Page 80 of The Me I Left Behind

“Oh, just myself.” She glanced about the room. “What do you think? Can you work in here tonight?”Honestly, I can’t wait to find my easel and get my stuff set up here, too.In all honesty, she was probably just as excited as Chloe.

“Yes!” Chloe grinned wide, her eyes echoing her pretty smile. “I’ll get the supplies. You buy glitter?”

“I did. It’s in the box. Have Jason bring it in, won’t you?”

The desk top had long been cleared, since the day after she and Julia had raided the office back in January. The desk drawers were empty, too. Maggie had already taken all the kids’ pictures down that Max had on the shelves and stored them in an upstairs closet. Some of his personal items, like a golf trophy and some sales awards and other trinkets he’d gathered over the years, she’d put in a box in the garage. One day she’d gladly hand it over to him.

Or not.

Julia had taken the totes they’d filled with Max’s stuff home with her after the night he came back. Maybe she should send her a message to bring those with her in the morning—unless, of course, she needed them for her case.

“Here’s Chloe’s box, Mom.” Jason put it on the desk. “Wow. I didn’t realize how big this room was.”

“You were probably very little the last time you were in here.”

Carol popped into the room, too. “This is amazing. Just pulling those drapes down makes all the difference in the world.” She glanced about. “What do you want us to do?”

Maggie stared at the shelves. “We need empty boxes from the garage.”

“I’ll go get them,” Jason said.

“Thanks.” She eyeballed the shelves. “Let’s see if we can clear some low space tonight. Then Chloe can arrange her art supplies on one of those shelves. Tomorrow I can tackle the cabinets underneath. Let’s start there.”

“This might take us a few days.”

Maggie nodded, crossing her arms over her chest. “Yes. But well worth it, don’t you think? We’ll just do a little every day.”

“Oh, by the way, I have more time tonight.” Carol reached for a couple of books. “Logan got called into work, so I’m not going anywhere.”

Turning, Maggie looked at her. “Oh, I’m sorry, honey. Why don’t you go to Sophie’s then?”

Carol took down a few more books and stacked them on the cabinet. “No, that’s okay. I’ll stay here with you.”

Something wasn’t right. Maggie took a couple of steps closer to her daughter. “Sweetheart, this won’t take too long tonight. Go see Sophie.”

“But I enjoy spending time with you, Mom.”

She had to admit, those words warmed her heart. Maggie took a few steps toward her and gave her a hug. “There’s nothing I like more than to be with you and the littles.”

Carol gave her a tentative smile.

She patted her shoulders. “You go see Sophie. It’s fine with me.”

A few seconds ticked by. Carol’s gaze skipped over hers, back and forth. Finally, she said, “No. Logan wants me to stay home. He doesn’t like it when I go somewhere without him.”

Maggie faced her more fully. “Carol, it’s Sophie. You’ve been friends for years. Why wouldn’t he want you to visit her?”

She shrugged and looked away. “He says he likes to keep our circle small.”

“Excuse me?” Maggie wanted to be certain that what she thought she’d heard was actually what Carol had said. “What does that mean?”

Blowing out a breath, Carol’s gaze was steady. “Just that he… Mom, it’s okay. Logan only trusts a few people, so we only see certain friends.”

“But Carol… That’s ridiculous.”

A stabbing pain abruptly hit Maggie in the gut—like someone had punched her in the abdomen with a hammer.Stop, Maggie. Take a pause.Her first instinct was to react, to tell her daughter to quit being a fool—shouting the words until they penetrated her brain.

Are you crazy? Don’t let that boy ruin your life!

---