Total pages in book: 73
Estimated words: 67398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 67398 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 337(@200wpm)___ 270(@250wpm)___ 225(@300wpm)
“You didn’t come over after New Year’s Eve, so I wondered.” Ryder pursed his lips. “And Dad morphed into a giant porcupine, so I can’t ask him what happened.”
“I’m sorry. You didn’t do anything wrong, I promise.” I patted his arm before the bell rang a second time, and he dashed off.
Hell. I’d never meant to hurt the boys or for them to get caught up in our rather adult bickering. I’d foolishly assumed Merry would accept my decision to stay and we could resume our growing relationship, but I’d been wrong on both counts.
My foul mood continued through lunch—where Merry was nowhere to be found—to the end of the school day, where all I saw were the taillights of his hatchback speeding away from the school. I marched the girls back to Cara and Craig, surprised literal smoke wasn’t billowing from my ears.
“The baby took a three-hour nap.” Cara greeted us warmly with leftover cookies. She and Craig were all cozy on the family room couch, looking like they had very much enjoyed their day off and extended nap time.
Craig was also in high spirits as he took the girls with him on a grocery run to refill the snack cupboard and fridge. Not wanting to escape to my lonely rental, I made myself busy tidying the kitchen while Cara fed the baby in a nearby rocker.
“Okay, spill,” she demanded. “Why the terrible face?”
“Merry still isn’t talking to me.” I had no problems venting to Cara. We’d always enjoyed an easy friendship in addition to being in-laws. “He’s convinced I’m going to leave anyway, so why give us a chance?”
“Oh, I’m sorry, honey.” She set the now-sleepy baby down in his little family room portable crib and returned to give me a big hug.
“It’s okay. I just need to wait him out.” Harrumphing, I scrubbed harder at the already-clean counters. Outside, yet more misty rain fell, and the light was already fading from the overcast sky. “And endure this rainy season as well.”
“Controlling the weather might be the easier of the two tasks.” Chuckling, Cara shook her head before taking a mango from the fridge. “Honestly, I’m about as shocked as Merry that you decided to stay on.”
“Why?” I gave her the same look that had failed to work on Merry on New Year’s Eve.
“Nolan, you’re a New Yorker through and through. No one pines for the city life more than you. You even gifted your boyfriend a bakery box of your New York favorites.”
“Oh.” Feeling small and kind of foolish, I put the sponge away. “When you put it like that, it seems selfish. But I just wanted him to be able to share…” I trailed off because I wasn’t helping my case any.
“It was a lovely gesture.” Cara backtracked nimbly, patting my shoulder on her way to get a cutting board and knife. “But I can see why Merry assumes you’ll miss Broadway by March.”
“Don’t we all have to make sacrifices for love?” I launched into the same speech I’d been giving myself for days. I liked Merry more than anyone I’d ever dated. Surely, that had to count for something? “Look at you, for example. Craig has dragged you to any number of places and duty stations you’d rather not go.”
“Is that what you think?” Cara let the knife clatter to the countertop. “That I hate my life but love my husband?”
“Ummm.” I had clearly wandered into shark-infested waters. I stepped away, desperately searching for some other cleaning task.
“Nolan.” Cara tracked me down to wag a finger in my face. “You can’t hate Hawaii and stay for Merry.”
“I don’t hate it here.” I was staying for Merry, so I didn’t bother arguing that point. “Who could hate Hawaii?”
“But you wish you could transplant Merry and the boys to Manhattan.”
“Maybe,” I said softly. I closed my eyes, picturing Merry and me riding the subway together. Shopping in the fashion district, grabbing takeout… Nope. None of the images remotely tracked. That wasn’t Merry. “But if he lived there, he wouldn’t be Merry.”
“Exactly. That’s my point.” Cara gave me a far less deadly-looking smile. “I met your brother when he was on spring break from West Point. I knew what I was getting into as an officer’s wife and happily signed up.”
“And Craig is so lucky you did.” I beamed at her. I might only have one in-law, but she was my favorite even when she was dispensing lectures I could do without.
“No, I’m lucky.” Cara leaned against the fridge, glaring like I was more tiring than her kids. “I’d spent my whole life up until that point in Georgia in a little town I didn’t much like. I wanted to get out, see new places, experience different things. Marrying Craig made that life happen. Do I miss him when he’s deployed? Sure. And yes, there are plenty of sacrifices for us both.”