Page 14 of The Amendment

“You can’t come and go in the room. I have a wife.Kids.” I didn’t mention that Ainsley knew about the room now. That didn’t matter. “I have to be discreet.”

He sucked his teeth. “If there’s one thing I know, it’s how to be discreet. You remember that well, don’t you?”

Chills ran over my arms. “Whatever. Fine. A few weeks. A month at most. Come over around midnight, once the kids are in bed, and I’ll store your stuff.”

He slapped the desk. “Attaboy. I knew you’d come around.” With that, he stood, running his fingers down the brim of his cap with a salute. “See you around, Peter.”

As he shut the door, dread filled me once again.

A favor was never just a favor with Jim.

I’d learned that the hard way once.

CHAPTER SEVEN

AINSLEY

“So, I had an idea today…”

We were sitting around the dinner table, bowls of soup steaming in front of us. Peter had been distant since he arrived home from work, but I hadn’t pressed the issue.

Whatever was bothering him, it would have to wait.

“What idea?” Dylan asked with a scowl.

“Well…” I picked up my spoon, then laid it back down nervously. “I was thinking it would be fun for all of us to go to the lake house next weekend.”

Peter’s eyes darted up to meet mine. Maisy munched timidly on a cracker, her stomach still queasy. For a moment, no one said a word.

Then, Riley said, “Why?”

I’d expected resistance. The lake house was more of a small cottage we’d bought several years earlier, splitting the cost with Seth and Glennon. It was small and outdated and in an area with not much cell phone service, but it had been a nice reprieve when we’d needed a breakand couldn’t swing enough time off to take a proper vacation.

Now the house sat empty, mostly. We hadn’t been in over a year and Seth and Glennon hadn’t in even longer. Once, we’d talked about selling it, but that had been put off.

Now, I was grateful for that. I longed for the quiet evenings in the lake house, curled up in front of the fire, playing board games and making shadow puppets with the kids. Those days were long gone, I knew, but perhaps we could recreate them in some way.

“Well, I thought it might be nice to go before summer ends. You’ll all start back to school in just a few weeks, and we haven’t done anything during the break. We could grill out, just the five of us. Make s’mores and watch movies. It could be fun.” I watched them closely, trying to get a read on what they were thinking.

It was Maisy who spoke up first. “I’m supposed to be going to the movies with Bailey next weekend.”

“Yeah,” Dylan said, “and I have plans with Julie.”

“Plans?” Peter asked. “What plans?”

“We’re going to hang out,” Dylan said stiffly, picking at the food on his plate.

“I don’t have any plans,” Riley said—my saving grace. “I think it sounds fun, Mom.” He smiled up at me proudly, and I had to wonder what it was he wanted, but I didn’t want to push the issue.

“Yeah?” I grinned at him. “Good! Riley’s in, who else? Maise, can’t you reschedule your movie plans? Go a different day?”

She twisted her mouth in contemplation. “We haven’tbought the tickets yet… Can she come to the lake with us, at least?”

I looked at Peter. “Well, I suppose—”

“Yeah! And can Julie come, too?” Dylan asked.

“No,” Peter and I said at once.

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