Chapter 18
Chapter Eighteen
S lowly, she placed the mug down on the coffee table and sighed. Then, she perched on the edge of the couch and placed a hand on Sylvie’s shoulder. She gave her daughter a gentle shake, and Sylvie stirred, prying one eye open and then the other. Her eyes were wide and confused as they darted around the room, but then they cleared when they landed on her mother.
Hastily, Sylvie sat up, and the blanket fell down to her waist.
She rubbed a hand over her face and yawned. “Why didn’t you wake me up? I could’ve made the drive back.”
Amy frowned. “In the state you were in? I thought it would be better if you stayed here.”
Sylvie blinked and rubbed her eyes. “You’re sure Ashley doesn’t mind? She’s going to think we’re taking over the house.”
Amy’s lips lifted into a half-smile. “Don’t worry about that. How are you feeling?”
Sylvie pushed herself up on her elbows. “Drained, shocked. I just can’t believe how blind I’ve been.” Leaning sideways, Sylvie curled her fingers around the mug and gave her mom a grateful smile. “Thank you for this.”
“Honey, you don’t need to thank me. You’re my daughter, and I’ll always be here for you.”
Sylvie blew on her drink and grimaced. “I’m sorry I looked into it, especially when you tried to warn us.”
Amy dug her nails into her palms. “I know it’s hard not having all of the facts, but I thought it would be better if you didn’t rush any of this. It’s a lot to take in.”
Sylvie was studying her mother intently. “Is that why you left? Because you found out these things about Dad?”
Amy’s heart fluttered, and her chest tightened. “Sweetheart, your dad and I… Some things are complicated, but I want you to know that no matter what happened, and regardless of how I feel about him, he’s still your dad.”
Sylvie took a long sip of her drink. “I know that.”
Amy reached between them and placed her hand on Sylvie’s knee. She gave it a firm squeeze and offered Sylvie a small smile. “No matter what you find out, I want you and Lucas to remember he’s still your dad, and he does love you both.”
In his own manipulative way.
And even though he wasn’t fighting fair and was willing to drag Amy through the mud before giving her a divorce, she had no interest in playing his game.
Especially not when it came to her kids.
They deserved better than being collateral damage in Eric Taylor’s war.
Sylvie took another sip of her drink and frowned. “So, are you telling me I shouldn’t look into it more? I didn’t push it… I panicked when I was told the rumors appeared to be true, but I just couldn’t…”
Amy’s free hand curled into a fist at her side. “It’s for the best if you don’t. He’s still your father, and I just don’t think you want that knowledge on your shoulders.”
Or his sins on your conscience .
Sylvie was a good and hardworking woman, but she tended to forget how attached and invested she got, and Amy knew if her daughter kept digging, she wouldn’t stop until she exposed everything. In light of recent events, Amy doubted that discovering the truth about Eric was going to help, especially not in the midst of a divorce.
This wasn’t how Amy had wanted things to unfold.
In silence, the two of them sat while Amy struggled to come up with another argument in case Sylvie wasn’t ready to let it go. When Sylvie stood and ducked into the guest bathroom in Amy’s room, Amy took her mug to the sink and breathed a sigh of relief. After washing it, she set it out to dry and looked out the window, some of the knots in her stomach unfurling at the sight of Ashley with a flashlight, a pair of wide pants, a loose top, and a pair of gloves, with garden shears in her hands.
Why couldn’t Eric let her have one thing for herself?
He was determined to ruin Falmouth for her too, by not letting her stay away peacefully, but she wouldn’t let him.
She couldn’t.
As soon as Sylvie came back out, droplets of water sliding down her face and donning one of Amy’s loose blouses, Amy’s heart soared. She motioned to Sylvie, who stepped into the kitchen and into her mother’s arms. For a while, the two of them stood there, not saying anything. Amy wanted to hold her tightly enough to put all of the pieces back together.
But she knew she couldn’t.
When Sylvie squirmed and pulled away, Amy let her. She followed her daughter into the living room, and the two of them sat down on the same couch.
Sylvie exhaled. “How can you stand not knowing?”
Amy hesitated, feeling like someone had reached inside her chest and twisted. “Because I don’t think it’s going to change anything. At least, not as far as I’m concerned.”
Nor did she want to carry that burden around.
Not knowing about Eric’s extracurricular activities was one thing, but deliberately withholding evidence for the sake of her own freedom was another, and Amy didn’t want to be that kind of person. She wanted her fresh start, desperately, but not at the expense of her silence.
Sylvie leaned sideways and tucked herself into her mother’s side while Amy played with her hair.
By the time the doorbell rang a short while later, Sylvie was drifting off again.
Amy stood to open the door, and Lucas’s eyes were tight around the edges with dark circles. He didn’t say much and wouldn’t hold Amy’s gaze as his eyes searched the living room. Once they laid eyes on each other, Sylvie threw off the blanket and stumbled over to him. Lucas pulled her to him, and his shoulders sagged.
Amy turned away so they wouldn’t see the tears in her eyes.
It was a hard enough moment without the need for them to worry about her.
Even though Sylvie had insisted on spending the whole night on the couch, Amy was glad she hadn’t left her side. Even Ashley had sat with them for a bit on her way inside from the garden. Hours later, Amy still had no idea how Sylvie was going to handle everything.
She waited until she was composed enough to turn back around. Then, she wheeled around and greeted her son with a quick hug. Side by side, her children sat, joking and teasing each other while she made a breakfast of scrambled eggs and blueberry pancakes. The three of them lingered and talked about anything they could think of. When Sylvie insisted on washing the dishes while Lucas dried them, another wave of emotion rose up within Amy.
