A flash of intense heat shot through Nora’s body. After Jane’s initial blow about David escorting her to an event, Nora thought she was ready for anything else Jane tossed her way, but she’d been wrong. Nora had already decided she would drive the kids back and forth, let them finish the year out. But she was done explaining her life plans to Jane. “Hailey doesn’t have a boyfriend. Unless you’re talking about Alex. If that’s the case, they’re just friends.”
Jane made a face. “I hate to be the one to break it to you, but the first time I met him was when I picked Hailey up from cheer. They were swapping spit, which tells me she likes him. His name is Alex Flores. Look him up on Facebook. Cute kid.”
Nora felt the blood rush from her toes to her neck as she placed her hands on the armrests, ready to push herself to her feet. She didn’t bother to tell her that she’d already met Alex. “I think this conversation is over.”
“You’re getting angry with the wrong person.”
“I’m not angry. Taken aback, perhaps disappointed, but not angry.”
Jane’s smile bordered on nefarious. “You wear your emotions on your sleeve. You’re furious, Nora. And if you were honest with yourself and with me, you would tell me the real reason you brought me this.” Jane picked up the envelope Nora had placed on her desk and waggled it in the air.
“I thought you got a big enough dose of the truth last night?” Nora asked.
“Get it all out,” Jane said.
“Okay, then. I don’t appreciate you spoiling my kids or stopping by unannounced and uninvited. I certainly don’t approve of your treating my husband as your own personal escort.” She thought of the time Jane had picked Hailey up from cheer and taken her shopping. “And I really think you should stop acting like one of my teenage daughter’s best friends and perhaps find people your own age to hang out with.”
Jane held her gaze. “Anything else?”
“That’s it.” Nora kept her gaze fixed on Jane’s. “I’m going to go to my office and write a farewell email to my clients. If you want me to help find a replacement, I’ll get that started as well.” Nora stood and headed for the door.
“Please,” Jane begged. “Don’t quit. We need you here. I need you here.”
Nora shook her head. “I’m sorry.”
“There’s a house for sale not too far from here,” Jane was saying when Nora reached the door. “Close to the city and yet surprisingly secluded. I think your parents would love it. It has everything they could possibly need, including a lovely pond. It’s off Cyprus Lane. Why don’t you and David take a quick drive and have a look? I could buy it for them.”
Nora gave her an incredulous look from across the room.
“As a bonus for all the work you’ve done around here.”
Nora had no words.
“I could find one of those places that delivers home-cooked meals to the house. Maybe a house cleaner to keep the place tidy. Anything you need, Nora. Anything at all. Name it and it’s yours.”
Jane had to be crazy. Looney-tune crazy. “Why are you so set on having me stay?”
“Because you and David and the kids are like family, and I can’t bear the thought of your leaving me.”
Nora’s hand rested on the door handle as her gaze remained fixated on Jane, stunned by Jane’s inability to let her go, acting as if Nora had not just turned in her letter of resignation and firmly told Jane to stay away from her family. Nora said nothing as she opened the door and headed out, the words fearless, unwavering, and ferocious swirling about her head.
“Think about it,” she heard Jane call out as she walked away.
Instead of feeling shaky and discombobulated, Nora felt emboldened, more determined than ever to sell the house and move to Whispering Pines to help Mom and spend time with her kids and husband. Her main worry was figuring out the best way to break the news to her family.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Nora arrived home before the kids returned from school.
David was in the kitchen fixing a snack. “You’re home early.”
She set a bag of groceries she’d picked up on the counter. “I quit my job.”
“I thought we were going to discuss it further.”
“I can’t work for Jane and keep my sanity.” She sighed. “I want to move to Whispering Pines, and I’d like it if you back me up when I tell the kids.”
“I’m a little taken aback.”
She tilted her head to one side. “I know the feeling. That’s exactly how I felt when Jane told me you had put on your tux and escorted her to a black-and-white affair.”
He released a long exhale. “Because I knew you wouldn’t be happy about it.”
“So lying to me makes it all better?”
“I didn’t lie. I just didn’t mention it. It was a last-minute dinner that Richard couldn’t attend. I was just a fill-in.”
“And yet you didn’t tell me.” Nora’s insides were roiling. Frustration bordering on anger made it difficult to stay calm. She felt betrayed by her husband. Which was exactly what Jane had intended, wasn’t it? She pulled produce from the paper bag and set it on the counter before she met his gaze. “Our marriage used to be based on truth. Our family is falling apart. Am I the only one who sees that? If we don’t do something to change things, there’s no telling what might happen to our family . . . to us.”
“I’ve seen that you’re stressed out. Hell, we all see that. But I’ve never doubted us, not for one second. I didn’t tell you about escorting Jane because I didn’t want to add any more stress to your life. I’m afraid that you’re making big, life-changing decisions based on feelings you have for Jane, a woman you haven’t known very long. I don’t think she’s the devil incarnate you think she is.”
Nora knew, way deep down, that he might be right. She didn’t have any concrete evidence to prove to anyone at all that Jane was anything but a kind and lonely person who was trying way too hard to get her family to like her. Yes, Jane had made some bad decisions when it came to Nora’s kids. And Jane should have told Nora about her plan to ask David to the award ceremony. But none of that mattered because Nora had made up her mind. “I called the high school in Whispering Pines, and there’s plenty of room for both kids next year. The administrative office told me they would be happy to set up a tour for all of us this weekend. Hailey and Trevor are going to love it.”
David said nothing.
“As far as the lake house goes, you can use the room with the view as your office. I’ll take the extra room connected to the main bedroom. I need to get away from here, but I also need you on board. Can’t we at least give it a shot?” Nora reached out and touched his arm. “If after a few months, everyone is miserable, we can move somewhere else, wherever you want to go.”
He shook his head. “Don’t make promises you can’t keep, Nora. You would never move far from your parents. We both know that.”
It was true. She was betting on Whispering Pines, hoping it would solve most, if not all, of their problems. But in the back of her mind, she knew there was a possibility her plan could backfire, and she could lose everything she was fighting so hard to keep. His silence worried her. What if he told her he wanted to keep the house and stay in Sacramento . . . what would she do?