“Why wouldn’t I be?” Her tone was rigid, but that was kind of expected—we weren’t married anymore.
“I don’t know,” I sighed. “She must think something is going on.”
“I have been meaning to call…” Her tone relaxed.
“Oh?” My eyebrows shot up in surprise.
Maybe Victoria was right…
“It’s nothing.” The rigidness returned immediately.
“If there’s something you want to say to me, just say it. I know we were never very good at this communication thing…” I covered the bottom of my phone and exhaled sharply.
“There’s something we should discuss, but it’s better if we do it in person,” she sighed into the phone.
“Is it about the kids? I know Shaina was off the grid for a little while, but I talked to her—she’s fine.” I tilted my head slightly and held the phone against my shoulder.
“It’s about our family,” her voice cracked. “Do you think you could come see me this weekend? I’d come to Carson Cove, but I have to work…”
“Uh…” I stammered over my words as I tried to figure out how to respond.
If I go to the city this weekend, I won’t be able to see Taylor—damn it.
“Forget it,” she sighed again. “It’s not that important.”
“If it’s about our family, it’s important.” I leaned forward. “Yeah, I’ll come see you this weekend.”
“Okay—how about Saturday? Maybe we could meet for lunch?” A hint of hope echoed in her voice—something was definitely off in her responses.
“That’ll be fine.” I waited for her to say something, but she just ended the call.
What the fuck? I don’t think she would be so weird about it if she needed to talk to me about the kids…
I wasn’t going to get anywhere if I tried to make sense of the conversation, so I just tried to put it in the back of my mind as I drove home. One thought did hit me—there was a chance that she was involved with someone—and wanted to tell me that in person. There was no reason for her to discuss it with me. I certainly had no intentions of telling her about Taylor—even if our relationship wasn’t a secret. If that wasn’t it, and it wasn’t an issue with the kids, then I had no idea what the hell she could want to talk to me about. I wished she would have just told me over the phone, so I didn’t have to waste my weekend—and an opportunity to see the woman I was falling for. Our time together was limited enough without an unnecessary trip to the city.
At this rate, I may not get to see her until next weekend—that’s far too long.
Chapter Seventeen
Taylor
The next day
I was terrified to go back to school after my encounter with Alexis—I was on pins and needles the entire day. I felt like some of my classmates were staring at me, and I heard a few whispers that suggested people were talking about what happened. I was used to being invisible—and I never wanted to be the center of attention. I made it through two classes, before Melinda cornered me in the hall—I already knew what she was going to ask me.
“Hey, Taylor…” She grabbed my arm. “Why are people talking about you? Did you—get in some kind of argument with Alexis Devereaux?”
“It was nothing.” I shook my head back and forth. “I almost spilled coffee on her, and she overreacted.”
None of that is a lie, but it’s not actually connected in any way.
“Ah, okay.” She nodded. “Someone said they thought you were arguing about a guy—I told them they were crazy.”
“A guy?” I feigned a confused shrug. “Yeah, that would be crazy…”
Melinda believed it was just a weird rumor that was blown out of proportion by people who misunderstood what they heard. She didn’t bring up Bryant’s name—which meant that part of the conversation didn’t register with anyone who saw the exchange. If they had realized I was fighting with Alexis over one of the hottest, richest guys in Carson Cove, then his name would have definitely been part of the rumor. I felt a little better when the day ended without incident. I still wasn’t taking Alexis’ threat lightly, but if there was a problem at school, then Dean Richart would have addressed it immediately.
Maybe Alexis doesn’t have the kind of power she thinks—her image is certainly tarnished in Carson Cove after everything that Sawyer King did…