Mad About You (32 page)

The woman gave her a bolstering smile. "Ms. Catron, the media would like to wrap up this miracle like a pretty package and put a big bow on top—everyone loves a happy ending. But make no mistake—all of you will have some trying times ahead. If I can be of help, don’t hesitate to call me."

"Do you suggest family counseling?"

Ms. Andrews hesitated. "I never discourage anyone from seeking family counseling if they feel the need. But I’ve spent a lot of time with Chad these past few weeks, and he seems like a well-adjusted boy, if a little mature for his age. And you seem to have a supportive network in your parents and your ex-husband."

Virginia nodded. "My parents will help anyway they can." Bailey seemed eager to get to know his son, but she wasn’t sure yet how much she could rely on him.

"Then I think the most healing therapy is love and time."

Virginia thanked the woman, while wondering if her fear was so transparent. When Ms. Andrews said she was going to make sure Chad was awake and packed, Virginia washed down her butterflies with a swallow of coffee and offered to go instead. Through a maze of hallways, she found the room Chad shared with another boy and quietly knocked on the door.

When the door opened, Bailey stood on the other side, looking well rested in a pale blue polo shirt tucked into neat jeans. His smile was blinding. "Morning, Ginny."

"Good morning," she said cautiously, stepping inside.

Chad stood on his side of the room, stuffing clothes into a green duffel bag. He glanced up and acknowledged her presence with a sour frown. Virginia squashed down the hurt. "Good morning, Chad."

"Hey," he said, his voice low and sullen.

She glanced around the shared room, noting his roommate was absent, probably at breakfast. The furniture and comforters were generic but colorful, the wall and floor coverings basic and functional. "Nice room," she offered with a smile.

"It's not mine," Chad pointed out.

Remembering the feminine guest room awaiting his arrival, Virginia cringed inwardly and asked, "What was your room like?"

Chad shrugged, barely glancing up. "Lots of posters. I had a sign on the door that said 'Keep Out.'" He looked up as if to gauge her response. "I'm bringing the sign with me."

She nodded. "Everyone needs privacy." She tried a different tactic and nodded to the handheld Nintendo gaming device lying on top of his duffel. "Do you like to play video games?"

He nodded warily.

“I’m pretty good at them myself,” she said, holding out her hand. “Can I try?”

He grabbed the Nintendo and held it down to his side protectively. "My mom gave this to me for Christmas last year. It was expensive."

Ginny swallowed hard. Again she'd overstepped her bounds.

"I spoke with Mr. Maybry this morning," Bailey interjected. "I arranged to have all your things shipped to Ginny's house later this week."

"Do you have a yard?" Chad asked her.

She nodded. "A small one in the back."

"Is there room for a basketball goal?"

She hated to disappoint him, but shook her head. "No, but there's a park just a few blocks away." When he didn't respond, she asked, "Did you play on your school team?"

The frown returned. "No. You got to have lots of money for uniforms and shoes and stuff."

Her heart squeezed for him. "Maybe you can play at your new school this fall."

He looked up. "Are you rich?"

She laughed. "No, but you can participate in any sport you want to, as long as you keep up your grades."

He waved off her concern with a cool flip of his hand. "School's a breeze. You just got to listen and ask lots of questions so the teacher will think you're interested."

"Ms. Andrews told us you’re a good student."

Another shrug. "Whatever."

"Well," Bailey said with a wink, "looks like you inherited something from Ginny after all—plenty of smarts."

Chad scanned Virginia head to toe, doubt evident on his face.

She cast for a new topic and settled on the trip home. "Have you ever been on a plane before?"

"No," he said defensively. "But me and my mom went to see the space shuttle launch two years ago. It was real cool."

"I'll bet it was," she agreed, the repeated references to his "mother" not lost on her.

"Are you all packed?" Bailey asked.

Chad looked around the room. "Yeah."

Bailey reached for the duffel bag. "Is there anyone you want to say good-bye to before we go to the airport?"

After pondering the question, Chad angled his head at them, a challenge in his eyes. "Yeah—I want to stop by my mom's grave."

Virginia inhaled sharply but kept her face immobile. She traded glances with Bailey, who raised one eyebrow slightly in question. She nodded, then looked back to her son. "I think that would be a very nice thing to do."

Chad stared at her for a few seconds, chewing on the inside of his cheek, then grabbed his Nintendo and walked out the door.

Once again they were offered the taxi services of the shelter's van. They used the back entrance of the building to avoid lingering reporters, but if anything, the throng had grown in size. They were mostly interested in Chad, angling and shoving one another for the best shot. To shake the reporters tailing them, Mr. Maybry took a zigzag route across town to the cemetery where Lois Green had been buried less than eight weeks before.

Her heart pounding, Virginia accompanied Bailey and Chad to the unmarked grave on a steep incline, mounded with crumbly dirt. A single rusty white metal basket and bits of dead, dried flower stems were the only signs that anyone had acknowledged the woman's passing.

Virginia had prepared herself to be overcome with feelings of hatred and resentment for the woman who had cheated her out of her family, but as she stood in the scorching sun watching Chad stare forlornly at the baked earth, pity for the dead woman was the only emotion that seemed appropriate at the moment. Chad knelt down on one knee, pulled a weed from the loose dirt, and tossed it aside. He held his precious game player tightly in one hand.

"Hey, Mom." His voice sounded steady and grownup, and Virginia felt precariously close to tears. "These people have come to take me to Ohio to live with them. I don't know when I'll be back to see you, but I'll think about you all the time. Just remember I love you, and that no one can take your place." His voice cracked on the last words, and his head dropped for a few seconds.

