“Barbara?” She automatically began looking to see if her asshole husband had joined her. Thankfully it looked as if her former mother-in-law had come alone. “What are you doing here?”
“I was hoping maybe we could talk.”
Cassie blinked. You want to…talk. With me.” It wasn’t a question. More like a statement overflowing with confusion.
“I won’t take up much of your time. I just thought…” The older woman’s lip-sticked mouth pursed into a straight line. “I wanted to apologize.”
If she hadn’t been holding the door’s wooden edge, Cassie was pretty sure she would have fallen right over. In all the years she’d known Barb, the woman had never, ever apologized to her.
Not. Once.
“Thank you, Barb, but that’s really not necessary.” Mainly because Cassie didn’t really care about this woman’s apology. A year ago, maybe. But now…
“Please. I…I know it probably doesn’t mean anything to you, now, but I…I wanted you to know that I truly do feel badly about the way Alastair and I have treated you.”
“You mean now that you know I didn’t kill your son?”
A flash of pain filled the woman’s wrinkled face, and despite the anguish Barb had caused her over the years, Cassie couldn’t help but feel bad for the snippy comment.
“I’m sorry,” she offered sincerely. “I know you loved Russ dearly, and that’s a loss I can’t begin to understand.”
“Thank you.” Barbara rewarded her with a small smile. “You know, after he caused that awful scene at the cemetery that day, I told Alistair I wanted a divorce.”
And the surprises just keep on coming.
“You…did? Why?”
“Come now, Cassandra. You’ve always been an intelligent woman. Do you really think my Russ was the first Montgomery man to have a wandering eye?”
“Alastair?”
“He’s had several affairs over the years. And unlike you, I wasn’t strong enough to walk away.”
“So what changed?” Cassie couldn’t imagine one outburst by a man known for them would do the trick.
Another dark, haunted shadow crossed over her once more. “I lost my son.” Her voice became thick with emotion. “I know it seems silly at my age, but when I learned Russ had been killed, I realized just how tired I really was. Tired of the lies. The keeping up with appearances. The women.” Barbara shook her silver head. “Russell was the one bright spot in my life, and with him gone, I realized I had nothing left. Oh, I had money and notoriety, of course. But without my boy, those things just don’t seem as important as before.”
I guess wonders really do never cease.
Adding to the surprising turn of events, Cassie actually heard herself say, “Would you like to come inside where it’s warm? I have some coffee that’s still fairly fresh.”
The first real smile the woman had ever given her spread across her grieving face. “Actually, I was hoping maybe we could take a ride.”
“A ride?”
“Oh, I know it’s silly of me, but I thought…” She blushed and looked away. “Oh, never mind. I’m just being that crazy old lady I used to laugh at as a child.”
“Where were you wanting to go, Barbara?”
Because if this was real…the apology and sudden clarity where Cassie was concerned…she would accept the offered apology. After all, for her and Russ’s entire relationship, all Cassie had ever wanted was for his family to accept her. To welcome her with smiles and open arms like they had with Lori and Eddie.
A flash of pain filled her chest, the fresh betrayal from both so-called friends still very much present.
But this wasn’t about Lori or her rope-wielding psycho husband. This was about Cassie and the strained relationship with her former mother-in-law. And since she’d decided to take a new lease on life and do her best to let go of the past, she figured mending what she could of her relationship—if you could call it that—with the woman standing before her would be a start.
Barbara’s hopeful gaze met hers. “I was thinking…well, I was hoping, anyway…if this little conversation of ours went well, then maybe…” She paused again, looking almost embarrassed by what she was about to propose. “I know it’s silly, but I was wondering if you’d like to ride with me to the cemetery.”
“The cemetery?” Cassie frowned.