A Silken Thread - Brenda Jackson [76]
“Dr. Cobb?”
He glanced back at the closed bedroom door. The one he’d just walked out of. The one where Karen Sanders was probably in bed smiling already in victory. She had instructed him what to do and what to say. He would lay it on thick. He would have to do so to achieve Karen’s purpose.
“Come on, Erica. Let’s go downstairs to the study. I’ve given your mother something to make her rest and we shouldn’t disturb her.” That was a bald-faced lie as he spoke it. The woman was probably in her room doing a tap dance across the floor.
“All right.”
He let Erica lead the way down the stairs and he followed, feeling older than his sixty years. He had been married to his Loretta just as long as Wilson had been married to Karen. All four had been born and raised in Hattersville, all were from well-off families, all were tied to the founding fathers. His great-great-grandfather was the town’s first doctor and there had been a Cobb to practice medicine there ever since. He looked forward to retiring next year when his son Sloan would step in and take his place. He smiled when he thought of Sloan. He was proud of him.
“Would you like something to drink, Dr. Cobb?”
Erica’s question pulled his thoughts back to the situation at hand. She was fretting, worrying herself to death and really for nothing. Karen was healthy as a horse but he couldn’t tell Erica that. He had to support the lie her mother wanted him to weave.
“No, I don’t want anything to drink. I’m just glad I was home when you called. Lucky for you I’m right across the street.”
Erica nodded. “How is she?”
Dr. Cobb shook his head. “Not good, I’m afraid. She went into shock.”
“Is she still in shock?”
“Somewhat. I did get her to talk, though.” He went silent, choosing his words carefully, not sure of what he should say and what he could say. “Your mother is a proud woman, Erica. Sometimes a little too proud. Unlike a lot of us whose families help found this town she’s always taken that role seriously. If what she mumbled upstairs in her bedroom is true—if your father is having an affair with the mother of the guy you plan to marry—that can destroy her. Most women can walk away from a man and an affair. Your mother can’t. Your father is her life. From the time she was born she was bred to believe they would be together forever, regardless.”
Erica nodded.
“What your mother needs is to get away for a while. Leave here and go on a trip, a cruise would be nice. Go stay for a while at that place at Lake Tahoe that she and your father own. She can’t be bothered by bad news of any kind.”
He paused again. “She should have told you and your father this last year. I encouraged her to but she refused to do so.”
Panic flared in Erica’s eyes. “Told us what?”
“She has a heart condition and too much stress can take her away from here.”
Erica’s hand flew to her mouth to keep from crying out and her hand began to shake.
“Under normal circumstances I would suggest that your father be the one to take her away from here, but in light of what your mother just confided in me, I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“That means that I’ll have to be there for her.”
Dr. Cobb nodded sadly. “Yes, that’s what it means. That will be a lot for you to carry on your shoulders, dear, but someone has to be there for her now. Your father’s betrayal cut too deep for her. And if word gets out, that will make her a laughingstock of this town. Of course, I won’t say anything. But there is the matter of your wedding.”
Erica swallowed. “What about my wedding?”
“Considering everything, do you still want one? Having your father and that other woman there together might be too much for your mother, and I suggest you consider postponing it for now. Your mother needs as little