Secrets of a Small Town

Chapter Three

Sabrina couldn’t get Gregg Antonelli out of her mind. She hadn’t expected to like him; she certainly hadn’t expected to sympathize with him, but she had. She did.

He had a terrible job in front of him. It wouldn’t be easy telling his sister what he’d learned. Yet although Sabrina had only met the man tonight, she could tell he was equal to the task. Strength and confidence were written all over him. He was the type of man who would face any crisis head-on. He was also the type of man women gravitated toward.

Sabrina wondered if he was involved with anyone. For some reason, she didn’t think he was married. Why, she couldn’t have said. It was just a feeling she had. Besides, he hadn’t been wearing a wedding ring. Funny how she’d noticed.

Oh, come on, admit it. You were attracted to him. Of course you noticed.

It was discomfiting to admit it, because under the circumstances, her reaction to Gregg Antonelli was totally inappropriate.

Forget about him, she told herself. He’ll do what he has to do, and you’ll do what you have to do, and you’ll probably never see him again.

Deliberately, she turned her thoughts to her mother and the best way to approach the coming ordeal.

The next morning, Gregg rose early. He showered and shaved, drank his coffee, then picked up the phone. Glynnis was a stay-at-home mother, but she was a morning person, so even though it was only seven-thirty, Gregg knew she’d be up. In this they were alike.

Truth was, in most things they were alike. The only thing noticeably different about them was their appearance. He looked like their father; she resembled their mother. Gregg’s hair was a medium brown. Her hair was a reddish-blond. His eyes were blue, hers were hazel. They were both tall, but there the physical similarity ended.

The surface differences meant nothing, though. They had always been close, always been able to tell what the other was feeling without words.

They’d faced tough stuff before. The death of their parents had been especially difficult. But they’d never faced anything like this. This was the worst.

Quit stalling. He punched in the code for her home. It rang twice.

“Good morning,” she said.

“Good morning.”

“I love this caller ID.”

In the background he could hear the children. “Kids are up already, huh?”

“Oh, yes. Lately they’ve been getting up before seven.”

“Guess they’re going to be morning people, too.”

She chuckled. “Until they hit their teens, anyway. So, bro, what’s on your mind so early this morning?”

“I was thinking maybe you’d feed me breakfast.”

“Sure. The kids’ll love to see their Uncle Gregg. Well, I will, too. What would you like? Waffles? Scrambled eggs and biscuits?”

“Waffles sounds good.”

“Waffles it is, then. Are you coming now?”

“Be there in fifteen minutes.”

Driving over to Glynnis’s house, Gregg couldn’t stop thinking about what was going to happen to his sister now. With two little kids to raise on her own, her life wouldn’t be easy. At least she wouldn’t be penniless. Gregg knew Ben had taken out an insurance policy shortly after they were married. But it wasn’t a huge policy. If she had to live on it, it wouldn’t last five years.

He frowned as a thought struck him.

What if the insurance company wouldn’t honor the policy because her marriage to Ben wasn’t legal? Could they do that?

No. He was sure they couldn’t. Anyone could be the beneficiary of an insurance policy. You didn’t even have to be related to the person who’d died.

She’d get the money.

And then another thought left him cold. What name had Ben used on the policy? His real one? Or the name he used to marry Glynnis? Gregg made a mental note to call his lawyer as soon as he got back to the restaurant. He had a feeling they were going to need him.

Even if the insurance thing was okay, Glynnis would still have to go back to work a lot sooner than she’d expected. Gregg knew she’d been planning to teach again when Olivia, her youngest, started school. But Olivia was barely two years old. It was going to be hard for Glynnis to leave her. Michael was five and more independent. He had started kindergarten this year, so day care afterward probably wouldn’t faze him.

Briefly Gregg wondered if Ben had left Glynnis anything else. He’d always been vague about his business affairs, and since he and Gregg had not been close, Gregg wasn’t sure what Ben’s financial situation had been. There’d always seemed to be plenty of money, though, and now that Gregg knew the truth of Ben’s situation, he realized Ben must have been fairly well-off if he was supporting two households.

Had he been, though?

Or was Sabrina’s mother a successful career woman herself? Damn. Why hadn’t he asked Sabrina more questions last night? He didn’t even know if she was Ben’s only other child. For all Gregg knew she could have brothers and sisters.

Jeez. What a mess.

