Hidden Shadows (The Shadow Series Book 1)

THIRTEEN

"Just a minute. I need a minute." Jenna laid a hand to her forehead, then her heart. "Now repeat what you just said."

"I. Am. Move. Ing."

Briefly, Keith's ignorance flashed through her mind. He was one of those people who thought intense enunciation or talking slower to someone who spoke a different language or was hearing impaired would allow them to understand better. It annoyed her.

"I heard that," she snapped. "Why? Where? When?"

"Whoa, whoa babe, one question at a time. Keith can only answer them one by one." Two other things that annoyed her: his constantly talking about himself in the third person, and his referring to her as babe or hun, like she was a past girlfriend, college fling, or one night stand instead of his wife for ten years and mother of his two children.

"Susan wants to go. Pennsylvania. Two weeks. Did that cover all the bases?"

She was stunned. "Two weeks? Pennsylvania?"

"That's right, sweetheart," he slugged dryly.

"What'll you do there?"

"Susan has some family near. Might even have a job waiting. And of course, I can work from anywhere. But who knows, we get there, I might even find me somethin' new, make a fresh start of it."

"What about the kids?"

"Oh, they'll be fine. They've got you."

Stunned again. "I know that, Keith, but they need their father." Not that you've been around that much anyway.

"They'll get him. Holidays, summers, special occasions, you know, the big stuff."

Yeah, she knew. And knowing Keith, the big stuff would dwindle until there was only small stuff, then no stuff at all.

"Jen, you still there?"

Thing number four. She hated when he used a nickname. He wasn't allowed to do that anymore. Not after cheating on her with Sue.

"Still here. Just, ah, trying to take it all in."

He grunted. "Tell me about it. Took me a while to get used to the idea too. Brutal winters, smog, big city, but hey, that's life. And I'll have Sue with me."

"Of course." The two short words dripped with disdain. "So you're leaving me . . . the kids, at a time like this?"

"No time like the present."

"Keith, our home was vandalized not even a month ago. We don't even know who did it yet. I've tried to hide it from them, but they know something's off. They've seen the repairs, the new things, know Mommy's been extra cautious and clingy lately."