“I always enjoy spending time with my son. That’s not the issue. Come on, Lenore. We’re divorced. But we do have to work together to raise our son. It’s important that we can trust each other to be honest about what’s going on.”
“I trust you.”
“And I’m glad for that. But when you do stuff like this, you’re telling me thatIcan’t trustyou.”
She made a soft, sad little sound. “It’s not like Imeantto flip that breaker.”
No way could he let that stand. “Lenore, you flippedallthe breakers, and we both know you did it on purpose.”
She sniffled, a sad and lonely little sound. “Think what you want.”
He just didn’t get why she had to play these pointless games with him. She was an excellent mom and a capable person overall. No, their marriage hadn’t worked out. But she had a wonderful little boy and a good job working remotely as an insurance adjuster.
He tried one more time to get her to admit that she’d invented an emergency so he would come over. “Lenore. We both know what you did.”
“Oh, please! Why do you have to be so confrontational? We had such a nice evening, and now you’re just begging for a big argument.”
He opened his mouth to reply—and realized that whateverhe said next would not be leading anywhere good. He should have checked the damn breaker box when he walked in the house. Or not come over here in the first place. Or…
Who knew? He sure didn’t. Bottom line, he still hadn’t managed to set effective boundaries with Lenore. And he wasn’t going to fix this problem tonight.
“Listen,” he said. “There’s no point in continuing this conversation. I’m going to go.”
Now she looked stricken. “Oh, right. I see your game, Josh. You jump all over me, and when I push back, you shut me out…”
“Good night, Lenore.” He turned on his heel and started walking. At least she didn’t try to stop him. He went out the front door, climbed into his truck and headed for home.
* * *
The next morning, Riley picked up Dillon from Annette’s house. Her mother-in-law greeted her with a beautiful smile and a hug.
They were close, Riley and Annette, family in the truest sense of the word. There was only the three them—Annette, Dillon and Riley. Also, Riley and Annette were partners, co-owners of the Statesman Hotel.
“Coffee?” Annette asked.
“I would love some, but—”
“I know, I know. You have to get moving.” Annette called for Dillon, and he came running. “See you in a few—and how about a hug, young man?” She dropped to a crouch, and Dillon wrapped his little arms around her neck.
Then Riley hustled him to the car, and off they went to Bright Beginnings Daycare. When they got there, Lenore was just dropping off Shane.
The four of them walked in together, the boys in the lead, swinging their lunch boxes, laughing and chatteringto each other about their plans for the day. Riley and Lenore talked about Shane’s birthday party at Lenore’s house a week from tomorrow.
“Dillon can’t wait,” Riley said. “What can I bring—aside from Dillon and his special present for the birthday boy?”
“Thanks for offering to give me a hand,” Lenore said with a quick, bright smile. “But I’ve got the situation under control.”
“Call me if there’s anything…”
“Thanks, Riley. I will.”
Riley almost asked if the power was back on at Lenore’s house but thought better of it. Lenore might ask how she knew about that, and then Riley would have to decide how much to say.
This was the problem with having a secret lover—especially if said lover’s ex-wife still had a possessive streak when it came to the man she was no longer married to. These days, with Lenore, it was just safer to keep conversations pleasant and vague.
At the hotel, Riley did her morning review. She made the rounds, checking that every area was up to standard, starting with the lobby and its intricately etched windows, lustrous silk curtains, antique furniture and a beautiful collection of frontier-era antiques. She made sure that all of the staff was on shift, that her employees were feeling well and ready for the day ahead.
Next, she met with Annette briefly, and then together they held the daily meeting with their department heads. After that, she made the rounds again, spending extra time in the lobby to greet guests and be the face of the Statesman Hotel.
