Cormac was at his desk with Duke by his feet on Monday morning an hour before he normally opened the clinic. He’d showered as soon as he got up and, after notifying Mrs. Wood that he wouldn’t be able to take her to the park, he headed to work. He’d been up so late with Gia he didn’t have the energy or the will to go running. He was too busy marveling over everything that’d transpired since she came back to town, especially the part where he’d taken her to bed, because that added yet another element to an already complicated situation.
He kept telling himself their encounter had been a fluke—that the stars had aligned just for that one moment. It wasn’t as if he could actually have a relationship with her. But making love to Gia was all he wanted to think about. It’d been raw and passionate and so incredibly satisfying. Remembering how she touched him, how good she felt beneath him and the taste of her kiss beat the hell out of dwelling on the rift in his family. He had no idea what he was going to do about that—or if Louisa would even show up for work today. If she didn’t, and they couldn’t get past their recent disagreement, what was happening in his personal life would spill over into his professional life, and the next few days would get bumpier still.
He was amazed by how quickly everything he’d taken for granted and relied on for years could be turned on its head...
His phone signaled a text. He was afraid to look at it for fear it was his sister telling him to figure out how to run his own front office. But if that was the reality of it, he had to find out sooner or later, so he picked up his phone.
Do you want to tell me what happened with your father?
He’d been on the phone with his mother when Evan came over. He’d said he’d call her back but never did.
He started to type a reply but decided it would be easier to call.
She answered on the first ring. “I’m assuming things didn’t go well last night.”
“He admitted the truth to me, Mom,” he said. “He took it back right after, but he did admit it.”
“What do you mean?”
“When I told him I believe he molested Gia, he said, ‘I barely touched her’ as if it wasn’t a big thing—but he did do it. He’s mad at her for outing him. That’s all.”
She didn’t respond.
“Mom?”
“I believe it, but...what are you going to do now?”
She hardly sounded jubilant, and he could understand why. Just because they were right in what they believed didn’t make things any better. “I’m going to tell Louisa and Edith. That’s what I’m going to do.”
“What makes you think they’ll believe you? Especially if he’s already denying it again?”
“They would never think I’d lie about something like that...”
“I don’t know,” she said skeptically. “People can be pretty resistant to the truth, especially when it hurts.” She paused. “I hate what this is doing to our family. There’s got to be a better way to handle it.”
Like she had before? By standing back and saying nothing? Not trying to persuade anyone either way? Cormac didn’t believe remaining neutral was the answer, either. “How? This can’t be easy for Gia. And it’s all because of Dad.”
“People make mistakes—”
“Don’t offer that as an excuse, Mom. It’s not the mistake so much as the way he handled it—trying to blame it on her. You’ve said so before—that it was the lies that make it so hard for you, too. I’m sure an admission and an apology would’ve gone far toward helping her through the years right after it happened. That sort of thing would probably be a relief even at this late date.”
“I don’t know what to say, Cormac. I’ve tried my best to keep our family together despite what he did, and now...”
“And now it’s falling apart because of me?”
“I’m not blaming you. I just—I wish the past didn’t have to rear its ugly head again.”
“I think we should deal with it once and for all.”
“Despite the damage it’ll cause?”
“We have to face reality. Call the girls and get them to come over. Let’s have a family meeting.”
“With your dad, too?”
“No, without. But I’ll tell them what he said last night.”
“He’ll just deny it when they ask him.”
If that happened, Cormac would feel a lot like Gia had back in high school, he supposed. He’d be swearing things had gone one way; his father would be insisting they hadn’t. The irony didn’t escape him. “He can try, but if the rest of us are unified, maybe we can hold him accountable, and he’ll finally realize he has to change.”
He heard her sigh through the phone.
“What?” he said. “You don’t like that idea?”
“It’s hard to take someone’s good opinion of their father away from them.”
“Trust me. I understand that. But if he doesn’t deserve their good opinion, maybe he shouldn’t get it.”
It took a moment, but she finally said, “Okay.”
“Wait...did you just say that Margot called you last night?” Ida asked.
