Page 15 of The Me I Left Behind (Tuckaway Bay #4)

Eight

Four months later…

Standing at the bottom of the stairs, Maggie called up. “Carol! Tyler’s here.”

She paused briefly, listening, then turned toward the young man when she heard Carol’s lethargic response. “Coming.”

“She’s usually ready to go. Must be running behind.” It wasn’t like her, making the boy wait. Typically, she was at the door, jittering about on pins and needles.

“It’s okay, Mrs. Oliver.”

Maggie had grown accustomed to Tyler being around the past few months, particularly after they’d gotten past that horrid night in January. He’d been skittish around her for weeks, and practically jumped out of his skin anytime they mentioned Max’s name.

But didn’t they all?

She didn’t blame him. That was a tough night, to say the least—but all that was in the past. “What time is the movie?”

“We might miss it at this point.” He fished his cell phone out of his jeans pocket and glanced at the time. “I think she’s mad at me, Mrs. Oliver.”

“Oh?” Carol being mad wasn’t a good sign. Poor kid. “Don’t you think it’s about time you called me Maggie?”

His eyes widened, but he said nothing.

“Tyler?”

“My mother always taught me to say Mrs. and Mr.”

Maggie nodded. “I see. Well. Come on into the kitchen, let’s wait for her there. How about a pop or something?”

“Sure.” Tyler glanced up the empty stairs. Still no Carol.

In the kitchen, Maggie pulled a canned drink out of the refrigerator. “Root beer okay? I have other flavors in the garage fridge.”

“This is great. Thanks.” He laid his cell phone face down on the kitchen island and sat on a tall bar stool.

Maggie leaned in, her elbows on the island, facing Tyler. “I respect what your mother has taught you, Tyler, but you’ve been around for a few months now, so calling me Maggie is fine with me. In fact, I prefer it, if you don’t mind. Especially since Mr. Oliver and I are getting a divorce.

Tyler took a drink and nodded. “Okay.”

“Good.”

“Carol told me you all were splitting up.”

He looked uncertain, like he questioned whether he should have mentioned that. Maggie studied him for a few seconds. “I’m glad she talked to you about it. That she has someone to talk to. Is she upset?”

He shook his head. “Doesn’t seem to be—about the divorce, I mean. She’s really mad at her dad, though.” He paused, jerking his gaze away from hers. “Really mad.”

I wonder how much he knows? “Yes, I know.” She paused for a moment, then said, “Tyler, that night… I’m sorry you witnessed what you did, but I am thankful to you for getting Carol out of there. You were very brave.”

He stared ahead, glancing briefly at her. “She was really upset that night. Worried about you.”

“I’m sure she was.” Maggie jerked a quick nod. “I’m sorry I haven’t thanked you before now.”

“I don’t think any of us wanted to talk about it.”

He met her gaze then, and Maggie understood. “I think you are right.”

“I’m glad we tripped the house alarm, and then called 9-1-1, and that the cops came fast.”

Yes, so am I. “You did the right thing.”

What Tyler didn’t know—what none of the kids knew—was that Max had slipped out the back before the police officers got inside and found her upstairs.

He would have been jailed and charged, had they gotten to him, but Max was slick.

Always was. He’d parked his rental car on the next block, apparently drove straight to his waiting charter jet, and was off to Los Angeles, and then Australia—where they couldn’t touch him.

Bastard.

She’d contemplated pressing charges—but Julia warned her that nothing would come of it. If anything, they might use the threat of pressing charges as a bargaining chip in the custody settlement. An arrest warrant could keep him out of the states.

And honestly? Anything that would keep Max out of the country was fine with her.

There were so many times over the past months where she’d repeatedly replayed the scene in Carol’s bedroom over in her head. Had he intended to kill her that night? If he had, it would have made his life easier. Right?

Tyler spoke again, halting her spinning thoughts. “I try to calm her down when she gets upset about him.”

She didn’t blame Carol for being mad at Max—but she had to get a grip on her anger, somehow. “I’m sure you are good at that.”

“My parents split up when I was three.”

“So, you’ve been through it.” Maggie exhaled. “I’m sure it wasn’t easy. Do you see both parents often?”

He nodded. “Yes. They live here, in town, and me and my brother, we go back and forth. It’s all we know, really.”

“I’m glad it’s working for you, Tyler.”

Maggie knew, in her head and in her heart, that joint custody would not be a good thing for the kids—but that idea would be off the table if Max stayed in Australia.

Julia said she’d see to it. But if he came back to the states to stay, then she was going to have to worry about a different custody situation.

