“No. Tell me it’s not …”
“It is.” Bobbi swallowed hard, and looked at him with a mixture of sadness and accusation. “And he’s almost certainly Chuck’s.” There was dead silence on the line.
“Did Chuck know about this?” Rita asked at last, each word sharper.
“Not until I told him.”
“And you believe him?”
“Yes.”
“You took a little while to answer that,” Rita said. Chuck closed his eyes and shook his head.
“I have to believe him.”
“What do you need me to do?”
“Can you and Gavin meet us at the house in about an hour?”
“Of course. Kara was off today after all, so she came and took the girls to her house.”
“Perfect. Start praying and I’ll see you soon.”
“Baby, I am so sorry. I thought this was over for you.”
“It will never be over, Rita. Never.” Bobbi returned the office phone receiver to its cradle.
“Do you believe me?” Chuck asked.
She looked past him to the photos on the bookcase behind him, and then her eyes darted to the crinkled papers on his desk. “It felt just like that morning I read her email. All I could think was that you’d lied to me.” Chuck rounded the desk to take her in his arms. “I don’t have the strength to go through this again,” she whispered.
“You don’t have to. I didn’t lie.”
“I know. I know you didn’t.” She relaxed against him.
“Bobbi, I can’t do this without you.”
Across the lobby, Christine Gardner tried not to watch the Molinskys through the glass walls. When Mrs. Molinsky tore through the lobby without speaking, Christine knew something had happened. Seeing the angry confrontation, hearing the raised voices, confirmed it was something extraordinary. She could only think of one person who could get that kind of reaction from Bobbi - Tracy Ravenna.
Chad Mitchell, Chuck’s right hand man, passed through the lobby and caught her stealing glances at the couple. “What’s going on?” he asked, nodding toward Chuck’s office.
“I’m not sure.”
“But you’ve got a gut instinct, right?”
“I can’t say anything. I might be wrong.”
“I’d bet my life on your instincts.”
“Please don’t breathe a word of this, but Mr. Mitchell, I think Tracy is back.”
CHAPTER 2
GAUNTLET
Gavin and Rita Heatley pulled into the driveway at the Molinskys’ house. “You didn’t say two words on the way over here,” Rita said. “What are you thinking?”
“I don’t have enough information to think anything yet,” Gavin answered.
“Not even a feeling, an impulse?”
“That’s your job, not mine,” he said with a teasing smile.
“You think Chuck is telling the truth? That he didn’t know anything about this?”
“Rita, Chuck would have to be a pathological liar—”
“Oh, he would not.” Rita rolled her eyes in frustration, and got out of the car. “What if he was trying to protect Bobbi?”
“Would you lie to protect her?” Gavin waited for her to round the car and join him.
“I might. After all she went through, I just might.”
He gave her his patented shame-on-you middle school principal headshake. “Lies never shelter and protect. Only the truth can do that. Shielding Bobbi is exactly what Chuck wants, what we want, and that takes truth and trust.” He took her hand. “Your job is to be the strong, supportive, big sister you always are.”
“You said it with a straight face.”
“I’ve been practicing,” he said, then rang the doorbell.
Gavin may have been teasing, but Rita intended to take Bobbi’s side, no matter what.
When Bobbi’s eyes met her sister’s, she felt a release that comes only in the presence of those who have walked through the fire with you and for you. Chuck wanted to talk, to reason, to think aloud. She needed bolstering, and vindication, not more words. Rita understood that.
She pulled away after a long embrace, and Rita’s hands slipped down to hers. “Not even sweaty,” Rita said, as if that was some sort of bonus.
“It’s an act.” Bobbi stretched up to hug Gavin. “I’m counting on your judgment, Gavin. I don’t trust mine or Chuck’s right now.”
“Don’t second-guess yourself.”
“Easier said than done.” But even for Rita and Gavin, there were appearances to keep up. “There’s coffee.” Bobbi led them back to the kitchen. Two coffeemakers stood on the counter, plainly labeled after Chuck ended up with an exotic coffee one too many times. “Mine or Chuck’s?”
