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And she really shouldn't have been surprised. After all, this wasn't the man she had loved for over two decades. This was someone else, someone she didn't recognize anymore. She was glad the kids were all grown now and hadn't had to go through this when they were younger.
"Damn it, Will. I've lost everything because of your damn scheming behind my back! I'm not going to jail because you're an idiot and a snake!" Holly's anger continued to mount as she shouted at her ex. Her hands balled into fists as her nails bit into the soft flesh of her palms. "So stop sitting there wallowing in your own self-pity and fix this somehow! Because, by God, I will not take the fall for you!"
"Like you've ever taken a fall for me!" Will snapped back at her. He slammed his glass down on the side table, causing some amber liquid to slosh out. There was a fire in his eyes now, a sight that brought him just a step closer toward the man she had once known.
"And what is that supposed to mean?"
Will snorted and rolled his eyes. His lips were pursed tight as he shook his head. "You know damn well what I mean! You've never loved me, not ever. All you ever cared about was your career and the kids. You didn't give a crap what I did, and you only care now because it's ruined your precious career."
"Oh please," Holly spat at him, rolling her own eyes. "If I hadn't loved you, I would have never married you. I didn't need a husband to be a successful real estate agent, thank you. Yes, I loved my job. Yes, I love my kids more than life, but don't you dare sit there and act like I didn't love you just as much!"
She opened her mouth to yell at him some more but was cut off by the sound of her phone ringing. She clamped her mouth shut again and settled for silently glaring at him as she fished the phone out of her pocket. The damned thing seemed to be stuck in there, and she said a mental curse toward whoever designed women's pants to have such small, tight pockets. Even getting custom tailored pantsuits hadn't been much help in mitigating that, but she hated carrying a purse or handbag.
Holly didn't glance at the name on the screen before accepting the call. "Hello?" she answered, her voice a bit curter than she had wanted, but it was hard to keep her annoyance completely under wraps. She still had quite a bit to say to her ex, and the phone call was only delaying that.
"Holly, is that you?" the aging voice on the other end of the line asked. Hearing that voice, Holly's heart ached, and she regretted the snappy way she had answered the phone.
"Yes, it's me. What's wrong, Uncle Roger?" Holly could hear in those words that this wasn't going to be a pleasant social call. And why would it be? She hadn't talked to the man in years. Technically he wasn't her uncle. He was her mother's cousin, but she had always grown up calling him Uncle and it seemed strange to call him anything else.
The man let out an audible sigh on the other end of the phone line. He had to be in his late sixties by now, and as far as Holly knew, he was still the accountant for the family inn down in the Florida Keys. He had managed the business's finances for as long as Holly could remember. Another sigh came through the line before Roger spoke again. "It's your mother, Holly. Something's wrong."
Her heart had been pounding earlier, but now it didn't seem to beat at all. The last time she had gotten a call like this had been two years ago when she had lost her father to a heart attack. She said a quick, silent prayer that her mother hadn't suffered a similar fate. "Is... is she...?" Holly's voice cracked. She couldn't get the words out to finish her sentence.
"She's fine," Roger clarified, and Holly almost collapsed with relief. With everything else going on, she couldn't stand the thought of losing her mother too. That would've been too much for her to handle. "But something's wrong with her and the Archer Inn. You need to come back."
Holly's heart had restarted itself, and now it was picking up the pace again.Go back? To the Florida Keys? To the Archer House?She hadn't been back there since her father had died two years ago. And before then, she had seldom visited. Once she had left the Keys, she hadn't really looked back.
But if her mother needed her, then what was stopping her? She glanced over at Will, who still sat on the couch, glaring at her. At least he'd had the common sense not to interrupt her call, she thought. But with everything here in Miami in shambles, what was keeping her there? By tomorrow morning, everything she still owned would be moved out of the house and the office. She didn't have any other work lined up.
Sure, she still had the kids nearby, but they weren't exactly kids anymore. They were both grown with families of their own now. While she had no doubt they would both welcome the chance to spend some extra time with their mother, they didn't need her there. They would be just fine if she drove down to the Keys to find out what was going on with her mother and the family inn.
So why was she so anxious about that prospect?
She took a deep breath and held it for a long moment, closing her eyes. When she let out the breath, some of her anxiety went along with it, but she knew it wouldn't go away forever. Not that it really mattered. No matter how anxious she was about returning to her childhood home or stressed out over Will and his shenanigans, she knew what her answer was.
"Okay, Roger. I'll be there," Holly told him. If her mother needed her, then there was no other answer to give him.
They spoke for a moment longer, and then Holly stuffed the phone back into her pocket. Her anger toward Will had lessened, replaced with worry for her mother. All she had the energy for was to glare at Will. "Don't think this is over for a minute," she warned him. "Straighten things out with the IRS. I don't care how you do it, just do it!"
She didn't give him a chance to respond. She turned on her heel and stalked out of the sunroom without another word.
