When Night Falls by Cait London Page A

often led her back here, to the home she still loved, because it was a part of her—the old dreams that she didn’t want now. It was a good time and a good house, she thought fondly.
    His office in the home they had once shared had been designed by her. She’d also shared his office on Main Street, her graphics computer set up across from his desk. They’d been high school sweethearts, their courtship gentle and secure, encouraged by their families. They’d gone to college together and had returned to be married. How exciting that time was—just married, working together and planning a home, building it. Life had been so perfect—once.
    Then Christina , their baby, had died.
    Uma tugged herself away from the pain, that ache. She folded the dishrag and placed it beneath the sink. “Everett, I love you, too. You’re a wonderful man. We’ve been friends forever, but you deserve more than that.”
    “There’s never been anyone but you, and you know that. I—I made a mistake, my affair with Lorraine. I can’t explain it—”
    She turned to him; Everett’s black, waving hair and soft blue eyes had been his gift to Christina. He was a gentle, good man, and very attractive now in his navy and white striped dress shirt, open at the throat and rolled up at the sleeves, his suspenders in good taste and his navy suit pants flowing down to polished dress shoes. The suitcase at the front doorsaid he’d be leaving on business soon and as always, she’d come to water the plants—ones she’d chosen long ago to decorate the house—and check on his home, no longer hers.
    But the attachment was there, the long hours spent in planning and painting—
    How hard they’d both worked to set up their businesses—Everett taking over his family’s travel business and Uma starting out as a freelance graphic artist. That was the arrangement they’d always had, the Big Plan. According to the steps in the Big Plan, when they had children, her graphics office would be moved into their home—if she decided to continue working. They’d seen each other through the grief of dying parents, been together through so many wonderful and horrible times.
    “I can explain Lorraine easily,” Uma said softly. “After Christina, I was depressed and withdrawn. You needed comfort, too. I understood, I told you that. I think you have someone now.”
    Everett frowned and rubbed his chest. “I won’t lie. It’s convenient for both of us. We’re friends and she has a little girl. I…like that little girl, and Anna understands that we don’t have a commitment. She knows I love you.”
    “You’re a man who should have a family.”
    Everett rubbed his chest, and she thought how he had looked as a young father, cradling his baby daughter and so proud. The past tethered him, and it was unfair. He should have other children, a woman who loved him as a wife should. Uma loved him as a longtime friend.
    His statement came from his heart; she’d never doubted him. “I will never forgive myself for being gone when Christina was born, or when she—”
    Uma placed her hand on his, covering the ache she knew was genuine. “You were away at a conference, both times. It was essential to Thornton Travel. The company was growing,it still is. You’ve set up branch offices, Everett. You could move anywhere you want, but you’re staying here.”
    “Home is where the heart is, haven’t you heard? I want you with me.” His other hand covered hers, his expression sincere. She’d seen the high-powered salesman in him, she’d seen the tender lover, the honesty—and the desire.
    She couldn’t stand the desire, was chilled by it.
    Uma eased her hand away, and Everett shook his head. “Uma, you’ve locked yourself away from life. You watch and you care, and you love, but you don’t live, not for yourself. Come with me on this trip. It will be good for you. You haven’t gone anywhere to relax since Lauren—”
    She allowed herself to be drawn close to