Katherine licked dry lips. "Yeah." She blew out a long breath and gave herself a quick pep talk. "Okay. After Malcolm's heart attack–"
"How do you–?" Gwen stopped herself, realizing that Katherine and Tucker had to have been dating for months and months. She made a mental note to raise hell with Ted Gramercy. Gramercy Investigations should have known about this.
"After Malcolm's heart attack," Katherine continued, wishing she had something to do with her hands other than tangle and untangle her fingers. "Tucker was a mess, remember?"
"Here." Jacie moved around the bed and handed Katherine a pillow.
"Thanks," she whispered, taking it and digging her finger deeply into the cool silk.
Grimly, Gwen nodded her eyes filling with tears over the recent memory. "We were all a mess." A far-off expression overtook her face as she relived that terrible moment when she had walked into Malcolm's office and found him slumped over his desk. Her own heart had ground to a painful halt for the endless moment it took for her to find a weak pulse. "Malcolm almost died, and it was a nightmare for everyone who loves him. Tucker worships the ground his dad walks on."
Katherine's eyes softened. "I know. He was distraught and confused, I think, and he was determined to quit tennis."
Gwen's gaze snapped back to Katherine. "I didn't know that." A low groan forced its way from her throat. "Christ, was I too big of a mess to even notice?" But the question was a rhetorical one.
She'd spent days glued to a chair in the Intensive Care waiting room, then the hospital chapel, praying that Malcolm would survive. It had taken every ounce of her strength to keep from lying down someplace and never getting up. Tucker had been in nearly as bad a shape, but Gwen was so caught up in what was happening that she didn't really remember much about him during that time.
He was rarely at the hospital, and when he was, he looked so much like a lost little boy that it was physically painful for her to see him. When his visits grew less frequent, she recalled feeling distinctively relieved, along with guilty. It was one less complication when her world was already falling down around her. "I-I guess I thought he was dealing with things and trying to keep up with his classes."
"Nuh huh." Katherine shook his head. "He wasn't dealing at all. He told me that the doctors said his dad's heart attack was the result of a congenital defect and that he was scared to death that the same thing would happen to him. I tried to reason with him and get him to go to the doctor just to ease his mind, but he was talking all crazy about quitting school and hurrying up and living his life instead of reading about people who had already lived theirs. He was freaked. I pointed out that Malcolm was more than 20 years older than he was, but nothing seemed to help."
Gwen's eyes fluttered shut, scattering tears on the pillow she had clutched to her chest. "Oh, God. I didn't know that he was afraid for himself." Bitter self-hatred painted her face. "What kind of mother am I?"
"Gwen," Katherine's tone was gentle. "He didn't tell you what he was feeling because he didn't want you to worry. He said you had enough to deal with."
"I would have done anything I could! He's my son."
Katherine smiled a little. "And he's just as stubborn as you are. One night," she edited out the "while we were naked and snuggled in bed together" part, "I think it was the day that Malcolm was finally moved out of the ICU, Tucker broke down and started to cry."
Gwen's eyes immediately filled with new tears of her own.
The other women took seats on the bed, tucking their legs beneath them. Their hearts hurt for Tucker, but most especially for Gwen. They'd all lost people they loved; parents, siblings, grandparents, and dear friends, but none of them had experienced the heartrending agony of wondering whether a partner would live or die. Jacie felt a flutter of panic course through her at the mere thought of losing Nina. She snuggled tightly behind the sandy-haired woman, resting her chin on Nina's shoulder and wrapping a possessive arm around her.
Nina leaned back into the warm body that was molded to hers. She gripped Jacie's arm for a few seconds before grasping her hand and bringing it to her mouth, gently kissing her palm.
The simple gesture conveyed more than love; it spoke of a fundamental understanding that they'd shared since the earliest days of their relationship. Jacie pressed her head against Nina's and closed her eyes briefly as she hugged her. She breathed directly into Nina's ear. "I love you."
The sentiment and moist breath sent shivers down Nina's spine. Irresistibly, she turned and gently kissed Jacie on the lips. The touch was whisper soft, but as powerful as anything she'd ever felt. When it was over, she found herself looking into startlingly vulnerable eyes. Not wanting to interrupt Katherine and Gwen, she silently mouthed a heartfelt, "I love you more." Contented despite the turmoil surrounding them, each woman relaxed into the other.
