The Good Widow by Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke

Author:Liz Fenton & Lisa Steinke [Fenton, Liz]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781503943445
Publisher: Lake Union Publishing
Published: 2017-05-31T23:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

JACKS—AFTER

“Jacks! Wait!”

I sprint away from the sound of Nick’s voice, my feet cutting through the sand, my sandals dangling precariously from my hand. The thing is, I can’t wait. I need to get as far away as possible from the news I’ve just heard. Maybe, if I keep moving, I can outrun the truth. Dylan had been pregnant. I can’t deny the possibility that James might have been the father. And my biggest fear has been confirmed: my own omission may have been the glue that bound their relationship.

I trip over a pile of flip-flops that lie in the sand awaiting their owners—the sunset booze cruises just docked on shore. My right knee slides into the sand, and I quickly manage to heave myself back up.

It’s amazing how agile desperation can make you.

I glance back to see Nick jogging behind me. There’s no doubt his pace is deliberately slow, that his strong legs barely feel the burn that mine already do. But, wisely, he keeps his distance as I barrel toward the black rocks on the north end of Ka‘anapali Beach. We both know I’m running myself into a corner. That he will catch up to me.

It’s hard to let go of who you thought you were. Take me, for instance. I’ve always considered myself a decent person. I teach the youth of America. I like animals and babies. I cheered when the Supreme Court legalized gay marriage. But I now realize that those were the easy choices. That just because you aren’t a complete asshole that hates kids and kittens, it doesn’t mean that you’re good. It simply means that you aren’t bad. And it’s that in-between area that gets tricky. I’d never thought James and I had a bad marriage. He didn’t verbally abuse me; I didn’t nag him. He’d only gotten physical once. But had it been good? Not really. We existed somewhere in between. In the middle of the screaming and the love.

I begin to slow down as I approach the black rocky peninsula that marks my dead end, unless I want to attempt to scale the wet, slippery, sharp rocks—which will definitely not end well. The sun has just set, and darkness begins to sweep the ocean. I take a left turn and walk into it, the waves lapping my calves. A few steps farther, and the water teases the hem of my yellow sundress, the one that James told me made my skin sparkle. If you really think about it, his compliment didn’t make sense. Eyes could sparkle, but skin? But James had a way of romancing his words, of making the false seem true.

I feel Nick’s hand grab mine when the water reaches my torso.

“Jacks.” He tugs me gently. I’m taking a postsunset swim in my perky dress after I discover my husband got his mistress pregnant, and Nick doesn’t know what to do. I don’t blame him. I don’t know what to do either. Do I keep moving into the deeper

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.