Joseph sat at the head of the conference room table, four other men in suits lining both sides. He looked up at her and didn’t have to be told what she’d just found out.
“Why did Lucas lie to me?” Of course, she already knew. This must have something to do with her job at the insurance company. And Jared...
“Rachel.” Joseph stood up while the other four men watched in riveted interest. “I didn’t want to go along with this.”
“Why?” She felt tears threaten and refused to give in to them now.
“Lucas should explain it to you. I warned him not to lie to you. I told him he should be honest.”
He wasn’t going to tell her. Rachel turned and walked fast to her cubicle—no, not her cubicle, Marcy’s cubicle. Except Marcy wouldn’t take her job back, one she’d had to vacate to allow for this farce to play out.
“Rachel, we found out about you and Jared, and Lucas wanted to try and get you to talk about it.”
Talk about what? What about her and Jared. Not needing to hear another word, afraid of what might come to light, she grabbed her purse and hurried for the exit.
Joseph followed her. “Rachel. Just let us both explain.”
She reached the front entrance, security guards and a few visitors stopping what they were doing to watch.
Joseph took hold of her arm and stopped her.
Rachel looked away but didn’t try to pull away. He’d seemed so nice to her, like a father figure. That stung most of all.
“I told him what a lovely young woman you are. You aren’t what he initially thought. I knew this would end badly. And now it has, and I regret my part in it. I offer you my sincerest apology. Please believe I have tremendous respect for you and sympathize with all you’ve been through. You are a kind, giving and brave woman. I can only ask that someday you’ll forgive at least me.”
That softened her marginally, but not enough to make up for the hurt.
“I thought this was for real,” she said, tears threatening again. The last time she’d cried was the last night she’d spent in jail.
“It can be. The job is still yours if you want it. Take all the time you need.” With that he let go of her arm.
Rachel saw genuine regret and apology in him and had to believe he’d meant what he said.
“Unfortunately, I think it’s too late.” She turned and left the building, wiping a tear away, angry it had slipped free.
She walked to a faraway bus stop and finally boarded, staring out the window all the way to the stop near her apartment. Had everything Luke—Lucas—told her been a lie? Last night had seemed so genuine. But he’d left out a few facts, more than just his real name. He worked for a place called Dark Alley Investigations, a place that investigated cold cases. It could mean only one thing.
Lucas had joined the agency to look into Luella Palmer’s murder. Was Joseph her father? Was Lucas his friend, as he’d said?
She took out her older model smartphone and began to slowly navigate the internet, searching for anything relating to Joseph Tieber. She searched for Luella as well, and found a news story on her murder. An obituary said Joseph Tieber was her father and Lucas her brother. Lucas Curran, not Bradbury. Reading that stung. Who was he? She didn’t know him at all, a man she’d slept with.
Was Joseph his stepfather? They had different last names. Had Luella been Tieber or Curran before she married Jared? She had an urgent need to know and berated herself for allowing her feelings to run her out of the office before making Joseph tell her. Humiliation didn’t make her eager to face him again. Or Lucas.
Not wanting to go home with all the chaos mixing in her mind, Rachel stayed on the bus, and then two hours later found herself walking toward Joseph’s house. She remembered his address from some documents that had required she list it. All she needed was information. The truth. Not knowing who Lucas truly was would prevent her from getting closure. She’d rather face Joseph than Lucas. Joseph should be home from work by now. She’d talk to him and then she’d put this behind her and move on with her life.
Another hour later she walked up Joseph’s spectacular street, huge and luxurious houses spaced far apart on giant lots. She went up to the front door and knocked.
A woman answered. Dyed blond hair, average height and weight, she looked well preserved and warily curious.
Rachel heard a television somewhere inside; the sound echoed in the cathedral-like entry. She had never seen anything so grand in her life. On TV, but not in person.
“Yes?” the woman asked.
“Is Joseph here?”
“He isn’t home from work yet. Who...” The woman searched Rachel’s face as though trying to place her.
“I work for your husband. A-at least, I used to work for him.”
More understanding smoothed the woman’s face, but her confusion remained. “What are you doing here?”
“I...” Rachel lowered her head, at a loss for how to explain and not sure she should. This woman was a stranger, and Rachel didn’t feel like explaining what had occurred.
“Wait a minute.” The woman pointed her finger as something dawned on her. “You’re that girl. The one who had the affair with our daughter’s husband.”
“I’m sorry.” Rachel started to turn, expecting animosity. “I intruded. I’ll go now.”
The woman stopped her with a gentle hand on her arm. “Wait.”
Startled, Rachel looked into blue-gray eyes much like Lucas’s, and instead of wrath, she saw kindness. Warmth.
“I assume you found out?” Lucas’s mother said.
“Really, I should go. I shouldn’t have come here.”
“Joseph said you would.”
Rachel didn’t understand what she meant.
“Find out,” the woman clarified, hooking her arm with Rachel’s. “Come in. Let’s talk.”
The woman guided her inside, taking her to a wide-open living room that magnetized Rachel.
“Have a seat and we’ll talk this through. My son and husband don’t give the technique much credence when they really should.”
Rachel didn’t resist the woman’s wishes. Joseph must have told her some things, things he’d asked Rachel to believe.
She sat on a gigantic sectional. Something shifted in her, a deep, long-forgotten sense of caring, of being cared for. This woman could have turned her away. Instead, she welcomed her. Since her affair and the loss of her one good job, Rachel had alienated herself from her friends. She had no family, other than a few distant cousins too far removed to count.
“I’m Gloria Tieber. Why don’t you start by telling me how you did find out?”
Rachel would have retreated, were it not for Gloria’s simple approach. “I overheard Marcy talking.” She turned away with the renewed sting that memory packed.
“Don’t mind her. Whatever she said, she said it because she’s jealous. Joseph was going to transfer her no matter what. He isn’t a game-player. He won’t tolerate anyone who is. He prefers people who shoot straight. Like you.”
Rachel brought her thoughts back around.
“It’s not like him to lie,” Gloria said. “But he’d do anything for Lucas. They’ve been close ever since Joseph and I met. Took to each other right away.”
“Lucas isn’t his son?” She already knew,