Fatal Justice (Jack Lamburt #1)(37)

“You look great, Jack.”

I pulled out a chair and sat down. “Thanks, you too. Been too long. Um, hey, you okay?”

“Yeah, I’m just glad to see you,” she sniffled and finger-wiped a tear from her cheek. “I know what happened.”

“Excuse me?”

“I know what you did, and I wanted to thank you for saving our daughter. In person.”

My heart skipped two beats. I was speechless, so she continued; “We have security cameras in our house.”

Oh. Shit.

“Really?” I replied.

She rolled her eyes. “Yes. Really. When Stu and I returned from Key West I went to do my usual house cleaning, and I noticed that my cleaning supplies were almost empty. They were full when we left. So I figured I’d better, what’s that term the sportscaster’s always use, ‘go to the video tape?’ So I saw everything that happened in our kitchen…”

“Oh.”

“I wanted to thank you.”

“Okay.”

“But that’s not all.” She looked down at the floor. “This is hard for me, but after seeing the video, I needed to finally tell you, so here goes.” She took a deep breath and looked me in the eye. “I never regretted our affair. Not for a second. Mary Sue’s just so special. She’s so much like you, and I can’t tell you how happy I am to have her in my life. And… I’ve loved you since high school.”

My jaw dropped and bounced off the table three times before I regained control. “What?”

“It’s true. I made a mistake marrying Stu. He’s great and all. A fantastic provider, a great husband, a great dad too. But he doesn’t make my heart skip a beat when he walks into the room. Like you do. Did. I mean.”

After a long pause to think about the bomb she’d just dropped on me, I continued the conversation. “So why didn’t you marry me instead? You knew how I felt about you.”

“I panicked. I’m sorry, but you were such a rich and spoiled carefree party animal, I never thought you would amount to anything. With the baby coming, I needed someone I could count on. Someone reliable. Plus I figured you were just doing the manly thing—you know, offering to marry the woman who you got pregnant. And of course the great sex only clouded your feelings for me. And I had this commitment to Stu. I couldn’t just back out of our wedding.” She looked at me and shrugged.

Maybe it was because I would have never found Cheryl if Meredith and I had gotten hitched. Or maybe I’d never really loved Meredith as much as I’d thought I did, but I didn’t see any reason to keep beating ourselves up over this. No more living in the past.

I let out a sigh. “You’re right. I can’t say I blamed you. In fact, I’d say you made the right decision. Stuart’s a good man.” I quickly changed the subject. “How’s Mary Sue?”

She hesitated for a second, then took a deep breath as if in resignation that it was time to move on. “Oh, she’s fine. I hope you’re not upset, but I wanted her to be able to vent, so I told her I saw the security video. She cried on my shoulder for a while, but after that she’s been fine.”

“Good. I’m glad that you told her. It’s important that she be able to confide in you. She’s a great kid. You and Stuart deserve a lot of credit. You two did a great job raising her.”

“Thanks, but she’s got your spunk, your fire, your character, I see it in her eyes every day, and I tear up just thinking about it.” She dabbed at her eyes with a napkin.

I looked at her, unsure of what to say. I’d been friends with her in high school and had always liked her. A lot. But I’d been too shy to act on it.

I’d found out she had feelings for me when we’d gotten drunk at a holiday party one year when I came home from Notre Dame for Christmas break. We’d wound up having sex in the backseat of my BMW—no easy feat for someone as big as me, mind you. And she’d gotten pregnant.

To make matters worse, she was engaged to be married to Stuart. We were horrified. Her at being pregnant, me at that, plus the fact that I’d gotten drunk and slept with another man’s woman.

I would have regretted it, except that Mary Sue came with the deal, and she was something to thank God for. And I did. Every night I dropped to my knees and prayed hard for her. To guide and watch over her. To keep her healthy and to help her make good strong decisions in life. To keep her “parents” healthy and wise. I’ve never been a very religious man, but so far so good.

“Do you think Stuart’s ever suspected that Mary Sue wasn’t his daughter?”

“No. At least I don’t think so. I never told him, of course, but he is a smart guy. If he does know, he never let on. And he does kind of look like you.” She winked at me and took a sip of her coffee.

“He really is a good man.”

“Yes, he is.” She napkined another tear away.

“Why this? And why now?”

“Because I watched the whole video. I saw what happened, Jack. I don’t know how it started, I’m guessing it’s a Red Barn thing, but that doesn’t matter. What matters is that you stopped it.” She flashed me a small, comfortable smile, and held my eyes. “And I read the papers. I read about the three missing mobsters. I recognized the one from the video. He’s a bad man.”