Page 59 of Out of the Shadows
He frowned, but didn’t say anything.
“I know you’ll do the right thing,” she said. “I’m sure the family will reimburse you for your expenses. Sometimes you go down the wrong path, but you always end up in the right place.”
“You still left me.”
What did she say to that? He hadn’t listened to her for years. She could repeat herself a hundred times and he still wouldn’t see that a marriage without trust was not a marriage.
“Are you dating him?” he asked.
She cleared her throat. “What?” Though she knew exactly what Charlie meant.
“The private investigator. What’s his name.”
“Jack Angelhart?”
“Yeah. Are you?”
“We just met,” Laura said. “He’s friends with Logan.”
“That isn’t an answer.”
“It is. I’m not dating someone I literally just met for the first time yesterday.”
But she wanted to. Jack wanted to. They were going to go out when all this was over. The thought made her almost giddy with excitement, though Charlie was putting a big damper on that.
“If you don’t want what I can now give you, the kids will. I can pay for their college and get a house and they can come live with me half the time.”
“No,” she said quietly.
“You said when I settled down that we could share custody. I now have the money to be able to settle down and you’re changing the terms?”
This didn’t sound like the Charlie she knew. This was angry Charlie. He sounded as ifshehad betrayedhim. Maybe he sensed her feelings for Jack, however new they were. She was thirty-six. A grown woman. She knew who she was attracted to, who she wanted to spend time with, and she trusted her judgment.
“I never said we’d share custody. I have always told you that you can see the kids whenever you want. Big difference. They live here, they are not going back and forth to two different houses. You agreed stability is important, and I have never said you couldn’t come by. Not once.”
“You don’t understand.”
“I do. It’s you who needs to accept the truth.”
Luisa came in. “That was Margo on the phone. Aberdeen caused an accident on the 303 and got away.”
Laura gasped. “Is anyone hurt?”
“Appears to be minor injuries. But we need to be on alert. Margo’s on her way.”
“NotJack?” Charlie said in a snide voice.
“Stop, Charlie,” Laura said. “Just stop.”
“Fine. I’ll go.”
“No,” Luisa said. “No one leaves. Aberdeen knows where you live, Charlie, and he knows where Laura lives. We need everyone here where we can keep you safe until the police find him. I’m going to talk to Sydney and Cody and let them know what’s going on, if that’s okay.”
“Yes, thanks,” Laura said. “Should we all be in the same room?”
“They’re good in the den playing video games,” Luisa said. “Less stressful for them. Stay put, I’ll be right back.”
After Luisa left, Charlie said, “I’m sorry, Laura.”
