16 Lighthouse Road - Debbie Macomber [118]
“Hi, Mom.”
Grace was right. “Hello, sweetheart. How are you feeling?”
“Pregnant,” Kelly complained. “Six weeks to go.”
The time had passed quickly for Grace, but she doubted her daughter would feel that way.
“Any news on Dad?”
Grace was always astonished by the way her daughters seemed to sense any new developments regarding Dan.
“Mom?” Kelly pressed.
“Can you get your sister on three-way calling?” Kelly had the option on her phone, whereas Grace didn’t.
“You learned something?”
“Get Maryellen on the line and I’ll tell you both at the same time.”
“Okay.” Grace was accustomed to the procedure. She was put on hold while Kelly dialed her sister’s phone number, and then once Maryellen was connected, Grace would be able to speak to both her daughters at once. She closed her eyes, her mind spinning as she waited.
In the beginning, Grace had wanted to protect her children from what Dan had done. Her reaction had been instinctive, but it’d also been wrong. Maryellen and Kelly were entitled to know. Furthermore, they might be able to provide an answer. For all Grace knew, Dan might have said something to one of the girls that would give her—or Roy McAfee—some kind of clue.
“We’re both here,” Kelly said anxiously.
“Are you all right, Mom?” Maryellen asked.
“No.” It was time for honesty. “Roy discovered that your father purchased a twenty-four-foot travel trailer last year.”
“Dad bought a trailer?” The question came from Kelly.
“Where did he keep it?”
That was a question Grace hadn’t thought to ask. “I don’t know, but I’m discovering that I knew very little about your father.”
“There’s more, isn’t there?” Again it was Kelly who asked. Kelly who was so close to her father and so confident he’d return before her baby was born.
“Yes,” she said reluctantly. “He paid cash for the trailer.”
“How much?” Maryellen asked.
“Thirteen thousand,” Grace said. “In fresh one-hundred-dollar bills.”
Kelly gasped.
Maryellen said nothing.
“I don’t have a clue where he got that much money,” Grace told her daughters. It was as much a mystery as his disappearance.
“Mom, do you think the other woman might have bought the trailer for him?” Maryellen asked softly.
“Then why not register it in her name?”
“Maybe she wanted you to find out about it,” Maryellen suggested.
“Stop it!” Kelly shouted. “There is no other woman. Dad wouldn’t do that.”
“Grow up,” Maryellen said sharply. “When are you going to quit looking at Dad like he’s some kind of saint? He didn’t just leave Mom, you know. He walked out on you and me, too.”
“Don’t say that,” Kelly cried, breaking into huge sobs. “I don’t believe it. I’ll never believe it.”
“Girls, please…” Grace felt close to tears herself.
“Do you still think Dad’s going to magically reappear before your baby’s born?” Maryellen asked. “Get a grip! He doesn’t care about either one of us.”
“Maryellen, stop.” Grace refused to allow her older daughter to continue. This was hard enough without the two of them turning against each other.
An awkward moment passed, then Maryellen whispered, “I’m sorry, Kelly. I was upset and I took it out on you.”
“I’m sorry, too,” Kelly said. “For you and Mom. One day we’re all going to discover the truth about Dad. I don’t know why he’s doing this or where he is, but there’s a perfectly logical explanation for his disappearance.”
Her daughter had said this many times before, and Grace let her say it again. Neither she nor Maryellen challenged what they both saw as a fantasy. They understood that Kelly needed to believe it.
Justine had been downright miserable since the reunion. She’d announced to Seth that she intended to marry Warren, but she hadn’t gotten around to mentioning it to Warren himself.
Friday night, Warren planned to take her to dinner at D.D.’s on the Cove, and she thought she’d tell him then, as long as he understood she wanted a lengthy engagement. Eventually they’d ease their way into marriage.
“You look fabulous,” Warren