She takes a sharp intake of breath and her head snaps back in shock. “How dare you!” Her overstretched face grows pale. “What gives you the right to speak to me with such disrespect in my own house?”
“I’m sorry if you don’t like what I said, but the things you said to me years ago hurt me for a very long time. We don’t have to pretend to like each other. You’re Alex’s mom and I will tolerate you to the extent that you tolerate me.”
I love that this is taking her by surprise. For the first time, she’s the one who can’t find the words.
She walks over to a padded bench next to the stairs and sinks down. Clasping her hands in her lap, she stares straight ahead, then finally looks back at me. “You’re right, I don’t like you. And that will never change. You destroyed my son’s life and reputation. Alex was in jail because of you.”
“How could you say something like that?”
“Well, if you hadn’t gotten yourself pregnant and my son hadn’t had to go away, he would not have ended up in a situation like that. He would’ve had a better life than working as a janitor in a local town school to support you.”
“If that’s how you feel, I feel sad for you. What happened has nothing to do with me.”
Her gaze moves from my face to my stomach. “Do you remember the offer I made you fifteen years ago?”
“How could I forget? You offered me ten thousand dollars to leave Alex. That was a lot of money for a poor girl like me.”
“I’m offering you the same amount again.” She holds my gaze. “You will give birth to the child, then you’ll leave. As long as you’re in my son’s life, he will remain ruined. So will my grandchild.”
“You’re a very sick woman to think that Iwould let you pay me money to leave behind my own child and my husband.” My voice is trembling with rage.
“And you’re a stupid little ingrate if you don’t take the money and start over somewhere far away from us. I’d have preferred for my grandchild to be from a respectable family, but I’ll have to make do.”
“Get out.” I point to the door with a shaking hand. “If you don’t, I’ll tell Alexwhat you just said to me.”
“Don’t be stupid. If you breathe a word to Alex, you will live to regret it.” She stands up from the bench and smooths down her designer clothes. “Think about my offer. We can talk about it once the child is born.”
When Alex comes home, I don’t tell him what his mother told me. I keep my pain tucked away in a dark corner of my heart.
But Marcy can go to hell. She’ll never get what she wants. And I’ll do everything in my power to try to convince Alex that we should leave the ranch before the baby is born.
Chapter 16
My phone rings in the middle of the night. Groggy with sleep, I reach for it on the nightstand, before realizing it’s not mine that’s ringing. It’s Alex’s on the other side of the bed.
Who would call at this time? It’s one in the morning.
Alex groans and picks up the phone, pressing it to his ear while he rubs his eyes with his free hand.
After a short conversation, he hangs up and flicks on the night light.
He sits up in bed and continues to stare at the phone as if it has questions he wants answered.
“Baby, is everything all right?” I ask.
He nods his head and slides to the edge of the bed. His body slumps forward and his head drops into his hands.
Fear stabs me as my sleepy mind tries to figure out what’s going on.
What if he got news that he has to go back to jail? What if the court decided there has been a mistake? What if they found more evidence that would send him to prison for good?
I lay a hand on his back, afraid to ask, afraid of the answers.
I’m already imagining cops stirring up clouds of dust as they make their way to the ranch, coming to arrest him, to take him away from me again.
I can hardly breathe as I wait for him to speak. I’m afraid to be the first one to break the fragile bubble that’s still protecting us.
Finally, he looks up with sparkling eyes. “That was my lawyer,” he whispers. “The police found the person they believe is the real murderer. An arrest has been made.”
