The mood in the house darkened when Harriet came out of Cassie’s bedroom.
“You been shopping?” she asked, carrying the plastic bin liner that contained some used Kleenex, and the packaging and labels that Cassie had cut off all the clothes she’d bought.
Cassie looked up, alarmed. Was it an accepted thing to root through people’s dustbins when you emptied them?
“That’s the evening gown shop in town,” Harriet commented, reading the label. “Pricey.”
“The school play’s coming up. I wanted something nice to wear tomorrow,” Cassie said.
She knew it was a lie, but sensed that the truth would send Harriet’s mood over the edge. Cassie still didn’t know if she had an actual crush on Ryan, or was simply a jealous type who didn’t like anyone having something she didn’t.
There wasn’t much to do in the house. When she left to fetch the children, she was confident that Harriet would be gone by the time she returned.
Harriet wasn’t. She’d been tidying the already tidy kitchen, and had taken out all the coffee cups and glasses and put them through the dishwasher. Now she was putting them away.
Suspicion filled Cassie as she wondered whether Harriet was deliberately killing time so that she would be home when Ryan arrived.
“Are we all done here?” she asked, trying to sound cheerful. “Come into the kitchen, Maddie, I’ll make you some tea.”
“I’ve still got to tidy the lounge and sweep the porch,” Harriet said.
Cassie felt like asking her in an outraged tone, “Sweep the porch?” It was still drizzling and anyone could see there was absolutely no point in sweeping or tidying anywhere outside with more wind and rain expected.
She forced herself to smile sweetly, not wanting to end up in an argument with the cleaner. At least Harriet was going to be out of the kitchen, which meant Cassie could make tea, lay the table, and get the children’s supper into the oven.
Eventually Harriet returned to the kitchen. Glancing at the clock, Cassie saw that it was now after six o’clock. Long past her finishing time, and still she was here.
“I found this on the couch,” she said, holding up a vanilla chapstick. “Belong to anyone?”
“That’s mine. Thanks so much. It must have fallen out of my pocket last night.”
Cassie took the chapstick, glad to have it back. She’d looked for it at lunchtime and when she hadn’t found it, had assumed she’d dropped it in town while she was trying on clothes.
“That was when you were kissing my dad,” Madison said, looking up from the word game book she was busy with at the kitchen table.
Cassie gaped at her, shocked beyond words, as she heard Harriet’s sharp intake of breath.
Madison continued, relaying the information in a factual tone as if she wasn’t bothered by it and was simply passing it on.
“I went to get some water last night and saw you kissing each other. Maybe that’s when it fell out,” she told Cassie helpfully.
Looking at Harriet, Cassie could see the raw hatred in her face. Harriet was glaring at her as if she were a poisonous snake she was about to kill.
“Is that so?” the cleaner taunted. “That’s why you’re here? To get a little piece of Dad, eh? That didn’t take you long. You’re quite the mover.”
Cassie stood up so suddenly she jolted the table, causing the salt and pepper shakers to fall over with a bang.
“Madison, come with me,” she ordered.
She wasn’t going to let the young girl sit here while hateful insinuations about herself and her father were flung around. She knew how deeply words could scar.
“Did he pay you for that? Perk of the job? Or was it an extra freebie?”
Harriet spat the words out.
Cassie grabbed Madison’s hand and headed for the door, hustling her toward the bedrooms and out of earshot.
Dylan, reclining on the bean bag in the dining room and engrossed in a book, glanced up as they passed.
“What’s happening?” Madison asked.
Breathlessly, Cassie explained as she marched Madison into her room.
“Harriet’s lost her temper and is saying hurtful things. You shouldn’t have to hear things that are ugly and untrue. It will be better for us to stay in our rooms until she’s gone.”
It didn’t sound as if that would take too long. Madison’s announcement had clearly put an end to the delaying tactics. As she went to her own room, Cassie heard the brief hiss of the kitchen tap, a cupboard slamming, and then the stomp of angry feet as Harriet headed for the front door.
Then her heart leaped into her mouth as she heard it unlock, and Ryan’s voice calling out.
“Knock knock! Hello, everyone. Oh, hello, Harriet, you still here?”
“Screw you, you bastard,” Harriet spat the words out.
The front door slammed with a crash that reverberated through the house.
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Cassie burst out of her bedroom and ran to the hallway where Ryan was standing, frozen, staring at the front door.
She felt consumed by anxiety about Harriet’s behavior and had started to fear the worst. What if Harriet and Ryan had already had a relationship? What if Ryan had slept with her? He might have done so in a moment of passion, as a fling, but even so, it was troubling that he hadn’t told her about it. She needed to know what was going on. She couldn’t bear to think of anything destroying their potential happiness.
When Ryan turned and saw her, his face softened.
“Good afternoon, lovely,” he said, and put his arms around her.
She hugged him back, reassured by how strong and tightly he held her.
“Did you have some kind of a fall-out with Harriet?” he asked softly, smoothing his hand over her hair.
“Madison told Harriet we’d kissed. She must have seen us last night.”
Cassie felt sick inside as she described in a low voice what