Virginia bit down hard on her tongue. In Chad's eyes, no one would ever be able to replace Lois Green.
His
resentment toward Ginny was palpable. Did
she
have a prayer of ever growing close to her son?

Bailey shifted, coughing lightly. Chad stood up quickly, dragging his hand across his face, then walked back to the van.

The ride to the hotel to pick up her folks and Detective Lance was a quiet one. Only Ms. Andrews and Mr. Maybry broke the silence with light conversation. Virginia sat immersed in guilt, confusion, and the ever-present fear. And the emotions Bailey had stirred up the night before only cluttered the situation further. At least their exchanges had been cordial, if strained, with no mention of their mutual lapse.

Prearranged airport security met them curbside to keep the persistent cameras at a safe distance until they were processed through the general security lines. At the gate, Bailey kept a protective hand on Chad's shoulder while they waited to board. She was glad to see Chad had abandoned his surliness for the time being in his excitement over getting on the plane. Standing with his face and hands pressed against the window, watching the planes depart and land, he appeared to be a typical eight-year-old, mesmerized by the giant machines, anticipating a new adventure.

Chad's engaging grin evoked mixed emotions in Virginia—extreme joy at seeing her son happy, and extreme anxiety at the challenge to keep him that way. After watching father and son interact for several minutes, she realized with a start that Chad had begun to seek Bailey's attention. When momentary envy subsided, the touching moment triggered an additional sobering thought.

She and Chad did have one common trait—they were both captivated by Bailey Kallihan.

Chapter Six

"THE RESEMBLANCE IS AMAZING!" Rita cried, pulling a flustered Chad into a bear hug. "Would you look at this, Jerry?" she asked her husband. "Jean Ann, this is exactly what your uncle Bailey looked like when he was a boy—so handsome!"

Still recovering from her own exuberant airport greeting from her former sister-in-law, Virginia watched the exchange, envious of Rita's easy way with children. It was early afternoon, and Rita insisted they all caravan back to Shenoway and stay for dinner. Virginia's parents begged off and, after promising Chad a camping trip in the near future, left for home. Detective Lance also took his leave after Virginia and Bailey both gave him a grateful handshake.

They left the terminal, dodged yet more reporters, and finally made it to Virginia's car. To her chagrin and relief, Bailey had asked to ride with them since Rita had given him a ride to the airport. She wasn't eager to spend more time with him, but she wasn't ready to be alone with Chad either.

Before they could put on their seat belts, Chad said, "Is this your car?"

Virginia laughed at his wide-eyed expression. "Sure is."

"You
must
be rich."

Bailey turned around. "What do you know about cars?"

Chad lifted his shoulders in what was fast becoming his signature gesture. "Lots. I put models together—I hope none of them get broken on the way here."

"I like cars too," Bailey confided. "I'll show you my collection when we get to the farm."

"You have a model collection?" Chad asked.

Bailey smiled. "Not models—the real things."

"Wow!"

A finger of apprehension nudged Virginia. How financially reliable could Bailey be if he was still investing in jalopies? Just one more reason why, when push came to shove, she could count only on herself. She knew Bailey would never intentionally neglect his son financially, but he was the kind of man who didn't see the use of planning ahead. She grimaced. Which was just as well, since he couldn't seem to stick with long-term commitments.

About a thirty-minute drive from the airport, Shenoway had once been a remote location. But no more, Virginia quickly discovered. The area had changed so much, Bailey had to give her directions to the house in which she'd once lived. Subdivisions had popped up everywhere, along with strip malls, schools, and manicured parks.

But soon the development gave way to familiar surroundings, sending her pulse jumping. She pulled onto the gravel driveway and began the steep ascent to the house at the top of the hill, now hidden by the growth of surrounding trees. At the top, the land leveled to a spacious plateau of nearly fifty lush acres. She frowned when she saw rooftops in the distance—Shenoway lots Bailey and Rita had sold. "How many acres do you have now?" she asked.

"About thirty-five," Bailey told her, his voice shaded with regret. "We used the money to build a new barn and re-fence the base acreage. We had some great offers, but we refused to sell to developers. The three families who bought from us purchased five-acre plots to build large homes. And we kept an acre between each plot to guarantee a developer couldn't gobble them up."

Chad jumped out of the car to explore before it came to a complete stop.

She laughed, and Bailey grinned. Then an awkward silence followed, during which Virginia realized it was the first time they'd been alone since the previous night.

She put the car in park and switched off the ignition.

"Look, Ginny," Bailey began, "about last night—"

"No need to apologize," she interrupted, keeping her voice light and carefree. She even managed to laugh. "I've forgotten it already."

He scowled. "I wasn't going to apologize, and I haven't forgotten it."

The low rumble of his voice sent a thrill along Virginia's spine, unraveling threads of desire.
The person least interested controls the situation.
Self-preservation kicked in. "It was no big deal, Bailey, you're making too much of a harmless kiss. Let's just get past it."

"A harmless kiss?" he repeated. "Is that all it was to you?" He exhaled in exasperation, then clasped her hand. "Look at me, Ginny, and tell me last night meant nothing to you."

Tell him
, her heart pleaded.
Tell him he's the only man you've ever loved.

Go ahead,
her head teased.
Trade a few months of pleasure for another decade of pain when he tires of you, except now with Chad, you'll have to see him every week and keep the wound fresh.

She pulled her hand from his, looked deep into his cobalt-blue eyes, and said in her calmest voice, "Last night meant nothing to me, Bailey."