Gia stood at the stove making oatmeal for breakfast. Her dad sat at the kitchen table, reading the news on his phone, and her mother stroked Miss Marple while waiting to eat. But Gia was exhausted enough that she kept leaning against the counter. After leaving Cormac’s house, she hadn’t gotten much sleep. She was worried about her sister and kept trying to break into Margot’s phone. After talking to her, she doubted it would tell her much, but it gave her something to concentrate on. Because the second she lost focus, she’d have an Oh, my God, what have I done? moment as thoughts of Cormac managed to intrude. She hadn’t even slept with Mike, and they’d gone out together a number of times. So she wasn’t sure exactly how she’d ended up in bed with Cormac. She supposed she’d been feeling vulnerable enough to grab hold of someone she probably shouldn’t have.
But the sex had been incredible. She could never claim otherwise.
“Gia?” her mother pressed.
Shoving the image of a gorgeous and very naked Cormac out of her mind for probably the hundredth time since she woke up, she turned off the stove and reached into the cupboard to get three bowls. “Yes, she finally called me.”
Her mother nudged Miss Marple to encourage the cat to leap down. “And? What’s going on?”
Her father put his phone aside so that he could listen, too.
“She’s left Sheldon.”
“We guessed as much,” Leo said. “When’s she coming back?”
Gia knew her parents wouldn’t like the answer. “It didn’t sound as if she plans on coming home anytime soon.”
“What about the kids?” Ida asked. “They’ll miss school. And she doesn’t have any way to support them. How will she get by?”
“She has enough money for now.”
“How?” her father asked.
“She took what they had in their savings.” Gia didn’t mention the amount. If Margot was leaving everything else to Sheldon, he’d gotten the best end of the deal, but the amount sounded shocking and taking the money without getting his agreement would hit her parents wrong.
“So...she’s moved away from Wakefield permanently?” her father said. “Where’d she go? And why did she feel it was necessary to take such a drastic step?”
“She didn’t say as much as I wanted her to. She was on someone else’s phone and wouldn’t tell me where she was or what she plans to do—except that she’s worried about the two of you and wanted me to tell you how much she loves you.”
“She couldn’t call us to say that?” her father asked, clearly offended.
“She doesn’t have a phone, and she’s traveling. But that doesn’t mean she won’t call when...when she can.”
Ida pulled the shawl she’d brought from the bedroom tighter around her shoulders. “Did she say when she’s coming back?”
“I don’t think she plans on it. She’s done with Sheldon, and she’s afraid of what he might do when he finds out she’s gone.”
“Oh, my God,” her mother said. “What will his parents say? They’ll be furious to think she’d do such a thing. Those boys are their grandkids, too. I’d be furious if I were them!”
“He’s clearly having an affair, Mom. They have only their son to blame.”
“I agree. Margot’s been a great wife,” Ida said. “But she needs to come back and take care of their property and custody issues legally, just like everyone else.”
“She can’t,” Gia said. “At least, that’s what she says. I told her to come home, that we’d help her. But she was too terrified.”
“What is she so scared of?” Leo asked. “Has he been violent with her?”
“I don’t get that impression. He hasn’t yet, anyway. She did tell me that he’d discredit her and take the kids, and she won’t allow that to happen—won’t allow him the chance to even try.”
Her mother dropped her head in her hands. “Oh, dear.”
“Let’s call her,” Leo said.
Gia dished up the oatmeal and carried two bowls to the table. “How?”
“You have the number she called from, don’t you?” he asked.
“It came in as an unknown number. Which means she blocked it,” Gia explained.
Her father looked as though she’d struck him. “So there’s nothing we can do?”
“Not right now,” she confirmed. “I can’t even break into her phone, so that’s useless to us. But the fact that she did call is a good sign. I’m hoping she’ll calm down and try again in a few days.”
“But for now...she’s out there...somewhere...with the family car,” her father said.
“And everything she could take out of their checking and savings,” Gia added.
Ida lifted her head. “That can’t be right. This...this just isn’t like Margot.”
