Chapter 5
Lyle and Monique
“Did Daddy’s little princess fall asleep? She sure enjoyed her meal,” Lyle said, when his wife slid into bed beside him.
“Yes, she did. Just like her daddy, she just loves Mommy’s breasts.”
He grinned. That was true. He and Monique had decided before they married that they didn’t want to wait to start a family, agreeing on having at least two kids, no more than two years apart.
There was a two-year difference between both him and Logan, and him and Lance, and they all got along…
at least most of the time. Lance was a challenge to him and Logan.
It was only after they’d all grown up that they’d learned that most of Lance’s issues were due to his mother’s rejection.
Because Lyle and Logan had been older and saw more than Lance had, they’d felt relieved when she’d gone, not abandoned.
But Lance had been at the worst possible age to lose his mother. And he let everyone around him know it.
Personally, Lyle had been worried that their father would come home early one day and catch their mother in the act.
If Jeremiah attacked the other man, he would go to jail, and they would be stuck with a horrible mother.
It was only once he and Logan were adults that they’d discussed that time and those fears.
“I love this house, Lyle. I’m glad you arranged for us to rent it.”
When their father announced he was getting married and that he and Thea would be renting their individual homes to purchase a house in one of those senior communities, Lyle saw his chance.
The thought of anyone other than a Montgomery living in his childhood home had bothered him.
So, he’d worked out a deal with Pop. He and Monique would rent out the house year-round, so whenever they came to visit from Texas, which was usually three to four times a year, they had a place to stay.
That way, they could travel light since they would have a lot of their things, as well as the baby’s, already here.
He’d also known his father would have trouble leaving behind the gardens he kept in the climate-controlled greenhouse out back.
This way, he could come by and look after them whenever he wanted.
Pop had also said Lyle should let him know when he was coming, so he could ensure the refrigerator was stocked.
It would be one less thing for them to look after, once they arrived with the baby.
Another advantage of renting the house long-term was that there would be no need to get rid of the furniture, which had been in the Montgomery family for years.
According to Pop, the furniture hadn’t been built for looks but for stability.
Lyle now understood his father thinking that way, as it had survived three rambunctious sons.
He could recall when he, Logan, and Lance had accompanied their father to replace furniture that their father couldn’t stand to look at anymore--Pop’s bedroom set.
Just knowing Edwina had shared that bed with another man had initiated the move.
Pop had made it a family affair, and for that reason, the bed that he and Monique were presently in meant a lot to him.
After that day, Lyle’s nightly prayer had been that, other than finding out where Carrie was and bringing her home, they’d be rid of Edwina Montgomery once and for all.
Obviously not.
She’d come back a few years ago, only to try to blackmail Carrie. Luckily, once Carrie’s brothers got involved, Edwina’s malicious scheme went nowhere. Carrie was with the family who loved her. In the end, Edwina had learned that no matter what, the Montgomerys stuck together.
Lyle had honestly thought that once she’d been incarcerated for a federal crime, that would be the end of it.
Since the judge had given her twenty years, he assumed the family had a good fifteen before they heard from her again, if ever.
Yet it had been less than four years. He couldn’t help wondering if this was an intentional move on Edwina’s part or if she truly wanted redemption.
The sad thing was, it truly didn’t matter to him.
“I spoke with Dad and Arnie earlier, Lyle. They told me to tell you hello.”
His wife’s words pulled him out of his reverie. He had loved her parents. Sadly, her mother had passed away some years ago, leaving her father to live alone. Lyle and Monique, along with her brother Arnie and his wife, visited him often.
“You did? How are they doing?”
“Great. Dad rushed me off the phone to leave for band practice, and Arnie and Debbie are taking Dad on a five-day Thanksgiving cruise with them.”
Lyle nodded. Years ago, before getting married, Mr. Oliviers had been part of a popular jazz band with his college friends.
Some of the original members, now retired with plenty of free time on their hands, had gotten together and decided to do several reunion tours.
It had proven to be so successful that now they often performed at several jazz spots, whose packed audiences were made up of both old and young.
“I’m sure your dad will enjoy the cruise. And it’s a great time of year for it, Nicky,” Lyle said. Nobody called her Nicky but him.
They had taken her father and Pop on a four-day cruise out of New Orleans last year, and both men had loved it. The two men had gotten along and spent a lot of their time talking about the good old days.
“Arnie and Debbie are doing great as well. One of the girls had a piano recital today. She’s getting really good,” Monique said.
“We’ll have to get to one of her recitals sometime soon. Anything else you want to tell me before we get into other things?” he asked, reaching out and caressing her arm.
He wanted to make love to his wife. He needed to make love to her.
Reading Edwina’s letter had been mentally draining.
Although he knew Logan had read his, Lance and Carrie had no intention of letting Edwina into their heads.
They’d left their envelopes right there on the coffee table unopened, just where they’d tossed them.
“While I was feeding the baby, I talked to Faith, Shannon, and Anna. They and their families are all doing well.”
“That’s good to hear,” he said of his wife’s three best friends.
Monique reached up and touched his brow. “You’re frowning. In fact, you haven’t been yourself since we got back here. You want to talk about it, Lyle?”
