yours," Linette said. "I'm just now coming over the mountain. It's so pretty up here. God, what a place to grow up. I love you. I'll see you soon."

"Love you, too. Drive safe, sweetheart."

He'd no sooner disconnected than he got a text from Doug to pick him up from the dentist, so he put the car in gear and drove away.

***

Linette picked Ava up from Dani's house as soon as she got back to Jubilee, and then they spent the rest of the afternoon trying on school clothes Linette had purchased.

Ava was so excited she couldn't stop talking.

"I don't have to wear the same thing every day?"

"No, ma'am, you do not. We have a few dresses, and shorts and tops, and some jeans and sweatshirts, and a new jacket, and a new winter coat, and a sock cap and mittens, and another pair of sneakers. Bubba wanted to make sure you have everything you might need."

"And I can wear my hair stuff?"

Linette nodded. "A pretty bow or hair clip every day if you want it. Did you always eat in the school cafeteria before?"

Ava nodded. "Yes. Corina didn't make me lunch. I got a free lunch. I cost her plenty. She was broke because of me."

Linette was horrified by the wording. She knew immediately that Ava had not made those determinations on her own. She was just repeating what she'd heard.

"That was then, and this is now," Linette said. "We aren't broke. And we'll make sure your meals are already paid for every month, okay?"

Ava nodded. She'd already learned that when Bubba and Linnie said something, they meant it. It was one of her biggest revelations. Grown-ups who kept their word.

"I'll hang up the rest of your things," Linette said. "Why don't you go outside and play in your playhouse for a while? Bubba will be home later, and we'll make supper."

"I'm going to take Pinky with me. She likes to slide," Ava said, and left the room with her rag doll tucked under her arm like she was carrying a pillow.

Linette watched her walking away and, in that moment, realized it was how Ava carried everything. She wondered again how Ava's prior environment had given her the idea that this was how to carry something, then decided she didn't want to know.

***

The board of directors of PCG Incorporated was having a meeting. Cameron Pope, the CEO of the corporation, had called it because they had business to discuss that had to do with Aunt Ella Pope's passing.

Rusty had taken Mikey and gone to visit Cameron's younger sister, Rachel. She knew what the meeting was about, but it was strictly board member business, and Mikey settled in to play with his cousin Lili, while she and Rachel visited.

Cameron was outside on the porch with Ghost at his side, waiting as the members began to arrive. One representative from each of the three families served on the board. John Cauley. Marcus Glass, and Cameron Pope. They knew why the meeting had been called, but there had to be a consensus among them before they could act. It was how peace was kept among so many people.

John Cauley was the first to arrive.

"Uncle John, thanks for coming," Cameron said, as John came up the porch steps.

"Sure thing, Son. We've let this go awhile. It's time to finish it," John said. He gave Ghost a pat on the head and got a head bump on his leg in appreciation.

"There comes Marcus," Cameron said, and waved as Marcus got out of his car.

"I got delayed by a phone call," Marcus said, scratched a spot behind Ghost's right ear. He got a tail wag for his troubles and then joined the others.

"No problem," Cameron said. "Let's go inside where it's cool. Rusty baked, and there's plenty of sweet tea."

They followed him in, laughing and talking as they moved to the kitchen, grabbed a couple of cookies, and each poured themselves a glass of tea before sitting down at the long kitchen table.

Ghost settled on the floor beside Cameron's chair, and then Cameron leaned forward.

"As you know, this isn't official PCG business. It has nothing to do with Jubilee. Aunt Ella left a will. You know the gist of it. She had no direct heirs. We're all, in some way or another, kin to her, but one no more than another. There is no direct heir to her property, but she stated in her will that she wanted the members of the board to decide the fate of her property. I don't think any of us want to see it sit empty. It will soon fall to ruin if that happens. Agreed?"

Both men nodded. "Agreed," they echoed.

"I asked you to bring names from each of the families who you think might want to take possession. And I understand the consensus is no one wants to live that far away from town, or they don't want to live where she died."

"That's true for the Cauley bunch," John said. "They're all already satisfied with where they are, and there aren't any young'uns in our bunch anywhere near needing their own place."

"All of the Glass families are settled. The young ones who have married either have put up houses on their parents' property or are afraid they'll be living with Ella's ghost. They choose to live in town to be near their jobs."

"The Pope family had dwindled to Rachel and me, then cousins from Mom and her sisters. But that was before Shirley came home and brought her sons with her. They've put new blood into the family, for which we are grateful. Aaron and Dani are committed to staying in Jubilee for the time being because of their jobs. Sean and Amalie are fully committed to staying with Shirley. None of the boys want her living alone. That leaves Wiley and B.J. B.J.'s work is at the hotel and often fourteen-hour days."

"What about Wiley?" John asked. "Annie says he's engaged to that pretty nurse from the hospital. And he's got his little sister to raise. Would they want to live up here and drive into town every day?"

"Have you talked to him?" Marcus asked.

"No. I chose not to mention anything to B.J. or Wiley until I talked to you two to see who else might suit. Ella loved all of you."

"But she was a Pope," Marcus said. "In my mind, by rights, it should go to a Pope. Shirley's daddy was a Pope. Her boys took her name, and well done for doing so. She inherited her homeplace when Helen died. That leaves Ella with no Pope to claim her land unless one of Shirley's boys wants it."

"Since Sean and Amalie are settled with Shirley, and Aaron and Dani don't want the long drive, I say you talk to Wiley and B.J. Feel them out about where they live, and if they'd even want to be that far away. And warn them that the house is in need of updates," John said. "It suited Ella, but it falls short of serving the needs of a family."

"Okay, if that's what you want, then I'll do that and let you know the end results," Cameron said. "Now help yourself to more cookies, because if they're still here when Rusty and Mikey come home, it's going to be a fight to keep him out of them."

"That one is you all over," John said.

Cameron grinned. "So says my wife."

"You need to give him a little brother or sister to play with," Marcus said.

"He is a solid handful right now. Besides, he has plenty of cousins," Cameron said, and thought of the current fascination his son had with Wiley's little sister.

A short while later, they left, and Cameron sent a text to Rusty to let her know the meeting had ended and that he was headed to Jubilee.