“Well.” It took him a minute to recover. “I can see I grossly underestimated you, and I am sorry if I sounded condescending.”
“You were being condescending, and you’ve always underestimated me.” Did he really think the fact they had a long-shared past gave him the right to question her decisions? Had he been so judgmental all those years they were married? And she had put up with it?
He nodded slowly. “Okay, yes. I guess I was. I applaud you for what you’ve done with that shop, and I acknowledge your success. I’m proud of you. But you have to agree, when you went into this, it didn’t look like the best investment you could have made with your money.”
“I disagree. It was the best investment ever.”
“I can tell you’re happy, and frankly, that’s all that matters, right? You’re happy and you’re doing a great job, so I salute you.” He raised his wineglass. “To your happiness and success. I hope your shop continues to do well.”
“In spite of my lack of experience in running a business.”
“It was a concern—of course it was. Be honest. You have to admit it’s true.”
“I will concede, yes, I never ran a business. But the rest of it—”
“The rest of it—I was wrong on all counts. I guess I’d forgotten how clever and resourceful you are. How determined you are when you want something.”
“Thank you. I accept your apology.”
“Good, because our dinners are about to be served, and knowing you were angry with me would make it hard for me to enjoy this beautiful lobster dish.”
Liddy laughed and leaned back in her chair while Nell placed her plate on the table. Jim topped off her wine before she could object, so she asked the waitress to bring her a glass of water.
“The wine is wonderful,” Liddy told Jim when she felt his eyes on her. “But I rarely drink anymore, so I need to pace myself. Unless I’m making margaritas. I make killer margaritas.”
“I look forward to you making one for me sometime.” He dug into his dinner. “So is Tuck going to do the renovation for Grace?” Jim asked without looking at her.
“His son, Linc, is.”
Jim merely nodded.
“Is there something you want to say?” Liddy put her fork down.
“What? Nope.” He shrugged. “Although I have to say I was surprised to see Tuck lounging on our deck early on a Sunday morning.”
“Don’t go there, Jim.” She swallowed the urge to point out it was not their deck, but hers.
He nodded, then apparently thinking it might be a good time to change the subject, said, “So what’s the latest on this boy who was hiding out in your shop?”
“How’d you hear about him?”
“I ran into Phil Thompson. He joined the police force about six months ago, and he heard Brett talking on the phone about the kid. So . . . ?”
Liddy told him.
When she was finished, he said, “You’re lucky they got the kid out of there. Parents like that, who knows what he might have done.”
“What are you talking about?” She put her fork down. “What do you think he might have done?”
“He was raised by criminals. He could have robbed you, or hurt you or Grace. He could have dangerous tendencies. Maybe even set the place on fire. It was smart of you to call the police, but I’m surprised you’re not pressing charges. I think you should reconsider.”
“I have to say I’m surprised at your attitude.” Appalled was more like it, but she was trying to give him the benefit of the doubt. He didn’t know Dylan, didn’t know what a quiet, lost child he was. “What if, God forbid, something had happened to us and it had been our Jess in a situation where she had nowhere to go and no one to turn to?”
“We’ve never robbed a liquor store or shot someone in the process.” He paused. “Did you want dessert?”
“I’ll pass, but thank you.”
He waved Nell over and asked for the check. She handed it over, and he passed her his credit card. As he did so, he told Liddy, “Just be glad he’s out of your life.”
He might not be, she thought, but decided to keep that to herself.
They left the restaurant and drove to Wyndham Beach under a beautiful almost-full moon. It was a perfect late September evening, and Liddy tried not to remember all the other perfect September nights she’d shared with the man behind the wheel. There’d been so many good times, but tonight had brought up some memories she’d buried. She’d forgotten how judgmental Jim was, how he always questioned her decisions and often tried to bully her into seeing things his way, to want what he wanted or what he thought she should want. And his attitude toward Dylan disturbed her.
He pulled into the driveway and turned off the ignition.
“Invite me in for coffee?”
“Sure.” She got out of the car without waiting for him to open the door for her, something that had always peeved him when they were married and they’d go someplace together.
She unlocked the door and snapped on a light in the foyer.
“Hey, where’s the table that used to be under the window here?” He pointed to the spot where his grandmother’s Chippendale table had once stood. Before she could answer, he stepped into the living room. “And my dad’s desk is gone.” He turned to look at Liddy. “You know that desk belonged to my great-grandfather. What did you do with it?”
“I took an ax to it and burned the pieces in the firepit out on the deck,” she deadpanned.
Jim turned white. “Why would you . . . ?”
“The desk and the table and your old rocking chair are all in the attic. Lighten up, Jim.” She went into the kitchen to start the coffee, and he came in behind her. “Feel free to pick them up anytime.”
“I guess I should make arrangements to do that.”
They took their coffee to the screened porch off the dining room and sat at the round table where they’d sat a hundred nights before.
“I forgot how much I miss this.” There was a touch of wistfulness in his voice.
“Drinking coffee on the porch or just the house in general?”
“Drinking coffee on the porch with you. Being in this house with you.” He reached over for her hand. “We had a lot of very good times here, Liddy. I miss those times. I miss you.”
“You apparently didn’t miss them so much,” she said, “since you left.”
“I wasn’t thinking clearly then.”
“Then you probably should have just taken a break instead of walking away without looking back.” She hadn’t been prepared to have this conversation.
“Who said I didn’t look back?” he protested.
“You left without even telling me why. You fell out of love with me? Okay, it happens. But you should have told me.”
“It wasn’t that. Tell me you didn’t think I’d fallen out of love with you.”
“What else would I have thought? You don’t leave someone you love.” She pulled her hand away slowly.
“I’ve never stopped loving you. Not for a day.”
“Do you really think I could believe that? After you walked out on me at the lowest point of my life? The one-year anniversary of Jess’s death and you pack your bags and leave with no explanation? Do you have any idea what I went through after you left? My only child dies by her own hand without so much as telling me why, and then my husband walks out on me?” Liddy stood, the words she’d never said boiling over and spilling out.