“Oh?”
“Dave’s a bit insecure when it comes to Jonah,” was all Erica’s best friend said as an explanation.
“Just Jonah?”
“Pretty much. A lot of the guys around town are insecure about him. You’ve seen him.”
Yeah…she had.
Dani remained silent.
“Plus…,” Kelley Lynn started the car again. “This is also about all the time that you’ve been spending with Jonah.”
“Really?”
“Really.” Kelley Lynn smiled knowingly. “You think people don’t notice? People notice. They’ve noticed that you and Bannon are spending a lot of time together. You should prepare yourself, you know.”
“For what?”
“It’s going to get out. You’re Jonah’s new girl. You’re going to be treated differently by a lot of people.”
“How so?”
“People know Jonah. Guys secretly love him and secretly hate him. And all the females—they either adore him in a sisterly fashion because they know they could never have him, like Kate—or they outright lust after him.”
“Kate’s not like that.”
“Yes, she is,” Kelley Lynn said confidently. “And Kate would admit it if you wanted to ask.”
Dani didn’t see that happening—ever.
“Not that you will.” Kelley Lynn parroted Dani’s thoughts. “I wouldn’t. If Jonah were mine, I’d keep him happy and wrapped around my pinky.”
“Because that’s what you do.” Dani couldn’t bite back the harshness.
Kelley Lynn heard it and asked, “Is that what’s the watching for?”
“Yeah.”
“Oh.”
“You haven’t changed much from high school,” Dani voiced what she’d been thinking. She was starting to get tired of holding back.
Kelley Lynn parked outside a floral business, but neither moved for the doors. Dani continued, “That’s what I remember of you. You and Erica had everyone wrapped around your pinkies.”
“Not Jonah,” Kelley Lynn pointed out. “And Erica couldn’t hold him either, remember that? So you one-upped her.”
“That’s great. That’s why I came back—to one-up my dead little sister,” Dani turned sarcastic.
“Yeah, that’s true. Erica wouldn’t care anymore.”
“Or maybe she would. Maybe she’d roll over in her grave.” Dani knew she was baiting Kelley Lynn, but she couldn’t stop. She pressed, “Or maybe I should just drop the guy that dropped Erica and take my revenge. I could have Jake back.”
“Look.” Kelley Lynn started as she searched Dani’s closed features. “I don’t know what you want, but I’m not doing this. I’m helping out Jonah because I care about him. If you want to pick a fight with anyone who cared about your sister or Jonah or whoever this is actually about—then go and fight with them. I’m old enough now to sidestep a fight.”
Dani forced herself to relax. She managed through clenched teeth, “I’m sorry. You’re helping…and I’m grateful.”
“I’m not helping you,” Kelley Lynn said quickly.
“Of course, you’re not.”
“I’m helping Jonah.”
Dani knew better and she kept quiet through the rest of the afternoon. Aiden was right, Kelley Lynn had impressed Dani with her resources, and Kelley Lynn had pulled out all the stops. No matter who Kelley Lynn was helping, she kept at it even after the tense teaser of a confrontation with Dani. By the end, the pool table was delivered, the Jacuzzi had been rejected graciously since Robbie already had two with one connected to a sauna, and all the beds were changed and readied by the time Aiden arrived to Robbie’s mansion with a chandelier in her backseat.
Jonah parked behind his sister’s vehicle and he carried in four sets of boxes.
He found Dani and Kelley Lynn in the kitchen where they were packing Robbie’s non-extravagant dishes to make room for the extravagantly approved dishes that Mae offered up for their purpose.
“Hey,” Jonah grunted a hello. “Where do you want this?”
Kelley Lynn pointed to the table. “Leave it there. We’ll put it away when you bring all of the boxes in.”
Jonah nodded and as he left to move another box in, he walked just behind the two and his fingers caressed Dani’s backside not on accident.
Dani watched with knowing eyes as Jonah glanced back just before he turned the corner and grinned smugly.
“Hmm huh,” Kelley Lynn harrumphed.
Dani felt a surge of irritation and snapped, “I don’t get why everyone cares about my business.”
“Are you serious?” Kelley Lynn asked as she placed the last of Robbie’s dishes in a crate.
Aiden bounced into the room, but stopped short at the tense air. She watched, a bit anxiously, between the two.
“Yeah. I’m serious,” Dani clipped out. She ceased caring that Jonah’s sister stood in the room. “I’m a little tired of having people care who’s in my bed and who isn’t.”
