Page 16 of Kindred Lies
Chapter 10
Amethyst continued to wander down Main Street after Nicholas Drake had rudely walked away from her. It galled her that he acted so superior to her. She may be young, but she had been taking care of herself just fine for a while now. She didn't need his attitude or blatant disapproval. Her stomach growled reminding her she hadn't bothered to eat anything. She pulled her cell phone out of the tote she carried to check the time. When she looked at it she realized she had forgotten to turn the blasted thing on. Pressing the power button she patiently waited for it to start. At least she had remembered to charge it last night before she crashed. When the phone's screen lit up it also started to beep with missed messages. Damn her mother actuallyhadtried to call her. It surprised her that she had bothered. She pressed the touch screen to open the messages to see what her mother had to say. She usually didn't text message so it had to be important. There were three texts that popped up as she pressed the message icon on her phone:
Flight delayed. Tried calling. I hate voicemail more than texts. Turn on your damn phone!
She wasn’tsure if she was grateful or irritated she didn’t have voicemails to go with the texts. Her mother could be so demanding at times. She took a deep breath and went on to read the next text from her mother. Though she didn’t really expect it to be any better or kinder. Lyoness Keane didn’t do benevolence.
Darling I tried calling again. Why don't you have your phone on? Is something wrong? Please call me.
All right,perhaps she’d been wrong in her previous assumption. She hated that she might have inadvertently worried her mother. Amethyst nibbled on her bottom lip and moved on to the last text.
Amethyst Solstice Keane you had better call me ASAP. You never have your phone off and this is scaring me. I can't get out there today and this is making me more nervous.
Damn.She hadn't meant to leave her phone off. She just didn't want to be disturbed while she read the journal. Her mother had to be freaking out. Quickly pushing send to call her mother Amethyst pulled the phone up to her ear as it began to ring. Her mother answered the call on the first ring. “It's about damn time.”
She couldn't help fidgeting as she heard the strain in her mother's voice. “I'm sorry.” No amount of apologizing was likely to appease her mother, but she had to try. “I didn't realize I still had it off. Why aren't you coming today?” She should be relieved she had another day free from her mother’s demanding nature, but it made her even more nervous. The waiting would drive her a little batty.
“Baby you scared me.” Her mother’s tone softened a little as she spoke. It also had an edge of whininess to it that grated on Amethyst’s nerves. “I don't think I'd survive if something happened to you.”
After reading Marianne's journal she had an idea of how devastating it could be to lose a child. She never wanted anyone to feel that, especially her mother so she said again, “I know mom I'm sorry. You know I didn't do it on purpose.” She did love her mother and Amethyst had always known that. Lyoness was only human. She made mistakes like everyone else in the world, but that didn’t mean she should treat her mother terribly. For that reason she did her best to be patient with Lyoness. She was her mother after all…
She heard her mother sigh on the other end of the line before she said, “I know I haven't always been the best mother. You know I love you right?”
“Yes Mom I do. Are you going to tell me when you'll be here now?”
A small chuckle came loudly through the connection before Lyoness said, “Yes darling, it is why I'd been trying to get a hold of you.”
Amethyst smiled as she heard the laugher in her mother's voice. Good things appeared to be going back to normal. “So tell me what's delaying you?”
“Ah, dear Saul begged me not to leave. I have to say I didn't expect that. It's taken me a bit to make him realize this is really for the best. The love just isn't there.”
No, that is absolutely true. My mother didn't love anyone. Amethyst remained the sole exception that rule. “So can you give me your ETA?”
“Hang on a sec while I look it up again.”
Amethyst heard some papers rustling in the background while she patiently waited for her mother's response. She heard her mother breathing before she spoke, “Hmm my flight is at ten tomorrow morning. I'm thinking I should be at your sleepy little town by dinnertime. We can get a bite to eat and catch up when I get there.”
Amethyst looked up as she noticed Ben walking down the sidewalk towards her. He had a goofy grin on his face as he approached. With her mom still on the phone conversation with him would be difficult. She needed to end the call before he got all the way over to her side. “Sounds great. Text me when you hit the road and update me as much as possible. I have to go now. I need to do some more research. Love you, see you tomorrow.” She didn't give her mother a chance to respond. She quickly ended the call and placed her phone in her tote bag as Ben reached her.
He stopped directly in front of her. “Hi there pretty woman. You heading somewhere in particular?”
Ben had one amazing quality. He oozed self-confidence and it didn't hurt that his features happened to be nice to look at. Strangely that attitude helped her to feel slightly more comfortable in his presence. Spending time with him might lighten her mood. She only hoped his exuberance also leaked out and spilt over onto her as well. “I've nothing going on. Just exploring the town. I never did get a chance last night.”
He raised his eyebrow. “Really? I thought you left to do that. I remember you turning down my fabulous invitation.”
Amethyst laughed at his word choice. He had indicated his total awesomeness when he hit on her the day before. She didn't doubt his assessment. That didn't mean she had wanted to take him up on his invitation. “I walked over to look at Ghost Island and then read part of Marianne's journal with Cooper.”
For a brief second Ben's blue eyes darkened. “You spent time with Coop yesterday?”
Well that's interesting… Why did that bother Ben? “Um, yes I did. He showed me where to find the island. I met his dad and his godfather. While we walked out behind his house he told me some of the rumors surrounding the island and the inn. The journal came up and he offered to let me read it.”
“I bet he did.”
Amethyst had to admit Ben's attitude confused her. Why did it matter that she spent time with Cooper? She could spend time with anyone she chose and she didn’t owe either boy anything. “Why does that bother you?”
He shook his head. “It doesn't. I had asked him to come out on the boat with me and he said he had to work. It just surprised me.”
Oh, it made sense now. Ben felt slighted his best friend had brushed him aside. It had nothing to do with her. She needed to explain to him that he mistook Cooper's intentions. She lifted her hand to place it on his arm. “You don't understand. He had to go out to help his dad. The ladder fell and he got stuck on their roof. I don't know why he got up there in the first place, but he only left work because it had been an emergency.”
