When he’d gone into the café to pick up lunch for Miss Elizabeth and himself, Kayana had pulled him aside to congratulate him on his impending fatherhood. It stood to reason that Cherie would tell her book club friends about her condition.
He’d utilized the backyard kitchen for the first time, and it felt good not to heat up the house now that the average daily temperatures peaked around eighty-five degrees. After dinner, he and Cherie walked along the shore, then returned to the house to use the outdoor shower to wash off the sand.
* * *
It was mid-afternoon, and Reese had just started up the staircase to get dressed for his four-to-midnight shift when the doorbell rang. He reversed his steps and walked to the door, hoping it wasn’t Bettina Wilson. The woman had had the audacity to ask if he and Cherie were living together, and he knew he’d shocked her when he told her they were experimenting to see if they could get it right.
He opened the door and froze as if he’d been impaled by a sharp object. The man standing on Cherie’s porch was William Campbell, and behind him two men who were obviously Secret Service.
“Is this Cherie Thompson’s residence?”
You know it is, otherwise you wouldn’t be here, Reese thought. “Yes, it is. May I ask who’s calling?” he asked, even though he knew exactly who he was.
“Tell her it’s Weylin. She’ll recognize the name.”
“Who do you think you are coming to my home? And how did you find me?”
Reese turned to find Cherie standing only a few away. He knew she was upset because her hands were shaking. “Should I leave?”
“No,” she spat out. “But I want him to leave,” she said, pointing at the man in the doorway.
“I’ll leave, but there’s something I’d like to say to you. Please, hear me out.” He turned to say something to the two agents, and they stepped back. Weylin removed his sunglasses, and he gave Cherie a long, penetrating stare. “May I come inside?”
“You have five minutes,” Cherie said.
Reese opened the door, and the smartly dressed man with perfectly cut blond hair stepped into the entryway. He glanced at the watch on his wrist. “Your five minutes starts now.”
Cherie didn’t want to believe Weylin had shown up at her home without warning her he was coming. And she didn’t want to listen to anything he had to say, because they’d agreed what now seemed eons ago that whatever they’d had had ended when she handed over her baby.
He flashed the smile that at one time she hadn’t been able to resist. “I work for the government, so it was easy enough for me to find your address.” His smile faded. “I want to thank you for coming to the memorial service, but you left before I could tell you that.”
“You’ve just told me. Now please leave.”
Weylin pointed to Reese. “Are you involved with this man?”
“That’s none of your business.”
“Does he know we have history?” Weylin continued. “Does he know that you had my baby, and that if circumstances had been different, I would’ve married you instead of Michelle. That every time I made love to my wife, in my mind it was you that I was making love to.” He paused. “Now that my wife and your son are gone, I’m proposing we start over. I’ll wait a year, and then announce that I’m marrying a friend from our college days, and together we can become a new power couple. We’ll have more children—”
“Get the fuck out my house!” Cherie screamed. “And if you attempt to contact me again, I’ll go to the press and tell them everything, Mr. Wannabe Vice President.” She walked over to the door and opened it. “Get out!”
“Your five minutes are up,” Reese warned in a low tone that indicated he was quickly losing patience.
Weylin turned and walked out, and Cherie slammed the door and locked it. She looked at Reese, and he stared at her as if she were a stranger. “I’m sorry, Reese.”
“So am I, Cherie. I told you that lying to me was a deal breaker.”
“I didn’t lie to you.”
“Why couldn’t you tell me that you’d been involved with that piece of shit? He’s lucky I didn’t kick his ass, because he felt his privilege gave him the right to show up unannounced and attempt to pick up where he left off with you.”
“There’s no picking up, Reese. I walked away from him more than five years ago, and I never looked back.”
“Well, it looks like you left quite an impression on him because he wants to marry you and have more children.”
“Where are you going?” Cherie asked, when he turned on his heel.
“Upstairs to get dressed so I can go to work. I think we both need some alone time to figure out how we’re going clean up this shit show.
