by Cindy Kirk
Whitney’s words held a slight slur, as if she’d enjoyed one too many cocktails on the flight from Florida.
“Mommy.” Brynn must have heard her voice, because she came running and barreled into her mother.
Whitney raised her hand to smooth Brynn’s hair, but her right arm jerked then jerked again when she tried to lower it.
Hadley exchanged a glance with David.
“You’ve got your suitcase.” Brynn’s brows pulled together as she noticed the red case. “Are you going somewhere?”
“No. I’m staying right here with you.” Whitney slanted a glance at David. “At least for a few days.”
At her ex-husband’s raised brows, Whitney bristled. “It’s Founder’s Day. The decent hotels are all booked.”
“We don’t want you to stay in a hotel.” Brynn looked at her father for support. “Do we, Daddy?”
David’s smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Of course not, Sweet Pea.”
“I’d better head to the square.” Hadley forced an easy, conversational tone.
Brynn’s gaze whipped to her. “I thought you wanted to see me dance.”
“I will see you dance. I wouldn’t miss that for the world,” Hadley assured the child. “But Mrs. Rakes needs someone to greet visitors. While I’m doing that, you can spend time with your mom.”
Appearing mollified, Brynn nodded.
Hadley gave the child a hug, closing her eyes briefly as love surged.
David followed Hadley out the door and onto the porch. “You don’t have to leave. We had plans. Just because Whitney decided to show up doesn’t—”
“She’s not some stranger who stopped by. She’s Brynn’s mother. She flew all the way from Florida to see her.” Hadley lowered her voice. “She doesn’t look well.”
“She’s lost weight.”
“Did you see her arm? The way it jerked?”
“Those involuntary movements are the hallmark symptom of Huntington’s.” Sadness washed over his handsome face. “It appears Kim was right to be worried.”
“I’m sorry.” Hadley wrapped her arms around his neck in an attempt to comfort and soothe.
David pulled her close. “I was really looking forward to today.”
“Me, too.” She pressed a kiss against his lips, loving the taste of him. “We’ll have other days. Lots and lots of other days.”
Still, as Hadley left the house, she couldn’t help wishing that Whitney hadn’t picked today to arrive in Good Hope.
Chapter 25
David resisted the urge to check the time. The day he’d looked forward to all week was dragging. He knew the reason. Whitney.
Listening to her inane chatter was exhausting. She talked about herself the entire time Brynn performed. Told him how she’d lost interest in the party scene. Told him her friend Kim was worried about her.
“Silly bitch.” Whitney spoke the words loud enough to have several people turning to look. “Did I tell you she’s worried about me?”
It was the sixth time in five minutes she’d asked him that same question.
He frowned, but this time said nothing. Whitney and Kim had been best friends as far back as David could remember. They were two peas in a pod in terms of interests. Or had been.
As his gaze scanned the crowd, he spotted Hadley seated off to the right, her gaze riveted on Brynn. As if she felt his eyes on her, Hadley shifted her gaze. When they exchanged a brief smile, David felt his spirits lift.
When the performance ended, he looked for Hadley, but couldn’t find her.
“She’s probably at the climbing wall.” Brynn tugged on his hand. “I want to climb, too. Please, Daddy, please can I?”
“You just finished dancing. That’s enough strenuous activity for one day.”
Brynn opened her mouth as if to argue, then shrugged good-naturedly. “At least I got to dance. And I’m glad we saw the family tree. Lots of people were looking at it.”
“You did the Chapin family proud with that tree.” David had been relieved when Whitney begged off going to City Hall where the “history” was displayed. He wasn’t sure how she’d have reacted to seeing Hadley’s family history displayed under Brynn’s maternal side.
When David had agreed to let Brynn interview Hadley, he never expected Whitney to show up this weekend. While he’d initially worried someone might mention Hadley’s relationship to Brynn before he had a chance to tell Whitney, he shouldn’t have been concerned. He’d yet to see anyone outside of close friends and family speak to his ex.
