so afraid of heights I have to take sedatives before getting on a plane. Shocking, right?”
“Not that shocking,” Carlene drawled in amusement. “That rascal can talk a woman into doing anything—and probably has.”
Lexi smiled distractedly. For the first time in days, she had something other than Quentin’s powers of persuasion on her mind. “You know, Ma, I’ve always wondered why I’m so terrified of heights.”
Carlene hesitated. “Some people have phobias. That’s always been yours.”
“I know. But it’s so damn paralyzing. It’s almost like…I don’t know. It’s hard to explain.”
There was a small silence.
Carlene was suddenly eyeing her pack of cigarettes like a junkie craving a fix.
Lexi smiled wryly. “If I didn’t know better, I would think something happened to me when I was a baby. Maybe one of the nurses dropped me, or—”
Her mother’s gaze swung sharply to hers. “Or what? What are you asking me?”
Taken aback by her reaction, Lexi stammered, “N-nothing. I’m just—”
“What the hell’s gotten into you tonight? First you accuse me of not being sympathetic enough about your divorce. Now you’re accusing me of, what, child abuse?”
Lexi frowned. “Of course not.”
“You’ve never forgiven me for what happened that night,” Carlene fumed bitterly. “No matter how many times I’ve apologized for what I did, you’re still holding it against me!”
“That’s not true!” Lexi burst out in angry disbelief. “If I still blamed you, would I be here? You treat me like crap, Ma, but guess what? I’m. Still. Here.”
Resentment darkened her mother’s face. “I know what this is about. You spent the weekend with that bourgeois woman and decided she was a better mother than me because she’s rich and sophisticated and drinks fine wine. Well, let me tell you something. I did everything for you and your siblings when you were growing up. Everything! I have nothing to—”
Lexi shoved her chair back from the table and stood on trembling legs. She’d had enough of her mother’s diatribes for one night. “I can’t do this. I need to go.”
Carlene said nothing as she stalked out of the room to retrieve her coat from the hall closet. She jammed her arms into the sleeves, struggling to get her emotions under control before she got behind the wheel to drive home.
When it became apparent that her mother wasn’t going to see her to the door or even say good night, she sighed harshly and strode back into the kitchen.
Carlene was already lighting up another cigarette.
“Good night, Ma,” Lexi said tersely.
Sucking in a lungful of smoke, her mother gave her a dismissive wave. The same way she’d greeted her when she arrived.
As Lexi slammed out of the house, she wondered, for the millionth time, what the hell was keeping her in Atlanta.
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