Page 28 of His Loving Wife

“I can’t believe he’s not told me about this.” The words left Kate’s lips in a whisper. She wondered at first if she’d even said them out loud.

“I can assure you we’ve addressed every incident we’re aware of, but I’m afraid there might be more happening that he’s not admitting.”

Even though Ms. Peterson had been as kind as possible, Kate felt a flash of rage. There was no one else around for her to blame, other than herself—and she already blamed herself for so much.

“I have to ask. Why is this the first I’m hearing of this? He’s never had an issue with bullies before. If it’s a recurring issue, you should have contacted me sooner.”

Ms. Peterson stiffened in her seat. “We did try calling your office.”

Kate could feel herself blush. She was never good about returning messages, but she felt certain she would have flagged one that came from Noah’s school. Of course, this entire semester had whirred by like a vicious storm. She hated to admit she’d let that cloudiness impact her ability as a parent.

“I’m sorry. I wasn’t aware you had reached out.”

“I also had a conversation about this with your husband. That’s why I was hoping he would join us tonight.”

Kate furrowed her brow. “You told Andrew that Noah was being bullied? When?”

“Back in the fall. After the second incident.”

Ms. Peterson continued talking, but Kate struggled to absorb her words. She was lost in her own thoughts now. This was the first she’d heard about Noah being bullied, but Andrew knew. And he’d never told her. He’d been nothing but bitter toward her since that visit from Detective Marsh. She’d hoped Paul’s arrest would improve their relationship, but it didn’t. Kate couldn’t believe he’d let his resentment toward her outweigh their responsibility to protect their son.

These thoughts tumbled over one another for the rest of the meeting, fought harder once Kate was alone in her car. By the time she had arrived home, her anger had peaked. Her skin was flushed, and she was using every ounce of control she had left not to burst into tears.

She stomped into the living room, not even bothering to take off her coat. Their living room was already decorated for Christmas—Noah had insisted—and she found Andrew sitting alone by the tree.

“Where are the children?” Kate’s voice was uncertain. The silence of the house made her fear something awful had happened.

“They’re over at Dana’s,” he slurred. “I’d thought you’d be home sooner.”

“I had a conference with Noah’s teacher.” The memory of the conversation returned, bringing with it the anger she’d carried with her the whole ride home. “Why didn’t you tell me you’d spoken to Ms. Peterson?”

Andrew shook his head, like he was trying to recall the memory. “It was a long time ago. She called my office sometime last month.”

“Did she tell you that Noah was being bullied?”

“She mentioned something about it.”

“Mentioned something about it. You didn’t think that was something I needed to hear?”

“Did she tell you about it?”

“Yes. It’s the whole reason she called me in tonight.”

“Now you know.” He stood shakily. That’s when she noticed the glass beside the sofa.

“Are you drunk?”

“Does it matter?”

Kate wrestled with her coat, taking it off and throwing it over the sofa.

“I’m sick of this, Andrew. I can’t live this way. Ever since Detective Marsh told us Paul Gunter was the one who broke into our home, you’ve been giving me the cold shoulder. You might not want to talk about what happened that night or anything that happened afterward, but you can’t let your issues with me interfere with this family. You can’t allow it to neglect our own children.”

Andrew laughed.

“Is something funny?”

“The irony of what you’ve just said. You’re upset I didn’ttell youwhat was going on with Noah, that you had to hear about it from a practical stranger. How do you think I felt to hear from Detective Marsh that the person who broke into our house was your ex-boyfriend?”

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