Page 108 of Where There's Smoke

Not everyone thought it was fake, though. Within days, letters were arriving from all over the state containing pictures of other victims and survivors. Anthony had to assign two staffers to do nothing but go through the letters and e-mails. Anti-abuse groups came out of the woodwork, offering support and asking me for appearances all over the state.

And even among those who knew the incident wasn’t staged, there were those who weren’t thrilled about it.

“Sounds like you’ve got people’s attention.” Chris’s voice was taut, like he was gritting his teeth on the other end of the line.

“Apparently so.” I leaned back in one of the chairs on my veranda. “Just wish fewer people thought it was a publicity stunt.”

“Well, it’s not a far cry to accuse a politician of doing something strictly for votes and publicity.”

The thinly veiled accusation set my teeth on edge, and I rolled my eyes. Maybe this wasn’t the best line of conversation to have with my brother. I took a breath, let it out, and changed the subject.

“Listen, I’m in town for a couple of days,” I said. “Do you want to grab dinner or something?”Preferably without that creature you call a wife?

“Sure, we can do that. When and where?”

“Well, Anthony and Ranya are meeting me at the Landing on Heathercliff tonight.”

“No Simone?”

“She’s in San Diego, so it’s just us for the night.”

He said nothing for a moment. “Yeah, I can try. What time?”

“We’re meeting at seven.”

“Okay, I’ll talk to Julie.”

I mouthed a few silent curses.

In the background, a door opened, and I swore I felt my brother tense. Then he said, “I’ll try. But no promises.” Pause. “I have to go for now. We’ll talk soon.”

And the line went dead.

I sighed and set my phone on the glass-topped table. Folding my hands across my lap, I looked out at the familiar view of the Pacific. This was one of those increasingly rare afternoons when I was not only free for a few hours, but in my own home.

And it was uncomfortable as hell.

I’d spent the last two hours out here. Lounging. Swimming. Lounging again. I relished the downtime, but being in the house just felt weird. Maybe once the divorce was final, I’d buy a smaller place, because when this place was empty, it was downright cavernous. Hell, it was eerily empty when Simone and I were both here, but when it was just me? The emptiness fucking echoed.

My mind drifted to Simone. I wondered how she was doing, so I glanced at the time on my phone. It was a little after four. Though I couldn’t remember the details of her schedule, maybe she was free right now. If not, I supposed she could call me back later, so I went ahead and speed-dialed her.

After two rings, she picked up. “Hey, what’s up?”

“Just calling to ask you the same thing,” I said.

“Not much. Just keeping really, really busy.” Her voice was heavy and strained.

My stomach twisted. “You holding up okay?”

“Yeah, I’m just tired. I’m ready for a vacation, that’s for sure,” she slurred. “Anyone needs me when this election is over? Try some remote beach on Maui.”

I laughed. “No kidding. I could use a vacation myself.”

“Good luck with that, Governor.”

“Gee, thanks.”

“At least we only have a few more months of this shit,” she said, and the slur was more pronounced now. “Who knew campaigns were so damned exhausting?”

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