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“No,” Natalie wailed. “God, no. Not after finally locating him! Is he dead?”
Deanna held up a hand to silence Natalie as she listened diligently to what Nigel was saying.
After their auntie Jean’s passing, Natalie and her sisters had learned of a letter their aunt had left for them, one that gave all of them hope that their mother was alive somewhere. For Natalie, the letter had proven what she’d always believed in her heart—that their mother wouldn’t just up and leave them without a compelling reason.
And it turned out that their mother had left to protect them, because she’d been dating a guy who was involved in criminal activity, someone she had planned to testify against. Testifying against that kind of person could have dire repercussions, not just for the witness, but also for anyone the witness cared about. Miriam knew that Rodney might try to retaliate against her children as a way to punish her, so she had left her children with her sister in order to protect them.
The problem was, Rodney Cook was the only person they knew of who might know their mother’s whereabouts and the friends she’d had twenty-three years ago when she’d taken Natalie and her sisters from Cincinnati to Cleveland to stay with their aunt.
“So he’s going to be okay?” Deanna asked. “Because he can’t die…not before we even have a chance to talk to him!”
Natalie held her breath as she waited for Deanna to say more.
“Thank God,” Deanna finally uttered. Then to Natalie she said, “Nigel says Rodney is alive, and they’re keeping him in a guarded hospital room. Nigel stressed to the authorities there that Rodney needs to stay alive.”
Natalie simply nodded, her heart pounding furiously from the moment of fright that their only lead regarding their mother had just been lost.
“All I can say is that it definitely pays to have a cop in the family,” Deanna went on. “Maybe we can all head to California to question him.”
There was silence, and then Deanna shook her head. “No, of course not. We wouldn’t think of going anywhere until you’re back with Callie.” Deanna paused and her eyes misted. “No, let her get her rest. Tell her we love her and we’ll talk to her a bit later. Bye, Nigel.”
When Deanna hung up, Natalie went to her sister and took her hands in hers. Her own eyes filled with tears as she squeezed Deanna’s hands. “Good Lord, what a crazy twenty-four hours.”
“Tell me about it,” Deanna agreed.
“But at least the news is good on both fronts. Callie is going to be fine, and it sounds like Rodney will be, too.”
“Mercury must be in retrograde,” Deanna commented.
“Huh?”
“You know…astrology.” When Natalie looked at her blankly, Deanna said, “Forget it.”
Ah, that’s right, Natalie mused, a memory coming to her. Deanna and her horoscopes. She’d been into astrology as a young teen, always blaming the good or bad in her life on how the planets had aligned.
“The bottom line is, even though bad things happened today, the outcome is still positive,” Deanna said. “God was watching out for Callie. And for Rodney.”
“Exactly,” Natalie agreed. “The positive happened for a reason. It’s a sign from above that we have to keep believing. And I believe it, Deanna.” Natalie’s throat filled with emotion. “We’re going to find our mother—after all these years!”
Deanna nodded, but her expression instantly changed from excited to cautious. “I want to believe that, but—”
“Then believe it,” Natalie told her. “We can’t allow ourselves to think the worst.”
For Natalie, Rodney surviving the stabbing was further proof that they would find their mother. She knew that her sisters were more wary in general, fearing that their mother might not be found alive. After all, twenty-three years had passed since she had left them with their aunt. According to Callie, that was enough time for her to come out of hiding, no matter how afraid she was.
Natalie had to believe otherwise, that her mother had good reason to continue to stay out of their lives. And not because she was cold in a grave somewhere.
She could accept nothing else.
The doorbell rang. Deanna hurried through the kitchen exit, saying, “I’ll get it.”
Moments later, she said, “Natalie, it’s for you.”
“Me?” Natalie asked, making her way to the door.
A man in a suit stood on the porch, holding a large envelope and a clipboard. “Are you Natalie Cooper?”
“Yes,” she said, tentative.
“I have a delivery for you,” he said. “You’ll need to sign here.”
