Night Road

“It’s Lexi. ”

Miles took a moment to think about that. “Well. Okay. ”

“No. Not okay. He’s been skipping football practice. ”

Miles sat down beside her. “I’m sure you had one of your come-to-Jesus talks with him. He’ll be back on track tomorrow. ”

“But why did he go off track? Zach’s been dating a new girl every month since freshman year. As far as I know, he’s never skipped anything to be with a girl. Lexi must be special. He actually used the word love. ”

“Hmmm. ”

She bit her lip, worried it. “I see problems here, Miles. Lexi’s practically one of the family. And jealousy can be brutal—remember how they used to fight over the Captain Hook action figure?”

“The Captain Hook action figure. Are you kidding me?”

She looked at him. “This is a delicate situation. A lot could go wrong. ”

He smiled, a little indulgently. “T

hat’s what I love about you, Jude. ”

“What?”

“You can see the dark side of anything,” he teased.

“But—”

“They just started dating. How about holding off on an airstrike?”

Jude smiled at that. She knew he was right—she was overreacting. But a lot could go wrong with this new relationship. Hearts could be broken. Still, there was nothing she could do about it now. She went to her husband, put her arms around him, and looked up. “You are no help at all. ”

Seven

The next morning, Jude woke to a cool and surprisingly sunny day. While Miles showered and dressed for work, she stood at her bedroom window, sipping coffee, trying to imagine how she could improve the borders in her garden. The lines weren’t quite crisp enough, and she really wasn’t happy with some of the lighting. It was too bad she hadn’t noticed that in September. Now it was autumn, the rainy season, and gardening pretty much required a snorkel and mask.

Miles came up behind her, reached for her coffee cup and took a sip, then handed it back to her. “Let me guess: you don’t like the roses you planted last week and azaleas would be better. ”

She leaned against him. “You’re making fun of me. ”

“Not at all. What are you going to do today?”

“Lunch with my mother. ”

He leaned down and kissed her cheek. “Don’t let her bully you. ”

“Yeah, right. I just have to get through it. ” Smiling at him, she went into the bathroom and took her shower. Afterward, she kissed Miles good-bye and started her day. She corralled the kids to breakfast, cleaned up the kitchen after them, and sent them to school with hugs and kisses.

She was out the door only an hour behind them. She dropped off Miles’s dry cleaning, picked up some paperwork from the college counselor she’d hired, got her nails done, returned the movies they’d rented, and stopped by the grocery store to order a fresh, free-range, organic turkey for Thanksgiving.

With all those island stops, she made it to the ferry terminal with seconds to spare, driving right onto the boat. The channel crossing took less than forty minutes. In downtown Seattle, she found a parking spot a few blocks from the gallery and pulled in at exactly 12:06. Only a few minutes late.

On the sidewalk out front, she straightened, stiffened her spine, and set her chin up, like a prizefighter about to face a bigger opponent. In taupe wool pants and a creamy cashmere turtleneck, she knew she looked good … but was it good enough for her mother’s critical eye?

She sighed at that. It was ridiculous, all this worry about her mother. God knew Caroline didn’t worry about Jude’s opinion. She resettled her purse over her shoulder and headed to the gallery. On the wall out front, a discreet sign welcomed her to JACE.

She stepped inside. It was a big, brick-walled space, dotted with large mullioned windows. Gorgeous paintings hung one after another, illuminated with precision. As always, there was a sadness to the work that made Jude frown. It was all in greens and browns and grays.

“Judith,” her mother said, coming forward. She was dressed in slim black pants and a rose-colored silk blouse. A gorgeous stone necklace offset her green eyes. “I expected you a few minutes ago. ”