“He’s torturing her,” Drew said. “He has this new wife who was in college a year ago. She’s the selfie queen of Carlisle.”
“What are his grounds for suing Brenna for full custody?”
“His mayoral candidacy.”
I frowned and looked at him, thinking he was joking. “Seriously.”
“I am serious. The current mayor’s retiring next year, so Jack’s already decided he’s the best fit. It’s no holds barred. He’s determined to win. And to combat his reputation as a dude who left his wife for a sorority girl, he’s going for the narrative that he had no choice but to leave Brenna. And see? The judge is giving him custody of his children, because family comes first, don’t you know.”
I mulled that over for a few minutes, but as we turned onto my mother’s street, I said, “Wonder if she’d have dinner with me.”
Drew groaned. “Are you sure you want to open this Pandora’s box again?” He turned into our parents’ driveway. “Do me a favor and don’t bring this up to them.”
I shrugged. “It just feels like unfinished business. Maybe I need to finish it.”
Chapter 8
Brenna
Though my head ached and I felt as if I’d only slept for a couple of hours, I made it to work on time. But as I tried to organize my thoughts and get the store’s computer to cooperate, my mind kept wandering back to Nate Saturday night.
It was obvious to me now, though it hadn’t been then, that I’d had too much to drink. I’d looked awful. The thought of Nate seeing me like that after all these years was mortifying, but then I chastised myself for caring at all. I had no business daydreaming about Nate Beckett. He had called last night, but I’d let it ring to voice mail because I feared I would sound too slurred. He didn’t leave a message, and he didn’t try again.
Hadn’t my father’s death taught me anything? Hadn’t I learned?
If life hadn’t taught me the lessons I needed to learn, Jack sure had. My thoughts strayed to my children, and I wondered if Jack remembered to make them brush their teeth or if anyone had said prayers with them. They’d dressed them up well for the selfies and photo opps, but after that, had Jack paid any atttention to them?
My sister came out of the back room with a box. “I got a new shipment of these bath bombs.” She set it on the counter. “Are you all right?”
“Yeah. Just thinking about the kids.”
“Call the school. Make sure they’re okay.”
Picking up the phone, I dialed the number of the private school they attended. Marilyn, the secretary, answered, and I could hear the noise of children in the background. “Marilyn?” I said loudly. “This is Brenna Hertzog. I just wanted to make sure Sophia and Noah got there this morning.”
Marilyn hesitated. “I’m sorry, Brenna, but Jack never brought them.”
I closed my eyes. “Sophia has a test today. Did he call?”
“No. Maybe they’re sick.”
I clicked the phone off without saying goodbye, then immediately dialed his number at work.
“Jack Hertzog’s office. May I help you?”
“Can I speak to Jack, please?”
I knew the secretary recognized my voice since I’d called there so many times before, but the woman played dumb. “May I tell him who’s calling?”
“The mother of his children,” I bit out. “It’s an emergency.”
I held for an eternity, seething more with each passing moment, until finally he answered.
“What do you want, Brenna? I’m busy.”
“Where are my children?”
“They’re with Rayne, of course.”
“So she didn’t want to get up early enough to get them to school?”
“Relax, Brenna. Noah’s four.”
“Sophia’s eight and she has a test today.”
“She can make it up.”
“Jack, you insisted on keeping them last night so you could parade them around when they should have been home. I would have gotten them to school.” I sighed, realizing this was going nowhere. “So I’m picking them up at your house?”
“Yes.”
“At what time?”
“Five o’clock.”
“Jack, this isn’t how it’s supposed to work. I’m not supposed to have to knock on your door and get my children from your adolescent wife. You’re supposed to bring them to me.”
“Fine,” he said. “But you’ll have to wait. Dad called a meeting for tonight, and I have to be there. If you’re waiting for me, they may wind up spending the night again.”
Tears pushed to my eyes, and I glanced around and saw Georgi staring at me. “All right, I’ll pick them up. But please warn her that I’m not in the mood for her drama.”
“You know, Brenna, you should really see a doctor. You’re starting to go off the deep end. You’re the one who creates drama.”
“You can’t just blow off school, Jack, and that woman is practically a child herself.”
“That woman is my wife,” he said with great pleasure. “And when they’re with her, they don’t have to stay in day care after school.”
“I don’t think I have to remind you that my preference is to stay home with them as we agreed before we ever had them, and as I did before you had your midlife crisis. I’m working because of you, Jack! I’m between a rock and a hard place, and my children have had to suffer because of it.”
“Well, you won’t have to worry about them much longer. Court isn’t that far off.”
I slammed down the phone with a loudly ringing clank, and Georgi leaned over the counter to me. “That man is an animal.”
Shaking my head, I covered my face and tried to get a grip on myself, but it seemed futile. I wanted to die. I wanted to kill. I wanted a drink.
But it was only a few hours until I’d get off work and could have Sophia and Noah with me again. I could get through the day without a drink, and once the kids were with me, I wouldn’t need one anymore.
Boxing my arms on the sales counter, I dropped my head on them and prayed with all my heart to the God I still believed in, the one I’d strayed from but not forgotten, to protect my children while they were away from me. As long as the kids were okay, I would survive.
Chapter 9
Nate
Pop was in a good mood when Drew and I picked him up, and he got into the backseat of the truck, stuck his arm out the window, and tapped on the roof.
“Where we going, Pop?” Drew asked.
“Let’s go to the bar,” he said.
The bar? I rolled my eyes. “Pop, are you sure you want to go back to where you were before?”
“Get over yourself,” he shot back. “I told you we were going to reconstruct the crime. We have to go where it started. If I’m going to prove my innocence, then first I need to prove it to you guys. Just take me to the bar. I don’t intend to drink. I told you I’m staying dry.”
We were quiet as we drove to the bar. At this time of morning no one was there, so Drew unlocked it and let us in. He flipped on the lights, and I saw the place with new eyes. I’d never seen it without the ambient lighting, people’s faces in shadow and candlelight. I glanced back at Pop as he stood at the door. His eyes took in the sight like it was an old friend. “So you own this place now?”