“I can’t believe this...”
“I don’t want to upset you, Lucy,” Renae said softly. “And I truly don’t want to hurt you. I didn’t plan this...it just sort of happened.”
A glint of anger sparked in Lucy’s dark eyes, but it wasn’t aimed at Renae. “He talked you into this, didn’t he? I knew there was a reason he reappeared in your life.”
“It really was just a coincidence that he came to the office,” Renae insisted. “And I was the one who asked to be involved with the scholarship.”
“He convinced you to hide it from me. Why else wouldn’t you have told me before?”
“No, that was my decision, too. I just—didn’t know how to tell you. I’m sorry.”
Predictably, Lucy wasn’t appeased. “I’ve always suspected he had an eye on you. Even when my Jason was alive, I thought Evan looked at you too much.”
That stung, maybe because it hit a little too close to home.
“There was never anything between Evan and me when Jason and I were together, Lucy.” Not beyond one brief kiss and a barely acknowledged attraction. She refused to concede that added up to wrongdoing, no matter how much guilt she’d felt afterward.
Lucy waved a hand. “I know you would never have been unfaithful to my Jason. But I don’t trust Evan Daugherty. Never have.”
“Yes, you’ve made that clear.” Frankly, Renae was getting tired of hearing it.
“I’ve had good reason. Did I tell you about the time he got my son arrested?”
It was another old story Renae had heard several times. Evan and Jason, along with several other high school boys, had been hauled down to the police station after a big fight on campus. “I know about that, but—”
“Evan threw the first punch,” Lucy said with a firm nod of her head. “He even admitted it.”
And Jason had told Renae why that punch had been thrown. Evan, Jason and another friend had come upon a group of bullies tormenting a younger student. A pushing match had begun, followed by ugly words that had pushed Evan’s temper beyond the boiling point. He’d punched the bully, which had sparked a full-out melee that had been broken up by the campus security officer. No charges had been filed, but all the boys involved had received stern warnings and several Saturday detention sessions at school.
“Evan said later he was sorry he’d hit the guy, but I always thought he was totally justified,” Jason had confided to Renae. “The jerk deserved it.”
Lucy was in no mood now to hear a defense of Evan’s actions, even in her late son’s own words.
“That was a long time ago, Lucy,” Renae said instead.
“It was just one of the troubles Evan caused this family. And you know the worst.” Lucy dabbed at her eyes with a paper napkin.
This was what Renae had feared—that Lucy would cry. She had a hard time dealing with her mother-in-law’s tears.
She reached across the table and covered Lucy’s hand with her own. “Lucy, Evan didn’t kill Jason. All he did was invite him for a ride on their bikes. Jason wanted to go. All the blame goes to Sam Abbott.”
Abbott was the man who had been driving the car that hit Jason. He was still serving time for manslaughter as a result, having pleaded guilty to avoid a trial and a potentially longer sentence than the one he’d received. While Renae and Lucy hadn’t been happy that Abbott had not received the maximum sentence allowable because of his plea deal, they’d both been relieved to be spared the trial.
Renae had no doubt Abbott’s lawyers had convinced the man that his previous history of reckless driving combined with the image of a grieving mother and young, pregnant widow would have persuaded any jury to want to put him away for life. There had been a civil settlement, but because Abbott had no insurance and had declared personal bankruptcy, Renae never expected to see a dime of it.
Lucy hated Sam Abbott, of course, but at least that hostility was rational.
Lucy met her eyes. “You know how I feel about this, Renae.”
“Yes.” Renae drew a deep breath. “And I’m sorry. But I’m not going to stop seeing Evan.”
Lucy flinched. Had she really thought Renae would cave so easily? Maybe Renae had gotten too much into the habit of looking after everyone else’s happiness, which left others expecting her to continue to do so.
“I loved Jason,” she said. “I married him thinking I would spend my entire life with him. But he’s been gone a long time and I’m not ready to join Daisy and Maxine for dominoes on Thursday nights.”
Lucy released a long sigh. “I know you’re still young. You gave up your entire twenties to take care of the children and to make a home for them—and me.”
“We’ve done that together, Lucy.”