The Friends We Keep (Mischief Bay) (24 page)

“Then I should get to go.”

Morgan had simply shown up fifteen minutes ago, with no explanation, no anything. Just a knock on the front door. Rob was at the grocery store, picking up the wine they would take to the party. Hayley had thought briefly about not letting her sister inside, but then had decided she wasn’t going to be afraid or back down. Not anymore.

They were standing in the kitchen. Hayley had to fight against customary politeness to keep from inviting her sister to sit down. She and Rob were leaving as soon as he got back—this was going to be a short visit.

“You’re not coming back to Supper’s in the Bag, are you?” Morgan asked.

“No. That’s why I sent you a letter resigning.”

“But I need you. The business sucks. I hate it. You did all the crap work. Now I have to. Or hire someone to do it. It’s not fair.”

Hayley realized that with great sorrow had come freedom. She no longer needed the job, so she didn’t have to put up with anything she didn’t want to. The word
victim
played in her head, but she’d never been her sister’s victim. She’d been a willing participant.

There were nights when she woke up crying—not from any physical pain, but from loss. Deep, bone-chilling loss. But more and more there were times when she felt powerful. Because the choices were all hers now.

“You could sell the company,” she suggested calmly. “Get a job working for someone else.”

“Why on earth would I do that?”

Morgan’s dark hair hung in thick curls. She was beautiful, as always, if one ignored her petulant expression. The permanent sulk was starting to give her lines around her mouth. Wasn’t that just so very sad?

Hayley knew she was being bitchy, but was willing to go with it. She remembered their mother saying that it was okay to be a little mean now and then, as long as you felt bad afterward and didn’t make a habit of the behavior.

“I miss Mom,” Hayley said, thinking their mother would have had a lot of sage advice to give about so many things. “Do you still have the scrapbooks she made for us?”

“What? No. I have three kids and a husband. I barely have room for a pair of socks in my house. And who has time to look at stuff like that?” She used both hands to fluff her thick curls, then let them fall back onto her shoulders. “I can’t do this anymore. There’s too much stress. I need to get away. Can you take the kids for a long weekend?”

“Sure.”

“Just like that?”

“I enjoy my niece and nephews and I haven’t spent enough time with them lately. Of course they can stay with Rob and me while you get away.”

“Good.”

“Are you taking Brent?”

“God, no. He’s part of what I need to get away from. Jeez.”

Hayley found escape in humor. “You’re not the nicest person on the planet, are you?”

“I don’t have time to be. My best employee just quit. I’ll text you the details.”

“I look forward to hearing from you.”

Morgan stared at her. “What’s gotten into you? You’re different. I thought you’d be all mopey and sad, but you’re not. Don’t you care that you can’t have kids anymore? Was that all just a game?”

Hayley felt the path in front of her split in two. She could react from pain or from power. The choice was hers. Morgan was never going to be more or less than she already was. This was as good as it was going to be for her. But Hayley could still pick her path.

She walked to the front door and held it open. “I’m happy to take care of your kids for a weekend because I love them and they’re family. But you do not get to speak to me like that in my own home.”

“What’s with you? I didn’t mean anything.” Morgan grabbed her bag and huffed. “Fine. I’m sorry. Satisfied?”

“Not yet, but I’m getting closer.”

Chapter Twenty-Three

Gabby inched her car forward in the long line of parents dropping off their kids at school. Makayla sat next to her, her hands clenched tightly in her lap. She radiated tension.

“You okay?” Gabby asked quietly.

Makayla nodded.

“It’ll get easier after today. Once you’re in a routine.”

“I’m going to get bigger. People are going to find out.”

As far as Gabby knew, Makayla still hadn’t told any of her friends she was pregnant. She hadn’t wanted Gabby and Andrew to tell the school, either. Gabby had insisted on having a conversation with her counselor so there would be a record of her condition, in case something happened. Makayla also had a three-week reprieve on gym class, so she wouldn’t have to get changed in front of the other girls and then wear an outfit that would make her pregnancy obvious.

