Christmas at Shadow Creek by Roxanne Rustand

Author:Roxanne Rustand
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Harlequin
Published: 2003-10-14T16:00:00+00:00

“I’LL BE BACK IN TOWN on Sunday,” Zach said tersely, skipping any effort at a friendly greeting.

Standing in her kitchen, Gina gripped the phone receiver tighter at the familiar sound of his voice. Hope welled up in her throat until it was hard to speak. “The girls and I will be glad to see you again. They ask about you all the time.”

“You know I’ve been on some long hauls.” His tone grew defensive. “I called every day this past week.”

Gina took a steadying breath. “I know. It’s just that we look forward to having you here.”

“I’m staying at my brother’s house.”

His words hit her like a slap across the face. Instead of trying to work things out, he was simply going to move out.

Her stunned silence lengthened, until he finally added, “It’ll be better that way.”

“For who? Your daughters—who’ll be scared and worried about what’s going on?”

“You can tell them.”

Her anger rose. “Let’s see…what would be the right thing to say? That you’re afraid to face any serious discussion? Or that I have so little value that you don’t even need to consider some sort of compromise?”

“Don’t make me the bad guy, Gina. At least I want what’s best for the family. You just want what’s best for yourself.”

“That’s not true.”

“The hell it isn’t.”

“We can still work this out…find a counselor, maybe. Celia Brice is really good—”

“Right.” Zach gave a snort of disgust. “One of your friends down at The Birth Place? I’m sure she’d be impartial.”

“Someone else, then.”

“They couldn’t tell me anything I don’t already know. Until all this came up, I worked hard to support you, and you were home for the kids. Our family was just fine that way. You’ve changed…not me.”

“And I know you don’t think that’s fair, but people grow. They learn new things. They can become better.”

“So now you’ve become ‘better’ and the rest of us don’t mean anything,” he growled. “I’ll stop over to see the girls around three o’clock on Sunday. Make sure they’re home.”

Long after he hung up, Gina rested her forehead against the wall by the phone as a hundred memories flooded through her thoughts. The Saturday mornings, when Zach made the girls Mickey waffles or French toast—the only two recipes he knew. The family hikes up into the mountains. Sitting together in church on Sunday mornings. Zach, his eyes filled with adoration when he watched his daughters playing in the backyard.

Sure, their marriage had had a rocky start, with the wedding planned after Gina found herself pregnant, but she’d thought they’d grow old together, holding each other’s hands in some nursing home when they were ninety. She’d been sure that he loved her as much as she loved him.

Maybe she’d just been blind.

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