relationship. You know this. If he finds out you’re calling me, he’ll leave me.”
Jeff went quiet. “Okay. I’m sorry.”
She sighed and closed her eyes. “Are you okay, Jeff?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “You tell me.”
“What do you mean?”
A long pause followed.
“Turn around.”
Lynn opened her eyes and did as he said. Then, she froze. There he was, standing right outside the window, looking in. Seeing his longing eyes made her heart melt completely, and she hung up, then stared at him through the glass for a few seconds before moving toward the door leading to the porch. She walked outside, closed the door behind her, and they stood in the rain, staring deeply into one another’s eyes.
Then, he leaned over, grabbed her face between his hands, and kissed her. She kissed him back, and he lifted her up. He placed her on the patio furniture table, then pressed himself up against her while pulling up her skirt.
Chapter 59
I didn’t sleep at all that night. Frustratingly enough, it wasn’t because of the babies. For once, they actually slept through the night, both of them and I could have had the chance to catch up on some much-needed sleep. But I didn’t. All I could think about was Scott and that kiss we shared. I listened to Matt’s heavy breathing in bed next to me, feeling the guilt nag at me in my stomach.
What am I doing? What is happening to me?
Needless to say, I felt awful, and it continued the next morning. For some reason—probably guilt—I was being extra nice to Matt and made him his favorite breakfast with scrambled eggs and freshly baked chocolate chip muffins. The kids ate as if I had never fed them before, then left for school. Matt stayed behind, drinking his coffee, sitting at the breakfast counter, while scrolling through Facebook. My father, grandmother, and brother were there too, chatting along, but Matt didn’t really talk to them. I got the feeling he was getting pretty annoyed with them being here. I couldn’t blame him. It was a lot.
“How about you and I go out for dinner tonight, huh?” I asked, leaning over the counter. “My dad and grandmother can watch the babies.”
He didn’t look up from his phone but sipped his coffee. “What’s that?”
“Matt, look at me.”
He lifted his gaze and met mine. I felt like throwing up; that’s how much the guilt was eating at me.
“I asked if you wanted to go out to dinner tonight. We could go to Pompano Grill? You love that place. It’ll be just the two of us. It’s my family’s last night here, and we need to take advantage of having all these potential babysitters in the house.”
He gave me half a smile. “Sure. Whatever you want. You’re the boss around here anyway, right?”
He drank the rest of his coffee, grabbed his keys, and left. I stared at the door as it slammed shut, then exhaled.
“Are you two all right?” My dad asked.
I shook my head, trying not to look as sad as I felt inside. “Going through a rough patch. But I hope we will be.”
I called Pompano Grill and reserved a table, then texted Matt to be there at six-thirty and added a heart emoji. I fed the babies, then put them down for their nap when my phone vibrated. Thinking—and hoping—it was Matt who called to say how much he still loved me, I pulled it out of my pocket in a swift motion, only to realize I didn’t recognize the number. I picked it up anyway.
“Bryan Abbey here.”
I paused. It was Sarah’s brother. Why was he calling me?
“Bryan? What can I do for you?”
“It’s my sister,” he said.
“She’s back…or so I’ve heard,” I said, trying not to reveal the fact that we went to his house.
“Yes, she came back, but she wasn’t quite herself. She kept sitting at the window, gun in her hand, guarding the house like she was expecting someone to come after her.”
“Did she say anything about where she had been or what happened to her?” I asked.
“Only that she had been taken and held against her will. She wouldn’t reveal where she had been or if she knew who had kidnapped her. I got the feeling she did, though. I begged her to go to the police, but she wouldn’t do that either.”
“That’s odd. Do you think she was protecting this person, whoever it was?”
He sighed. “I don’t know. She seemed scared to talk to the police somehow. She was