being asked, whenever I needed him, and whether you want to believe it or not, it was as much because he loved you as because he loved me.”
“Spare me the dramatics, Laura. He was there because he couldn’t wait t’ get his hands on y’, and you know it,” Rye said coldly.
“That’s a despicable thing to say, and you know it!”
“Are you denyin’ that y’ knew how he felt about y’ all the years we were growing up?”
“I’m denying nothing. I’m trying to make you see what two people suffered at the news of your death ... suffered together! After we heard that the Massachusetts had gone down, we got through those first days by walking the dunes where the three of us used to play, telling ourselves one minute that it couldn’t be true, that you were still alive out there someplace, and the next minute telling each other to accept it —you’d never be back. But I was the weaker one by far. I ... I told myself I was acting exactly like my mother, and I hated it, but the despair was worse than anything I’d ever known. I found I didn’t care if I lived or died, and at times I felt the same about the child I carried. After the funeral was the worst ...” Her voice cracked with remembrance, and she shuddered. “Oh God, that funeral ... without a corpse ... and me already awkward with your child.”
“Laura ...” He moved near, but she turned her back and went on.
“I couldn’t have made it through that ... that horror, if it weren’t for Dan. My mother was perfectly useless, as you can well imagine. And she was no better when Josh was born. It was Dan who was my strength then, Dan who sat beside me through the first of my labor, then paced outside where you should have been pacing, then came to praise the baby and tell me he looked like you, because he knew those were the words I needed to give me the will to get strong again. It was your best friend who promised he’d always be there for Josh and me, no matter what. And I owe him for that.” She paused a moment. “You owe him.”
He studied her back, then stepped close and roughly began lacing up her stays.
“But what do I owe him?” His hands stopped tugging. “You?”
Laura shivered, unable to answer. What did they owe Dan? Certainly something better than stealing off into the night and indulging in sex play. Again Rye continued lacing.
“You’ve got to understand, Rye. He’s been Josh’s father since the day Josh was born. He’s been my husband three times as long as you’ve been. I can’t just ... just fling him aside carelessly, without a thought for his feelings.”
At her back came one irritated tug, harder than the rest, then the tension disappeared around Laura’s ribs as Rye fumbled. “I’m not much good at this ... I haven’t had much practice.”
There was an icy insinuation in his tone. He was still angry with her, and with this seemingly unsolvable confusion into which their lives had been thrust. When he’d finally managed to close both corset and dress, his hands continued resting on her hips. “So y’ intend t’ stay with him?”
Laura closed her eyes tiredly, inhaled deeply, no closer to solutions than Rye. “For the time being.”
His warm hands slipped away. “And y’ won’t see me?”
“Not this way ... not ...” But she stammered to a halt, uncertain of her ability to resist him.
His anger was back, roiling just beneath the surface as he gritted his teeth. “We’ll see about that ... Mrs. Morgan! ” Then he spun and walked into the silent fog.
Chapter 5
THE DAYS THAT followed found Laura and Dan uncomfortable and distant. Since the night of the Starbucks’ dinner, Dan had grown more and more stoical toward her, often wearing a wounded look that pricked Laura’s conscience each time she glanced up and encountered it. She had not lied when he asked if she’d been with Rye that night, but Dan had seen her red-rimmed eyes and guessed the worst hadn’t
“Spare me the dramatics, Laura. He was there because he couldn’t wait t’ get his hands on y’, and you know it,” Rye said coldly.
“That’s a despicable thing to say, and you know it!”
“Are you denyin’ that y’ knew how he felt about y’ all the years we were growing up?”
“I’m denying nothing. I’m trying to make you see what two people suffered at the news of your death ... suffered together! After we heard that the Massachusetts had gone down, we got through those first days by walking the dunes where the three of us used to play, telling ourselves one minute that it couldn’t be true, that you were still alive out there someplace, and the next minute telling each other to accept it —you’d never be back. But I was the weaker one by far. I ... I told myself I was acting exactly like my mother, and I hated it, but the despair was worse than anything I’d ever known. I found I didn’t care if I lived or died, and at times I felt the same about the child I carried. After the funeral was the worst ...” Her voice cracked with remembrance, and she shuddered. “Oh God, that funeral ... without a corpse ... and me already awkward with your child.”
“Laura ...” He moved near, but she turned her back and went on.
“I couldn’t have made it through that ... that horror, if it weren’t for Dan. My mother was perfectly useless, as you can well imagine. And she was no better when Josh was born. It was Dan who was my strength then, Dan who sat beside me through the first of my labor, then paced outside where you should have been pacing, then came to praise the baby and tell me he looked like you, because he knew those were the words I needed to give me the will to get strong again. It was your best friend who promised he’d always be there for Josh and me, no matter what. And I owe him for that.” She paused a moment. “You owe him.”
He studied her back, then stepped close and roughly began lacing up her stays.
“But what do I owe him?” His hands stopped tugging. “You?”
Laura shivered, unable to answer. What did they owe Dan? Certainly something better than stealing off into the night and indulging in sex play. Again Rye continued lacing.
“You’ve got to understand, Rye. He’s been Josh’s father since the day Josh was born. He’s been my husband three times as long as you’ve been. I can’t just ... just fling him aside carelessly, without a thought for his feelings.”
At her back came one irritated tug, harder than the rest, then the tension disappeared around Laura’s ribs as Rye fumbled. “I’m not much good at this ... I haven’t had much practice.”
There was an icy insinuation in his tone. He was still angry with her, and with this seemingly unsolvable confusion into which their lives had been thrust. When he’d finally managed to close both corset and dress, his hands continued resting on her hips. “So y’ intend t’ stay with him?”
Laura closed her eyes tiredly, inhaled deeply, no closer to solutions than Rye. “For the time being.”
His warm hands slipped away. “And y’ won’t see me?”
“Not this way ... not ...” But she stammered to a halt, uncertain of her ability to resist him.
His anger was back, roiling just beneath the surface as he gritted his teeth. “We’ll see about that ... Mrs. Morgan! ” Then he spun and walked into the silent fog.
Chapter 5
THE DAYS THAT followed found Laura and Dan uncomfortable and distant. Since the night of the Starbucks’ dinner, Dan had grown more and more stoical toward her, often wearing a wounded look that pricked Laura’s conscience each time she glanced up and encountered it. She had not lied when he asked if she’d been with Rye that night, but Dan had seen her red-rimmed eyes and guessed the worst hadn’t
Similar Books
