I don’t know why I was telling Stone. It wasn’t as if he was going to walk inside and tell Heidi the terrible truth. But I needed to tell someone, and right now he was all I had.
“She doesn’t need to know. She has you. That’s all she needs.”
I agreed with all of my heart. “What if . . . what if Portia wants to see her? Talk to her? If Jasper throws her out . . . What if Portia tried to use Heidi to get Van Allan money?”
That woman wasn’t someone I wanted near my sister. She was evil and cruel, and had no heart. She was selfish and cold. Heidi was nothing like her.
“She won’t,” he said. “There’s too much at stake. More than her being broke and penniless. What she did wasn’t just cruel, it was illegal.”
“Are you sure?”
“Positive. I’ve verified her actions were and still are illegal,” he said with confidence.
I turned my head and looked at him. “But she may decide to face her lies.”
Stone leaned closer to me—closer than he’d ever been. His gaze was intense and invited no argument. Where Jasper was kind and warm, Stone wasn’t. “The first thing you’re going to have to learn is to trust me, Beulah. Because I don’t lie, and I swear to you that Portia won’t come near Heidi.”
He didn’t add that he wouldn’t let her. But his expression was so determined that I didn’t question it. It was hard not to believe his sincerity.
“Okay,” I whispered.
He nodded his head toward the door. “Go. Visit with Heidi. Forget the shit from today. I’m going to text an address to you. Drive your car there after your visit.”
That last part threw me off. “Why?” I asked.
His left eyebrow lifted slightly. “Do you have a place to stay tonight?”
Oh. I hadn’t thought of that. I shook my head.
“Didn’t think so. I’ll text you an address. When you leave, head there.”
I opened my mouth to ask him more, but he climbed out of the car and walked away. He left just like that. Stone had shown up out of the blue with answers, not lies. He’d reassured me Heidi was okay. He hadn’t let me fall apart. I had felt stronger with him there.
If I was honest, I didn’t want him to leave. During our brief talk in my car, he’d made me feel secure. When he spoke, I believed his words. He spoke with certainty that you simply couldn’t question.
My phone dinged, and I pulled it from my back pocket. There was an address just like he had said. I had a place to sleep tonight and time to figure out what we would do next. What would I do?
I removed the keys from the ignition and got out of the car from where I sat in the passenger side seat. I knew visiting Heidi would help me. Seeing her smile and knowing she was okay was what I needed right now. The last name on her birth certificate meant nothing. Heidi was an Edwards. She always would be.
The Van Allans had buried her years ago. Their name went with that time and place. The cruelty of their actions was heartbreaking. I couldn’t help but be grateful she’d been given a better life. I knew we loved Heidi the way she deserved.
“Beulah, we weren’t expecting you!” I forced a smile as Tammy, one of Heidi’s favorite nurses, greeted me with surprise. “Heidi and May are crafting in the activity room right now. They are going to be so excited to see you. Even if you don’t have any cookies or cupcakes.”
I rarely visited Heidi empty-handed, but then I also always came when she was expecting me. “Hopefully the surprise of seeing me outweighs not having treats,” I replied.
“Oh, it will!”
I headed back to the activity room. Heidi had learned to crochet and she loved it. She was making pot holders and dish rags the last time I came to see her. I wondered if that was what they were up to today.
Just as I was about to reach the crafting room, the door to the office opened and Mrs. Shell, the accounts manager, walked out. I always made payments for Heidi’s care here to her.
“Beulah, I just got your payment for Heidi. It came through the computer system. That’s wonderful that the Van Allans have decided to pay upfront for the next ten years. I know that takes the monthly concern off your shoulders. You can focus on getting that degree you were talking about instead of always working.” She winked and walked on down the hallway without waiting on my response.
Heidi’s home was paid for now. I wouldn’t have to worry. But knowing it was paid with Van Allan money bothered me.
THE BRICK PAVED PATH LED to a three-story apartment building that appeared to have been recently restored. Each floor looked like it held only one apartment. The plaque on the outside of the building said it was built in 1920. Stone had been living at Jasper’s, so I wasn’t sure whose apartment this was.
There were three cars parked outside. A black Hummer, a white Range Rover, and a red Porsche. Stone’s Black Range Rover wasn’t present.
I checked the address again. He hadn’t given me an apartment number or a name. Maybe I was at the wrong place. I had enough money to find an inexpensive hotel room for the night. My other option was knocking on the apartment doors to ask the occupants if they were expecting me, which seemed a bit creepy.
Before I could think it through much longer, a girl with long almost black hair emerged from the front door of the building. She was all legs and incredibly thin. She looked like a runway model. Her shorts were tiny and showed off her legs—they were longer than most people’s bodies. A pair of aviator sunglasses were perched on her head although the sun had already begun to set.
Her gaze swung to me as she started walking in my direction. I watched until she was almost beside my car before I opened my door to see if she was coming to talk to me. Either she was expecting me, or she was walking over to ask me what I was doing parked at this elite apartment complex. A complex that didn’t seem to have any traffic and no parked cars out front that cost less than one hundred grand.
Stepping out of the car, I had to tilt my head back to look at her. With the heels she was wearing she was at least six-foot-three. She swung her hair over her shoulder and gave me a tight smile. “I was going to ask if you were Beulah, but now that I see you I know the answer to that question. Figures,” she rolled her eyes and turned to walk back to the building.
I didn’t move. I wasn’t sure what she meant exactly. She glanced back over her shoulder. “Are you coming or not?” she asked exasperatedly.
She didn’t seem very happy about this. I wasn’t sure I wanted to intrude on someone who didn’t want me there. “Uh, I don’t think so,” I replied making up my mind before she could snap at me again.
That stopped her from sauntering away with her heels and long legs. She spun around again looking very much like someone walking the catwalk. Her left hand landed on her hip—or the bone that was covered with skin—and glared at me. “Seriously? Stone went to all this trouble, and you’re just going to leave?”
What trouble had he gone through? I hadn’t meant for him to have any trouble. I started to ask when his Rover pulled into the exclusive parking lot. I had never been relieved to see Stone. The feeling was new but I was definitely glad he was here.
He got out and walked over to me shooting a glance toward the girl. “You coming inside?” he asked shifting his gaze back to me.
I looked nervously at the unknown female who was no longer scowling but was smiling politely. “She is a little apprehensive. Can’t convince her to come inside,” the girl’s tone was sweet and sounded as if she were talking about a small child.