“Anything else?” I ask calmly.
Ethan touches his face and scowls. “Maybe I should track her down first… before she gets to Isaac.”
“Do you have any idea where she is?”
He looks like he’s thinking deeply. Hopefully there’s a part of him realizing that I was right about Tylee. Ultimately, I worry more about the kids than about whatever happens between her and Isaac. I just also happen to respect my husband’s wishes for me to not get involved. Like I said, I have plenty going on.
“No idea where she is.”
“Or how to find her?”
“I might be able to get her to talk to me if I play my cards right.”
This is a first. Ethan has never before indicated he had alternative methods of getting Tylee to reach out.
“What does that mean?”
He pauses for a good minute to think. “I could tell her I hit rock bottom. I’m at a casino. And I need her.”
This is huge. Ethan hasn’t mentioned gambling for months because it hasn’t been a part of his life. He spends his time working, parenting, and being there for me. Work gives him enough stimulation these days that I don’t think he needs to gamble.
“Do you really think that would work on her?” I ask him. Ethan considers. Tylee’s unpredictable and we both know it. I might have had a chance at intervening early, but now that she’s first kidnapped their kids, next seemingly left them somewhere, and now she’s heading East with some dangerous biker… Ethan’s plan actually sounds pretty good.
“My sister has a heart. Somewhere down there.”
“She loves her kids,” I tell him. “I know that. She’s also close with Anna, Juliette, and Vickie. I think she has a good heart deep down but whatever happened between her and Isaac… maybe it pushed her to a breaking point.”
“She lost her way when she drugged Damara.”
“Okay, arguably some time before that.”
“I’ve never told you this,” Ethan says, “But she cheated on him.”
That surprises me. Isaac doesn’t seem like the type of man to forgive that kind of thing. It’s not like I know him very well, but from what I’ve seen, he seems like he would take it to heart. Ethan hasn’t stopped complaining about Isaac’s depression since he got here. It sounds like the man misses his kids.
“When did Tylee cheat on him?”
Ethan scoffs, “The times he knows about?”
My face must say it all.
“She’s family. I would never make any trouble between her and her husband, but I have no illusions about my sister. Just because she doesn’t get into bar fights doesn’t mean she lacks the same mean streak as the rest of us.”
“Will calling her work?”
“It might. Wyatt doesn’t approve.”
“You’re still going to do it.” I’m saying it out loud because I know my husband. He’s already made up his mind.
“Tylee won’t expect me to go against him, and she can read all of us like a book.”
“What do you need from me?”
Ethan stops scowling. I feel warmth coming from him as he looks at me.
“I need nothing from you,” he says. “You are the perfect wife. When I come home and have you perched on the edge of my bed, I know that I’ve won the ultimate jackpot.”
“Ethan…”