out.
Adele sniffed. “Of course. Why wouldn’t there be? Everyone loved Keith. He was a wonderful man and a prominent, respected physician. He was also handsome, bright and utterly charming.
“And the most wonderful son any mother could ask for,” she added in a quavery voice as fresh tears welled in her eyes. With a choked sob, she buried her face in her hands again and gave in to another storm of weeping.
He was also a womanizing cheat, Emily added silently, but she kept the thought to herself. There was no point in angering Adele. In her mother-in-law’s eyes, her younger son had been perfect, and nothing anyone could say would convince her otherwise.
Dillon’s mouth twisted as he stared pityingly at his mother, but he said nothing.
Patting Adele’s heaving shoulders, Charlotte rocked her back and forth and murmured words of comfort.
“Excuse me, Miz Maguire.” Ila Mae appeared in the arched doorway leading into the foyer, wiping her hands on her apron. “I’m finished. The food is stored away, kitchen is cleaned and the dishes are washing in the machine. Is there anything else you’d like me to do before I leave?”
“No. Thank you, Ila Mae.”
“I hate to leave you here in this big house all alone. You sure you don’t want me to stay the night? My mister would understand.”
“No, really. That won’t be necessary. I’ll be fine.”
When Ila Mae had gone Charlotte looked at Dillon again over the top of their mother’s head. “I think Roger and I had better take Mother home now, too. I’ll give her a sedative and put her to bed.”
“Good idea,” Dillon agreed.
“I’ll go round up the kids,” Roger volunteered and headed for the den.
Emily barely resisted the urge to sigh with relief. Thank heavens.
“Yes. Yes, take me home,” Adele cried. “There’s nothing left for me here. My wonderful son is gone.”
Emily pressed her lips together. She knew that Adele’s grief was genuine, but her mother-in-law’s constant lauding of Keith was like pouring salt into an open wound. Emily just wanted them all to go.
Finally everyone was bundled into their winter coats and gloves, but Adele’s mouth began to quiver piteously again as they prepared to leave. She cast a tragic look around the foyer as though she expected never to return, and whimpered, “I still can’t believe he’s gone. That I’ll never see my son again.”
She turned an accusing look on Dillon. “If I had to lose a son it should have been you. Not my Keith.”
“Mother!”
“Adele!” Charlotte and Emily gasped in unison.
“Oh, Mother, how could you? That’s a horrible thing to say.”
Adele looked away, her mouth pinched so tight the tiny creases around her lips radiated like a starburst. “I’m sorry, but I can’t help it. That’s how I feel.”
Emily was so shocked that for the first time in three days she forgot about her own pain. She stared at her mother-in-law and wondered how she could utter such a heartless statement, no matter how grief-stricken. Especially to one of her own children.
“She didn’t mean it, Dillon,” Charlotte insisted, laying her hand on her brother’s arm. “She’s just upset, that’s all.”
“Don’t worry about it, sis.” He shrugged off the cruel comment as though it meant no more to him than an offhand remark from a stranger.
Dillon bid Roger good-night, kissed and hugged Charlotte and the kids, and, to Emily’s surprise, dutifully kissed Adele’s cheek. She turned her head away at the last instant, barely allowing his lips to graze her skin, and even though it was Dillon, Emily felt terrible for him.
When at last they were gone she closed the door and turned to him with a sympathetic look. “Charlotte is right, you know. She really didn’t mean it.”
“She meant it.”
“Oh, no. You mustn’t think that. That was just grief talking. Adele loves you.”
Dillon gave her an under-the-brow look. “C’mon, Emily. You’ve been in this family for seven years. You know better than that.”
He turned and headed back into the living room. Emily hurried after him.
“I know that Adele isn’t always nice to you—”
“Now there’s an understatement.”
“And I know that Keith was her favorite,” she continued. “I’m not condoning that, mind you. I don’t think it’s right for a parent to favor one child over another. But just because Adele did that doesn’t mean she doesn’t love you, too. Mothers love their children, no matter what.”
Resuming his seat, Dillon stretched his legs out in front of him, rested his head against the sofa back and looked at her from beneath half-closed eyes. “Yeah, that’s what they say. But it doesn’t always work out that way. As far back as I can remember she’s never been able to stomach the sight of me.”
“But—”
“Look, it’s okay. That’s just the way it is. I accepted it a long time ago.”
She opened her mouth to argue more, then shut it again. What was she doing? This was Dillon. The man was self-sufficient, remote and tough as old shoe leather. He didn’t need anyone. Apparently not even his own mother. If Adele’s hateful comments didn’t bother him, why should she be concerned? She had enough pain of her own to deal with. She had neither the will nor the energy to worry about other people’s problems.
Wearily, Emily resumed her seat, this time on the sofa across from the one on which Dillon sat. She turned her head and fixed her gaze on the blaze crackling in the fireplace without really seeing it. She felt numb and empty inside, as though her body were just a hollow, aching shell.
How could she have been so blind? Seven years. For seven years she had believed that she had the perfect life—a storybook marriage to a handsome, charming doctor who adored her, a lovely home, an active social life, friends, financial security—all the things she’d dreamed of during her lonely childhood. Now she knew that it had all been an illusion.
Unconsciously, her hand splayed over her flat belly. The only thing that had been missing from hers and Keith’s perfect life had been a baby, and he had even managed to give her that in the end.
Was that the problem? Had she been so focused on getting pregnant these past few years that she had lost sight of her husband’s needs and desires? Had she neglected him? Had he been unhappy with her?
No. No, she didn’t believe that. She and Keith had gotten along beautifully. In seven years they’d rarely had a cross word, for heaven’s sake. And Keith had wanted this baby as much as she had. Like her, he had been jubilant when Dr. Conn had telephoned them with the news on Monday afternoon.
So why had he turned to another woman?
