“Why else? So I could say I had a roll in the hay with Brooke Bailey.” He laughed.
I picked up one of Henry’s stuffed animals sitting next to me and threw it at Bryce.
“Oh, you’re such a girl. Pillow fight?” Bryce laughed.
I stood. I knew he was joking, but Bryce calling me a girl rubbed me the wrong way, and I suddenly wanted to escape this house. “Listen, I’m really glad Henry is okay. I’ll check in with you tonight or tomorrow. Right now I’ve got to get back to the ranch.”
“Hey, I didn’t mean to freak you out. Stay. Stay for dinner, even. My mom’s making meat loaf.”
Meat loaf? When I could stop by the main house and eat whatever Felicia and Marj had cooked up? Not a chance. “I would, but I can’t.”
“Why?”
Oh, because I don’t want to be in the same house as your father, who I think might be a child molester and murderer. “Just got things to do. Thanks for the invite. Stop by anytime if you want to meet Brooke. Bring Henry along.”
“I will. And I was just kidding about the roll in the hay. I wouldn’t do that to you or to Jade.”
I nodded. “I know. See you around.”
I walked out of the nursery and past the kitchen. Tom was still sitting at the table. This time he had a laptop open in front of him. Evidently he’d decided to do his work from home.
I walked briskly past the entry to the kitchen, not saying a word.
“Joe?”
Shit. Now I had to talk to him. I poked my head in the kitchen. “Yeah?”
“Leaving so soon?”
Yeah, I have a ranch to run. Why did people seem to forget that? Steel money didn’t grow on trees. Well, it did, and also in pastures and vineyards. But a hell of a lot of work went into it too.
“Yeah. Lots of work at the ranch.”
“Understood. It was good to see you. Stop by more often. Evelyn and I miss seeing you around here.”
I turned and lifted my foot to walk toward the front door, when something made me hesitate.
“Tom?”
“Yeah?”
“Could I bother you for another cup of coffee?”
“Sure, no problem. Help yourself. Sit on down here with me. We can talk.”
Talk.
And I had just the person to talk about.
Chapter Eighteen
Melanie
My five o’clock session rescheduled earlier in the afternoon, so after my four o’clock, I was left with an hour to kill before Oliver met me at the office.
I didn’t have long to wait, though, because I had a visitor. Rodney Cates. At least he hadn’t barged in on a session this time. Randi had left for the day, so he knocked on the open door to my office.
“Dr. Cates?” I cleared my throat, my nerves jumping. “What can I do for you?”
“I just wanted to let you know that Erica seems to be doing a little bit better.”
A heavy sigh of relief left me before I could stop it. “Thank you. You don’t know how glad I am to hear you say that.”
“I don’t know how glad you are? I lost my daughter, and then I almost lost my wife. And you think I don’t know how glad you are that my wife is doing better?”
I hadn’t meant to hit a nerve. He was right. My remark had been selfish and unfeeling. This man was hurting, so I resolved to deal with him as I would with anyone else who was hurting. “I didn’t mean to upset you. I am absolutely sure you’re glad that your wife is doing better.”
“May I come in?”
I couldn’t very well say no, no matter how much I wanted to. “Of course.” I was sitting at my desk, but I stood and walked over to my session area and sat down in my chair. I gestured to the couch and the other recliner. “Please, have a seat.”
He plopped down on the couch and turned to face me. Yet he said nothing.
“What can I help you with, Dr. Cates?”
“There’s something I wanted to ask you. About Gina.”
I wasn’t about to reveal anything from my session notes, but I didn’t need to tell him that. “Of course. What do you want to know?”
“Did Gina say anything to you about falling in love?”
My throat thickened. She hadn’t, at least not until the letter I got after she died.
So I shook my head. “Not during our sessions, no.” Technically, that wasn’t a lie. “Is there a reason why you’re asking me this?”
“Yes.” He cleared his throat. “One of her friends told Erica and me that Gina had been in love.”
“I see.”
“Wouldn’t this be something she would discuss with her therapist?”
I fidgeted with my hands in my lap. “Not necessarily.”
“This friend of hers, Marie, swears that she told her she was in love. Why would someone who was in love want to kill herself?”
“Dr. Cates, I wish I could help you. But honestly, there was nothing in my sessions that indicated Gina was suicidal.”
“Marie said Gina knew the person she was in love with would never love her back.”
“Like I said, it wasn’t anything we discussed.”