Gabby honestly didn’t know what to say. The end result was inevitable. As Makayla had said—she was going to get bigger. There was no hiding where this was going. She probably had about two months until there was nothing anyone could do to conceal her condition.

Gabby reached out and placed her hand over her stepdaughter’s fists. Funny how in the past few weeks Gabby’s emotions had shifted. She was no longer angry. Somehow she had moved to a form of acceptance, with a little sadness thrown in. She still wasn’t ready to raise the child herself, but she was able to separate her feelings from what Makayla was going through.

“You have your cell,” she said. “I’ll be around. Call me if you need me.”

Makayla nodded.

They reached the drop-off point. Makayla started to get out of the car, then, at the last minute, turned and hugged Gabby.

“Thank you,” she whispered, tears glistening in her eyes. Then she was gone.

Gabby drew in a breath, before forcing herself to turn and smile at the twins. “Ready?”

They both grinned back.

“We’re ready, Mommy. We’re going to have fun.” Kennedy spoke with confidence, as if there were no alternative to a good time in kindergarten.

“Yes, you are,” Gabby told her.

She drove out of the high school parking lot and onto the street. The elementary school was only a few blocks away and the start time was such that she made it with minutes to spare. After finding a parking space, she helped the twins out of the car and walked with them to the classroom.

There were kids everywhere, from ages five to eleven. The differences in sizes and how they talked was amazing. Some of the sixth graders looked closer to twenty than ten with their trendy clothes. A few even had on makeup.

Kenzie had chosen the outfits for the day—summer dresses in matching fabric but in different colors. Gabby had already taken about a thousand pictures, but she used her phone to snap a few more as the girls paused by their classroom.

Kennedy hugged her. “Mommy, we’re going to be fine.”

“I know you are. You’re both going to do great.” Gabby crouched down and put her arms around them both. “You’re both so smart and you get along so well with other children. I love you and I’m proud of you.”

She stood and watched the girls walk into the classroom. They greeted their teacher and went to their seats.

Kindergarten orientation had been the previous week. There’d been a “practice” day with everyone arriving and having a chance to meet. Now the girls talked to other students as they waited for class to begin.

Gabby stood outside with a group of other parents. They all looked shell-shocked, as if unable to believe this had happened.

Andrew hurried up to join her. He’d been stuck home on a conference call.

“Did I miss it?”

Gabby wiped away tears and pointed through the glass in the door. “They’re doing fine. It’s going to be okay.”

He put his arm around her and drew her against him. “Our little girls,” he said quietly. “You did a hell of a job with them.”

“It was both of us.” The words were automatic but she found she actually meant them. Until recently, she and Andrew had always been a team. Now she leaned against him and wondered when they would be again.

Her mother’s advice weighed on her. To make things work, she was going to have to be mature and didn’t that suck.

“Want to get a cup of coffee before you go to work?” she asked.

“I’d like that.”

He followed her to Latte-Da where they got their drinks, then settled at a table outside on the sidewalk. There was still a hint of morning coolness in the air and not many people walking around. It was as if they had Mischief Bay to themselves.

Gabby studied her husband. She loved him. Even when he made her crazy. Which meant she needed to establish communication between them.

“I’m sorry.”

Words she’d been planning to say, only he’d been the one to say them first.

She stared at him. “Excuse me?”

“I’m sorry, Gabby. I never meant to hurt you. I was so focused on Makayla and how we were going to handle the baby that I couldn’t see that by insisting, no, assuming, you would take care of him or her, that I was making you feel less important. I didn’t see that I wasn’t respecting you as a person. As a partner and the woman I love.” His mouth twisted. “We have to agree on where we’re going together. As a couple and a family. It’s not a solution if one of us feels betrayed.”

She wondered if she looked as shocked as she felt. Part of her wanted to reach out and touch Andrew’s forehead. Did he have a fever? How on earth...