Aiden’s mouth formed an O while Kelley Lynn looked unperturbed. She even smiled a bit, “Get used to it because it’s never gonna go away, especially when you have who you have in your bed.”
Jonah stopped behind his sister as he noticed the face-off.
Neither Bannon commented.
Dani returned swiftly, “Are you actually doing this for Jonah or are you doing this for Erica? A little bird told me that Erica made you guys promise to be nice to me.”
Aiden flushed.
Jonah seemed amused.
Kelley Lynn stilled and cautiously moved her box aside before she faced Dani fully and took a breath, “Okay.”
“Okay?”
“Okay.” Kelley Lynn nodded. “Let’s do this.”
“Do what?”
“Yes.” Kelley Lynn stopped the riddles. “I’m not doing this for Jonah and I’m not doing this for you. I’m doing this…you’re right, because of Erica, because of a deathbed wish that she made.”
Dani was suddenly wary.
Kelley Lynn shook her head as her eyes grew haunted, “Erica made me promise to be welcoming to you. She wanted you to feel included and not left out, like what Erica did to you. That was her dying wish to me. I was supposed to do that.” She skimmed over the Bannon siblings. “It’s kinda ironic that the group that never liked Erica welcomed you first.”
“She’s my friend.”
Kelley Lynn swept a scornful gaze over her. “You’re friends with Dani because everyone knows about the O’Hara rift. You hate Julia because Bubba had a thing for her and he flirted with her a bit when you two were having problems.”
“What?” Dani exclaimed and whirled around.
Aiden grew stiff, but she remarked through clenched teeth, “Julia was all-too friendly, so—yes, I’m not a fan, but that’s not why Dani and I are friends. I like Dani because…”
“Because she’s a Walking Wounded.” Kelley Lynn finished for her. “Because she’s got what it takes to make your brother fall in love. You know that Jonah likes a challenge and Dani’s the best challenge that’s come to Craigstown in a long time. That’s why you’re friends with her and don’t even lie, Aiden. You told Katrina that the day that Dani got here. I know because Katrina told me at our barbeque that night. She said you gushed at how Bryant was going on and on about this ‘hot chick who owns a Mustang.’ You said that it would take someone incapable of life to make Jonah fall hard and fast.”
Aiden sucked in her breath.
Jonah remained quiet. He watched Dani.
Dani said slowly, “‘Incapable of life?’”
“It’s not…I didn’t mean…it’s not like that, Dani,” Aiden finally answered. “I…yeah, at first, that’s what I’d been hoping, but…I consider you a friend now.”
“Incapable of life?” Dani asked again.
Aiden frowned.
Kelley Lynn cut in, “It’s all over town that something happened to you. Everyone knows it, we can all see it. We don’t know what it is, but you are
the Walking Wounded. You look like a lost little lamb begging for someone to bandage up your broken limbs.”
Whatever ‘broken limbs’ that Dani might’ve cradled against her chest healed in anger. She straightened and asked slowly, “Say that again?”
“Please. You know exactly what I’m talking about.” Kelley Lynn flushed, but moved back a step. She seemed to sense the storm inside of Dani and Dani felt a surge of fury rage inside, which answered the flash of lightning that sparked outside at that moment.
The other three all looked outside and watched silently as the earlier light drizzle turned into a heavy downpour.
Dani didn’t care and proceeded, “I might have taken it before, but you’re right—something did happen and because of it—I’m not the same Dani O’Hara that left like a wounded puppy with her tail tucked between her legs.”
“I’m not saying you are.” Kelley Lynn still shifted a step back.
“Uh—yeah, you just did,” Dani said flatly.
“You kinda did,” Aiden supported.
Kelley Lynn flushed and shifted on her hip. “I’m not here to be on trial. I came to help out, if you don’t want my help, then…”
Dani blocked her movements as she started to slide from the room.
Dani murmured with steel in her eyes, “You started this, don’t leave before the fireworks are done.”
“I didn’t come here to be attacked.”
“Then you better start watching your mouth,” Aiden shot out as she glared.
Jonah still had yet to mutter a word.
Dani straightened even further as she knew his eyes on were on her. She pushed the rumbling of tension to the side and commented, “You don’t have to worry about being nice for Erica. For one: she’s dead and two: I don’t want your sympathy vote. Not only do I not need it, but I don’t want it.”
