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“I guess you know it was hard on your mom and that’s why she left. I wish she hadn’t, it wasn’t but a few nasty people.”
Kate laid the folded tablecloth on Eileen’s dining room table. “I’m sure you’re right.”
Eileen held her eye, gauging how much to say. Then, obviously seeing something in Kate’s expression, she said, “You know, don’t you. You know about Edie and John.”
Kate’s jaw dropped. “I’m surprised you do.”
“Oh, darlin’, your mom and I have been friends since eighth grade. I was there the first time she saw him, the first time he asked her out. Heck, we double-dated to our senior prom.”
“Wait…you mean Mom dated John Winfield in high school?”
“Well, sure. Didn’t you know that? The two of them were quite the talk of the town in those days, what with your mom being a Tremaine and all. He didn’t care a bit. The two of them were crazy about each other.”
Shocked, Kate leaned against the table. “What happened?”
Eileen sighed. “They had a fight about something stupid. John went and did something even more stupid with Pat Pickering. She told him she was pregnant the day after graduation.”
Pregnant? With Jack? She quickly calculated—no, couldn’t be right, that would make Jack close to forty.
Eileen ushered her into the kitchen, putting on the kettle to make tea. “Edie found out, broke it off with John and left town. John married Pat. When there was no baby several months later, he came to me asking where Edie was. I told him the truth. She was happy with her new life in Florida. He stayed married to Pat and they made a go of it, I guess.”
“Years later, Dad died and Mom came back,” Kate whispered.
Eileen poured some tea, then sat. “First loves never die. John was so sad, trapped by Pat, his job, the town.” Eileen shrugged. “Edie made him happy…they made each other happy. But she would never have let him leave Pat and those children.”
A half hour later, after one of the most shocking and revealing conversations she’d ever experienced, Kate hugged Eileen goodbye and headed home. She wanted more than anything to call her mother, just to hear her voice. Edie seemed so different to her now, not a victim anymore, but a woman in love who did the best she could with what she was dealt.
Kate didn’t know whether to applaud her or to cry for her.
When she arrived home, she immediately looked toward Jack’s side of the duplex, to see if any lights were on. He’d told her he’d wait up, saying he wanted the full scoop on the Bunko orgy. Judging by all the lights, he’d kept his word.
She pulled into the driveway, surprised when she saw a rental car parked there. Unsure who would be visiting at this late hour, she walked up to the porch and glanced in the window.
When she saw the dark-haired person sitting on the couch, and realized who it was, she hurried into the house and launched herself into his arms.
11
IF JACK HADN’T ALREADY figured out that Kate’s business partner was gay, he might be feeling seriously concerned right now. The two of them hugged and chattered with the easy camaraderie of long-time companions. They acted as if they hadn’t seen each other in months, rather than a week.
“Armand, what are you doing here? I can’t believe you came all this way,” Kate said.
“I missed you. I had a fabulous new design I wanted to show you, and since we seem to have a decent staff for a change, I figured we could both be gone for a day or two.” Armand sat on the couch, pulling Kate down to sit beside him.
Jack, who’d taken a seat on the other side of the small living room, couldn’t help smiling at Kate’s obvious excitement.
He hadn’t quite known what to think when he’d seen this tall, dark-haired man knocking on Kate’s front door an hour ago. When Jack had stepped outside to see what he wanted, the other man had asked about Kate. Jack’s first instinct had been to tell the guy she’d left town and had left no forwarding address. Then, when he’d recognized the stranger as the one who’d been hugging Kate at her Chicago shop all those weeks ago, he’d invited him into his place to wait for her.
