I also needed to help Michele and the rest of his family prepare for the funeral, so I dropped Cat off with my parents and headed into the nursing home. When I arrived, Michele was waiting for me at the front door. I walked over and gave her a hug as I asked, “How ya holding up?”
“Not too bad.” She hugged me back, then said, “I’m just a little numb at the moment. I don’t know why. I knew this day was coming. I guess I just hoped we had more time.”
“Of course you did, and I’m so sorry that you didn’t get that time.”
“Me, too.”
“Let’s go down to my office, and we’ll see if we can get things settled up here.”
“I’d really appreciate that.”
Michele followed me down to my office, and I helped her get David’s body discharged to the funeral home. I also helped her start the process of getting her family the bereavement care they might need after her husband’s death. Once she felt like she had her footing, she left and headed over to the funeral home to get things started there.
I spent a few hours working on paperwork, and when I got to a good stopping point, I decided to head home. I grabbed my keys and purse, then headed out to the parking lot. I was about to get in my car when I heard a familiar voice say, “Rebecca.”
Panic washed over me when I turned and found Lloyd, Trevor’s father, and Joyce standing behind me. I immediately stepped back as I gasped, “You shouldn’t be here!”
“I know,” Lloyd answered. “And I’m sorry if we startled you, but we just need a minute of your time.”
The sounds of Joyce’s screams were still fresh in my mind, and I didn’t want a round two, so I told him, “This is my work, Lloyd.”
“I’m begging you, Becca.” Lloyd started over to me and pleaded, “Just give her five minutes. That’s all I ask.”
“Okay.” I glanced over to Joyce as I told her, “Five minutes.”
“Thank you, Rebecca.” I closed my car door and stepped over to her, then waited for her to speak. “I just wanted to apologize for everything I’ve done over the past few months. I don’t know what got into me. I know it’s no excuse, but I honestly thought I was doing the right thing for Trevor.”
I didn’t respond. I simply stood there and listened as she said, “I don’t know if this will make any sense, but try and think of the way you feel about Cat... The way you love and adore her, the way you want the very best life for her... A career, a husband who will love her, and children. Imagine she gets all of those things, and she’s so very happy...”
Anguish marked her face as she told me, “And then one day, she’s in a terrible accident, and everything changes. She loses that career. She becomes withdrawn and addicted to drugs, and then, she loses her wonderful husband, her precious family, and her home. Can you imagine how terrible that would be?”
“I’m sure it would be awful.”
“It’s worse than you can imagine.” Tears filled her eyes as she explained, “I just wanted to help Trevor find his way back. I thought if he spent some time with Cat, he might remember the good inside of him, that he might find his way back to me and maybe even you and Cat.”
“That was never going to happen, Joyce.”
“I see that now. It might sound crazy, but it took me losing him to see that.” Her eyes dropped to the ground as she muttered, “I know I’ve made some terrible mistakes, but Cat is all I have left of Trevor. I can’t bear the thought of losing her.”
“I wish you would’ve thought of that before you kidnapped her and took her to that prison.”
“That’s just it.” Tears streamed down her cheeks. “I wasn’t thinking. Otherwise, I would’ve never done that to our precious Cat.”
“I don’t know what you want me to say here, Joyce.”
“Just that you will consider what I’ve said and try to understand why I did what I did. Maybe then, you will find a way to forgive me one day, and we’ll be able to see Cat again.”
“Yes, I will think about it, but you need to know that my main concern is Cat. I’ll talk to her and explain things to her, but I won’t force her to see you.”
“All I’m asking for is a chance, Rebecca.”
“Then, I’d say you have it.”
19
VIPER
After a long, restless night, I found myself parked outside Camden’s new place. I hadn’t seen or talked to him since the morning I’d confronted him about his secret family, and I hadn’t planned on ever talking to him again.
And yet, there I sat—staring at his front door.