The next morning, Merry Anna awoke in better spirits. She enjoyed spending time with Zan, and if Adam needed her to babysit, she could do that. He could use her only ifsheallowed it. She washed her face and brushed out her hair, wondering if Zan’s braid made it through the night.
She unpacked the makeup kit she’d taken to Adam’s, putting everything back in the vanity where it belonged. As she placed the fluffy brushes in the crystal glass on the counter, she reveled in the memory of the twinkle in Zan’s eyes when she’d moved them across her soft skin. Such a simple act.
A series of tweets and whistles followed by a myriad of notes came through the window. Her favorite bird was singing a tune. She’d come to expect it each morning. She could picture his feathers fluffed out and cheeks puffed, too, as he sang an original melody just for her. Sometimes she found herself putting words to the song.
She changed out of her pajamas. It was supposed to be in the high nineties today with humidity to match. After opting for a soft-yellow pair of shorts and white T-shirt, she slipped her feet into a pair of sandals and pulled her hair into a ponytail to go outside and reward her bird friend with a little treat.
In the kitchen, she grabbed one of the old pine cones she’d collected for decoration. One of her customers at the store had told her about spreading peanut butter into the open crevices and sprinkling sunflower or thistle seeds over it. It didn’t take but a minute to make. She took a couple of twist ties from the box of trash bags and made a hanger for the top of the pine cone, then walked outside to hang it on a limb near the fence post where the bird liked to be.
The heat washed over her as soon as she stepped onto the porch. The robin sang out.
“Good morning.” That little bird stretched even taller and louder to tweet a greeting back to her. “I brought you—”
“Hey, Merry Anna.”
Startled, she spun around, dropping the pine cone on the ground. “You scared me.” And then it registered. “Kevin?” Even being warned that he’d been around, she hadn’t expected him to surprise her like this. “What are you doing here?”
“I came to bring you back home.” He smiled, as if she should be happy to see him, which she absolutely was not.
His smile ticked her off. She didn’t like it one bit that he’dcrossed into her sanctuary, a place she’d for the first time truly understood what it was like to feel peace within.
“I don’t know why it took me so long to figure it out,” he said with a snicker. “I was talking to your folks, and I realized what I should’ve done long ago. If you wanted me to chase you down and beg you to come back, you should have just stuck around rather than force me to go to pretty great lengths to track you down.”
“You shouldn’t have. If I’d wanted you to know where I was, I’d have given you that information myself. Howdidyou find me?”
“I had the collections team do some digging. They tracked down credit card charges.”
“You are not on those cards. You never were.” She’d closed every account they’d ever held jointly, not wanting to take any chances that he might be able to access her credit or information.
“Wasn’t that hard.” He swept his arm toward the fields. “You really did come out to the middle of nowhere. No wonder you could live on that little bit of money. Look at this place. Our garage was bigger than this. Is this really where you’ve been living?”
She didn’t want to get into it with him. She stopped owing him answers when they’d filed for divorce.
“You need to leave. Clearly, you don’t understand what divorce means. I’ve already told the sheriff about you.” Angry heat flushed her cheeks. “I know you broke into my house. Neighbors look out for each other around here.”
“I didn’t break in. It wasn’t locked.”
“That’s really your word against mine, isn’t it?”
“Okay, you’ve made your point. It was hot out here waiting for you, and honestly I couldn’t believe you were actuallyliving in that place. I had to see for myself.” He touched her arm. “You do know I would never be able to live in a place like this. That wager means nothing if this is the manner in which you expect me to live.”
She pulled away from him.
“Let’s just roll back time. I screwed up. Your folks aren’t too happy about all this, so it’s time you got back to work.” He lifted his hand. “I’ll do whatever it is you want me to do.”
“I want you to leave right this minute—that’s what I want you to do. I’m going to march right into that house and call the sheriff to come haul you away.”
“You wouldn’t.” He laughed.
“Don’t try me. I’m no longer the person you were married to. I’m quite sure I’ll surprise you with how certain I am that I will call, and Iwillpress charges.” Her heart was in her throat. “I know you’ve been schmoozing my parents, trying to wriggle your way into their good graces, or, more importantly, their pocket now that you’re not living off me.”
“You’ve played your little game long enough. I get it. You’re still mad.”
“No, honestly, I’m not. I’m happy to be rid of you. My life has never been better.” She didn’t know why she was bothering to go into this with him, but she couldn’t stop herself. “What’s the matter, Kevin? Have they finally figured out you can’t do that job you talked them into?”
His lips twitched.
“I told them you’re not qualified for that job,” Merry Anna said. “You can’t fake your way for long.”
