“Dammit to hell!” Dillon roared.
Charlotte closed her eyes and groaned.
“Well, I’m sorry, but it’s the truth,” Adele insisted with an indignant lift of her chin.
“The hell it is!” Towering over his mother, Dillon jabbed the air with his forefinger, just inches from her nose. “Don’t you dare try to blame this on Emily.”
“No, Dillon, please,” Emily murmured. “It…it doesn’t matter. Really.”
“It matters,” he insisted, never taking his furious gaze off of Adele. “All of his life, no matter what underhanded thing Keith did, no matter what mistakes he made, no matter who he hurt, you made excuses for him. It was always someone else’s fault, never your precious Keith’s. Well, if you think I’m going to let you get away with it this time, think again.”
“How dare you sa—!”
“Oh, I dare. Your precious son cheated on his wife because he was spoiled rotten, thanks to your coddling. He grew up thinking the world revolved around him and that he should have whatever he wanted when he wanted it, regardless of who he hurt. Face it, professionally, he may have been a respected doctor, but on a personal level he was selfish, self-centered and incapable of fidelity.”
“How can you be so cruel?” Adele wailed. “That you, of all people, would talk about Keith that way. He was your brother!”
“And I loved him. But, dammit, I wasn’t blind to his faults.”
He took off his suit coat, dropped it onto a chair, then stripped off his tie and tossed it on top. By the time he had unfastened the top three buttons on his shirt Adele looked as though she’d swallowed a lemon. Paying her no mind, he exhaled a long sigh and muttered a heartfelt, “Thank God. For the past eight hours that thing has felt like a noose around my neck.”
“You’d be accustomed to wearing proper attire if you did so more often,” his mother said with a disdainful sniff.
“I hate wearing suits and ties.”
Just as he hated being cooped up in a fancy office. Over the years, as his company had grown and prospered, he’d had to endure both more and more—especially when he met with bankers or attorneys or clients. Thankfully, he was still able to spend much of his time on the construction sites in a hard hat and work clothes.
Adele dabbed at her eyes again. “I don’t know why I try. You’ll never be anything but a common workman.”
Though she meant it as an insult, Dillon wasn’t offended. In his opinion there was nothing demeaning about good, honest labor. He liked working with his hands as well as his mind, and he was proud of what he’d accomplished.
Besides, he wondered how many “common workmen” his mother knew who owned a multimillion-dollar construction company? One they’d built from the ground up on their own?
He kept quiet, however. Defending himself to her was pointless. No matter what he said or did, she would find fault.
Adele loved Charlotte well enough, but Keith had always been her favorite, her “golden boy” as she was fond of calling him. In her eyes, Keith could do no wrong…and Dillon could do no right. It was a fact of life that he had accepted long ago.
Emily barely registered the exchange between Dillon and Adele. Her anger and hurt had turned to a deep, dark feeling that hung around her shoulders like a lead cape, weighing her down so much she could barely function. She longed to climb into bed and curl up into a ball of misery beneath the covers and shut out the world. The last thing she wanted right now was to be around people, especially Keith’s family.
She started when Dillon sank down on the sofa next to her. He’d left the space of a cushion between them, but just having him that close made her feel crowded. Uneasy.
Dillon always had that effect on her. He towered a foot over her puny five feet four inches, but it was more than that. There were those massive shoulders and bulging biceps, those big, callused hands. His brawny chest tapered down to a washboard abdomen and narrow hips that any male model would envy. Dillon was such a physical man and so overwhelmingly masculine he almost gave off an aura. Whenever she was around him she felt it hitting her in waves.
Stretching his long legs out in front of him, he heaved a long sigh. “Thank heaven that’s over.”
Emily gripped her hands together tighter and briefly closed her eyes, perilously close to tears. Dear Lord, he can’t be half as thankful as I am, she thought. Now if they would all just go home, as well, and leave her alone.
Word of Keith’s infidelity and the sordid details of his death had spread like wildfire. She had been aware of the pitying looks and whispered comments that had swirled around her all day. It had taken every ounce of pride and strength that she possessed just to get through the funeral and the wake with her head held high, but the strain had taken its toll. She felt shaky and fragile, as though every nerve ending in her body was frayed and threatening to give way.
If she was going to fall apart, she wanted to do so in private, not in front of Keith’s family. Especially not in front of Dillon.
From the beginning he had not liked her, nor had he approved of her marrying Keith. He was always so somber and remote, so in control. She was fairly certain he would disapprove of even the hint of hysteria on her part. Besides, she had no intention of allowing him to see her that vulnerable.
“There was a nice turnout for the service,” Charlotte offered lamely to fill the uncomfortable silence that had stretched out.
Adele sniffed. “Of course. Why wouldn’t there be? Everyone loved Keith. He was a wonderful man and a prominent, respected physician. He was also handsome, bright and utterly charming.
“And the most wonderful son any mother could ask for,” she added in a quavery voice as fresh tears welled in her eyes. With a choked sob, she buried her face in her hands again and gave in to another storm of weeping.
He was also a womanizing cheat, Emily added silently, but she kept the thought to herself. There was no point in angering Adele. In her mother-in-law’s eyes, her younger son had been perfect, and nothing anyone could say would convince her otherwise.
Dillon’s mouth twisted as he stared pityingly at his mother, but he said nothing.
Patting Adele’s heaving shoulders, Charlotte rocked her back and forth and murmured words of comfort.
“Excuse me, Miz Maguire.” Ila Mae appeared in the arched doorway leading into the foyer, wiping her hands on her apron. “I’m finished. The food is stored away, kitchen is cleaned and the dishes are washing in the machine. Is there anything else you’d like me to do before I leave?”
“No. Thank you, Ila Mae.”
“I hate to leave you here in this big house all alone. You sure you don’t want me to stay the night? My mister would understand.”
“No, really. That won’t be necessary. I’ll be fine.”
When Ila Mae had gone Charlotte looked at Dillon again over the top of their mother’s head. “I think Roger and I had better take Mother home now, too. I’ll give her a sedative and put her to bed.”
“Good idea,” Dillon agreed.
“I’ll go round up the kids,” Roger volunteered and headed for the den.
Emily barely resisted the urge to sigh with relief. Thank heavens.
“Yes. Yes, take me home,” Adele cried. “There’s nothing left for me here. My wonderful son is gone.”
Emily pressed her lips together. She knew that Adele’s grief was genuine, but her mother-in-law’s constant lauding of Keith was like pouring salt into an open wound.