It's Better This Way(29)

    “When you mentioned you were dating a woman named Julia, we didn’t make anything of it. I mean, Julia’s a common name. It wasn’t until Michael saw her last night that he connected the dots,” Adam said.

Yes, this information was a jolt. No denying it. But it wasn’t the end of the world. So Lee had married Julia’s ex. That was nearly six years ago now. It didn’t mean he couldn’t have a loving relationship with Julia.

“I’ll admit this came at me out of the blue,” Heath said. “I had no idea. What I don’t understand is your reaction to Julia. She did nothing wrong. Edward was the one who stepped out on her. She’s the innocent party in this.” He didn’t mention he was also the innocent party, despite his willingness to admit he contributed to Lee’s unhappiness.

“You don’t understand,” Adam said. “Before the divorce was final, Julia sent a series of nasty texts to Mom.”

Michael nodded. “Mom showed me what Julia wrote. She spewed hate on Mom and called her names you wouldn’t want me to repeat.”

Heath found this hard to believe. The Julia he knew would never resort to this kind of malicious behavior.

“Julia put Mom and Edward through hell. For one thing, she spitefully refused to sign the divorce papers. She did everything she could to make life miserable for Mom and Edward. Even when she knew he wanted the divorce, she refused to let him go and forced him to promise to wait six months.”

    Heath remembered Julia mentioning she had done everything she could to keep her family intact.

“Did it ever enter your mind that Julia was fighting to save her marriage?”

“There was nothing to save,” Michael insisted.

“Dad,” Adam protested, “you need to seriously think about what she did. This woman you’re so hot for had our mother in tears with the things she said and did. Can you honestly say you’re comfortable associating with someone who does those sorts of things?”

“We have all done things we regret,” Heath countered. “Besides, this happened a number of years ago now. Emotions were running high—”

“It isn’t only Julia, Dad,” Michael said, cutting him off.

“What do you mean?”

“Have you met her daughters yet?”

He hadn’t, although Julia spoke of Hillary and Marie frequently. It was clear she was close to them and treasured their relationship.

“Don’t tell me you forgot what those girls did to Mom?”

Heath had a vague recollection of some altercation between the two families. All he recalled was his sons’ outrage when Julia’s daughters had openly confronted Lee at Lake Sammamish.

“Refresh my memory,” he said, leaning back and crossing his arms over his chest. Their meals had been delivered, though now his appetite was gone.

Michael leaned forward with narrowed eyes. “The oldest one verbally attacked Mom.”

“In public,” Adam added.

    “We were there,” Michael said, his voice rising to the point that he attracted the attention of diners at nearby tables.

“Mom was mortified. Both her daughters said some horrible things.”

“Thank goodness we were with Mom,” Michael said. “No way were we going to let anyone talk to our mother like that.”

His children had been raised to respect Lee. It didn’t surprise him that the boys had come to her defense.

“We had to defend her,” Adam said, “and soon we were all shouting.”

“Unfortunately, it got loud and angry. But we weren’t the ones who started it.”

Heath had the urge to bury his head in his hands. “Did the police get involved?”

“No, Edward did.”

That couldn’t have gone well. Heath could imagine how difficult it was for Edward to be pitted against his own daughters, defending Lee and the boys.

“Edward stepped between us and told Adam and me that he would handle the situation,” Michael explained. “He did his best to quiet down his daughters; however, they were having none of it. They were angry and belligerent.”

“They continued to call Mom names and said some unforgivable things to their father,” Adam went on, his voice rising.

“These aren’t people you want to associate with, Dad. It’s best to avoid Julia and her daughters. The thought of you getting mixed up with them is bound to cause trouble for us as a family.”

Heath had heard enough. “That was years ago, and during a difficult and stressful time for everyone. I’m sure Julia’s daughters are as eager to put that unpleasant incident behind them as you are. Let the past stay where it is. Dragging it into the future will solve nothing.”

    His sons stared back at him as if he were speaking a foreign language.

“Dad, Adam and I want you to seriously reconsider this relationship. Of all the women in the world, why did you have to fall for Julia? She’s bad news.”

Heath didn’t see it that way and said as much. “Situations change,” he insisted. “People change.”

“Not Julia’s daughters,” Michael said emphatically.

“We told Mom you were dating Edward’s ex-wife, and she was understandably upset.”