Protecting Her(91)

“How many children do you have?” I ask him.

“Three. All girls. Caitlyn is 14, Kylie is 12, and Harper is 10.”

“Our son, Garret, is 10. It’s a fun age.”

He laughs. “Maybe for boys, but with girls, it’s a bit of a nightmare. Constant drama over boys and what to wear to school and nonstop hair emergencies. I try to stay out of the way and let Kelly handle all that.”

I laugh. “I can see how girls could be a challenge at times, especially during the teen years.”

An older man comes up behind Kiefer and taps him on the shoulder. “Kiefer I wanted to introduce you to someone.”

“Certainly.” He smiles at us. “It was good seeing you, Pearce. Nice meeting you, Rachel. Enjoy your evening.”

“He seems very down-to-earth for someone so famous,” I say when he’s gone. “I didn’t expect him to be like that.”

“Yes. He’s very laid back. Easy to talk to.”

“Do you see anyone else you know?”

“Not right now.”

I scan the crowd, seeing if I recognize anyone. I doubt that I would, but you never know. With all the volunteer work I do, I meet a lot of people.

As I’m looking to my right, I spot a man standing near the entrance to the ballroom who kind of looks like Jack. He sees me too, and we hold gazes for a moment. I look back at Pearce.

“Pearce, I think Jack is here.”

“Probably. I’m sure he’s become more involved in politics since living here. And he’s always been a supporter of Senator Wingate.”

“Let’s go talk to him.” I pull on Pearce’s arm but he doesn’t move.

“Rachel, I don’t want to talk to him.”

“Why? Maybe he can explain why he stopped talking to us.”

“I’m not going to ask him that. He obviously wants nothing to do with us. And that’s fine. We’ve moved on.”

“I haven’t. I still miss Martha.”

“I know you do. But we need to move past this. Jack and Martha have moved on with their lives. We need to accept that.”

My eyes search for Jack again, but now I don’t see him. He’s gone. I don’t see him anywhere in the crowd. But I spot someone else I know, at least I think it’s him. I can only see the side of him but he kind of looks like Leland Seymour. He’s talking to someone at the bar.

“Pearce, I think—”

“Pearce.” A man interrupts me before I can finish. He’s an older man. Short and fat with white hair. I met him last year at a client event for Kensington Chemical. Pearce said he’s a difficult client who’s always complaining and needs constant attention. I’m sure Pearce isn’t happy to see him.

“Gerald.” Pearce shakes his hand and puts on a fake smile. He can fake a smile as good as anyone in this room. He says it comes from years of having to pretend to like people you really don’t like. “I didn’t know you were attending this event.”

“I wasn’t sure if I’d have time, but then my schedule opened up.”

Pearce motions to me. “I think you’ve met my wife, Rachel.”

He nods. “Yes. Hello.” He focuses on Pearce again. “So I was talking to your sales guy the other day and I’m not happy with the delivery schedule he gave us.”

I hear Pearce groaning under his breath.

The two of them will talk business for at least ten minutes, so I figure now is a good time to use the restroom.

“If you’ll excuse me,” I say, “I’m going to go freshen up in the ladies’ room.”

Pearce leans down to me and whispers, “I’ll try to get rid of him.”

I smile at Gerald. “Nice seeing you again.”

He ignores me and continues talking to Pearce. I walk off and exit the ballroom and go down the hall to the restroom. When I walk in there, I enter into a room with fancy chairs and small couches and a chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Beyond that is the actual restroom. I use the facilities, then go to the mirror to refresh my lipstick. A woman who works there keeps trying to give me a towel to dry my hands, so I take it, then leave her a tip.

My phone rings and I stop in the room that’s just off the restroom to answer it. I thought it might be Garret calling, but it’s Shelby.

“Hi, Shelby.” I sit down on one of the upholstered chairs.