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Chapter 14
Confusion and anger swamped her. Callie pivoted on her heel, turned away from the lighted restaurant window, and strode half a block away.
“Callie?” Jake’s voice, edged with puzzlement, sounded behind her the instant before he caught up to her. “Where are you going?”
Her throat hurt. Who was that guy? Why hadn’t her mother said she was seeing a man?Wasshe seeing him? They’d looked all cozy and intimate, but maybe she was misinterpreting the situation.
No, she wasn’t. Her mother was out with a strange man, and they sure as hell weren’t acting like a couple on a first date.
“Callie.” Jake closed his hand around her arm and pulled her to a stop. “What’s wrong?”
She drew in a breath and pointed toward the restaurant.
“My mother is in there.” Her voice shook.
Jake darted his gaze to the window, a cloud descending over his eyes. “Then we’ll go somewhere else.”
“No, you don’t get it.” Yanking her arm from his grip, Callie stalked away from the restaurant. She didn’t know whether to go in there and confront her mother or not. “I don’t know who that man is.”
A frown tugged at his mouth. “So she’s on a date. Is that a problem?”
“You’re damned right it’s a problem.” Callie fisted her hands, her breath fast. Though some part of her mind recognized that she was reacting with undue force, a mess of hurt, pain, and grief swirled through her chest. “I didn’t know she was dating anyone, much less a man who holds her hand and pours wine for her. How long have they been seeing each other?”
“I don’t know.” Jake stepped closer, a crease appearing between his eyes. He put his hand on her lower back. “Come on. Let’s go back to the car.”
“I don’t want to.” Aware of a few passing glances, Callie took another breath and tried to calm down.
“Okay, then let’s go over here.” He guided her to the doorway of a closed art gallery and settled his hands on her shoulders. “You’re upset because you didn’t know she was seeing someone.”
“Of course I didn’tknow.” Callie folded her arms against another chill. Tension poured down her spine. “I can’t believe she didn’t tell me. Do my sisters know? Am I the only one out of the loop, like I was with the hamsters?”
He blinked. “The what?”
“Never mind.” She waved a dismissive hand and paced back and forth. “I don’t get it. Why wouldn’t she tell me? Why is she even dating? Isn’t she busy enough?”
“Aren’t you busy enough too?” The question was gentle, but it hit Callie like a stone.
She glared at him, her heart pounding. “Don’t put this on me. My mother is sneaking around behind my back with a strange man I don’t know, and they’re…canoodlingover wine, and my father is the only man she’s ever been with in her entire life, so will you please tell me what the hell is going on?”
“Yes.” Grabbing her arms to stop her pacing, Jake put his hand against the side of her neck. “What’s going on is that your mother suffered a shocking, devastating loss when your father died. So did you and your sisters. You’ve all had to deal with it in your own ways. And what’s going on is that your mother will spend the rest of her life missing your father, but somewhere during the time since his death and her own health troubles, she remembered thatsheis still alive.
“She remembered that she’s still young, that she has a lot of living left to do, and that her daughters are finding their own paths. She realized she wants to have fun, to be with someone she likes, someone who appreciates her. She remembered that your father wouldn’t have wanted her to be alone. He would have wanted her to be happy again. That’s what’s going on.”
Tears blurred Callie’s eyes. “So why is she sneaking around like a teenager?”
“She’s a grown woman who can make her own decisions. But she’s ‘sneaking around’ because she’s not ready to tell you yet.”
“Why not?”
“Maybe because she knew you’d react badly.”
“I’m not reactingbadly.” She shoved him and turned away again. “I have a right to be upset.”
“And she has a right to tell you about a date when she wants to.”
“Why are you on her side?”
“Sweetie, there are nosideshere.” He spread his hands out, a plea rising to his eyes. “But if there were, I’d be on your side without question. I just want you to look at this from another angle. Sometimes it’s okay to keep things to yourself for a while.”
