Big Girls Don’t Cry (Dundee, Idaho #6)(32)
Author: Brenda Novak

At least he’d given in gracefully—and offered to help. Isaac decided to put him to work so he’d quit flirting with Liz. Motioning to several boxes that were ready to go, he said, “You can grab those, if you like.”

Dave scratched his head as he ambled toward the closest one. “Idaho. I’ll bet you fifty bucks you’re gonna hate it there.”

Isaac knew better than to take him up on that bet. But at least in Dundee there probably wouldn’t be any young tennis pros hitting on his sister.

Hefting one of the heavier boxes into his arms, Dave started out with it, then paused before disappearing down the hall. “Promise me one thing?”

Liz’s eyes narrowed with mock wariness. “What’s that?”

“Look me up when you move back?”

Her lips curved in another smile, this one a little more genuine than the last. Her response concerned Isaac almost as much as it gave him hope that she’d be okay, that she’d recover.

“You’re twenty-four, Dave,” she said.

“So?”

“I’m thirty-one. Why would you want to hear from an older woman who’s divorced with two kids?”

“What do you think?” he said. “You play a mean game of tennis.”

Liz chuckled as his footsteps trailed down the entry hall.

Isaac waited for her to glance over at him and tried not to scowl too darkly when she did. “Who is this guy?”

“I told you. He’s my tennis coach.”

“Why haven’t you mentioned him before?”

“Why would I?”

“Because he likes you.”

She shook her head. “He likes every woman he meets.”

But she still seemed ready to flirt with him. Moving to Idaho was beginning to feel like a good idea. “Okay,” he said. “We leave tomorrow.”

CHAPTER TEN

“ARE YOU SURE about this?” Reenie’s mother whispered.

The smell of books and leather furniture filled Reenie’s nostrils as she sat with her mother across from the attorney’s wide, neatly organized mahogany desk. She could hear the murmur of Mr. Rosenbaum’s voice in the next room, speaking to the secretary who’d just ushered them into his office. Reenie and Celeste had passed him on their way in. He’d greeted them with a warm smile, but she wasn’t fooled. The business she had with the attorney would be anything but pleasant.

“I’m sure,” she replied stoically.

“But Keith’s so contrite,” her mother argued.

At first Reenie gaped at Celeste, but on second thought she realized she shouldn’t be so surprised by her mother’s sympathy for Keith. Celeste was capable of forgiving anything, loving anyone. When Garth had finally admitted his affair, Celeste, who should’ve been the most offended party, had been one of the first to reach out to Lucky.

“Mom, Keith has another wife, another family. He’s been with her for nine years.”

“I know that, dear, but sometimes it’s possible to get beyond this kind of thing.”

“Dad had a brief fling with a woman who is now dead. The child resulting from that affair is an adult. I don’t mean to make light of what happened, but this isn’t the same. This is…this is—” almost unfathomable “—bigger than I am,” she finished helplessly. “It’s shown me that the marriage I believed in never really existed in the first place.”

The advancing years were beginning to take their toll on Celeste’s beauty, but her mother’s pale blue eyes were still pretty. They filled with concern. “What about Jennifer, Angela and Isabella? They love their daddy. And Keith’s so miserable. He came over last night, pleading with me to speak to you.”

Reenie dropped her head into her hands. She should’ve brought Gabe along instead of Celeste. Her brother understood and agreed with her decision to end her marriage. “Why did you wait until we were sitting in the attorney’s office to bring this up?” she whispered harshly.

“Because you didn’t want to talk about it in the car.”

“I still don’t want to talk about it,” Reenie said. “Anyway, I’m being as kind to Keith as I possibly can be. I’m hiring an attorney in Boise so we don’t make a public spectacle out of him, so that we’re able to keep his dirty little secret in the family. If I wanted to be vengeful, I would’ve gone to Warren Slinkerhoff, like almost everyone else in Dundee who’s ever filed for divorce. Then every sordid detail would be all over town inside of ten minutes.”

“You didn’t leave Dundee to protect Keith. You left to protect the girls,” she said.

And to protect herself. Reenie felt like a fool for not discovering Keith’s deceit years ago. Somehow he’d been able to compartmentalize it all so well. And yet she should’ve suspected something.

“I’m not sure you want to hire any attorney,” her mother was saying. “Do you really want a divorce? You and Keith have always been so in love. Think of your father’s birthday last week. Lucky was there and we enjoyed her. Even Gabe was on his best behavior. Time changes perspectives. It’s only been two weeks since you found out about this…this affair.”

It wasn’t just an affair. But Reenie refused to explain it all again. What mattered was that she was where she had to be. She knew she wouldn’t feel any differently in a year.

“What about the other people involved?” Celeste continued.

“You’re asking me about Liz?”

“Is that her name?”

“Yes.”

“Actually, I’m talking about the O’Connells. They’re heartbroken that the two of you are splitting up.”

They weren’t half as heartbroken as Reenie was. They couldn’t be. They only knew what she and Keith had told them—that Keith’s traveling had caused some marital strife and they were separating.

“At the very least, give yourself some more time to think,” Celeste said.

“I don’t want to put off the decision.” Reenie couldn’t dwell on what had happened any longer or she’d lose her mind. She had to take control and reorganize her life. Except for Keith’s visitations with their children—which she intended to make as pleasant as possible for everyone involved—she was going to cut ties with her husband and go back to teaching. Her father had even agreed to help her buy the farm, and to let her pay him back over the next several years.