“My mother,” she said slowly.

“Marie cornered me at Pam’s barbecue yesterday. She lulled me into thinking she was on my side, then pounced.” His smile was rueful. “Except what she said got me to thinking.” He reached across the table and took her hand in his. “Gabby, I don’t want you unhappy or mad at me. I don’t want you to sacrifice everything for Makayla’s baby. There has to be a way to make it work where the compromise isn’t all about you.”

Tears burned. “I’d like that,” she whispered. “I don’t want to be mad, either. And I don’t want Makayla punished. I just need to not be the push point.”

“I agree. Somehow we’ll figure this out.”

“As long as we keep talking,” she said. “And we don’t assume anything.” She hesitated. “I’m worried about Makayla.”

“In what way?”

She told him about their shopping expedition. “She hasn’t mentioned the pregnancy to her friends. They’re going to figure it out at some point and I don’t think it’s going to go well.”

“Do you think she’ll be bullied?”

“I don’t know. I worry that she’s withdrawn too much. She’s a social kid. But since she found out she was pregnant, she hasn’t had anyone over. With Boyd gone, she’s on her own. That’s not good. She needs her friends.” She picked up her coffee. “None of this is easy.”

“I couldn’t get through it without you. Candace is less than no help. I swear she deliberately makes things more difficult.”

“Maybe you should talk to her. Makayla needs support right now. More than she ever has. I’m not saying we need to coddle her, but this isn’t the time for her mother to go off on one of her rants.”

“I’ll get with her.” Andrew grimaced. “I can only imagine how that’s going to go.”

Gabby risked a subject she’d been thinking about for a while. “There are teen parenting classes. I think Makayla should take one. I don’t want to have to teach her everything. I think it would go better if she were in a structured environment. Plus she would learn how to balance school and a baby.”

She finished and held her breath. Would Andrew agree or would accepting the idea of the class be too much like saying Makayla had to do it all?

“That’s a great idea,” he told her. “You’re right. She has a lot to learn. I remember how scared I was when she was born and I was a lot more prepared than her. Let’s get her signed up.”

Wow—that was unexpectedly easy. “I’ve found a couple of places that are local. We can talk about it tonight.”

“Good.” He smiled. “Okay—now for a more cheerful topic. Are you excited about starting work tomorrow?”

“I am. I’m nervous, too.”

“You’ll do great.”

“I hope so.” Makayla’s pregnancy had sort of consumed much of Gabby’s mental time so she hadn’t obsessed as much as she had thought she would. Probably a good thing.

“I’m proud of you, Gabby, and lucky to have you in my life.”

“Thank you. I feel the same way.”

This was what she wanted, she thought. A good relationship with her husband. Her mother had been right about taking the moral high ground and about Gabby talking to Andrew.

“What does your morning look like?” she asked. “Do you have to get to the office right away?”

One eyebrow rose. “What did you have in mind?”

She grinned. “A little makeup sex. It’s been a while.”

“It has.” He rose and tossed away his to-go cup, then reached for her hand. “I’m all in.”

She smiled. “Good. Me, too.”

* * *

Hayley put the sheets in the washer. Her first full day at work since the surgery had left her tired and a little achy, but she still felt good. At least she’d accomplished something other than sitting around and feeling sorry for herself.

She turned on the machine, then went to the kitchen to start dinner. Now that she wasn’t working at Supper’s in the Bag, she was fully responsible for the meals, but that was okay. She and Rob enjoyed barbecuing and she would figure out the rest. She had a Crock-Pot she’d never made friends with. That could be a start.

She pulled chicken pieces she’d been marinating out of the refrigerator and put them on a plate. Her cell chimed with an incoming text.

I booked my hotel reservation for the weekend. I’ll drop the kids off at three on Friday.

Hayley stared at the words, then swore silently. In her smugness from standing up to her sister, she’d completely forgotten about her agreement to take her kids. She hadn’t discussed it with Rob at all.

