Once seats were claimed, someone blessed the food, and everyone settled in, ready to enjoy the delicious holiday meal. But a persistent knock at the front door gave everyone a pause.
"Are we expecting anyone else?" Lynn asked her mother.
"No, everyone's here."
"I'm up, I'll get it." Emily, who had stood to retrieve a napkin, said as she set down her plate. Her footsteps faded as she made her way to the foyer, to be replaced with the sounds of raised voices and the slamming of the door.
All eyes watched Hillary, with Emily following angrily in her wake, as she stormed her way into the living room. Her hair was a mess, her clothes were askew, and her face flushed with anger. Carter, seated next to Lynn on the couch, set his plate down on the coffee table as he stood at the sight of her.
"Hillary, what the hell are you doing here? How did you even know where I was?"
"Why? Didn't want me to find out where you were sneaking off to? Well, I'll tell you how I knew. The boys were all excited about the fact you were all spending the day here, with her." She pointed to Lynn. "They couldn't keep your dirty little secret. You're all here, with that slut and her trashy family instead of with being together with our family like you should be."
All eyes were on the intruder to the festivities and now narrowed in various degrees of anger and loathing at Hillary's scathing remarks.
"Hillary, this is not the time or place for this conversation. We need to deal with this tomorrow." Carter's voice was quiet but firm.
"No, we're going to deal with this now. Right now." Her voice rose as she jabbed her finger towards the floor to punctuate the demand, her expression one of animosity and indignation. "I will not be pushed aside for some two-bit tramp who's too stupid to get the picture." Everyone in the room seemed to gasp as one at Hillary’s words.
"Okay, that's enough," Lynn started as she, too, rose from the sofa. "For one thing, this is my parents' house. You have no right to push your way in here, on today of all days, so you can throw a temper tantrum like a toddler who's not getting her way. I do not make decisions for Carter." She stared, expression cool, at Hillary's sputter of disbelief at Lynn's description of her behavior. "Yes, I told him that if he didn’t have any plans for the holiday he was more than welcome to come and be a part of our day. That he didn't discuss with you was his decision as was the fact he brought the boys with him. I'm sorry that you don't like it, but that does not make it okay for you to come here like this. Now, I'm going to ask you once, politely, to leave, and to not come back here. You're not welcome."
"You uppity bitch." Hillary spat out the words as if they were bitter on her tongue. "You think that you are so much better than everyone else but you're nothing but white trash, stealing other women's husbands and wrecking families."
"Hillary! That's enough!" At his breaking point, Carter blasted Hillary. "It's time for you to go home. Now! I told you we'll discuss this another time, so get in your car and leave."
"No! It's her fault you've left your family!" She rounded back on Lynn. "YOUR fault! I could have convinced him to come back to where he belongs if it weren't for you! I could have made him come to his senses and see reason, to have made him see we are meant to be together, to be a family. But no, you had to come around again, and now we're divorced." By now, Hillary's voice was cracking as it rose and her chest was heaving as she became more excitable in her rant, angry tears in her eyes.
"For the record," Lynn started, "I didn't even find out that the divorce was final until we talked a couple of days ago. And as for 'getting him back' or 'making him see reason', if you hadn't cheated on him in the first place, then lied about it, none of this would be an issue."
Hillary's face paled at being outed in front of a room full of people, then turned bright red again as her temper flared.
"How dare you blame me for this? What the hell do you know about anything involving me and my family? You’re only getting his side of the story, so you need to just keep your sorry ass out of our business." Hillary took a breath as she prepared to lash out again.
"I'm sorry you are having a difficult time, especially during the holidays." Lynn's mother stood and interjected, quiet but firm. "But as my daughter and Carter have both said, this is not the time or place and you've been asked to leave several times now. I suggest you go before I have to call the police."
"Oh, screw you." Hillary turned her venom on Catherine. "Of course you'd take her side in this. Birds of a feather and all that bullshit."
