Page 118 of Love By The Falls

Shit! It is his wife!

“Caleb’s sister-in-law”

Oh, thank God.

“Oh, hi!” Caleb had never mentioned her. “How are you?”

“I’m fine, thank you. I was wondering if we could talk.”

I look down at my watch and calculate that I have an hour before I need to head over to Mrs. Jackson’s house for Jacob’s lesson. “Yes, I have some time to chat.”

“Great, can we meet at the Waldorf at seven?”

“The Waldorf? In Manhattan?”

“Yes.”

“Brigitte, I’m not sure if you’re aware, but I live in Cedar Brook Falls. It’s a four-and-a-half-hour drive from Manhattan.”

“I’m aware. That’s why I suggested seven. That should give you plenty of time if you leave in an hour.”

I pull the phone away and Billy catches my eye. He lifts his chin, and I wave that everything is fine. Just a little flabbergasted is all.

“I’m sorry, but that won’t be possible to meet in person. Maybe we can arrange something next weekend for you to come here. I don’t think it’s a good idea to be traveling at this stage in my pregnancy.”

She sighs dramatically. “Fine. I wanted to be polite and do this in person, but you’ve given me no other choice.”

What?!

“I know what you’re doing, and it has to stop. Caleb’s set you up in a pretty little house, and he’s bought you a new crib, and new furniture, and God knows what else. But this ends now.”

“Excuse me?”

“You heard me. Your little con is up. Take what you’ve got and leave him alone. He’s the face of our new company, and we can’t risk a PR nightmare like this, especially when there’s someone else. He’s better off with Trudy, and he knows it. We all know it. But he feels guilty leaving you with the baby. But you know as well as I do that you’ve raised your son on your own and you can do it with this other baby. Cost of living is ridiculously low in a small town.”

“I—I—”

The world tilts on its axis and thoughts spin in my head. I don’t know where to start. Not only has she insulted me, but she knows a lot about me. And who the hell is Trudy?

“I’m afraid you have me at a disadvantage. You seem to know a lot about me and my life, but I know nothing about you.”

“Well, I guess he didn’t want you to know about his real life.”

“What are you talking about?” My belly tightens, and I walk backward toward the staircase to sit.

“You’re not listening. You’ve manipulated Caleb long enough. I’m telling you to stay away from him. He needs to live his life here. It’s where he belongs.”

A cramp shoots across my stomach, and I fall over, catching on to the steps behind me.

“Charlotte!” Billy shouts and runs toward me. I drop my phone and struggle to catch my breath. Squeezing my eyes shut, I wait for the pain to pass. When it finally diminishes, I look into Billy’s eyes. They’re wild and frantic. “Are you okay, Charlotte?”

I shake my head. “Take me to the hospital, Billy. I think I’m having this baby now.”

27

Caleb

I pack the last of my shaving kit into my small suitcase and roll it to the front door. I’ll take most of my casual clothes with me to Cedar Brook this weekend. I’ll only need a couple of T-shirts and sweatpants for the apartment here.

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