Page 56 of Mistaken Intention

Maybe that’s another part of what’s holding me back and stopping me from leaping into his arms… aside from the fact that he’s a patient, that he has a daughter of whom he knows nothing, that her mother was my step-sister and that he doesn’t know who I am, let alone who he is.

Why couldn’t this be simple?

Why couldn’t we just have met and fallen in love, like a ‘normal’ couple?

I let out a sigh, knocking on the front door of the main house. It’s opened within moments by a woman who appears to be in her early sixties. She has red hair, with a few gray streaks, and she looks at me with sparkling green eyes.

“You must be Josie?” she says.

“I am.”

She smiles. “I’m Pat. We haven’t met yet, but I—I wanted to thank you for everything you’re doing for Drew.”

I don’t know what to say, especially as I know how dishonest I’ve been about my role in his past. “You don’t need to thank me.”

“Oh, I think we do.” She steps aside. “Come on in. Hunter’s in his office.”

I enter the house and she closes the door, giving me a moment or two to take in the wood flooring, the white walls, and the wide staircase that leads up to the second floor.

There’s an archway to one side, but Pat opens a door opposite, waiting for me to enter Hunter’s office. It’s a big room, with a desk at one end and a couch by the window that overlooks the front of the house. Hunter is sitting behind the desk, but he stands the moment he sees me, walking over to greet me.

“Thanks for coming so quickly,” he says, ushering me into the room. The door closes behind me, and I focus on the other person in the room. She’s sitting in one of the two chairs facing Hunter’s desk and she turns around to face me, revealing herself to be a very attractive woman in her mid- to late-forties, with short dark hair that frames her face. “Please, take a seat.”

I sit beside the woman, who stares at me for a moment longer and then looks across the desk at Hunter. I don’t know who she is. He looks a little awkward; she looks uncomfortable, and I’m just wondering if I’m going to have to ask to beintroduced, when the woman turns in her seat, holding out her hand to me.

“I’m Lindsay Bennett. I’m Drew’s mother.”

I’m not sure how that’s possible. She doesn’t look old enough, but I take her slender hand in mine, using the moment to think; to remember to stay silent. Drew’s never mentioned his parents to me, but even if he had, I wouldn’t be able to say anything without giving myself away.

Fortunately, I don’t need to. Hunter coughs and his mom withdraws her hand from mine, both of us turning to look at her son, who’s frowning at her from the other side of the desk. He averts his gaze to me, his expression lightening a little.

“I’m sorry, Josie. I need your advice, but in order to ask for it, I’m gonna have to take you into my confidence… or rather into the family’s confidence.” He glances at his mother again. “The situation is complicated, but I hope you’ll be able to help.”

“I’ll do whatever I can,” I say, even more confused than I was before.

He nods his head and sits back. “As you know, I drove into the city this morning to fetch my car. When I got back, I found our mother here, waiting to see me.”

“That’s not strictly true,” Mrs. Bennett says. “I asked to see Drew and the woman who let me in told me I couldn’t, and I’d have to wait for you to get back first.”

He stares at her for a moment and then turns back to me again. “However it happened, what you need to know is that Drew hasn’t seen our mom since he was six years old, and I’m not sure if it’s a good idea for him to see her now.”

“Why not? He’s my son.” Mrs. Bennett sits forward in her seat.

“Then why the hell did you leave him? Why did you abandon him, and Ella… and me?”

I can hear the hurt in Hunter’s voice, even now, over twenty years later, and I wonder what effect that abandonment had on Drew.

“I—It’s hard to explain.” Mrs. Bennett stumbles over her words, glancing at me and I wonder if she’d rather I wasn’t here… if she’d be able to talk better if it was just her and her oldest son. The problem is, Hunter said he needed my help, so I’m staying put.

“I’m sure it is,” he says, narrowing his eyes at her.

“It wasn’t easy coming back to this house, after all this time.” Her voice cracks, but he seems unmoved.

“Maybe you shouldn’t have stayed away so long. Or better still, maybe you shouldn’t have left us in the first place.”

“I had no choice.” She raises her voice, emotion getting the better of her, and Hunter stares at her, like he’s battling his own feelings, trying to decide whether to sympathize with her, or recoil from her. Neither side seems to come out on top, and after a moment or two, he turns back to me.

“I’m sorry, Josie. This must be very difficult for you.”

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