“He’s your son. You took his side. I don’t blame you for that.”

“You should. I deserve it.” Margaret held Sarah’s gaze. “I wish you’d said something sooner.”

In her grief, Margaret hadn’t been ready to hear it.

And Sarah had been so engrossed in the boys’ grief, the trouble with the company, and her own anger and resentment, she wouldn’t have been able to be kind in the way she told Margaret.

Not that today went great, but time and distance had at least allowed Margaret to hear what she had to say. “Sean made sure you didn’t know what was really going on. Away from here, and you, he didn’t care what anyone thought about his actions. He flaunted his bad behavior. Truthfully, I just wanted out before the boys really started to understand what was happening.”

“And you made sure they only saw the good in him.”

“I didn’t want to break their hearts, and then Sean died, and I just figured they didn’t need to know everything.”

“And that’s also why you didn’t say anything to me.”

Sarah appreciated that Margaret understood. “Why shatter your image of him? I really had no idea he’d been telling you and Bridget a completely different story than the one we lived until it was too late. I hoped, over time—”

“I’d come to my senses and move forward for the boys’ sake.”

“I understood your grief. I knew most of your anger came from the fact that Sean died so young and would miss so much of the boys’ lives and you wanted to blame someone for that.”

“I wanted there to be a good reason for what happened. But the truth is, his death was senseless and preventable. He shouldn’t have gotten behind the wheel in his condition.” Margaret’s eyes narrowed. “What really upset him that night? The divorce? Not being with his children all the time? Or you leaving the company?”

“I think you know the answer to that.” Sarah didn’t want to say it out loud.

“Did he ever love you and the boys?” A spark of hope lit Margaret’s eyes.

Sarah obliterated it with another jagged piece of the puzzle. “Sean found someone else to love.”

Margaret stared out the window for a long moment. A single tear rolled down her pale cheek. “I see.”

“Sean did some terrible things, but he wasn’t all bad.” While Sarah still had a lot of unresolved anger, even if she had done her best to move on, she defended Sean for his mother’s sake. As unfair as her mother-in-law had been, she knew it was a lot for the older woman to take in.

“Thank you for saying that, but I see now that I didn’t really know him. I guess that happens when your children grow up and have lives of their own. I wish we’d been closer.” Margaret’s head tilted. “Then again, if I’d known what he was doing, we’d have probably been at odds when he died because I wouldn’t have kept my opinion to myself about his behavior.”