Page 107 of I'm Watching You

Audrey smiled. ‘Please call me Audrey. Mrs Kier always sounded so formal to me.’

Mr Kier cleared his throat. He was as tall as Zack and his shoulders as broad. His body remained fit. Only the deep wrinkles around his eyes and the calloused palms from working his hands gave his age away. ‘She’s beenMrs Kier for almost forty years and she’s never gotten used to it.’

Audrey tossed her husband a bemused look. ‘Why don’t you girls come inside and I’ll make you something to eat.’

Lindsay’s mother-in-law had always fretted over Lindsay’s eating habits. ‘Thanks, Audrey. It’s very generous of you to open your home.’

‘Nonsense, honey. You’re family.’

Family.Lindsay’s throat tightened. Fearful her voice would crack, she simply nodded.

The older woman hooked her arm around Nicole’s shoulder and led her into the house.

Warwick looked to Mr Kier. ‘I’ve numbers for you in case of an emergency.’

Mr Kier tossed a curious look at Lindsay and Zack. ‘Come inside. I’ll write them down.’

Warwick nodded. ‘Sure.’ Mr Kier and the detective disappeared inside the house.

Lindsay hesitated on the second step. For better or worse she owed Zack. ‘I’d forgotten how nice your mom is.’

He stopped at the bottom stair. They were almost eye to eye. ‘She was glad to do it.’

It was hard to hold his piercing gaze. ‘I know I’m not her favorite person these days.’

He took her hand in his. ‘Lindsay …’

She pulled away. ‘Please, don’t.’

Zack shoved his hands in his pockets. ‘She loves you, Lindsay, like a daughter. Nothing has changed that.’

The loss of the Kier family stung. ‘She’s a nice woman. It’s in herDNAto be kind.’

‘Oh, Mom has her dark side. She’s let me have it more than a few times this past year. She knows why we split up.’

Zack’s infidelity and drinking had humiliated her. And now his mother, a woman she’d always respected and liked, knew. ‘Why did you tell her?’

He didn’t look away. ‘I wanted her to understand why you were so angry.’

Frustration spilled from her. ‘What I don’t understand is why you did it. I know that that last night we fought bitterly, but to just run to another woman’s bed?’

His face was rock hard, expressionless. ‘The booze was a big part of it. It clouded my mind. You’d tossed me out. That hurt like hell. You were the savior for so many wounded souls and when I hit trouble you ditched me.’

Guilt mingled with anger. ‘You were addicted to alcohol. Throwing you out was the only thing I could think of to get your attention.’

His jaw tightened and released. ‘I see that now. Hell, I’d have done the same thing to me if I were you. But then I was angry as hell. And I wanted to hurt you back.’

Tears burned the back of her eyes. ‘You couldn’t have done a better job if you’d planned it.’

He sighed. ‘I know and for that I will always be sorry. I’d never cheat on you again, Lindsay.’

As much as she wanted to believe, she refused to allow herself. ‘I know you believe that.’

Zack raked his hands through his hair. ‘I’ve waited a year to talk to you, for us to be clearheaded enough so we could say what needed to be said. I want to fix this.’

Pain pierced her heart. ‘Some things can’t be put back the way they were.’

He spoke slowly, patiently, as if he’d practiced a thousand times. ‘So we build something different and stronger this time. Different doesn’t mean it won’t be better. We’re stronger together.’

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