“Lucy, I love you,” Tom said suddenly, reaching across the table to take her hand. “I want us to be together. Truly together.”
“I love you too, Tom,” Lucy told him with a warm, genuine smile. “I want that as well.” She paused, studying his expression. “But I sense there’s something else weighing on you.” She swallowed nervously. “Is this about Victoria?”
Now it was Tom’s turn to look at her with surprise and confusion. “Victoria?” He shook his head emphatically. “Absolutely not. Victoria and I are completely finished. The only thing connecting us now is her temporarily living in my house until her townhouse in Miami is completed.”
“Oh, I thought...” Lucy shook her head and sighed. “Never mind what I thought.”
“What did you think?” Tom asked, now curious about her concern.
“Victoria came to see me today at the clinic,” Lucy explained with a slight laugh. “She told me to stay away from you. Actually, she thought I was Lacey and told me to tell Lucy to leave you alone.”
“What?” Tom asked, anger flaring through him. “I’m going to have a serious conversation with her about...”
“No, please don’t,” Lucy interrupted, squeezing his hand. “It’s just Victoria being Victoria. I suspect Sienna told her she saw us together last night.”
“That would be typical,” Tom said with a heavy sigh. “I sincerely apologize for my daughter and my ex-wife.”
“You don’t need to apologize for their behavior,” Lucy assured him with understanding. “Let’s not allow them to come between us.”
“Agreed completely,” Tom said, then hesitated. “There is something else you should know, though.” He took a sip of his wine, gathering courage. “It’s about Clive.”
“Is he all right?” Lucy asked with immediate concern, which only made Tom love her more. She never assumed the worst about anyone.
“Physically, he appears to be fine,” Tom said carefully. “But Lucy...” He began playing with her fingers as he held her hand. “Today, when I returned from Lacey’s accident site, I saw Clive leaving Harvey’s auto repair shop.”
“Oh?” Lucy’s eyebrows rose with interest.
“I’m afraid that...” Tom swallowed hard. “That Clive might have been responsible for causing Lacey’s accident.”
“What?” Lucy breathed, clearly shocked.
“I’m not certain,” Tom told her quickly. “In fact, I shouldn’t have mentioned it prematurely because Holt is going to investigate thoroughly, and we absolutely cannot discuss it until we know for sure.”
“So you don’t know definitively if Clive was involved?” Lucy questioned.
“No,” Tom admitted. “But it seems highly coincidental that he has significant front-end vehicle damage at exactly the same time Lacey becomes the victim of a hit-and-run incident.”
Lucy was quiet for several minutes, processing this information before looking up at him with a gentle smile. “Then let’s give him the benefit of the doubt until we know more,” she suggested, and Tom couldn’t believe that this wonderful woman was back in his life. Unlike Victoria, Lucy always saw the glass as half full and believed in people’s basic goodness.
“I love you so much,” Tom said, his voice hoarse with emotion. He stood up and walked around to her side of the table, gently pulling her to her feet.
As his lips moved toward hers, Lucy whispered softly, “No matter what the outcome of this investigation, I love you too, and I would never blame you for your son’s choices.”
His lips met hers, and the world around them simply faded away. Lucy was the most special person he knew, and she was right. They couldn’t let anyone come between them ever again. This was their second chance.
24
JUNE
The morning after Lacey’s accident, June found herself standing outside the veterinary clinic with a handwritten sign that read, “For emergency animal care, please contact Dr. Lucy Tanner at Sandpiper Shores Medical Clinic.” While Lacey hadn’t been seriously injured, the doctors wanted to keep her under observation for two days to monitor her concussion and ensure there were no complications from her dislocated shoulder.
June taped the sign securely to the clinic door, double-checking that it was clearly visible to anyone who might need veterinary services. With that task completed, she walked back to Carmen’s car, feeling a small surge of pride as she settled behind the wheel without the immediate panic that had plagued her for weeks after her own accident.
Her heart was racing for an entirely different reason as she drove toward the police station. Today she would be working with Holt for who knew how long, navigating federal regulations and inter-agency agreements. She took a deep breath and got a grip on herself as she steered the vehicle carefully through town.
She had been driving Carmen’s car for three days now without a major panic attack. Well, there had been a few minor ones, June admitted to herself, but she’d managed to work through them and continue driving. That felt like real progress.
As she approached the police station parking lot and began to turn in, a figure suddenly ran directly in front of her car. June slammed on the brakes, the vehicle skidding to a complete stop as shock coursed through her system. She found herself staring at Holt through the windshield, both of them frozen in what felt like suspended animation.
