“You’re going, too?” Maurice complained.
“It’s been a long day,” she said. “Where’s Kate?”
“On the computer. She’s researching stem cells for a science paper.”
“Jane, is that you?” Betty poked her head out of the kitchen.
“Sorry, I’m late,” Jane said. “Work was crazy.”
“Everything okay?”
“Of course. Just more of the same.” It was another lie, but she didn’t want to go into detail, especially with Wendy in the room. Why give her sister-in-law the opportunity to gloat over her difficulties? Jane usually believed she deserved that, too, but she felt too raw inside to tolerate it tonight. “I might have more work to do before bed,” she said. “I’m just here to get Kate.”
“If you’re that pressed for time, we could’ve brought her home,” Betty said. “I thought maybe you’d let me warm you up some dinner.”
Jane was tempted. Especially when Wendy kissed Betty goodbye and headed out the door. Her three children followed, all but the oldest mumbling hello and goodbye. Wendy had managed to poison Rusty against her. The accusation in his eyes sometimes hurt more than having Wendy ignore her.
“You’ve already been a big help,” she told her mother-in-law. “And I really appreciate it.”
Kate must’ve heard her voice because she came down the hall without having to be called. “Hi, Mom! You staying to eat or should I grab my backpack?”
“Unfortunately, we’ve got to go.”
“Okay.”
Jane smiled at Betty and Maurice as she waited. She could tell they had something on their minds, but she wasn’t sure she wanted to discuss anything weighty. She felt too fragile.
“It wasn’t your fault, you know,” Betty murmured.
Jane didn’t need to ask what she was talking about. Betty was referring to what had caused the rift between her and Wendy. “It was my fault,” she said.
Her mother-in-law’s eyes filled with sympathy. “You were going through so much. Can’t you be a little easier on yourself, Jane?”
“I knew it was wrong.” She just hadn’t been able to stop herself. She’d needed to feel loved and protected, which wasn’t bad in itself. It was putting those needs ahead of Noah’s family that had been unforgivable.
“It’s in the past, Jane.”
She gave Betty a slight nod to acknowledge the kindness of that statement but said a silent prayer of relief at Kate’s sudden reappearance. She was feeling guilty again because she hadn’t done any better with Sebastian, even though she’d promised herself she’d keep her desires firmly in check. “You ready, kiddo?”
Kate slung her backpack over her shoulder. “All set.”
“Thanks again,” Jane told her in-laws.
She felt better once they reached the privacy of their own car. As usual, Kate was full of chatter about school, her girlfriends and her teachers-even the cute boy she liked in her second-period class. As Jane embraced their everyday routine, she all but forgot about her uncomfortable run-in with Wendy. But she tensed up again when she pulled into her parking lot and saw Sebastian, leaning against a new rental car-a Pontiac-while talking on his cell phone. She wasn’t sure what he wanted, but she was fairly sure she wouldn’t want to discuss it in front of Kate. She needed to keep her daughter separated from the ugliness that had overtaken her work.
Spotting her immediately, he finished his conversation and hung up. Then he walked over.
Twenty
With long dark hair and clear brown eyes, Kate was almost as pretty as her mother. Sebastian couldn’t help smiling as she looked up at him, her expression tinged with surprise when she realized he wasn’t just a friendly stranger.
Jane seemed less pleased to see him. Sebastian noted the way she stiffened, and understood that she preferred not to allow home and work to mix.
“Go on in, honey,” she said to Kate as soon as he reached them. “I’ll be right there.”
Too curious to do what she’d been told, Kate hovered at her mother’s side. “Can’t I wait for you?”
“I have some business to take care of,” Jane insisted. “Give us a minute.”
Kate’s narrow shoulders slumped in disappointment. “O-kay,” she said and, with an exaggerated sigh, started past him, but Sebastian stuck out his hand.
“You must be Kate.”
Her face brightened. “Yes.”
“I’m Sebastian Costas, a friend of your mother’s.”
“A work associate,” Jane clarified.
Kate placed her small hand in his. “Are you part of The Last Stand?”
“More or less. For the time being,” he hedged.
“It’s nice to meet you.”
Impressed by the sweetness she put into a saying that’d become so trite, he winked at her. “It’s nice to meet you, too.” He’d been curious about this part of Jane’s life, the part that meant more to her than anything else. “I can already tell you’re going to be a beauty, like your mother.”
Ducking her head, Kate blushed and mumbled a shy “Thank you.”
“Go on now,” Jane prompted.
Her feet dragging, Kate headed to the condo but threw one last glance over her shoulder.
The caution that lurked in Jane’s eyes eased once her daughter was out of earshot.
“That wasn’t so bad, was it?” he asked.
“I never said it would be bad. It was just…pointless.”
He folded his arms. “I’ll try not to be offended by that.”
“I don’t want her to know we…we’re anything but what I told her.”
“Work associates.”
“That’s right.”
“Why?” he demanded.
“I told you, I haven’t even been on a date since her father was killed. She might find it-I don’t know-threatening. Frightening.”
The man who’d found Marcie’s body was out walking his dog. Hoping the sight of Jane wouldn’t draw him over, he lowered his voice. “Unless you plan to spend the rest of your life alone, you’ve got to start somewhere.”
“Yeah, well, jumping into bed with someone I barely know isn’t the way to do it,” she said. “I think we’re both conscious of that.”
It was true. Under the circumstances, they had no business getting so intimately involved. So why had he wanted to see her again this soon? “Every relationship begins in a different place,” he said.