Baby Doll(41)

“Don’t do that. Please. I’ve made some horrible mistakes, but you strayed in our marriage too. And I forgave you.”

“You’re not serious. That meant nothing. You were gone all the time, and I was… It was one night, and I told you all about it. But this… this can’t compare. The things you’re accused of doing. They’re despicable.”

Shit. He’d gone too far on that one. He backpedaled. “You’re right. I’m making excuses. I love you. Since I saw you that first day on campus, I’ve loved you.”

He saw how much she wanted to believe him, to believe in the life they’d built. He went in for the kill. “I still want everything we dreamt of. I still want us to have children. Missy, I know we could have that life, but I can’t do it without you.”

He saw her wavering.

“I can prove to you that the girl isn’t entirely innocent in all of this. I have proof. I can show you, but you have to stand by me, you have to see me through this.”

She stared at him, her eyes brimming with tears. “I have to go.”

Rick reared back, shocked by her response. “Missy, wait! Please!”

But she hung up the phone and made her way out. He banged on the window.

“Missy. Don’t abandon me. Missy! Missy, please… don’t leave me, Missy. I need you.”

He pounded on the window until she was gone, the guards dragging him back toward his cell. Rick couldn’t believe that bitch wouldn’t listen to him, that she wasn’t going to help him. He really should have killed her. He shook with annoyance, already forgetting Missy and her dim-witted ways. Come on, Rick. Be smart, he told himself. All he needed to do was regroup and figure out a plan. Everything would be just fine…





CHAPTER TWENTY


EVE


Eve couldn’t quite grasp how quickly her joy, her relief at Lily’s return, had turned to despair. It wasn’t Lily’s reaction to the news about Wes that concerned Eve. It was her lack of one. Lily’s expression never changed, but her eyes flickered with pain. Before Eve could say a word, before anyone could explain, Lily had rushed upstairs. There was a time when she would have followed Lily. She would have made certain that everything was okay, but something stopped Eve. As difficult as it was to accept, Lily didn’t want her right now. She wanted space, and Eve was going to respect her wishes. She also had Abby to think about. Since Wes had left, Abby hadn’t moved from the sofa, her expression one of pure concentration as if she were trying to solve a mathematical problem that had no answer. Eve could feel the tension creeping up her shoulders.

“She’s going to be okay, Evie. You all are,” her mother said, gently patting her shoulder. Her father had a different opinion.

“Phone the doctor, Eve. Tell her that Lily’s in trouble. This is all too much too soon. She’ll be better off at the hospital.”

“Daddy, stop it. You heard what Lily said. Let’s give her some time.”

“Eve, I think—”

“Daddy, this isn’t a discussion.”

His face grew red. The older her parents got, the more sensitive they were. Not to mention her father, a CEO of a medical supply company for thirty-six years, was a man used to getting his way. He mumbled angrily under his breath. “Well, maybe we shouldn’t be here.”

Eve wasn’t going to do this. Not now. “Maybe you shouldn’t be.”

“Now, you listen here, young lady, we came all this way to help…”

“I didn’t ask you to.”

She hadn’t. In fact, she’d told them not to come. She knew they would all need time to figure out what had happened, to reconnect with just the three of them, but her father never took no for an answer.

“I’m not going to let you ignore warning signs while your daughters fall apart,” he said.

Eve felt her anger bubbling up. “You think I’m going to let them fall apart? I’m not letting anything fall apart. But this is my house. My family. I’m going to handle this my way. And if that’s not acceptable to you, maybe you should just go home.”

“So, you’re kicking us out?” her father asked, his eyes squinting with anger.

“I’m asking you to respect where we’re at.”

There was a moment of silence, and then her father stormed out of the room in a huff. Dave’s mom moved over to Eve, clutching her arm.

“Don’t mind him. You’re right. We shouldn’t have come, but I had to see our girl again. I’ll come back once you’ve been able to deal with all of this. And listen, I know you’re tempted to give everything you have to the girls, but take care of yourself too.”

Eve held on tightly to Meme. “You do the same.”

Meme turned and headed upstairs. Eve braced herself for a confrontation with her mother, but she surprised Eve.

“Our girls are together. They’re safe and you’re all together. That’s what matters. I’ll handle your father. The old goat just hates it when he’s not in control,” she said.

Eve could hear her father on the phone with his travel agent, demanding a flight out first thing in the morning. Normally, Eve was the peacemaker. She hated when her father was upset, and she’d do anything to fix things. But tonight, she didn’t care about his feelings. She was exhausted. She sank onto the sofa beside Abby, knowing they needed to talk about Wes and how she’d treated him.