Three Missing Days (Pelican Harbor #3) - Colleen Coble Page 0,2
for almost eight years? In a place with no internet? Out of the country?”
Lauren’s gaze didn’t flicker this time, and she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear. “It’s something Reid and I will have to work out and has nothing to do with you.”
“Will is my son.”
“He’s legally mine. I adopted him.”
While Jane wasn’t sure yet if she’d fight for Reid, she’d do battle with her last breath for the son she’d thought was dead for fifteen years. “He doesn’t want to see you, Lauren, and can you blame him? He was devastated by your abandonment.”
“I can make it up to him if you step out of the picture.”
“Step out of the picture? He’s my son! I carried him in my body for nine months while you ran off at the first opportunity.”
“Oh, you’re the perfect mother, aren’t you? Yet you had no contact with him for most of his life.”
Jane flinched. “You have no idea what happened all those years ago. Reid never told you.”
This time Lauren flinched. “I’ll admit your ghost was always between us. Reid didn’t like to talk about the past and never even told me your name. If you have any morals at all, you’ll give us space to work out our differences.”
Jane gasped. “The marriage is over. Your lies are easy to spot. All you want is Reid’s money.”
Lauren’s smirk held all the confidence in the world. “That’s not what my attorney says. I came back in time to set aside the decree. Check out Chapter 156 in Nevada law if you don’t believe me. It means we’re still married, and I still own half of Reid’s property. It’s like he never filed that paper at all. I only want what is due to me.”
The blood drained from Jane’s face, and she shook her head. “That’s not true.”
“Reid knows. My attorney filled his lawyer in two weeks ago. Looks like he’s keeping secrets from more than just me.”
Lauren spun on her high heels and walked away with her head high. The appreciative stares of every male from fifteen to sixty followed her down the street to her car.
The strength went out of Jane’s legs, and she sank onto the chair. While she wanted to deny what Lauren said with every fiber of her being, Reid had been odd the last couple of weeks, and she’d been so restless trying to figure out what was going on. She chalked it up to the pain of his recovery. She hadn’t been herself either with the nagging pain of being shot still lingering in her shoulder. And things had been hectic at the station, tying up loose ends after the thwarted attack on the oil platform.
Even as she ran through the litany of reasons for Reid’s reserve, her eyes blurred with moisture. He wouldn’t keep something like that from her, would he? He’d promised to be truthful ever since she found out Will was alive.
Still stunned and numb, she gathered her coffee and beignet and stumbled toward her car. She hurried for her SUV and let Parker into the backseat before she headed straight for the marina.
They’d already decided to go out with Alfie Smith, a local shrimper, but Reid needed to tell her the truth.
Her radio sprang to life with the dispatcher’s voice. “Chief, there’s a fire fatality. Augusta spoke to the vic before she died after a threatening call.” She gave the address.
“On my way.” Talking to Reid would have to wait.
Two
The Bon Secour River flowed sluggishly off to the left side of the yard as Reid and Will Dixon headed to their SUV. Reid waved away a horde of mosquitoes buzzing his head. The bull alligator Will had named Brutus roared somewhere off to their right.
Reid caught a glimpse of his reflection in the rearview mirror as he slid behind the wheel for a fishing trip with Will. Short black hairs were beginning to fill in the smoothness on Reid’s head. He actually was sporting a thatch.
He touched it, and his son caught the gesture. “Takes getting used to. Why are you growing it out anyway?”
Will wasn’t a kid who liked change, especially when it came to his dad, who had been the one steady support in his fifteen years.
Reid rolled down his window to breathe in the scent of early morning dew and newly mown grass. He started the car and pulled out of the drive while he thought about his answer. “I shaved it the day after we left the