Whitney continued to tap bright red nails against her thigh in an erratic rhythm. “I want a drink.”
Brynn pointed, eager to help. “There’s a lemonade stand right over there.”
Whitney dismissed the suggestion with a flick of the wrist. “I was hoping for something stronger.”
Brynn appeared puzzled, but David understood. “The truck shaped like a beer keg also serves cocktails. The cherry vodka limeade is especially popular.”
“I’ll catch up with you.” Whitney turned in the direction of the truck without saying good-bye or setting a place to meet.
“We’ll be at the cakewalk,” he called to her back, frowning at her slow, unsteady gait.
The first strains of a Michael Bublé hit filled the air as Prim and Max joined him.
David had known the couple were nearby when he’d spotted Callum and Connor in the cakewalk circle.
Prim glanced around. “Where’s Hadley?”
Before David could respond, Whitney appeared. Despite her slow pace, red liquid sloshed over the rim of her plastic cup.
“Why are you talking to them?” Whitney shifted her gaze from David to Prim, her eyes shooting sparks of fury. “Your boys should be in jail.”
Prim blinked twice. “Pardon me?”
“Your boys should be in jail.”
In one easy movement, Max put himself between Whitney and his wife.
“I heard they said they were playing tag.” Whitney drawled the words, her upper lip curved in a sneer. “That’s quite a story.”
“Whitney.” David gripped his ex-wife’s arm. “That’s enough.”
“Get your hands off me.” She jerked her arm from his, then had to fight for several seconds to regain her balance. “Their brats could have killed my daughter. They should be in jail not—”
At Callum’s shout of triumph, Whitney paused for a second, then finished, “Winning cakes.”
Max’s eyes had gone hard and flat. “I’m going to cut you a break because it appears that drink isn’t your first. You can ask anyone who was there what happened. They’ll tell you it was an accident.”
“Your boys should be in jail,” Whitney repeated.
A muscle in Max’s jaw jumped.
“Whitney.” David stepped forward and forced a conciliatory tone. “We can talk about the boys all you want once we get home.”
Whitney’s eyes flashed. “I want to talk about them now.”
David’s eyes must have transmitted an SOS, because Max rummaged in his pocket, pulled out a set of keys and tossed them to David. “Use my office.”
Max’s gaze shifted to his wife, who had their baby clasped protectively against her. “We’ll keep an eye on Brynn until you get back.”
“Thanks.” David lowered his voice. “Sorry about this.”
By promising her another drink, David managed to coerce Whitney into accompanying him to the small building on Main Street where Max’s CPA office was located. On the short walk, David gritted his teeth as she ranted about redheaded boys and devils.
Whitney had never been good at seeing any side of an argument but her own. This was different. Adding delusional thinking to the mix practically ensured this conversation wouldn’t go well.
Once inside, Whitney commandeered the plush leather visitor chair. Under the fluorescent lights, David noticed the red stain from her drink on the front of her dress. The former Whitney would have been horrified. This woman didn’t appear to ca
re.
He set a glass of water next to her, which she ignored.
Whitney leaned back in the chair, then straightened. She leaned forward, then sat back. It was as if she couldn’t get comfortable.
Fidgeting. Irritability. Lack of restraint.
David’s heart twisted. All behavioral symptoms of Huntington’s. He forced a calm tone. “Why are you so focused on the twins?”
“I don’t want to talk about them.” Whitney’s right arm jerked up and down. Holding it down with her left, she speared him with razor-sharp eyes. “I want to talk about you.”
The comment caught him off guard. Whitney had lost interest in him and his life long ago. David rested one hip on the edge of the desk. “What about me?”
“I read about you and Blondie in the Good Hope newsletter.” Whitney stood, then sat back down. Seconds later, she stood again. Her right arm continued to jerk. “I know her secret.”
David kept his face expressionless. “What secret is that?”
“She’s stupid in her choice of men.”
His lips quirked. “I take it you’re referring to me.”
Whitney laughed long and lustily.
“Not you.” She plopped down in the chair with the grace of a drunken elephant. “That Justin guy.”