Gia brought her bowl to the table, too. “Which is why I think we give her the benefit of the doubt. She knows Sheldon much better than we do. There must be something he’s done—or she thinks he’ll do—that has made this whole thing necessary.”
“But it’s unsustainable,” Leo said. “Sheldon and his family aren’t going to sit back and let her have Greydon and Matthew. They’ll search for her and probably find her, and when they do, they’ll force her to recognize their legal rights. Where will she be then? At that point, he might even have a case for full custody because she’s already proven she’s a flight risk.”
“I know, Dad, but—”
Her mother’s phone went off, and Ida’s face turned ashen when she looked down at it.
“Who is it?” Gia asked.
Ida looked up. “It’s Sheldon.”
Cormac breathed a sigh of relief when he heard his sister come in and greet Herman Wise, the owner of their first patient of the day. Louisa was ten minutes late, but at least she’d shown up for work.
He waited until she was settled behind the desk in the reception area before gathering his clipboard and strolling out of his office. “Morning,” he said to the room at large.
She didn’t respond, but Mr. Wise, an elderly gentleman who owned three labradoodles but had only one with him today, stood and came forward to shake his hand. “Morning, Doc.”
Cormac squatted to give Bella a scratch behind the ears. “You didn’t bring Tweety and Tinkerbell?” he asked.
“No, the wife’s got ’em. I told her you’d want to say hi, but she said we didn’t need to fill your whole waiting room.”
Cormac straightened. “They’re always welcome to tag along. But what’s going on with Bella?” He checked the clipboard that listed his appointments and the reason for each visit. “Something about a sore leg?”
“She’s favoring this one.” He lifted his dog’s left hind leg. “I’m wondering if she has a fracture or something.”
“Bring her on back and we’ll take a look.” Cormac motioned for Mr. Wise to follow him and glanced at Louisa as he turned to go into the examination room. But she wouldn’t meet his eye. She was obviously bent on ignoring him, which was how she behaved all day. Even at lunch, she slipped out of the clinic without saying a word and went elsewhere to eat, returning only after their first afternoon appointment had arrived.
It wasn’t until she was packing up to leave for the day that he finally went into the lobby to confront her.
“Is it going to be like this from now on?” he asked.
When she shot him a dirty look and marched past him, he assumed she wasn’t even going to answer. But she turned back at the door. “I can’t believe what you did at the restaurant on Saturday night, Cormac. I’ll never forgive you. I just want you to know that.”
“I’m sorry,” he said. “But if you’ll remember, I tried to stop you well before it got to that point.”
“You had no right to get involved.”
“Says who?” he demanded. “I had more than a right—I had a duty.”
She gave him an astounded look. “What’s gotten into you? Do you have a crush on Gia again...or what?”
He opened his mouth to deny that he felt anything for Gia. But visions of her naked body entwined with his had been parading around on the stage of his mind since he woke up, and he could still smell the heady scent of her soap or shampoo or whatever it was on his sheets. Normally, he enjoyed his work; today, he couldn’t wait to get home because he knew she’d be close by and might come out to the pool again. “It isn’t that,” he insisted.
She slung her purse over her shoulder. “Then what is it?”
“I told you! I don’t want our family to be responsible for hurting anyone. Especially Gia. She’s been through enough.”
“You don’t know that our family’s been responsible for anything.”
He opened his mouth to tell her he did know. Waiting until his mother called a family meeting no longer seemed prudent. He had to work with Louisa every day; this couldn’t go on. But Victor walked in at that moment. “You ready?” he said the second he saw his wife holding her computer bag, purse and water bottle.
Louisa shot Cormac another dirty look. “Yes, I am,” she replied and walked out with Victor.
Cormac sighed as he shoved his hands into the pockets of his lab coat. Maybe his mother was right, and Louisa wouldn’t believe him no matter what he said. Then what?
“Are we there yet?”
Matthew and Greydon were getting tired of riding in the car. Margot had bought them new toys, extra snacks and loaded plenty of movies and games on her iPad to help entertain them. She’d also stopped at various parks to let them stretch their legs. Still, three days in a car was a long time for any child. “Not quite,” she mumbled, leaning forward to see the sign overhead.
