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Allison had wanted to say that wasn’t a good time. That they had nothing to say to each other, etc. etc. But she hadn’t because Erica was Summer’s mother and she’d offered to find out about the business. Maybe she had good news. Maybe a bunch of clients had paid and Erica had managed to intercept the money before it got deposited in the bank, where it would sit, frozen and inaccessible.
A few hundred would really help. A few thousand would mean she could try to rent a small apartment by paying a six-month lease in advance. She had the ten thousand from the scary guy and she had her credit card, but until she got paid again, that was it. She had medical insurance to worry about, co-pays for the doctor and hospital. Assuming she could somehow convince someone to rent her an apartment, she had to pay for movers and ask Liz if she would please keep Jackson during the birth. All of which assumed she could keep working the whole time and nothing went wrong.
What if she was put on bed rest? What about after Bethany was born? How was she supposed to survive with two kids under the age of two? Day care would be prohibitive, but she needed day care to work.
The familiar panic returned. She told herself to take a couple of breaths, to relax so she faced Erica calmly and in control. Unfortunately just then there was a light knock.
She opened the front door. Erica offered her a tight smile as she walked in, looking put together in a turtleneck and blazer, with expensive-looking pants and gorgeous boots. She was tall, thin, and had perfect hair and makeup. Plus the designer handbag. Allison, on the other hand, had nearly outgrown all her maternity clothes and hadn’t even thought about doing something with her appearance. These days it was all she could do to stay upright.
“Thank you for seeing me,” Erica said, moving to the sofa. “We have a few things to discuss. I’ll be brief. I’m sure you’re exhausted and would like to get to bed early.”
Bed sounded wonderful—if only she could actually sleep instead of worrying and missing Peter.
They both sat.
“Do you have news on the business?” Allison asked eagerly.
Erica stared at her blankly. “The business? Oh, yes. I spoke to Gail, the office manager. She’s the one who turned in Peter. She found out about the illegal activity and reported it. The day the police showed up, she resigned.”
Allison stared at the other woman, unable to process the blunt words. “Why would she do that? She’s worked with Peter for years.”
Erica looked away. “I can’t possibly know all her motives, but as I said, she figured out what he was up to and wasn’t willing to ignore it.”
“You’re saying you think Peter committed a crime? You’re wrong. He said it was a mistake. When he gets the right lawyer he’s going to—”
“Do you actually believe that? No one with any resources simply sits in jail, waiting for the justice fairies to free him. Of course he’s guilty. I don’t know what all he’s done, but it’s enough that your bank accounts are frozen. That should have been your first clue.”
“He’s innocent,” Allison protested, fighting tears, knowing Peter was a good man. He had to be. They loved each other, they had dreams. “He would never hurt me.”
“Yet here you sit.” Erica sighed. “I don’t mean to be blunt.”
“Yes, you do.”
Erica gaze sharpened. “Maybe it’s because right now you’re not one of my favorite people.”
“What does that mean?”
“Summer is sixteen years old. I understand your situation is dire and you’re afraid, but you have no business dumping on her. You shouldn’t be sharing all the details with her and you shouldn’t be asking her for help. She’s not your child, but she is still a child and this is way beyond what she can handle.”
Allison felt her face flush as a rush of shame washed through her. Erica was right—of course she was. Peter wasn’t just Allison’s husband, he was Summer’s father. The teen was worried about him, about her little brother, all of it.
“I didn’t mean to hurt her.”
“Now you sound like Peter.”
“If you’re going to act like this, then we have nothing more to say to each other. You’re right about Summer. She shouldn’t be handling this, but I didn’t set out to tell her. It’s like she knows when there’s a crisis and she shows up. It’s hard to keep the truth from her when she walks in on me curled up on the floor sobbing. You can believe me or not, but that’s what happened.”
Erica stared at her. Allison had no idea what she was thinking. According to Peter, the woman was heartless—only caring about business—something she’d always believed. Until now. She could see Erica loved her daughter very much.
Allison sagged against the sofa back. “I love her and I wouldn’t hurt her. I’m sorry for what happened. It’s just been so hard. Everything’s happened so fast and I don’t know what to do or how to manage. Peter won’t tell me everything.”
“He wants to protect you.” Erica sighed. “I saw him today.”
“What?” Allison leaned toward her. “You did? But it’s not a visiting day.”
Erica brushed away that comment. “I wanted to look him in the eye and find out the truth.”
“Did he tell you?”
