Page 52 of Don’t Open Your Eyes

She took a sip of her wine. “It’s not exactly a hardship. It’s so beautiful here.”

“Still, I’m sure it wasn’t easy to line up help. You mentioned when we had lunch that you have two daughters.”

She nodded. “I was going to ask my mother-in-law to come and stay at the house, but my husband was able to juggle his schedule a bit. Plus, we have a part-time nanny.” His bringing up the girls made her think of the ski trip again. The pit in her stomach grew.

Chase gave her a concerned look. “Is everything all right?”

“My daughter is going skiing over the weekend, and I’m a bit nervous about it.”

“Oh? Has she ever been before? Are you afraid she’ll get hurt?”

Annabelle didn’t know if it was because she’d dreamt of Chase, but it felt like he was someone she knew well, someone she could confide in. “Yeah, I guess. It’s been a stressful few weeks. Some issues with my one daughter at school. Anyway.” She sighed. “Maybe I’m being overprotective.”

“I can understand why you’d feel that way. Especially being so far away. We do everything in our power to protect our kids, when the reality is, we have far less control than we think. But I’m sure she’ll be fine.”

She nodded. “You’re right about that. I feel so powerless. But she was hell-bent on going, so whether I’m here or back home, there’s not much I can do about it now. But enough about me. Tell me about your family. You have a son, right?”

His face lit up. “Yes, a great kid. A high school sophomore already. The time has flown.”

“He’s your only child?”

A look passed over his face that Annabelle couldn’t discern, but he seemed sad. “Yeah.”

Something told her not to press it. “Well, you’re right about time passing so quickly. I feel like I blinked and they morphed from babies into little girls, and now I’ve got a teenager. Not loving the sass.”

Chase laughed. “I get it. Are your daughters close?”

“Hmm, yes and no. They love each other, of course, but Scarlett’s going through this stage where everything her sister says or does, she thinks is babyish. But Olivia adores her, and Olivia’s my sunshine child. Nothing seems to get her down. They’re both wonderful in their own ways.”

“They’re lucky to have such a great mom,” he said.

She smiled. “Thanks. Not sure Scarlett would agree right now, but in all seriousness, we do enjoy our family life. It’s just going a lot faster than I imagined.”

“It does fly. I try to spend as much time as I can with Lucas. Course now that he’s in high school, he doesn’t want me around as much. But we’re still close. Tara, my wife, thinks I dote on him too much, but I keep reminding her that he’ll be off to college before we know it.”

“My husband accuses me of the same thing. Says I let the kids get away with too much. I suppose it’s good, though, that balance between the parents. Otherwise, the kids would get away with murder.”

Chase nodded, but the expression on his face led her to believe that things might not be great between him and his wife. Before veering off into dangerous territory, she moved the conversation to a discussion of the conference tomorrow and what they wanted to accomplish. By the time they finished dinner, Annabelle felt even more at ease with him. Despite it being only a little past nine, it was close to midnight in her internal clock, and she suddenly felt exhausted. They walked back to their rooms.

“Thanks again for coming. I feel bad for pulling you away from your family over the weekend, but I’m glad to have you here.”

She smiled at him. She still felt anxious about being so far away, but there was no need to make Chase feel bad. “It’s fine. Maybe a change of scenery will do me good.”

“Good night, then,” he said, and went into his room.

Annabelle got undressed and plugged her phone into the charger. She noticed she had a text from James wishing her good night with a heart emoji. Her hand hovered over the phone, ready to answer, but she was still pissed at him. Regardless of whether or not she was overreacting, he had done the wrong thing by overruling her. And she still couldn’t shake the feeling that something bad was going to happen, but she prayed she was wrong. The more she thought about the way he kept insisting she talk to a therapist like something was wrong with her, the angrier she got. Why couldn’t he listen and be supportive, like Chase? It was the first time in her marriage that she was comparing James to another man. And he didn’t compare favorably. Her text tone sounded again. Chase.

Chase: Thanks for a great night and for coming with me. Sweet dreams

She hesitated for a moment and then she began to type.

Annabelle: Thanks for listening and not making me feel silly for worrying

Chase: My pleasure. xx

She put the phone on the nightstand and turned out the light, a smile on her face.

Annabelle