The Other Woman

Her father clapped his hands, obviously eager to put the subject behind them. “So what should I do with my bags?”

Liz looked at Carter. When he saw the uncertainty in her eyes, he couldn’t help getting involved again.

“You might prefer to stay at the Running Y,” he said. “It’s a nice resort. They have eighteen holes out there. Hunting. Fishing. Horseback riding. Scenery’s beautiful.”

Liz turned expectantly to her father. But he shook his head. “That’s okay. No need to waste good money when I’ve got family in town, eh?”

The knuckles of Liz’s fingers grew white on her purse. “Right,” she said. “Well…in that case, why don’t you follow me over to the house?”

“Sounds good. Nice meeting you,” he added, but Carter could tell he didn’t mean a word of it.

“Same here,” Carter replied, equally insincere.

Liz’s polite smile disappeared as soon as her father moved ahead and could no longer see her face. Her chest lifted, as if she was attempting to summon more strength, then she began to follow him. But as the door swung shut behind Russell, Carter reached over and managed to catch a piece of her sweatshirt.

“What are you doing?” he asked, keeping his voice low.

He thought she’d tell him to mind his own business. She definitely had reason to. But she didn’t. “I have absolutely no idea,” she murmured, shaking her head.

“Maybe you should rethink this one.”

“How can I?” she said. “He’s my father.”

Carter frowned as he watched her go, wishing she’d let him take control of the situation. But then he cursed himself. Why did he care? Maybe blocking his emotions made him more of a robot than a man, but at least he could still function.

Drawing in a deep breath, he returned to his work. Mr. Russell’s appearance wasn’t a life-or-death situation, certainly nothing like what Carter had faced in the past. He had no moral responsibility in this, and he could safely go on with his day as if the situation didn’t exist.

But Russell’s arrival seemed pretty catastrophic to Liz.

CHAPTER SIX

LIZ WALKED STIFFLY through the four-bedroom house she rented on a month-to-month basis. When she first moved from the Holbrooks’ neighborhood, she’d considered purchasing. But buying a house had felt far too permanent. She was staying in Dundee for her children’s sake, but she was comforted by the knowledge that she could escape with relative ease if she wanted to. Maybe that was what made Dave’s calls so titillating. There was always the possibility she could pick up and go. That was true, even with the store, since she’d signed only a six-month lease.