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“Spoilsports,” Maggie said, chuckling.

After Katrina left the house that morning for her walk to the park, and Dave received the call from Rose, he sat at the kitchen counter with a cup of coffee and contemplated what his next move would be. The cottage was quiet without the baby’s laughter and antics, his screams of delight echoing through the house as Angela, the weekend babysitter, ran after him. The joy that his family brought him juxtaposed with the anguish of the recent developments in his mother’s history.

Justin had to be told of Val’s statement to Rose. And then they needed to decide when to tell Chris. Because there was no longer any if about it; he had to know before he became too entwined with Val Amotte.

Keying in his brother’s phone number, Dave took a deep breath, waiting for him to answer.

“Hey, buddy, I’m seeing a client. Can I call you back?”

“Sure, sorry. Talk soon.”

He ended the call, knowing that it was better not to give any news to Justin when he was working. Justin was the most passionate of the three brothers. Dave and Chris had similar temperaments, but Dave was more emotional than Chris.

The three brothers had their differences: patient, mild-mannered Chris; flashy, zealous Justin; and gentle, creative Dave.

After pouring another cup of coffee, he wandered around the house, putting things back in place that the baby had moved, straightening up, all acts that helped him to order his own thoughts. What had happened to their mother was horrible, but knowledge of it hadn’t changed one thing about their life. Adding Chris to the family had turned out to be great, but it wasn’t life-changing.

His phone beeped just as that revelation came to him.

“Sorry,” Justin said when Dave answered. “I had a cat with a foxtail in its ear. What’s up?”

“Have you talked to Dad or Rose?”

“No. What’s wrong now?”

“I’ll just spit it out. Val admitted to Aunt Elizabeth that the sex was not consensual. He didn’t use the word rape. But he told Rose what happened. It’s too graphic to repeat, and I don’t think you need to hear it, to be honest.”

“Okay, so no news here. We believed Mom without his fucked-up confession. It shouldn’t make any difference. But because of Chris, it’s huge.”

“Yeah, I think so, too. Should we do it this afternoon? We’ll all be there.”

“I wanted to take you guys on a trail ride.”

“We can still do it, unless Chris storms off to kill his father.”

“We won’t let him do that,” Justin said. “Thanks for telling me. Do you know if the women know?”

“I sent Kat a text right away, so I’m sure they know.”

The three women pushed strollers to the dock, where Maggie and Tina would get into Maggie’s dinghy for the five-minute ride back to Bayou Cottage. Gus waited on the dock for her. At noon, he’d close up the dockmaster’s shack and head for home. Seeing Maggie and the others was the highlight of his day, though, and he gladly waited for her. She waved when he was in her sight.

“Good old Gus, hanging out on his day off so I don’t drown my kid getting her into the boat.”

“Maggie, ugh! Have you ever done it alone?” Annie asked.

“What? Drop her down into the skiff when the tide was low? Not yet. I can climb down the ladder with her in my arms, though, and as long as she has her life jacket on, she should be okay, even if I accidently drop her into the drink.”

“Don’t even say that,” Katrina cried, flaring her nostrils.

They helped Maggie fold up the stroller and lower it into the boat, and then Gus handed baby Tina to her.

“I’ll see you later!” she called out, the baby on the floor of the boat between her feet as she started the motor.

Katrina and Annie waited on the dock until she was out of sight. Soon, the sound of the motor stopped.

“That means she’s home,” Gus said, tipping his hat. “I will see you all soon.”

They headed to Annie’s house, the first stop on the way home.

Source: www.allfreenovel.com
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