Rough Edges (17 page)

“I have to say,” Terrance whispered, his eyes set on Paige as she trudged up the steps to school. “I’m truly surprised she chose to go to school, even though you gave her the choice.”

Allie shrugged. “I’m not. She’s just had her already messed-up world turned upside down by her divorced parents. She wants to get away from us.” A jagged ache sunk low in her gut. “At least it’s lunch now. Hopefully she can find her friends. Have a good griping session before they have to go to class.” She hoped the same for Jillian, who’d chosen to go to school too.

As she gripped hold of the steering wheel, a soft hand landed on her shoulder. Allie shot a glare at it.

“Allie,” Terrance said in a whisper. “I had no idea you really hadn’t said anything about Heather. I figured Paige had just been playing stupid this whole time, trying to cover the fact that you’d let her know.” He shook his head, a weasel-like grin playing on his lips. She remembered that grin, had been affected by it far too many times. But no more.

“I should have just kept my mouth shut,” he said. “She might have never found out.”

With the quick jerk of Allie’s arm, Terrance’s hand slid off her shoulder. She felt a long and irritating talk coming on, and she had no time or patience for it. As it was, Braden hadn’t responded to her text about missing work for the day, and she was anxious to dump Terrance off and get to the woodshop.

“I’d like to take you for a bite to eat. I thought maybe we could go to that old steak house you like so much. We can discuss a few things.”

“Like what, Terrance?” The engine roared as she gunned onto the main road.

“Like you and me. We spent the entire morning filling Paige and Jillian in on my failed relationship with Heather, but now that I have you alone, I’d like to talk about our future.” His hand found her hair, his fingers tucking the strands behind one ear.

Allie flinched away from his touch, nearly cringing at the way it felt. “That was almost humorous, Terrance. I certainly hope you’re referring to the future of our family and nothing else.”

Terrance chuckled. “You know me better than that. I let you worry about those sort of things. I’m talking about giving this another shot.” His fingers found her neck before she pulled away once more.

“In what universe? Signing those papers ended it for me, Terrance.”

“You can’t really mean that. I know how much you care about the girls.” He turned in his seat, setting his gaze on her. “I know how important it is for you to keep them close. If you agree to give us another shot, I won’t take Paige from you. We can stay in one house. Be a family again.”

She might have managed a laugh had she not felt like throwing up instead. The sheer stupidity of him was sickening. “I want you to understand that you moving back into the house is not an option. At all. You’ve already been compensated for your portion of the home, and have absolutely no claim on it.” Heck, she’d just barely rid the place of him. Of his mark – the vicious holes he’d left in his wake. “I’m moving on now, Terrance. Believe it or not I am. And I’m not about to sink the next few months of my life into some ill-fated time warp all to satisfy your latest need for an ego stroke. Go get it someplace else.” Sure it was harsh, but she was done playing nice. Had been done since the moment he’d stepped out on her.

“I heard all about the ways you’re,” he put up finger quotes, “
moving on.
By hooking up with my so-called best friend.”

A rash of heat spread over her skin. Flaring up in her face and neck the worst. With her eyes set on the road ahead, Allie calmed herself enough to answer. “Yep.”

“You guys should feel really good about that, Allie.”

She nodded her head, gritting her teeth so hard it hurt. “Yep,” she offered again.

“Great friend
he
turned out to be.” His voice was wounded and tight.

“Well some kind of
husband
you
turned out to be. I mean, are you kidding right now? And the two of you hardly classify as friends anymore.” She flicked on the signal, took a right at the light, and sped toward the perfect destination with a smile on her face. “I’m really glad you stopped in for a visit, Terrance. You’ve educated the children on a few dark details in your past.” She took a left next, wondering if Terrance had figured out where they were headed. “You’ve told me that you now know who I’m dating and even expressed your ridiculously misplaced hurt or jealousy or whatever it is you’re dealing with over the whole thing.” Another left had her slowing down. Right in front of his mother’s house. “And now you can get out.”

He looked over at her, stunned. “Allie cat– ”

“I’m serious, Terrance. Get out.” She didn’t know if his mom had picked him up at the airport, or if he’d caught a ride all the way from Rapid City with one of his latest flings. The best part was, she didn’t care.

