“Yes,” Nora almost shouted, exasperated. “Get a clue. My dad went missing last night and then spent most of the day in the hospital. The last thing I want to talk or think about is that stupid idea of yours.”
“Nora,” David said.
She didn’t care. Enough was enough. Her gaze fixated on Jane. “You’ve told me many times what a beautiful family I have, so why in the world would I want to leave them to run off and be an ambassador for your company while you cozy up to my husband and buy my children ridiculously expensive gifts?”
Jane’s eyes watered.
The woman deserved an Oscar.
“Mom. Stop it.”
Nora glanced over her shoulder at Hailey, who stood beneath the archway leading from the family room to the kitchen.
David came forward, most likely in hopes of saving Nora from herself. “Come on,” he said, turning her about-face. “You’ve had a long day. Why don’t you take a shower and get comfortable. I’ll make you some soup.”
Nora wriggled free, turned back around, and walked to the stove to see if anything was cooking. “Is that what Jane made us for dinner tonight? Soup? I don’t see anything here. No pan-seared scallops or roasted eggplant?”
Jane lifted her purse from the table. “I’m sorry, Nora. I didn’t mean to cause you more stress by coming tonight.”
Nora tilted her head to one side. “Are you sure about that?”
“Mom! She’s only been trying to help out while you were away.” Hailey was huddled close to Jane as she ushered her from the kitchen.
David followed.
Nora waited until she heard the door open before she left the kitchen and headed up the stairs, her stomach twisting on the way to her bedroom. She felt guilty, and that made her even angrier as she entered her room and tossed her purse on the bed. She pulled the sweatshirt she’d thrown on this morning up and over her head.
A moment later, she heard footsteps approaching. It was David. Her husband was a nice man with a kind heart, making it easy for people to push him around. But how far would he go when it came to being manipulated?
“I’m sorry to have caused a scene,” she told him when he entered the room, “but I’m done.”
“What do you mean, you’re ‘done’？”
“I’m going to quit my job. I’ll give Jane notice tomorrow.”
“She’s only trying to—”
“Stop. Please. Every time I turn around, Jane is right there in my face, playing innocent while she cozies up to all of you. I can’t do it anymore.”
David rubbed his temple as if she were being unreasonable. Nora didn’t care. She plopped down on the edge of the bed and pulled off her shoes and socks. She was tired of Jane making her look like the jealous wife. She’d always been confident and sure of herself, but lately she felt herself morphing into someone else.
“Where’s Richard?” Nora asked David, since he was still standing there. “There’s no way he works every damn minute of the day and night. Maybe if she put as much effort into her relationship as she does our family, she would be happily married with children by now.”
“She can’t have kids.”
“I know. She told me as much. But she could adopt.” Nora paused. When Jane had taken Nora and David to dinner, she hadn’t mentioned her inability to have children. It was a rather intimate and personal issue, come to think of it. “When did she tell you she couldn’t have children?”
“At the barbecue. She mentioned being raised by her aunt and uncle after a tragic accident took away her dreams of someday having children of her own.”
Nora put her shoes in the closet, then turned to face David. Jane had told her she couldn’t have children and that her aunt and uncle were abusive, but she hadn’t said anything about an accident. “Did she give you more details . . . you know . . . about the accident?”
“No. Why?”
“I don’t know . . . I’m just not sure I trust her or believe everything she tells me.”
“Because of one person at a trade show in Paris?”
“No. Of course not. It’s more than that. I’ve tried to get her to open up, and she did tell me her aunt and uncle were abusive and that she couldn’t have children, but telling my friends, people she’d never met, seems strange to me.”
“Nobody else was around when she mentioned the accident.”
“Oh. I see. Obviously she trusts you and feels close to you,” Nora said. “And I’m not sure how I feel about that. She’s always touching you . . . resting her hand on your arm . . . maybe it’s just harmless flirting on her part. But it doesn’t matter because it makes me uncomfortable.”
David stepped forward, his arms outstretched.
Nora didn’t move. “Aren’t you tired of this?” She waggled her hand between him and her. “Always talking about Jane. Jane this . . . Jane that. Maybe she really is lonely. Maybe everything she has done started with good intentions, but it doesn’t matter because like I said, I’m done. I’m quitting my job.”
David exhaled.
“I think we should sell this place and move to the house in Whispering Pines.”
His eyebrows curved upward. “Where would your mom and dad live?”
“In the cottage. Mom has already made up her mind. She said it would be easier for her to watch over Dad. We could fix up the main house, remodel the kitchen, spend time with the kids before Hailey goes off to college.”
He said nothing, the expression on his face unreadable.
“You always used to talk about living in Whispering Pines someday, taking the boat out and spending the weekends fishing and hiking.”
“Someday, yes. When we’re older, ready to sit in our rockers and sip lemonade.”
“My parents have always been there for me, David. I want to be there for them as well. They need me.” She released a long breath. “I was thinking I could start my own consulting business and work from home. The house in Whispering Pines is paid for, and it has enough rooms for us each to set up an office. We could sell this house and put the money to work in our retirement account.”
David raked his fingers through his hair. “This is a lot to take in. I need time to think about it.”
“Take as much time as you need, but I promised Mom I would help her move from the main house to the cottage this week.”
“You know I’m not going to let you do it all on your own.”
“Thanks.” She closed the distance between them and kissed him on the cheek. “I thought we could pack a few things and spend the holidays there, get a feel for the house and the town.”
“Might be fun,” he said. “It’s getting late. You better get in the shower. I’ll lock the doors.”
She walked into the bathroom and turned on the hot water.
The moment Nora stepped into the shower and the water hit the top of her head, drizzling down her face and body, she was flooded with relief. Her mind was made up. As far as moving to Whispering Pines, David would come around. For the first time in months, she felt a thousand pounds lighter.
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
Nora arrived at work fifteen minutes early. Exhilarated, she pushed through the double doors; passed by multiple desks, nodding at the employees who said good morning; and headed straight to Jane’s office. She knocked before opening the door and stepping inside. “Do you have a minute?”