Before she could decide what to text back, she heard Rob’s car in the driveway. He walked in a minute later.

“Hi,” he greeted her with a smile, then froze. “What’s wrong? Are you bleeding?” The color drained from his face as he crossed to her. “Hayley?”

In that moment she saw all that she’d put him through. How he’d suffered. It wasn’t that wanting kids was wrong, she thought sadly. Of course it wasn’t. But the price everyone had paid didn’t seem fair.

“I’m fine,” she said quickly. “Really, I’m good. Don’t worry.”

He relaxed. “Okay, then what’s wrong?”

“I did something stupid. Morgan wants to get away for a weekend and I said we’d take the kids. I’m sorry—I totally forgot to ask you about it. Now she’s made plans to drop them off on Friday. Is that all right or do you want me to tell her to reschedule?”

Rob pushed up his glasses, then cupped her face in his hands and kissed her mouth. “I love the kids. Of course they can stay. We’ll have fun.”

She smiled. “Thank you.”

“You’re welcome. Is it this weekend?”

“Uh-huh. We’ll have to get out the blow-up beds for the boys. And, um, Amy’s going to need the bed in the spare room.”

The room where Rob was still sleeping.

He lowered his arms to his side. “You okay with that?”

She nodded. “I miss you.”

“I miss you, too.”

She wanted to say more. She wanted to ask if they were okay. Because since the surgery, Rob hadn’t touched her. Not that they could have intercourse. She needed a few more weeks of healing, but still, there were other things they could do. Only there were issues standing between them. Things that hadn’t been talked about. She’d gone behind his back with selling the house and he’d left her. They both had things to answer for.

He smiled. “Let me go change my clothes, then I’ll start the barbecue. While it’s heating up, I want to hear about your day.”

Because that was normal, she thought wistfully. What they did now. But was it enough? She didn’t know how much had been lost. Worse, she didn’t know what the first move would look like, let alone who would make it. And without that, how could they possibly move on?

* * *

The world of immigration law, like much of the legal world, revolved around details. Facts, precedent, rulings, exceptions, exemptions, extensions.

Gabby found herself thrown in the deep end with her new job. She’d been given several ongoing cases and had spent her first few days trying to get up to speed. She’d done this sort of work before so had expected to jump right in. What she hadn’t realized was that her brain had changed. She wasn’t used to slogging through literally hundreds of printed or digital pages and retaining all the salient points. Eight paragraphs in, she found her attention wandering, so she had to go back and read them again and again.

While she’d been home with the girls, she’d tried to stay current with the changes in the law. She’d subscribed to a few online journals and had read them...or so she’d thought. What she’d actually done had been to skim them. Lightly skim them. And she’d apparently retained nothing.

Now it was Friday and she was exhausted. Not just by the change of having to be at a job—albeit only four hours a day—while juggling her family, but by her late nights. After the family was fed and everyone was in bed, Gabby had gone downstairs to read her cases, along with the applicable laws. Short nights, long days and plenty of legalese did not for perkiness make.

She glanced at the clock and saw it was a little after eleven. She had only been in the office two hours and she was on her third cup of coffee. That couldn’t be good. Plus next week she had meetings three of her five days, which meant she would need to do the rest of her work at home.

She reminded herself that working at a full-time job in a big law firm would mean eighty-to-ninety-hour weeks. The concept daunted her. How did people do that? She missed her kids. Funny how when she got home, she was fine. She knew the twins were happy with their teacher and their new friends, but here in the office, she worried. She also found herself wondering about Makayla. The teen hadn’t said much about school the whole week. She’d been sleeping a lot. Gabby worried she was depressed.

But the most startling part of working was more personal, and kind of sad. Peeing alone was not the thrill she’d thought it was going to be. Honestly, she missed Jasmine’s little paw poking under the door and Boomer whining his displeasure if the door was closed.