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“I thought you were wasting your time. The dude’s a loser. He let his wife walk all over him for years. Everyone in town knew what was going on, and I don’t believe he didn’t see it. When his brother died, it was so awful. The wife, Alphé’s wife I mean, went berserk. He was calling the cops every weekend to report her missing. She left their kids alone, the little girl, she might have been ten, taking care of a one-year-old. Lola would show up in a bar somewhere out of town.”
“Oh, how awful. I knew none of this.”
“I knew you didn’t, but what was I going to do? Call you up and tell your man’s history, say you should ditch him and come with me? That wouldn’t go over well.”
“Probably not. But you were with Amber.”
“I was. I was lonely. It’s weird to admit this, but I never had a serious girlfriend. I was wondering if there wasn’t something wrong with me. I hooked up with her, she was available, we were compatible in some ways, and I just went with the flow. I was in danger of becoming an alcoholic and a slug, and when I realized that, the pointlessness of us as a couple started coming to the surface.”
“What happened next?”
“You showed up in town the weekend of Maggie’s Twelfth Night party. Over Mardi Gras, I saw you at all the parades and parties. When Maggie told me you’d bought your own house and that you weren’t planning on moving in with Alphé, I let myself fantasize about being with you. I stopped you on the street that time.”
“You did! I thought you were going to give me a ticket. I was ready to perform sexual acts to get out of it. Just kidding.”
He roared laughing.
“It seemed like we kept running into each other. Then when you called about Calista Beaumont and flirted with me a little, that gave me hope.”
“And that was enough to get you to my door. I’m so glad you stopped that night. The timing was perfect.”
“It’s definitely perfect timing. What’s next as far as the baby goes?”
“I’ll get an appointment with a doctor.”
“I want to go with you.”
“Okay, you can come. I’m not thrilled about going, but it’s necessary.”
“You’re pretty healthy, right?”
“I’m healthy. I gave up alcohol for Lent because everyone else did, and I didn’t want to drink alone. I’ve had a few glasses of champagne but no binging. When I struggled with that decision, I knew it was the right thing to do.”
“Right, me too.”
Talking on the way back to Cypress Cove solidified so much with Dave and Katrina. They were in love and devoted to one another and were going to add a third party to their relationship in about seven months, give or take a week.
***
While Dave was introducing Katrina to his favorite breakfast item, Amber Greely drove alone to the wild horse preservation meeting. They didn’t formally meet every week, but there was a core group who got together weekly to trail ride and check out fences and the well-being of the horses. At Christmas, since Dave Chastain had moved in with Amber, she’d stopped going every Sunday unless Dave was free. When she pulled into the parking lot that week, everyone noticed.
“Dave working?” Phil Adler called out.
“Dave left,” she answered without reservation.
The sooner the story got out, the better. She wouldn’t have to make excuses and pretend everything was okay. It wasn’t Amber’s style to be secretive.
“No way! Why would he leave you? That guy needs his head examined.”
“Phil, you’ve never given me reason to believe I’m anything more than a pain in your ass, so knock off the admiration bullshit.”
Sputtering, he put his hands up in defense. “I totally apologize for that, Amber. I’m your greatest admirer; you can ask anyone around here. The way you sit a horse is a huge turn-on.”
The comment defused her hostility, and she barked out a laugh. “You are so full of shit, Phil. Anyway, good riddance. He was getting on my nerves, moping around. Who else is here? Do you want to ride?”
“Let’s go. Grace and a few others are doing paperwork.”
“I’ll have to borrow a horse.”
