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Chapter Eleven
Mark held me that night while I finally drifted off to sleep in the wee hours, exhausted from letting my brain run wild with scenarios involving Rob. But, as always, when I woke up, he was gone. This shouldn’t have bothered me since I’d been the one to set the boundaries. But this morning, with my emotions running high, it did.
I took a quick shower, however by six am I was already chomping at the bit to get a text from Haylee that Tristan was awake. He was normally an early riser, but chances were he’d stayed up later, and it would be at least another hour before he got up. I was trying to be patient, but my whole life revolved around a little boy whose father had been newly released from jail. It was amazing how panicked and guilty I started to feel at being away from him.
Mommy guilt. It’s as though you can’t leave the hospital without getting a bag of it to go with your new bundle of joy. Working mother. Go ahead and add a truckload more the first time you leave your baby for work. Of course, I’d been lucky in having my mother able to watch him over that summer until I could find a good day care, but still, I’d fretted.
Filing for divorce, leaving my husband, and moving up here may have been hands down the right things to do, but boom, on came more guilt. So that’s why taking a night to myself to go to dinner, a club, and have amazing sex—Well, it tipped my balance. So much so that I promised I’d never put myself first again. Which was ridiculous, but that’s what mommy guilt did to you.
Luckily, Haylee’s text telling me Tristan was up came in the nick of time and saved me from any more self-lecturing.
I thought I’d be an intruder on an intimate family morning when Haylee invited me to come for the mouse pancakes, but I couldn’t have been more wrong. Even Josh went out of his way to ensure I felt comfortable once I arrived, and he entertained Tristan with two stories while his mom made her famous Mickey-face pancakes.
We were having an amazing morning until I saw my attorney’s number flash up on my screen. I’d been expecting his call since I’d emailed him before I’d come up. Quickly, I excused myself from the dining table.
“Hello.”
“Hi, Ms. Walker. I’m sorry for the calls over the weekend.”
“No, no. It’s okay.” Although he was probably charging me double now. “Not like it’s your fault. Do you know if Rob has a monitoring bracelet?”
“He does not, unfortunately. But the good news is your PI, Andy, is watching him. Thus far, Rob’s been staying at his girlfriend’s place. Uh, sorry.”
The thought of my ex having a girlfriend no longer bothered me. “Don’t be. Wait, did you say Andy is monitoring him?” I hadn’t called my PI, and I certainly didn’t have the money to hire him to watch Rob twenty-four seven.
“Your boss, Brian, is picking up the tab.”
“The hell he is. Tell him no.”
“Uh, that’s not my call. His contract is directly with Andy.”
“Were you the one who told Brian about Rob being out on bail?”
“No, ma’am.”
Which meant Mark had been the one to pass on the information to Brian since he was the only one to whom I’d revealed the situation.
“If you want my two cents, I suggest you let the PI do his job, especially if knowing Rob’s whereabouts and activities will give you peace of mind about your safety and that of your son.”
“Right. Okay. Thanks, Harvey.”
I absolutely hated that part of him was right. But I was going to kill Brian when I met him and Sasha for lunch later. You know in the way which said thank you, you’re the most amazing friend ever, but you’re totally a dead man.
* * *
“You are not spending your money for my PI to keep tabs on Rob.”
I sent my text to Brian ten minutes after hanging up with my attorney. Subtle I was not. And I wasn’t known for my patience, either.
“Worth the sacrifice and not up for argument, especially if you want me to treat you to lunch.”
I knew he’d be stubborn, and I’d be damned if I let him pay for lunch, too.
When Tristan and I went to meet Sasha and Brian at the hotel that afternoon, my boss and friend of ten years completely disarmed me once I walked through the lobby doors. How? By stepping up and giving me a heartfelt hug and murmuring these words.
“You, Juliette Walker, mean the world to me and to Sasha. So does Tristan. Which means, for the next couple of weeks, you will let us do this. Until we have a handle on what Rob is doing, which hopefully is nothing but laying low. Because we love you. Got it?”
Shit. I stepped back and let out a shuddered breath. All of the fight immediately had left me with his words. “Oh, sure, make me cry in the hotel lobby, you jerk.” There was absolutely no heat to my words, but it had the desired effect when he grinned. I smiled back.
