“Really?” I said. “I don’t think I’ve had the pleasure…”
“I’m Deb Hunt,” she said, thrusting her hand forward. I shook it briefly and tried to find a connection but nothing came to mind.
“I’m sure I’ve seen you,” she said and then a lightbulb must have gone off for her. “Of course! You’re with Dr. LaViere… his fiancé, is that correct?”
I nodded. Our picture had been in all the papers following the grand opening and that was likely where she’d seen me. “Yes, I am. Are you one of Worth’s patients?” I asked, hoping it wasn’t unethical for me to ask, but she had more or less started this guessing game.
“Oh, no, I’m his colleague,” she said, laughing. “I should have introduced myself better. I’m Dr. Deborah Hunt. I’ve been working here with Worth for the last month. Didn’t he tell you?”
I was flabbergasted. “No, he hadn’t mentioned it,” I said to her as well as to myself and my discomfort must have been evident because she picked up on it instantly.
“It probably slipped his mind,” she filled in the horrible gap. “He’s been so busy here at the clinic.” She blushed, realizing that if anyone knew how busy he’d been, it would be his fiancé.
“Well, I’m glad he has you to depend upon,” I made a stab at something pleasant to say. There was the decided air of two females circling one another, looking for the advantage to take the other down. It had already been pre-determined between us that we would not be friends. The only question remained whether we could keep from becoming enemies.
My drink tasted sour at that moment and I said, “Well, I have to run. Pleasure meeting you.” Her baby blue eyes sparkled. She was exactly Worth’s type; tall, leggy and beautiful. She was probably also very qualified as a doctor, a fact which made her doubly poisonous.
I left the stool and smiled at the receptionist as I left the clinic. I climbed into my car, feeling as though I’d just caught Worth in bed with another woman. My happiness with the sunshine and warm day was destroyed and in its wake was a sour taste from that horrid drink.
Now I knew why Worth had shut me off, why he didn’t care if I slept with him or was a part of his life. He was consumed with his clinic, his aspirations, his control and now, his partner. They were validations that he wasn’t a failure, wasn’t a black sheep and the undesired son of a powerful man he’d tried his entire life to please.
I also now understood who I was. I was the daughter of the woman who had destroyed his life. My mother had helped produce the offspring that his father wanted as an heir, and could not acknowledge. Every time Worth looked at me, he saw my mother. He was distancing himself from everything that hurt… and that included me. We weren’t blood to one another. It was something far worse. I had become his enemy.
CHAPTER THIRTY ONE
Auggie
I drove home through a stream of tears and with each mile, the resolution in my willful soul strengthened. I pulled into a tire store and as I waited, they welded a trailer hitch onto the back of the Escalade. I drove back to the condo knowing I had at least two hours before Worth was due home.
I had come to a decision. It wasn’t what I wanted to do but every time in my life that something threatened, I retreated. It was the way I coped with things I could not change.
I packed an assortment of clothing and shoes and stowed these in the back of the car. I gathered up my personal papers and my laptop, and I left my engagement ring and Worth’s class ring on his dresser.
I stopped by the phone store and bought a new cell with a private number.
As I drove to the farm, I called Dad to meet me in the stable. He was there when I arrived. I hugged him.
“Dad, I don’t want to go into details, but I admire you more than any man alive. I’m going to text you one time from a new phone number and I’m asking you not to give it to anyone, not even Mother and most especially, not to Worth. I’m leaving and taking Carlos with me. I’ll be fine. I don’t know where I’m going but I need to be on my own. I hope you will understand.”
Dad looked at me with tears in his gentle eyes and he understood something dark must be behind this move. He and I had always shared a mutual understanding; we were very much alike. I wondered again how he could have spent these years with a creature like my mother.
He helped me hitch the trailer to the Escalade and to load Carlos and all the feed, grooming equipment, saddle, and blankets I would need. He hugged me, hard, and kissed me on the cheek and then turned and walked to the house so he wouldn’t have to watch me drive away.
As I pulled down the drive, I threw my old cell toward Mother’s bedroom window. It was symbolic as in giving her my old life and claiming my own. Let her deal with the questions. I doubted Worth would barely notice and chances are he would feel a distinct relief.
There was a thunderstorm building in from the west as I crossed the Ohio River and headed in its direction. It seemed very fitting, considering the turmoil my life was in at the moment.
Typically, I loved storms, but, this time, was a little different. I was pulling a nervous horse in a trailer and was on roads that weren’t familiar to me. I could feel the wind picking up whenever the road led slightly north or south, catching me on the broadside. I was fighting the wheel, trying not to over-correct as it spun around the vehicle. I chose the right lane and cut my speed down to forty-five mph, but it was still a bit dicey. I finally gave in and took an exit.
Ahead of me was a building that appeared to be a small factory that had since shut down. At least it had plenty of room for the trailer, so that’s where I headed. I got out of the Escalade and could hear Carlos knocking around, so I opened the trailer enough to climb in with him.
There was barely enough room for him and I was afraid he might lunge and knock me into the trailer side. The safest place I could think of was to sit astride, so I got a toe hold and boosted myself up. I laid flat on his back, rubbing his sides with my hand.
The storm picked up and while I generally reveled in their fury, this was bordering on the extreme. At one point, it felt like the trailer even lifted and slammed back down. I even managed to snicker a bit, seeing myself and Carlos in the trailer, spinning out of control as it flew to Oz. I knew, without a doubt, who would play the witch.
Eventually, the worst of it passed and I backed Carlos out and walked him around the parking lot and into the side grass a bit, letting him cool from the rain and get a sense of himself again.