Page 89 of If We Never Met

"Of course."

"Let's sit down."

Her mother's gaze turned wary. "That sounds ominous."

She took a seat at the table and waited for her mother to join her.

"I know you have concerns about how much time we're spending together, but I know what I'm doing," her mom said, as she sat down. "I know Mark; you don't. You have to trust my opinion."

"Did you know that there was a fire at his house when he lived in LA? It happened right before he divorced his wife. His nanny died in the fire."

Her mother stared back at her, surprise in her gaze. "What are you talking about?"

"Do you want me to repeat it?"

"Mark never mentioned a fire in his house, but it sounds like it was a long time ago. How did it start? How did the woman die?"

"It apparently started with a lit cigarette in the sofa."

"And Mark was there?"

"No. Mark, his wife, and his son were away that weekend."

"Oh. Well, where did you hear this?"

"It doesn't matter. It's concerning to me that he never told you about it."

"Well, he hasn't told me everything about his past, so it's not that concerning to me. I mean, it's very sad that a woman died, but I don't understand why you and I are talking about it. There are things that have happened to me that I haven't told Mark about." She paused. "You've been digging into his life, haven't you?"

"Yes. He showed up out of nowhere and he's been very aggressive in getting reacquainted with you."

"We're catching up, Keira. We mostly talk about high school and friends we remember from the past. Or we talk about our kids or what we've been doing the last ten years. But our former spouses have not been a real topic of conversation. Is that it? Is that all you have?"

"No, it's not all. The nanny's sister, Mandy, has posted a lot of things about the fire and the loss of her sister online. She talks about someone needing to pay. And I believe she's referring to Mark."

"Why would Mark have to pay for a fire that started when he wasn't home?"

"I don't know, but Mandy is here in town. Dante saw her arguing with Mark in the parking garage at the rehab center, and Lizzie told me that a red-haired woman stopped by the inn yesterday and made some cryptic accusations about needing to be careful around Mark, because he's unpredictable. If you put all the pieces together, Mark could be in some sort of trouble, and I don't want you caught in the middle of it."

"A red-haired woman," her mother mused. "I saw a woman with red hair sitting in her car outside the house today when Lois and I came back from church. She had the windows down and she gave us a funny look, but after we got out of the car and went into the house, she drove off."

She didn't like the idea that Mandy had been here at the house. "You need to talk to Mark about this woman."

"I don't want to pry into Mark's life. It's not my business. He's entitled to his privacy."

"What if he's involved with this woman? What if he's not as single as he claims to be? And the fact that this woman came here to your house makes me uncomfortable."

"She wasn't doing anything. She was just in her car, and you don't know if it was the same woman."

"I can show you a picture."

Her mother held up her hand. "Keira, I appreciate that you want to protect me. But I trust Mark, and if there's something for me to know, he'll tell me."

She blew out a breath of frustration. "Mom, you need to trust me more than Mark."

"Well, of course I trust you, Keira. But you've been suspicious of Mark from the start. I think you've gotten so used to taking care of me that you don't realize I'm better now. I can make decisions for myself. My mind is clear."

"I'm glad, Mom. But you can be blinded by love even when your brain is clear."

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