She shook her head. “I promise, he’s never hurt me. I’m not afraid of him, I’m just tired.”
“I’m afraid for you. We’re lucky that blow didn’t do more damage. How many chances will you give him?” Alec stood and rubbed her shoulder. “He’ll never change if you don’t take a stand.”
His dad walked in then, worried smile fixed in place. “Let’s get you home. Doc says you can’t do anything, so I’ll be your handservant for the next week. You should like that for a change.” His lame joke fell flat as he moved awkwardly around the room, trying not to spook her.
The three of them waited in silence, listening to the sounds of shuffling feet and bleating equipment coming from the hallway. Alec held his breath, awaiting his mom’s decision.
“Frank, I’m going home with Alec.” She slid out of the bed, keeping one hand on the mattress to test her balance.
“Julie—” His dad stepped toward her.
“No, listen to me.” She held up a hand. “I’ve warned you about the anger and bullying. Joe left a bottomless hole in our hearts, but I’m tired of living in mourning. I’ve begged you to try to move on, but you can’t or won’t, so now I need to think about my future.”
When his father’s jaw slackened, Alec realized he’d never seen his father shell-shocked.
“What are you saying, Julie? Are you leaving me?” His dad’s wide eyes and slumped shoulders almost made him look sympathetic. Lost, even. At the very least, that bombshell stopped his dad from blurting out Alec’s fight with Joe, which meant Alec would be able to tell her on his own.
“Thirty-five years of marriage doesn’t entitle you to assume that you can run our lives however you want without consequence. If you want me back, you need to make some changes, and not just with me. We lost a son, but we have another one right here. One who’s been willing to forgive you for years of hurtful parenting, yet you continue to push him away. I’m not going to lose another son because you think you’re the only person whose feelings matter.” Her eyes watered, but her voice didn’t waver. She linked arms with Alec. “I need to stop at home to pick up a few things.”
“Okay.” Alec wrapped an arm around her waist to steady her shaking.
“Julie, for God’s sake.” His dad drew a deep breath. “Come home and we’ll talk about this, but don’t go to Alec’s.”
“I have to.” She didn’t even look sad so much as she looked defeated.
“What do you expect me to do now?” His dad’s hands went out, palms up. “Take a knee and beg?”
“I don’t expect anything. All I know is that I’m not happy with the life we’ve been living. I don’t deserve to be standing here in this hospital room, either.”
If his dad looked lost, his mother looked detached. Alec took no joy in this moment, but he did feel safer knowing she’d be with him for the night, maybe a little longer.
“Let’s all take a deep breath and talk tomorrow,” Alec suggested. “Hand me the instructions and get some rest. Nothing permanent is being decided here.”
Alec’s mom laid one hand on his father’s chest. “I love you, Frank. I just can’t live this way any longer.”
She strolled out of the room without looking back.
“Alec, don’t think you’ve won.” His dad’s voice was low and lethal.
“No one’s winning anything, Dad. If you can’t see that, I don’t know what else to say.”
“Go on and go. I can’t stand the sight of you right now.”
“Trust me, the feeling’s mutual.” Alec shook his head, having nothing left to say, and followed his mother.
Confessing his fight with Joe and argument with his dad to her on their way home hadn’t been easy. She seemed more sad than angry, which he regretted. Still, a burden had lifted by telling the truth. Even as his family crumbled around him, he knew a certain sense of freedom from having finally stood up to his father.
It wasn’t until he had his mother settled in his apartment that he’d even thought about work, or Colby. When he plugged in his phone, it lit up with a dozen messages and texts. He dialed the restaurant and waited for Becca to pull Colby off the floor.
“Where are you?” she asked without preamble. “When I couldn’t reach you, I called the hospital. Is your mom okay?”
“For now. I’m getting her settled.”
“You’re still with her?”
“Yes. She’ll be staying at my place for a while.”
He heard Colby suck in a breath. “Where’s your father?”
“At home. She’s threatening to leave him.” He sighed and began reciting the details of his afternoon.
Colby listened to Alec describe his traumatic day, her heart sinking with each sentence. “I’m proud of you for telling the truth and standing up to your dad.”
“Little good it did. Both my parents are hurting and disappointed in me, and it doesn’t change the fact that my mom ended up in the hospital because of me and our foundation.”
Colby repeatedly stabbed her pen into the notepad on her desk. Once again, she’d been a catalyst for trauma in the Morgan family. “I’m sorry. I would’ve kept her name out of the article if I’d known her involvement was a secret.”
“It’s not your fault. She posed for those photos.” Alec sighed. “Maybe she wanted to shock him.”
A huge risk, considering how that vase could’ve caused much more damage. An image of Mark’s cracked skull flashed, turning her stomach. Why couldn’t she escape violence and tragedy? Her thoughts circled that question until Alec’s voice brought her back.
“How’d Chris handle the dinner rush?”
“I think well.” She pictured Gordon Jeffers sampling his entrée—flared nostrils, impeccable table manners. The enigmatic man had given no sign of his opinion. Her stomach dropped at the thought of telling Alec the news, but better he hear it from her than someone else. “Clyde thinks Gordon Jeffers was here tonight. I warned Chris, and the waitstaff was on top of the service end, so I’m confident it went well.”
After a pregnant pause, Alec asked, “Are you sure it was Gordon?”
“I didn’t ask, but we think so. He was with a woman, and they paid with cash.”
“Fuck!”
Silence.
“Alec?” Had he put down the phone? “Alec?”
“I’m here.”
She envisioned him sitting alone in the dark, stabbing his hair with his fingers. No doubt this would go down as one of his worst nights in recent memory. She hated feeling so powerless. “Please don’t worry. Everything went fine.”
“Fine,” he grumbled. “That’s probably true. But it wasn’t exceptional, I’m sure of that.”
She heard a rattling, as if his fist had pounded against some object. “Don’t overreact.”
“Overreact?” A strangled laugh followed. “I think I’ve earned the right to some anger tonight. Everything I’ve done to rebuild my reputation has been sideswiped. Trust me, Chris can’t do what I do yet. Dammit, I’m screwed.”