Love You Madly(11)

“Bryce? I’m afraid not. Not since this morning. What’s going on?”

“It’s Darcy.” She wrapped her fingers together tightly, trying to remain calm, to not unravel. “She didn’t come home last night, and I haven’t heard from her, which isn’t like her at all. I understand, though, that Bryce and Darcy have been spending some time together. I was hoping he might be able to tell me where she is.”#p#分页标题#e#

Peter turned his attention to his sleeve and an invisible piece of lint he needed to remove. “I don’t think you have anything to worry about yet, Meredith. You know kids. Have you tried her cell phone?”

“Several times,” she said as patiently as she could. What, did he think she was an idiot? “But it’s going to voicemail. Um… Is it true, then?” She hated having to ask for the affirmation. She should already know. “About Darcy and Bryce? Are they seeing each other?”

He looked surprised. “Quite a bit, I’d say. I wouldn’t be too alarmed, though. I had quite the talk with Bryce. You know, about being careful. Wouldn’t want either of them blowing their futures in the heat of the moment.”

Wait. Was he talking about sex? Her daughter and Bryce having sexual intercourse? She gripped the armrest of the sofa. “They’re—they’re that close, then? I hadn’t realized.”

“They’ve spent nearly every day together over the past few weeks. In fact, I bet they’re probably together now. Here—” He pulled out his cell. “Let me call Bryce and we can get to the bottom of this right now.” He cast a glance at Travis, who still hadn’t said a word, his gaze focused outside at the pool, and waited. “Hey, Bryce. It’s Dad. Give me a call as soon as you get this.” He ended the call. “Sorry, voicemail.”

“Is there anywhere you can think of that Bryce might be?” Travis finally asked. “The sooner we speak to him, the sooner Meredith can put her fears at ease.”

Peter stared at Travis for a moment, almost as if wondering his involvement. But he didn’t ask. “Lately he’s spent most of his time with Darcy. Out at the pool, at the movies, or around town. He did come home early last night—I’d say around midnight. Usually, he’s out until three or so and sleeps the day away. Mind you, I don’t normally approve of these hours, but with graduation and this being his last summer before going off to college, I’m giving him some freedom. The way he slammed his door when he got home, I figured he was in a foul mood. Maybe he and Darcy got into some fight, who knows.”

“You did hear him come in then?” Travis asked.

“That’s right,” Peter said, as if humoring them. “I don’t think you should worry yourself too much, Meredith. They’re kids. She’s bound to show up sooner or later—probably took a last-minute trip with some girlfriends to Vegas or something.” He leaned forward, placing his hand on her knee. “I know that raising someone else’s kid had probably been hard on you, and I’m impressed that you’ve taken your responsibility this far. Give her another month and she’ll be off to college, and you’ll have filled any obligation you had to the girl. To her father.”

He thought she felt relief that Darcy was leaving for college? That she was just an obligation? She almost choked on her anger. And something else. Guilt, maybe?

God knew she hadn’t been the most nurturing parent. But did people really think she didn’t care? That Darcy was just—just a burden?

Meredith stood. Yelling at him about the true depth of her emotions wasn’t going to help anything. “Thanks for your time, Peter. But you’ll let me know the minute you hear from Bryce?”

“I’ll have him give you a call.” He walked them to the door, a slight smile on his face. “Don’t worry, Meredith. I’m sure everything will work out fine, and we’ll see you Saturday.”

It was pretty much what she’d said to Allie, but Meredith hadn’t believed it then any more than she did now.#p#分页标题#e#

The door shut behind them and she walked toward the car only to realize, once again, that Travis had taken another detour. This time he was following along the fence line that surrounded the property.

“What are you doing?”

Instead of answering her, he followed the fence until he found a latch and opened a gate, disappearing into the backyard. She sighed and headed over, trying to stay on her toes so her heels didn’t sink into the grass.

“Isn’t this unlawful trespassing or something?” she hissed as she joined him, the gate closing behind them. “What are we doing? If you wanted to see the pool we could have just asked.”