Another four hundred yards or so, and we find her. She’s walking along the side of the road, head down. It’s hard to tell in the rain, but it looks like she might be in tears. What the fuck is going on? Why didn’t she call me when she had to abandon her bag? Why did she run at all?
CHAPTER 23
Holly
A car pulls up alongside me, and I jump. I walk on and ignore it as best I can. I’ve already had a sleazy guy stop and offer me a ride, but I’d rather walk than get in a car with a stranger. The town didn’t seem like it was this far away when we drove through it to get to the beach house.
I’ll have to rent a car and come back for my bag, though it’s not much of a loss, just a suitcase with a broken wheel and a few outfits I might never want to wear again because of the memories that will always be attached to them.
But whoever has stopped is not driving off when they see I’m ignoring them. A car door opens and someone gets out. I start to run through the rain.
“Holly! It’s me.”
Reid! I stop and turn to face him. Does he know that Mercia came to see me? That I know he was only using me?
“Where are you going?” he asks.
“Home.”
“You’re running away like this? Why?”
“You really have to ask? I’m sure you and Mercia had a good laugh behind my back in L.A. when you got together again.”
“What? What gave you that idea?”
“She came to see me when you were gone. She told me you spent two nights together.”
“And you believed her?”
“You didn’t even mention she was there.”
“Look. It’s not how it seems. Let me explain.”
“I’ve had enough of your lies. I don’t want to listen to any more of them. Thanks all the same.”
The rain is coming down in sheets. I turn, ready to go on. If I can just get to the town, I’ll find a hotel or something, get dry before I go home.
“You’re getting soaked,” he says. “It’s cold. I have your bag in the car. Katie spotted it. Come back to the beach house, get changed into some dry things, and I’ll get you home if that’s still what you want when you hear me out.”
I want to be stubborn, but I look back at the kids in the car. How will he explain why I wouldn’t get in the car with them? Cold water runs down my back and I shudder. I’m not dressed for this weather.
“Just get in, Holly. I’ll take you back, then we can talk.”
I nod and get in the car.
CHAPTER 24
Reid
I could slaughter my ex, but at least Holly is safe and in the car. She turns her face to the window and refuses to look at me. I want to know exactly what Mercia said to make Holly run, but maybe I’ll never find out. Mercia is a gifted actress. She can carry off any set of lines, make anything believable. No trouble at all. I’ll give her that.
“You’re all wet, Holly,” Jack says. “You should have put on your raincoat.”
There’s nothing like kids for stating the obvious.
“Will Holly have to sit on the naughty step, Daddy, for not wearing her coat?” Katie says.
Oh god, I’d like to punish Holly for making me so worried, but not by giving her a timeout on the bottom stair, like the kids get if one of them is mean to the other. A very different kind of punishment.
“No naughty step this time,” I say. “Holly was just upset and forgot to put a coat on.”
“You’ll catch your death of cold, Holly. And if you do, I’ll tuck you up in bed and give you medicine,” Katie says.
Holly turns around to look into the back seat. “Thank you, Katie. That’s nice of you.”
“I’ll give you medicine, too, or maybe chicken soup if Daddy says it’s okay,” Jack says.
“Let’s just hope Holly doesn’t catch cold, but if she does, we’ll see.” If she doesn’t believe me, she won’t stick around.
Mercifully, we’re back at the beach house in a few minutes. I open the front door and let the kids out of the car. They run through the rain into the house.
Holly is still sitting in the car, as if unsure what to do next, maybe regretting getting into the car at all. I open her door. “Do you want to warm up with a hot shower? I’ll bring in your bag. We can’t talk very easily with the kids around, but I’ll give them a snack and see if I can find something to keep them busy.”
She nods and gets out. It’s as if all the stuffing has been knocked out of her. She flinches when I try to touch her arm as we go inside. That hurts more than anything. I want to pick her up and carry her inside and warm her up in all the ways I know how, not just with a hot shower.