There was no way around things other than the truth. Suddenly cold, Rebecca cradled the warm cup between her hands. “John is coming home from the hospital.” She glanced at the clock on the wall above the fridge. “Actually, he should be home already.”
“John?” Her mother’s puzzlement slowly gave way as she studied her daughter. “You mean John Blackwell?”
Rebecca nodded. “Yes.”
Her mother was silent for a few moments, and then she cleared her throat. “Liam, come take the baby, will you? Put her in the playpen in the front room. The lighting is so much better there. And grab her little dolly. The soft one with the orange hair. She loves it.”
Rebecca sighed inwardly. She knew what was coming, and there was no sense in trying to stop it. She thought she was prepared for it too, but when her mother folded her arms across her chest and nailed her with a look that said, are you kidding me, a bit of the air escaped the balloon, so to speak.
“Let me get this straight.” Her mother’s eyes were hard, and her lips were pursed tightly.
“You’re missing a family dinner to go out to the Blackwell place because all of a sudden, John has decided he needs to see you at his homecoming? I thought that man was on his deathbed.”
“Mom, that’s not…” But her mother was fired up and didn’t give Rebecca a chance to finish her sentence.
“When did you and John Blackwell get so damn cozy anyway?”
“I—”
“Or is it Hudson you’re going to see?”
“No.” Rebecca stood straighter. “No. Why would you think that?”
Lila rubbed her temples and sighed. “I saw him at the arena yesterday. He was up in the bleachers. I didn’t notice him at first, but you kept looking over there, and finally I had to try and see what was so damn interesting. I think you spent half the game watching Hudson instead of watching your son play.”
That got Rebecca. It got her hard. She set her mug down and squared her shoulders. “That’s a shit thing to say and totally untrue.”
“That’s what I saw.”
“Well, then you saw wrong. Hudson came to watch Liam play because Liam asked him to.”
Her mother’s eyebrows rose dramatically. “Liam asked him? When would Liam have the chance to ask Hudson Blackwell to come to his hockey game? Why would Liam ask Hudson to?”
“I’m not discussing Hudson Blackwell with you.” Defensive, Rebecca took a step back.
“That’s it, Becca. Do what you always do when things get tough.”
“And what would that be?” Her voice rose, but she didn’t give a rat’s ass.
“You run.”
Her eyes widened at that, and she sputtered. “Run? What the hell are you talking about?”
“Not more than two months after he left, you ran off with David.”
“I didn’t run off, Mother. We got married.”
“You didn’t love him. You didn’t want to deal with the pain, so you took up with the first boy to make you forget.”
“Wow.” Rebecca was speechless. “You’re giving me advice on relationships? On love?” She laughed, but it was a harsh sound. “I might have left town, but I’m sure half of Crystal Lake wonders why you’re still here. Still with Ben.”
“I know you don’t understand what your father and I share.”
“Understand?” Something big let go inside Rebecca. Something hot and nasty and filled with a rage that came from nowhere. “You have the most dysfunctional relationship I’ve ever seen. He’s awful. He’s selfish and nasty and hates all of us—”
“Don’t you ever say that about your father. He doesn’t hate you. Or me. Or Mackenzie. Not everyone loves the same. He’s just…”
“What?” Rebecca stepped toward her mother, her hands fisted at her sides. “What the hell is he?”