Dakota Home by Debbie Macomber Page A

heart, he walked over to greet her.
    â€œI thought if you had time, we should talk,” she said, and then before he could respond, she leaned inside and lifted out the baby carrier.
    â€œI have time,” he said, thinking it was best to get this over with as quickly as possible. He carried the baby, car seat and all, into the house. His two-month-old son slept soundly, unaware of what his parents were about to do.
    Brandon entered the kitchen and carefully set the baby in the middle of the table. Cupping the side of Jason’s head with the palm of his callused hand, he regretted that he barely knew this child. With Sage and Stevie, he’d played a major role in the early months of their development. Because Joanie had ended up having C-sections, he’d been the one to get up during the night, change their diapers and bring the babies to her for feeding. All three births had drained her of energy, and each time it had taken her weeks to recuperate.
    Brandon had missed those early-morning feedings with Jason. He’d missed a great deal with Sage and Stevie this past year.
    â€œYou got my message about canceling the session with Dr. Geist?”
    He nodded and avoided looking at Joanie.
    â€œI wasn’t sure…”
    â€œIf you want me to apologize, I will,” he said, interrupting her. “I’m sorry. For everything. If you want to go ahead with the divorce, I wish you’d just tell me and be done with it.” He tried to keep the anger out of his voice, not wanting to startle the baby or give Joanie any more reason to hate him.
    â€œIf you’d allow me to finish,” Joanie said pointedly, as if she, too, were having trouble holding on to her temper. “As you know, Dr. Geist got called out of town unexpectedly and had to cancel.”
    â€œShe’s the one who canceled? Not you?”
    â€œYes,” Joanie said in a lightly accusatory tone. “I thought you said you got my message.”
    â€œI…did.” Brandon couldn’t remember her mentioning the reason their session had been canceled, only that it had. The prospect of missing the dreaded hour with Dr. Geist had distracted him from hearing the last part of the message.
    â€œThat’s one of our problems, Brandon.”
    He blinked, not understanding. “So I don’t listen to telephone messages as thoroughly as you think I should.” Add that to the list of all his other faults. This was what the counseling sessions had been to him—an onslaught of blame. Two women—one of whom he loved—telling him what an inadequate husband and father he was.
    â€œIf you’d listened to the whole message, you would’ve known exactly why I was calling. You always assume the worst.”
    Oh, so he was negative, too. He nodded, accepting the criticism, figuring she was probably right.
    â€œThe answer to your other question is no,” Joanie said.
    â€œNo?”
    â€œI’m not going through with the divorce. It isn’t what I want—”
    â€œI don’t, either,” he said and realized he’d interrupted her again. “Sorry,” he muttered, feeling foolish.
    â€œDr. Geist said it might be better for us to try a different counselor. She gave me the names of a couple of others if we’re interested in continuing.”
    He tried to hide the uneasiness he felt, but wasn’t much good at disguising his feelings. Joanie already knew how he felt, anyway. She knew he hated everything about these counseling sessions. “Do you want to continue?” he asked reluctantly.
    â€œI…don’t know. I think we should, but I know you were uncomfortable with Dr. Geist. What do you want to do?”
    He hesitated and then decided that since they were being open and honest with each other, he’d tell her what had been in his heart. “I like it when you do that.”
    â€œDo what?” She frowned, obviously puzzled.
    â€œAsk my