“What is yours?” Rita asked.
“Italian,” Bobbi smiled.
“That I can handle. Now when you do Turkish or Indonesian, those are too strong.”
“Gavin?” Bobbi poured a cup for Rita.
“No, thanks. It’s way too hot outside for coffee.”
“That’s why I have air conditioning.” Bobbi closed her eyes as she sipped from her own cup, savoring the aroma, enjoying the warming sensation, treasuring the momentary respite.
“Baby, you should make commercials,” Rita kidded.
Bobbi held up her finger. “Coffee is my one luxury.” She heard a car door slam out in the driveway. “I think that’s Ann.” She gulped from the cup, and then set it by the sink. “Chuck wants everybody in the living room.”
Chuck wants. Not “we want.” Somewhere between Chuck’s office and the retreat to their separate corners at home, their partnership dissolved subtly, reflexively. She had no doubts he’d battle Tracy until his last breath, but he’d leave her behind to do it.
Bobbi met Chuck in the foyer. “You wanna let Mom in?” he said. “I’m gonna get another chair for Glen.” The intensity in his eyes, the gravity in his voice should have reassured her, but the mundanity of his comment stopped her cold.
She fought off the urge to grab his shoulders as he passed and scream, "This is not some stupid staff meeting!" She wanted him to stop his planning and strategizing and acknowledge the bitter fear churning and swirling inside her. Instead, he disappeared around the corner into the dining room.
Fine. We’ll play like it’s the most ordinary thing in the world. She opened the front door, and reached to hug her mother-in-law.
“I can’t imagine what you’re going through,” Ann said. “I had to pick my own jaw up off the floor to drive over here.”
Bobbi lowered her eyes. “It’s like it was the first time. That feeling of being lied to… I mean, I know he didn’t, but ...”
Ann reached out, and took her by the arm. “I don’t blame you. That’s a perfectly understandable reaction.”
“Thanks for the reassurance.”
“Now, me, I worried. What would this do to you, how would it affect your marriage, what would the boys say, how would little Shannon feel, what was this woman after ...”
“You’re very efficient.” Bobbi managed a smile.
“I have years of experience,” Ann said with a wink.
“Can I get you some coffee?”
“No, I’m fine.”
“Glen should be here any minute now. Chuck wants us in there.” She pointed to the living room off to the left. Again, just Chuck.
Ann nodded. “I appreciate his urgency, but he isn’t going to resolve this in one afternoon.”
“I think that’s his plan though.” Bobbi glanced around the living room as she took a seat on the sofa beside her sister. This wasn’t like before. She wasn’t isolated and alone. Rita and Ann were here. She and Chuck were on the same side. Right? Things had to be different this time, didn’t they?
“Sorry to keep you waiting,” Glen Dillard said, as he shook hands with everyone, and then slipped into the only open chair.
“I never heard the doorbell,” Bobbi said.
“Your husband caught me before I rang it,”
he answered, pointing toward Chuck, who was gingerly stepping around the coffee table to stand in front of the fireplace. Chuck apparently carried the dining room chair the long way through the back of the house to avoid passing her in the foyer.
Chuck had straightened his tie, and re-buttoned his cuffs. His glasses were clipped in his shirt pocket beside his Cross pen. He cleared his throat and began presenting his case. Her greatest fear realized was just another case to him.
“Thank you for coming on such short notice. You’ve been right there with us in the past, and Bobbi and I know that you’re willing to walk through this with us.” Chuck turned toward Ann and Glen. “Here’s what’s happened. Bobbi got her class list today, and one of her students is the son of the woman I had the affair with seven years ago.” Chuck paused, and looked at his mother. “It looks like he’s my son.”
Ann couldn’t hide a quiet gasp, and Bobbi dropped her eyes to avoid her mother-in-law’s glance. Even empathy cut to her core.
“I think she purposely put the boy in Bobbi’s class,” Chuck continued, “but who knows what she’s up to.”
