Crossing Oceans by Gina Holmes Page A

the entryway.
    I found Lindsey Preston standing by the front door, glancing around nervously, Coach bag draped over her narrow shoulder. My breath caught at the sight of her. By Mama Peg’s puzzled expression, I knew she wondered who exactly she had just let in, while I wondered what.
    “Lindsey, what a surprise.” I pulled my hair over my shoulder and walked over to greet her. It had been two weeks since my father had confronted Dr. Preston, revealing Isabella’s existence. I had figured that if David hadn’t staked a claim by now, he wouldn’t. Maybe I was wrong.
    Lindsey tucked her hair behind her ear, revealing an emerald stud shimmering from a dainty earlobe. I wondered if David had bought her the earrings and how many other jewels he might have given her over the years.
    She glanced at me, then the floor. “What a lovely home.”
    Mama Peg raised her bushy brows in my direction.
    “Mama Peg, this is Lindsey Preston, David’s . . . Lindsey, this is Mama Peg.”
    They exchanged a polite nod.
    I addressed my grandmother, who seemed to be a shade grayer than she’d been a moment earlier. “We’ll be out back.”
    I offered Lindsey a drink, which she declined, and led her through the house to the back porch. Along the way, she made little comments about the beauty of this piece of furniture or the fragrance of that floral arrangement. Her sweetness soured me all the more.
    We stepped outside into a tepid breeze. Four identical white rockers sat in a row on the porch, facing Lucas Lake. The treetops stretched toward the crystalline sky.
    The wood porch groaned as we sat. She stared at the lake, clutching the purse resting in her lap. “Wow, what a view. Do you know how lucky you are to look out on this every day?”
    Crossing my legs, I followed her line of vision to the mountain ridges. “Lucky, that’s me.” I nodded to the purse she hugged. “I won’t steal it. Promise.”
    Her skin flushed. “Oh, I’m not worried about that. I’m just really nervous.” She set the bag by her feet.
    “Despite the wallop I gave your husband, I’m really pretty gentle.”
    “I hit a guy once.”
    My gaze glided over her Olive Oyl physique in disbelief.
    “The guy I dated before David. He tried to take what I didn’t want to give.”
    Sympathy finally thawed me. “I can’t imagine how horrible that must have been.”
    Her eyes grew large. “Oh, gosh, no, nothing like that. He wanted me to give him a twenty. I’d had quite enough of his mooching. I told him to get a job. He grabbed my wallet and started rummaging through it. So I hit him.” She looked away shyly. “The next day his eye was blacker than coal. He lied and told everyone he’d gotten jumped. He lost me, but I let him keep the lie as a consolation prize.”
    “What a jerk,” I said, feeling frigid once again. All I could think of as I looked at her was that she spent her nights lying on the love of my life’s chest. Maybe for a better woman that wouldn’t have been an insurmountable obstacle to friendship. It was for me.
    Sweet Pea jumped onto the porch and sat at Lindsey’s feet, meowing at her.
    She reached out to pet him. “Hey, sweet kitty.”
    I wish I could say it didn’t cross my mind not to warn her, but it did. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” I said dutifully.
    “Why not?” She stroked his fur anyway as he purred and leaned into her touch. After she gave his ear a scratch, she tried to pull her hand back. Sweet Pea clawed her.
    She winced and drew back. “Hey!” Her hand had several fresh lines of red streaking across it. She looked at it and scowled at him.
    I almost felt bad. “That’s why not,” I said. “Are you okay?”
    She rubbed her hand and nodded. “Serves me right, I guess, for not believing you.”
    We sat silent for a moment as Lindsey crossed her legs, then uncrossed them. She stared at the lake, opened her mouth to speak, and closed it again.
    It was time to put her out of her misery. Unlike her, I