"Okay, let's get one thing straight here." Before her mother could reply, Lynn she made her way around the table to where Hillary stood. Lynn's temper, while rare, was a sight to behold once unleashed, and Hillary was doing her best to push it to that point. "You trespass into my mother's home, make a scene in front of everyone - in front of your own children, who are beyond embarrassed, by the way - and then you want to get nasty with her? Hell no." Lynn reached Hillary and stood with her, toe to toe, eye to eye. "I will tell you one last time. You need to go."
Carter had come around the other side of the table and now also stood facing Hillary, prepared to take things in hand himself. But before he could utter a word or make a move, Hillary looked from Lynn to Carter and back again, her eyes narrowing to thin slits as she studied the two of them standing together against her. Then, with no warning at all, swung back and slapped Lynn full-force across the cheek. The cracking sound when palm met cheek seemed to echo around the room as Lynn recoiled from the blow. After taking a few seconds to recover, she snapped back, fists clenched, eyes glittering with the light of battle, prepared to defend herself. Realizing that an all-out fight was about to erupt, one involving the mother of his on-looking children, Carter stepped between the two women, and the other adults in the room had stood as well. The children still sat around the table, wide eyed and slack jawed at what they were seeing, except for Nathan and Logan, who stared down at their plates. Logan's lower lip trembled and his eyes were welling with tears. Catherine already had the phone in hand, dialing the police department.
"I've waited for years to do that!" Hillary sneered gleefully at Lynn. "Ever since the first time I heard you were screwing around with my husband. And God, did it feel good! As for you." She turned to Carter, eyes shooting daggers as she continued. "You got your divorce. But I still plan on making your life hell on earth."
By now, Carter had grabbed Hillary by the arm and was pulling her back to towards the foyer to show her out of the house.
"And you can kiss those kids goodbye, because you can be damned sure I'm getting custody of them!" She told Carter, raising her voice to make sure everyone heard. "You'd better believe that once I do, you'll never see them again! I'll make sure of it! I'm going to go into court and show the judge who you really are. A man who cheats on his wife, who leaves her all alone to go explore sluttier pastures. I will take you for everything you have. I deserve it after all the misery you've caused me." The slamming of the front door cut off any more of Hillary's rant, and Lynn stood in the now silent room, full of family looking at her, unsure of what to say or do.
Without a word, her hand still to her cheek, Lynn went to the guest bedroom. As she studied her reflection in the mirror, she saw wide, weary eyes in a face more pale than usual, a face marred by the four red streaks of finger-length prints on her left cheek. She used the small sink in the bathroom, splashed cold water on her face. Her hands shook, and she wasn't sure which disgusted her more, not knowing whether the shaking had been caused by anger and embarrassment, or because she hadn't seen the slap coming in the first place.
Lynn turned the water off with an abrupt twist of the knob, she patted her face dry with the fluffy towel hanging on the silver rod nearby and made her way back to the bedroom. The door leading to the outside deck caught her eye. Not giving it a second thought, she grabbed her jacket from where the coats had been piled on the bed when everyone had arrived earlier in the day. Putting it on as she opened the door, she pulled her long hair
from the collar, and made her way outside just as the police cruiser pulled in the driveway. She was weary at seeing it, but also just relieved to see that Hillary's car no longer sat among those still parked in front of the house. Resigned, Lynn sighed and went to give her statement to the deputy.
Carter watched through the window as Lynn talked with the deputy from the county sheriff's department. He remembered the guy; he was a good man and a fair cop. Carter was sure the situation would be handled the way it should be. The deputy continued to take notes and nod as Lynn recounted the event, often gesturing as she spoke. Carter smiled to himself; she still talked with her hands a lot when upset or excited.
Turning from the window, he scanned the room for his boys. They sat, shoveling in turkey and rolls, talking and laughing with other kids at the table who seemed to do a good job in distracting them. While they'd been embarrassed while Hillary made her scene, now they didn't seem to be phased in the least. Which, to Carter's mind, meant that either she'd had these episodes in front of them before or they were good at covering up if they were distressed. Carter had an uneasy feeling which of the two options was right, and knew that a chat with the boys would be in order soon to get to the bottom of the things.
