Page 8 of Den of Iniquity

“Never. That was at a time when single moms weren’t as common as they are now. If she hadn’t been fierce, she never would have managed.”

“Do you think that’s what’ll happen with me and my mom—that she’ll never speak to me again?”

“I doubt it, but if she’s a chip off my mom’s old block, you need to understand that, if you go head-to-head with her, that’s always a possibility.”

“You’d think my father would be old enough to not make the same mistake twice,” Kyle muttered.

Obviously he was aware of the fact that his mother had been pregnant with Kayla well before his parents tied the knot.

“Yes, you’d think so,” I agreed and let it go at that. After all, with my own newly discovered daughter, Naomi, in the picture, I didn’t have any room to talk about out-of-wedlock offspring.By the way, Naomi now works as a counselor in the rehab center where I originally sent her to get clean. Obviously the treatment worked.

At that moment and much to my relief, Mel turned up, rescuing me from what was fast becoming a difficult conversation. She waltzed into the room dressed, made-up, and looking for her own first cup of coffee. While she stopped off in the kitchen to press the coffee button, Kyle returned the photo to its place on the mantel and sat back down.

“What’s up?” Mel asked as she joined us in the living room.

“My mom’s coming to get me,” Kyle said grimly. “She’ll be here by eleven.”

“What do you think about that? Do you want to go home with her?”

“I want to stay here.”

“Then you’ll have to tell her exactly that,” Mel advised him, “but be prepared. There’s a good chance your mother will be permanently pissed.”

“I know,” he said. “Gramps just told me the same thing.”

“You can live with that?”

Kyle nodded.

The beep of an arriving text sounded, and Kyle pulled his phone out of his back pocket. He glanced at it briefly.

“It’s Dad. They’re ganging up on me. He says I should listen to Mom. Figures. That’s what he usually does—puts it all on her, but at least he’s not coming here.”

My opinion of Jeremy Cartwright, already at an all-time low, plunged a few more points. He could have at least pretended to make the effort.

“But he’s not coming here and draggingheralong,” Kyle added.

Obviously the “her” in question was Caroline Richards. With that said, Kyle stood up. “I think I’m going to go down by the beach and take a walk.”

Referring to the rocky shoreline at the bottom of our bluff as a beach is a bit of a misnomer. Kyle disappeared into the guest room and emerged a moment later, pulling on a puffy jacket.

“Can Sarah come along?” he asked.

“Sure,” I said, “but grab her leash first. If you go down to the bottom of the bluff, you’ll be glad to have her tugging on the leash when you come back up.”

Seconds later, he and Sarah took off. Once the door closed behind them, Mel turned to me. “Did you see his face when he mentioned Jeremy’s girlfriend?”

“I did.”

“I suspect she’s at the bottom of what’s going on,” Mel offered.

“Probably,” I said.

Mel shook her head. “Boy,” she said, “it’s weird that I never picked up on the fact that both Kelly and Jeremy were so unhappy. They’ve done a good job of covering it.”

“Haven’t they just,” I agreed.

Mel finished her coffee and stood up. “I’d best get my rear in gear. With a growing boy in residence, I need to figure out what we’re having for breakfast. I believe I feel an attack of pancakes coming on.”

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