He preferred making love to her, but then, maybe they should talk. He hadn’t been aware that his mood had so obviously shifted since they’d left Pop and Thea’s place. He shook his head. “If you’re referring to the letter, Nicky, I’ve made up my mind what I plan to do.”
“And that is?” she asked.
“I have no intention of going to see her. I opened the letter and read her apology. That’s enough,” he said. He paused for a moment. “I guess we should be grateful she didn’t request compassionate care.”
Her forehead furrowed in a frown. “Compassionate care?”
He nodded. “It’s where an inmate is released to their family for more compassionate end-of-life care.” He sighed. “It’s not too late for her to ask, so don’t be surprised if that’s her next move,” Lyle said, a cynical tone in his voice that he wasn’t trying to hide.
“And what if she does ask, Lyle? What’s wrong with your mother wanting to have her family around in her last days?”
He was sure he’d told Monique the entire story—about the reason behind his mother’s prison sentence, as well as her treatment of Carrie. So why on earth would she ask such a question?
He turned to face her. The baby was asleep, the house was quiet, and Monique was staring back at him with those beautiful brown eyes. Then he saw it--the sadness in them.
“What’s wrong, baby?”
Those eyes were getting teary now. “I just recall how hard things were on me, Dad, and Arnie when Mom passed away. She died of pancreatic cancer, too.”
Damn. He had forgotten about that. “Yes, baby. I know.” He also knew he needed to make sure she understood something. Reaching out, he swiped a lone tear with the tip of his finger, then, he cupped her chin so her entire face was focused on him.
“First of all, I stopped thinking of Edwina as my mother years ago. She killed anything I’d ever felt for her.
So there’s no comparing Emily Olivier and Edwina Montgomery.
That summer I stayed with your family, your mother effortlessly stepped in, acting as a mother figure in my life.
It was something I hadn’t known I needed or had missed not having. ”
He paused for a moment, then added, “Edwina has no family left. That boat sailed the day she ran off with another man and made my dad cry. To this day, I have only ever heard my dad cry once, and the sound broke my heart. It was the day he came home and found the note Edwina had left, telling him that saying she had left and why. Even then, he’d held his emotions in.
He told us that Mom and Carrie had gone away for a spell, and he couldn’t rightly say when they would return, but they eventually would. ”
He lay back against the pillow to stare up at the ceiling fan, remembering that day.
“He prepared dinner that evening, and we ate, did homework as usual, and afterwards, he tucked us in. It was only late that night, when I needed to tell him about a science fair I had signed up for, that I went to his room. I knocked, and I thought he mumbled for me to come in. He hadn’t.
He was in bed, crying. That’s what I had heard.
The sound of his heart-wrenching sobs, Nicky. ”
“What did you do?” she asked.
“I slowly backed out of the room and closed the door so he wouldn’t know I’d been there.”
She nodded. “Did you tell anyone?”
“No. I didn’t even mention it to Logan. It was hard enough for me to see our strong, invincible father in his moment of weakness. I didn’t want my brothers to know, either. So now, I’m thinking about my father, not Edwina. I don’t want him to feel that way again.”
“He won’t. He has Thea, and he loves her very much. You know that as well as I do.”
“Yes, you’re right,” he agreed. “But my dad is a good person. When we were growing up, he was always firm but fair, and his heart was always in the right place. He tries to do right by everyone. And unfortunately, that incudes even Edwina, who doesn’t deserve his goodness.
He’s already been too good for her. He wasted all of those years when he could have had someone like Thea in his life. ”
Monique nodded again. “So what do you think he’s going to do?” she asked.
“I think he will go see her. Not out of a sense of love, since I’m certain she killed that a long time ago. Not even out of a sense of duty, because really, there is none. But his Christian faith, values, and beliefs will convince him it’s the right thing to do.
Still, I respect that he’s not trying to force those values and beliefs on us, at least in this case. He recognizes us as the adults we are, old enough to face the consequences of our actions.”
They laid there, quiet for a moment. Finally, she said, “You know I will support whatever decision you make.”
He pulled her closer. “Thanks, Nicky.”
“At least you found out that you have another brother.”
“Yes, but chances are he doesn’t know about us.”
“Does that bother you?” Monique asked.
“Yes,” he answered, without hesitation. “I often think of the years we missed with Carrie. Now I’ll wonder about him, Silas Kingston’s son.
Our brother, whose name we don’t even know.
I really hope Mr. Kingston has told him about us, but I doubt it.
I’m not sure I would have, if I’d been in the same position. ”
“If he had, don’t you think he would have reached out by now?”
“Not necessarily,” Lyle said. “He might have wanted to but refrained out of a sense of loyalty to his father.”
“Yeah, that makes sense,” she said.
“And you know what else would make sense?” he asked.
“What?”
“For us to enjoy a little daddy and mommy time while our little angel is asleep,” Lyle said, leaning over and capturing her mouth in a heated kiss.
He pulled her into his arms, knowing this was what he wanted.
This was what he needed. She was everything he desired, both in and out of bed.
A woman who loved him as much as he loved her.
A woman who fully supported him, the same way he supported her. His Nicky.
He and his siblings would get through this episode with Edwina the same way they’d done all those other times. Thanks to their mother, the Montgomerys were stronger than ever.