“You can’t plead amnesia on that one, babe.” He tucked a stray lock of her dark hair behind her ear. He was hit with a sudden longing to touch her, kiss her, carry her up to bed. Remind her why she had married him in the first place. Because I treat you like a queen. Because we’re good together. Because you made me feel like I was good enough. Because the sheets smoke when we make love.
But all of those thoughts were followed by the voice of normal Oliver. She cheated on you. And now her long lost parents are here, after eight years? What’s up with that? Leopards don’t change their spots.
At seven o’clock, Serena finally let herself relax as Oliver took the boys upstairs for their showers. They’d made it through dinner, coffee, and dessert without incident. From either her parents or her husband. Mason and Cam had poured on the charm and her parents seemed entranced by them. Oliver and her father discussed local fishing at dinner. She let her mother fill her in on what some of her old childhood friends and their parents were doing. Doctors, lawyers, finance, kids at Miss Porter’s School or Hotchkiss, summers in the Hamptons or Barcelona or Montenegro or Monaco.
That could have been her life. She tried to imagine Mason at boarding school. Or Cam sitting still long enough for a flight to Europe. She couldn’t picture either. Nor did she really want to. Life in St. Caroline wasn’t perfect, but it was what she had chosen.
She retrieved her parents’ coats from the coat closet, thankful that her mother had left her fur coats in New York. St. Caroline wasn’t a fur coat kind of place. Her mother slipped her arms into her wool coat, then helped Serena’s father into his.
“Do you need any help getting down to the car?” she offered.
“No, I can make it,” her father grumbled.
Something wasn’t right here, something that was more than just aging. Her parents weren’t that old. She would have to ask her mother privately, later. She hugged her parents, which felt strange and unfamiliar after all these years. Then again, maybe it had always felt strange and unfamiliar with them. She stood in the doorway as they made their way back to the rental car parked in the driveway. True to his word, her father had an easier time of it going down the stairs. But then she was surprised to see him open the passenger side door and practically collapse into the car. Her mother looked up from the driver’s side and gave Serena a wave. Serena waved back.
Well, it was definitely a weird evening, but it could have gone much worse.
She loaded the dishwasher, listening to the sounds of water gurgling through the pipes from the boys’ showers and teeth brushing. Ten minutes later, she heard Oliver’s footsteps coming down the stairs.
“Wow. They went down fast,” she said.
“They’re wiped out.”
“My parents were, too.”
“Your dad doesn’t look good.” Oliver tore off a paper towel, ran it beneath the spigot, and started wiping off the countertop.
“I noticed that. Of course, they’re eight years older than when I saw them last.” She touched his forearm. “Thanks for being nice to them.”
“It was hard sometimes.” He shrugged. “Actually, what was hard was watching the boys be so excited to see them.”
“I know.” She let her fingertips slide down to his wrist. They hadn’t been physically intimate in awhile, and she missed it. Missed touching him. No, more than just “missed” it. She was desperate for them to make love. Tonight would be ideal.
The stress of her parents’ visit was over. The boys were in bed on time and so tired that neither of them would wake until morning. She let her palm cover the back of his hand, hoping he would flip his wrist around and interlace his fingers with hers.
He didn’t. Instead, he slid his hand from beneath hers and finished wiping down the countertop. “I don’t care how they treat me,” he said. “But I can’t forgive them for how they’ve treated you. Even if they’ve gotten over the horror of you marrying me, it doesn’t justify their behavior in the past.”
“I know it doesn’t.” She dropped a dishwasher tab into the holder and snapped it shut, “And I don’t know if I can forgive and forget, either. But I want the boys to have a relationship with them, if possible.” She pressed the “start” button on the dishwasher and closed the door with a firm click.
“They seemed to get on with Mason and Cam, so you might get your wish there.” He crumpled up the wet paper towel and tossed it into the trash. “I’ve got an early day tomorrow. I’m going to turn in.”