Furious again, he pounded the steering wheel. What had possessed Ben to do what he had? Even though Gregg hadn’t been thrilled by the marriage, he could have sworn Ben really loved Glynnis. Why hadn’t he just divorced Sabrina’s mother? Why the lies that were going to cause so many people so much pain?

But there were no answers to these questions, because the only person who knew the answers was dead. Now all that was left to do was clean up the mess Ben had left behind.

When Sabrina got back to Rockwell, she decided to go to her apartment rather than straight back to her parents’ home—no—she had to quit thinking of it as her parents’ home. It was now solely her mother’s home.

At the realization, a fresh wave of sadness flooded her. No matter how hurt she was by her father’s duplicity, nothing changed the fact that she had loved him. She would always love him, no matter what he’d done. And she knew he had felt the same way about her.

He would have forgiven me anything, and I need to forgive him.

Pulling into the covered parking slot behind her back door, she could feel some of the stress of the past few days begin to lessen. Her apartment always had this effect on her. From the moment she’d first seen it, she’d loved it. The apartment was located in a small complex near Rockwell University—on the opposite side of town from where her parents lived. Typical of areas around colleges, the neighborhood was trendy and popular with the younger residents of Rockwell.

Sabrina especially loved that she could walk to neighborhood shops and restaurants if she wanted to. One street over from hers had a movie theater, a bookstore, a coffee shop and a bakery. On weekend mornings, she loved to walk over to the bakery and buy fresh bagels or crusty rolls, then take them home to enjoy with a latte purchased from the coffee shop.

Her mother had fought Sabrina’s moving out of the family home, insisting there was plenty of room and it was ridiculous for her to pay rent when she practically had her own suite and all the privacy she could want right there. “It makes no sense at all.”

But Sabrina had been firm, saying, “Mother, I’m twenty-four years old. I’ve been out of college for nearly two years. It’s time to cut the cord.”

Her father had backed her up. “Everyone needs their own space, Isabel. We can’t keep Sabrina a child forever.”

That had been four years ago, and Sabrina had never been sorry she’d moved. Sure, it had been nice to have Florence waiting on her, doing her laundry, not having to buy food or pay rent, but those luxuries didn’t compare to the thrill of having her own place and the satisfaction of paying her own way.

Entering her apartment, she even breathed easier. It smelled a bit musty from being shut up for more than a week, and it needed cleaning, but it was hers. Every stick of furniture was there because she’d chosen it and she’d paid for it. She had taken nothing from the family home, even though her mother had offered all the furniture in her bedroom and adjoining sitting room.

Isabel had turned up her nose at the inexpensive furniture and discount house accessories Sabrina had purchased, but Sabrina didn’t care. All the antiques and valuable objets d’art that filled the March home hadn’t been enough to make her mother happy. They certainly didn’t tempt Sabrina if it meant giving up her independence.

It was bad enough, she thought, that she was trapped in a job that no longer fulfilled her and shackled by duties and responsibilities she hadn’t asked for. Her apartment was her oasis, the only place where she felt at peace.

Sabrina had stopped at the mailboxes on her way into the complex, and now she sorted through her mail. There was nothing urgent—a few bills, a few pieces of junk mail and her newest copy of Vanity Fair.

She then headed for her bedroom. After changing clothes and unpacking, she put a load of laundry in the washer, opened some windows to air the place out, and cleaned the refrigerator, getting rid of anything that looked as if it might be past its prime.

She debated calling the paper, then decided there was no reason to. If anything urgent came up, they would call her. Finally she could stall no longer and knew she had to decide what she was going to do when she finally did go to her mother’s.

Should she tell her mother everything today?

Or should she wait?

It was difficult for Gregg to pretend this was a normal visit with Glynnis and the children, but somehow he managed it while Michael was still there. But once Michael’s car pool came and he was off to kindergarten and Olivia was almost finished eating her breakfast, Gregg knew he could no longer put off telling Glynnis the bad news.

“There’s something I need to talk to you about.” He glanced over at Olivia, who had just stuffed a last piece of waffle and cut-up strawberry into her mouth. “Think you could set her up with a video in the playroom?”

Glynnis smiled. “Sure.” Turning to her daughter, she said, “Livvy, pumpkin, would you like to watch Dumbo?”

“Dumbo, Dumbo!” Olivia shouted, her hazel eyes—a mirror of her mother’s—shining.

