Ladies' Night Andrews, Kay (great novels .txt) 📖

arms. Huge tears welled in his dark eyes, and he was rhythmically kicking the chrome table leg.

Grace found the foil-wrapped remains of the brownie pie. She cut a generous slice and put it on a plate and poured a glass of milk, which she set in front of the little boy.

Without a word, Bo picked up a fork and took a bite. He gulped his milk and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. Sweetie wriggled in his lap and licked his neck. Bo giggled.

“She just wants some of your pie, but we can’t give her any, because chocolate isn’t good for dogs,” Grace warned.

She gave Sweetie a mock-stern look. “What? Sorry, little girl. There are no leftovers when you feed three hungry single men.” She looked around the room until she found the jar of dog treats she’d given Wyatt. She handed one to Bo, who offered it to Sweetie, who snapped it up without hesitation.

Bo ate a few more bites of the pie. He had a milk mustache and his ears were bright pink as he looked at Grace with open curiosity. “I think my mom is mad because I told her Dad took you out to ride around on the golf cart.”

Grace nodded. “She’s probably mad at me, not you. But that’s understandable.”

“She thinks you’re Dad’s new girlfriend.”

“I wonder how she got that idea?” Grace said. “Your mom doesn’t even know me.”

Bo hung his head.

She laughed, leaned over, and ruffled his close-cut hair. “It’s okay with me, but I don’t know how your dad will feel about hearing that I’m his girlfriend.”

“You’re my new girlfriend?” Wyatt walked into the kitchen and swiped the last bite of pie from his son’s plate.

“That’s what Bo’s mom apparently thinks,” Grace said. She bustled around the kitchen, packing up the empty food containers.

“Hmm,” Wyatt said, looking from Bo to Grace. He nodded at Bo. “Wonder where she got that idea?”

Bo’s voice was very small. “I told her. She made me very, very mad when she yelled at me about the game. So I told her you have a new girlfriend who is really nice, and whose name is Grace, and who brought us taco casserole and chocolate pie. I told her I get to take care of her dog. And then I told her I do not want to move to stinking Birmingham.”

“Okay,” Wyatt said. He looked at the clock on the oven. “It’s past your bedtime. How about you tell Grace good night and then go brush your teeth and hit the hay?”

Bo looked like he might put up a fight, but then thought better of it. “Is Granddad okay?”

“He’s kind of tired right now, so he just went to bed,” Wyatt said. “I think maybe he forgot to take his medicine this morning. Guess we’ll have to do a better job of reminding him, won’t we?”

“Yes, sir,” Bo said. He set the dog down on the floor and stood. “Good night, Grace. Thank you for dinner.” He thought for a minute, then added, “And for letting Sweetie stay here.”

*   *   *

“I’d better get going, too,” Grace said, watching the dog follow Bo down the hallway.

“I could make some coffee,” Wyatt offered. “Don’t run off just yet.”

He poured them each a mug of coffee and sat opposite her at the kitchen table. “Sorry about all the drama,” he said, taking a sip. His face hardened. “It’s like Callie enjoys stirring up trouble. She hasn’t been to a single one of Bo’s Saturday games this season. She’s always too busy with Luke. Now, suddenly, it’s my fault she didn’t know about today?”

“It does sound like she’s deliberately trying to provoke you, and Nelson,” Grace observed. “The question is, Why? What does she get out of it?”

“I’m sure she’s got an ulterior motive,” Wyatt agreed. “But I have no idea what it could be. And I don’t feel like investing a lot of energy trying to predict what her next move will be.”

“Maybe just be careful with what information Bo gives her,” Grace said. She felt her face warm. “So … it’s official? I’m your new girlfriend?”

“I hope so,” Wyatt told her. “Is that weird?”

“Not weird,” she decided. “Different. New. I haven’t been anybody’s girlfriend in a really long time.”

“It’s new to me, too,” he admitted. “Not at all what I expected when Stackpole ordered me to attend divorce camp.”

“Speaking of,” Grace said. “I had lunch with Camryn Nobles today.”

“Camryn? Why? I didn’t know you two were buddy-buddy.”

“Neither did I. She’s been doing some investigating. She found out Paula lost her therapist accreditation out in Oregon, after she got caught forging her ex-husband’s name on some prescriptions for tranquilizers.”

“No shit?”

“It’s kind of a sad story.” Grace filled him in on everything Camryn had confided in her at the Rod and Reel pier and about Paula’s new career as a divorce coach.

“We know she’s taking pills again,” Wyatt said. “I wonder if they have something to do with her family emergency the other night?”

“I’m thinking the same thing,” Grace agreed. “Camryn wants to report her to the authorities here. But what good does that do? I think we have to help her.”

“And how do we do that?”

“I think we, that is, the group, have to confront her,” Grace said. “Tell her we know she’s self-medicating and that we know she was in rehab for the same thing. Maybe she’ll open up and talk to us.”

“Or … maybe she’ll tell us all to fuck off and then rat us out to Stackpole for spying on her,” Wyatt said. “And then we’re all really, really screwed with the judge who has life-or-death jurisdiction over our divorces. Have you considered that possibility?”

Grace sighed. “Stackpole’s the bad guy in all of this. I really think Paula is like us, another one of his victims.”

“But we can’t prove they’re involved or that Stackpole is doing anything illegal, right?” Wyatt asked. “And in the meantime, it’s hard for me to feel sorry for a phony therapist who’s ripping us off.”

“I disagree,”