“I’ll come with you.” She wasn’t tired yet—more wired, really—but she wanted to go to bed with him. They had to at least try. She wasn’t willing to just let this part of their marriage wither and die.
She followed Oliver upstairs and changed into her pajamas—a thin cotton tank and shorts—while he brushed his teeth. By the time she finished brushing her own teeth, he was in bed with the lights out. She could tell from the cadence of his breathing that he wasn’t asleep. He was lying on his side, facing away from her. She scooted her body up to his, and draped her arm over him. If he turned her down, she knew she’d likely cry herself to sleep. As far as she remembered, their sex life was always good. Ollie was a patient and generous lover, and willing to try new things when prodded.
But this was a different Ollie lying in bed right now. This was a man who didn’t believe her, who suspected her of cheating on him, who was completely unreadable to her now. She considered drawing her arm back to her side of the bed, and letting it go. His rejection would slice her heart right in half.
On the other hand, she had to know. If this part of their marriage was lost, too, then there was probably no hope of salvaging it.
She pressed a kiss into his broad shoulder and flattened her palm against his chest. “Make love to me,” she whispered.
She held her breath. Would he or not? It had been over a week since he’d said anything about Ben. Maybe he’s let that go. Her heart pounded in her chest so hard she could feel the pulse behind her ears. Would he or wouldn’t he? This is Oliver we’re talking about. Just because he didn’t say anything didn’t mean he wasn’t obsessing over it 24-7.
He rolled toward her and slid his arms around her back. She let her breath out slowly. He kissed her and, saying nothing, made love to her. He was tender and gentle, but she could tell that his heart wasn’t in it. Afterward, he rolled onto his side and went to sleep, without so much as a goodnight kiss. She rolled toward the other side of the mattress and stared at the narrow sliver of light shining beneath the door. They always left the hall light on in case the boys needed to use the bathroom in the middle of the night.
She didn’t know what to do about this situation. Honestly truly had no clue. Oliver had his mind made up and nothing she said made any difference. And that was beginning to worry her—because Ollie was levelheaded and rational and generally … right. He was someone who was right about things. Almost all the time, in fact.
And while everything inside her was screaming that he wasn’t right about this—she did not have an affair with Ben Wardman!—it was also hard to argue with Ollie’s history of being right about things.
She closed her eyes as the tears slid down her cheeks and onto the cotton sheet. She cried—for the love she was losing and for the possibility that maybe she really had cheated on Oliver Wolfe.
Chapter 28
Serena’s mother came back the next morning, after the boys were off to school and Oliver off to the station.
“Where’s dad?” Serena asked as she hung her mother’s coat in the closet.
“He stayed back at the Inn to use the gym. He needs to do his exercises. Doctor’s orders.”
Her mother looked around, as if she didn’t know where to sit.
“Come into the kitchen with me, mum. I made a pot of coffee. And blueberry muffins are in the oven.” Oliver left without filling up his customary travel mug. Part of her regretted the night before. Another part didn’t. It was better to know than not to know. If Ollie had bailed on their marria
ge, then she needed to start thinking about what was next.
In the kitchen, Serena pulled out one of the barstools at the island. Her mother hoisted herself up. She was wearing navy slacks and a St. John knit jacket in a subtle camel and ivory check pattern. As Serena poured a cup of coffee for her mother, she tried to think whether she’d ever seen her mother in jeans. She set the cup on the island, retrieved a half pint container of cream from the fridge and set that on the table, too. She supposed she should dig out the fancy cream pitcher that got used only on Thanksgiving, but she had no idea where it was.
She climbed up onto the barstool next to her mother. “Mum, can I ask you something? When Peter and I were at school, did you just wear jeans and sweatpants around the house?” She glanced down at the black yoga pants she was wearing, beneath a long tunic sweater.
“No. Most days, I had board meetings or luncheons to go to.”
“Huh.”
“Why do you ask?”
