Page 127 of Marriage (Red, White &) Blues

“I lost the election because of you, Mother,” Brock spat. “Turning the media attention to Blake and his whore of a wife. Ishould’vebeenpresident.”

Well, at least the woman stuck to her guns. Stupidly, but she did it, squaring off against her son she said, “I did what I had to do. She’s not a Parker. She doesn’t belong here. I’m sure she used sex to weasel herself a ring. Her kind always does.”

I blanched.My kind?

“We’re out,” Blake said, pushing up from his seat, holding his hand out to me. “Brock, I’m glad you lost. We sure as hell didn’t vote for you. Father, consider this my resignation from the family. From this point on, you have two children. My wife and I will build our own family.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Blake,” his mother practically shouted, letting her perfect demeanor slip. “You know she got pregnant on purpose. It was a last-ditch effort to keep you. Are you sure it’s even yours?”

No. Say what you want about me, it sucks, but whatever—but don’t you dare talk shit about my baby.I stood. “Blake, I’m ready to go.” Then I turned to her. “You may not think much ofme ormy kind, but you’d have to know that I’m smart enough to remember paternity tests exist.”

“Sweetheart, the baby. Don’t get so worked up.”

I smiled at him. “Honey, I’m fine.” Then I turned back to Adair. “Blake and I love each other and we made a baby—but I’m not even talking about that. What purpose would it serve to tell my husband I was pregnant with his baby when it belonged to someone else? Do you know the size of the trust his grandfather left him? Why would I risk that to get knocked up by another man? Even if you thought I’d ever cheat on my husband—which, you must not think much of Blake to think thatanyonewould cheaton him. He’s amazing—but you have to admit that I’m too smart to risk it. Since you clearly think I’m only after Parker money.”

Despite how badly I wanted to use Adair’s face as a punching bag, I kept myself calm, breathing slowly and evenly. Serenely.

“This doesn’t mean you have to leave the company,” his brother said, andwow—Blake really must’ve made thema lotof money.

Blake dropped his arm around my shoulder. “It’s okay, sweetheart,” he whispered in my ear. Then he looked over to the rest of them. “Have a nice life,” he said to his well, now ex-family, I supposed, and I felt the giant boulder that had been weighing me down since the night I’d first met Robert Parker lift and crumble into sand, swept away by the invisible wind. We were done.

“Let’s go home,” I said.

“Let’s go home.”

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Blake didn’t drive us home. He drove us to the office, where he introduced me to every worker we passed and his colleagues in the finance department. Then he dropped the little “I’m done for good” bomb.

After several “Won’t you reconsider?’s I helped him clear out his office. He had framed photos of us in Europe, and the one from our wedding. Almost as importantly, he collected files that he needed and called all his current clients to tell them that he was leaving Parker Holdings to start his own firm.

Not one of those clients said they were renewing their contracts with Parker.

Yikes!Robert and Brock were having a really bad day. Ask me if I cared.

Then we went home.

It was harder to break the news to all the wonderful employees, especially Maisie and Dee. I loved them. Blake loved them.

“Maisie, Dee…” Blake called. “Can we talk to you for a second?” He led me to the sofa and helped me down. Yes, I could do it myself, but the idea of hurting these women made me feel sick to my stomach and so I was glad to have his assistance.

Dee walked out of the kitchen wearing her signature white chef’s jacket and wiping her hands on a red-and-white striped kitchen towel. Maisie descended the stairs stopping next to Dee and her face hardened when she looked at me. I swore she saw through me and that this was it.

“What’s going on?” Maisie asked.

“Listen,” Blake started, and sighed. He loved these women. They’d been his family for years. But the fact remained that they had homes and families here in Vermont. “We had some news come to light last night.”

“News?” Dee asked, and she straightened her stance, as if ready to fight.

“Raymond Hill didn’t set Glory up. My mother hired Candice to do it.”

Maisie threw her hand over her mouth while Dee’s eyes turned hard. “I’ve got a cousin in Jersey,” Dee said and I thought she might’ve only beenhalf-kidding.

“No need to whack my mother, Dee…” he replied, but then he amended, “At least I don’t think…” I choked out a laugh. “No, no… I was told yesterday matricide is bad. Matricide is off the table.”

Despite the news, the women smiled indulgently at him, holding onto their laughter. That was one of the best parts of Blake, the way he made people feel better.

“Here’s the thing: Glory and I left everything to do with the Parkers today. We’re walking away.”

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