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Raking a hand through his hair, Reid let out a long breath. “It’s not that simple. I genuinely like Ashlynn. I can see this going someplace.”
“Then…maybe take a break until things calm down. If it turns out that it’s not true and she had nothing to do with the fire or…you know…they don’t find anything to prove it was her…”
“Leo, has it even occurred to you that she’s innocent and Becky’s lying?” he snapped, and cringed when people turned to look at them. “Crap.” He let out a long breath and quietly added, “There are two sides to every story you know.”
“Look, I get it. No one wants to think that the person they’re involved with has a…I don’t know…dark side. And yeah, it’s possible that Becky’s lying, but…why?”
“Maybe to take the focus off of herself,” he argued. “Maybe this was all some sort of elaborate plan to get insurance money. She wouldn’t be the first person to do something like that, and she sure as hell won’t be the last, so…”
“Okay, okay…I can tell I’ve struck a nerve and I’m sorry.” They stepped up to the counter and placed their orders. “For what it’s worth, I really do hope this is all some big misunderstanding, but I’m genuinely concerned for you. I’d hate to see you lose everything you’ve been working toward over this.” He paused before resting a hand on Reid’s shoulder. “Just…think about it.”
As if he’d be able to do anything but.
This was all beginning to feel like a bad soap opera and more dramatic than anything he’d ever experience, but Leo had a point. If only he could get the inspector to talk to him about what they were finding, even if it was just a small clue as to where they were leaning with the cause.
Tomorrow. Tomorrow I’m going to push for some answers. I have to.
“Are you mad at me? I shouldn’t have brought it up while we were out like this.”
“It’s fine and I appreciate your concern. I’m working on this and I’m determined to prove Ashlynn’s innocence no matter what. I believe in her and know she’s not capable of something like this.”
Only…he wasn’t quite so sure anymore.
“C’mon,” Leo said as he turned toward the theater. “The movie’s about to start.”
Chapter Ten
“Mom!” Ashlynn cried in mild disbelief as she opened her door a few days later. “What are you doing here?”
Marie Donovan frowned slightly. “This has gone on long enough. I miss seeing all of my kids for our monthly dinners and since you’re being stubborn by not showing up, I figured I’d better come to you.” And without being invited in, she simply walked around Ashlynn and made her way into the apartment.
“Won’t you come in?” she mumbled before closing the door. Following her mother into the living room, she forced herself to take a moment and just breathe. “I know we should have talked sooner, but…”
Holding up her hand, her mother stopped her. “You have every right to be upset and I should have gone after you that night when all of this came out. I had no idea you took your father’s leaving so personally or that it was still affecting you.”
“How could it not?” she snapped and hated that she was already in fight mode. “Chloe and I were little, Mom! Dad was everything to us! Do you have any idea how many tea parties he sat through or…or the silly games he’d play with us? And then one day he was gone and we didn’t know why! You could have explained…”
“Explained what, Ash? How do you think I should have explained to my two five-year-olds that I was tired of struggling? That I wanted more out of life for all of us? That I couldn’t wait any longer for your father to pull his weight! Do you think either of you would have understood that?”
Some of the fight went out of her because her mother did have a point. “It was selfish of you, Mom,” she said firmly. “It was all about how you felt, but did you ever take our feelings into consideration? You had four kids that needed their dad and you made him leave because you weren’t happy.”
Slowly, Marie sat down on the sofa. “You may not believe this, but I honestly thought Brad was going to marry me once your father left,” she said quietly. “In my mind, I had it all worked out—I’d get a divorce and Brad and I would get married and everything would be great.”
“You could have talked to him about this before pushing Dad out…”
“I know. I know. And looking back, I should have seen the signs that he wasn’t going to do that. It was all in my head.”
Ashlynn moved to sit beside her. “Then why stay with him?”
The mirthless laugh her mother gave her spoke volumes. “I’d already screwed up everything and I figured if he was willing to take care of us—even as a dirty little secret—then it wasn’t the worst thing in the world.”
The groan of disgust was out before she could stop it. “That is wrong on so many levels.”
“You don’t get to pass judgement,” Marie said tartly. “You have no idea what’s it’s like to be responsible for everything because the man you married just proved time and time again how he couldn’t step up and take care of his family. He didn’t care that I was miserable; he didn’t care that we were struggling. Your father just…he wasn’t motivated to do anything or to work harder to be a good provider.”
“I may not get to pass judgement, but I do get to have feelings on the subject,” she countered. “There were two of you in that marriage and you had four kids and the only one who benefitted from any of the fallout was you, Mom. Maybe someday when I’m married and have kids I’ll see things differently, but…I doubt it. A parent should put their children first.”
“Your father didn’t.”