A shaky gulp slunk past his throat as he reached for the door. A trace of sweat coated his upper lip. His forehead too. He unlatched his seatbelt, his hand fiddling with the door handle, but not opening it just yet. The picture of defeat now. But suddenly his lip twitched. His eyes shifted, and his shoulders raised. “If you don’t let me stay with you guys for a while, I’ll go back to South Dakota and I’ll take Paige with me. Jillian too, if she wants. And you can try to stop me all you want – ”

“I won’t try and stop you at all,” she said. “The girls are old enough to make their own decisions, Terrance. Goodbye.” She nodded toward his door.

At last he pulled the handle, gave her one last pathetic-looking glance, and stepped out of the car.

Through the rearview, Allie could see him standing there as she drove away, a baffled expression on his face. She didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. Allie had spent her entire married life thinking Terrance was a victim. Alcoholic father. A mother who misunderstood him. Poor, poor Terrance. She’d tried to do everything she could to counter the harmful events that had affected him in his youth. But to no avail.

During their discussion with Paige and Jillian that morning, Allie had watched as the endearment they held for him lost its luster, bits at a time. But that didn’t mean they’d suddenly want nothing to do with him. He was their father after all. The main question in her head was this: Would Paige still want to go live with Terrance after everything he’d revealed? And was it possible that even Jillian – with her tender heart – could be pressured into doing the same? Terrance knew how to manipulate like nobody’s business.

Allie pushed the thoughts out of her mind. She needed to get to her rock. The man who would make sense of things, hold her in his arms, and assure her that everything would be alright. The thought had her picking up speed. Now more than ever, Allie needed Braden Fox.

A dark set of clouds crept across the sky as Allie neared the workshop. She could hardly believe how quickly they’d settled in. Since their appearance last night, Allie hadn’t seen a cloud in the sky. But they’d been looming there just the same. Hiding along the north side now, and moving her way like plumes of smoke from a fire in the sky.

With a few quick taps, Allie dialed Braden’s number for the second time in the last ten minutes. She’d tried his cell phone first, and the workshop line next. Now she was trying his cell phone once more, wondering why he hadn’t responded to her text in the first place. It seemed odd.

Her eyes traveled back to the show overhead while she waited for him to pick up. Streaks of lightening flashed among the growing mass of purple and gray. It wasn’t quite noon yet, but already the scene belonged to that of a gloomy, early evening. Or maybe a winter’s morning – one that offered no hope of a day-lit sky. Something about it only added to the bizarre nature of her day. Waking to find Terrance back in the house. Hearing that he wanted to get back together. Or at least use her for a while until he got bored again, which was how she’d interpreted it.  And then his ugly threat as she’d dropped him off – that he’d take both girls with him when he left.

She must have listened to Braden’s automated voice greeting because suddenly there was a sharp beep blaring in her ear. Allie pulled the phone away and disconnected, feeling more unsettled by the minute. Terrance showing up had been straight from a nightmare. The idea of him taking the girls was a horror all its own – no matter how unlikely it might be. And now she couldn’t even get hold of Braden?

Another flash of lightening cracked over the sky, this one closer than the others. A loud rumble of thunder followed. She shook her head, telling herself Braden was simply caught up in his work. He loved being in the shop on stormy days. The sounds of rain falling overhead. Allie had almost grown to like it herself, especially after their indoor picnic. But now, as tiny splatters began pelting the windshield, she only wanted the storm to go away. And to take Terrance with it. She wanted the sunny day she’d been hoping for. The assurance that the girls would stay by her side. And a promise that Braden would never leave her.

Only as she pulled up to the woodshop, the large windows looked lifeless and dark. The window facing the road reflected spots of looming clouds. Her gaze darted to the skylight along the rooftop. No light glowed there either. Just transparent-looking sheets of gray. “Where is he?” she muttered, bringing the car to a stop.

Random splatters of cool rain splashed over her arms and face as she stepped out of the car. The gravel crunched beneath her feet as she made her way along the driveway. A small window just off the woodshop entry gave Allie a view of the covered garage. His truck was there, but his convertible was gone. That meant he wasn’t making deliveries or picking up supplies. “Lunch,” Allie told herself. He’d just gone to lunch. It was noon after all. Maybe he’d taken a bite to Bree. Or picked Carter up from kindergarten today. Each explanation offered Allie a new level of comfort. Enough to get past the fact that the door was locked. Sometimes Braden locked it, which is why she had a key. After fiddling with her key ring, she jammed the gold one into the stubborn lock, cranked the knob, and stepped into the dark room with a chill.