Serena shrugged. “I don’t know. I just can’t remember whether I’ve ever seen you in casual clothes.” She took a sip of coffee. “I forgot to mention that I have some memory loss from the accident. Well, quite a bit of memory loss, actually.”
“You do?”
Serena nodded. “Several years worth. It’s been a rough transition back home.”
“Your father had some short-term amnesia after his heart attack last summer. But it cleared up. It was the strangest thing, though. As soon as someone left his hospital room, he had no memory of them being there. Even though it was ten seconds earlier.”
“Dad had a heart attack? Why didn’t you let me know?”
“I mentioned it to your husband when he called about your accident.”
“His name is Oliver.”
“I told Oliver, then.”
“He had a lot on his plate while I was in the hospital.”
“Well, your father has recovered.”
“He had trouble getting up the steps to the porch yesterday.”
“We were sitting in the car for a couple hours. His joints stiffen up. We’re getting older, you know.”
Which makes their behavior all the worse. Eight years lost. But Serena didn’t voice that. Instead, she cut right to the chase. “Why did you cut us off?”
Her mother’s face was impossible to read. She had to have known Serena would ask this question sooner or later. Minutes passed like hours before her mother finally began to answer.
“We wanted the best for you,” she started. “We thought it was a youthful rebellion. You were extremely young, dear.”
“So why visit now?”
“Your father’s health scare last year left him with a keener sense of his own mortality. And I told him I wanted to come see you and the boys.”
Serena studied her mother’s face, trying to gauge the sincerity behind her hazel eyes. Her mother looked familiar and yet … not. She wondered how often she had thought about her parents before the accident. A lot? Or had she given up on them entirely?
“The boys are excited to have new grandparents. So please stay in their lives.” She felt the way Oliver did last night. If they exited her life again, it wouldn’t bother her. But Mason and Cam wouldn’t understand.
“I will. We will.”
The oven timer went off. Serena hurried over to grab a pair of hot pad mitts before pulling the muffin tin from the oven. She set it on a trivet to cool for a few minutes.
“What are you doing now that the boys are in school?”
“Well, I volunteer at their school one or two days a week.” Serena took down two small plates from a cupboard. “And I’ve been taking a quilting class.”
“Quilting? Now there’s something I never had any knack for. Or any sort of arts and crafts.”
“It’s fun. The women who run the quilting shop are of the opinion that anyone can learn to quilt. I might prove them wrong yet.” She laughed as she gingerly lifted muffins from the hot tin and placed them on the plates. She carried the plates to the island. “I’m also thinking of going back to school to get my teacher certification. There’s a program at the local college.”
“Oh? Well, I told your father that political science degree wasn’t practical.”
Serena bit into a muffin, the blueberries hot and sweet inside. She chased it with a sip of coffee. “I’m not sure I’ll be able to afford it though.” Her initial excitement at the idea had since collided with cold, hard reality.
Her mother picked at a muffin, once in awhile daintily lifting a piece to her lips. Serena finished one muffin and started in on another, less out of hunger than nervous energy.
“I’ll get your father to release your trust fund.”
For a moment, Serena thought she must be dreaming. Did her mother just say …?
“Why would he do that? After all this time?”
“He’s been doing a lot of thinking since the heart attack. You know, men like your father—”
Her mother left that train of thought unfinished, but Serena knew what she intended to say. Men like your father think they’ll live forever.
“When we got back to the Inn last night, he said you looked happy,” her mother added.
“I am happy, mum.” Maybe not for much longer. But that was why she had to go back to school. Her mother was right about the practicality of her political science degree, especially in St. Caroline. “I have a good life here.” If only I can hang onto it.
“Hey guys! Can someone open the door for me?”
Oliver stood outside Matt’s front door, a stack of hot pizza boxes in his arms. He was beginning to feel like a pizza delivery guy. Last weekend, Cam’s birthday party. This weekend, Jack’s bachelor party. Such as it was.
