Chapter 12
Chapter Twelve
“ I s Mom still asleep?” Dean slammed the cupboard shut and set the cereal down on the counter. Then he swung the refrigerator door open and poked his head inside. “She’s been sleeping a lot lately. Should we be worried?”
Ian glanced up from his cup of coffee. “Her new client is really stressing her out. This is just her way of coping.”
He hated lying to his son, but he desperately wanted it to be true.
If he prayed hard enough, maybe it would be.
Dean reemerged with a carton of milk and his hair in tufts on top of his head. “I’ll pretend I believe you. How are Thanksgiving plans going?”
Ian hid his grimace behind his mug. “You know how your mom gets.”
Everyone in the Wilson clan took turns hosting Thanksgiving, and whenever it was their turn, Lucy ended up breaking out into hives. Regardless of how much everyone pitched in to help or how much Ian took on, the end result was still the same. For someone who planned events for a living, whenever it came to their own events, Ian had no idea how she let it all get to her.
It made no sense to him, but he knew better than to push her to give up, especially when they’d already discussed the menu and seating arrangements last night.
“Kelli and Dana are going to pass by a day earlier to spend the night.” Dean poured himself a generous amount of cereal and followed it up with half and half milk. “Do you think that’ll help?”
Ian set his mug down and cleared his throat. “I hope so.”
“I might bring someone over,” Dean said between mouthfuls of food. “Do you think Mom will mind?”
“The sooner you let her know, the better.” Ian pushed his chair back with a screech and stood. Then he took his mug over to the sink and rinsed it. “And I’d suggest you ask your friend soon, too; otherwise, she’s going to think it’s a last-minute thing.”
Dean swallowed and twisted to face his dad. “What makes you think it’s a she?”
“Because you never ask when it’s your guy friends. They just kind of show up, and your mom has gotten used to it.”
Dean stood up straighter. “Fair point. Don’t tell Mom yet. I’m not sure what I’m going to do, and I want to tell her myself.”
Ian patted his hands dry and gave Dean a quick clap on the back. “Son, I learned a long time ago that women have a way of finding things out. I wouldn’t hold off on telling her for too long; otherwise, she’s going to take it the wrong way.”
Dean grimaced and returned his attention to his cereal. “Good point.”
“I’ll be in the garden if you need me,” Ian called out over his shoulder.
As soon as he stepped outside, he tilted his head back to enjoy the sun’s warmth. Then he rolled up the sleeves of his hoodie and picked up the hose.
He was watering some of the bushes and inhaling the sweet scent of freesias when he spotted Maggie through the glass door.
Her back was facing him, but he could see the tension there.
With a frown, Ian turned the hose off and hurried up the stairs. Snippets of conversation rose when he slid the back door open and stepped in. As soon as his eyes adjusted, he saw Lucy standing next to Maggie, both of their backs turned to him.
“You need to tell Ian about the hospital visit,” Maggie said in a low voice. “And your test results. You can’t keep hiding this from him.”
Lucy shook her head. “He’s got a lot on his plate, and I don’t want to bring it up now. It’s not the right time.”
Maggie touched Lucy’s shoulders and turned to face her. “It’s never going to be the right time, Luce, but you need to tell him anyway. He has the right to know.”
Ian stepped forward and cleared his throat. “Hey, Mags. I didn’t know you were passing by.”
Maggie jumped and wheeled around to face him, letting her arms hang limply by her sides. She lowered her gaze, and her eyes kept darting everywhere. “Hey, Ian. Sorry to drop by unannounced. Lucy is helping me with this thing for work, and she told me to stop by…”
Lucy turned around, her face giving nothing away. “She just needed some help with this big presentation she’s doing for her boss. It won’t take long.”
Ian ignored the hard feeling that had settled in the center of his stomach. “Don’t cut it short on my account. I was going to swing by Sophia’s anyway. Her bathroom sink is acting up again.”
Lucy gave him an apologetic smile. “Good luck. I hope you can figure out what’s wrong.”
Ian gave her a quick kiss on his way past and lingered.
Till he realized Lucy was studiously avoiding his gaze and rubbing a hand up her arm. When he came back downstairs, Lucy and Maggie were in the study with the door closed. He grabbed his wallet, keys, and phone off the counter and set off at a brusque pace, needing exercise to clear his head.
Ian was covered in a thin sheen of sweat when Sophia opened the front door, Teddy dutifully by her side. “Hey, thanks for letting me stop by.”
“Of course.” Sophia gave him a one-armed hug and ushered him in. “Darren’s out running some errands, so it’s just us.”
Ian nodded and glanced around. “How are the renovations going?”
“When the realtor said it was a fixer-upper, she wasn’t kidding.” Sophia huffed and let her hands fall to her sides. “Anyway, we’re doing what we can. It’s just taking its time.”
“Most fixer-uppers do,” Ian replied with a smile. He paused to pat Teddy’s head and absentmindedly scratched behind his ears. “By the way, if Lucy asks, I’m here to help you fix your bathroom.”
