Page 57 of Book Club Confidential

“Please. I have dinner plans with Dad and Devin at seven,” Tessa said. “I don’t expect to have an appetite then, and the mimosas need something to cling to now.”

Hallie moved to Tessa’s side and looped an arm around her waist, then rested her head against Tessa’s shoulder. “Lunch is on me.”

“Thank you,” Tessa said, tipping her head against her friend.

Tessa suspected her evening would be complicated and riddled with emotional land mines, but she had two strong, smart women to spend her afternoon with, and she’d never again squander the opportunity.

Chapter Fifteen

Driving into Tessa’s childhood neighborhood always came with a heady hit of nostalgia. Only ten minutes from downtown, the familiar streets made her feel a little like she was traveling back in time. Not into history, but into her history. These were the kind of streets that cameras panned into at the start of movies, the visual definition of southern Virginia.

Ancient oak trees lined uneven brick streets, their gnarled, reaching limbs entwined gently overhead. The faint amber glow of the sunset filtered through mossy, web-covered branches, creating a gorgeous fall mosaic across the ground.

Tessa smiled as she drove, appreciating the peacefulness and beauty of the moment and the drive, despite the needles of anticipation pricking her spine. Growing up here, within walking distance of the river and downtown, had made for an idyllic childhood and adolescence. Her dad never tired of taking her to parades, out for ice cream, or to watch the annual rubber duck race from the cobblestone bridge. Anything and everything she wanted to do, he went cheerfully along. He’d made her life without her mother manageable on the hard days and downright wonderful on the others, despite the pain.

Above all else, Tessa’s dad had taught her compassion and patience. He’d made it clear that, eventually, everyone would encounter problems in their lives. Some problems were tough enough that the person would need help, and no one could make that happen except the one in need. Tessa’s mom had an alcohol problem. She’d needed help, but she had to handle that on her own. Until she did, her dad monitored and preapproved her every interaction with Tessa.

The gatekeeping had been fine, until it wasn’t.

For years they continued to share meals and take family walks, when her dad believed her mom was sober. He’d never cut her out of Tessa’s life. But he protected her with the vigilance of a prison guard, until her mom had stopped coming around altogether.

To this day, no one knew if her mom was well, dead, or living somewhere under an assumed name with a new family. Perhaps she was clean and too ashamed to show her face in Harbor Heights again. Tessa hoped the latter was true. Better to be sober and alive with a new life than the alternative. But she never stopped wondering.

Her dad had worn the pain of their divorce, and her mother’s affliction, like an open wound for all of Tessa’s childhood.

Then he’d met Alice, and for a while, he’d been truly, blissfully happy. They all were.

Then she died.

Life really wasn’t fair.

Tessa turned onto the cracked cement driveway outside her childhood home and parked behind an unfamiliar blue pickup truck, presumably Devin’s. She took several steadying breaths and shook out her hands hard at the wrists, then stepped into the twilight.

The tidy brick one-story home wore a black roof and shutters. A seasonal wreath hung on the matching black front door with a large wooden letter M for Michels centered in the grapevine and faux leaves.

Tessa climbed the steps slowly, noting her last chance to feign sick and return home, but the door swung open before she reached the small porch.

“Tess!” Her dad appeared and dragged her into a hug. He rocked foot to foot and planted a kiss on the top of her head. He smelled of Old Spice, a cologne he’d worn all her life, and something ashy, like a campfire.

“Hi, Dad,” she said.

He released her with a proud smile and motioned her through the door. “We were just enjoying a little fire out back while we waited for dinner,” he told her. “Come on in. Dinner’s in the oven. We have a little time before it’s ready.”

Tessa moved into the foyer, lined with framed photos of her annual school pictures from preschool through college graduation. She hung her jacket on a peg above the bench where she once sat to put on her shoes.

Rich, savory scents of warm bread and melting butter wafted from the kitchen, followed quickly by the tangy zip of marinara sauce. “Smells delicious in here,” she said on a dramatic inhale. She pulled the mouthwatering scents deep into her lungs.

“It’s one meal I can’t get wrong,” he said. “I’ve had thirty years of practice.”

Tessa trailed him into the kitchen, taking in his tall, thin frame. “Are you losing weight?” she asked. It definitely appeared that way. He worked long hours, slept very little, and likely didn’t bother with dinner when no one was around.

“Eh,” he said.

“Are you eating enough?”

“I eat,” he said. “I have to go easy. I get heartburn and indigestion.”

She frowned, a flicker of fear igniting in her core. “Did you tell your doctor?”