Oliver, Matt, and several other guests were on call tonight so it was just poker and pizza for Jack. No wild boozing for us. Not that Oliver could remember the last time he had wildly boozed. Before he met Serena, at any rate.
He was about to knock on the door with his foot when it swung open, revealing Matt in his usual attire—SCFD tee shirt and grey cargo pants. At least, Oliver had dressed up some. Well, a button-down shirt anyway. He had changed into one every day this week when he got home from work. The ice between him and Serena’s parents was melting a bit, but no point in pushing his luck. So he ironed his nice shirts and wore them.
“What did you get?” Matt held the door open wider so Oliver could fit through without jostling the pizzas.
“A little of everything. Pepperoni, sausage, extra garlic, mushrooms, peppers—”
“Okay, I get it.” Matt lifted the top three boxes from Oliver’s arms and carried them to his small kitchen. “We have two coolers.” He pointed toward the corner. “That one has beer for the guys who can drink tonight. The other is water and soda. For those of us who can’t.”
Oliver set the remaining three pizza boxes on Matt’s counter. He felt a hard clap on his shoulder. His brother, Jack.
“Think that’s enough pizza? The groom-to-be lifted a lid to inhale the cheese-scented steam.
“We can always go out for more.”
“So how’s it going? Surviving In-laws Week?” Jack let the lid drop.
“Hah,” Matt replied for Oliver. “You’ve spent more time at the station than at home, seems like.”
That was almost true. Oliver had squeezed as much time out of his shifts as he could and still maintain a plausible explanation. He shrugged. “It’s going, anyway. They leave Sunday.”
“On Easter?”
“Yup.” He walked over to the coolers and retrieved a bottle of root beer. “Although they are apparently giving Serena her trust fund back.” He uncapped the bottle and took a long draw. “We’ll see if that actually happens.”
“Wait—seriously?” Matt’s eyes widened.
“Serena has a trust fund?” Jack’s eyes were even wider.
“They took it away from her when she married Ollie here.”
Oliver let Matt explain it all to his brother. Easier th
an explaining yourself how your in-laws disliked you so much that they disowned their only daughter.
“Sorry, man,” Jack said. “I had no idea.”
Oliver waved away his brother’s concern. “She’s planning to use some of it to go back to school.” He looked pointedly at the stack of pizza boxes. “Do we have to wait until everyone’s here?”
“Give them a minute. They’re on the way.” Matt set out a roll of paper towels to be used as napkins. “Serena’s going back to school, too? You’re aren’t moving, are you?”
“Who else is going back to school?” He glanced at Jack, who had dropped out of law school—a decision Oliver personally thought his brother would come to regret. But whatever.
“Cassidy is. University of Texas at Austin,” Matt answered.
“Oh, right.” He recalled hearing something about that. Tough luck for his brother. Mr. Love ‘em and Leave ‘em finally falls in love and ... gets left. “Serena’s just going to Talbot College. Well, if she gets in, that is. She still has to apply and all that.”
“I doubt that will be an issue.” Matt leaned over the stack of pizza boxes and took a deep inhale. “Maybe we won’t wait.”
No sooner had the words left his mouth than there came a sharp rap at the front door. The door opened and the rest of the guests streamed in, a mix of guys from the fire and police departments and some guys who were probably more Matt’s friends than Jack’s, Oliver guessed.
“I see you got the poker table all set up,” Sean Crane said.
Hmm. It hadn’t occurred to Oliver that Matt might invite Sean. But it made sense. Sean had replaced Ben Wardman as soccer coach at the high school. Matt had taken over Sean’s assistant role. Sean might know a few things of interest to Oliver.
When the guys took up seats at Matt’s dining table, Oliver made sure he got one right next to Sean—who was drinking a beer, he noted. Maybe it would loosen up his tongue.
Not that he could just come out and ask the man: say, did my wife sleep with your old colleague? But he’d figure something out.
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