He came back from his thoughts as he caught sight of Catherine as she made her way to the kitchen. Grateful to catch a minute with her alone, he followed her and waited until she turned to speak.
"I am so, so sorry that this happened. If I had known she would try to pull something like this, I never would have come today."
"Carter." Catherine refilled the dish she'd brought in with her. "I want you to listen to me very carefully. Nothing that happened here tonight is your fault. That girl, and yes I say girl because if she were a woman she would have acted like it. That girl has to answer for her own actions. Yes, she's hurting and upset that her family is broken, but how she handled the situation today is on her."
"I know, but the things she said... about Lynn, about your family... I want you to understand I've never, ever thought of her, or any of you, in that way."
Catherine set down the spoon she'd picked up to stir the gravy, and turned to Carter, reached up to take his face in her hands.
"Again, that's on her. Will and I know you don't think of Lynn, of us, that way. You've shown it in your actions towards us, in the way you speak to us. And about... Hillary, is it? Well, Hillary said those things to hurt people, and to get a reaction. I'd say she accomplished both." She saw the beginnings of relief, still overshadowed by embarrassment, in Carter's eyes. She took her hands from his face to lay them on his broad shoulders, looked him in the eye. "But her words didn't affect how we think of you one bit. You and your boys are more than welcome in our home."
"As for the other things she said, you have to brush it off. It's hard, but I have a feeling that this is just the beginning of a very rocky, very drama-filled road to being two separate people again, instead of a married couple."
"Even if part of it's true? That once I saw Lynn again I realized I didn't want to be married anymore? That I wanted a chance to be happy when I understood I couldn't be happy with Hillary again?"
Catherine studied Carter's eyes. Poor boy, she thought. Does he even realize that he's in love with my daughter? She thought he might, but decided that was a conversation for another time, and another person.
"Let me ask you this. And it may sound like prying, but it is what it is. When you and Hillary separated, was it because you wanted to be with Lynn?"
"No ma'am, we were already living in separate houses, living separate lives, when Lynn got back."
"Well, then. That tells me that there was something else, some other reason or reasons things weren't working out between you two. Lynn coming back only helped things get clear in your head. Neither you nor Lynn should feel guilty about that. The only thing you can do now, young man, is build the best life possible for you and your sons. Whether that includes Lynn or not."
"It's been a long time since anyone's pulled out the 'young man' on me." Carter gave Catherine a crooked grin.
"Oh, I'm sure your mom's used it a time or two," Catherine replied with a smile. Out of the corner of her eye she caught sight of the deputy stepping into the foyer, she patted Carter on the shoulder. "Now, let's deal with giving our statements, so that this unpleasantness is behind us and we can all have pie."
"Sounds good to me." Carter moved to look out the window again and saw that Lynn's car no longer sat in the driveway.
"Left as soon as I took her statement." The deputy noticed Carter looking out the window. He turned to Catherine. "Is there a place we can take the rest of the statements, ma'am?"
Before she could answer, Carter was going for his coat and his keys.
"Would you mind keeping an eye on the boys for me?" He asked Catherine as he shoved his arms into the brown leather jacket, adjusted the collar. "I'm going to go look for her. I'll come in tomorrow if I need to, deputy, and give my statement." And with that, he hurried out the door, without ever hearing either of their answers.
* * *
Carter wasn't sure where he was going, exactly. He had a vague idea about where to look, an old haunt close by he and Lynn had shared in their youth. But there was no guarantee she'd be there.
He may not have known where to find her, but he felt he had to get to Lynn, try to beg for forgiveness though he'd done nothing wrong. Mostly he needed to find her, wrap his arms around her, and tell her that everything would be okay. He needed to know that Hillary's display hadn't changed things between them, not now when things were going so well.
