The Backup Plan. Sherryl Woods

were always eager enough to go in the past, when it suited your business interests,” she’d reminded him, her voice ringing with impatience.

      “No, I’ve been accommodating long enough,” he corrected. “Tonight I’m tired and I have no intention of going out again. If you don’t want to go alone, call Tommy Lee. I’m sure he’d be happy enough to escort you. Our son needs to spend a little time cultivating those people, if he expects to take over at the bank someday.”

      She’d stared at him in shock. “What do you mean if?“ she’d demanded, her voice rising to a level she’d never in her life resorted to before. Then again, Marshall had never been more exasperating than he was being right at this moment.

      “I don’t mean anything,” he said in the tone that indicated just the opposite. It merely meant he was tired of the whole subject. To prove it, he’d walked away from her, gone into his office and slammed the door.

      Now she sat in front of her dressing table mirror and stared at her reflection. What on earth was happening to them? It was as if she was suddenly married to a stranger.

      Their marriage had never been the passionate love match that some of their friends claimed to have, but they’d been well-suited in many ways. They’d found a rhythm for their lives that worked, especially after their children were born. Her role had been to support Marshall’s busy career, raise their children and to be socially active in a way befitting their standing in the community. She’d always accepted that she and a small cadre of her friends were the style-setters in town.

      Charleston was, in many ways, still a small town with a well-defined hierarchy. With their combined family backgrounds, it had been a foregone conclusion that they’d be accepted as a part of the crème de la crème of Charleston society, but maintaining that lofty position required real effort. It wasn’t enough to send the occasional check to charity or to be seen at the right galas. They’d had to serve as chairmen of key events, which meant that she did the work and Marshall reaped the rewards. For a time she’d done it gladly.

      It was only in recent years that it had all begun to bother her. She’d found her own worthwhile causes and put her time and energy into those. Maybe that was where the gulf now evident between them had started.

      Tonight she’d been forced to face the fact that it would take a sturdy bridge to cross that deepening chasm.

      When someone tapped on the bedroom door, she assumed it was Dinah, but it was Marshall who entered. She regarded him with dismay. She wasn’t up to another angry exchange.

      “Unless you’ve come to say you’ve changed your mind about tonight, you can leave,” she said coolly.

      Instead of doing as she asked, he sank down on the edge of the bed. “I came to talk about Dinah.”

      “Now?” she asked incredulously.

      “Yes, now, dammit! I came to tell you that I just had a very disturbing conversation with her. I saw for the first time what you meant when you came by the office to discuss your concern, Dorothy. She’s obviously distraught over something. I think we need to get to the bottom of it.”

      Dorothy put aside her annoyance and turned to face him. The encounter must have been troubling indeed if it had put such a worried frown on his face. “What do you suggest we do?”

      He regarded her with a helpless expression. “I have no idea. This is your area of expertise.”

      She smiled at that. “At least I still have one skill that you admire.”

      He frowned at her bitter comment. “What the hell do you mean by that? Can’t you put aside whatever differences you have with me for one minute and concentrate on our daughter?”

      She bit back a sharp retort and held up her hand. “I agree that now’s not the time, Marshall. Let’s concentrate on Dinah. Did she tell you anything?”

      “Nothing,” he admitted. “But something happened to her over there. Something bad. I’d stake my life on it. She says it wasn’t that incident she was involved in a few months ago, but I’m not convinced she’s being entirely truthful.”

      Alarm spread through her. “You don’t think she was …?” She couldn’t even bring herself to say the word.

      “Raped?” he said with a visible shudder. “To tell you the truth, I don’t think we can rule it out. I don’t think we can rule out any sort of atrocity at this point.”

      “Oh, dear God.”

      He took her hand in his. “Come now, Dorothy. Don’t fall apart on me. We don’t know it was anything like that, but she’s been living in an uncivilized atmosphere. Anything’s possible. Since she refused to tell me anything, I tried to get her to agree to talk to a psychologist I know, but she refused. Do you think she’s talking to her friends?”

      “No. I don’t even think she’s seen anyone outside of Maggie.”

      “Maybe Maggie knows something, then,” he suggested.

      “I’ll call her,” Dorothy said at once. “First thing in the morning. For now, though, I’d better finish dressing. I’m running late.”

      Marshall hesitated, then regarded her with a faintly sheepish expression. “Perhaps I will go with you tonight, after all, unless you’ve made other arrangements.”

      “No. I did speak to Tommy Lee, but he and Laurie already had other plans.”

      “They’re probably line-dancing at some country-western bar,” he suggested, his tone scathing. “That seems to be the kind of entertainment they go for these days.”

      She frowned at him. “This isn’t the first time you’ve hinted that you’re unhappy with Tommy Lee. Would you care to explain?”