“Sure. I guess.” Piper gulped her tea, looking so uncomfortable, Abby felt a tiny pang of guilt—a pang she quickly squelched.
“Stories,” Verna said, placing extra emphasis on the word again, “can be quite wonderful, even cathartic, when used for good. But when used for ill will or ill-gotten gains, they can be rather damaging, don’t you think?”
Piper reached for an almond raspberry tea cake, avoiding Verna’s question altogether this time.
Was it her imagination, or had Piper read between the lines of Verna’s literary musings? The Belles might not get as much out of their target as they’d hoped.
As if she’d had the same inkling, Janet snapped the paperback shut and tossed it on the coffee table. “Enough about the book. Tell us about yourself, Piper. Where are you from?” Leaning forward, she flashed her warmest we’re-all-friends-here smile.
“Down south.”
“South like Los Angeles? San Diego? Or south of the border?” Janet asked in a casual, chatty tone.
“From a small town. You wouldn’t have heard of it.” Piper reached for another tea cake, and when she wasn’t looking, Janet threw up her hands in defeat.
Gail rolled her eyes at how quickly Janet surrendered, and Abby smiled. Gail, strict and regimented, frequently chided Janet for her lack of discipline and follow-through when it came to anything other than her rigorous antiaging routine. “What do you do for work?” Gail asked Piper, taking over as interrogator.
“I—” Piper paused, appearing to weigh her words carefully before adding, “I’m in transition right now.”
“Career change?” Gail pressed for more details.
“Yes,” Piper said simply, finishing her tea cake.
“And what do you do for fun? I love to crochet,” Faye chirped, clearly not understanding the assignment. “Do you enjoy crochet?”
“Not really.”
“Do you plan to stay in town long?” Shirley prodded, redirecting the conversation.
Abby’s pulse raced, and she tried to read Piper’s expression from the corner of her eye, without looking too interested. But shehadquestioned Piper’s game plan more than a hundred times since yesterday. Surely, Piper knew the DNA results would come back negative. What would she do then? Why drive all that way for a plan doomed to fail? It didn’t make sense.
“For as long as it takes.” Piper drained her last sip of tea and set the cup and saucer on the coffee table. Facing the women in turn, she added, “Look. I know you ladies don’t like me. And frankly, I don’t care. I’m not here to make friends. The only thing you need to know about me is that I’m here for my son. And if any of you are mothers, maybe you can try to understand that.” She rose from the love seat, her features firmly set with a level of confidence and conviction that made Abby’s blood freeze. “Tyler.”
He looked up from the ladybug cookie he was decorating as if his mother’s voice were the only sound capable of breaking his concentration. “Yeah?”
“Let’s take a walk down to the beach.”
“Okay!” He brightened at the suggestion. “Can I bring the cookies?”
“You may bringone.”
He grinned, and to Abby’s surprise, turned back around to tidy up the table, starting with replacing the sprinkle caps. How many five-year-olds voluntarily cleaned up after themselves?
“It’s okay,” she told him. “I can clean up. You go with your mom.” On impulse, she asked Piper, “Would you like to take some sand toys?”
For a moment, Piper stared at her as if she’d sprouted two heads, both of which were unexpectedly nice to her. “No.” After a short pause, she added, “Thank you.”
Tyler scooped the cookie into his hands and scampered after his mom.
Before the door swung shut, Tyler waved goodbye, his little face smiling wide as if she’d become his new best friend.
Abby waved back, returning his smile as the fragile fissures sinewing through her heart slowly split open.
Was there even the tiniest possibility that Piper wasn’t lying after all?
And if so, could she bear to uncover the truth?
Chapter 12
