“I like all animals.”
“Even spiders and lizards?”
Her nose crinkled. “Make that I like all mammals.”
Amanda returned with three glasses of white wine. As she distributed them, he couldn’t help but notice that her glass was over twice as full as theirs.
“Should I be concerned that you’re on your way to alcoholism?” Gabe asked, nodding toward her glass.
“I’ve had a rough week,” she said.
“I don’t t
hink you’re allowed to feel this lousy when you’re the one who did the breaking up.” He was attempting to get more information out of her, but she didn’t fall for his ploy.
“I’m allowed to feel as lousy I want.”
“So you want to feel lousy?” Melanie asked, taking a small sip of wine.
“I deserve to feel lousy.” Amanda tossed back her wine in several gulps and set her empty glass on the coffee table before leaning back in the armchair she was sitting in and covering her eyes with both palms. “My sister deserves to feel even lousier, and instead, she gets everything she wants.”
A touch of bitterness there. Not that he blamed her. Tina did seem to get everything she wanted.
“Why does she even want Jacob back?” Gabe asked. “She hated him when they were married.”
“She only hated that she couldn’t control him. Now she thinks that she can.”
“And you don’t?” Gabe asked. Because Gabe was pretty sure Jacob was not in control of the situation.
“Maybe. I don’t know. He’s different when he’s with her.”
“Yeah, he’s miserable. That’s what miserable Jacob looks like,” Gabe said. “But last week, when he was with you, he seemed happy.”
Amanda removed her hands from her face to look at him. “And I went and fucked that up.”
“Why?” Melanie asked.
Amanda contemplated her guests for a long moment before closing her eyes again. “Because I’m a coward. At least this way he gets to be with Julie.”
“Julie isn’t sick, is she? She doesn’t have cancer or some other horrible disease, does she?” Gabe needed to put that ugly thought to rest once and for all.
Amanda scowled at him. “No. Why would you ask that? Why would you even think that?”
“We’re just trying to make sense of Jacob’s actions,” Gabe said. “Nothing he’s done since last weekend makes a bit of sense.”
“And what does Julie being sick have to do with Jacob’s lack of sense?”
“It might explain why he’s willing to go back with Tina. I honestly can’t think of any reason but Julie that would make him consider her worth his time.”
“I don’t know why he went back to Tina. All I know is that she threatened to take Julie away from him if I didn’t break up with him.” Amanda covered her mouth with her hand and said in a muffled voice, “Damn wine.”
“So that’s why you broke up with him. Tina made you do it?”
“That’s horrible,” Melanie said.
“What’s horrible is knowing how much I must have hurt him,” Amanda said. Her eyes were glassy when she bit the side of her finger.
“Don’t do that to yourself,” Melanie said, leaning forward and placing a comforting hand on Amanda’s knee. “Tina is definitely the horrible one for putting you in that position.”
“But what can I do about it?” Amanda said. “If I try to talk to Jacob—even to tell him how sorry I am—I know Tina will use his feelings for Julie to keep him in check. To hurt him even more.”
“Someone needs to tell him the truth,” Gabe said, a plan finally forming in his previously blank mind. “What if I told him what a manipulative bitch he’s currently living with?” Not that Jacob would be astonished by that revelation. He happened to know better than anyone on the planet what kind of person Tina was. “What if I told him that you haven’t stopped caring about him? That Tina threatened you so you can’t set things right, even though you want to.”
Amanda’s eyes widened. “You can’t!”
“Why not?” Melanie asked. “At least he’ll know what he’s up against.”
“You’ve never met my sister,” Amanda pointed out, “and you already know what she’s capable of. If she finds out—”
“Who’s going to tell her?” Gabe asked. “Jacob?”
“She probably has him bugged.”
Actually, Gabe would not put that past Tina, but surely she wouldn’t go to that much trouble to keep Jacob under her thumb. Then again . . .
“You know the band can’t go on without him,” Gabe said. “You know that.”
Amanda nodded solemnly. “And I’m truly sorry to have added to the strain that sent Jacob over the edge, but I don’t think telling him I didn’t really want to break up with him will change anything. It might even make things worse for him. At least this way he won’t jeopardize his relationship with his daughter by contacting me.”
“Aren’t there laws against this kind of manipulation?” Melanie asked. She looked completely dumbfounded.
“Only if there are also laws against people being easily led.”
“But she’s using that little girl,” Melanie said. “It’s just . . . just wrong.”
“I agree,” Gabe said, and he wasn’t going to stand by and let it continue to happen. “Sorry to drop in and run, Amanda, but it’s getting late.” He stood and patted Amanda’s shoulder. “Hang in there. If you need anything, please call or text me. Don’t make me show up on your doorstep unannounced.”
She grinned. “You are obnoxiously persistent when you have your mind set on something.”
“I’ve noticed that too,” Melanie said.
“I’ll take that as a compliment,” Gabe said, and after saying goodbye, he showed himself and Melanie to the door.
“You’re going to let this go?” Melanie asked as they strolled toward the truck at the end of the driveway.
“Hell no. I hope you didn’t have your heart set on making it home at a decent hour.”
She snorted and shook her head. “We’re going to Jacob’s house, aren’t we?”
“Naturally.”
*****
A light glowed in a room near the front of Jacob’s house. It was well after nine o’clock, and Gabe would feel bad if he woke Julie, so he walked quietly to the front door and knocked rather than ringing the doorbell. He’d left Melanie to wait in the truck, figuring Jacob would be less likely to listen in front of a witness he didn’t know well. Gabe’s summons was answered after his second attempt, but Jacob didn’t look overly happy to see him.
“A little late to drop by unannounced, don’t you think?” Jacob asked, a heavy scowl crinkling his brow. “You’re disturbing my family.”
“I just came from Amanda’s house,” Gabe said.
A flicker of pain crossed over Jacob’s face, but it was gone so quickly that Gabe thought maybe he imagined it.
“How nice for you,” Jacob said, closing the door.
Gabe blocked the action with his foot, wincing as the door caught his toe.
“I thought you might want to know why she broke up with you.”
“She told me why,” Jacob said, his breath hitching with anguish. “I’m not smart enough for her. But you might be, Mr. Physics Major.” Jacob pushed on the door, and Gabe lifted his forearm against it for added leverage.
“Amanda doesn’t think that of you. Not at all.” Gabe lowered his voice to a whisper in case someone was listening in. “Tina threatened to keep you from seeing Julie if Amanda didn’t dump you.”
Jacob’s eyebrows drew together. “Is that so?”
“Who’s at the door?” Tina’s voice came from inside the house.
“Jehovah’s Witness,” Jacob called back.
“At this hour?” she questioned.
“You need to go,” Jacob said to Gabe. “You’ll ruin everything.”
“I’ll ruin everything?” Astonished, Gabe almost made the mistake of stepping back. “Did you hear what I said? Amanda still cares about you. You need to toss this ex of yours once and for all—”
“Since when is Gabe Banner a Jehovah’s Witness?” Tina asked, coming around Jacob’s broad body to stand next to him. She crossed her arms over her chest and tapped her toe as she glared at Jacob. “Well?”
“I was trying to get rid of him,” Jacob said.
“Why?” Tina said. “You should invite him in. How do you ever expect to get Sole Regret back together if you don’t patch things up with your bandmates?”