“Are we going to Disneyland?”
Margot figured they might as well. They were in southern Oregon heading to California, and it was something she’d always wanted to do. She’d asked Sheldon a number of times if they could go as a family—most recently for Matthew’s birthday—but he’d claimed it was a waste of money. He could spend on guns, racks, fishing rods, camping and hunting gear, even the gold and silver coins he liked to collect. But anything anyone else in the family wanted, he often deemed too frivolous.
Although she knew she should conserve the cash she had, the kids deserved a reward for suffering through three days in a car and doing it mostly without complaint, especially since she was uprooting them from their home and taking them from their father. They didn’t understand the full repercussions of what she was doing. How could they? “I don’t see why not,” she replied.
Greydon clapped his hands. “Really? Last time we asked, you said ‘maybe.’”
“Well, I’ve decided,” she told him. “The answer is yes.”
“Is Daddy going to meet us there?” he asked.
“No, stupid,” Matthew said. “Dad’s hunting, remember?”
“I’m not stupid,” Greydon said, and Margot heard a smack as he hit his brother.
“Stop it! Both of you!” She adjusted her rearview mirror so she could see what was going on. But that didn’t prevent Matthew from slugging him in return.
“Ouch!” Greydon yelped and started to cry. “He hit me!”
“He hit me first!” Matthew snapped, obviously feeling thoroughly justified.
“I guess we won’t be going to Disneyland, after all,” Margot told them. “I thought it would be a fitting reward for how well you’ve behaved but look at you now. You’re hitting each other? You both know better than that!”
“I’m sorry,” Matthew said. “I won’t do it again. I promise.”
“Me, too.” Greydon’s words were muffled as he wiped his face. “But... I want to get out. When can we stop?”
“I’m thirsty,” Matthew said before she could respond.
She glanced into the back seat. “You have your water bottles.”
Matthew lifted his, then dropped it again. “Mine’s empty.”
She shook the one beside her. It felt as if it was at least half full, so she pulled over a safe distance from passing traffic and got out to give it to him and stretch her back at the same time.
As soon as she opened Matthew’s door, Greydon pressed his hands together in a heartfelt appeal. “Can we still go to Disneyland? Please?”
A semi whizzed past, creating a huge gust of wind that blew Margot’s clothes around and caused her hair to fly into her face. “If you’re both good until I can get to the next city and rent a motel room,” she said, using one hand to hold her hair back.
“Can you get one with a swimming pool this time?” Matthew asked.
The others had had pools. They’d just checked in too late to use them. But it was earlier today, only dinnertime according to the clock on the dash, and she didn’t see any point in soldiering on. The boys had obviously endured all they could take of being in the car. So had her lower back. “Yes. I’ll stop in the next town, and we’ll get a room with a pool.”
Matthew’s expression darkened with suspicion. “Wait... Can we still go to Disneyland if we swim tonight?”
“I think so.”
Greydon broke off drinking from his own bottle. “Tomorrow?”
“No, it’ll take another day of driving just to get there,” she told him.
Matthew groaned. “More driving?”
“Yes, but then that’s it.” And if they had Disneyland waiting at the end of the trip, she just might be able to encourage them through another long day in the car.
Once again, Greydon leaned forward to see around his brother. “We’re stopping at Disneyland?”
“Yes, we’re stopping at Disneyland, and we’ll rent a house in LA.”
Matthew handed her water bottle back to her. “What does that mean?”
It meant she saw no reason to go any farther. There were four million people in Los Angeles—she could certainly get lost in a place like that. The weather was gorgeous most of the time, an improvement over the cold they would’ve experienced had they stayed in Wakefield for the winter. And there were plenty of fun things to do to keep them all busy.
Rent would be high. But hopefully, there’d be plenty of job opportunities, too.
“It means we’re going to stay there for a bit and see how we like it,” she said.
He looked even more confused. “What about Dad?”
“I think he’s going to be hunting for a while.” She left it at that, and they didn’t seem to have a problem with it. But then...they didn’t understand that he’d be hunting for them.