At least the whole mess between her and Eric hadn’t come between her children. If anything, they seemed to be rallying around each other in a way that made Amy’s chest tighten, and her eyes well with tears.
Maybe it wasn’t all going to be bad.
Maybe they wouldn’t hate her after all.
She couldn’t remember the last time they’d spent the morning together, doing nothing in particular and lingering over a home-cooked meal.
It made a lump rise in her throat and her stomach clench.
All too soon, Lucas and Sylvie were in the doorway, and she was sandwiched between them. She stood on the steps of the front porch, waving until her hand hurt and her lower lip trembled. As soon as Sylvie’s car turned into a speck in the distance, Amy’s heart grew heavy. She went back into her room to change into a pair of wide pants and a tunic. Then, she waved at Ashely on her way out. Amy set off at a brisk pace, pausing to check her phone for directions to the community college to start her new course.
It was nestled in the center of Falmouth, with several small brick buildings, a wrought iron gate out front, and a few gargoyle statues that loomed over the students. Amy was staring at the columns on either side of a large archway when someone bumped into her, sending her book and notebook sprawling onto the ground.
She bent down to pick them up, and when their hands touched, a jolt went through Amy. Startled, Amy dropped the book again, and William bent down to pick it up. He straightened his back and handed it to her with an easy smile. It was then she noticed two things at once.
The first was William held the same intro to creative writing book.
And the second was how good he looked in a pair of dark jeans and a button-down flannel shirt.
“It was the gargoyles, wasn’t it?”
Amy blinked and ignored the flutter in the center of her chest. “What?”
“I almost fell over when I saw them,” William confided in a low voice. “They’re a little unnerving, aren’t they?”
Amy smiled. “I think whoever added them had a weird sense of humor.”
“Definitely,” William agreed a little too quickly. “Unless they wanted to chase superstitious students off.”
Amy shrugged, her heart missing a beat when William fell into step beside her. “That’s a lot of effort to go just to weed out the superstitious.”
“Stranger things have definitely happened,” William pointed out with a quick smile. “Can I carry your books for you?”
“It’s just the one book and my notebook,” Amy protested, color creeping up her neck and cheeks. “I can manage.”
“You shouldn’t have to.” William plucked her book and notebook and tucked them underneath his arm. Then, he held the door open for her and waited for her to duck in. “So, Jack hasn’t stopped raving about your friend Emily’s bakery.”
“She’s an amazing baker.” Amy’s eyes took a second to adjust, and when they did, she took in the large, tile-floored hallway, the cream-colored walls on either side, and the high, arched ceiling. “You haven’t tried her goods yet?”
“Does licking crumbs off the counter count? Whenever he brings them home, I know I have a small window of opportunity.”
A surprised laugh fell from Amy’s lips. “You can’t just take one?”
“And risk having to explain to him why one of his students won’t be getting dessert? I’m better off licking the crumbs.”
William held another door open for her, and they stepped through and into an auditorium with rows of half-full seats on either side. In the center of the room, the stage loomed, with two bright spotlights aimed at it. Amy scanned the room and selected a seat a few rows up from the front. Then, she shrugged out of her coat and draped it over the seat next to her, along with her purse. With a smile, William dropped into the seat next to her and exhaled.
“I never thought I’d set foot in college again,” William admitted, pausing to tilt his head in her direction. “Usually, people can’t wait to be done with their education.”
Amy tapped her pen nervously against her notebook. “I know what you mean, but I need something to fill the time, or I’ll go crazy.”
“I know what you mean.” William sat up straighter and turned so he was facing her completely. “So long as we don’t end up reenacting Shakespeare in tights, it should be fine.”
Amy’s lips twitched in amusement. “Why would we reenact Shakespeare in tights?”
“I don’t know, but I’m having all sorts of flashbacks now, and I’ve got to tell you… I don’t have the legs to pull the tights off anymore. That ship has long since sailed.”
Amy choked back a laugh. “I’m sure you’d be fine.”
William’s smile grew, and it made him look even more handsome. “You’re just saying that because you want to get into Elizabethan English. You were secretly one of those students, weren’t you?”
Amy was still laughing when she spoke. “What do you mean?”
“The kind who liked it when the teacher told them to read,” William continued after a quick look around. “I bet you even read ahead.”
“Oh, absolutely. I loved having time to myself to read.”
William’s eyes widened as he leaned back in his seat and clutched his chest. “I can’t be associated with a nerd. You’re going to hurt my reputation, and I want them to think of me as the older but cool kind of dad.”
“Dad? More like grandad.”
William threw his head back and roared with laughter. “Oh, you got me there. Fair enough, I won’t tell anyone you’re a nerd if you promise not to reveal my age.”
Amy’s sides hurt as she took William’s outstretched hand and gave it a firm shake. “You’ve got yourself a deal.”
William’s hands were warm and calloused, and she didn’t want to let go.
For a long moment, neither did he, so they kept shaking each other’s hands for far longer than she thought they would.
When a man in a tweed jacket, dark pants, and salt-and-pepper hair walked in, Amy reluctantly withdrew her hand. But for the duration of their one-hour creative writing course, it tingled, and she couldn’t stop thinking about how nice it was to be unguarded around William.
Or how easy it was to talk to him.
He and Eric couldn’t possibly have been more different, and Amy appreciated William all the more for it.
She needed more friends in her life, and she had a feeling William Johnson would fit the bill.