I grinned, trying to dismiss her generalizations about good men. “You don’t think that’s a bit cynical? Are you saying bad men are better?”
“Bad men are my favorite. They unapologetically take what they want without excuses. They fuck you once in the bathroom of the bar, again in the car, and against the outside of your apartment door. They don’t think about getting caught because they made up their minds before ever sticking their dick in you that you were worth the risk. I’ve never had a bad man make me feel like I was a bad decision. And I’ve never had a bad man cheat on me and ask for a second chance or forgiveness.”
Again, she grunted a laugh. “Maybe bad people are perceived as being bad when in actuality they’re brutally honest. And good people are in fact the liars we can’t truly trust. They claim those lies are their attempt to save us from feeling too much pain. Nope. Give me the bad guy who doesn’t even take off his wedding band over the guy who nervously rubs his thumb over his naked ring finger while staring at my cleavage.”
I jabbed my thumb over my shoulder. “I’d love to hear more about your stereotypes for men, but today was Franz’s first day of school, and I want to be home in time to hear all about it over dinner.”
“Sorry. I’m sure you’re in a bit of a conundrum. That wasn’t fair of me.”
“What conundrum is that?” I turned and continued toward my car.
“You can’t win. If you stick with the good-guy stereotype, you know I think you’re a coward who doesn’t have the gumption to take what he wants whenever he wants it. On the other hand, if you go with the bad-guy image, it’s basically an invitation to pursue you.”
“What the hell?” I stuttered as her words become nothing but background chatter when my flat tires came into view.
“Oh … that’s not good.” Adrianne squatted, inspecting the tire, one of two flat tires.
One tire would have passed as a bad tire or a nail. Two tires raised suspicion. I lived in an uppity ski town. Vandalism was rare. Anyway, who slashed two random tires? No one. So that meant I had pissed someone off. But who? I had no known enemies.
“Not how I wanted this day to end.” I retrieved my phone again to call Evie.
Adrianne stood and rested her hand on my arm. “Don’t bother anyone, especially your wife since it’s your kid’s big day. I’ll give you a ride home.”
She was right. Evie planned on making lasagna, Franz’s favorite, and probably cookies—snickerdoodles. She was likely in the middle of meal prep. “I can call my friend Noah or a taxi.”
“Don’t be ridiculous.” She tugged on my arm until I stumbled a few steps toward her. “I’m right here. I have no family. No plans. I won’t take no for an answer. Let’s go.”
Bad ideas usually came with good reasons. Maybe she’d drop me off at the end of my drive.
“Oh, sorry.” She laughed, reaching over the console as I opened the passenger door to her red BMW. “Casper is my baby. His toys end up spread throughout my house and my car.” She tossed several dog toys into the backseat. “But I can’t complain. He’s the best dog.”
I slid into the seat and shut the door. “What breed of dog?”
“Bernese Mountain Dog.”
“That’s a large dog.”
She laughed. “Yes. He’s huge. A gentle giant.” Backing out of the parking spot, she shot me a playful wink.
“I’d love to get a dog for the kids.”
“Oh! You should get one from the breeder where I got Casper. She only has one litter a year. It’s not a business, just a passion. They are well cared for and very healthy.”
“I’ll think about it. It’s been a while since I suggested it to Evelyn. I brought it up before her mom died, but we decided to wait. And we just haven’t talked about it again.”
“I didn’t know her mom died. I’m sorry.”
I nodded several times. “Thank you.”
“My mother has been battling cancer for the last year, so I’ve been slowly preparing for the possibility of losing her.”
“Oh, I … I didn’t know.”
She shrugged. “I don’t tell that many people, probably because I don’t have any friends.”
What was I supposed to say? Before I had a chance to think of something, she said it herself.
“It’s hard to make and keep friends when people think I’m after their husbands. You don’t know how much it means to me that Evelyn isn’t that way. Clearly, she feels secure in your marriage. I hope you never do anything to break her trust in you.”
I glanced at her, but she kept her head forward, both hands white-knuckled on the steering wheel. Someone broke Adrianne, which sent her down a path of destruction, obliterating the lives of innocent and some probably not-so-innocent victims. She never shared specific details in the group, but resentment dripped from her words—the grinding of her teeth, the sharp release of her breath.
“Trust is hard. It comes in many forms. We trust the people we love to be honest, but we also trust them to protect us. What happens when the two are at odds?”
“Depends.” Adrianne’s deep red lips twisted to the side. “You have to be sure your intentions are true … pure. If you lie to someone you love to protect them, it better be completely for them.”
“Have you ever lied to selflessly protect someone?”
“No.” She smirked. “I did it for money and revenge, but I never disguised it as love.”
I shook my head, glancing out the window as we approached the road to my house. Before I had a chance to say anything, she turned right.
Taking a thick swallow, I scraped my teeth along my bottom lip. “Should I be worried that you know where I live?” Inching my gaze back to her, I waited for a response. Anything to explain how she knew where to go.
Her expression fell flat as if she didn’t hear me. I didn’t mumble or whisper. The radio was off. The road had been smooth. She heard me.
“Toby’s story irritated me tonight. I didn’t buy a word he said. I can’t believe Mike didn’t call him out on it. Seriously … who blames their addiction on their fifteen-year-old daughter?”
Toby’s fifteen-year-old daughter ran him over on purpose with an ATV. He got addicted to opioids. Adrianne must have caught something in the story that I didn’t. The guy had half a leg amputated, and his wife left him because she just couldn’t handle being married to a “cripple.” And his daughter got off scot-free because Toby told the police it was an accident.
I loved my kids right down to my soul, but I wondered if even that kind of eternal love could be severed if one of them chased me down for nearly a mile, weaving in and out of trees until I tripped, allowing them to run over me multiple times like roadkill.
So, while I didn’t completely understand Toby lying for his daughter, I also didn’t understand Adrianne being so critical of his moment of honesty earlier. I mean … he broke down in tears, feeling like a failure, wondering what he did wrong. Apparently, taking away a child’s cellphone after catching her with two naked guys in the back of the family minivan was what old Toby did wrong.