I rush in expecting the worst and screech to a stop when I spot Lynda and Jill sitting at the island, casually sipping what look like Mom’s French Martinis. Mom is at the bar filling a shaker, her hair and make-up done, perfectly coifed. More importantly, she’s not in a heap on the floor in agony or lying in bed surrounded by family.
Perfectly fucking fine… I’ve been set up.
“I’m going to kill Dad!” I scream.
“Quit being dramatic.” Mom quirks her eyebrow and side-eyes Jill.
“Dramatic? He sent me a text saying to get home for an emergency. Then, he refused to answer my calls. The last fucking time I got a message like that, you were seriously injured.” My gaze snaps to Lynda.
“For the record, I wasn’t a fan of this plan,” she tells me.
“Plan? What plan?” I rub my chest where my heart is still racing.
“You’ve been avoiding me, and Stephanie is locked up, so I had to take drastic measures.” Mom shakes the container vigorously and pours two more glasses, setting them on the island. “Now, come sit.”
I don’t want to sit. I want to suck down that drink, scream a little more about how scared I was, and then find my dad to strangle him. These women are up to no good.
I should have been more alert, ready for this. Stephanie warned me that Mom was hounding her for personal details about my weekend. I’d evaded most of her inquisitions, dodging her all week. The only consolation is hearing Stephanie remained strong and didn’t give anything away. As if she’s reading my mind, she waves her phone in the air.
“I’m ready to get her on speakerphone if you try to run.”
“Dirty play, especially for an old bat.”
“Live and learn, babe. One of these days, when you have kids, you’ll need these tricks in your arsenal to get to the bottom of things.”
At the mention of kids, I jerk to catch Jill’s lips curling into a knowing grin. Fucking Pierce, he told his mom. He’s in on this.
As soon as I get out of this mess, he’s getting an earful. He’s lucky I don’t drive to Kiawah and hand him his ass.
“You done stewing? We’re waiting.” Mom sighs as if I’m the nuisance here.
I stomp to them, slam my key and phone on the counter, and slump into the only seat left, which ironically is between Lynda and Jill. Deja vu rolls in the pit of my stomach, remembering the same position a few weeks ago when I lost my tongue and rattled on to them. I’m guessing this is going to be much the same but with martinis substituting margaritas.
I draw in a deep breath and decide to play along, pasting a smile, and saccharine-sweetly chirp, “If you ladies wanted to have an impromptu cocktail hour, I respond much better to invitations than sneak attacks.”
“You’d have to talk to me to respond to an invitation,” Mom points out. “And, so far, the only communication in days has been through technology. You’ve been home four days and are intentionally hiding. Don’t think I didn’t notice.”
“I haven’t been hiding. I’ve been busy. It’s called work.”
“Yes, Pierce is very unhappy you spent last night at the bakery. He asked me to offer my help if you’re that swamped.” Jill slides the lone martini my way.
“I didn’t deliberately fall asleep at the bakery. I finished late, and it was supposed to be a power nap. Runner curled up with me, and the next thing I knew, Pierce was calling this morning.”
“Cut the crap, Darby Rose. You’re not an amateur. Long days and nights are your forte. We want to know how the weekend went.” Mom scolds me like a child.
Why, oh why, do I love this woman?
“I already told each of you when you called. It was terrific.”
“That is a very generic and PC answer,” Lynda counters back.
“Whose side are you on?”
“Yours and Pierce’s. This was a big deal, and terrific isn’t going to cut it.”
Dammit! Why do I have to love this woman, too? At least, she’s gentler in her approach. Three sets of eyes bore into me, and I take a very unladylike gulp of the martini. “Fine, it was more than terrific. I drove up with nervous knots in the pit of my stomach. At one point, I’ll admit to looking at the clock and calculating the hours until I’d be coming home. But in true Pierce style, he had other plans. You know I was ambushed, and my day trip turned into the weekend.”
I tell them everything they want to know. Mom perks up at the mention of Martin and Dave, having met them several times. The dinners, the donuts with the kids, the days at the beach and pool, the games we played and movies we watched. Cole and Maya’s success at hunting shells and shark teeth gets a proud smile from Jill. I don’t mention the call with Connie that upset Maya because that is for Pierce to discuss. I also leave out the creative sexual escapades Pierce came up with when the kids weren’t around and the fact that he blurted out, “Marry me,” in the middle of the kitchen, then took me to bed that night, making love to me tenderly and saying it over and over again.