Page 59 of The Work Wife

“Hmm. You’re not as close to the water as I am,” Mr. Witmer noted.

No, but Wes had two bathrooms. He didn’t say that.

“I was going to cook dinner—” Jamie began.

“Would it be okay if we went to that Greek restaurant we went to the last time I was up here?”

“Sure. Let me go change.” Jamie left and Wes snorted.

“Quick thinking,” Wes joked.

“My stomach is already touchy from the flight. The last thing I need is Jamie’s cooking.”

“She’s getting better. I’ve been giving her tips,” Wes said.

“Bless you.” The man patted him on the shoulder, and Wes felt a wave of real affection.

“I’m ready,” Jamie said as she returned to the living room. Mr. Witmer was studying the mantel, where they’d placed a very convincing photo of the two of them in love.

Wes held back a moment. “Did you want me to come along?” he asked.

Jamie looked confused. “Why wouldn’t you come with us?”

“I wasn’t sure if maybe your father wanted to visit with you.”

“He does want to visit me. But visiting me means visiting you too. We’re married, we’re a package deal.”

Wes turned to her father to get his take on the plan.

He shrugged and nodded. “The girl has spoken, Wes. Let’s go get some grub. I’m starving.”

Dinner was so much fun, Wes forgot Mr. Witmer and Jamie weren’t his real family. He felt like he belonged in their little group now. No longer The Husband, but a son-in-law.

Her father didn’t make as many snide comments. And he didn’t complain about how they’d gotten married without telling him. Apparently Wes had redeemed himself with Wedding Part Deux.

“Jamie told me your father died a few years ago,” Mr. Witmer said when Jamie had gone to wash her hands.

“Yeah.”

“She said she never met him. She said you don’t talk about him very much.”

Wes wasn’t sure how he felt to find out Jamie and her father were talking about him. “I wasn’t very close with my father. He wasn’t who I thought he was, I guess.”

Mr. Witmer nodded as if he understood something that had been bothering him for years. “I remember the day I realized my father was just a man. He was a good man, but he was still just a man.”

“My father wasn’t a good man.” Wes let out a breath; if his father-in-law wanted to chat things out, Wes was going to take him up on it. “I know something about him. I was going to confront him about it when I’d calmed down, but I never got the chance. He died before I could tell him how disappointed I was. No one else knows.”

“You’ve been carrying it around all this time?”

Wes nodded, and Mr. Witmer let out a deep breath. “I’m sorry. That can’t be easy.”

Wes was surprised by how the man’s sympathy eased some of the discomfort.

“He cheated on your mama?” he asked.

Wes’s head shot up in surprise. “How did you know that?”

The man shrugged like it was no big deal. “I’ve been trained to read people. I have to say, I’m glad it bothers you. It means you’d never stray.”