“So, what I’m hearing is you’re not actually going to fix it?”
Ian chuckled and leaned on the kitchen counter. “Didn’t you hire a plumber?”
“Yeah, that’s true, but he’s a chatterbox. It makes me wonder how he gets any work done.” Sophia shook her head and stepped into the kitchen. “I’m going to get myself some iced tea. Do you want some?”
Teddy pushed his snout into Ian’s outstretched hand and made a low, whining sound. “He’s a clingy dog, isn’t he?”
Sophia emerged with the pitcher and gave her dog an indulgent smile. “He is, but he’s a sweetheart. I don’t know what I used to do before him.”
Ian plucked dog hair off his jeans. “Your furniture was definitely cleaner, and your house didn’t smell like disinfectant.”
Sophia set the pitcher down and spun around to retrieve a few glasses. “Yeah, sorry about that. He’s been having a few accidents around the house. We’re working on training him though.”
“I think it’s great. I don’t have the patience for a dog.”
Sophia poured a generous amount of iced tea into both glasses and pushed his across the counter. “I’m pretty sure you’re not here to talk about how hard it is to raise a dog. What’s going on? You and Lucy get into an argument?”
“No, but she still won’t tell me what’s wrong. Maggie stopped by before I left, and I overheard them arguing.”
Sophia lifted the glass to her lips and frowned. “What were they arguing about?”
“Something about test results and a hospital visit.”
Sophia’s frown deepened. “You need to tell her what you overheard.”
Ian took a sip of her drink and winced. “This is too sweet, and I can’t bring it up with her. She’ll think I’m trying to push her and not respecting her space.”
Getting Lucy to admit she had a problem was a big step.
The last thing Ian wanted was to make her feel insecure and have her retreat into her shell.
Sophia set her glass down and sighed. “I understand your concern, but what else are you going to do? You can’t keep tiptoeing around the topic and hope it goes away. It sounds serious, and that means you need to know.”
Ian pressed his lips together and didn’t say a thing.
“I know you’re not the talking type, but this is how you work through things, E. That’s how you get through hurdles in a marriage. You have to have the uncomfortable talks; otherwise, the next time you sit down together, it’ll be in front of a divorce lawyer.”
“You and Darren weren’t like that. Some time apart did you both some good.”
“Do you want time apart from Lucy?”
“No, but I’m just saying it wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.”
Especially if it meant finding their way back to each other.
Ian could withstand anything so long as he knew Lucy was waiting for him on the other side.
Sophia finished her drink and cleared her throat. “I don’t think you should have that kind of attitude. You and Lucy need to talk and take it from there. Don’t go into it with a defeatist attitude.”
“You’re starting to sound like Dr. Singh.”
“Your therapist and I are both wise and beautiful.” Sophia stepped out from behind the counter and paused when her phone vibrated. She fished it out of her pocket and held it up to her face. “I hate to cut this short, but there’s been some kind of emergency at the bakery.”
“Oh, no. It’s a sugar emergency.”
“Shut up.” Sophia scowled and shoved her phone back into her pocket. “I’m going to go get dressed. You need to figure out what you’re going to say to Lucy.”
Ian twisted in his seat and watched his sister disappear into her room. “Why do I have to rehearse it?”
“Because when you don’t think about stuff, you tend to run your mouth,” Sophia replied, emerging a few minutes later in a pair of jeans and a sweater. “Come on. Teddy and I will walk you out.”
Teddy’s tail wagged even harder on the way out.
Sophia gave her brother another hug before piling into the car with Teddy by her side. She rolled down the window, gave him another wave, and drove off.
Exhaling, Ian set off in the opposite direction, making for the harbor. When he got there, he shoved both hands into his pockets and walked to the end of the pier. There, he paused and looked out at the water.
“Ian?”
He spun around and spotted Ben’s sister, silhouetted by the bright sun, and squinted. “Hi, Olive.”
“I’m sorry to bother you. I recognized you and thought I’d say hi.”
“I didn’t know you were in town.” Ian fingered the phone in his pocket. “Everything okay? Are you in trouble?”
Olive pushed her overgrown hair out of her face. “Yeah, I’m fine. I was just at the police department… I was hoping they had something new about my son’s case.”
Ian’s expression softened. “I’m sure they’re doing the best they can. In hit-and-run cases, it’s not easy to bring the perp to justice.”
Olive sniffed and stared at the ground beneath their feet. “I know, and I know I shouldn’t get my hopes up, but I just thought… I don’t know what I thought.”
Ian’s stomach dipped. “I can try to look into it if you want.”
Olive glanced up sharply. “I don’t want to be a bother.”
Ian waved her comment away. “It’s not a bother. I’ll see what I can find. I can’t promise anything though.”
Olive lapsed into silence and came to stand next to him. Together, they watched the glistening water, barely exchanging more than a few words till Olive turned and disappeared into the horizon.
Ian stayed for a while longer, watching the water and wondering what to do about everything.
He’d never felt so lost or conflicted before.