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Back home, they’d already had several snowfalls, but in Texas, everything was still green. No snow on the ground, at least not that she could see with her occasional glimpse out the window beside her. She’d tried to be brave a couple of times, to be blasé and gaze out the window like any other seasoned traveler, but the truth was it made her dizzy and slightly nauseous.
Kate turned in the seat and softly said, “Can you hear me, sweet girl? Am I interrupting your work?”
They were wearing headsets that gave them the ability to communicate over the noise of the helicopter, which was good since Kate was up front. Veronica nodded in answer, then shook her head, then smiled when Kate chuckled. “Yes, I can hear you.”
Kate said, “We can talk privately.”
Veronica stroked the locks of hair framing her face and said, “Sure. What would you like to talk about?”
“We should be arriving at the Divine Creek Ranch in about ten or fifteen minutes. You doing okay?”
“I’m fine,” she said, still focusing on the backlit screen of her tablet, the fingers holding her stylus still shaking over the on-screen keyboard. Faker.
“Then can you tell me about the bruise on your cheek?”
Veronica made direct eye contact with Grandma Kate and knew she hadn’t fooled her at all. She’d thought the layer of foundation and powder had disguised the fading bruise at the engagement party. She was pretty sure Cord and Jackson hadn’t noticed the fading mark but leave it to eagle-eyed Grandma Kate to notice the slightest changes. She normally didn’t wear much foundation and Kate undoubtedly remembered that.
It’s in the past. No point in stirring things up. In the end, nothing will change what happened. The important thing is that he should be packing and moving out right now.
“You know how klutzy I am, Grandma Kate. I tripped on an electrical cord.” Yup, you sure did, right after Brent slapped and pushed you.
Grandma Kate chewed her lip for a second and then nodded and faced front again. Veronica hated lying to Grandma Kate. Hated it. It was such a betrayal of their relationship. Kate had never asked hard questions so Veronica had never had to lie before.
“Brent and I had a little disagreement,” she whispered, disbelieving that she was even speaking about it but Kate’s nonconfrontational response had drawn the truth from her.
“I’m sorry, sweet girl,” Kate whispered, and Veronica could hear the steel in her tone. She was holding back anger. Strangely, it didn’t make Veronica feel better. It was in the past. Couldn’t be changed, so why get upset about it?
From the beginning, she’d been attracted to Brent’s naturally dominant personality. He’d thought it was cool that she was a successful published author, and he’d put up with her introverted personality and reclusiveness, as well as the long, odd hours she put in at times. In the beginning, their encounters had been off the charts, but the fires had gradually cooled. She’d felt responsible for that, because of the hours she kept. She’d left him on his own once too often.
“He cheated on me about a week ago.”
He’d invited her to join them at one of his friends’ apartment in the same complex and like always she’d told him no, to go on without her since she’d had a deadline. Only she’d changed her mind and decided to join him for once. She hadn’t worried when he didn’t answer her call letting him know she was coming after all. She’d knocked on the door to find a party in progress and lots of people she didn’t know. She’d asked around for him and they’d pointed her in his direction, toward one of the bedrooms. She’d walked in just as he’d built up a real head of steam, pounding his cock into some giggling bimbo. She hadn’t felt the need to stay and hear his explanation. She was furious as she’d walked back to their apartment, but by the time she walked in her door, she’d been ready to concede that he was left to his own devices because of her work too often, and that she shouldn’t be surprised.
“What did you do?”
“I asked him to move out. He asked for a second chance. I told him I’d think about it.”