She was hoping for hints of his recent presence in the shop. Residing heat from the overhead lamps. The hum of his power tools charging, or the fresh scent of polish in the air. Something that put his recent mark on the place. But there was nothing to be found.

As she flicked on lights and rounded the corner leading to the workshop, the place felt as still as a graveyard.
He just ran an errand,
Allie told herself. Why was she so concerned anyway? She’d only just seen him the night before. They’d had a great time at Bree’s. He’d kissed her goodnight and said he’d see her in the morning.
She
was the one who’d thrown things off course by not coming in today. Although she
had
texted him. Told him that Terrance had shown up, that she was stressing out, and would tell him all about it later.

Allie turned to look over her shoulder as a tag caught her eye. It hung from the Eifel Tower case he’d made for Paige. She stepped closer, a rapid thumping at her chest as the print came into focus.

Paige, Sorry I couldn’t be here when you got this.

Hope it will showcase your art for years to come.

Braden.

Her eyes shot back to the first line. Couldn’t be there…
why?
Just where would he be? Her birthday wasn’t until tomorrow. Now she knew something was wrong.

The shop became a blur as she crossed the room, her eyes set on the door leading to the house. When she failed to see the light switch at first glance, Allie sped down the narrow hallway in the waning light until it was black completely. With her hands stretched out before her, she sped on, fumbling for the cool knob once reaching the door. The other side of that door felt just as lifeless as the rest of the place. But she’d already known it would. For whatever reason, Braden was gone. Wouldn’t be coming back until after Paige’s birthday, in the least of it.

Feeling desperate now, she reached for her phone once more. Had he replied to her and she hadn’t seen it? With inept movements, she pressed at the screen, going back to the text she’d sent him this morning. No reply. Her focus moved from the screen as she slowly lifted her chin, a small object seeming to call her name from the other room. It was more than one object, actually. She flicked on the lamp as she stepped into his living room, noting broken bits of black on the ground. Glass, too. Shattered into pieces.

Her eyes widened as she looked at her phone once more. It took her a moment to get back to the text she’d sent him, but once it came up, Allie thumbed back to see what she’d missed. Surely she’d missed something. And there it was. But it wasn’t a text from him like she’d been expecting. No, the text had come from her own phone. At one in the morning, no less.

A rash of fire broke out over her skin as she read through the words, murmuring parts as she went. “Terrance came back… make things work… told him I would for the kids’ sake.” She gasped, reading the next line out loud completely. “Please don’t come by, call, or text me. Terrance and I were married over fifteen years. I owe this to him.” A wave of nausea rippled through her. “Terrance. That jerk!” She looked back to remnants of Braden’s phone on the floor. “And he
believed
it?” She felt insulted. Had he even received her text, or had Braden already broken his phone and headed out?

A million other questions rifled through her head as she tore out of the house, back through the narrow hallway, and through the all-too-quiet workshop. A crash of thunder greeted her as she exited the place. Rain coming down in a steady stream now. All of it adding to the chaos. It hadn’t taken much thought as to where she should go – the only place she
could
. Bree’s. If Bree was gone too, she’d… not think about that now. It hurt too much. Made it hard to breathe. Bree would be home. Of course, she would; she did daycare for crying out loud. She’d be there and she’d know all about what was going on in Braden’s head. Maybe that’s where
he
was. Of
course
it’s where he was. Bree was his support system.

A bit of tension slipped from her grip as she forced out a deep breath. Braden would be there, most likely upset about the text he’d believed was from her, but she’d explain everything, cursing stupid Terrance in the process, and relay the way she’d told him off. She’d throw her arms around him next and tell Braden that she would never consider taking Terrance back, and then she would give him a hard time for believing it.

Each step in her imagined sequence served to calm her more. It was the sight in Bree’s driveway that took the wind right out of her sails. Through the rotating wipers clearing her windshield, Allie could see that Braden’s convertible wasn’t there as she’d hoped.

Though she’d only just seen his phone in a mangled heap on the floor, Allie kept catching herself wanting to try him again. To just call and have him answer and tell her where he was. Allie knocked on the door as thunder rumbled in the distance. She stared at the white panel door, willing it to open. When at last it did, Allie tipped her head, catching eye contact with Bree. She swept a hand over her dripping lashes, prayed within her heart, and spoke the only thing she could muster. “Please tell me you know where Braden is.”