Such a Beautiful Family: A Thriller(39)

CHAPTER TWENTY

That same evening, as Nora made a salad to go with the pizza she’d picked up on her way home, she couldn’t stop thinking about Jane’s ridiculous new job offer. They were a software company. They made a product to help companies run their businesses more effectively. She shook her head. What exactly was Jane up to?

Trevor walked into the kitchen. “What’s for dinner?”

“Pizza and salad.”

“Cool.”

“Do you know where Hailey is?” Nora asked. Last she’d heard, Hailey was going to be dropped off by one of the cheer team’s mothers.

Trevor pulled his phone from his pocket. “I’ll text her.”

Before he could send the message, the front door opened and closed. Nora walked over to see who it was and saw Hailey zip past, rushing up the stairs, something wrapped tightly within her hooded sweatshirt. “Hailey!” she called. “Dinner is ready!” Nora was halfway up the stairs when Hailey told her she was going to change her clothes and then she’d be right down.

David came out of his office on the bottom floor. “Did I hear something about dinner?” He sniffed the air. “Smells good.”

“Pizza and salad. Tomorrow night, you’re on for spaghetti.”

Trevor laughed, prompting David to point at him. “You’re helping me, buddy.”

They were all sitting at the table eating when Hailey finally joined them. She had taken a shower, and her hair was still wet. Since her daughter had been born, Nora had always thought she was beautiful. She had big, expressive brown eyes that came from David’s side of the family.

Nora considered asking Hailey what she’d been hiding when she rushed up the stairs but thought it best to talk to her later when they were alone. She didn’t want to ruin the mood. “How was cheer practice?” she asked instead.

“It was fine,” she answered without looking up from her phone.

“Who drove you home?”

“Sarah’s mom.”

“Could you please turn off your phone while we eat?”

Hailey huffed. “It’s pizza,” she said, as if that didn’t count as an official dinner.

Trevor laughed. “It’s the best dinner we’ve had in more than a week.”

Nora felt ridiculously proud.

“Tell us more about your trip,” David suggested.

“Besides the Louvre,” Nora said, “I was stuck inside the hotel most of the time. But there’s so much I do want to see when we go back someday.”

“I want to go to Ukraine,” Trevor said.

Hailey laughed. “Why?”

“That’s where the most advanced software development is.”

“You are such a dork,” she told her brother.

David and Nora shared a smile.

“How about you, Hailey?” Nora asked. “Where do you want to go?”

“I’d love to go to the Fab Forties across town and live with Jane for a week.”

Trevor wrinkled his nose. “Seriously? Out of all the places in the world, that’s where you would go? What would you do all day?”

“Shop and then go for a massage or a mani-pedi . . . duh.”

“Why don’t we go for a mani-pedi this weekend?” Nora offered.

Hailey shifted in her seat. “I’m going to Erin’s house on Saturday, and then we have practice on Sunday.”

“Okay,” Nora said. “Some other time, then.”

It was after 9:00 p.m. when Nora finally headed upstairs. She stopped outside Hailey’s bedroom door on her way to her room. Before entering, she heard Hailey say, “Thanks, Jane. You’re the best.” When she opened the door, she saw Hailey sitting cross-legged on her bed, her cell pressed to her ear. “I gotta go,” Hailey said before hanging up.

“Who was that?”

“Erin.”

Disappointment bubbled inside Nora.

“What?”

“It was Jane, wasn’t it?”

Hailey’s eyes narrowed. “What? You stand outside my room with your ear pressed against my door?”

Nora refused to argue with a fifteen-year-old. “It was Jane who dropped you off, wasn’t it?”

“You probably already made a few phone calls and know the answer, so why ask me?”

“Because I want to see if you’re going to keep lying to me.”

“Yes. Jane dropped me off.”

“What was wrapped in your sweatshirt when you got home?”

“Nothing.”

When Nora headed for her closet, Hailey jumped off the bed. “Mom! Stop! Your birthday is five days after mine, and we went shopping for your gift. Go ahead,” Hailey said. “Go to the closet and see for yourself and save me the time it will take to wrap it.”

Nora stopped just outside Hailey’s closet. Her shoulders sank. Not because she felt foolish but because she still didn’t believe her daughter, and that made her sad. She reached out and slid the mirrored closet door open.

“I can’t believe it. You don’t believe me.”

Nora ignored her. In the corner was the sweatshirt, still wrapped in a tight ball. She pulled it out and unraveled it. It was a Gucci purse she had admired and pointed out to Hailey when they were shopping in Hawaii. But it was way too expensive, and she never would have asked anyone to buy it for her.