“You gotta find out, Chuck,” Glen said. “You’re gonna have to confront her.”
“Absolutely not!” Bobbi said, her shoulders stiffening. “I don’t want him anywhere near her.”
“How do you know he’s yours?” Gavin asked.
“I don’t,” Chuck answered. “We’re just going by his birthday, and what he looks like.”
“You’ve seen him?”
“Gavin, I’m sure it was him,” Bobbi said. “He was on the playground this morning, and he looks just like Joel. Just like him.”
Gavin scratched at his beard, and leaned forward. He looked at Bobbi, then at Chuck. That meant he sided with Chuck. Her protests were doomed before she uttered them.
“I agree with Glen,” Gavin said. “You have to get some proof about this boy. There’s no sense worrying over speculations—”
“Gavin!” Rita broke in, “Bobbi just said she doesn’t want Chuck around this woman. How can you even suggest—”
“I’ll go with him.” Gavin frowned, his brow furrowed. “She’s baiting Chuck. She wants to see him, and she knew this would get his attention.”
“Oh, it got my attention all right,” Chuck muttered.
Bobbi twisted on the sofa to look at Gavin. “Have you forgotten she sued Chuck for a quarter of a million dollars? Why would she want to see him all of a sudden?”
“Is it about money?” Rita asked. “Like she regrets dropping the lawsuit and this is all part of a shakedown? Maybe the kid’s not even Chuck’s.”
“She’s not getting his money,” Bobbi said, crossing her arms. “She’s not getting anything from him.”
“I don’t think she’ll go away until she sees him,” Gavin, the traitor, said with a shrug.
Chuck moved over to sit on the coffee table in front of Bobbi, and took her hands in his. “I trust Gavin and Glen with my life.”
“Do you trust them with mine?” Bobbi said. “See, it’s not just you. This is going to impact our whole family. It scares me to death.”
“If Gavin goes with me, I think it’ll be okay.”
“It sounds like you want to see her.” Bobbi pulled her hands away. “Are you trying to prove something?”
“I don’t want her showing up at school or here at the house. I want to call the shots on this, take the fight to her.”
Bobbi looked at Chuck then at Gavin, and sighed deeply. He had outmaneuvered her again. Case closed.
Chuck leaned forward to kiss her, and she turned her cheek to him. “Mom? Rita? You agree?”
“This is Bobbi’s call,” Rita said. “I don’t want her hurt again.” Bobbi wondered if Chuck picked up the subtle threat in her voice.
“Nobody does,” Chuck said. “Mom?”
“Does this have to be done now? Today?” Ann asked, frowning. “I doubt the girl rolled into town last night and set this all up today. Couldn’t you take a few days, think about it, pray about it, and consider all your options?”
Bobbi almost smiled. He couldn’t argue with that one. But he did. He shook his head and emphatically answered, “No.”
“Why not?” Bobbi demanded.
“You want me to wait around for parent orientation night? Let her breeze into your classroom? I won’t give Tracy the opportunity to catch you at school or anywhere else. Not after that ambush at the coffee shop.”
“Son, things are not always what they seem, and there are some very unstable young women out there.”
Was Tracy unstable?
“She’s not like that,” Chuck said.
“How can you be sure?” Bobbi asked. “You don’t know anything about her.”
“I know Tracy.”
“No, you just slept with her,” Bobbi muttered.
“I don’t need you to remind me of that,” Chuck said, his voice low, his eyes locked on hers.
“Then how about this one? You have a son with her. She will never go away. Going to confront her tonight, next week, or next month won’t solve anything.” Bobbi stood and started to walk away, but then she turned back to him. “She has the child. She’s calling the shots.”
“Then dropping this boy in your class is her opening move. Now I have to respond.”
“You’re not gonna let this die, are you?” Bobbi said with too much frustration. She took a deep breath and closed her eyes. What was she doing? Having it out with her husband, here, in front of everyone. Ashamed at her loss of poise, and obviously outgunned, she relented. “Go ahead, but take Gavin.”