They’d not seen him since he’d left in January, after Carol’s accident and the incident at the house. Jason and Chloe were clueless about what had happened that night. Max called twice in January, asking to talk to the kids, but there’d been nothing—no communication from him—since.

They asked why. She told them it was because of his work and the time differences. They bought it. She wanted to keep the details of Max’s disappearance from them for the time being, hoping to maintain some sense of normalcy.

She, herself, had only heard from him through his attorney. Max had lawyered up after the incident in January—probably concerned about the pending assault charges. When his attorney had reached out to her, she’d referred him directly to Julia. She’d had no contact with Max after that.

It was like her husband had simply stepped off the stage.

While she expected that, given the circumstances, it also worried her. He was too quiet. Calm before the storm?

She supposed she needed to brace herself for anything.

“I don’t think she’s coming down.”

Maggie sighed and met Tyler’s gaze. “Is she mad at you, too?”

“Sorta. Yes.”

“Want me to get her?”

“No.” He shook his head. “Let’s wait a minute.”

Maggie had to chuckle inwardly. If Carol was mad, Tyler probably wasn’t ready to face her, and she didn’t blame him. “Sure. Do you want to talk about it?”

He took another long drink of his root beer, then set the empty can aside. “Apparently, I was looking at another girl. I mean, I guess I stared, or so she said, too long.”

“Ah.” Maggie stood, picking up his can and placing it in the recycling container. “The green-eyed monster reared its ugly head.”

“I didn’t realize looking was a crime.”

Maggie had to laugh. The boy had a lot to learn.

Tyler looked surprised.

“Was this a girl she knows?”

He sniffed and ran a hand under his nose. “Yeah. Someone she doesn’t like.”

“Oh, well, that’s not good. Is it? You ogling a girl she doesn’t like?” She laughed, teasing him on one hand, but on the other, perhaps sending a message to the young man. Ogling the enemy is a first-class offense.

“I didn’t know.”

“Sorry, Tyler. Carol can be… How to say…?” A little bitch? “A lot to handle. I’m sure she’ll come around.”

“I don’t know.”

His cell phone pinged then, and seconds later, so did Maggie’s. She and Tyler exchanged glances.

Tyler flipped his over and read the text while Maggie watched. He simply stared at the phone for several long seconds afterward.

Then she read her message.

Carol: Mom. Tell him to go. I just broke up with him.

Maggie lifted her gaze. Tyler still stared at his phone. “Tyler? You okay?”

He gave her a blank look. “She just broke up with me.”

Her heart went out to the kid. “I’m sorry, Tyler.”

“I don’t understand.”

“Me, either. Want me to talk to her?”

He rose, unsteadily, and drifted toward the front hallway. “No.”

He said nothing more as he left. Maggie followed him to the door and watched him amble down the sidewalk, get in his car, and drive away. What in the hell had Carol actually said to him? Turning toward the stairs, she yelled up. “Carol!”

Immediately, the girl appeared, her hair and make-up done, wearing the new jeans and top they’d shopped for a few days ago. She scrolled through her phone as she skipped down the stairs. “Whew. Finally. He’s gone?”

“Yes. What in the world…? He left in shock. That was terrible!”

“Mom. He was getting annoying.” Carol halted at the bottom step and made eye contact, obviously registering Maggie’s disapproval. “What? He deserved it.”

“Why did you make him come all the way over here and then not even come downstairs?”

“Because he pissed me off on the phone earlier.”

“How?”

“He said I was acting like a spoiled brat.”

Maggie arched a brow. “Were you?”

Carol’s eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. “Mom! Whose side are you on?”

“Good God, Carol,” she gasped. “I’m on no one’s side. I don’t even know what is going on.”

Her daughter rolled her eyes and huffed. She reached for the car keys in a wooden bowl on the entry table. “I’m going out.”

“No, you can’t. I need the car tonight.”

They shared one car. Max had bought an older model Toyota Camry with the insurance money from the wreck. He had agreed, reluctantly, because he didn’t want to buy her anything, but Julia’s strong nudge to his attorney was successful.

Pausing at the door, Carol slowly turned. “This is such shit. Dad promised me a car for my senior year and now nothing. He said he would pay if I picked one out. What the crap, Mom? I need a car. I’ll be going off to college in the fall.”

“You know we’ve talked about this. It’s a divorce negotiation. Julia says it’s best to wait.”

The look on Carol’s face nearly frightened her.

“It’s your divorce, Mom. You and Dad. That shouldn’t have anything to do with me, or Dad getting me a car.

He is still always going to be my dad, even if he is a jackass, even if he’s not your husband.

He has the money, and he has to provide for me.

He’s just dragging his damn feet, and Julia won’t even bring it up. ”