He handed her the clipboard, indicated where she needed to sign, and Natalie obliged. All the while, she wondered what on earth could have been delivered to her at her aunt and uncle’s home.
He took the clipboard, then gave her the envelope. “Have a good day.”
And then he was off.
Both Natalie and Deanna watched him get into a dark-colored sedan. Once he’d driven off, Natalie tore open the envelope’s seal.
“What was that about?” Deanna asked.
“I’m about to find out.” But Natalie had a sneaking suspicion whatever was in the envelope had to do with Vance’s text message the previous day. He’d asked for the address of where she was staying so he could send her important mail that had come for her.
She withdrew the papers. “I guess he’s filed for divorce,” Natalie said, trying to sound nonchalant as her eyes scanned the papers.
But something was wrong. Because while she wasn’t a lawyer, she noticed the papers didn’t say anything about a divorce petition.
Rather, page one of what was undoubtedly a legal document read Decree of Divorce. Now her eyes frantically took in the rest.
“Oh, my God,” Natalie uttered. Her insides began to twist violently. Vance had been given an uncontested divorce decree by the state of Nevada.
“What?” Deanna asked.
“Vance…he divorced me.”
Deanna made a face. “You mean he’s filed for divorce.”
Natalie handed her sister the papers, then went to the nearby living room and sank onto a sofa.
“But I don’t understand,” Deanna said after a while. “How could he get a divorce so quickly? And why in Nevada?”
“Obviously you can get rid of your wife in no time in Nevada.”
“But you don’t live there.”
“No.” Natalie’s mind began connecting the dots that were slowly coming together in her mind. “But we have a house there. Oh, that jerk! He must have used having a home there as a way to claim residency.”
Looking confused, Deanna’s eyes went over the pages again. A minute later, she spoke. “From what I see here, it looks like Vance claimed he tried to serve you papers but couldn’t find you, so the courts granted him an uncontested divorce. However, you are within your rights to contest it, have the case heard before the courts.”
Natalie waved a hand. “No.”
“But there’s property, none of which is mentioned in this agree—”
“I don’t care.” Natalie dragged a hand over her face. “Vance wants to get rid of me so quickly, let him have it all.”
“I used to date a lawyer,” Deanna said. “You have rights, sis. Do not let Vance walk all over you.”
“I’ll be fine,” Natalie said. “I have an account that’s mine. He used to give me an allowance—you know, money to go spend on myself shopping or with the other players’ wives. I wasn’t interested in spending my days acting like the spoiled wife of a basketball player. So I saved what he gave me for a rainy day.” She paused. “I guess this is my rainy day.”
And then Natalie started to cry.
Deanna sat beside her on the sofa and wrapped an arm around her. “Oh, sis. I’m so sorry.”
Natalie turned her face into Deanna’s shoulder, taking comfort from her sister as she cried.
Then the profoundness of this moment hit Natalie. Years ago, she had seduced Deanna’s boyfriend. That had to led to a ten-year rift between the sisters. Now here was Deanna offering her comfort over a marriage that had fallen apart due to infidelity.
“I’m not crying over Vance,” Natalie said through her tears. “Really, I’m not. I guess…I guess I’m just mourning the dream.”
And rationally, Natalie knew that was true. Because she had started mourning the loss of her marriage a long time ago. Shortly after she’d said “I do” two years ago, she had sensed that Vance had only married her so she would be eye candy on his arm.
Natalie wasn’t a fool. She had the kind of looks that caused men to crash their cars into light poles, she knew that. But she didn’t let those looks define her.
And she had hoped that when she’d met superstar basketball player Vance Cooper that he was different—that he had seen past her looks and into her fragile heart.
A heart made fragile because of her mother’s abandonment at the tender age of five.
Instead, Vance had become more and more distant after their wedding extravaganza, and Natalie suspected his infidelity within six months of marrying her. So when she had learned that Vance was sleeping with Olivia, her best friend, she hadn’t been so much surprised as betrayed.
“I don’t think he ever loved me,” Natalie said, wiping at her tears.
