Page 6 of The Sunset Shores

“I thought they insisted pilots get a required amount of rest,” Nina said.

"It was hard for him because he mostly ran international routes. If he was required by law to have twenty-four hours of rest and he was in Brazil, then he’d rest there,” Sophie said.

“I see. I never understood why you weren’t on some sort of mileage plan. You’d think the airline would extend that benefit to immediate family,” Nina commented.

“The airlines have been tightening their belts for years. I guess that was one of the perks they did away with,” Sophie said. “How are your kids? All we've been doing is talking about me."

“Nathaniel is graduating in a couple of months from UCLA. He’ll be going on to med school but isn’t quite sure where yet. Maria is a student-teacher in the Syracuse public schools, and Cat is living in Texas with her two babies. Her husband, Slade, is deployed with the Marines. They’re good, and I keep my fingers crossed that they stay that way.”

Sophie looked down and read a text from Clive. She didn’t need to make it in because Mondays were slow, and he could handle it. She was relieved so she wouldn’t be in a crunch for the time when she went to visit her mother. Vera knew her daughter well and could tell if she was rushing her visit.

“Three kids, and they’re all on the right track. You and Zeth are doing something right,” Sophie said.

“They are, and I love them regardless, but you know it’s not all hearts and flowers. Cat had a shotgun wedding at eighteen, and Nathaniel had his moments. He took his father’s BMW out for a joyride when he was fifteen. Remember that one?” Nina asked.

Sophie nodded. “It seems like harmless teenager hijinks now, but it wasn’t then.”

“Maria is the only one who has done things by the book, although I’m sure she did some things that I don’t know about.”

“They sure do keep us on our toes. Speaking of family, I should get moving to Vera’s house.” They both stood and Sophie hugged Nina tightly. “I’ll let you know what happens with the lawyer.”

Sophie felt exponentially better after talking to Nina. Maybe she had to reconsider her theory that girls needed a sister more than boys needed a brother. Without Nina as a fill-in sister, she had no mooring.

5

“Nora, this is Sophie Cast. I was calling to set my appointment for tomorrow.”

“Great. I’m sorry I was so vague on the message I left. I have never had to deal with something like this. I looked up some precedent and case history, and it’s going to be left to the three of you,” Nora said.

“What three of us are there?” Sophie asked.

“Oh, my bad. I’ll give you all the information when I see you. Sorry to keep you in the dark, but this is news that you should receive in person,” Nora said.

“I’m on my way to my mother’s house. Can I tell her about my meeting with you?” she asked.

“No. Please don’t, at least not yet. You can think about how and when to tell your mother. I think the situation will be very difficult to take. What time works for you?” Nora asked. “My schedule is wide open.”

“Ten works because it gives me time to get some coffee in me,” Sophie said.

“I’ll see you then,” Nora said. She hung up.

Sophie was good at figuring things out, but this one was a head-scratcher for sure.

Her amateur detective skills were proven when she figured out what Roger had been up to. The phone call to his office was a red flashing light, but there were clues before that. She’d chose to ignore them and hoped that her “Spidey-Sense” was off.

Dallas was Roger’s go-to location for his business trips, and for a month, she had noticed that business was taking place on the weekends. His clients were usually uber-rich, and Sophie thought they’d have something better to do on the weekends than meet with him. Sophie asked him about it, and he said his boss directed him to go the extra mile for this particular client. If he wanted to meet on the weekends, then they would accommodate him.

Sophie and Roger had their own credit cards, so they only had mobile access to their own statements. She once had her purse stolen, and he threw his credit card on the table for her to use. Sophie went in to see how much room he had on his card and noticed a charge from a jewelry store. Sophie thought she was getting a gift, but it never came.

Those little things started to add up, but their love still seemed strong. He wasn’t sleeping on the couch, and they weren’t arguing. The phone call to Sue when her father had died set off alarm bells, but she was able to silence them. Her mother needed her, and she had to grieve for her father, which took precedence. Sophie tucked the information away until she had the bandwidth to process it.

It was a night like any other, and Roger came home to Sophie’s loving arms. It had been time to confront him with what she knew.

“I spoke with Sue Wren a couple of months ago. It was soon after my father died, and I was desperately trying to track you down. She mentioned that you weren’t in Dallas; in fact, Sue didn’t know of a major client there.”

Roger was slick and still believed he could wiggle out of it. “Sue was out of the office for over a month. We had someone else, and they would have known. You may have forgotten, but no harm done.”

“Was Cindy filling in at the time?” Sophie asked.

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