Past Forward- A Serial Novel: Volume 3 by Havig Chautona

Author:Havig, Chautona [Havig, Chautona]
Language: eng
Format: mobi
Publisher: Wynnewood Press
Published: 2012-09-12T16:00:00+00:00

Painful, never-ending, discouraging silence filled the house. The ticking of the clock drove Willow nearly insane with loneliness. Church was over, the children were gone, and suddenly the privacy and peace she craved felt empty. She glanced listlessly at the clock. Chad would be there soon for dinner. Maybe she could bake a pound cake. He’d like that.

The house smelled heavenly as Chad entered through the back door. A cake drizzled with almond glaze and a jar of cherries sat on the counter, a roasted chicken warmed in the Dutch oven, and green beans simmered on the stove. He loved coming “home” like this. However, Willow simply seemed to have vanished. He checked the barn, her room, and then eventually the entire house but didn’t find her. Just as concern began to well in his chest and he pulled out his cell phone, Willow burst in the door and practically threw herself into his arms.

“I missed you.”

“I can see that. Have you been enjoying the peace and quiet?”

“I’m going crazy. The house is too quiet; I can’t do anything because my hand hurts if I squeeze anything—”

He eyed the cake suspiciously. “You don’t have an electric mixer. How did—”

Unconsciously, Willow stuffed her hand into her jacket pocket. Chad, with infinite tenderness, pulled it out, unwrapped the bandage, and stared at the fresh blood on the gauze. “How could you do that?”

“I wanted you to have cake with dinner.”

“I’m supposed to eat that thing knowing what you did to yourself to make it?” he snapped.

Willow snatched her hand back from his fingers. “Forgive me. I wanted to do something to bless you for once.” Without another word, she shrugged out of her jacket and hung it on the peg by the back door. She glanced around the room with a look of irritation on her face. “I’ve always hated the color in here. It’s just ugly.”

His jaw, already sitting on the floor full of his feet, slackened further. He glanced around the room. It was spotless. How had she managed to do the dishes? The floors had been mopped. The windows sparkled. He wandered around the downstairs for a moment and realized that her hand would take twice as long to heal unless she was forced to rest it.

He went out to milk Ditto and the sight of her milked udder made up his mind. He flipped open his phone and called his mother. A vacation. It was time for her to have an estrogen fest.

Upstairs, Willow sat absorbing the beauty in the spare room. The bed looked empty without Ellie’s stuffed fox, and the closet still stood open and bare with her little dresses gone. Chad knelt beside the chair and smiled up at her. “Are you going to help me eat that cake?”

“I was nasty about that.”

“Yes. I guess you could say you were. However, I think maybe I understand now. You don’t have the help you need while your hand is healing, and as much as you needed some space, you liked having the little people around.

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