Page 18 of The Me I Left Behind (Tuckaway Bay #4)

“You are correct.” She flipped back the lids on both pizzas. “One cheese and one extra-supreme with jalapenos. And here’s some garlic dipping sauce, too. Sorry you’re not getting tuna casserole tonight, but I don’t feel like cooking.”

Chloe dragged the cheese pizza box toward her and her sister, and they both picked up a slice.

“God, Mom, we’ll do pizza anytime.” Carol snickered.

“Yeah, but it’s expensive.” Maggie glanced at her. “Where did Logan rush off to?”

“He works some evenings.”

“I see.” She’d not yet approached her with the news Jason had dropped earlier, that Logan wasn’t in school—or the fact that she wasn’t supposed to have boys in the house if she was alone. “Too bad. The pizza is good.”

Carol kept eating, not responding.

“One of these days, soon, sweetie, I’d like for Logan to stay for dinner. Just so I can get to know him. Can we do that?”

Her daughter chewed her pizza…and probably also chewed over Maggie’s words in her head. “Sure.” She shrugged. “I’ll have to check. You know, his work schedule.

“Sure.” Is that it? Work? Or something else? She hated to be suspicious, but Carol always seemed so vague about him.

“I’ll get drinks from the garage fridge,” Jason said. Did he sense the tension in the room, too? “What does everyone want?”

“Diet whatever,” Carol called out.

“Same,” Maggie added.

Chloe took a bite of pizza and mumbled. “Orange please.”

Jason nodded, retrieved the drinks, and quickly returned.

Grabbing a roll of paper towels and a stack of paper plates from under the counter, Maggie set them on the island. “Here. Use these. We’re using the fancy napkins and Sunday china tonight.” She ripped off several squares of paper towels.

“Did you call Julia, Mom?” Carol took a towel and swiped her mouth.

“Left a message. She’ll call back soon, I imagine.”

“Great.”

Turning toward her, Maggie said, “Tell me what the guy said when he was here. Did you let him look at anything?”

Carol reached for another piece of pizza, then sat back. “He came to the door, said who he was, and that he was here for the house inspection—like he told you.”

“Then what?”

“He asked if either of us were over eighteen—me or Logan—and Logan told him he was nineteen. The guy said he couldn’t do the inspection unless there was someone over the age of eighteen in the house.”

Maggie nodded. Interesting. Probably standard procedure. “And…?”

“And then he asked a few questions, like how many rooms, was there a basement, how old was the furnace, did we care if he got on the roof, and stuff like that.”

“What did you say?”

“I told him what I could, but that he needed to wait for you. It wasn’t too long until you pulled into the driveway, so I sent him outside.”

Maggie sighed. “Good. So he didn’t go anywhere in the house?”

Carol shook her head. “No.”

“Great.”

Carol made eye contact with her. “Mom, Logan and I were not in the house alone. We know the rules. The guy was already parked in the driveway when we pulled up and I just assumed you had called him. At first, I thought he was a repair guy or something.”

Maggie gave her a smile. “I understand. It’s okay, sweetheart.”

They all stayed silent for a minute. The kids continued eating. Maggie stared off, thinking and wondering what Max was up to.

Then Jason piped up. “Mom. What is going on? What is this inspection about, anyway? I don’t get it.”

She faced him. “Frankly, I don’t either.”

“Does it have anything to do with Dad?”

She waited a few seconds, wondering if she should be honest about that. The thought had niggled at her brain ever since the inspector left. “Probably. More than likely.”

“Does it have anything to do with why he has been in Australia for so long? Is he staying there now?”

She met Jason’s questioning gaze and held it for several seconds. Then pivoting, she glanced at Chloe, who was busy with the cheese pizza, and then at Carol, who sat quietly looking back.

With a sigh, she focused on Jason again. “There are some things we need to talk about. Yes, this probably has something to do with your dad.”

Abruptly, Jason stood up and pushed his paper plate filled with pizza away from him. “Are you splitting up? Is he selling the house? Where the hell are we going to live, Mom?”

“Jason. Stop.” She glanced at Chloe, who seemed oblivious. “I don’t know what is happening with the house. That’s why I called Julia, so….”

“Julia?”

Shit. She’d stuck her foot in it. “Yes. She’s helping me deal with some…things.”

“But she’s a lawyer, right? Why do you need a lawyer?” Jason’s voice rose. “Please tell us what is going on? Because I’m tired of not knowing.”

So, is this why he’s been moody lately? She glanced again at Carol, who nodded.

“See? Carol knows something,” Jason shouted. “Why do you tell her stuff and not me? I can deal with stuff, Mom. I want to know.”

She responded slowly. “I know you do, Jason. And until now I wanted to keep things as normal as possible for all of you, but—”

“Normal! Nothing is normal. Dad isn’t here, he never calls anymore, feels like we have no money, and now this inspector… Something is not right.”

Her cell phone rang on the counter. Maggie ignored it, moving around the island. “Jason, we need to talk. Just you and me. Okay?”

He shook his head. “No. Tell all of us at the same time.”

Her phone pinged with a notification. Voice mail.

Again, she scanned the room—from Jason to Carol, then to Chloe, who was still happily eating, or perhaps ignoring.

She couldn’t avoid this any longer. Could she? She’d not said much because she feared her family would fall apart. Well, it was happening anyway, wasn’t it? Carol was tinkering with boys, Jason was moody and apparently having trouble with friends, and little Chloe was eating herself silly.

Her phone rang again. Once more, she ignored it.

“Alright, Jason. We will talk. All of us. Just let me get my head wrapped around a few things and answer that damn phone. It’s probably Julia. Eat your pizza and go play some video games or watch TV for a while.” She glanced at Carol. “I suppose it is time to get this out in the open.”

Turning, she picked up her phone and checked the call list. “I’m going to my room to call Julia back. Hopefully she has some…news.”

She started to say “good news” then realized that was highly unlikely.

It was Max they were dealing with here. Right?