“I couldn’t just want to see you?”
“You could, but that’s something you could have done before. Why now?”
Going behind the bar, Tate refilled his uncle’s glass again and his own before explaining what was going on, about the private investigators they’d hired, and finally about the storage unit that had been discovered.
“Lily had a storage unit? Interesting. Was she hiding things from Joel? I can’t say that I blame her. He was insufferable then, and I doubt he’s any better now.”
“He’s just as bad or worse,” Tate agreed.
“I never understood what Lily saw in him,” Mark replied, shaking his head. “I think she thought if she loved him enough, he’d change. He’d be more open and loving. He wouldn’t care so much about power and money. Of course, none of those things changed, but your mother was a true optimist.”
“Did she ever talk to you about leaving him? Getting a divorce?”
“Yes,” Mark admitted, his expression sad. Tate was sure he could see tears glittering in the man’s eyes. “She did talk about it, but she didn’t want to do that to you kids. She knew Joel would try to fight her for custody even though he didn’t truly want the responsibility of raising kids. He’d drag it all out and make it ugly.”
“What about when we were older?”
Mark’s answer tracked with what Tate had always assumed. His mother hadn’t wanted to break up the family when the children were young, but he’d been puzzled as to why she’d stayed after they’d all grown up. When his mom had disappeared, Piper had been eighteen.
“By then, Lily had made her peace with her marriage. She had her hobbies, friends, and interests. Joel didn’t get in the way of that, and they lived fairly separate lives. She did tell me once that she was sure he had other women on the side, but she didn’t care. She wished them good luck because he’d never leave her for them. He wouldn’t want a divorce to sully the Winslow name.”
“That sounds like Dad. He’s still complaining about Cooper’s divorce.”
“I’m surprised your brother stands for that.”
“He’s not around to hear it. He tries never to be in the same room as Dad. It’s the rest of us that have to hear about it.”
“I’m hoping I can see your brothers and sisters while I’m on this side of the world,” Mark said. “Are they mad at me, too?”
“None of us were angry, just hurt. If you explain it, I’m sure they’ll be fine.” Tate pointed to the hallway off to the side that led to his office. “Can you give me a minute? I need to get something that I want to show you. You were right. There was a specific reason we wanted to find you.”
Mark nodded, and Tate hurried to where he’d stowed the photos in his desk drawer. Within a few minutes, he was back and offering them to his uncle for perusal.
“We don’t know any of these people, but these pictures were important enough for Mom to keep them in storage. Away from Dad, which we assume was deliberate. It might also help if you could go with me to Zack’s place and see the other items she had there. Maybe something will jog a memory for you.”
As he sifted through the stack of photos, the corners of Mark’s mouth turned up in a smile. Clearly, they brought back good memories.
“Damn, I’d forgotten about that trip to Bermuda. Honestly, I’d forgotten about most of this. After your mother disappeared… Well, it seemed easier to block it all out, even the good times. I shouldn’t have done that. It was a mistake. I shouldhave held onto the happiness. Your mother believed in being happy, seeking joy in life.”
Tate pointed out the young man from the photos who always seemed to be sitting next to their mother.
“Do you know who that man is with her in the pictures? We’ve never seen him before.”
“There’s a good reason for that,” Mark declared, tapping at the photograph. “A very good reason.”
“Dad didn’t like him?”
“That’s a mild way to describe it. Your father hated Dominic Jameson with the power of a thousand suns. Nic is everything your father wanted to be and never would. Nic was handsome, charming, and came from a wealthier and more successful family than the Winslows. He had a great future ahead of him in the family law firm. He was also well-liked by pretty much everyone, unlike Joel. He oozed charisma without lifting a finger. People naturally gravitated toward him because of that. He was a great guy and a good friend.”
Mark was talking about this man in the past tense.
“Nichada great future ahead of him?”
Rubbing at his chin, Mark gave Tate a weak smile.
“Hit by a drunk driver a few days after Christmas when he and his family were vacationing in Florida. Nic and his mom were killed instantly. His dad spent months in the hospital, and more months later, rehabbing from all the broken bones. He died about five years later, some say from a broken heart. Nic’s younger brother had gone skiing with a friend for the holidays, so he wasn’t with them.”
Tate took a moment to digest the information. It wasn’t what he’d expected, but to be honest, he wanted to know more about the short life and tragic end of Nic Jameson.
