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“Are you saying she had some sort of a breakdown?”
“She was—is fragile. Life with my father destroyed her.” Trey ran a hand through his thick hair. “Part of the problem was he’s twenty-five years her senior. I think she got to a point where she couldn’t take his bullying anymore and went somewhere deep inside herself. I make certain she has everything she wants or needs.”
Kelly wanted—no, needed—to know more about Trey’s mom, but wasn’t sure if she should keep pressing.
“Do you visit her?”
“Not often. Seeing me can agitate her. As long as my father stays away from her, she remains calm. That’s the deal I made with him, one that unfortunately now has to be altered.”
“Deal?”
Trey turned toward her. “Did you ever wonder why I don’t go to work, why I don’t participate in Wentworth Industries?”
Kelly shrugged. Of course she’d wondered about that strange fact.
“We struck a deal that if Senior left my mother alone, I’d let him run things. I’d be a hands-off face of the company.”
Kelly laughed. “You were a face?” Well, he did have a gorgeous face.
“You know. I go to parties, benefits, charity events to promote Wentworth Industries. The idea is to keep the name out there. My father is obsessed with good PR.”
Kelly nodded, remembering Trey had left wearing black tie her first night at the villa. And how disgusted she’d been that he’d abandoned Jason mere hours after the kid had returned home.
“I had been groomed to take over, but Father refused any loosening of the reins.”
“I get that,” Kelly muttered.
“So to protect my mother, I agreed to wait. At first I was fine with the arrangement because of my new marriage,” Trey continued. “And soon I had my hands full with an unraveling wife and an injured son.”
“What is going to change?”
“My father doesn’t know it yet, but the board wants me to step in. He’s made some costly mistakes lately.”
“So you’ll begin working full time?”
Trey glanced toward the closed bedroom door. “As soon as Jason is stable.”
Kelly wondered if Jason’s delusions weren’t just from physical and emotional trauma. Maybe he had some kind of genetic predisposition for mental illness.
“Has your mother met Jason?” she asked.
Trey shook his head. “She doesn’t even know my son exists.”
That meant Jason didn’t know his grandmother. Trey’s mother sounded like a sweet gentle soul who couldn’t stand up to the steamroller also known as Grandpa Mean Bull. Kelly flashed to a sudden and delightful image of giving the hateful old man a good kick in the butt.
“I’m so sorry,” Kelly murmured.
“Yeah, me, too.”
A warm glow spread through her center. Trey had trusted her with personal information she intuitively knew he didn’t share with many people.
But she’d already allowed herself to care too much about both Trey Wentworth and his son. They weren’t a real family, although it was easy to play along with that lie on a day as dreamlike as this one. And as appealing as that dream might be, it would never work between her and Trey. Their worlds were too different.
She tried to picture him at Moe’s and Joe’s tossing back the cheap beer with Dale or Lana, listening to sick cop humor. Yeah, right.
What a joke to even fantasize about a relationship with him. He only wanted her around because of Jason, and proximity had turned her into a convenient bed partner.
Her own foolishness was about to set her up for a whole bucketful of life’s harshest pain. She needed to go home.
Why couldn’t she manage to do that?
“For Jason’s sake, will you stay and meet Dr. Barth?” Trey asked.
“Yes,” she answered, hating herself for her weakness. “One more day, Trey. That’s all.”
“Thanks,” Trey said and came to his feet. “We need to get back. I’ll have the captain pull up anchor.”
Kelly closed her eyes as an unexpected wave of melancholy washed over her. Time to return to reality.
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
KELLY PUSHED OPEN the door to Maria’s room, hurried inside and took a quick look around. The room was neat, as expected. Interestingly, no photographs on the chest of drawers or nightstand. Did Maria have a life outside of Wentworth Villa?
