"No, Mom, please don't say anything now. There's nothing I want to hear you say right now. I'm going to continue to try to reach Erica and if I don't get her tonight, I'm going to catch the next flight out of here to Hattersville."

"I understand. Tell Erica..." She drew in a deep breath and glanced over at Wilson. He was holding her free hand in his. "I guess there's really nothing you can tell her from me, is there?"

"I doubt it. Good-bye, Mom." He then hung up the phone.

Wilson pulled her into his arms and she cried onto his chest. "Shh, everything will be all right."

She pulled out of his arms and glanced up at him. "No, everything won't be all right. Somehow we have to fix this. You need to leave and go home right now. Your family needs you."

"No, I won't leave you this way and-"

"No, please go. You need to be there for them."

"And what about you?"

Rita knew that was a question she could not answer at the moment and wondered if she ever would be able to do so.

Chapter Twenty.

"How is she, Dr. Cobb?"

Ralph Cobb looked into Erica Sanders's distraught face. He'd always thought she was a lovely girl, and hated the fact that her mother would stop at nothing to manipulate her life.

Dr. Cobb shook his head. He had reached the conclusion that Karen Sanders had to be one cold and uncaring woman to use her daughter the way she intended to use her to get what she wanted. And Karen was willing to do just about anything to achieve her goal.

He had a good mind to tell Erica the truth but knew he could not. In that sense he was a coward. He knew Karen would make good her threat and he couldn't let that happen. Too much was at risk. He and Aggie had secrets that no one could find out about. They were secrets he would take to the grave with him. Karen didn't know about all of them but she knew enough, and what she knew could not only ruin him but his mistress, his wife and his sons.

"Dr. Cobb?"

He glanced back at the closed bedroom door. The one he'd just walked out of. The one where Karen Sanders was probably in bed smiling already in victory. She had instructed him what to do and what to say. He would lay it on thick. He would have to do so to achieve Karen's purpose.

"Come on, Erica. Let's go downstairs to the study. I've given your mother something to make her rest and we shouldn't disturb her." That was a bald-faced lie as he spoke it. The woman was probably in her room doing a tap dance across the floor.

"All right."

He let Erica lead the way down the stairs and he followed, feeling older than his sixty years. He had been married to his Loretta just as long as Wilson had been married to Karen. All four had been born and raised in Hattersville, all were from well-off families, all were tied to the founding fathers. His great-great-grandfather was the town's first doctor and there had been a Cobb to practice medicine there ever since. He looked forward to retiring next year when his son Sloan would step in and take his place. He smiled when he thought of Sloan. He was proud of him.

"Would you like something to drink, Dr. Cobb?"

Erica's question pulled his thoughts back to the situation at hand. She was fretting, worrying herself to death and really for nothing. Karen was healthy as a horse but he couldn't tell Erica that. He had to support the lie her mother wanted him to weave.

"No, I don't want anything to drink. I'm just glad I was home when you called. Lucky for you I'm right across the street."

Erica nodded. "How is she?"

Dr. Cobb shook his head. "Not good, I'm afraid. She went into shock."

"Is she still in shock?"

"Somewhat. I did get her to talk, though." He went silent, choosing his words carefully, not sure of what he should say and what he could say. "Your mother is a proud woman, Erica. Sometimes a little too proud. Unlike a lot of us whose families help found this town she's always taken that role seriously. If what she mumbled upstairs in her bedroom is true-if your father is having an affair with the mother of the guy you plan to marry-that can destroy her. Most women can walk away from a man and an affair. Your mother can't. Your father is her life. From the time she was born she was bred to believe they would be together forever, regardless."

Erica nodded.

"What your mother needs is to get away for a while. Leave here and go on a trip, a cruise would be nice. Go stay for a while at that place at Lake Tahoe that she and your father own. She can't be bothered by bad news of any kind."

He paused again. "She should have told you and your father this last year. I encouraged her to but she refused to do so."

Panic flared in Erica's eyes. "Told us what?"

"She has a heart condition and too much stress can take her away from here."

Erica's hand flew to her mouth to keep from crying out and her hand began to shake.

"Under normal circ.u.mstances I would suggest that your father be the one to take her away from here, but in light of what your mother just confided in me, I don't think that's a good idea."

"That means that I'll have to be there for her."

Dr. Cobb nodded sadly. "Yes, that's what it means. That will be a lot for you to carry on your shoulders, dear, but someone has to be there for her now. Your father's betrayal cut too deep for her. And if word gets out, that will make her a laughingstock of this town. Of course, I won't say anything. But there is the matter of your wedding."

Erica swallowed. "What about my wedding?"

"Considering everything, do you still want one? Having your father and that other woman there together might be too much for your mother, and I suggest you consider postponing it for now. Your mother needs as little stress on her as possible."

Dr. Cobb rubbed his bald head. Karen had wanted him to advise Erica that she should never consider the idea of marrying Brian Lawson and that such a thing could kill her mother. He refused to do that. He would not go that far and destroy all of Erica's dreams of a marriage filled with love. Already he could tell by the look in her eyes that the thought of even calling off her wedding plans was devastating. At that moment he despised Karen even more for being so d.a.m.n heartless.