The entire exchange took only a few seconds and went utterly unnoticed by the room's other occupants.
Katherine let out a shuddering breath. "Tucker was about to give up the things that mean everything to him because he was afraid. So I told him." Her heart pounded painfully in her chest. "I never set out to break my promise to you. I swear to God, I didn't. I wasn't going to tell him, but I couldn't stand seeing him so upset. When it came down to helping him or keeping my promise, I chose him." Now she couldn't hold back the tears. "I'm sorry."
Gwen sniffed a few times, torn between wanting to kill Katherine and wanting to thank her for being there for Tucker when he needed her. "I would have told him, too," she finally said. It was the truth. She only wished that she'd been strong enough for Tucker to trust that he could have come to her with his fears. "So now he knows that his father is a rapist." Gwen felt the familiar sting of shame.
"God no!" Katherine blurted, her eyes round. "I didn't tell him that, I swear. I would never! I told him that you were pregnant when you married Malcolm, so he didn't have to worry about Malcolm's congenital heart problems."
Gwen blinked. "That's all he knows?"
Katherine nodded miserably. "I couldn't bring myself to tell him any more than I had to. I thought that once he knew that Malcolm wasn't his dad that he'd talk with you. What you chose to tell him at that point would have been up to you. But after I told him, he never wanted to talk about it again. He was furious at you for a few weeks, but after that he seemed to accept it and settle down. He was more worried about Malcolm's condition than about what I'd said."
A million hurt and sometimes cold looks from her son suddenly made sense. He'd pulled away from her after Malcolm's heart attack, seeming not only to need, but also to want less contact. Gwen had assumed that was his way of coping with the trauma of nearly losing a parent in combination with him becoming more independent and growing up. That's what she told herself, anyway. "How could I have been so clueless?" She felt like screaming.
"Dios mio." Audrey's dark brows knitted. "If no one else truly knows about Tucker's conception then he has to be the one blackmailing you, Gwen." She'd never met Tucker, and after today, she wasn't sure she wanted to. But she knew one thing with a bone-deep certainty. No one in this room was capable of using Gwen's rape against her. "Damn, I'm sorry."
Tension marred the skin around Gwen's eyes. "I don't want to believe that he's capable of such a thing. God knows he doesn't need the money. He would only be doing this to hurt me." She picked at the bedspread, unwilling to see the truth in Katherine's face. Distraught, she asked, "Does he really hate me that much?"
"No," Katherine said instantly. "He loves you and Malcolm both. That's why it was hard for him to know that you lied to him and that he wasn't related to someone he adores. I don't know what's going on with those fuckin' emails." She ran a hand through her short hair, feeling very much at a loss to know how to defend someone who'd done something so despicable. "He's not a bad person, you know that. He wouldn't do something just to be cruel. I have to believe that."
"Could he need money for something else." Jacie suggested, well aware of how easy it was to lead a hidden life from your parents. "Something you don't know about?
Nina hesitated, but reluctantly decided to voice what she was wondering. "What about drugs or gambling? A lot of people get into trouble and don't know how to get out, Gwen. He might need help."
"No," Katherine insisted, not giving Gwen time to answer. "And I would know. The answer is absolutely not." The shocked set of her body left no room for doubt. "He doesn't even drink because he thinks it will affect his tennis."
Gwen unconsciously put one hand on her chest. Even breathing hurt. "Then he has to despise me," she choked out. "He thinks I tricked Malcolm into believing that he was his father and that I lied to them both for his entire life."
Katherine didn't want to be cruel, but she wasn't about to ignore reality either. She cocked her head to the side and spoke softly. "That's exactly what you did."
Gwen's opened her mouth to protest but stopped herself a last second. Then she nodded. "Malcolm and Tucker and me, we've been a family from the very beginning. Since before Tucker was even born. Malcolm is Tucker's father in every meaning of the word except one. The fact that they don't share the same blood doesn't mean a damn thing." She paused and forced herself to be completely honest. "But I've been telling the same lie for so long that I think that I forgot that it wasn't true." She sighed. "That is, until those spiteful emails reminded me."
