Heaven, Texas (Chicago Stars #2)(92)

As evening approached, they stopped at his favorite Riverwalk eatery, the Zuni Grill. While they nibbled on pecan-crusted chicken and ate black bean and goat cheese enchiladas, they enjoyed the pedestrian traffic passing in front of them.

Bobby Tom had just taken a bite of Gracie’s dessert, a scrumptious bourbon pecan crême brülée, when she felt him stiffen. She followed the direction of his eyes toward the open metal stairway that led to the upper tier of the restaurant and saw Suzy Denton coming down the steps.

Way Sawyer was walking right behind her.





19




Natalie, who’d just returned to the table from her third telephone call to check on Elvis, spotted Suzy and Way Sawyer on the stairs. “Bobby Tom, isn’t that your mother? Who’s that great looking man with her?”

“Careful, chérie,” Anton said. “You’re going to make me jealous.” Natalie laughed, as if Anton had just made the silliest joke imaginable.

“His name is Way Sawyer,” Bobby Tom said tightly.

At that moment Suzy spotted her son, and her face froze. She looked as if she wanted to flee, but since that was impossible, she approached the table, her reluctance obvious. Way followed just behind.

As she stopped, her mouth curled in a brittle smile. “Hello.”

Everyone but Bobby Tom returned her greeting.

“I see you and the baby made it back to town safely,” Way said to Gracie.

“We did. It was nice of you to stop.”

Bobby Tom gave her a sharp, questioning look. She ignored him and explained to Natalie and Anton how she and Way had met. She also performed the introductions, since Bobby Tom showed no inclination to do so.

The tension between mother and son was so strong Gracie could almost feel the air twang. Way began to address the table in general in a voice that was a shade too effusive.

“I have an apartment not too far away. When I stopped in here for a bite to eat a little while ago and saw Mrs. Denton sitting alone, I persuaded her to let me join her, but I need to be getting back.” Turning to her, he took her hand and shook it. “It was good to see you, Mrs. Denton. Nice seeing all of you.” With a final nod, he left the restaurant.

Gracie had seldom heard a less convincing cover-up. She noticed that Suzy’s gaze followed Way as he wended his way through the tables and turned out onto the walk.

Since Bobby Tom continued to be mute, she took it upon herself to invite Suzy to join them. “We’re just having dessert. Why don’t we ask the waiter for another chair?”

“Oh, no. No, thank you. I—I need to get back.”

Bobby Tom finally spoke. “It’s a little late for you to be driving home tonight.”

“I’m staying over. A friend and I are going to the symphony at the Performing Arts Center.”

“What friend?”

Gracie could almost see Suzy crumpling under the force of his displeasure, and she was furious with him for bullying her. If his mother wanted to see Mr. Sawyer, that was her business, not his, and Suzy should tell him so. But at that moment, Suzy seemed more like a child while Bobby Tom had adopted the role of a stern, judgmental parent.

“No one you know.” Suzy’s hand fluttered to her hair. “Well, good-bye, everyone. Enjoy your dessert.” She hurriedly left the restaurant, turning to the left when she reached the sidewalk, the opposite direction Way Sawyer had taken.



Suzy’s heart thudded against her ribs. She felt as if she had just been caught in an act of adultery, and she knew Bobby Tom would never forgive her for this. She rushed along the sidewalk, dodging couples with baby strollers and groups of Japanese tourists. The low heels of her brown and-black spectator pumps tapped a frantic cadence on the uneven fieldstone walk. Nearly a month had passed since the illicit night she and Way had spent together, and nothing had been the same since.

She remembered how tender he had been with her the next morning, despite her condemning silence. As they’d driven to the golf course, he’d told her that he wouldn’t ever touch her again but that he’d like to continue seeing her. She had acted as if she had no choice in the matter—as if he’d close Rosatech if she didn’t do as he asked—but in her secret heart she hadn’t believed it. Despite his tough facade, that sort of ruthlessness wasn’t in his nature.

In the end, she had continued to see him. As long as there was no physical contact between them, she told herself it wasn’t a betrayal, so there was no harm. And because she couldn’t face the truth, she let herself pretend she was with him against her will. As they played golf, talked about their gardens, and flew around the state to entertain his business associates, she privately acted out the role of the reluctant hostage, just as if the fate of Telarosa rested on her shoulders. And because he cared for her, he had let her get away with it.

But what had just happened had put an end to that. In the space of minutes, the fragile world of illusion she had built for herself had been smashed apart. God forgive her, she wanted to be with him. Their times together were like bright splashes of color against the monotonous predictability of her daily life. He made her laugh and feel young again. He made her believe that life still held possibilities and filled her aching loneliness. But by letting him come to mean so much to her, she had betrayed her marriage vows, and now her dishonor had been exposed to the one person on earth from whom she’d most wanted to hide her weakness.