Page 42 of The Wife Stalker

At a little past five Leo phoned to tell her not to hold dinner, as he’d be working late again. He’d warned her before they got married that he worked long hours, but she hadn’t counted on his practically living at the office. The three of them—Piper, Evie, and Stelli—sat down to a dinner of chicken curry that Rebecca had made earlier. As Rebecca served, Piper was chilly toward her and told her to take the rest of the evening off. After helping the children with homework and reading a few bedtime stories, Piper tucked them into their beds and went to her office down the hall to work on her blog while she waited for Leo.

Around ten, she heard the chime of the door opening and shut her laptop. She found Leo in the kitchen, rummaging in the refrigerator.

“Didn’t you eat?”

He shook his head and walked over to her, pulling her into an embrace.

“I didn’t have time. I’m so wiped I don’t even know if I have the energy to now.”

“Sit down,” she commanded him. “I’ll make you something. You have to take better care of yourself.”

She filled a glass with filtered water and handed it to him. He sat at the kitchen table and looked through the mail while she threw together a veggie omelet and toasted a slice of whole wheat bread. After she put the steaming plate in front of him, he wolfed it down, giving her a grateful smile.

“Thanks. I was hungrier than I thought.”

“You have to stay nourished.” She cleared her throat and put a hand on his arm. “Listen, I know you’re tired, but I need to talk to you about something.”

He raised his eyebrows.

“I got a call from the principal today about Stelli.”

A concerned look came over his face. “What happened? Is he okay?”

Piper nodded. “He’s fine, but I think he’s still having a hard time processing what happened. He told a little girl that her mother was never coming home from the hospital, that she would probably die.” She arched a brow. “She just had a baby.”

Leo’s eyes widened. “Oh no. What did you say?”

She shrugged. “Dr. Parker was pretty adamant that he needs help. I told her that you and I have discussed getting help for him and looking into some naturopathic therapies. She thought that was an excellent course of action. In fact, she’s probably going to tell you that herself.”

Leo stood up, his expression inscrutable. “He’s young. We just have to do a better job of making him understand that she’s not coming back.”

“Leo, it’s not enough to talk about heaven. That just confuses him. He doesn’t understand why she can’t come home.”

He ran a hand through his hair, his voice rising. “Okay, I get it.”

“There’s one more thing.”

“What?”

“It’s Rebecca.” She filled him in on what had happened that afternoon. “She’s overstepping. I think we should consider looking for a new nanny.”

His expression turned dark. “Aside from me, Rebecca is the one stable force in the children’s lives right now. We can’t replace her. It’s not fair to them. They’ve lost enough.”

“But, Leo, she practically yelled at me and tried to tell me I wasn’t being a good mother. I’m trying so hard, and she’s making me feel like a failure.”

“Of course you’re not a failure. But you really shouldn’t have decided to redecorate a room without checking with me first.”

Her heart began to beat faster. “I wanted to surprise you. I thought you’d be happy. You told me you never liked that furniture.”

He sighed. “Yes, but... look, you have to understand. The children need time. You can’t just spring these changes on them.”

She began to cry softly and turned away. “I’m sorry. I was just trying to do something to show you I feel like this is my home now.”

He came up behind her and put his arms around her. “Don’t cry, darling. Everything will be okay. And you and Rebecca will work things out. It’s just going to take time for everyone to adjust and figure out their boundaries.”

That hadn’t gone the way she’d hoped. Sighing, she trudged up the stairs, her mind working overtime. Although this didn’t really qualify as a fight, it was the first time he’d been obviously frustrated with her. It was far too soon in their marriage for this kind of conflict. When she came out of the bathroom after brushing her teeth, she saw he was already in bed, rolled onto his side, eyes closed. Throwing off her robe, she slid in next to him and pressed her body against his. Her lips found his neck, and she gave it some feathery kisses. He rolled toward her, his eyes opening.

“Are you too tired?” she asked, her hand caressing his chest.

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