David looked across the tent. “Not yet, but she’s on her way over here.”
Ethan turned toward the dance floor. “I wouldn’t want to be in her shoes at the moment. She’s already been through more than most people.”
And, if David had anything to do with it, she wouldn’t have to go through anything else on her own.
She stopped beside them. “Hi, Ethan. Would you mind if I speak to David?”
Even if he had minded, it wouldn’t have made a difference. Andrea looked determined to find out what was happening. Not that David could blame her.
Ethan touched her arm. “If you need me for anything, I’m only a phone call away.”
A flicker of gratitude softened her face. “Thank you.” It disappeared when she looked at David.
He pointed to the table where the drinks were being served. “John took the boys to get a juice. Let’s talk outside the tent.”
Silently, she followed him to the edge of the lake.
There was no point softening what he had to tell her. From Andrea’s stony expression, she already knew he’d seen Scotty. “Your ex-husband’s in Sapphire Bay. I saw him at Sweet Treats when I went to collect the cake.”
“Did you speak to him?”
“Only briefly.” David pulled out the business card Scotty had given him. “This is his phone number. He’s staying at the Cozy Inn for the next three days. He wants to apologize for how he treated you.”
Andrea didn’t even look at the card. “I don’t want to see him.”
“Fair enough.”
Crossing her arms in front of her chest, she stared across the water. “How did he find me?”
“I don’t know. Are you okay?”
Her troubled gaze settled on him. “I feel numb. I thought if he ever found us, I’d be terrified. But I just have a cold, hard, lump in my chest that’s stopping me from feeling anything. Do the boys know he’s here?”
“No. And no one will say anything to them, either.”
“I guess that’s one thing to be grateful for.”
A breeze lifted the strands of her hair that had escaped her ponytail. She rubbed her arms and looked so sad he had to stop himself from wrapping his arms around her.
He slipped off his jacket. “Try this. It might make you warmer.” His jacket was far too big for her, but she pulled it close, anyway. “Tanner, my contact at Fletcher Security, sent me the report he put together about Scotty. Do you want to see it?”
“No, thanks.”
“For what it’s worth, Tanner thinks there’s very little chance of him reoffending.”
“When I married him, I never thought he’d hit me, let alone make me feel so small that I wondered why I was born. Whatever Tanner thinks of my ex-husband is based on what he’s seen, not who Scotty is. To me, he’ll always be a monster.”
“He’s willing to give up his parental rights to Andy and Charlie. You wouldn’t have to worry about him being part of their lives ever again.”
“What does he want in return?”
Andrea’s flat voice worried him. “He wants to see the boys. To apologize for what he did.”
She dropped her chin to her chest. When she lifted her face, there were tears in her eyes. “Andy and Charlie didn’t deserve to have a father like Scotty. But I don’t want them to hate me for not letting them see him. What should I do?”
“I don’t know, but you don’t have to decide tonight. Scotty will be here for a few days.”
Tears fell down her cheeks. “I thought leaving him was the hardest thing I’d ever have to do. I was wrong. Letting him back into our lives is worse.”
