In all their years together, Tracy had never been as angry at him as she was now. They’d never been separated or talked about splitting up or anything like that. Until now.
His phone rang with a call from his sister-in-law Angela. Even though he didn’t feel like talking to anyone, he took her call because he knew how worried she’d been about Ethan.
“Hey, Ang.”
“Oh, hi, Mike. I’ve been trying to call Tracy, but she’s not picking up, so I figured I’d try you. How’s Ethan? And how are you guys?”
“Ethan is sleeping finally, which is a relief. He’s been super upset all day since we got the news about Luna.”
“I can’t believe she’s dead. It’s unbelievable.”
“Yes, it certainly is.”
“How are you guys doing?”
“Honestly, not so great. Tracy asked me to leave.”
“Wait. What?”
“She’s very angry and is blaming me for what happened because I allowed him to go out with his friends. She was adamantly opposed to that, but I felt he was ready for a little independence. Clearly, I was wrong, and she’ll blame me forever.”
“Where are you now?”
“Driving around, trying to figure out what to do.”
“Come over here, Mike. Come to my house.”
“Tracy won’t appreciate you putting me up.”
“We’ll worry about that tomorrow. You can stay in the guest room. You shouldn’t be alone right now.”
“Are you sure you don’t mind risking the wrath of your sister?”
“Don’t worry about that. I can handle her. I just now put the porch light on for you. You’ve got the code.”
“Thanks, Ang.”
“See you soon.”
At the next light, he hung a left to go back toward Capitol Hill, where Angela lived a few blocks from them. After Spencer died earlier in the year, Mike had made a point of stopping by regularly after work to spend time with the kids. He was there a lot. Hopefully, it wouldn’t seem odd to them to wake up and find Uncle Mike there first thing in the morning.
He pulled onto Angela’s street a few minutes later and found a parking space three doors down. After grabbing his bag from the back seat, he made his way to her house, recalling the door code the family had been given so they could get into the Radcliffe house if necessary. Tracy worried endlessly about her younger sister being alone with two little ones and a baby on the way. She wondered how Angela would possibly handle it all on her own.
No one had been more there for Angela than Tracy had been since Spencer died. Under normal circumstances, Sam would’ve been there just as much, but her life had become even more complicated than it already was after Nick became president.
It wasn’t lost on Mike that the strain of helping to care for Angela’s family had contributed to some of the distance between him and Tracy, not that he blamed Tracy or Angela for that. Tracy was doing exactly what anyone would for a newly widowed sister. Anyone who knew Tracy well understood how much her younger sisters meant to her. There was nothing she wouldn’t do for them, as she’d proven time and again over the years, especially in recent months when both her sisters had faced extraordinary challenges.
He went up the stairs to the front porch, put in the code and pushed open the door.
Angela was right there to greet him with a tight hug as he dropped his bag inside the door.
Mike was mortified to break down into deep sobs, which was the last thing Angela needed when she had more than enough on her own plate.
“It’s okay,” she said. “Everything will be okay. Emotions are running high after this stressful weekend. As soon as things calm down, Tracy will be willing to talk to you about what’s gone wrong. She’ll see that all that matters is Ethan being home safe.”
“I don’t know,” Mike said. “I’ve never seen her like this.”
“Her son has never gone missing before, thank God.”
