Lost and Found by Danielle Steel

Author:Danielle Steel
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
Publisher: Random House Publishing Group
Published: 2019-06-24T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 10

Maddie was waiting on the front steps of The Fairmont when Ben drove up in the Range Rover Laura usually used to drive the children. She had taken his Mercedes to the benefit with her friend. She had been chilly with him when she left for the evening. She didn’t like being preempted by his mother, and it had never happened before. But Maddie had never jumped ship for two weeks before either, driving cross-country alone, and avoiding communication with her children. Ben had gotten the point that he needed to pay more attention to her, after his older sister had handled the situation so badly that their mother had literally run away from all of them. He needed to take matters in hand and he had. He wanted Maddie to know now that they cared about her, she wasn’t just the forgotten mom, even if she felt that way. And he wanted to see if any of Deanna’s outrageous claims about her had any truth to them. If so, he wanted to discover it for himself.

When he pulled up, she was wearing a chic black pantsuit, one black shoe, and the infamous cast on the broken ankle that had started Deanna’s assault on their mother. Her hair was neatly pulled back, and she was wearing makeup. She had a tan, and she beamed the moment she saw him. What struck him was how youthful and beautiful she still was, and looked nowhere near her age. He hadn’t seen her in almost seven months, and was ashamed to admit it when he flipped back through his appointment book and figured it out. She hopped into the Range Rover with ease, agile despite the cast.

“You look terrific, Mom,” Ben said warmly after he hugged her. There was a sparkle in her eye, and despite the sad news about Andy, she was in better spirits than he expected. He hadn’t had an evening alone with her in eight years, since he’d married Laura, and she was very touched.

He drove down the hill to an excellent Italian restaurant and had asked for a quiet table where they could talk. He had expected her to be tired from the trip, and instead she was full of energy, and was proud to be with him when the maître d’ seated them. Ben asked for champagne for them before they ordered dinner.

“That’s quite an adventure you just had,” he said quietly. He had followed her the entire way on Instagram, and she still hadn’t called Deanna, or even texted her. She’d had no contact with her since she left New York.

“I needed to get away,” she said seriously. “After I broke my ankle, things got out of hand. I had a few run-ins with Deanna, and I needed time to think.” He didn’t admit that he’d heard all about them from his sister, and he could easily understand why she had dropped everything and run for a while. With threats like Deanna’s, he might have done the same.

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