With both hands on the wheel and the heater blasting, Carter drove in silence. Their old meeting spot was a couple miles away, so it took only a few minutes to get to this first destination, but he needed that time to think without distractions.
Carter made the left-hand turn off the main road, towards what those not familiar with area would have deemed a field. It depended on the time of year, but trees, grass and high weeds often made it difficult to see the rise in the dirt path that lead to a flat patch just big enough to park a car or two. Lynn had once joked that it was a backwoods lover's lane. He bumped along, the only sounds coming from the jangle of the keys in the ignition or the crunch of the tires over hardened dirt and rocks. The occasional rattle of the tools in the box secured to the bed of the truck when a rut in the road jarred the vehicle too hard.
He let out a sigh of relief when the bright beams of his headlights fell upon Lynn's car, allowing him to make out her silhouette sitting in the driver's seat. Carter watched as her door opened and she stepped from the vehicle while he put his truck in park and killed the motor. He ignored the squeal of the hinges and the slam of his truck door as he made his way over to her.
In the moonlight, he could see she'd been crying, her eyes red-rimmed and the tears trailing down her cheeks sparkling as they caught the faint light. The sight of them made his heart ache. The prints of the slap were visible as well on a cheek puffy from swelling. Just looking at them made his stomach clench.
Without a word, Carter wrapped an arm around her shoulder, pulling her close while his other hand cupped her head to lay it against his chest. Lynn could feel the heat pulsing off of his body, smell his musky cologne, hear his heart beating. She clamped her arms around his waist, slid her hands up his back to grab fistfuls of leather as if she wanted to hold on for dear life. They stood, clinging to each other in moonbeams and silence, until Carter leaned back and slid his strong hand around to lay it on Lynn's jaw, tilting her head back so they could look into each other’s eyes. He used his thumb to wipe away the last of her tears.
"This is a stupid question, but are you okay?" His voice was husky with concern.
"No, but better now that you're here."
"You took off so fast, without telling anyone where you were going. Your folks are worried." I was worried, he thought to himself.
"No, they're not. I texted them right before you got here to tell them I
was okay, that I needed breathing room and that I'd be back in a while."
"Might have sent me a text too, ya know." Carter replied with a small smile.
"Nah." Lynn laid her head back on his chest for a moment. "You were the one person I wanted to come find me."
"Ah, an underhanded maneuver to get me all to yourself, huh?" He felt some of the weight on shoulders lift at her laugh, and wrapped both of his arms around her.
"Lynn?"
"Yeah?"
"I'm so sorry about what happened tonight. You didn't deserve it, and neither did your family."
"Carter, none of what happened is your fault. You can't help it she's bat-shit crazy, that she paraded her crazy out and proud for everyone to see." His laughter rumbled in his chest.
"Yes, but she shouldn't have brought it into your family's home that way. Even though I shouldn't be, I'm embarrassed. The boys are too, whether they show it or not."
"Well then we'll all be embarrassed together." Lynn leaned back to look at Carter's face.
"Deal." He leaned down, so they stood with foreheads touching, eyes closed. Wanting to stretch out the moment. "So, you want to kill a little more time?" he asked.
"What did you have in mind?"
He lifted his head, looked over her shoulder at the bed of his truck. She turned her head to follow his gaze.
"I still carry a sleeping bag in the vehicle for emergencies."
"Carter! We can't! The boys are with my family and --"
"And you have a dirty mind, though that's not a bad idea either." He grinned wickedly at her. "But we'll save that for another time. What I was going to suggest was kicking back and taking advantage of the clear sky. Do a little star-watching like we used to."
"We can't stay long, but that sounds just about perfect." She rose up on her toes to give him a quick kiss. Hand in hand, they walked to his truck, pulled out his flannel lined sleeping bag, and spread it out in the bed of his truck. Carter lay on his back, Lynn curled up in the curve of his shoulder with his arm around her, and her hand on his chest.
Her Last Love (Small Town Hearts Trilogy #1) Page 17