She grinned at Gregg, who grinned back. His niece could always make him smile.

“I guess her earache is gone,” Glynnis said in wry amusement. “She’s gone back to her normal tone of voice. Loud.”

Gregg chuckled.

Once Glynnis had cleaned syrup off Olivia’s face and hands, Gregg took his niece out of her high chair and carried her into the playroom, which was on the other side of the kitchen. The builder had intended it to be a sunroom, but it made a perfect play area for the kids, with lots of light and proximity to the place where their mother spent a good portion of her time.

“I can be working in the kitchen and still keep a close eye on them,” she’d said happily. In fact, she’d admitted later that the sunroom was the top selling point when it came to making a decision about buying the house.

Once Olivia, surrounded by her stuffed animals, was settled on the floor in front of the TV, Gregg and Glynnis walked back into the kitchen, and she poured them each a fresh cup of coffee.

“Now, what’s on your mind?” she said, settling herself at the kitchen table. She reached for the sugar bowl and added two heaping teaspoons to her coffee. Sugar in her coffee was one of her few indulgences.

His heart ached at the unsuspecting smile on his sister’s face. She probably thought he had a problem at the restaurant, the kind of thing he usually wanted to discuss with her.

Girding himself, he made his voice gentle. “I’ve got some bad news, Glynnie. You’re going to have to be strong.”

The smile on her face slowly faded. She put her coffee cup down. “What is it?”

Reaching across the table, he took her hand. “There’s no easy way to tell you this.” The fear in her eyes made Gregg wish he could be anywhere else but there. “Ben is dead, Glynnie.”

Her hand jerked, but he held fast. She shook her head. “That…that can’t be. Wh-why would you say such a thing?”

“I’m so sorry. I wish it wasn’t true, but I’m afraid it is.”

“No.” She kept shaking her head. “No.”

“Glynnie, listen to me. It’s true. Ben had a heart attack last Thursday, and he died almost immediately.”

“Last Thursday! But…but where?” she cried. “How? I-I don’t understand. It can’t be true. Someone would have called me. It’s a mistake. It has to be. He’s not dead. Don’t you see? Someone would have called me, Gregg!” Her eyes pleaded with him to say it was all a big mix-up. “It’s true I haven’t heard from him, but that’s because he’s abroad. This is just a mistake.”

“I’m sorry. It’s not a mistake. Ben is dead.”

Suddenly she just dissolved. Her face crumpled, and tears welled in her eyes. “No,” she wailed. “No, no, no, no…”

Gregg wanted to cry himself. He got up and took her into his arms. Her body shook with sobs. From the playroom came the sounds of happy music and Olivia’s laughter.

When Glynnis finally calmed, he sat her down again and pulled his chair close to hers.

“How…how did you find out?” she asked tonelessly. “Did someone from the company he was working for call you or was it the Greek authorities? Are they shipping his body home?”

Gregg took her hand again. “No, it was nothing like that. Ben didn’t die in Greece. He died right here in Ohio.”

“Here in Ohio?”

“Yes. Look, I need to back up and start at the beginning. Okay?”

She nodded miserably.

If Gregg could have spared her this…but he couldn’t. He had to tell her everything. “Yesterday I got a call at work…”

As he talked, telling her about Sabrina, what she’d said, how she’d come to the restaurant last night, and what she’d revealed to him, he saw a host of emotions play across his sister’s face and in her eyes. Shock, disbelief, denial, anger and lastly, an almost tranquil acceptance.

She sat unmoving, staring sightlessly into space, silent for so long Gregg became uneasy.

Finally she stirred. “Poor Ben,” she said softly.

“Poor Ben?”

“He must have felt so desperate.” Glynnis’s eyes, swimming with tears, met his. “He loved me, Gregg. I’m as sure of that as I am of anything in my life. He would never purposely have hurt me. For him to be driven to something like this…obviously he felt he had no choice.”

Gregg wanted to tell her she was crazy to be defending him, but something about the look on her face stopped him. Ah, hell, he thought. If it made her feel better to think well of Ben, what harm was there in that?

“I know what you’re thinking. But I’m right, I know I am. Ben would never have done what he did if he wasn’t desperate.”

“Right now, his reasons don’t matter. What matters is the future. We need to talk about what you’re going to do. You’ll have to—”

“Does his…his other wife know?”

