“Never mind.” Eliza smiled. “Help yourself.”
As Ben filled his mason jar, he asked, “Can we have Grant over for dinner tomorrow?”
Eliza winced internally. “I don’t think so. We need to focus on homework tomorrow night. And Grant’s a busy guy. He can’t spend all of his time painting with you.”
Ben’s face instantly fell, and Eliza regretted being so dismissive.
But how could she possibly explain to him that they needed to steer clear of Grant from now on?
If not for their sakes, then for her parents’.
Chapter 14
Her heartbeat thrumming wildly, Eliza screeched into the school parking lot and slammed on the brakes. Agitated, she lunged for her purse on the passenger seat, dropping her keys in the footwell. After bending to retrieve them, she whacked the back of her head on the steering wheel as she straightened. Pain shot through her temples, and Eliza released a low moan.
She’d been a wreck ever since her run-in with Harriet at the barbecue yesterday. Even Cassie mentioned she seemed jittery and absentminded after she’d charred an entire tray of White Chocolate Cappuccino cookies. But the worst offense was forgetting Career Day at Ben’s school. As if she needed another reason to be on Daphne’s bad side. Fortunately, her mother had reminded her with a few minutes to spare.
She raced up the front steps of the old brick schoolhouse and froze when she spotted Grant at the top of the staircase. “What are you doing here?”
“Hi!” His smile faded as he took in her ashen appearance. “Are you okay?”
“What are you doing here?” Eliza repeated, pressing a hand to her forehead. The intense throbbing seemed to match the staccato tempo of her pulse.
Grant’s eyes widened in surprise. “I… I’m speaking in Ben’s class for Career Day. He asked me yesterday at the barbecue. Didn’t he tell you?”
Suddenly nauseous, Eliza gripped the wooden railing to keep from collapsing on the stone steps.
“Are you okay? You look like you might throw up.” Grant set his portfolio and laptop bag on the bench and moved to her side, offering his arm for support.
Eliza waved him aside. “I’m fine.” She needed to collect herself and salvage the situation as quickly as possible. If Harriet found out that Grant—Eliza shook her head sharply. No, Harriet wouldn’t find out. She couldn’t. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“What do you mean?” Grant took a step back, his eyebrows raised in confusion. “Ben asked me to—”
“It doesn’t matter,” Eliza snapped, squinting as another sharp pain pierced the back of her eyes. “Career Day is for parents. Not acquaintances.”
Grant flinched, his features crumbling. “Okay… point taken.” For a moment, he stared at her as though he’d never seen her before, and Eliza’s nausea returned tenfold.
She had no reason to be so unkind to Grant, but panic had completely taken over.
Steeling herself against another wave of anxiety, Eliza squared her shoulders, meeting his gaze with an apology poised on the tip of her tongue. “Grant, I—”
He held up his hand. “Say no more. I think you’ve been perfectly clear.” Looking away, he gathered his belongings from the bench and slung his laptop bag over his shoulder. “Please explain my absence to Ben.”
Guilt constricting her throat, Eliza nodded.
Grant passed by her on the steps without another word, but she felt the frustration radiating from his body like steam curling from a pie crust.
She didn’t blame him. Her harsh words were inexcusable. What was happening to her? The lines between right and wrong, the truth and lies… Everything seemed blurry, painted in shades of gray. She hated gray.
Her eyes burned and Eliza squeezed them shut, fighting back tears. Slowly breathing in and out, she concentrated on the rhythm of her pulse, the warmth of the sun on her bare arms, thetap, tap, tapof a woodpecker in the distance. Finally, she thought about Ben. Focusing her attention on her son usually centered her.
But in her mind’s eye, Ben became a part of the gray landscape, disappearing into the drab, faded background.
Fear gripped Eliza’s heart and her eyelids flew open.
She needed to find a way out of this mess before she lost everything that mattered to her.
Especially her son.
