Missing Us (A Chandler County Novel) by Traci Wooden-Carlisle

Author:Traci Wooden-Carlisle [Wooden-Carlisle, Traci]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Traci Wooden-Carlisle
Published: 2017-12-07T08:00:00+00:00

CHAPTER 15

TWELVE YEARS AGO

The End of a Fairytale

“Terry, I’m not happy.”

“Reina...” He saw her face and hoped to appease her.

“No, listen to me, Terry. I’m not happy. I haven’t been for a long time.” She shrugged. “And life’s too short for me to be this unhappy.”

“So?” he asked hoping she would offer a solution he could live with. He would even agree to counseling if she asked. Just not what he saw in her eyes. Defeat.

“I’ll stay close until Shauna goes to college then I’m moving to be with my parents. Either way, I’m leaving you as soon as Shauna finishes the school year.”

The ground beneath his feet shifted. Reina couldn’t do this. She wasn’t even giving him a chance to try and keep her. She’d thought about it enough to offer to wait until Shauna was out of the house.

She’d been planning this. “Who is it?” he asked, his voice void of all the emotion and turmoil in him.

She looked at him incredulously. “What are you talking about?”

“Is it Derrick from the museum?” A fury he wasn’t well acquainted with, gripped him, and he ran with it instead of the deep hurt trying to carve out his heart.

“What?”

“Don’t ‘What’ me. I’ve seen the way you look at him. I know he’s been panting after you for years. Is it him?”

“I can’t believe you,” she spat at him. “You lying, cheating,…”

“Oh, that’s rich,” he drawled. “Me cheating?”

“I saw you!” Her shout stopped his tirade.

It was his turn to question. “What?”

“I saw you with her, two weeks ago at Reagan’s.” Her voice dropped down to a whisper. The pain in it cut through him. It caused him to step back until he caught himself. His blood ran cold, but a fine sheen broke out on his upper lip.

“I meet people for lunch all the time,” he said, hoping she’d not stayed long to watch them.

She interrupted him. “In the corner, in a dark booth?” The sound that came from her throat couldn’t be called a laugh exactly. It was more half sob and half chuckle. “You must think I’m really stupid after all of these years. The late nights, weekend trips, week-long conventions…” The derision in her voice set his teeth on edge. “I have to give it to you. It took me some time because I just couldn’t figure out how you could be the way you were when you were with us and still leave us for another family.”

The shock her last sentence brought with it nearly brought him to his knees.

“No need in denying it. I followed the two of you back to her place or should I say your place since you probably own it.”

He began shaking his head because he couldn’t think of anything else to do. She’d rendered him speechless.

“No need in trying to deny it. I had you followed.”

His mind came back online, and he looked at her, anger casting a red haze in front of his eyes. “You had me followed?” He bit out the words as he slowly came around the kitchen island.

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