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“So I guess I’m going to have to learn about taking one day at a time,” he said. “I like to plan ahead.”
“It’s okay to have a general idea of what goals you want to set, but right now, there seems to be too many variables to plan anything permanent, like us living together. You can focus on getting used to the new job and I’ll finish my master’s degree and we can take it from there.”
“I want to get married,” he said firmly.
“You said yesterday that maybe we should wait.”
“I changed my mind,” he mumbled.
“Okay, well, that’s fine. But I don’t want to, at least not right now. I’m not interested in anyone but you, but I’m not jumping into a wedding.”
He stood up to take his glass to the sink, deciding not to start an argument with her again. She had made up her mind and that was that, at least for the night.
“What time do you have to motivate tomorrow?” he asked.
“I don’t, really. Now that Beverly isn’t going to be at the rescue, I can go into work. Then I’ll come back here and work on my thesis. Other than that, I just have to see you off to your new job in a week! Woot! How exciting.”
“We’ll see. I regret moving so fast.”
“Chris, your attitude,” she said, frowning. “Not good.”
“I know! I’m freaked out about everything.”
“Well, stop it. I’ll handle everything and you just move into your new house, okay? You don’t have to do anything else right now.”
“Okay, I’ll try,” he said doubtfully. “I’ll get in the shower.”
She raised her glass to him. “I’m going to finish this.”
He nodded and left the room. She leaned back on the couch, staring out the window. The drama was getting to her, big-time. The thing to do was to think about the positives; she had her beautiful son, home safe. Chris was a great guy, and as long as they took it slow and dealt with their various problems that had arisen, they should be fine. And she was almost finished with school. She’d be able to start her counseling business as soon as her license came through. It was going to be okay.
The squeak of the shower being turned off got her attention so she got up to go to the bedroom. Just as she walked through the door, he came out of the bathroom with a towel around his waist.
“Wow, my timing is perfect,” she said, grinning at him.
“Ta-da!” He whipped off the towel with his arms outstretched.
It was an invitation to hug and she accepted it, stepping into his arms.
“I’ll hop in the shower and join you in ten minutes if you’re in the mood.”
“I’m in the mood,” he answered, kissing her. “Hurry up.”
Smiling, she kissed him back, happy to move on.
Chapter 5
Monday morning, Beverly Casson woke up feeling sick. Keith was in the shower; she could hear him humming. Her big dilemma was whether she should tell him about the accusations being made. Imagining the headlines—Cypress Cove matron, ex-wife of hardware store magnate and girlfriend of Cypress Cove School principal charged with child abuse—nothing good was going to come from the relapse. She’d been sober for nearly a year! An entire year. And now? Devastation.
Shehadhit little Stevie. He was on the wobble board after she’d tried to get him to nap and he pushed it at her when she’d asked him to get off it. That insolence made her so angry that she swatted him with it, but just on his buttocks. The fight that ensued—him trying to get away from her, bicycling his arms and legs, kicking her in the mouth with a bare foot so that his toenail cut her gum—escalated and when she finally got a hold of him, she threw him into his crib, against the railings.
Deciding that she needed to call Dave Chastain and tell him the whole story before he arrested her, she slid out of bed to head to the kitchen to make coffee. She wished that she didn’t have to interact with Keith. She’d managed to avoid telling him what had happened because he was busy with his daughter and her new husband all weekend, helping them move into their house.
As soon as Keith left for school, she reached for her phone and called the station.
“I want to tell you what happened Saturday night,” she said when he came on the line.
“Okay, I’m listening.”