“He must have,” Deanna said. “How could he not? Look at you—you’re stunning.”
“Looks mean nothing.”
“Really?” Deanna countered. “Tell that to all the men who’ve lost their heads when they’ve looked at you.”
Natalie was certain Deanna was referring at least in part to Marvin, the man Natalie had selfishly seduced over ten years ago. She still wasn’t sure why she had hurt her sister like that, except that she had been at a low point in her life, needing to feel alive and desirable.
“Yet here I am,” Natalie said, pushing the memory from her mind. “Divorced by a husband who only cared to get rid of me as quickly as he could. Like our mother,” Natalie added without thinking.
Deanna eased back so she could look at her. “What do you mean?”
“Maybe Callie is right. Maybe our mother left us because she didn’t want us.”
“Okay, now I know that’s grief talking,” Deanna said. “Because out of all of us, you were the one who never stopped believing there was a reason for our mother’s disappearance. And now we know there was. So it’s not the time to lose hope.”
“I know,” Natalie said, sniffling. “It’s just…I thought Vance respected me more than this.”
“Vance is clearly an idiot,” Deanna said. “And a coward. I know it hurts, Nat, but trust me when I say there’s no point crying over a man who didn’t value you. Soon enough, you’ll meet the man you’re meant to be with.”
Now Natalie gave her sister a skeptical look. “What makes you say that?”
“Your horoscope this morning,” Deanna answered, her voice filled with certainty. “It said a new love was on the horizon for Scorpios.”
Natalie rolled her eyes, but at least she smiled.
“Don’t give me that look, sis. You mark my words. You’re going to find someone else. It’s written in the stars.”
Chapter 2
By the next morning, Natalie was in better spirits—despite the front-page news that had confronted her. Wisely, Deanna had taken her downtown to shop at quaint boutique shops in order to take her mind off what had happened with Vance. Retail therapy, her sister had called it, and it was working.
They were currently in a hat shop owned by a local designer, perusing the large selection of funky hats.
“Oh, what about this one?” Natalie asked, taking a wide-brimmed purple hat off of the rack and placing it on her head. “This, with large sunglasses—it’ll help me be incognito.”
“It’ll also cause someone to lose an eye. It’s a cute hat, but whoa, could it be any wider?”
“It’s exactly what I need,” Natalie said. “After that front-page announcement about Vance and Olivia this morning…”
“Eh,” Deanna said, throwing up a hand. “We’re not going to talk about that, remember?”
“But the front page of the paper here in Cleveland? That’s what I don’t understand. Why does anyone here care about my marriage to Vance?”
“Because we used to live here,” Deanna supplied. “And you married one of the most successful players in the NBA. But we’re not talking about it, remember?”
Not talking about it was a lot easier said than done. Because Natalie could avoid the truth all she wanted, it was still there. The magnitude of Vance’s betrayal had been published for all the world to read.
But at least this morning, instead of feeling sad as she had the day before, she was feeling anger. Vance had rushed their divorce only to announce the very next day that he and his mistress were engaged.
“All I can say,” Natalie went on, “is that they deserve each other. If Olivia is dumb enough to believe that he’ll ever be faithful to her…”
Deanna plugged her ears with her fingers. “Not listening to any talk about Vance.”
“Okay, I get it. No more Vance talk.” Natalie put the purple hat down, then went to something smaller. A cute, casual hat made of straw. “I kind of like this one. It’s the perfect summer hat.”
“Oh, that is cute,” Deanna agreed.
“Here, try it on.” Natalie put the hat on her sister’s head.
Deanna checked out her reflection in a nearby mirror, and nodded. “Definitely cute.”
Natalie took the hat from her sister’s head and put it on her own. Looking into the mirror, she nodded. “Yep, this is a keeper.”
“If you ask me, she’s probably pregnant,” Deanna said as she turned and began walking toward another display of hats. “That’s my two cents…but I’m not talking about it.”
Natalie stopped dead in her tracks. As the reality of what Deanna had said hit her, she felt her stomach roil.
