walked out.
My men were driving me crazy.
Chapter Six
“Uh-oh,” Liz said when she saw me that afternoon. “You don’t
seem as upset as you were yesterday, but you have that look. I take it you’re
still fighting with Chad?”
I was feeling stressed, though not just about that. “At
least he’s speaking to me again. We have some things to work out, but we’ll be
okay. Charles is working himself to death as usual, so he’s hardly home
anymore. And Chuck took years off my life by falling off the ladder doing some
roof repairs yesterday.”
“Is he all right?” She sounded genuinely concerned.
“He will be. My nurse neighbor saw it happen and responded
right away, thank goodness.” I took a breath, reliving my race to the hospital.
“Chuck was taken to the emergency room. Fortunately, he didn’t stay there long.
I then spent the rest of the afternoon handing him ice packs and waking him
every hour because of the concussion.”
“He’s lucky he didn’t break his neck.”
“That’s what I told him.” I threw up my hands. “But do you
know what he said when I called to check on him at lunchtime? Here he took a
spill like that just yesterday, and today he tells me he can’t talk because
he’s ‘in the middle of something.’ If I find out he’s working on the house…” I
let the threat trail off, mostly because I wasn’t sure what I’d do.
He should have been in bed. The fact that he wasn’t had me
tapping my pen against the desk until the noise even irritated me.
Liz gave me a sympathetic look. “Men can be so stubborn. If
you think he’s overdoing it, maybe you should duck out early today.”
“Can’t.” That was another reason for my increased stress
level. “The boss wants the monthly reports redone with additional graphs and
charts. I’ll be lucky to get out of here on time. Even if I could push this off
a day, I wouldn’t dare. My parents are coming to visit tomorrow evening. This
will be the first time they’ve met Chuck, Charles, and Chad.”
“They weren’t at your wedding?”
I sniffed. “Shriek that at a more grating pitch, and you’d
capture my mother’s sentiments exactly. She’s still not happy with me about
that, though she claims she’s over it. Of course, now I’ve given her a new
reason to go ballistic. Yesterday I finally told her I have three husbands, not
one. The confession may have been good for my soul like you said, but it’s been
hell on my nerves.”
Liz’s mouth formed a little O . “Did she scream? If she’s like my mom, she probably went silent
right before she blew up. The calm before the storm.”
“I hope there’s no storm coming.” That was my number one
concern. “My mom is usually very vocal right away. This time she did go silent,
though. Right before she announced she and my dad would be here tomorrow and
hung up.”
“That’s not good.” Liz’s tone turned portentous.
“Hey, aren’t you supposed to make me feel better? You should
be telling me it will turn out all right in the end or something wise like
that.”
“It will. Eventually.” Liz eased away from my desk. “But
just in case, it was nice knowing you, Fila.”
So much for the pep talk.
She walked away, and I was left with the tedious task of
redoing a bunch of reports for the higher-ups. The work took every bit as long
as I’d dreaded, and I was over half an hour late getting out of the office. I
hurried home, unsure of what I’d find when I got there.
I shouted hello when I walked through the front door and was
relieved when Chuck answered. A minute later, he came out to greet me. One look
at him and I knew my fears had been well-founded. His clothes were specked with
paint, and I could smell the fresh, chemical odor of it when he came closer to
give me a kiss.
I could feel my blood pressure climbing. “Chuck! What are
you doing painting? You should be in bed.”
He shrugged and then winced when the movement must have
hurt. “There’s too much
My men were driving me crazy.
Chapter Six
“Uh-oh,” Liz said when she saw me that afternoon. “You don’t
seem as upset as you were yesterday, but you have that look. I take it you’re
still fighting with Chad?”
I was feeling stressed, though not just about that. “At
least he’s speaking to me again. We have some things to work out, but we’ll be
okay. Charles is working himself to death as usual, so he’s hardly home
anymore. And Chuck took years off my life by falling off the ladder doing some
roof repairs yesterday.”
“Is he all right?” She sounded genuinely concerned.
“He will be. My nurse neighbor saw it happen and responded
right away, thank goodness.” I took a breath, reliving my race to the hospital.
“Chuck was taken to the emergency room. Fortunately, he didn’t stay there long.
I then spent the rest of the afternoon handing him ice packs and waking him
every hour because of the concussion.”
“He’s lucky he didn’t break his neck.”
“That’s what I told him.” I threw up my hands. “But do you
know what he said when I called to check on him at lunchtime? Here he took a
spill like that just yesterday, and today he tells me he can’t talk because
he’s ‘in the middle of something.’ If I find out he’s working on the house…” I
let the threat trail off, mostly because I wasn’t sure what I’d do.
He should have been in bed. The fact that he wasn’t had me
tapping my pen against the desk until the noise even irritated me.
Liz gave me a sympathetic look. “Men can be so stubborn. If
you think he’s overdoing it, maybe you should duck out early today.”
“Can’t.” That was another reason for my increased stress
level. “The boss wants the monthly reports redone with additional graphs and
charts. I’ll be lucky to get out of here on time. Even if I could push this off
a day, I wouldn’t dare. My parents are coming to visit tomorrow evening. This
will be the first time they’ve met Chuck, Charles, and Chad.”
“They weren’t at your wedding?”
I sniffed. “Shriek that at a more grating pitch, and you’d
capture my mother’s sentiments exactly. She’s still not happy with me about
that, though she claims she’s over it. Of course, now I’ve given her a new
reason to go ballistic. Yesterday I finally told her I have three husbands, not
one. The confession may have been good for my soul like you said, but it’s been
hell on my nerves.”
Liz’s mouth formed a little O . “Did she scream? If she’s like my mom, she probably went silent
right before she blew up. The calm before the storm.”
“I hope there’s no storm coming.” That was my number one
concern. “My mom is usually very vocal right away. This time she did go silent,
though. Right before she announced she and my dad would be here tomorrow and
hung up.”
“That’s not good.” Liz’s tone turned portentous.
“Hey, aren’t you supposed to make me feel better? You should
be telling me it will turn out all right in the end or something wise like
that.”
“It will. Eventually.” Liz eased away from my desk. “But
just in case, it was nice knowing you, Fila.”
So much for the pep talk.
She walked away, and I was left with the tedious task of
redoing a bunch of reports for the higher-ups. The work took every bit as long
as I’d dreaded, and I was over half an hour late getting out of the office. I
hurried home, unsure of what I’d find when I got there.
I shouted hello when I walked through the front door and was
relieved when Chuck answered. A minute later, he came out to greet me. One look
at him and I knew my fears had been well-founded. His clothes were specked with
paint, and I could smell the fresh, chemical odor of it when he came closer to
give me a kiss.
I could feel my blood pressure climbing. “Chuck! What are
you doing painting? You should be in bed.”
He shrugged and then winced when the movement must have
hurt. “There’s too much
Similar Books
