Part 10 (1/2)
Yvette faced Nic. ”It is my retreat, yes, but it is more a sanctuary for my students than anything else. And I refer to them as students for lack of a more appropriate term. They are people with unusual gifts that have alienated them from their families, talents that have turned them into outcasts. I, too, have always been an outcast.”
”So everyone living here has psychic abilities of some kind?”
”Yes, and their abilities vary in degree. Most are marginally talented, while two are far more gifted than I am.”
”How many students do you have living here?”
”Seven. Three men and four women.” Yvette focused on Nic's face. ”I see that Griffin has kept his word and not shared any information about my students, not even with you.”
”Then you asked him to keep me in the dark about-”
”Oh, Nicole, I am so very sorry.” Yvette stared at Nic, realization in her dark eyes. ”I should have given him permission to tell you. I can see that you are upset because-”
”My husband shouldn't have needed your permission to tell me what is going on here at Griffin's Rest. Griff and I are married, and to me that means we don't keep secrets from each other. We share everything. But for the past year, since you sent your first student, Meredith Sinclair here to live and Griff began construction on your retreat or sanctuary or whatever you want to call it, he has been secretive and so involved with you and your pet project that he's neglected me and our marriage.”
When Yvette reached out to touch her, Nic jumped back, avoiding skin-to-skin contact. She didn't want Yvette probing into her mind, sensing her innermost thoughts and feelings.
”I truly had no idea,” Yvette said. ”But I should have. My only excuse is that constructing this sanctuary has been a dream fulfilled for me. I apologize most sincerely for allowing my needs and the needs of my students to create problems between you and Griffin.”
Nic stood ramrod straight, every muscle in her body tight, every nerve pulsating. ”I won't apologize to you or to Griff for the way I feel. You had no right to swear him to secrecy. And he had no right to agree.”
”Does Griffin know how you feel?”
”I've tried to talk to him more than once, but he acts as if he thinks I'm being silly.”
”You have felt this way for all these months and did not come to me. Why?”
Good question. She's got you there. Why didn't you come here sooner and demand to know what was going on and why Griff was so secretive?
”I think I was afraid of what I might learn.”
”If you had objections to Griffin building this retreat for me, why did you not tell him when he first mentioned it to you?”
”And sound like a jealous wife?” Nic chuckled sarcastically. ”I know that everything Griff has, he has because of you. You and Sanders. Even his life. I know that all his billions were rightfully yours. So if you want or need something from Griff, he's in no position to refuse you, is he?”
”Griffin should have told me that you were unhappy with my living here. But I a.s.sumed that since Sanders lives in the house with you, you would have no objections to my living a mile away.”
”Sanders may know my husband better than I do, just as you do, but he isn't a beautiful woman. Griff isn't in love with Sanders.”
”And Griffin is not now nor ever has been in love with me,” Yvette said with absolute certainty. ”He is very much in love with you.”
d.a.m.n it, don't you dare cry.
”I want to believe you. I've tried to believe what you're telling me is the truth, but...When a man's allegiance to one woman supersedes his allegiance to another-to his wife-then a person has to question the reason why.”
”This is my fault entirely. Please, Nicole, forgive me. Do not blame Griffin. Because of what happened in the past, because of the horrors Griffin and Sanders and I shared, we have a bond that I realize no one else truly understands. But that bond in no way is a threat to your marriage.”
”You're wrong. Whatever secrets Griff has not shared with me do pose a threat to our marriage.”
”When Griffin returns home, you must speak to him and make him understand how you feel. But you must be prepared for whatever he chooses to share with you.”
”Will he admit that the two of you were once lovers?”
”No. We were never lovers. I swear this to you.”
G.o.d, how she wanted to believe that was true. But if the dark secret that Griff wouldn't share with her was not that he and Yvette had been lovers, then what was it?
”Would you like a tour of the retreat?” Yvette asked as she led Nic out of her office and back into the hall. ”If you will come back in the morning, I will give you the grand tour, and I will introduce you to my students.”
”Yes, I'd like that. What time should I come back in the morning?”
”Is ten o'clock suitable for you?”
”That's fine.”
”And from this moment on, there will be no more secrets about the retreat. You and I must learn to trust each other more completely. I should have shared everything about my plans with you. As Griffin's wife, you had every right to be included.”
”I'm glad you understand.”
”I believed we were friends, but I see now that I have not earned your trust and friends.h.i.+p. I will work harder to be a better friend.”
”Good night. I'll see you in the morning.
Yvette nodded.
Nic hurried ahead, not waiting for Yvette to escort her to the door. She had gotten what she came for, at least partially. And in a few days, when Griff came home, she would demand the complete truth from him. She needed to know more about his past. She needed to know his deepest, darkest secret.
As soon as they placed their order-fried catfish, hush puppies, steak fries, slaw and a pitcher of beer-Cathy relaxed for the first time since Mike Birkett had shown up at Treasures this afternoon. She looked across the table at the man who had whisked her off the sidewalk and run away with her. For half a minute she felt seventeen again, seventeen and doing something frighteningly sinful.
”You're smiling,” Jack said.
”Am I?”
”You should run away more often. It seems to agree with you.”
”Mother would say that I acted irresponsibly, and I suppose, in this case, she might be right. No one knows where I am, and I'm sure they're all worried sick wondering if I jumped off the Spring Creek Bridge.”
Jack removed his phone from the belt clip and handed it to her. ”Call somebody and tell them you're okay.”
She stared at the iPhone in the palm of his big hand. After hesitating for a moment, she took the phone and punched in Lorie's number. Lorie answered on the second ring.
Apparently Jack's name had appeared on her home phone caller ID, because the first thing she said was, ”Is Cathy with you? Please, tell me she is.”