The irony of the situation wasn't lost on Gwen. If the worst was true, then someone whom she trusted explicitly and loved deeply had betrayed her in the cruelest of ways. God, she decided, was surely a woman. Only another woman would appreciate this particular quirk of fate.
Frances approached Gwen's bedroom door warily, half-expecting to find a body on the floor. She'd heard the yelling and what sounded like scuffling from downstairs. For the time being, however, the room's occupants appeared to be talking quietly. She made the sign of the cross in front of her chest and cleared her throat as she showed herself in the doorway. "Excuse me, ladies?"
Five pairs of eyes swung her way.
The white-haired woman shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other. It was clear by the looks on their faces that she was interrupting something. Again. She almost turned on her heels, but Gwen motioned her forward. "I have the new candles for your birthday cake, which I saw was still left out in the parlor. Did, uh, you want me to put it the refrigerator? It has cream cheese frosting and I'd hate for it to turn and make someone sick."
Frances forced her eyes not to linger on Katherine and Gwen's tearstained cheeks, Nina's torn blouse, or Jacie's lurid, black eye. She figured that Audrey had remained unscathed only because of the added advantage of having some meat on her bones.
"Thanks, but I'm not really in the mood for cake," Gwen answered, lifting her chin and squaring her shoulders as she gathered what shreds of dignity she had left. "You've been a wonderful hostess, Mrs. Artiste. And under… well, unusual circumstances. I'll be sure to recommend Charlotte's Web to my friends and my husband's associates."
A chorus of agreement met Gwen's words.
Frances tried to appear nonchalant as she surveyed the newly decorated guest room for damage, but Jacie easily recognized what she was doing. "I'm sorry for the noise up here. We were… um…" She struggled to find an uncomplicated explanation for the noise. Somehow it seemed a little awkward to admit that two middle-aged woman were about to come to blows over a 20-year-old college student.
Surprisingly, it was Gwen who distilled things quite nicely. "I lost my mind there for a minute, Mrs. Artiste, and I may do it again." She shot Katherine a frustrated look. "But unless you're sleeping with my son, like
some
people in the room, I think you're pretty safe."
Katherine did her best not to roll her eyes. She was certain that she and Gwen weren't finished discussing Tucker, but for now at least, it looked as though she'd escape the day without a trip to the emergency room. On the other hand, she might have to take Tucker there. After she beat the crap out of him herself. This wasn't the sort of thing the earnest man she knew would do.
Frances' eyes popped wide open at Gwen's words, and she crossed her heart with her fingers shaping something she hoped resembled the Girl Scout promise. "Not counting my late husband, I haven't had a date in 57 years."
Nina smiled kindly at the older woman and gave her a ghost of a wink. "Whew."
"You don't need to fuss over us, Mrs. Artiste." Gwen did her best to smile bravely. "We'll manage on our own."
Frances smiled back. It was easy to like Gwen and she hoped that whatever it was that was upsetting the young woman would be over soon. "Heavens, it's no bother. My job is to fuss over guests." Like a magnet, her gaze was drawn back to Jacie's black eye. "It's also my job to disappear when I'm not needed. I'll be in my cottage if anyone needs me. Dinner will be at seven unless someone tells me otherwise." She nodded her good-bye and quietly padded out of the room.
The rest of the women took her exit as their cue to leave.
"Katy?" Gwen said, interrupting her friend's escape. "Would you stay? At least for a little while."
Katherine blinked. "I umm…" She shook her head a few times, not believing her ears. "You're sure?"
Chagrined, Gwen chewed on her lower lip. "One of us knows my son. And right now I don't think it's me." She lifted her eyebrows in entreaty. "Please stay so we can talk?"
Katherine eyed her suspiciously. "Are you going to kill me?"
"Doubtful. The knives are all downstairs and I'm too tired to choke the life out of you." A wry, watery grin tugged at her lips. "Though I'll admit that the idea does still hold some appeal."
Katherine blinked at Gwen's honesty. "How about punching me in the nose?"
A red eyebrow twitched. "Maybe."
She shrugged a slim shoulder. "Okay. But–" she ducked her head. "I want you to know that I understand what you must think about my being married, well, a few times and about my track record with men generally. It hasn't been good." She glanced up and met Gwen's attentive gaze with a confident one of her own. "But I do know what love is. I really do."