David froze. How had Whitney learned Justin’s name? Even when speaking with family, he and Hadley had been careful not to mention Brynn’s birth father by name.
“The woman deserved more than she got.” Whitney was back on her feet now and swaying. “Kim agrees.”
“Where does Kim fit?”
“Kim?” Whitney cocked her head as if having difficulty placing the name. After several seconds, her lips curved in a sly smile. “Oh, she helped me dig. She can find dirt on anyone, even if it’s well hidden.”
Of that, David had no doubt. Despite her partying ways, Kim was a successful businesswoman, owning a profitable cybersecurity business in Boca.
David shrugged. “I’m not interested in what you found.”
“You will be when you hear it. She—” Whitney paused when the bells over the door jingled and Hadley walked in.
Hadley’s gaze slid from him to Whitney. “I’m sorry to interrupt. I wondered if you wanted me to take Brynn home. Or—”
“Perfect timing. We’re discussing you and your buddy Justin. You really should have told David about your criminal past.” Whitney made a tsking sound. “He has the right to know that your lies sent a man to jail.”
Hadley stared in obvious confusion. “His actions sent him to prison.”
“I bet you didn’t know any of this.” Whitney turned to David, then cursed as her arm began to jerk again. “Goddamn arm.”
“Actually, Hadley told me all about the incident.”
Surprise, swiftly followed by disappointment, flashed across Whitney’s face.
“I’ll take Brynn home.” Hadley hurried from the office without a backward glance.
“Kim is my daughter, not yours.” Whitney called after Hadley, seemingly unaware she’d gotten her child’s name wrong. She murmured something unintelligible before whirling on David, her eyes glittering. “What are you looking at?”
She fumbled with the glass of water. When her arm continued to jerk, Whitney swept the glass off the desk and began to cry.
Compassion filled David’s voice when he spoke. “You need help, Whitney. I’m taking you to the hospital. Now.”
Brynn chattered happily on the drive home. Hadley let the child do most of the talking. Apparently, after the cakewalk, Callum had presented her with a toy Raphael, who was a Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle.
“Callum said Raphael is smart and super strong.” Brynn held up the green action figure that wore a red mask. “He told me I’m like Raphael.”
Hadley slanted a sideways glance as she pulled the car to a stop in the drive. “That’s a nice compliment.”
“Callum can be selfish sometimes.” Brynn unbuckled her seat belt, her tone matter-of-fact. “Under all that swagger, he’s very nice.”
Swagger. Hadley hid a smile, wondering where Brynn had come up with that word. The crazy thing was, it fit. “Have you thought where in your room you’ll put Raphael?”
Hadley had no real interest in ninja turtles, but discussing Raphael was better than thinking about Whitney and David. He’d called her on the drive home to inform her he was taking Whitney to the hospital.
Brynn paused at the base of the front steps. “Raphael is only visiting. He won’t be staying long.”
“Oh?”
“He belongs with Callum.”
“If you feel that way, why take him in the first place?”
“Callum felt bad I hit my head and fell into the water. He thinks it was his fault because I was chasing him.” Brynn lifted her shoulders and let them fall. “It was an accident.”
“What does that have to do with Raphael?”
“It made Callum feel better to give him to me.” Brynn sounded more like a psychologist than a nine-year-old. “Tomorrow, I’ll tell Callum my dolls don’t like him and it’s best if he takes him back.”
“That’s kind of you.” Sometimes Brynn seemed like a little girl, and other times, like now, Hadley caught a glimpse of the woman she’d one day become.
When they started up the front steps, Brynn put her hand trustingly in Hadley’s.
Hadley squeezed Brynn’s fingers and found herself wondering about Whitney. She hoped the doctors could help the woman. Though Whitney had disappointed Brynn many times, the little girl loved her mother. If something happened to her, it would make Brynn sad.
Shoving aside her fears, Hadley made a light dinner, then helped Brynn get ready for bed. Once the child was in her pink pajamas, Hadley braided her hair.
