Page 59 of His Loving Wife

Hi Kate. How’s Willow?

The words terrified her. She fell to her knees, right there in the front yard, staring at the chicken scratch handwriting.

She wasn’t sure how long she was there, her knees burrowing into the thick mud. She felt a hand on her shoulder. She looked up to see Dana.

“Kate, are you okay?”

“It’s him.” They were the only words she was able to form. She felt that terror from months earlier creeping back in, constricting her vocal cords.

“It’s who?” Dana’s head bobbed around. Looking to make sure the kids weren’t here to witness this. Looking to see if Andrew was around to help. It’s what women did. They addressed the initial crisis and each arising element all at the same time.

“It’s Paul,” Kate puffed out, after several deep breaths. “He’s never going to leave us alone.”

Chapter 29

Now

The boys come back just as I’m taking dinner out of the oven. I’ve paired our remaining chicken breasts with a simple vegetable medley and rice. Clearing out the fridge and cupboards gives me at least some hope that this vacation will be coming to an end soon.

“Smells delicious,” Andrew says, kissing me on the cheek.

“Wish I could say the same for you.” All three of them smell like sweat and rancid fish.

“I know. I’m going to hop in the shower. Vincent, you can use the hall bathroom if you’d like.”

“Sure.” He looks at me. “I hate to impose, but I also hate to smell like a chow line at the dinner table.”

“It’s not a problem,” I say.

“Great. I’ve got an extra change of clothes in the car.”

He walks outside. Noah comes up and gives me a hug. “How was fishing?”

“It was, like, the coolest ever. Vincent showed us all these tricks. You’ll never guess how many fish we caught.”

“Two?”

“Five!”

“My goodness! I don’t know if we’ll be here long enough to cook all of those.”

“That’s what Dad said. We threw some of them back but kept the biggest two. Dad took some pictures on his phone if you want to see.”

“Wash up, and I’ll take a look after dinner.”

He wanders off just as Vincent walks back inside. I point him in the direction of the bathroom. While in the hallway, I poke my head into Willow’s room.

“Feeling better?”

“Tons,” she says, sitting up on the bed. “Really hungry.”

“Dinner will be ready in ten. Dad has a friend over. He’s taking a shower in the downstairs bath. I thought I’d give you a heads-up.”

“Dad has a friend? And he’s here?”

“He’s one of the guys from his online group. His name is Vincent. He joined them on their fishing trip today.”

She leans back on the bed, stuffing a headphone in her ear. Already, she’s back to normal: lazy and disinterested.

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