“Surprised that it took coming to you before I could see what I was doing by not admitting my feelings about her to myself. I was afraid that by owning up to them, I might lose her, so I kept putting it off, obviously to my own detriment.”
“You’ve learned a lot. I thought we’d have to do more sessions for you to reach this point. Tell you what I’m going to do. I’ll fax your boss a letter stating that you’re ready to get back on the job with the proviso that you meet with me once a week for the next month. I want to see you next Monday and we’ll talk some more.”
Vic let out the breath he was holding. “Thank you, Dr. Marshall.”
“Feel like you’ve been let out of jail?”
“You know it.”
“Your boss will be happy to have you back.”
They shook hands and he left with renewed excitement. He could get back to work, but right now all he could think about was Claire.
It was just ten o’clock. The session hadn’t taken long. On the drive home he called Nate’s mom. She informed him Claire had brought Jeremy over to play. She’d drop him off at one.
Vic thanked her and hung up before calling Kit to tell him the good news. His friend was out on a case, so he left the message on his voice mail. He’d probably hear from TJ before the day was out. He phoned Clint and had to leave the same message with him on his voice mail.
After that he left messages with his friends Cy and Luckey. No one was available, but it didn’t matter. At the moment he was on his way home to Claire and couldn’t think about anything else.
The cleaning service van was leaving just as Vic pulled into the driveway. He waved to them. After parking, he hurried into the house. “Claire?”
“In Jeremy’s room!”
He headed in that direction. “What are you doing? I just saw the cleaners leave.”
“They do a great job, but Jeremy left his spy stuff on the bed. I want the room to look tidy when you show the women around.”
She’d dressed in an attractive, short-sleeved khaki dress with a rope belt. He could hardly take his eyes off her while she put Jeremy’s stuff in the backpack.
“There. It’s done.” She lifted her eyes to him. “Are you hungry? I can fix you something.”
“No, thanks. We need to talk.”
“How was your session with Dr. Marshall?”
“First things first. Shall we go in the family room?”
His comment seemed to take her back. “Sure.” She preceded him into the other room and sat down in one of the leather chairs.
Vic perched on the arm of the couch opposite her. “Jeremy told me he spent part of the night in your bed. Do you want to go first and tell me the thrust of the conversation? If not, I’ll tell you what we talked about when he got in my bed.”
Color seeped into her face. There was no mistaking the pinkish tinge. He waited. There was no response.
“According to Jeremy, you love me.”
He heard a sharp intake of breath before she said, “My conversation with him was in the reverse of yours. He told me you loved me.”
“During the night it appears my son decided to take the matter of your leaving into his own hands and fix everything.”
“He’s nothing if not straightforward,” she muttered.
“Unlike his father when it comes to matters of the heart,” Vic admitted.
“You lost your heart to your wife. Jeremy isn’t old enough to understand the kind of pain you went through.”
“I’ve been telling myself the same thing for quite a while, until he told me you took a picture of me the night Jeremy was missing. That’s when I realized I’ve underestimated him. He gets everything.”
She stirred restlessly. “What do you mean?”