She let her gaze linger as her fingers moved expertly on Brynn’s silky hair. When she’d arrived in Good Hope, Hadley had thought getting to know Brynn from a distance would be enough.
Along the way she’d fallen in love.
With Brynn.
With David.
Now, she wanted more. She wanted it all.
“Know what?” Brynn covered her yawn with her fingers.
“What?” With the braid completed, Hadley tucked in the child.
“I’m a lucky girl.”
Thinking of the incident at the pool, Hadley nodded.
“I have two mommies.” Brynn murmured the words in a sleepy tone. “Some kids only have one.”
For a second, Hadley forgot how to breathe. She brushed a light kiss across Brynn’s forehead, then stroked a wisp of golden hair back with the palm of her hand. “I love you, sweetie.”
“I know.” The sleepy words had her smiling. “I love you…Mommy.”
Mommy. Brynn had called her Mommy. Tears threatened, but Hadley held them at bay until her daughter drifted off into sleep.
Over the past few days, Hadley had been granted a glimpse into how life could be. Her pie-in-the-sky dream of happily ever after had been shaken by Whitney’s comment about her role in Justin’s incarceration.
Though David had stood up for her, she’d seen the puzzlement in his eyes.
Heck, Hadley had been puzzled, too.
How could Whitney think she was responsible for the crimes Justin committed in Chicago? While Hadley didn’t doubt Whitney could spin a convincing tale, she had to believe David had seen through the woman’s bullshit.
He wasn’t like her father. Her dad had been one of those guys who thought the worst until you convinced him otherwise. But she and David hadn’t come this far to be pulled apart because of crazy accusations.
Casting one last look at their sleeping daughter, Hadley headed down the hall toward the living room.
The doorbell rang just as she reached it. Ruckus let out a loud woof, which she silenced with a hand signal. A quick glance through the peephole had her unlocking the door and pulling it open.
Lynn and Steve, along with Clay and Greer, stood on the porch.
Hadley
stepped aside. “Please come in.”
“Is David back from the hospital?” Lynn glanced around the room as if expecting her eldest son to materialize. “We heard he took Whitney into Sturgeon Bay.”
“Apparently, she was acting really crazy.” Greer said it loudly, then seemed to remember Brynn and clapped a hand over her mouth. When she spoke again, her voice was a whisper. “Where’s Brynn?”
“She’s asleep.” Hadley kept her own voice low as she waved them into the living room. “She was exhausted.”
Steve gave her arm a comforting squeeze as he strolled past. “How are you holding up?”
“Hanging in there.” Hadley waited to speak again until everyone was settled. “How did you know David took Whitney to the hospital?”
“Max told us,” Clay said. “David and Whitney had gone to his office to talk—”
Clay paused, and Hadley could see him weighing his next words.
“I know she was out of control.” Hadley offered Clay an encouraging smile. “I spoke with both of them there myself.”
“Well, on his way to the car with Whitney, he ran into Max and gave him back the keys to his office.” Clay shifted uncomfortably in his seat, glanced down the hall in the direction of Brynn’s bedroom. “Max said Whitney was agitated and not making sense.”
Greer’s gaze pinned Hadley. “Do you know what’s wrong with her? Is she using?”
“I don’t know if Whitney does drugs,” Hadley told Greer, “but I think she may have…some condition. David should know more what’s going on with her once he talks to the doctors.”
“When do you expect him?” Lynn sat on the sofa, Steve’s arm looped casually around her shoulders.
“He called about an hour ago. They were still running tests.” Hadley lifted her hands, let them drop. “He wasn’t sure when he’d be home.”
“I told you we should stop and grab a burger on the way.” Clay cast a pointed glance at his sister.
Greer rolled her eyes. “It’s not like you’re going to starve.”
“I was just headed to the kitchen to make something for David,” Hadley said. “I assume he’ll be hungry when he gets home. How about if I whip up something for all of us?”
Hadley ignored the chorus of protests. “Seriously, it’s no trouble. I enjoy cooking.”
