One Foot in the Grave (Carly Moore #3) - Denise Grover Swank Page 0,63
But soon Bart put a stop to my fussin’ and decided to send Max off to summer camp in North Carolina. Wilderness training. Said I was makin’ him into a sissy and it would toughen him up.” She shuddered.
“Did he want to go?” I asked, in disbelief she would share all of this with me.
“Oh, dear. No. Wyatt was loud and boisterous and larger than life in everything he did, just like his father wanted. But Max…”
That was so unlike the Wyatt I knew; I had a hard time imagining it. Wyatt was quiet and withdrawn. Was that a result of his break from his father or his time in prison? Maybe both.
A soft smile covered Emily’s face. “Max… he was more easygoin’. Less intense. Bart called him a momma’s boy who needed toughening up. But Max went to camp because his father had asked it of him. He would have done anything to make his father proud, but I knew he was scared. So I snuck behind Bart’s back and offered to send Marco to camp with Max, unbeknownst to Bart. His mother was hesitant at first—no one wanted to face his wrath—but I convinced her in the end.”
“Did Bart ever find out?”
“Good heavens, no,” she said, picking up her tea again. “And Max never mentioned Marco while he regaled us with tales of his adventure. He had his father’s attention for three days, and those were three of the happiest days of Max’s life.”
I stared at her in shock. “Mrs. Drummond—I mean Emily…why are you telling me this?”
She looked at me with tear-filled eyes. “Because while Bart has been a good husband, especially in our later years, he’s been an equally terrible father.”
“Again, I have to ask—”
“Every bad thing that has happened to my boys is because I didn’t protect them from him. I let him convince me that he knew best. That he was makin’ them into real men. By the time I realized what was happenin’, it was too late. I was trapped, and so were they.” She lowered her voice and leaned closer. “Even if I wanted to leave, I couldn’t. I had no money to support myself let alone both boys. And if he’d found me, he would have taken them from me. So I stayed to keep them close. And over time, they convinced me they were glad we had stayed. That they had the life I wanted for them, and that I’d given them that by staying.”
“Emily…” I said, not knowing how else to respond.
“I’m not sure what Wyatt’s told you about his childhood or his relationship with his father, or with me for that matter, but my boys haven’t had an easy life. I did the best I could. I’m sure the boys have kept you away from me because of Bart. Worried about what he might do to you.” She tsked. “He would never approve of you for a wife. Just like he didn’t approve of Heather. Only you’re as sweet as molasses and Heather was a viper.”
“Bart paid Heather to leave town after Wyatt’s arrest?”
“Yes. He paid her five thousand dollars. He was shocked she accepted an offer that low. He was prepared to go quite a bit higher.”
“He doesn’t approve of me. Do you think he’d try to pay me off to leave?” I knew the opposite was true—he’d blackmailed me into staying—but I wanted to see how she’d respond.
“Oh, no, dear. I told him if he tried that stunt with you, I’d leave him.” She poured more tea into her cup, then held the pot out to me. “A refill? You haven’t even touched your cake.”
I forced a smile as I set my teacup on the table. “I had a late lunch.”
In reality, my stomach was churning. If Wyatt and Max were attempting to hide the fact that I’d broken up with Wyatt to keep me safe, they’d done a poor job of it. Bart knew.
What were they all up to? Why were there so many secrets?
“Do you think Heather left town?” I asked as she topped off my cup.
“Of course she did. We never saw her again. She told us she was headed to California.”
California? According to Abby, Heather said she was going to Tulsa.
“You were at the meeting with her?” I couldn’t hide my surprise.
“It was my idea,” she said, picking up her cookie and taking a nibble. “I had to protect my son.”
“And you don’t think he needs to be protected from me?”