“She didn’t as of last night, but I think Ben’s daughter was going to tell her today.” This was strictly guesswork on Gregg’s part, for Sabrina had not said anything other than that her mother didn’t know the situation.

Glynnis wiped away her tears with her hands. “Do you know anything about her? The other wife?”

“No. I didn’t ask.”

“What about his daughter? What was she like? Did she look like Ben?”

“Not really. She has dark hair like he did, but she’s little and has gray eyes. She must look like her mother.”

“I—I can’t get over it. Michael and Olivia have a sister.” This was said with wonder.

“Half sister.”

Her gaze shot to his. “You hate Ben, don’t you?”

“No. I don’t hate him.” This was true. The emotion Gregg felt was stronger than hate, but there was no sense in telling her this and making her feel worse. “I hate what he did. I hate what this is doing to you. And what it’s going to do to the kids.”

She bowed her head. “I’m going to miss him so much.”

He could see how hard she was trying to keep herself under control. Ashamed of himself, he softened his voice. “Ah, Glynnie. You know I’ll do everything I can to make this easier—”

“I want to talk to her. Meet her.”

“Who? Sabrina?”

“Yes.”

“I’m not sure that’s a good idea.”

“I don’t care. I want to see her. I need to see her.”

When he still hesitated, she said, “Please, Gregg. Will you call her?”

He thought about the business card he’d left on his dresser. And he thought about how much he had liked Sabrina March.

He sighed. “All right, Glynnie. If it means that much to you, I’ll call her later today.”

After giving it much thought, Sabrina decided the easiest and kindest way she could break the news to her mother was to simply give her the letter her father had written. Taking the letter out again, she reread it and abruptly changed her mind. Better not to let her mother see the things her father had said about Glynnis and the children.

There’s not going to be an easy way out for you. You’re going to have to tell her yourself.

Once the decision was made, she realized there was no point in putting off the inevitable, so she called Leland Fox and asked him to meet her at her mother’s house at four o’clock.

Then she called her mother.

“Where are you?” There was a petulant note in her mother’s voice. “I thought you’d be back hours ago.”

“I did get back earlier, but I had some things that needed to be taken care of here at the apartment, and since I knew Aunt Irene was there with you…” Sabrina let her voice trail off and told herself not to get irritated. Her mother was under a lot of stress.

“You are going to be here for dinner, aren’t you? I told Florence you were.”

“Yes, of course, I am. In fact, I’ll be there in about an hour.”

A few minutes before four, Sabrina pulled into the driveway of the family home. She’d barely gotten the door open and was just stepping out of the car when Leland pulled in behind her.

“I’m dreading this,” he said. He looked awful. There were dark circles under his eyes as if he hadn’t been sleeping well.

“Me, too.” Sabrina felt sorry for him. This wasn’t his problem. But she was terribly grateful for his presence. She had no idea how her mother was going to react, and Leland’s presence always had a calming effect.

“Leland! We didn’t know you were coming over,” Sabrina’s aunt said as they walked into the foyer. She looked bright and cheerful in a pink cashmere sweater set and dark wool skirt, but her smile faded at the expressions on their faces.

“Hello, Irene.” Leland smiled and gave her a hug. “How’re you holding up?”

“Oh, I’m all right.” Her voice lowered. “But there’s something’s wrong, isn’t there?” She looked worriedly from him to Sabrina.

Sabrina nodded grimly. “Yes. Where’s Mom?”

“In the sunroom. Do…do you want me to make myself scarce?”

“No, there’s something we have to tell her, but I think it’s a good idea for you to be there, too. We might need you.”

Sabrina’s mother, who was leafing through a magazine, looked up as the three of them entered the room. “Hello, Leland. I thought I heard your voice.” A rare smile softened her features.

“Hello, Isabel. How are you, my dear?” He bent down and kissed her.

“I’m fine.”

Sabrina’s heart ached. “Mom,” she began. “We—”

“Leland, would you like something to drink?” Isabel interrupted.

He shook his head and sat on one of the rattan armchairs nearest to her. He reached for her hand. She gave him a puzzled look but didn’t try to pull away.

“Mother,” Sabrina started again. “I asked Leland to come over today because there’s something we need to tell you.”

Isabel looked at him with raised eyebrows. “Something about the will?”

“No, not about the will,” Leland said.

“It’s… Dad left a letter for me in Leland’s safekeeping,” Sabrina said. “Leland gave it to me the day before yesterday.”

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