Trouble in Mudbug (Ghost-in-Law, #1)(82)

“And after the first year?”

Helena waved one hand in dismissal. “Oh well, then your dad started seeing Mildred, and I could tell straight off how much she loved you. Almost as if you were her own. So I bowed out, knowing you were in great hands.”

Maryse stared at Helena, certain the woman was leaving something out of her story—again. “And you had nothing to do with me after that?”

“Well, not directly,” Helena hedged. She waited for a couple of seconds, obviously hoping Maryse was going to go off on another subject, but finally realized that wasn’t going to happen. “Fine. I left you to your dad and Mildred until it was time for college. Then I saw to it that you got the education your mother would have wanted you to have.”

Maryse’s eyes widened in surprise. “You were the source of my scholarships? Good God, Helena, that must have cost you a fortune.”

Helena shrugged. “I had more than enough money, and besides, you were a damned good investment.”

Maryse took a deep breath and tried to absorb everything Helena had said, finding it hard to wrap her mind around her mother and Helena Henry plotting over her care and nurturing. “So what the hell happened with Hank? I’m pretty sure my mom wouldn’t have approved of that arrangement at all. In fact, she’s probably turned over a time or two since then.”

Helena looked embarrassed. “I didn’t find out about you and Hank until it was too late. I tried to get him to have the marriage annulled, but he was hell bent on keeping you.” She shook her head. “I knew my son would never do right by you, so I decided to do both of us a favor and send him packing.”

“He told me you sent him to rehab.”

“Yeah. Well, the people you paid for Hank’s debts weren’t exactly the only people looking for him. I knew if he stuck around that not only would he be in danger until I could sort the whole thing out, but you would be too.”

Maryse considered this for a moment. “I didn’t know.”

“I know that, and I got it all handled in a couple of months’ time. I guess I figured rehab was the last place that sort would go looking for a guy like Hank. And I was hoping he’d straighten out…grow up and become a good man and a good husband. I was just fooling myself. Hank is just like his father.”

Maryse shook her head, remembering her conversation with Hank. “He’s not just like him, Helena. There’s some good in Hank. It’s just buried under that bullshit front. He didn’t know what Harold did, and he’s upset about it.”

Helena looked at her, a hopeful expression on her face, and in that instant, Maryse realized that regardless of his transgressions, Helena Henry loved her son.

“You really think so?” Helena asked.

Maryse nodded. “And if I ever get my phone back from the police, you can hear it yourself.”

“Well, that’s something,” Helena said. “I guess I didn’t give him enough credit, then or now. Maybe you two could have made it work. Now, I don’t know. All I knew then was that I’d promised my good friend that I’d make sure her daughter was taken care of, and I didn’t see that happening as long as Hank was around.”

“I get that, Helena, in a demented, completely screwed up sort of way. But why in the world didn’t you arrange for us to divorce? Why keep me hanging all these years?”

Helena sighed. “Because of the land. After Hank left, I had that survey done and found out about the oil, and I always suspected Harold was digging through my safe. That missing letter proves it. I knew if I left the land to Hank that Mudbug would become one big refinery and the town would cease to exist. This was my home. I couldn’t let that happen, so I used you, and for that I am sorry.”

“And the bills? Why make me pay Hank’s debt, then turn around and pay off my debt?”

Helena looked down at the floor. “I was worried that you might not be a good choice either, and if that was the case, then I might as well produce Hank and let you two divorce. I didn’t really know what kind of adult you’d turned out to be, and marrying Hank wasn’t exactly points in your favor.”

“So you were testing my character? Is that your ridiculous defense?”

Helena shrugged. “I guess so, and putting it that way does kinda point out how stupid and cruel it was. I figured that out when you made the payments without fail or complaint. That’s why I started using the money to pay off your debt. I was too proud to just tell you to stop.”

Maryse stared at Helena and shook her head. “Unbelievable.”

She looked at Maryse, her eyes pleading for her to understand. “This whole mess is about that damned land. I thought I was saving the town and giving you a great asset at the same time. I swear, Maryse, if I’d had any indication from you that you had started a new relationship or that being married to Hank was preventing you from doing something you wanted, I would have taken care of it…regardless of what happened with the land.”

“But I just disappeared to my cabin in the marsh and stayed quiet all these years.”

Helena nodded. “I didn’t figure still being married to Hank made a difference to the way you were living. It never occurred to me that still be married might keep you from trying to have a life again. I’ve stolen two years from you, Maryse, and there’s nothing I can do to fix it now. You have no idea how sorry I am. For everything.”