The Wife Stalker(63)

“Is he okay?” she asked.

Leo nodded. “Yeah. You just need to give him time.”

Once again, Piper had been relegated to second best by the man in her life. When was she going to learn that the children always came first? She’d seen it with Matthew. No matter what kind of trouble Mia caused between them, it was always, Poor Mia, she’s having a hard time with the divorce. Or, Poor Mia, it’s so disruptive going back and forth between two houses. Mia had made up her mind from the minute Piper began dating Matthew that she was going to do everything in her power to come between them. Whenever they’d go somewhere in the car, Mia would jump in the front seat and scream Shotgun, and Matthew would give Piper a tilt of the head while wearing that sappy expression that begged her not to say anything. Mia would try on Piper’s clothes and leave them in a heap on her closet floor, take naps in their bedroom, and she even borrowed, then lost, her wedding band. Matthew never did a thing about any of it.

And still, Piper tried. She offered to take Mia for mani-pedis, or to drive her and her friends around, but Mia told her that’s what she had a mother for. Fortunately, they had her only on weekends, so weekdays were blissful—just Piper and Matthew in their sprawling house on the Pacific Ocean. They’d fall asleep with the balcony door open, listening to the crash of the waves, the smell of salt air filling the room. And then the day that brought it all to a screeching halt—all because of Mia.

Things would be different this time. Piper was going to make sure of that.

“Why don’t we go inside?” Leo said.

Piper was about to stand when she felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and, pulling it out, put it to her ear. “Hello?” She froze when she heard the voice on the other end.

“Hello, Pamela.”

“Mom?”

“Yes, I’m afraid I have somber news.”

She gripped the phone tighter, stood, and walked to the far end of the deck. “What is it?”

“Your father passed away. He had a cerebral hemorrhage in his sleep. I’m told he didn’t suffer, that it was instantaneous.”

Leave it to her mother to convey even this news in her robotic, unfeeling manner.

“When?” was all she could manage to get out.

“He expired last Tuesday.”

Expired? As if he were a carton of yogurt. “Why didn’t you call me then? I would have come right away.”

“Why? Your being here wouldn’t have changed anything.”

“I could have been with you. I could have said goodbye to him,” Piper choked out.

“I told you. Your being here was unnecessary. Everything’s been taken care of.”

Piper went cold. “Did you have the funeral without me?” She was incredulous. “Why are you bothering to call me at all, then?”

She heard an intake of breath. “You haven’t been home once in all the years since you left, so I didn’t rush to call you. I just thought you ought to know, that’s all.”

Piper was silent.

“There’s an online obituary. If you want to leave a comment there, you may, but since you weren’t interested in being in touch while he was alive, I don’t see why you want to pretend to care now.” Her mother hung up, and Piper began to cry.

Leo looked at her with concern. “What’s happened?”

“My father died.”

A wave of dizziness overcame her; she walked back over to the rocker and lowered herself into it. Her heart was beating furiously, and tears were running down her face. Leo was suddenly next to her, pulling her into his arms. She didn’t know what she was feeling, except that deep, racking sobs were shaking her now.

So that was it. Her father was dead and gone, and her mother hadn’t even thought to call her until a week later. Even though she’d left her childhood home with no intention of ever going back, she realized now that she’d always hoped for some kind of reconciliation, for a time when her parents might realize their own part in abandoning her, first emotionally, and then literally, by never looking for her when she took off. Now, that hope was dead and gone, along with her father. How could her mother be so cold? Was she so unlovable that, even now, when her mother was grieving and utterly alone, she didn’t want Piper’s company?

Leo led her back into the house, and she sank down into the living room sofa. He sat next to her, holding her while she focused on her breathing, willing herself to calm down. She would put it behind her, like so many other painful episodes in her past. Her mother may now be alone, but she wasn’t. She had Leo. And Evie and Stelli. They were her family now, her perfect family, and she would pour all her efforts into them.





42

Joanna




I can’t remember the last time I’d taken a long road trip, and I found the drive to Annapolis calming. Cruising along and watching the scenery roll by gave me time to think and reflect. As I discover more and more about Piper and her past, Leo’s behavior seems less of a betrayal than I first thought. He could never be accused of being naive or easily fooled, but it’s obvious to me that there is something about Piper that allows her to insinuate herself into even the smartest man’s affections. Leo is the type of man women find intriguing. He’s strong and masculine, and at the same time solicitous and generous—of men and women equally. His only fault, as far as I’m concerned, is that he’s a workaholic.