Chapter 14 June #2
"Yes, I've noticed that too," Holt agreed. "What I wanted to discuss is the fact that I think we need to tell Rad and Willa about about us."
"What about us?" June asked, perhaps a bit too quickly, as nervousness began to creep into her voice. "There is no us, Holt. I mean, we're just friends now. Colleagues working together on an investigation."
Her anxiety level increased as another thought occurred to her. "Is someone in town spreading rumors about us spending time together? Because if people are talking, then maybe—"
"No," Holt interrupted, shaking his head.
"I haven't heard any rumors or gossip. What I mean is that we need to tell them about our past marriage.
Willa obviously doesn't know anything about me or my connection to her family history.
" He paused and swallowed before continuing.
"Rad knows that I was married before Lillian, but I've never told him any details about that relationship. "
"So he doesn't know you were married to me," June realized, trying not to focus on how much that omission hurt her feelings. She hadn't told Willa anything about her first marriage either, so she could hardly blame Holt for keeping the same information private.
"Exactly," Holt confirmed. "And I think it would be better for them to hear the truth from us rather than discovering it through town gossip or old photographs or someone else's memories."
June nodded, recognizing the wisdom of his suggestion even though the thought of having that conversation made her stomach clench with anxiety.
"Yes, I agree completely. It's definitely better that they hear it from us directly," she said, managing what she hoped was a reassuring smile. "I'm actually surprised they haven't heard about our history already, to be honest."
"You're absolutely right about that," Holt said, his eyebrows shooting up as he considered the apparent anomaly. "It is quite strange for this town. Usually, everyone knows everyone else's business going back three generations."
"We've probably just been lucky and Rad hasn't been living here very long," June rationalized, though she could hear the uncertainty in her own voice.
"Yes, I agree we’ve just been lucky or the town thing they already know," Holt agreed, though his frown deepened as he considered the situation. "It is strange, though, how our children both ended up living in Sandpiper Shores. What are the odds of that kind of coincidence?"
"I know," June agreed, feeling a chill that had nothing to do with the hospital's air conditioning. "Sometimes fate works in mysterious ways."
The silence stretched between them for a moment as both of them contemplated the implications of their shared history and their children's current situation.
Finally, June's eyes drifted toward Margo's room door. "I should go check on Margo and see if she needs anything. Knowing her, she's probably trying to convince the nursing staff to bend a dozen different hospital regulations."
"Of course," Holt said. "Do you have a way to get home tonight? I know you came here with Dean, but he seems like he's planning to stay with Lacey."
"Actually, I have Carmen's car," June replied, making a slightly sheepish expression. "Dean and I sort of borrowed it without asking when we realized that Lacey and Margo were missing and not answering their phones. We had to get into town to find them."
"Thank goodness you did," Holt said with genuine gratitude in his voice. "If you and Dean hadn't realized something was wrong and gone looking for them, the outcome tonight could have been very different."
"I don't want to think about what might have happened if no one got to them when they did," June said with a shudder.
"Since you have a car available, could you give me a ride back to the lighthouse?" Holt asked. "I came here with Tom, but I don't want to wait around for him to finish his business at the hospital."
"Of course," June said immediately. "I just need to check on Margo and see if Dean needs a ride as well, though I suspect he's planning to stay here overnight."
"That would be great, thank you," Holt replied. "Before we leave, though, I want to track down and talk to whichever first responder was the first to break into the veterinary clinic. I want to get their firsthand account of what they found and how they gained entry."
"That's a good idea," June agreed. “I think Lucy will be your best bet at finding out where he is.”
"I’ll meet you back here when you're finished with Margo?" Holt suggested.
June nodded and watched as Holt walked away down the hospital corridor, his posture radiating the kind of determined energy that came from having a clear mission to accomplish.
As she stood alone in the hallway, June found her heart racing wildly at the thought of sitting down with Willa and Rad to discuss her and Holt's shared history.
The conversation would inevitably involve explaining why they'd gotten divorced, what had gone wrong between them, and how they'd managed to build completely separate lives afterward.
She wasn't sure she was ready to revisit all of those painful memories, especially not with their children watching and judging their choices.
But Holt was absolutely right that it would be better for Rad and Willa to hear the truth from them directly rather than discovering it accidentally.
June just had to figure out what to say and what to filter out.
June took a deep breath and knocked softly on Margo's door before pushing it open and stepping into the room pushing the inevitable conversation from her mind.