Chapter Forty-eight
I went to school the next day, worked hard to catch up on what I’d missed, and I texted my mother to let her know I’d be dropping by that night after dinner.
What I neglected to mention was that I intended to bring Josh and that by the time we got there, I would have broken up with Paul.
* * *
We pulled into the driveway shortly after 8:00 p.m. With a wave of apprehension, I looked up at the front of the house.
“My heart’s pounding,” I said. “This hasn’t been an easy night. Maybe I should have spaced all this stuff out.”
Earlier that evening, I’d spent half an hour on the phone with Paul, struggling to explain why I needed to put an end to our relationship—which wasn’t easy because he’d done nothing wrong. Then I spent another half hour crying on the sofa.
Josh released the clasp on his seatbelt and squeezed my hand. “Everything will be fine.”
A moment later we were climbing the steps. When we reached the porch, I briefly considered ringing the doorbell, but that seemed an odd thing to do since I still lived there, officially. So I dug into my purse for my keys, unlocked the door and walked in.
“Hello!” I called out.
We were greeted by a delicious aroma of freshly baked cookies.
“Smells good in here,” Josh whispered.
The lights were on in the kitchen but the rest of the house was dark and quiet…until I heard Mom’s voice at the top of the stairs.
“Is that you, Holly?” She quickly descended. As she hurried toward me, she glanced briefly at Josh and threw her arms around my shoulders, pulling me close. “I’m so happy to see you.”
“Me, too.” I let her hold me as long as she needed to, then we stepped apart and I gestured to Josh. “You remember Josh Wallace?”
“Of course.” Her expression warmed. “Good heavens, look at you. All grown up. A police officer I hear. Where has the time gone?”
“Hi, Mrs. James.” He gave my mother a dazzling, heartfelt smile that, despite the hardships of the evening, melted me into a giant puddle of happy infatuation.
To my surprise, Mom held out her arms and hugged him, too. Then she led us into the kitchen for cookies.
“How’s your mother?” she asked Josh.
“Very well,” he replied. “She remarried last year.”
“Lovely. So she’s happy, I presume?”
“Very. She married a good man.”
“That’s wonderful,” Mom said. “Will you tell her I said hello?”
“Of course.”
We sat down on the stools at the center island where the cookies were displayed on a three-tiered, sterling silver serving dish. Mom moved to the fridge to withdraw a carton of milk.
“Is Dad here?” I cautiously asked.
She poured us each a glass and shook her head. “He wanted to be, but he had a surgery this evening. He said it might run late.”
“Ah.” I was both relieved and disappointed because I’d been dreading this confrontation, yet at the same time I wanted to get it over with. I wanted to tell both my parents that I was no longer with Paul—I was with Josh now—and that we had just visited Riley in Montana. Most importantly, I wanted them to understand what sort of future I saw for myself.
Since Dad wasn’t there, I decided to confide in my mother, regardless.
“You’re probably wondering where I’ve been for the past few days,” I said.
“I can guess,” she replied, lifting an eyebrow from where she stood on the opposite side of the island. “Your father wasn’t too happy when he saw your car parked in front of Josh’s house. No offense, Josh.”
“None taken.”
I let out a breath of frustration. “He banged pretty hard at the door but we didn’t answer. He seemed too angry.”
“I can’t say I blame you for not answering,” she replied. “And Josh, I apologize if his behavior was disrespectful in any way.”
Surprised by her candor, I wondered if she would have said something like that if Dad had been standing there beside her. Probably not. Knowing the dynamic of their relationship as well as I did, I suspected she would have remained silent through most of this conversation.
“No worries,” Josh said.
I reached for a cookie, set it on my plate but found I didn’t have much of an appetite, so I simply leaned forward on my elbows.
“We weren’t at Josh’s house the whole time,” I began to explain.
“Oh?”
“That’s what I came here to talk to you about,” I continued. “A few nights ago I sent an email to Riley. He said he wanted to see me, so Josh and I hopped on a flight to Montana to pay him a visit.”
Mom stood motionless, blinking. “You saw him.”
I nodded my head.
“How was he?”
“Great,” I eagerly replied. “He was happy and looked terrific. He lives in a good neighborhood. His wife is very nice and his children are adorable. He’s okay, Mom. You don’t need to worry about him. You’d be proud. He’s really turned his life around. “
Her cheeks flushed red and she raised a hand to her mouth. “Thank God,” she whispered, turning her back on us.
Quickly, I rose from my stool to circle around the island and embrace her. “He’d love to hear from you,” I gently added. “He said he tried contacting us a number of times over the years but Dad always told him to stay away and he even threatened him with a restraining order. But that has to stop, Mom. We can’t go on like that. Dad shouldn’t be able to keep us apart. I fully intend to see Riley again, whether Dad likes it or not.”
Just then, the front door opened. My mother gasped and quickly wiped the tears from her face, as if to hide them.
Anger poured through me at the fact that both of us were so unsettled by my father’s arrival. How had it come to this? How had he gained so much power over everyone? It wasn’t as if he beat us. That sort of thing had been reserved for Riley.
Maybe it was because we’d witnessed it. We knew what he was capable of.
Or maybe it was the money. He could cut me off if he wanted to. Was that it?
Hearing the sound of his footsteps approaching from the front hall, I clenched my jaw and met Josh’s steady gaze.