her lack of knowledge about what had been going on in that house fifteen years ago.
Had she also lied about not giving a thought to her stepdaughter in that same amount of time? What if she was behind the stalking? He suspected that if she’d found someone who resembled her daughter to torment Charlie, she would have lied about that as well. Which always came back to the question of what was the endgame?
Somehow though, he thought Kat might be telling the truth about putting Charlie out of her life—and her mind. She’d obviously married well, even better than she had with Charlie’s father. She had a daughter with the man. She had a shiny new life. Why would she risk it to torture Charlie after all this time?
He still felt angry. Kat had to have known what her daughter was doing to Charlie. Just as Charlie’s father surely had. Why else would he have pleaded with his daughter to get along with Lindy? Did he really think Charlie and Lindy could work it out among themselves? Lindy was older. Did he know his daughter at all?
It made Shep want to punch something. But he couldn’t change what had happened to fourteen-year-old Charlie. All he could do was find out who was tormenting her again. From Kat’s reaction to his visit, he didn’t think she was behind it. She had too much pent-up anger. He figured if Kat ever let that fury out, she would do more than get someone to quietly stalk Charlie.
Also, she had too much to lose for something so trivial as revenge—even though he wouldn’t put anything mean-spirited past Kat. He suspected that Lindy’s cruelty might also run in her mother.
He decided to swing by Paul Wagner’s. Still, as he drove into Bozeman, he couldn’t quit thinking about how Kat had gone on with her life. She’d had another child. Another daughter. To replace the one she’d lost? Had Kat been disappointed when the girl had looked nothing like Lindy?
Kat’s attitude toward Charlie though came as no surprise. The woman blamed her fourteen-year-old stepdaughter. He was just thankful that Charlie never told anyone about locking Lindy out of the house. She had enough guilt on her plate.
* * *
CHARLIE FELT AS if the lunch would never end. At first Greg and Amanda were in a celebratory mood. But the more Greg talked about what a talent Charlie was, the more despondent Amanda became. Charlie feared that Amanda would drink too much and then say or do something they all would regret.
“How is your lunch?” Charlie asked her the first chance she got. Greg seemed determined to talk business. He apparently didn’t notice how many drinks his fiancée had consumed or how bored she had become. It had been Amanda’s idea to come along on this celebratory lunch, not Greg’s, although he’d accepted her inviting herself graciously enough.
Amanda looked down at her nearly empty salad bowl, as if unable to remember tasting it. She reached for her drink.
“I have another client I want you to work with,” Greg was saying. “Speaking of clients...” He put down his napkin. “Would you excuse me for a minute?” He rose from their table and worked his way through the restaurant to a table at the front that had just been seated.
Amanda’s gaze had been on the liquid in her glass, but now it slowly rolled up to pin Charlie to her chair. “If I have to hear how wonderfully talented you are one more time...” She was already slurring her words and from the look on face, trouble wasn’t far behind.
“This wasn’t my idea,” Charlie pointed out, then added, “And you didn’t have to tag along.”
Amanda let out a brittle snort. “Aren’t you the innocent one. Like I’m going to let you have lunch with Greg alone.”
“That’s your problem, not mine.” Charlie put down her napkin and rose. “I’m going to the ladies’ room,” she said, not wanting this to turn into an ugly scene.
“Sure, why not? Maybe you and Greg can hook up in there and he can continue to tell you how wonderful you are,” Amanda muttered into her glass before draining it and looking around for the waiter.
Charlie hurried toward the restroom. She had eaten way too fast, but she couldn’t help it. She’d been so nervous that she just wanted the meal to be over. Now she needed a quiet place to escape this endless lunch.
Stepping into a stall, she sat down, wishing she could stay