“Of course,” Chuck said, and then he turned to Gavin. “Shannon goes to bed at eight. I’ll pick you up after that.”
“All right,” Gavin nodded.
“Folks, let’s pray over these guys, and remember to be praying at eight o’clock tonight,” Glen said. Over the rustling of movement, as everyone shifted to bow their heads, the pastor began to pray.
“Dear Jesus, there are more questions than answers right now, but you know what’s ahead. This seems like the best course of action, and we ask that you prepare the way for these two men. Protect them in every way. However, if this is not the way to proceed, help us be aware of your leading. We want to do this your way. Be with Bobbi, especially, right now. Help us all be a help to her and Chuck. In Jesus’ name, amen.”
In spite of Glen’s prayer, an uneasy tension hung over the room, so Bobbi could hardly blame everyone for making a quick exit.
“Bobbi, I swear I’m not trying to make this harder on you,” Chuck said, once they were alone.
“I don’t think you realize what this has triggered in me.”
“I know it’s intense.”
“Can we just come to an agreement right here? I can’t define reasonable for this situation. I’m not even sure it exists. Don’t tell me how I feel. Don’t tell me how I should feel.”
“Bobbi—”
“Chuck, I love you, and I do trust you, but you need to respect me enough not to minimize what you did to me.” She sighed and spoke softly, as though she were letting him in on secret. “The scars are very deep.”
Chuck reached for her hand and nodded. “We’ve done so well, for so long. I’m sorry.” He swallowed hard. “But I need you to understand that you’re not the only one struggling here.”
“Excuse me?”
“I have a son.”
“Yes, I know. That’s what started all this today.”
“I’ve never been lied to like that.”
“It hurts, doesn’t it?” She smirked.
“I thought you of all people would be sympathetic.”
“Chuck ... leave. Just go somewhere else.” She walked over and swung the front door open. “If you stay here and keep talking like that, I’m not gonna be responsible for what happens.”
“I need your help.”
“No, you don’t! This meeting? It was a sham! You decided at your office you were gonna go confront Tracy, and you en
gineered this so everyone would approve.”
“I had no idea what Gavin and Glen were gonna say!”
“If they’d disagreed with you, we’d still be meeting. I know you, Chuck. I’ve been married to you for twenty-five years now. I know how you operate.”
He sighed and rubbed his eyes. “Bobbi, I am flying blind here. I need some answers, and if you know how I can get them other than going to see Tracy, I’m listening.”
Of course. How could she deny him finding his answers? She slammed the front door and stalked back toward the family room.
“I’m gonna go run. When I get back, I’ll go get Shannon, then we can grab some dinner somewhere.”
“I don’t have an appetite.”
“We’re not going to see Tracy at the restaurant.”
“Oh, but that would be a timesaver. Why not call her up and have her bring Junior!”
“Bobbi, I am not looking forward to seeing her again. I don’t want to ...” He caught up with her in the family room. “I don’t want to drag you through this again. I don’t want to have to face the guilt and the shame ...” He looked away, but she could see his tears. “If this is how you felt ... when I betrayed you ...”
“This is exactly what I mean. If you continue to suggest that what you feel right now ... It’s insulting.”
“You’re gonna leave me to figure this out for myself?”
She slid a hand across his back. “Go run. Clear your head. We’ll talk when you get back.” He pulled himself away, and she paced until she heard him close the front door.
She wanted to hold him, and soothe him somehow, but every tear he shed stung her soul. Yes, he’d been deceived by a conniving woman, but she’d been betrayed by the love of her life. There was no comparison. As much as they needed comfort, they couldn’t help each other right now. Tracy was driving a fresh wedge between them.
She slouched onto the sofa, but then a photo of her boys on the shelf of the entertainment center caught her eye. Ten-year-old Joel grinned, showing off the new patches on his scout uniform. The boy on the playground again.
Indemnity: Book Two: Covenant of Trust Series Page 2
