Sylvie turned and Louis was standing in the corner, a concerned look on his face. “Are you all right? I heard you were in the car.” She wasn’t sure what Rene would think of that. “Did you go to the library with Cricket?”

Now Cricket flushed. “I picked him up for lunch.”

“Her scans are all fine, and Mr. Sylvain wasn’t injured,” Lila said. “I’m going to go process her checkout and you can take her home. Her wrist is sprained, but it can be handled with over-the-counter pain medications and keeping it in the brace for a couple of days. I’ll call in the morning to make sure everything’s going all right.”

“I’m glad to hear it. Lila, thank you.” She shook the nurse practitioner’s hand.

“As car accidents go, this was an easy one,” Lila admitted as she opened the door. “You guys can come to the lobby when you’re ready.”

Cricket held out her uninjured hand. “I’m glad it was you and not Rene. I’m afraid he would get upset.”

“He’s going to know.”

Cricket nodded. “Yes, I can’t hide this, but I can explain it to him in my own way.”

Sylvie felt her brow rise. “Like leaving out the part where Louis was with you?”

Cricket looked down, her hand coming back to her lap. “I was hoping to avoid that.”

Louis came to her side, his hand on her shoulder. “I told you, I’m going to talk to him. He’ll understand. This is not a problem, sweetheart. You are not cheating on anyone. You were a good wife and a wonderful mother. You get to have a life.”

“Maybe that discussion should wait until the board meeting is over,” Sylvie gently suggested. She wished her mother-in-law had been up front about her relationship with Louis, but she had to deal with this situation with delicacy. “Rene’s on edge right now. I think he’ll handle your relationship better if we get through one crisis before we deal with the next.”

“Our relationship isn’t a crisis,” Louis insisted. “It shouldn’t affect Rene in any way.”

“Sylvie is right.” Cricket hopped off the exam table. “We have to ease him into this. I’m sorry I didn’t tell you the full truth, dear. Louis and I have been seeing each other for a few months. He’s the one who’s been encouraging me to get out and enjoy life more. We wanted to make sure it was real before we let Rene know.”

“He’s your son, not your father,” Louis argued. “You know I love him, but he’s been unreasonable about you. You’re not an invalid.”