Page 23 of Coastal Reflections

It was too late, however. With a smoothness that suggested he’d known they were there all along, Clark turned in their direction and offered them a bland smile.

“Well, well,” he said. “Audrey and Michelle! Fancy meeting the two of you here.”

Audrey felt her stomach drop, and her brain buzzed. She didn’t feel as though she was in danger of crying, at least for the moment, and that was a mercy, but her emotions felt as scattered as the contents of a shopping cart that had been pushed over. She didn’t know whether she felt angry or nervous or sad or embarrassed. The only thing she knew for sure was that she felt nauseous.

Michelle squeezed Audrey’s arm, ignoring Clark completely. “I think we should go, Mom,” she said. “Let’s just get out of here.”

Audrey shook her head, finding that it was difficult to speak. “It’s okay. Just because I’m here doesn’t mean you can’t say hi to your dad. You have every right to see your father.”

Clark smiled and half-opened his arms as if for a hug in a way that he might have meant as casual, but which came off as mocking. Michelle frowned, her nose wrinkling.

“I have no reason to associate with a man who would be unfaithful to my mother,” she said, her consonants crisp and emphatic.

Clark shrugged off Michelle’s comment as if choosing to ignore it. Instead, he gestured to his girlfriend as if she was a blue ribbon that he’d won at the fair. “Have you met Molly?”

Molly tossed her straight blonde hair and waved in a manner that was far more condescending than friendly.

“I remember hearing about her,” Audrey said dryly. “I believe the police informed me of her name when they finally located you, Clark.”

“I remember her,” Michelle said icily. “She went to high school with me. She used to take things that didn’t belong to her back then too. But she’s really got some nerve showing up on my father’s arm in my mother’s hometown.”

Audrey nudged Michelle gently. Although she was glad that Michelle was coming to her defense, she wanted them to take the high road. Being cruel to Molly wasn’t on her agenda, not ever. “This isn’t the time, Michelle,” she said under her breath. “You’re right, we should just turn around and go home.”

“Are you afraid of the truth, Audrey?” Clark asked her, his tone slightly mocking. “You owe me what I came to collect and I have every right to be here, and so does Molly, since she’s my partner. It’s your problem if you’re unhappy with my current life, not mine.”

Audrey shook her head, thinking to herself that she was incredibly lucky that circumstances had pulled her away from this unbelievably selfish man. “I would never want you back in my life, Clark, so I’m not jealous. I have no interest in being with a man who deserted his family and broke his promises.”

“I second that,” Michelle said, speaking up before Clark had a chance to retort. “We don’t owe you a single thing, Dad. Not a single thing. You owed us a lot and you betrayed us, so all bets are off. I don’t have any loyalty to you anymore.”

Michelle wrapped an arm around her mother and quickly and skillfully turned them and the cart around. They walked away together, and even though Audrey was tempted to turn around and look at Clark again, she didn’t.

Once they were at the front of the market, Michelle finally slowed down her pace and Audrey did the same.

“Are you okay, Mom?” Michelle asked. Her lips were pressed together in concern.

“I just don’t understand why on earth he had to come here,” Audrey said, her voice barely above a whisper. She glanced over her shoulder to make sure that Clark wasn’t following them. She wouldn’t put it past him to do something like that—he seemed intent on always having the upper hand. Following her would be a power move, and one that he was likely to consider. She had a feeling that the only reason why he hadn’t followed them was because Molly didn’t want him to.

Michelle shook her head. “He’s a spiteful man. I saw glimpses of it here and there when I got older, but I always brushed them off and didn’t let myself think too much of it. Now his true colors are out in the open, and I have to say, I’m not a fan. I think he’s trying to make you jealous, Mom. He probably misses you, in his own twisted way, and he wants to feel like you miss him too.”

Audrey grimaced, feeling disgusted and reflecting that her daughter was probably right. “There is no chance of me being jealous. I feel hurt, definitely, but not jealous. Evan is twice the man Clark ever was.”

“Definitely.” Michelle grinned at her. “Let’s get checked out and get the heck out of here. You deserve a cup of tea and a nice relaxing date with a book.”

“Sounds heavenly.” Audrey smiled weakly. “I think I’ll do just that.”

And, she thought to herself, I’m going to call my boyfriend. Talking with Evan always makes me feel better, and I know today that’s really going to be the case.

She took a deep breath, reminding herself that she could face the trial she was going through, and that she was brave enough to handle it. She was going to put Clark completely out of her mind for the rest of the day and do her best to relax and have a pleasant afternoon.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Elaine strode down the upstairs hallway of The Birchwood House with a stack of neatly folded blankets in her arms. She inhaled, enjoying the way the blankets smelled faintly of roses and lavender.

They kept a stock of extra blankets in a wardrobe at the end of the hallway, in case guests ever became chilly in the old house. They had it well-heated, but it was still drafty in places. Guests seemed to love the idea of being able to pick out extra blankets from the wardrobe, and one time she had even gone into a room to tidy up and found that the children staying there had made a blanket fort between the bed and an armchair.

Elaine chuckled at the memory as she tucked the blankets inside the wardrobe.

It’s so fun living here, she thought. I can’t wait until these troubles we’re facing have passed and we can get back to simply enjoying the life we’ve made for ourselves.