He patted Erica's hand as he stood up. "I know you have a lot of decisions to make so I'll leave you for now. Have you contacted your father?"

Erica shook her head as she fought back her tears. "No, I wanted to take care of Mom."

"Well, I think you need to at least let him know what happened here."

"Is Mom on medication for her heart?"

"Yes, I wrote her out a prescription last year. I checked and she needs to get a refill. I'll take care of it and drop them off here later today." They would be nothing more than sugar pills. Karen had pretty much thought of everything.

"Thanks, Dr. Cobb."

A half hour later, after the doctor had left and after checking to make sure her mother was still resting comfortably, Erica went back downstairs to stand at the window in the study to look out. She had awakened that morning the happiest woman on earth and now that happiness had been s.n.a.t.c.hed away from her.

She glanced at her watch and wondered if the others had gotten their copies of the pictures. She had checked her phone a few minutes ago and seen that both Brian and her father had tried calling her. After receiving those pictures she had turned off both her phone and her mother's phone, just in case there were more pictures where those had come from. She needed to return their calls but wasn't in the right frame of mind to do so. Her mother might prove to be difficult at times but she didn't deserve this. No married woman did. How long had the affair been going on? Was Rita the reason her father had increased his business trips? Brian had mentioned his mother had been going out of town a lot more, too.

She moved away from the window and suddenly went still when a thought struck her. Had Brian known about the affair and not told her? She closed her eyes and shook her head. She had to believe that wasn't true.

And who on earth had sent those photos? Evidently it was someone who wanted to destroy not only her life but her mother's life, as well. There was no doubt in her mind that her mother had rubbed a number of people the wrong way, and there were probably one or two who would like to take her down off her high horse a notch or two. But who would risk her mother's wrath and take the time to bother?

At the moment the ident.i.ty of the person who sent the pictures wasn't important to her. Making sure her mother was taken care of us was, and she would do whatever she needed to do to make sure that happened.

Lori pulled off her earring as she placed the phone to her ear. "h.e.l.lo?"

"Everybody knows."

Lori frowned. "Rita? I can barely hear you. What did you say?"

"I said everybody knows now. Someone sent pictures."

"Of you and Wilson?"

"Yes," Rita replied on a choked voice. "I made a mess of things. I was only thinking of my wants and needs and not Brian's. Now there's no telling what's going to happen. Erica probably hates me."

Lori moved to sit down in the nearest chair. "Honey, please calm down. Are you still in j.a.pan?"

"No, I'm in New York at JFK, waiting to come home on my connecting flight. I have a three-hour layover."

Rita nodded. "Start at the beginning and tell me everything."

She did in a trembling voice and had to repeat some parts several times because of crying. "I have to be the most selfish woman on this earth."

"You're not, Karen Sanders is. You can't convince me that woman didn't have something to do with this," Lori said angrily.

"It doesn't matter. What Wilson and I did was wrong and the sad thing about it is that our children might have to pay for it."

Lori didn't say anything for a moment, listening to the heartrending tears through the phone line. Then she asked, "Have you talked to Brian any more?"

"I tried calling him but he's either away from the phone or not answering. I believe it's the latter. I could hear the hurt and disappointment in his voice. I let my son down, Lori. I let him down."

Lori knew there was nothing she could say that would convince Rita otherwise. Her best friend was hurting deeply. "What time does your flight come in?"

"Around ten tonight."

"I'll be at the airport to pick you up."

"No need. My car is parked there," Rita said. Her voice was on the verge of breaking again. She could barely hold back more tears.

"Doesn't matter. I'm picking you up and bringing you here. We can go pick up the car tomorrow."

"Lori, I-"

"No, Rita, we're doing things my way."

"Okay."

"And Rita, about Brian and Erica, there's something I think you and I both know."

"And what is that?"

"He loves her deeply and no matter what, he's not letting her go."

Chapter Twenty-One.

Brian jumped the minute his phone rang and he s.n.a.t.c.hed it off the table. "h.e.l.lo."

"Brian, this is Erica."

He swallowed deeply. Her voice sounded so subdued and held none of the excitement it had that morning when she was looking forward to her first bridal shower. There was no need to ask if she'd opened the text message.

"How are you doing, baby?" he asked softly.

"It's doesn't matter how I'm doing. It's Mom I'm worried about."

"She knows?"

"Yes. She clicked on her text message within seconds of me doing mine. I was at the house with her when she did and she pa.s.sed out."

"I'm sorry to hear that."

Anger she couldn't keep inside snapped and Erica lashed out. "Are you?"

"Of course I am. I wasn't your mother's favorite person but I wouldn't want anyone to go through pain."

"Too bad my father and your your mother didn't think of that. Have you spoken to Rita?" mother didn't think of that. Have you spoken to Rita?"

"Briefly." The last thing he would tell her was that her father and his mother were together when he had. "What about you? Have you spoken to your father?"

"No, and in my present mood I'm not looking forward to doing so, either. Mom is my major concern. The doctor said the best thing for her right now is to get away for a few months, go on a cruise or something, or go stay at their place at Lake Tahoe."

"That might be the best thing for your parents right now. For them to go away somewhere together and try to work things out."

"Dad isn't the one who'll be going with her Brian. I am."

"You're going?"

"Yes."