If ever there was a time he wanted a big bottle of beer, it was now. But he wasn’t going to get the alcohol going; it might encourage her to hang around and right now he needed some headspace.
‘I have my web design,’ he stated, more coldly than he’d intended, but it didn’t put her off.
‘I know that, but surely you’ll need a job at the same time. My work will bring in a salary but it won’t be enough for four, not if we want to save for the future.’
She was jumping the gun now. He chose to ignore the implication. ‘Web design pays. It doesn’t pay huge, not yet, but I’m just getting started.’ He’d researched this, he had a five-year plan, he knew what he was doing.
‘College will be expensive. I’m assuming you want the kids to go?’
‘Of course,’ he said, resenting the suggestion he hadn’t thought about their futures. ‘If it’s right for them. And by then, my web design business will be well established.’
Prue laughed. ‘Dylan. You’re a lawyer! And a damn good one. Don’t give that up for something unreliable that may or may not work.’
‘I’m not a lawyer, not any more. I gave it up a long time ago and there’s no going back.’
‘Oh come on.’ She spoke with a passion he hadn’t seen for a long time. ‘You loved that job, you were moving upwards, you were respected. I’ll bet the firm would take you back. I know Carl always thought you’d return.’
‘You spoke to Carl?’
‘I bumped into him at a bar a few nights ago. He thought you were having some kind of midlife crisis.’
From memory, his colleague Carl had always fancied Prue. He’d never said as much but men were drawn to her like a helpless moth, flying into the light and being dazzled.
‘It’s not a midlife crisis,’ said Dylan. ‘It’s called a career change. You might have heard of that, seeing as you’re doing the same.’
‘Come on, be serious now. You can’t throw away law for designing pretty websites. Even if you have plenty of money behind you, don’t you want a career?’
God, he hadn’t missed this, the way she felt she should be controlling what decisions he made in his life. It had been the same with exercise. But if she thought she’d be able to bully him back to a career in law, she was sadly mistaken. Her father’s ways had definitely been passed on to Prue. How had Prue’s brother turned out so different? Maybe there was a lot to be said for moving thousands of miles away.
‘I’m not going back to law, Prue, and that’s final. Can we change the subject?’
But when he thought about what she’d just said, he couldn’t move on from the remark about his financial situation. He did have enough money now he’d sold the premises in the West Village, but she wouldn’t know that because he hadn’t said anything. He’d changed all his passwords shortly after she’d walked out, worried she’d clear out the bank accounts and not look back. At the time he’d thought he might be a little paranoid, but now, he was more suspicious. Had she been looking into his financial situation and found out? Was that what this was about? Did she want another alimony payment, or access to his money through reconciliation?
When Mackenzie called from the front door to say they were back, Dylan asked Prue to keep him up to date about plans with Jacob tomorrow. He didn’t invite her to stay, and as they ate their dinner and he helped cut up the chicken for Jacob, he wondered how this woman would possibly slot back into their lives as though nothing had happened, when she was this distorted shape he didn’t understand or trust.
And after he’d put the kids to bed, the niggling feeling he had wouldn’t go away and so he went into the study and switched on the computer. And yet again he changed all of his passwords on every single account.
Was Prue trying every avenue until she got what she wanted?
22
STAMFORD, CONNECTICUT
The next day Prue planned a movie night and a sleepover at her place for Jacob and Ruby. She hadn’t wanted to leave Ruby out of the equation and Jacob seemed happy enough for his older sister to tag along as his mom tried to make nice.
Winter hung in the air and it wouldn’t be long before snow and ice would make indoor training a lot more likely for Dylan. And with five days to go until Christmas and a mountain of food already in the pantry and the refrigerator, he took the opportunity tonight when he was kid-free to get outside and go for a run. He pulled on a bright-green, long-sleeved top and his skins to stop the cold and the wind that whipped around tonight, and ran from his house, around the local park, and back along the main street. He loved running when the streets were so deserted. No pedestrians to dodge, not many cars on the streets, just him and his thoughts.
He ran across the road and through a smaller park. The trees were bare now and the only colour left was that of the lights snaking up the bark of the trees. He ran beside the grass, the only sound his breath, and out the other side and along the sidewalk up behind a pedestrian. He turned to check for cars and was about to sidestep into the road and run along it to pass the woman when she turned around and screamed.
The woman brandished something shiny towards his eyes and he stopped in his tracks. ‘What the… Cleo?’ She must’ve recognised him then because she lowered her set of keys she was using as a makeshift weapon. He held up both hands to surrender.
Hand against her chest, she was breathing heavily. ‘You scared the crap out of me!’
He stepped closer and gently plucked the ear buds from each of her ears beneath her woolly hat. ‘You shouldn’t be wearing those. You won’t hear danger until it’s too late. I could’ve been anyone.’
‘And you shouldn’t run so close to a woman on her own.’
His breathing settled into a steadier rhythm as she stared back at him. ‘It’s nice to see you. What are you doing out here?’
