Currant Creek Valley - By RaeAnne Thayne Page 0,88
much, which meant she was probably working most of the time. Their disparate work schedules complicated the situation—he generally worked early in the morning until late afternoon and she went into work early afternoons until late at night at the restaurant, which made it difficult to connect, even if she had wanted to.
Which she plainly didn’t.
The two boys were talking about some of the things they enjoyed in art camp. Because of their age difference, they were apparently on different tracks and Owen was telling Ethan about some of the activities he could look forward to in future years. He found it curious that Ethan had always been comfortable talking with adults or older peers, though he sometimes grew impatient and frustrated with children his own age.
The boys’ conversation gave him the chance to speak more directly to Claire than he might have if Owen and Ethan had been paying attention to them.
“How is Alexandra doing?” he finally asked. “I’ve tried to talk to her since the memorial service for Mrs. Bybee but I can’t seem to run her to ground.”
Concern darkened her eyes. “She tries to hide it and go on like nothing is wrong but she’s pretty broken up inside. She and Caroline were very close. Alex even lived in Caro’s basement when she came back from Europe. I haven’t seen her like this in a long time, maybe even since her dad left.”
“Her dad left?” He frowned, feeling stupid for his ignorance. Why hadn’t she told him about such a crucial part of her life?
Claire also seemed surprised he didn’t know. “She never told you the gory details?”
“No.”
“Well, I suppose I should respect her decision not to share it.”
She paused, her mouth twisted into a frown. “On the other hand, it’s not exactly some kind of secret, since it affected the whole family, so why not?”
Yes. Why not? he wanted to say. Any tidbit of information he could find out about Alexandra might help him understand why she struggled so hard to keep him away.
“Alex and I were in high school when he left. Her dad was a high school science teacher and very well respected in town. One day, out of the blue, he just decided he didn’t want to be tied down by a family anymore. Call it a midlife crisis or whatever but James McKnight decided he wanted to pursue his professional dreams and he didn’t think he could do that while he was stuck in Hope’s Crossing raising six children and teaching surly teenagers about protons and neutrons. He dropped everything and left to take a job on an archaeology dig near Mesa Verde. He never came back and was killed a few years later in a site accident.”
He stared at Claire. He didn’t think she would make up a story but he could hardly believe such a thing could be true. “How could someone as great as Mary Ella be married to such an ass?”
She laughed. “That is a darn good question, Sam. Actually, he was a good husband and great father through most of Alex’s childhood. He was really funny and nice. I used to love going to their house because it was so...different from my own. They were always laughing about something.”
“What happened? Why would he just walk away from that?”
“What makes any man decide to make choices that end up hurting people he is supposed to care about? Ego? Narcissism? Who knows? I haven’t ruled out a brain tumor, as crazy as that sounds.”
Claire looked pensive and sad and her hand automatically went to her abdomen. Her husband, Alexandra’s brother, had been affected by the same thing, he realized.
“Alex took it hard. All of them did, but Alex and James had been really close. She was the youngest daughter and was really a daddy’s girl. For a long time, she shut everybody out. I’m not sure she’s ever really gotten over it, if you want the truth.”
That explained so very much about Alexandra. He had asked her once if she was blaming him for somebody else’s sins. Her father’s abandonment must have devastated her at such a crucial point in her adolescence when she had most needed the example of a good, strong man in her life.
“I love Alex dearly, don’t get me wrong, but she can be the most stubborn person on the planet,” Claire continued. “I mean, why can’t she see that by running away now, she’s only repeating her father’s stupid mistakes?”