The doorbell rang then and Kelley Lynn heaved a sigh of surrender, “Those are the flowers that Katrina said she’d donate to the cause. I’ll let them in on my way out.” But before she did, she said tersely, “We’re not the enemy, Dani. I’m not the enemy. I really was trying to be a friend today and I really didn’t mean anything bad when I said that you were the Walking Wounded. You just looked…hurt, when I saw you in the bank when you came back. Erica was always a brat. I know that, it’s why we were friends. We were childish, immature, and cruel when we were younger, but…Erica was haunted too, you know. We’re not the enemy.”
The room echoed as her footsteps sounded along the marbled floors.
The vases of floral arrangements were brought in by two Katrina’s Blooms employees. They were quiet and quick as they placed six vases on the dining room table. The door shut behind them.
“Dani, I—”
“It’s okay,” Dani said quickly as she cut off Aiden’s apology. “I knew from the beginning why you liked me. Kate wasn’t exactly quiet about her obvious delight that I was going to take Julia down a peg or two. I just…I didn’t know that you and Bubba went through a rough period.”
“Oh.” Aiden blinked in shock. “Uh…yeah, we did. It was about two years ago…”
“I never knew that Bubba had a thing for Julia.”
“Yeah…it seemed that every male in Craigstown had a thing for an O’Hara girl.” Aiden glanced sideways to her brother.
He ignored the bait and asked Dani, “How does it feel?”
“What do you mean?”
“You’re not the only one with ghosts.” Jonah stepped closer, intently. “How does it feel that you were Erica’s ghost?”
Dani rolled her eyes and moved a step back, but Jonah caught her elbow and held her firm. He said again, “Don’t push that off.”
Dani looked from her arm to his hand and wrenched free. “Don’t grab me like that.”
Jonah crowded her and asked as Aiden melted from the room, “You mattered to her. How does that feel?”
“Why are you doing this?”
“You mattered to her.”
“Stop it.”
“You mattered to her.”
“Stop it, Jonah!” And Dani shoved him back. “You offered me space before? What happened to that?”
“I changed my mind.” And Jonah moved back. “You mattered to her, how does that feel?”
“Stop it.” Dani moved back and shook her head.
“You mattered to her. You mattered to Mae. You mattered to a lot of other people—you didn’t need to leave for five years to make people care about you. She already cared about you.”
“Why are you saying this? Where’s this coming from?”
The windows rattled from the rain’s force, but the lovers were oblivious. They were caught in their own storm, but Jonah suddenly dropped it and moved away.
“Here.” He dug in his pocket and tossed his keys to her.
Dani caught them without thinking and asked, “What is this?”
“You can take my car back. I’ll get a ride with my sister.”
“I’m helping—”
“No, we’re okay,” Jonah cut her off. “This is a family thing. We’ll manage.”
Shoved off-balance, Dani merely held the keys limp.
“Just drive my car to Aiden’s tonight…if you’re still coming.” Jonah moved and transferred the rest of Robbie’s dishes, already boxed, to the floor. He moved the new dishes to the counter and opened a box.
Dani still stood there.
“Really. I’ll see you tonight.” And he turned his back to her.
Dani jerked away in that moment and walked out of the suddenly chilled mansion. She paused in the doorway and watched the downpour splatter the ground angrily. She felt sympathy for the ground, but shoved it away as she darted through the rain to Jonah’s car.
As she reversed out of the driveway, still off-balance from what had happened, Dani saw Aiden come to the opened door and stand there, watching as Dani drove backwards.
Instead of going home, she drove to St. Francis. As she pulled into the parking lot, she stopped wondering the senseless riddle and took a calming breath as Marge handed her the same blank nametag and Phyliss smiled as she left the elevator. “Your grandmother doesn’t remember your last visit.”
“Maybe that’s for the best.”
Phyllis frowned. “It might be best if you don’t remind her.”
Dani didn’t care either way so she merely followed behind, as the meek little girl she had outgrown five years prior.
She turned the corner and saw the sharpness had returned to her grandmomma’s eyes as Sandy O’Hara pushed herself off the crisp mattress that shouted barren and bleak.
Her grandmomma’s skinny arms looked like bird’s legs as the muscles shifted visibly under the frail skin and Sandy O’Hara plopped in the plastic lounger beside her bed.
“Well, come on,” she barked out and Dani heard Mae’s voice again.
Phyliss hesitated in the doorway as Dani took a seat in a gray folding chair across the room.
“Bring it over,” Sandy commanded and Dani obeyed.
Both O’Haras looked at the doorway, simultaneously, and Phyliss flushed. “Sorry.” She gave a short wave. “Just wanted to make sure you settled in okay.”
And with that lame cover, the psychiatric nurse vanished like smoke.