eyes. His life was a mess and though he appreciated Althea’s suggestion about decorating, he didn’t think decorating for Christmas was going to change that.
But at least he knew Althea would keep the kids home now.
CHAPTER FOUR
“I THINK I have a problem.”
Even though she’d closed the den door, Althea walked down the hall, away from the room, so the kids couldn’t hear her as she talked with her sister, Missy.
After her discussion with Clark, she’d tried to imagine what it would be like to lose a spouse, a wife he’d obviously believed loved him, discover she’d been unfaithful, and have poor, innocent Teagan’s parentage called into question by the town gossips. The humiliation would be off the charts. But couple that with grief? She couldn’t fathom the pain of that.
Her heart ached for him, but there was nothing she could do about any of that. She could, however, help him with Jack. And that’s why she’d called her sister. A woman raising triplets who’d stood up to their dad and made a real life for herself out of nothing, Missy would know what to do.
“Did your car break?”
Althea winced. “Not that lucky. I got to Clark Beaumont’s house early and he hired me immediately because his housekeeper has pneumonia.”
“You’re a housekeeper?”
“I’m just sort of helping out.”
“Oh, Althea!”
“I’m fine. It’s all fine.”
Missy sighed. “No, it’s not fine. You called me because you have a problem.”
She grimaced. “Okay. Let me put it this way. It’s fine that I got here early. I don’t mind straightening up after breakfast and making sandwiches and opening a can of soup for lunch.”
“But?”
“But the kids’ mom was killed in an automobile accident three years ago. Teagan is only about three. Which means her mom died when she was an infant.”
“Oh, that’s awful.”
She wanted to tell Missy that that was only half the Teagan story, but though Clark hadn’t sworn her to secrecy she didn’t feel right revealing intimate details of his life. So she stuck with the relevant facts.
“And Teagan doesn’t speak. Well, she does. But she doesn’t talk out loud. She tugs on her dad’s or her brother’s sleeve and whispers in their ears. They have to convey the message.”
“Oh. Poor sweet thing.”
“Clark thinks she’s just shy.”
“At that age, she could be.”
“Yeah. I’m kind of waiting that out. The real problem is Jack. I’m here because Jack failed last semester.”
“I know. Emily told me.”
“Well, I don’t think he failed because he’s dumb or lazy or even because of mourning his mom, but because Clark is overprotective. He doesn’t like the kids going into town because of gossip. He’s got lots of money and a dead wife and two kids and he thinks everybody’s curious about them.” She grimaced at the sketchy explanation, but it was the best she could do without invading Clark’s privacy.
“And you think Jack’s failing is a cry for help?”
“If what he said yesterday when Clark sent the police after us is true, I think it’s a cry for freedom.”
“He sent the police after you?”
She winced. “It all made sense at the time. I had taken the kids shopping without telling him. When he called and couldn’t get us, he panicked.”
“Althea, you’ve got a little girl who doesn’t talk, a twelve-year-old who is rebelling and a paranoid boss who sent the police after you. Are you sure you want to get involved in this?”
“I have to get involved in this. If one person had paid a little attention to us, just one teacher or doctor or neighbor, we might not have spent every damned Saturday night in a closet praying Dad wouldn’t kill Mom.”
“Yeah.” Missy sighed with understanding. “Okay. I get it.”
Althea’s shoulders sagged with relief. She knew her sister would understand that she couldn’t abandon these kids. “So what do I say? How can I get Clark to understand that he can’t protect Jack forever? That the poor kid just wants a little freedom? Maybe some friends?”
“Well, you could try explaining that kids are pretty resilient and even if the town is curious about them, once Jack’s been in school awhile he’ll be old news.”
“That’s great! I was also thinking of telling him that I’d like to use Jack going to school in town as an incentive for him to get his grades up.”
“That’s an even better idea.”
“Good. I’ll start working on him tonight.” Happy with her plan, Althea shifted subjects. “So how are the kids?”
“Eager for Christmas. But Wyatt is worse. God only knows what he bought us this year.”
She laughed. “You mean you didn’t like last year’s RV?”
“We love the RV, but the kids are getting spoiled.”
“A little spoiling never hurt anyone.”
Crazy Dog bounded out of the den and up the hall. “Crazy!” She flattened herself against the wall, and the dog whipped by her, but she pivoted and raced toward her again. “Crazy! You stop running right now!”
“What in the hell are you talking about?”
“The dog. Her name is Crazy. And trust me. She deserves it.”
“Have you ever thought that maybe she’d behave better if she had a better, calmer name?”
Althea laughed.
“I’m not kidding. Call her Crazy, she’ll act crazy. Rename that dog.” She paused then yelped, “Owen! You stop that right now!”
Althea’s laughter turned to fits of giggles. “I notice Owen’s name doesn’t make any difference in his behavior,” she said, referring to the only boy of her sister’s triplets. “I can’t wait to meet them.”
“Can you come for supper tomorrow?”
“I don’t want to miss any interaction between Clark and the kids until I fully understand what’s going on.” She might know the whole story, but she wasn’t sure how much Jack knew, how much he understood. “Give me a few more days to observe and analyze.”
“All right.” Missy paused to sigh. “But tread lightly, okay? You don’t want to get in over your
