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He nodded. “I do.” He gestured toward the car. “Izzy is getting antsy. You’d better go.”
“Okay.” She searched his eyes, then dropped a kiss on his cheek. “We’ll talk soon.”
She continued down the path, and he watched her get into her car and drive away. Meanwhile, he felt like a pane of glass that had just cracked, and he was waiting to see whether he’d shatter. Clenching his fists, he pulled himself together, shored up his defenses, and headed inside.
Bex released a shuddering breath.
“Mummy, what’s wrong?” Izzy asked from the back seat.
“Nothing.” She willed it to be true as she started the engine. She couldn’t deal with the fallout from her conversation with Michael just now. She needed to focus on what Imogen and Nigel’s presence meant. “We’re going to visit Nana and Grandpa.” She gunned it toward her parent’s place, parked outside, and hustled Izzy over to knock on the door.
Lita answered, and swept a moping Izzy into her arms. “Hi, darling.”
“We’ve got a problem,” Bex said, and the smile faded from her mother’s face.
“Tell me.” She lowered Izzy to the ground and waved them both into the house.
Bex spoke quietly, so Izzy wouldn’t overhear. “Wesley’s parents are in town.” She didn’t have the stomach to call them Izzy’s grandparents. They didn’t deserve that title.
“Oh, my.” Lita’s hand fluttered to her chest. “I’ll get your father. His crew finished early today. Then you can tell us everything.”
Bex nodded, and followed Lita. When they found her Dad, Izzy was on his shoulders, looking much more cheerful and pretending to ride him like a horse.
“Paul, Rebecca has something she’d like to discuss with us,” Lita told him.
He reached up and lifted Izzy from his shoulders, ignoring her squirms of protest. “Down you go, princess. Why don’t you grab yourself a juice box? Your mum might like one, too?” He glanced at Bex, who shook her head. “No, just one for yourself and one for me then, sweetie.”
Izzy did as he asked—she always did where her grandpa was concerned—and Bex sat at the family table.
“Wesley’s parents are in town,” she explained, for her dad’s benefit.
“Mummy is angry at Michael and Wesley for taking me home from school,” Izzy told them as she collected two juices and handed one to Paul. “I have a funny tummy.”
Her parents looked to her for more details. Bex sighed, and ran a hand through her hair. “They didn’t tell me. Michael took Izzy out of school and I panicked when I went to pick her up and she wasn’t there. Then, when I arrived at his place, he wasn’t there and Wes had left her alone with Imogen and Nigel.”
Paul’s expression darkened. “They’d better not have said anything inappropriate.”
“Not exactly.” Although Imogen had hinted at it. Izzy climbed onto Bex’s lap, resting her cheek on her mother’s chest. Bex stroked a hand over her hair and drew comfort from her closeness. “I couldn’t believe it when I walked in and saw them there. I’d been totally in the dark.” She closed her eyes and tried to lessen the tension in her muscles, not wanting Izzy to pick up on exactly how stressed out she was. “It’s not okay for them to do that to me.”
“No,” Paul agreed. “It’s not. I hope you made that clear.”
“I did. To Michael anyway, when he arrived home.”
“What did he have to say for himself?” Lita asked.
Bex hugged Izzy tighter, being careful not to squeeze her upset belly. “He’d tried to call, and thought he’d sent a message. He didn’t know his parents were there.”
“Huh.” Lita stood and wandered to the kitchen counter, returning with a Tupperware container, which she opened to reveal a selection of homemade cookies. She offered them around, and Bex shook her head—she wasn’t in the mood for anything sweet—but Izzy snatched up a chocolate chip cookie and stuffed it into her mouth. Bex stayed quiet, knowing her mother had more to say but was figuring out how to phrase it.
“Darling,” Lita said, sinking back into her seat and examining the cookies before carefully selecting a spice one. “It sounds like Michael’s intentions were good. He tried to call you, and wanted to help. He couldn’t have known his parents would turn up if nobody told him.” She took a dainty bite of her cookie and chewed. “Maybe you were too harsh on him?”
Bex pressed her lips together so she wouldn’t share the rest of the story. She wasn’t sure what to make of Michael’s confession herself yet, so she wouldn’t air it for anyone else.
“I know he meant well.” She adjusted Izzy on her knee. Regardless of how quiet she was being, or how tired she seemed, they shouldn’t be having this conversation in front of her, but Bex couldn’t bring herself to let her go. She needed the reassurance of touching her and smelling her sweet shampoo scent to remind herself her little girl was safe.
Her parents exchanged a meaningful glance, and instantly Bex was on high alert.
“Isobel,” Paul said, and Izzy’s eyelids fluttered open. “Why don’t you come with me and we’ll read a story.”
