“You know what I mean. What did Beth pull you away from?”
“Nothing.” He kissed her cheek. “Besides, there’s nothing more important than being here right now.” He looked upward. “How’s the kiddo doing?”
Julia leaned against him. “Not so good, I’m afraid. I think we have a lot of stormy days ahead of us.”
“We’ll get through it,” he assured her. “Together. Beth told me everything she said to you, and it goes for me, too.” He set his mug down. “And also about Dad. Look.” He shoved his hands in his pockets. “We’ve never talked about it and maybe we should have. But Beth and I knew what Dad was like, even as young as we were. He never played with us, never enjoyed us, and never wanted to take us anywhere. If it was bad for us, it must have been hell for you. Deciding on the divorce couldn’t have been easy. And bringing Dad back here for those last months was no cakewalk either, I’m sure.”
“We’re sorry you felt you had to walk away from Luke,” Beth broke in. “Mr. Buchanan. We’re done with questions and answers for the moment, and Luke will be here any minute. I’m sure you’ve got a tough evening ahead of you. But there are still things we’ll want to know. We want answers, Mom. And we deserve to have them. Courtney, too.”
“Yes, you do. You’ll get them. And thank you for not ripping my head off, which you have every right to do.”
They squeezed her between them in a warm hug.
“We’re spending the night,” Beth told her, “so we’ll be here with Courtney and available to talk when you get home, if you want.”
“Thank you.” She gave each one of them a quick kiss and hurried upstairs to get her purse and finish her makeup, her stomach in knots and every muscle in her body tighter than a high wire.
But she’d barely reached her bedroom before the phone rang. Her first thought was Luke had changed his mind. Decided he didn’t want anything to do with any of them anymore.
She picked up the receiver almost reluctantly. “Hello?”
“That’s him, isn’t it, you slut?”
The rage in Rod Maguire’s voice was so violent, she almost dropped the phone.
“Rod?”
“I know it’s him. The father of your bastard. The man you betrayed Charles with.” He bit off each word.
Julia took a deep breath, doing her best to steady herself. “I think who I see is no longer your business.” Why couldn’t he just go away and leave her alone?
“On the contrary. You betrayed Charles, one of the best men I’ve ever known, in the worst way possible. How he even wanted to be in the same house with you after what you did is beyond me. But he left me specific instructions, Julia. Very specific. And as his executor, I feel duty-bound to carry them out.”
She rubbed her forehead. “I think I said everything to you I had to say the last time I saw you. Nothing’s changed. Just leave us alone.”
“I’ll ruin him.” The words were virulent. “I’ll find his name and I’ll destroy him. And you and your bastard brat along with him. Be warned.”
The call disconnected with a slam on the other end. Julia replaced the phone with a hand that shook so badly it took her two tries. But she meant what she’d said. Tonight she would lay it all out for Luke and pray Claire and the twins were right. That he’d give her the strength to handle this together. She was through being a coward, through being afraid of a man who was a bully, through letting other people control her life. It was past time to move forward.
Luke arrived promptly at six. Julia hurried downstairs to let him in, but Beth and Andy got there first. She braced herself for an uncomfortable few moments, but obviously she underestimated her older children. Andy pulled the door open to give Luke room to enter and held out his hand.
“Andrew Patterson. Andy. I’m really glad to meet you.”
They shook hands and Andy drew Beth forward.
“I’m Elizabeth,” she said. “Beth.” She studied Luke’s face. “Please take good care of our mother. She’s been through a lot.”
Luke appeared startled. Julia knew this wasn’t exactly the kind of reception he’d been prepared for. Nor had she. Again, Claire was right. She should have had faith in her children and Luke from the beginning. Tried harder all this time to find him. Instead she’d wasted a lot of years.
“Julia?”
She was suddenly aware of everyone staring at her. Waiting for her to do or say something. “I’ll be right back. Stay right here.”
She ran up the stairs, knocked on Courtney’s door, and pushed it open. “He’s here, honey. Will you come downstairs?”
Courtney was bunched up on her bed, hugging a stuffed animal. “No. I can’t see him right now.”
“Courtney.” Julia reached out a hand. Drew it back. “He’d really like to see you.”
“I’ll think about it.”
Julia waited a moment then decided not to push it. She closed the door and ran down the stairs, forcing a smile. “I’m ready,” she told Luke. Then she kissed each of the twins. “Thanks for everything.”
“No sweat,” Andy told her.
Luke looked up the stairs. “Where’s Courtney?”
“In her room.” Julia wondered if she’d have to explain the agony of the afternoon to him right now. “I let her know you were here but—” She held out her hands in a gesture of helplessness.
Finally, Luke shifted his gaze back to her. “All right, then. I guess we’re ready to go.”
“You raised some truly great kids.” That was the first thing he said to her when they were in the car.
“Better than even I imagined.”
And those were the last words they exchanged during the tense ride to the restaurant.
* * * *
Luke gave his drink order to the waiter while Julia asked for hot tea. She didn’t need alcohol to dull wits already pretty scrambled.
“I have a
