The Wife Stalker(58)
Her mouth dropped open. “Oh my . . . that’s horrible. Does Leo know?”
I shook my head. “I can’t get through to him. I printed out the articles and mailed them to his office, but I don’t know whether or not his new assistant gave them to him. You’re my only hope. Has she done anything worrisome that you’ve seen?”
She bit her lip. “Well, not worrisome so much as insensitive. She and I had a run-in when she tried to get rid of some furniture without telling the children first.”
My blood boiled. She was already redecorating the house. “The kids must have been awfully upset.”
Rebecca nodded. “Although in her defense, once she saw how upset they were, she sent it all back.” She hesitated then went on. “One other thing. She insisted on taking over making the kids’ lunches and afternoon snacks. Stelli has been getting a lot of stomachaches lately.”
“What do you mean? Do you think she’s putting something in the food to make him sick?”
“Well . . . I wouldn’t go that far.” Rebecca put a hand up, suddenly appearing worried again. “I’ve really said too much.”
“Can you get Leo to call me? Please? I need to tell him about her past.”
“I don’t know, Joanna. Maybe he already knows about her past. I mean, if nothing was proven against her, maybe she was just really unlucky. I’m already on thin ice with her, and if I go accusing her of things, I could lose my job.”
I thought for a moment. She was probably right, and if she was fired, then the kids would have no one else at the house looking out for them. “Okay, listen. Can you please be extra vigilant? Watch out for them and call me the minute you see anything suspicious. I’ll have to try to figure out something else in the meantime.”
She nodded. “I’ll do my best.” She leaned over and hugged me. “Take care of yourself, Joanna. It was good to see you.”
At least I’d put Rebecca on alert. I could only hope she’d be able to protect them. That and I would continue watching from afar. Maybe I could even get Ava to call Leo, try to make him see the light. I’d call her later and see if she would. Something had to work. Leo was a good father, a better father than I’d ever had. Despite all his faults, he would always take care of his children—unlike my own father, who’d left me to deal with my mother and never looked back. I tried to forget about him, not to care since he so obviously didn’t care for me, but I found that I couldn’t put my father out of my mind.
Over the years, I’d started obsessing over the woman who had lured him away from us. When I was in my twenties, I decided I needed to see her for myself. I found out that he was living in Woodstock, New York. He’d been careless when he put the return address on a tax document he’d sent to my mother. I drove there on a Saturday, expecting a little cottage in the woods somewhere, so it was quite a surprise to see a beautiful wood house built high on a hill. It had to have been at least four thousand square feet, with multiple decks overlooking a lake. There were no cars in the driveway, and I debated getting out and taking a look around, but in the end I just got back in my car and drove into town. I wandered in and out of the shops, wondering if I’d run into him.
I asked around, figuring everyone knew everyone, and finally a waitress at a cute little restaurant called Bread Alone told me that he and his wife owned a little bakery called A Bun in the Oven, a few doors down. I went to take a peek inside and saw a friendly-looking woman behind the counter. The shop was crowded, and I went in, looking at the items in the glass display case. I watched her as she interacted with a customer. She hadn’t turned out to be the siren I expected the other woman to be. Just an average-looking lady in her forties, not all that much younger than my mom. Her brown hair was short and pushed behind her ears, and she wore no makeup except for a light pink lipstick. What made her stand out were her beautiful blue eyes. When she smiled and spoke to customers, they sparkled with kindness and good humor—so very different from my mother’s usual expression. As much as I didn’t want to admit it, I could understand just from her demeanor why my father would have been drawn to her, but it still didn’t excuse his lying and duplicity, and it certainly didn’t excuse his abandoning his only child and adopting another woman’s. I couldn’t bring myself to buy anything, not wanting to waste a cent on either of them. I turned and left without a word.
39
Piper
The mouthwatering aroma of chocolate chip cookies filled the kitchen, and Piper checked the timer—ten minutes to go. Rebecca was picking the children up from school today, and the treats would come out of the oven, warm and delicious, just as they got home. She set out two small plates, two glasses, and two napkins on the kitchen table.
She heard their voices even before the door leading to the garage opened, and a moment later, they burst into the room, backpacks flung off their shoulders and coats shrugged off.
“What smells so good?” Stelli asked, his eyes on the baking sheet cooling on a rack. “Chocolate chips! Can I have some?”
“Of course. I baked them for you and Evie. But first, you need to drink your smoothies. We need to make sure you get your vitamins, too.” She handed them each a glass.
Stelli made a face. “Do I have to? I got a stomachache the last time.”