The Courage Tree - Diane Chamberlain [59]
The newscaster was once again on the screen, talking about a drug bust in Washington, and Janine hit the mute button. The phone rang, and she jumped, reaching for the receiver on the nightstand so quickly that she knocked it to the floor.
“Hello?” she said, after fumbling to regain the receiver.
“Hi.” It was Joe’s voice.
“Have you heard anything?” she asked.
“No. I was just watching the news.”
“Me, too.”
“I’ve been worried about you,” he said. “I know it’s late, but can I come over? I just want to be with someone who…who’s hurting as much as I am.”
Janine looked at Lucas, who was eyeing her from the pillow. The face of the newscaster was reflected in his glasses.
“Joe,” she said. “I need to tell you something.”
“What?”
“Lucas is here.” She rested her hand on Lucas’s chest. “Lucas is…he’s more than a friend, Joe.”
The silence on Joe’s end of the line was unbearably long.
“You’re seeing him?” he asked finally.
“Yes.”
“And he’s there right now? This late?”
“Yes.”
He sighed, the sound like wind blowing against the phone. “I truly don’t understand you.”
“I should have been honest about it from the start,” she said. “But you and Mom and—”
“When was the start?” he interrupted her.
“November.”
“November! You’ve been seeing this guy since November? You’ve had Sophie around him?”
“Sophie likes him.”
“She’s a child,” Joe said. “She doesn’t know any better. Janine, you’ve got a good education, you’re intelligent…Why would you get involved with a gardener? And a lousy one at that. Your parents told me he doesn’t show up half the time for work. They think he has a drinking problem, that he’s hungover and can’t make it in.”
Janine could not help the laugh that escaped her mouth. “He doesn’t drink at all,” she said. Lucas’s eyebrows rose at that. “Not that it’s any of your business.”
“He’s so much younger than you,” Joe said.
“Only three years, Joe.” Lucas was thirty-two.
“Do your parents know about this?”
“They will tomorrow. Lucas is flying in the helicopter with me.” She winced again, fearing she had just struck Joe below the belt.
Joe was silent a moment before speaking again. “They’re going to have a fit,” he said.
“If you talk to them tonight, please don’t say anything about it. Let it come from me.”
“It’s all yours,” he said. “I’d rather not hear what they have to say.”
Janine was quiet, imagining her parents’ reaction to this news.
“Are you sure he’s not…you know, too interested in Sophie?” Joe asked.
“I’m absolutely sure.”
“Well, look,” Joe said. “Whatever’s drawn you to him…I’d just like you to think about what I said in the car today. About us. I’m part of your family, whether you like it that way or not. Your parents think of me as their son. Your daughter is my daughter. I screwed up three years ago, I know that. But you’ve screwed up, too. And we have a daughter who loves both of us, and if…when we find her, the best present we could give her would be for you and me to get back together.”
“Joe.” She shook her head. Where was all of this coming from? “You’ve never talked about this before. Why now?”
“Because of Sophie. Because she needs us to be united. Because having her gone, spending some time with you, makes me realize what I gave up. I want my family back.”
“I’m sorry, Joe,” she said. “That’s not something I want.”
He was quiet again. “You’d rather hang out with your tree house guy?” he asked. “Only little boys play in tree houses.”
“I’m going to hang up,” she threatened.
“No, don’t. I’m sorry. Just going a little nuts here.”
She felt sorry for him. He was alone right now, trying to cope with the fact that his daughter was missing, maybe hurt, certainly afraid. “I know,” she said softly. “I know this is just as painful for you as it is for me. You can call anytime, okay? Even in the middle of the night if you’re upset and need to talk.”
“Same here,” he said. “Although I guess you have the, uh…Lucas to talk to.”
“Lucas is wonderful,” she told him, and she felt Lucas’s hand on her back, “but he’s not Sophie’s dad.”
“Thanks,” Joe said. “Let’s talk in the morning.”
She hung up