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“Oh, that’s rich,” Nina rasped. “Pretend you’re the injured party. Well, you might fake him out,” she said, gesturing toward Tyler. “But it won’t work on me.”
Stormy had obviously forgotten he was here. She looked at him now, not speaking, her face stark, a naked beacon of confusion and pain.
He couldn’t sidestep it. Discovered that he didn’t want to. She was right. She needed a friend. He moved to her and put his arm around her waist. When she offered no resistance, he guided her out of the house and down the drive to his car.
He took her a few blocks down the highway to a local watering hole that boasted five tables and friendly service. When a waitress appeared, he ordered a pizza. Then he kept silent, waiting.
Stormy still looked shell-shocked. Eventually, she said, “I’m sorry you had to witness that.”
“Don’t be. You handled a difficult situation with far more skill than I could’ve. Had it been my brother, we’d have come to blows.”
“I felt like it,” she said, managing the barest hint of a smile. “It didn’t used to be this way,” she mused sadly. “Or if it had, I didn’t notice. Maybe I’ve had my head in the sand.”
“People change,” he offered.
“Nina hates me.”
He was not about to dispute it, but he felt sure he had seen more in the confrontation than Stormy had. “She probably has to. If she didn’t focus on you, she’d have to look at herself. I have a feeling she wouldn’t like what she saw. I suspect her marriage is in trouble, and as long as she and Tully stand united against you, the focus is off them, and they don’t have to deal with their own problems.”
“What are you now, a psychiatrist?”
He pierced her with a hard gaze. “For the moment, why don’t you just think of me as a friend?”
“You heard everything Nina said.”
“Couldn’t miss.”
“I’ve never been married,” she put before him.
Tyler felt an urge to reach for her hand, then argued himself out of it. “I got the message about your daughter. That’s what you’re driving at, isn’t it?” When she nodded, he added, “Accidents happen, but I get the impression you’re not sorry about that one.”
“I’m not.”
“I like a woman who takes responsibility for her actions. You won’t get a put-down from me on that score. Not that my opinion counts one way or the other.”
“Maybe it does, or maybe it will. I’m confused and upset right now.”
“I can tell.” Then he surprised himself by saying, “I had a daughter once myself.”
“Once?”
“She drowned.”
Stormy shuddered. “I’m…so…sorry. I—I couldn’t bear it if anything happened to Liane.”
“Priss looked a bit like Liane.”
She was silent a moment, absorbing his simply spoken tragedy. “You’re married, then?”
He shook his head. “Once Priss was gone, the marriage was doomed. Neither of us could live with the guilt. At first, we blamed each other, then we blamed ourselves. I had the pool filled in, but… Anyway, neither of us could bear living in the house. We went our separate ways.”
Just as Stormy was composing a sympathetic comment, the waitress placed a bubbling double-cheese pizza before them.
Stormy stared at it, her eyes haunted. “My daughter… She just asked me for—”
“What’s wrong?” Tyler asked. “Would you prefer a salad? We can order—”
“I have to go.” She stood up, her face bleak, and began to hurry out.
