Page 68 of Lucky Star

“I’ll be back in twenty minutes!” I called.

Grabbing Sarah’s phone on my way out of the house, I scrolled through her contacts until I reached her father’s name. I pressed the call button and waited for him to answer. After three rings, a gruff, tired voice came over the line.

“Sarah?”

“Um, hi Gerald. It’s Cameron.”

“Cameron,” he repeated, instantly alert. “Is everything okay? Why are you calling from Sarah’s phone?”

“She’s fine. Well, not really. That’s what I wanted to talk to you about.”

“She had another row with her mother, didn’t she?” He sighed, and I pictured his chin dropping to his chest. It was a gesture I’d seen often enough whenever I was around their family.

“Your wife called earlier this afternoon and they talked for about thirty minutes. During their conversation, Sarah was pacing back and forth, and the longer the call went, the more upset she became. By the time she hung up, she was crying.”

“Not again,” he murmured loud enough for me to hear, although I got the impression it wasn’t said for my benefit.

“When I asked what had happened, all she said was ‘you know how my mom is.’ You know as well as I do how true that statement is. Which, incidentally, I still haven’t mentioned to Sarah.”

I let the implied threat dangle unspoken between us for a few seconds. The truth was, I would never tell Sarah what her mom had done. But Gerald didn’t know that.

“You’ve got to do something about her, Gerald. Every single time Sarah gets off the phone with her, she looks like a kicked puppy. I don’t know why your wife can’t even try to be nice to her own daughter, but she needs to start. Now.”

“I’ll talk to her,” he answered wearily. “Again.”

I doubted it’d make a lick of difference. Reasoning with Jane Travers wasn’t going to change her behavior. Personally, I thought the only thing that would work would be for Gerald to cut her off. Unfortunately, I didn’t see that happening either.

“I love your daughter, Gerald, and we both know she deserves better than the way her mother treats her. If things don’t change, I’ll be forced to intervene.”

“That’s twice now you’ve threatened me. Why don’t you just come right out and say what you mean?”

“Okay, fine. If something doesn’t change, I will tell Sarah about Christmas.”

“That would destroy her.” Unfortunately, I couldn’t tell if he was talking about his wife or his daughter. I liked to think he meant Sarah.

“Yes, it would,” I agreed. “But not for the reason you seem to think.”

“You’d sacrifice your relationship with my daughter in order to destroy the relationship she has with her mother?”

“I’d sacrifice everything for Sarah, but you’re missing the point.” I glanced at my watch. I’d been on the phone for a little over ten minutes, which left me plenty of time to wrap up the conversation and get Sarah’s phone back where she’d left it.

“I don’t know why Jane hates Sarah, but she needs to stop calling if she can’t be civil. I’ve overheard some of their conversations, and they’re ugly. Your wife can say some pretty vile things.”

“Surely, it’s not that bad,” he argued, seemingly unwilling to listen.

No wonder Jane had gotten away with demeaning Sarah all these years. Her father was oblivious to how thoroughly damaging his wife could be.

“Yes, it is that bad. If you love your daughter—and I think you do—you have to rein in your wife. If you don’t, I’ll be forced to tell Sarah about Christmas.”

“Why do you have to stick your nose where it doesn’t belong? Our family might not be perfect like yours, but it works for us.”

I gritted my teeth and counted to three. I’d always liked Sarah’s dad, but I was beginning to understand that he was a weak man who cared more about keeping the peace with his overbearing wife than he did about protecting his daughter. Frankly. I couldn’t imagine growing up in that house.

“I’m going to marry Sarah, and whether you like it or not, her well-being is my only concern. Your wife’s feelings, such as they are, are not.” I glanced down at my watch again. Three minutes.

“Fine. I’ll talk to Jane,” he said, his voice laced with irritation.

“Thank you.” I breathed out a sigh of relief.

“But I can’t guarantee that she’ll listen to me.”

“Take away her credit cards, and I’m sure she’ll listen just fine.”

After a few beats, he said, “Fine. Consider it done.”

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