“Daydreaming again?” Vanessa asked as she walked into the office without knocking. Vic turned to face her and gave her a weary smile. Vanessa walked over to her and placed a hand on her arm. “Or are you just dreading going back to Wolf Bay?”
“Not Wolf Bay, per se,” she said with a shrug. “But home. To Vera’s home. I don’t know how you managed to talk me into spending three weeks there.”
“I want you there with me, you know that.” Vanessa moved to sit on the couch along the far wall and crossed her legs.
Vic smiled and wondered at the fact they were identical twins, but so different in how they presented themselves. Vanessa got most of the feminine traits, and Vic was definitely more on the butch side. Vanessa’s blond hair was long and stylish, and Vic’s was short and stylishly messy. Before her accident, Vanessa had worn dresses and skirts as often as she could, and Vic hadn’t worn one since her high school graduation. She was much more comfortable in tailored suits, and if she wasn’t at work, she was wearing sweatpants or cargo shorts and T-shirts.
“But why for so long?” she asked as she joined Vanessa on the couch. “You know as well as I do that Vera’s planning everything the way she wants it to be, so I don’t understand why you even need to be there other than for the ceremony.”
“I need to give my opinion on things.”
“Even if she won’t listen to anything you say? This is going to be an event for her and her social circle. How many people have you actually invited that you really want to be there?”
“I don’t have a lot of friends, you know that. And neither do you since you brought it up.” Vanessa smiled to show she didn’t mean anything negative by her words, but even if she did, it wouldn’t have mattered to Vic. She was fine without any more than a couple of close friends. Vanessa leaned forward to look her in the eye. “I love you for agreeing to be there with me. It means more than you know. But can we put the animosity for Mother away for the next three weeks? Please?”
Vic shook her head and gave a small smile. “I’ll try, but if she pushes me, you know I’ll push back.”
“Understood, and I wouldn’t expect anything less.” Vanessa got to her feet and headed for the door. She stopped when she reached it and looked over her shoulder. “We’re going in your car, right?”
“Yeah,” Vic said as she stood and faced her. Vanessa had come a long way since the accident, but she was still wary about driving. Vic really couldn’t blame her. No doubt she’d be reluctant to get behind the wheel too if it had happened to her. “Just be ready to leave first thing in the morning.”
“I’ll be ready.”
Vic went back to the window and stared at the skyline. Truth be told, facing Vera again didn’t worry her in the least. The possibility of running into Riley Warren was what had her stomach all tied up in knots. She tilted her head back and closed her eyes. Riley was her greatest regret in life. She’d played a part in making Riley’s life a living hell their senior year, and it had torn her apart for the past twenty years.
She let out a breath and shook her head. If only she’d had the guts back then to admit she’d been in love with Riley, her life might have turned out completely different. Then again, maybe things had turned out exactly as they were meant to. Living a life devoid of true feelings for another human being must have been her penance for being an asshole in high school.
“Knock, knock,” her father said as he stuck his head into her office. “I really did knock, but you must not have heard me.”
“Sorry, I was lost in thought.” She smiled and motioned for him to come in. She took a seat behind her desk as he sat across from her. “What’s up?”
“I hope your thoughts were good ones.”
“Not really.” She crossed her arms over her chest and leaned back.
“I know you aren’t happy about going back home,” he said with a look of sympathy. “And I can’t really blame you. Your mother’s never been one to give up on a grudge.”
“I didn’t come out to piss her off, you know. I did it because I needed to be true to myself. She thinks everything is about her, and I just don’t understand it, Dad.”
“I know, honey,” he said with a shrug. “I have to admit I don’t totally understand it myself. She wasn’t always like this.”
“That’s good to hear,” Vic said. “I’d like to think you have better taste than to get involved with someone who has the personality of a paper bag.”
“Hey,” he said, trying to look stern but not really accomplishing it. “She’s still my wife, you know.”
“But you can change that,” Vic said with a wink. “Unfortunately, she’s always going to be the woman who gave birth to me. Even if she refuses to call me her daughter.”
“If it makes you feel any better, she isn’t any happier than you are that you’ll be staying at the house for the next few weeks.”
“Yeah, about that,” Vic said as she tilted her head to the side. “I can’t believe she’d allow me under her roof again just because Vanessa wants me there.”
“I want you there too,” he said with an affectionate smile. “And it is my house too, you know. I still have some say in what goes on there. Are you going to be able to get along with her?”
“Doubtful, but it will totally be up to her. If she can be civil, so can I.” They sat in silence for a few moments, and she struggled with whether or not to tell him about the fact she was seriously considering leaving the Thayer Group. She decided it could wait. The next three weeks were about Vanessa and her special day, even if Vera would no doubt do everything in her power to make it about herself.
“So, you’re going up there tomorrow?” he asked.
“Leaving in the morning.”
“I’ll see you up there then.” He stood and looked at her. “You have everything covered while you’re gone?”
“There was only one meeting that couldn’t be rescheduled, and Jim is taking care of it for me,” she said about her vice president of marketing. “Everything’s good.”
“Wonderful. Drive safely, okay?”
“I always do.” She watched him leave and glanced at the clock. Only ten more minutes left in her day, and then tomorrow she’d be back in Wolf Bay for the first time in sixteen years.
She just hoped to God she could make it through the next three weeks without strangling someone. Or, more accurately, without strangling Vera.
Chapter Two
Wolf Bay, New York, was a nice enough town, but Riley couldn’t figure out for the life of her why anyone would actually want to live here. Or, for that matter, why it was even called Wolf Bay in the first place. The closest body of water was the Hudson River, and it was an hour away. They were literally closer to the Connecticut state line.
Of course, she’d spent her whole life in this town, but she hadn’t been given much of a choice in the matter. If she’d had money she could have moved away, but managing a two-screen movie theater in a town of less than eight hundred people wasn’t going to get her the money she needed to improve her lot in life.