Page 15 of Veil of Silence

Nora’s stomach tightened as she remembered what Shelby had told her. “What does your custody agreement say?”

“Every other weekend. Dinner one night during the week.” Shelby picked at a loose thread on her sleeve. “But Mikey has missed a bunch of weekends and barely ever takes him out to dinner. Now all of a sudden he wants more time.”

Nora shifted and kept her voice low. “Has something changed?”

“I don’t know. Not really. I just think . . .” She glanced at her son across the room. “I just think he’s doing this to try to control me.”

Nora set the cuff aside and locked gazes with Shelby. “Has he ever hurt you or Preston?”

“No, never.” Shelby answered that one quickly. “He’s not like that.”

Nora nodded, careful not to let her thoughts get ahead of the facts.

Jacob hadn’t seemed like the type to hurt anyone either. She hated that the comparison came so easily now. But that was what happened when life taught you lessons you weren’t ready to learn.

She studied Shelby’s face again. “Have you talked to your lawyer?”

“I don’t really have one anymore. Not since the divorce. Money has been tight.” Shelby worked in the cafeteria at Fog Lake Elementary—a job that kept her on Preston’s schedule but didn’t leave much room for lawyers or unexpected medical bills.

“I’d probably call someone.” Nora closed the chart on her tablet. “Just in case.”

Shelby nodded slowly. “Maybe I will.”

Preston sat up across the room and carefully balanced the Matchbox car flat on top of his head. “Mom.”

Shelby turned. “Yes, sweetie?”

“Look.”

She stared at him. “What am I looking at?”

Preston sat very still, chin tucked so the car wouldn’t slide off. “I’m a parking garage.”

Shelby laughed despite the heaviness of the previous conversation. Her hand instantly went to her incision as if she regretted the action. “You’re something.”

The car slipped off his head and landed in his lap. Preston grinned and went back to building his ramp.

Some of the tension left the room. “For what it’s worth, being careful is smart. But fear has a way of growing when other people keep feeding it.”

Shelby’s gaze returned to her. “You think I’m overreacting?”

“No.” Nora slipped the blood-pressure cuff back into her bag. “But I do think that fear can make everything look like proof.”

The words were out before Nora realized how much they applied to herself.

Shelby studied her. “You’re talking about Jacob.”

Nora’s hands stilled. There it was. Question number four for the day.

Shelby’s eyes immediately widened with apology. “I’m sorry. That was rude.”

“It’s okay.” She appreciated that Shelby at least looked apologetic to go along with her words. Most people didn’t.

“No, it wasn’t okay. I’m sorry.”

Nora zipped the side pocket of her bag. “People are curious.”

Shelby lowered her voice. “For what it’s worth, I would’ve trusted him too. I met him a couple of times around town. He seemed nice.”