At some point, her thoughts turned to Jane and what a surprise it had been to realize she enjoyed her company. Since their night out in San Francisco, Nora and David had shaken their heads at the thought of Jane wrestling with the purse snatcher. They might have laughed at Nora pulling the purse snatcher’s hair if it hadn’t been so frightening. Nora hadn’t cared about retrieving her purse at the time; she had merely wanted to help Jane. If Nora closed her eyes, she could easily conjure the wild-eyed look on the man’s face after she’d yanked a fistful of his hair.
For a few terrifying seconds, she had worried she might be killed. The thought made her heart race anew. Instead, she focused on how the incident had bonded the four of them. In fact, Nora had invited Jane and Richard to their house next weekend for a barbecue. She had also invited two couples from the neighborhood. David would flip burgers and hot dogs, and if the weather permitted, the kids could swim. Trevor hadn’t entered the water since his frightening experience, but maybe watching the neighbors’ kids having fun in the pool would change things around for him.
She thought about Tank and how Jane hadn’t appeared to like dogs. Maybe it was just that Tank was so big; he could be intimidating. On the other hand, maybe Jane had never been around dogs growing up, and the exposure to Tank would be good for her. All those thoughts left her head the moment she pulled into the driveway and saw Jane’s red BMW parked in the driveway. She glanced at the console. It was six o’clock. She’d left Napa around four, texted David on her way out. He’d texted back letting her know his business meeting had ended early and he was home. But he’d said nothing about Jane being at the house.
Something twisted inside her gut—the same feeling she’d experienced at the exhibit when she’d spotted Jane pressed up close to David. She couldn’t think of one time in her married life that she’d felt this way. Maybe it was because she’d never had any reason to be jealous of David before. Or maybe the challenge of a new job, as enjoyable as it was, was causing her some anxiety.
Pulling up next to Jane’s car, she shut off the engine and sat still for a moment, rubbing the side of her neck, before climbing out and heading for the house. She opened the door. The sound of laughter greeted her as she stepped inside. Something savory wafted her way. Her stomach responded with a low grumble. She found her family sitting at the rustic round table in the kitchen nook, a more intimate setting than the formal dining room. Trevor and Hailey sat across from one another. Same for Jane and David. Every one of them had a smile on their face, even Trevor, who had remained distant since the near drowning. His spark of happiness on his birthday had waned quickly afterward.
Sadness washed over her, along with a sense of being left out. She was tired, she told herself, which seemed absurd, considering she’d just spent the day at a luxury spa being pampered.
Jane was passing a plate of potatoes across the table when she looked up. Their eyes met.
“Nora,” she said happily.
The rest of her family turned her way.
Hailey brightened. “Mom! How was your day? Your skin looks amazing.”
Nora smiled. “It was . . . good.”
Trevor smiled at her. “Hi, Mom.”
“You don’t have to worry about taking me to SAT prep next week,” her daughter told her. “Jane said she had nothing else to do and could pick me up and take me.”
Nora looked at Jane. They had recently gone over schedules, and Nora knew Jane was busy that day. “I thought you had a—”
Jane cut her off with a wave of her hand. “My meeting was rescheduled. It’s no problem.”
Nora would need to remind Jane that she took pride in taking care of her family’s needs, but she didn’t want to discuss it in front of Hailey. “Who cooked this amazing meal?”
“Jane did,” Hailey said between bites.
Nora looked at David. “Why didn’t you invite Richard over to eat?”
“Nice of you to think of him,” Jane said, “but he works late on Wednesdays giving free dental work to veterans.”
“What a nice guy.”
David stood and told her to take a seat while he grabbed another chair.
Nora felt slighted, considering David had known she planned to make spaghetti. And yet here he was eating steak and potatoes, and he hadn’t bothered setting a place for her.
Not wanting to ruin the good vibes, Nora sat down and let David get another chair. He also brought her a plate and silverware and slid in beside her while she pretended not to be perturbed.
“So tell us about your day,” Jane said. “How was the massage?”
“It was great, very relaxing. Thank you.”
Jane’s head tilted to one side. “Something’s wrong. What happened?”
“Mom doesn’t like massages,” Hailey said. “Whenever we go to Hawaii, Dad gets a massage, but Mom stays with us, since she doesn’t like strangers touching her.”
Jane’s eyes widened. “Is that true? Why didn’t you tell me?”
Nora felt awkward, but the truth was out, and she wasn’t going to keep lying about something so trivial. “I thought it was a lovely gesture, and I decided to give it a shot, see if it could relieve some of the tension I was feeling.”
Jane arched a brow. “Tension?”
“Just the usual anxiety people get when starting a new job.” Nora looked around. “Where’s Tank?”
Trevor frowned. “Jane put him outside.”
Nora had to hold her tongue. Tank was a good dog. He never begged at the table.
Most likely sensing Nora’s distress, Hailey quickly changed the topic. “Jane told us how brave you were the other night.”
“Yeah,” Trevor chimed in. “Pulling on the mugger’s hair was a nice move.”
David filled Nora’s plate with food and placed it in front of her.
“To tell you the truth,” Nora said, “it was scary. I had no idea if the man had a weapon, and I was worried about Jane.”
Hailey rolled her eyes. “She has a black belt, Mom. I don’t think she needed help.”
Nora used a steak knife to cut into her meat. It was juicy and tender but without a hint of pink. The potatoes were crispy and delicious. Nora finally relaxed and enjoyed the meal. They ate while the kids talked about the teachers they liked and didn’t like, and then everyone helped clear the table. Hailey rinsed the dishes, and Nora got the dishwasher started. It was dark by the time Nora walked Jane to her car. “Thank you for the spa day.”
“You’re welcome,” Jane said. “Next time I’ll get you scented candles.”
“No vanilla,” Nora said with a laugh. “Seriously, though, no need to spoil my family or me.”
“It was my pleasure.”
“I don’t mean to sound ungrateful, but I’ll pick up Hailey after school. One of the reasons I accepted your job offer was because of the flexible hours, which give me a chance to see my kids more often. They’re growing so fast, and I don’t want to miss a thing.”
“Oh, I see.” Jane exhaled. “I’m sorry. I don’t mean to keep sticking my nose into your business; it’s just . . . well, I’m so grateful to have you as a friend. I only meant to help. But I’m not doing a very good job of being your friend, am I?”