Dancing With the Devil by Maria Herren

Author:Maria Herren [Herren, Maria]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2017-06-21T18:30:00+00:00

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The next week Eric called twice while she was in class. His second message said that he'd been accepted into the Navy SEALS and would be leaving for training in a few days. He left a number where he could be reached until then.

She had never called.

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Seven years, Charly thought, glancing down at the diamond and gold watch Carlo had given to her in the hospital after she had Alex. She hadn't worn it very often that first year. Finally Carlo confronted her and asked her why she didn't like it, offering to exchange it and have her choose a different style. He laughed when she told him she didn't wear it often because she was afraid of losing it. "If you like it, please enjoy wearing it every day. If you lose it I'll buy you another one," he said, kissing her on the neck.

It was time for her to start dinner but she was enjoying a rare moment of solitary time. The setting sun bounced its brilliant reflection off the water on the lake and got caught in the peacock's tail.

Charly walked into the sunshine of her kitchen. Throughout the day the doorbell had rung with deliveries as Carlo had gradually filled the house with flowers, each with a handwritten note.

With the huge display of tiger lilies on the kitchen table, he'd written: "I love to see the tiger in our daughter's eyes."

The white orchids said, "These remind me of the night you met me at the airport in the white dress." The fragrant bouquet of hyacinths said, "You always smell like springtime."

On and on it went throughout the day until the last delivery. It was very small, comparatively, but each of the seven singular red roses was exquisitely wrapped. Each of the seven notes held his favorite memory of that year. Charly cried when she read the note for the first year. "The birth of our son."

Carlo had wanted to take her to one of their restaurants for dinner, but Charly insisted on making the meal. Nina, a friend and part-time nanny, would come and take the children to a movie and for ice cream.

Alex came into the kitchen as she got busy. "Can I help, Mommy?" he asked.

She tousled his curly dark hair and smiled into his brilliant green eyes. "Of course you can. You can be in charge of the garlic."

"You want a lot of it, right?" he smiled, energetically.

"Right!" Charly laughed, putting him to work.

When he was an infant Charly would put Alex on the counter while she cooked. He was growing up with a great interest in cooking, although he enjoyed junk food, particularly potato chips, as much as anyone his age.

Charly started some water to boil and trimmed some fresh asparagus. "What time is Nina coming, Mommy?" Alex asked.

Charly frowned at her watch. She'd expected Nina to be here already. "Any minute," she said.

She seasoned the water with sea salt and thought about how lucky they were to have Nina Small to look after the children.

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