Tallulah.
Disgust lurked deep in my belly. The indifference in his voice was as if she were as annoying as a bug he blotted with his thumb. She was hispatient. She must be vulnerable. No matter how willing she was, no matter how much she pursued him, he should have backed off.
“It must be so hard for you,” I said through gritted teeth.
“You know psychiatry is my passion. Even the most challenging days are fulfilling in their own way.”
“I bet…”
Jeremy’s eyebrow lifted, but he didn’t challenge me. “What are your plans after the class? I’d love to spend more time with Matilda if it’s not too late. Is the ice cream shop still open?”
I nodded. “She’ll love it if you take her.”
“You’ll come.”
It wasn’t a request. It was an order. My words, the endless threatening letters from the lawyer—he ignored them. He was still delusional enough to believe he could charm his way back into my life. But the woman he’d married was gone. The new version of me was stronger.
“No, Jeremy. I won’t be coming anymore.”
“You’re quiet.” Callan’s handbriefly left the steering wheel to touch my knee. “Did that jerk say something to upset you?”
My gaze tore off the murky trees whizzing past on the back road. There were no answers there anyway. “Yeah, but not what you think…” I exhaled slowly.
How was I going to explain this? I wasn’t sure if I understood it myself.
“That’s a big frown.” Callan flicked a look in the rearview, his eyes on Matilda. She was occupied trying to cram her fuzzy ginger bear into the new critter convertible Jeremy had bought her. “What’s going on, Ez?”
“Jeremy said he was having trouble with a patient tonight.”
“I guess that’s a better excuse than I thought he’d have for not getting off his ass to comfort his daughter.”
“Yeah, but…” I drew a deep breath. “Realistically, what do you think are the chances of his patient having the same name as the woman he cheated on me with?”
Callan’s mouth pressed flat. He didn’t like where this was going. “If her name’s like one of the many Kimberlys or Stephanies from high school—”
“It’s Tallulah.”
“Then there’s a one hundred percent chance they’re the same person.” Callan’s grip tightened around the steering wheel. “So, Jeremy had”—he mouthed the word “sex” so Matilda wouldn’t hear—“with a patient?”
God. If Callan thought that, too… “I feel sick,” I mumbled.
“Want me to pull over—”
“No… I just… Cal, what am I going to do?” My fingers worried the edge of the seatbelt. “He’s a doctor.”
“He’s hershrink.”
I swallowed. That was worse, wasn’t it? So much worse. “What if she loves him?”
“Does that matter?”
“I… I don’t know… I know almost nothing about her, but she can’t be okay if she’s seeing him, right? This is such an abuse of trust. I know I should report this, but…”
“But nothing.”
“If I do, there’ll be an investigation, and he’ll probably lose his practice… Any money in our accounts will go to legal fees. There’ll be nothing to go towards making sure Til is taken care of.” My gaze stuck to the dashboard. “If I stay quiet…”
I’d have a backup. Money would be in my account if my world fell apart again. Callan was beautiful, perfect even, but Jeremy had taught me that life could spin upside down at any second. Taking our security for granted was what landed me on Callan’s doorstep in the first place.
