Andrea sat in the waiting room at the medical clinic with Charlie and Andy. Her heart was pounding so fast she was worried she’d have a heart attack. That would be a great ending to a day that hadn’t gone to plan.
She was so nervous about seeing Scotty that she’d dropped a bowl of pancake batter on the floor at the café, lost the keys to her truck twice, and nearly run over Mabel Terry on the way here.
It was bad enough talking to Scotty on the phone. Now she was about to see the man who’d nearly destroyed her spirit.
Ethan came down the corridor and held out his hand. “How are you doing?”
“I’ve had better days.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be right there with you and the boys.” He sat beside Andy and Charlie. “If you want to leave the meeting at any time, let me know. Diana and Gonzo are in the meeting room we usually use. She thought you might like to give him a cuddle if you need a break.”
Charlie looked at his brother and bit his bottom lip.
Andrea didn’t know what was worse—waiting to see Scotty or watching the boys cope with the massive amount of stress they must be under. Forcing a gentle smile onto her face, she stood and held out both her hands to the boys. “Dad’s waiting for us in Ethan’s office. Are you ready to see him?”
Reluctantly, Andy nodded. Charlie followed his brother’s lead, walking slowly along the corridor behind Ethan.
When they reached Ethan’s office, she stopped and took a moment to gather her thoughts. “Who needs to do some breathing exercises?”
Andy and Charlie nodded and she squeezed their hands. Closing her eyes, she took a deep breath, and prayed the meeting went as well as it could.
Chapter 21
Checking his watch, David pushed himself to increase his pace. He hadn’t been running in weeks, and it showed. But after watching the time slowly tick by at work, he’d had enough. He needed to know Andrea and the boys were okay. That the man who had abused her was genuinely sorry for what he’d done, and on his way back to San Diego.
But that would have to wait. He’d asked Andrea if she wanted him to stay at the clinic while her and the boys talked to Scotty, but she’d said they’d be okay. She needed time to adjust to seeing her ex-husband. Time to process whatever came from the meeting. And time for her to make sure Andy and Charlie were all right.
He turned right at the fork in the trail and lengthened his stride. If he’d timed his run as well as he thought, he’d return to The Lakeside Inn just before four o’clock. He’d have a quick shower, get changed, and call his parents. If that didn’t distract him from what was happening in town, nothing would.
He ducked under an overhanging branch, almost tripping over a fallen log, before reaching the clearing at the top of the ridge. With gasping breaths, he focused on the stunning scenery below him. This was the Montana of everyone’s dreams. A blue sky stretching into forever, a lake so clear he swore he could see the rocky bottom, and pine, oak, and spruce trees providing refuge for wild animals and a rainbow of color during the year.
Before he’d made his first visit to Montana, Peter had told him to be prepared for a life-changing experience. No one, including his friend, could have known just how life-changing coming here would be. He’d met a woman who was just as stunning as the scenery around him. She took his breath away and made every relationship he’d ever had pale into insignificance.
He’d never felt so protective of anyone. He wanted Andrea, Andy, and Charlie to be safe, loved, and happy. Because, at the end of the day, that’s all that really mattered.
Andrea didn’t know what it was about ice cream, but after the meeting they’d had with Scotty, it was the answer to all their prayers.
Before they’d walked into The Ice Cream Shack, they’d all been too overwhelmed to say much. Even the debrief with Ethan after Scotty left was a somber affair. She’d encouraged Andy and Charlie to talk about how they were feeling, but they didn’t want to.
It wasn’t until Diana and Gonzo came into the room that they’d become more animated.
“How’s your ice cream, Andy?”
“It’s great.”
She smiled at Charlie. A boysenberry ripple mustache covered his top lip.
“Mine’s good, too,” he said between licks.
It was just as well Diana had taken Gonzo home for a walk. Otherwise, the boys would have insisted he come, too. “I still think vanilla is the best flavor.”
The boys groaned. They were always trying different combinations and different flavors, teasing her with what she was missing.
When they’d first arrived in Sapphire Bay, they didn’t have any money. It wasn’t until she started working part-time that they’d been able to treat themselves to an ice cream each week. It was something special they did together—a celebration of how far they’d come and a chance to escape from the reality of why they were here.
Charlie stopped licking and looked at Andrea. “Dad was different.”
“In what way?”
