“I did,” she admits. “I guess Wesley was about four years old by the time I got up the nerve to track him down, but I couldn’t be a coward and call Robert. I wanted to tell him face-to-face why I disappeared, and I knew I probably had to do some damage control because I didn’t know what my parents had told him. I found out that he and Eve had just gotten married and moved into a home near his parents. When I drove up that day, Robert and Eve were outside pushing Wesley in a swing. They were all laughing and happy. They looked like the perfect family, and I knew that I would steal that away from them if I got out of my car. So I left and didn’t try to make contact again until a few months ago when I called Eve and explained everything to her.”
Wait a minute. So Eve has known for a few weeks why Chesley left? I understand why she doesn’t want Wes to know she is pushing them together, but this news changes things a little. Chesley never wanted to leave him at all. Surely, he’d be able to understand that Eve only wants to help Chesley clear the air, not push him away. Well, this is Wes I’m talking about, after all.
“So what gave you the courage to call Eve and tell her the story?”
A grim line forms on her lips and she looks up from her lap, her eyes focused intently on mine. “I’m dying. I feel like it’s something I need to do before I leave this world, to let him know how much I love him. How much I’ll always love him. The cancer is just too widespread, and the doctors can’t do anything more for me. I just need one chance to talk to him, even if he can never forgive me. Just knowing that I was able to look him in the face one time and tell him I love him . . . it’s all I need. If he never gives me that chance, then I guess I deserve it. But I have to try.”
No, she doesn’t deserve it, which is exactly why I have to make sure she succeeds.
AFTER CHATTING WITH Chesley for a few hours, I find myself walking through those heavy glass doors of Wes’ office building. I have no idea how I’m going to explain why he needs to listen to me, why he needs to meet the woman that he absolutely refuses to speak to me about. Hell, right now, he’s refusing to even speak to me, so I’m not quite sure what reaction to expect from him. I just know that, either way, it’s not going to be pretty. Or civil.
He’s going to be pissed enough for me showing up at his office, but he’s the one that deleted his number from my phone, and it’s going to be a lot easier to catch him here than it will be to catch him at home. Besides, he should be getting off in about half an hour, so if I can just get him to see me, maybe we can go somewhere to talk. That is, if I can get past the snooty bitch at the reception desk. She’s wearing the same scowl and too-tight bun again, so I don’t see this going well.
“May I help you?” she snaps impatiently.
“Yes, I’m here to see Wesley Baxter.”
“Do you have an appointment with him?”
“Umm . . . yes?” Shit.
Judging by the hint of a smirk on her lips, she knows she’s caught me. “Name?”
“Callie.”
She rolls her eyes. “One moment.” Picking up her phone, she taps her long red nails on the phone’s keypad. “Sandra, I have a ‘Callie’ here claiming to have an appointment with Mr. Baxter. Can you confirm her . . . what? Oh. I’ll send her up.” She hangs up the phone and glares at me. “He’s expecting you. Go on up.”
I nod, confidently stepping into an elevator before absolutely hyperventilating after the doors close. Expecting me? Shit, did he find out that I met with his mother? Oh, God. He’s going to kill me before I ever even get the chance to explain. By the time the doors reopen, I feel like I’m going to pass out.
“Good afternoon, Callie.” Sandra greets me as the doors open. “Mr. Baxter is in a meeting upstairs right now. Was he expecting you?”
“He isn’t. But you lied for me?”
She leans closer, speaking softly. “Well, I thought that if you were brave enough to try to get through Victoria, you had a pretty good reason to come. Would you like to wait for him in his office? He shouldn’t be too much longer.”
“Oh, no thanks. He probably wouldn’t like that. Uh, I mean, he’s just so busy. I shouldn’t have come here. I can try to catch him at home.”
“You should wait. Trust me on this.” Sandra calls out to another woman behind the reception desk. “Janet, I’ll be back in a moment. If Mr. Baxter comes in before I return, please let him know I’ve shown a visitor to his office.”
I follow her down the long corridor toward his office, but I’m confused why she’s showing me how to get there. She knows that I’ve been here before. She pauses to allow me to step through the door and follows me inside, shutting the door softly behind her. Should I be nervous?