1105 Yakima Street - Debbie Macomber [74]
“I’m sorry our marriage has caused such a problem in your family,” Linc said.
Kate dismissed that. “It hasn’t been a problem for anyone other than Leonard.”
Linc nodded slowly. “What would it take for you to move back home?”
“What would it take?” Kate asked. “Well, first Leonard would have to apologize to you for everything he’s done to undermine your business. Then he’d have to apologize to our daughter for his high-handed behavior. And last…last, he’d have to apologize to me.”
Lori knew it would be difficult to get one apology out of her father, never mind three. None of this was likely to happen.
“Oh, Mom.”
“Actually, Hilary and I get along just fine.”
“Mom!” Her mother could be just as stubborn as her father. This was a formula for disaster. She was afraid one of them would do something stupid—like file for divorce. Lori didn’t know if she could live with herself if that happened, regardless of the fact that Leonard brought it on himself… Maybe she should’ve given him a chance to meet Linc again, more time to get used to the idea of her marriage. And yet, she reminded herself, she was an adult with the right to make her own decisions.
Her mother left shortly afterward, making Lori and Linc promise not to mention her visit to anyone in the family.
Lori sank into her chair again after walking Kate to her car. “I can’t believe this. I have to do something,” she told Linc frantically.
“What can you do?”
“I…I’m not sure.”
“Do you think your brother and sister know that your mother’s moved out?” Linc asked.
“I doubt it. They would’ve told me.”
Frowning, Linc nodded.
“I’m going to phone my father and try to reason with him. All these weeks without Mom… He must be going nuts.”
“Do you think that’s wise?” he asked.
“I have to try.”
Linc seemed to agree with her. He dragged his chair close to hers and held her free hand while Lori called the family home. To her surprise, her father answered.
“Where’s Lou Lou?” she asked, shocked that the woman who’d been their housekeeper for more than twenty years didn’t pick up.
“She no longer works here.”
“Lou Lou quit?”
Her father ignored the question. “Who is this?”
“Come on, Dad, you know who this is. Lori.”
“Lori who?”
“Lori, your daughter,” she said, struggling to hold on to her temper.
“Unfortunately, I don’t have a daughter named Lori.”
His words felt like a slap in the face. “Okay, Daddy, if that’s the way you want it.” She clicked off the phone and hid her face in Linc’s chest.
His arms came immediately around her. “I’m so sorry, honey,” he whispered, kissing her hair.
“Me, too,” she murmured tearfully. “Me, too.”
Twenty-Three
“Can you meet me at the gallery a little after five?” Miranda asked Shirley, keeping an eye on the clock. She needed to leave for work soon.
“The gallery?” Shirley repeated. “You don’t work on Thursdays, do you?”
“Today I do. Will asked me to come in.”
“Again?”
“He’s got something he has to do.” He’d mentioned that he and his sister were going to revisit two of the assisted-living complexes they’d recently toured. Miranda assumed that was scheduled for this afternoon, although why he couldn’t have told her earlier…
“It seems to me that Will Jefferson takes a lot for granted as far as you’re concerned.”
Miranda agreed, but now wasn’t the time to discuss it. They could do that over dinner. “So, can you stop by around five?”
“Sure.”
“I’ll see you then.” Disconnecting, she tossed her phone in her purse and headed out the door. If there was one thing she hated, it was being late.
When she arrived at the gallery, she found Will sitting in the showroom, working on his laptop. Their relationship had been a bit uncomfortable ever since they’d kissed. Now they were both making an effort to pretend nothing had happened.
Only it had. And ignoring the events of that afternoon—it’d been Halloween afternoon—wasn’t working.
Part of the problem was that Miranda wasn’t doing a good job of hiding her feelings for Will. She wasn’t usually shy; she preferred to discuss differences, talk things over and avoid miscommunication.