In a Book Club Far Away(62)

“Obviously someone thought it was a big deal. Do you know who spread the rumors?”

“I’ve got suspicions. But I don’t want to talk about that.” He had calmed down; he scraped his hand down his face. Her husband looked so tired. He’d lost weight, his wedding ring no longer resting at the bottom of his finger but sliding toward the knuckle. “The worst part of it was that no one gave me a chance to explain myself. The commander and XO literally got me into the office and then told me that I was going home.”

“Captain Chang?”

“No, not even him. The big boss. The battalion commander and XO. It skipped Captain Chang altogether. Otherwise, I might have—I mean, I know he would listened. But I tried. I told them that it wasn’t true, that I shouldn’t be punished for something that’s hearsay.”

Regina was knocked back into her seat, and the confusion cleared into fear. Adultery was a crime punishable under UCMJ, under military law. “You can get in serious trouble for this.”

“That’s the thing. They’ve got nothing on me.” His face neared. “I would never. Not to you and especially not to our baby. I know that we fight, I know we don’t get along sometimes, but we’ve been golden since I left, haven’t we? We’ve worked it out. I never have, and I never will cheat on you. And now that I’m being watched, I need you, babe. You’ve got to believe me.”

She looked at her intertwined hands. At her wedding band, embedded in her swollen finger. She remembered the promise she made with this ring, and how, when her father didn’t keep his own promise, she had suffered as a child. And now she was going to be a parent.

She couldn’t act irrationally. She looked into the screen, into his hope-filled eyes. And she saw the man she fell in love with, the father of her unborn child. She had to believe him—she needed to trust him. “I believe you.”

But now, a shadow had been cast over her perfect day. Someone had gone above and beyond to threaten her livelihood and marriage, someone who didn’t give either one of them the benefit of the doubt.

Regina made it her priority to find out who this person was.





PART SIX




Some things you got to release.… The more you hold them in, the worse you get.

—The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks by Rebecca Skloot





CHAPTER THIRTY-EIGHT

Regina




Present Day, Tuesday

Regina zipped up her windbreaker and pulled on her hood to protect herself from the hostile wind, but she exhaled a sigh of relief as she stepped out of the town house for Just Cakes. Getting Genevieve down for bed had been tough. The honeymoon period was over between her and the toddler, apparently. Earlier, at the playground, after Regina had switched shifts with Sophie for Adelaide’s discharge, Genevieve had refused to leave with Regina, despite coercion attempts, and she had a meltdown. At dinnertime, Gen launched her pasta bowl to the floor. And when her mother arrived from the hospital, groggy and exhausted and unable to play, Genevieve threw a tantrum that Regina could only describe as like a hurricane.

Then again, if I were her, I would be throwing a tantrum, too.

Perhaps Genevieve felt the stress of her mother’s pain. Children were infinitely wiser than grown-ups assumed they were. Miko had been only three when Logan finally moved out—though they’d been sleeping in separate rooms for over a year—and she remembered his bout of insomnia and separation anxiety.

Her Apple Watch beeped with a call.

Speaking of Miko…

She slipped her wireless earbuds into her ears, then accepted the call. She looked both ways and crossed the street. “Hey, sweetheart.”

“Mommy, Lola says I have to eat all my vegetables.”

She found a bench across the street from Just Cakes to sit on, slinging one leg across the other and stuffing her hands in her pockets. “I hope you ate them.”

“I didn’t. I told her that you don’t make me eat my veggies so I shouldn’t have to do it while you’re away.”

“You said I don’t make you eat veggies?”

“Yes.” He harrumphed.

She dipped her chin to her chest. She was going to get it from her mother, for sure. He wasn’t lying—she didn’t make him, but that was because sometimes it was easier just to sneak them into his food. She didn’t want to spend their precious time together fighting. Especially since he preferred hanging with Logan more and more these days.

“Well, you know that when Lola’s in charge, you have to do what she says. It’s her rules.”

“But whyyyyyy?” he whined.

“Miko.”

“All right,” he said finally. “I’ll eat them.”

“Anything else?”

“Dad called me. He told me to tell you hello.”

“That’s nice. What are you guys planning this week?” Logan had taken leave for the rest of the week to take Miko.

“We’re going camping.”

“Great. That sounds great.” With these words she smiled. Actually, physically smiled in hopes that it made it to her voice.

Regina was grateful that Logan was attentive, that he was a good dad. That he paid attention to when Miko’s school and social events were, and attended them when he wasn’t out in the field. Miko was the only reason Logan continued to try to get stationed in Georgia, since, after she’d left active duty, it was the easiest place for her to settle. He understood that their son needed stability and found pockets of years when he worked within at least a few hours’ drive away.