“Ya huh. You so did. And now. Look at you. You’re a famous mystery-thriller writer person. You’ve got that damn scholarship in your name at the stupid community college. You have a great kid. What do I have? A cat who doesn’t even like me and three dead house-plants.”
Pia looked miserable and defiant and slightly tipsy. Liz took her free hand and squeezed her fingers. “I’m not all that, and you have so much more than you listed. You have a great job and a community and people who love you. Crystal loved you.”
Pia wiped tears from her face. “She did and she was great. But you have character and I never did.”
Liz kept a hold on her fingers. “You have enough character for all of us. Trust me.”
Pia’s wide eyes filled with tears again. “You promise?”
“Cross my heart.”
ETHAN PUNCHED THE BUTTON TO increase the incline on the elliptical. It was midafternoon and the gym was quiet. A few high school guys worked out with the free weights and there was a yoga class going on in the glass-enclosed area at the far end of the building.
“This is how girls work out,” Ethan grumbled as he wiped away sweat.
Josh grinned at him. “We could have gone bike riding.”
“I didn’t have time. Unlike you, I work for a living.”
“I work,” Josh protested. “Not very hard, but I work.”
His friend had called to suggest they head to the gym together. They’d briefly discussed a thirty-mile bike ride, but Ethan had meetings later that afternoon. As much as he would have enjoyed the mountainous route, it would have to wait for another day.
“Maybe this weekend,” Josh suggested. “If you’re not too busy with Tyler.”
“Why are you free on the weekend?” Ethan knew his friend, a recent newlywed, spent every free second with his wife.
“Charity and Mayor Marsha are going to San Francisco to shop for the baby’s room.”
Ethan grinned. “You don’t want a say in colors and accessories?”
Josh shuddered visibly. “No, thanks. I just want the baby to be healthy.”
“And a boy.”
Josh chuckled. “I wouldn’t say no to a boy. But we’re waiting to find out. Charity wants to be surprised.”
Ethan felt the burn in his legs and increased the pace of his workout. “You scared?” he asked.
Josh shrugged, then nodded. “Sometimes. When I think about it. What do I know about being a father?”
Ethan could relate to that. The difference was Josh got to start small—with a newborn. Of course a baby was a whole different set of worries.
“I know what you mean,” he said.
“How’s it going with Tyler?”
“Good. Great. He’s bright and funny. Athletic.”
“You see yourself in him?”
“Yeah, but there’s a lot of Liz, too.”
“Is that bad?” Josh asked.
“Sometimes,” Ethan admitted, wiping away sweat. “I’m dealing, not that I have a choice. But when I think too much about what she did…” He grabbed his water bottle and swallowed several gulps.
Going there, getting riled up, accomplished nothing, Ethan reminded himself. It was a waste of time and energy.
“She speaking to you?” Josh inquired.
“Sure. Why?”
“The injunction. I would have figured she’d come after you with something sharp.”
“She wasn’t happy,” he commented. “I reacted. It wasn’t smart. But it’s done now.”
“Can’t you undo it?”
Ethan thought about the judge. She didn’t seem like the type of person who would support him changing his mind. And he wasn’t willing to test the theory and risk jail time.
“We’ll figure out a plan,” he declared.
“Charity said Pia told her Liz came back as soon as she found out she was pregnant. But you were other wise engaged.”
“I was asleep,” Ethan protested.
“With Pia in your bed.”
“Still.”
Josh grabbed a towel and wiped his face. “Sorry to tell you this, but Liz pretty much gets a pass. She left town because you threw her under the bus and then you were in bed with another woman when she came back to tell you about the baby. There’s no way you’re the good guy.”
“She kept my kid from me. Nothing excuses that.” No matter what, Ethan had lost something unrecoverable.
“I’m not saying it’s an excuse. I’m saying you’re not blameless.”
“Maybe.” He didn’t want to think about that. “Everything would have been different if she’d stuck around. Woken me up. Hit me with something.”
“That’s not her way.”
“You know this how?” Ethan asked.
“She left. She was hurt and she went quietly. You might not want to admit it, but from what I can see, she did a hell of a job with her kid.”
“I know.” He had no complaints about Liz as a mother to his son.
“Maybe she’s not the one you’re mad at,” Josh guessed.
Ethan’s legs ached, his muscles shook slightly with the effort of his workout. He pushed harder, not wanting to hear his friend’s words, let alone think about them. Then the machine beeped, indicating his thirty-minute program had ended. He slowed reluctantly.
“Sure Liz didn’t tell you when she first found out,” Josh continued. “But the real tough one is that she came back.”