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I take a few beats before everything registers. “Are you telling me you think my mom is responsible for us floating out to sea? Why? Why would she do that?”
He shrugs. “Beats me. Do you want me to go with you when you talk to her?”
I nod and suck in a breath. “Yes. Damn it, Mom! Just when I thought you were done with your nutty shenanigans.”
Chapter 10
Hudson
When we arrive at Frenchie’s RV and let ourselves inside, it’s not just Mrs. French waiting for us. But also Frenchie’s dad, Kris.
“Dad!” Frenchie shouts. “What in the hell are you doing here?”
Kris stands and holds out his hands in surrender to his outraged daughter. “I know. It’s been way too long and too little contact. But your mom and I wanted to tell you what’s been going on. Together.”
Shocked, I look from Adalee’s astonished face to Mrs. French to Kris.
“I have a confession to make to you,” Jenny says. “Kris and I have decided to take another shot at our relationship.”
“While I was away, I thought a lot about you and your mom and all the regrets I have. So many regrets,” Kris said. “So when I heard that Jenny was getting out of rehab, I wanted to come and help her.”
Frenchie’s face flushes with rage. “How long have you been back in town?”
Kris and Jenny exchange a look. “About a week,” Jenny says.
“And you never thought to call me? Text me? A whole year I don’t hear from you, and now you’re just here all of a sudden because you want to help Mom? What about me? What about all the crap I had to deal with when I was the only one here trying to convince her to dry out? Where were you when I was making the ultimatums that she needed to dry out, or I wasn’t going to be there for her anymore?
“A father should be there for his daughter through all of this. I had nobody but Hudson to talk to about any of this crap.”
Jenny wrings her hands. “I’m sorry, honey. I didn’t think you’d like it. My sponsor tends to warn against jumping into relationships so quickly out of rehab. Still, Kris…” Again, Frenchie’s parents exchange glances and then look pleadingly back at Frenchie. “He wanted to be there for me, and it made sense.”
Frenchie dabs at her eyes with her sleeve and sniffs. I don’t see any issues, so I scurry off to the bathroom and grab a fistful of toilet paper for her. She blows her nose and says, “Well, none of this makes any sense to me. Why are you telling me this now if it’s been on the down-low?”
Jenny darts her eyes around. “I wanted you to understand why I’ve been distracted, and I wanted you to know it wasn’t the booze again. That was important to me. And there’s more. And the rest of the story I feel even worse about.”
At this point, Jenny turns to me and wags her finger at me. “You’ve got devil’s eyes, and I can’t lie to you without feeling like you already know the truth.”
I think I know where this is going. “What did you lie about, Mrs. French?”
“Well, not lie so much as obfuscate,” Jenny says, even though I’m not one hundred percent sure what that word means. “When you came around earlier and told me the story of what happened on the boat, I should have told you the truth. I cut the rope.”
Frenchie heaves out an exasperated breath. “Mom, why?”
Kris clears his throat. “I know. I should have put a stop to it.”
Jenny cringes when I take a step toward Kris. “Damn right, you should have. Do you realize what could have happened to us out there?” I point at Frenchie, who is shaking her head in shock and disappointment. “That is your daughter. Do you get that? Do you know she gets seasick?”
Kris rubs his face, at least possessing the decency to look ashamed.
Jenny puts up her hands in surrender. “It’s my fault. He tried to talk me out of it, but I told him it was fine because she was with you, Hudson. You’re the marina man; you would keep her safe. I figured it wasn’t a big deal.”
Frenchie’s voice shakes as she levels her mom with a fierce stare, her fists balled. “Apart from my safety, you risked damaging Captain Jack’s boat. This is just … appalling, even for you, mother.”
I wince. I know when she calls Jenny “mother” instead of “mom,” she’s beyond angry.
Through gritted teeth, Frenchie goes on. “I hate to even ask this, but what was your cockamamie reason for doing this, mom and dad? And yes, I hold both of you responsible.”
Kris rubs the back of his neck and shifts uncomfortably. “I guess the best way to explain it is to buy Jenny and me more time together.”
